Every Villain Team-Up In Godzilla’s Movies, Ranked By Power Level

Godzilla and his allies have taken on some deadly duos in his 70-year movie career, but some team-ups were far more powerful and dangerous than others. Godzilla famously began as a destructive force of nature, symbolizing the devastation of nuclear war upon Japan, and potentially the world at large. However, it took just one year for Godzilla to turn his ire towards another monster; he battled his one-time nemesis and future loyal ally Anguirus in 1955’s Godzilla Raids Again, setting a new standard for the radioactive lizard as a monster who battles other monsters.

Since 1954 Godzilla’s allegiance to humanity and the planet itself has changed on many occasions, with the massive monster recapturing the horror of his origins seemingly at least once a decade. While acting as a guardian and hero, Godzilla has faced some of the baddest kaiju to ever grace the silver screen, and on several occasions he’s had to take on multiple threats at once. While in many cases he has his own ally as backup, Godzilla’s still taken on some of the most powerful villains he’ll ever face teamed up against him.

7

Megalon And Gigan

Godzilla Vs. Megalon (1973)

The Showa Era of Godzilla movies ran from 1954 to 1975, and includes the largest tonal shift of any Godzilla era. The monster that began as a dark metaphor in 1954 had evolved into a family-friendly, borderline silly cartoon character come to life by the mid-1970s, and no film better represents the latter version of Godzilla than 1973’s Godzilla vs. Megalon. The movie saw Godzilla team up with Jet Jaguar, a one-off robot that can reprogram itself to grow and shrink between man and monster size. While it’s become a cult classic among Godzilla fans, it’s downright laughable at times.

The primary villain in the movie is Megalon, a giant burrowing insect monster that was the guardian deity of Seatopia, an underground kingdom that unleashed the monster as a response to the effects of nuclear testing on their civilization. Megalon has plenty of abilities and weapons at his disposal, most notably the “Beast Killer Laser Beam” that he shoots from the horn on his head and the exploding geothermal napalm pellets he spits. Supporting him is Gigan, the alien cyborg under the control of the M Space Hunter Nebula aliens, who are allies with the Seatopians.

While both have been shown to be far deadlier in other media, the team-up between Gigan and Megalon in Godzilla vs. Megalon is one of the weakest villain pairs that Godzilla has ever faced, as they never manage to do much real damage to either Godzilla or Jet Jaguar. In fact, when the battle turns in his opponents’ favor, Gigan turns tail and runs, leaving Megalon to get absolutely wrecked by Godzilla and the amiable robot. The matching arm blades look cool, but Gigan and Megalon brought knives to an atomic breath fight.

6

Mechagodzilla And Titanosaurus

Terror Of Mechagodzilla (1975)

After Mechagodzilla debuted a year earlier, he returned in Terror of Mechagodzilla, which saw the Black Hole Planet 3 aliens responsible for Mechagodzilla return to finish the job they started in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. However, instead of facing a two-on-one by himself, the odds were reversed, and Mechagodzilla was granted an ally in the semiaquatic dinosaur Titanosaurus. Normally a peaceful creature, the relic of the ancient world was mind-controlled to attack Tokyo alongside Mechagodzilla, using his massive fan tail to cause devastating gale-force winds along with his massive size, as he was one of the largest Showa Era kaiju.

Mechagodzilla and his deadly arsenal of weapons does the heavy lifting for this duo, although it’s worth noting that Titanosaurus was able to bite Godzilla in the face and lift his entire body off the ground, demonstrating his incredible strength. They manage to beat Godzilla into submission and bury him in a ravine, but when Titanosaurus’ mind control is distorted by supersonic waves, Big G leaps back into the fight. While he does receive human intervention in incapacitating both of his opponents, he does manage to take out both monsters without his own monster ally.

5

King Ghidorah And Gigan

Godzilla Vs. Gigan (1972)

Gigan’s original appearance came a year before Godzilla vs. Megalon, when he appeared as the primary villain in Godzilla vs. Gigan. This time though, Gigan isn’t positioned as a throw-in villain who runs at the first sign of trouble. He proved to be one of the most savage villains Godzilla had faced up to that point, as he manages to critically injure both Godzilla and his ally Anguirus with his many sharp edges and supersonic flying speed. When factoring in his forehead laser, Gigan actually has an impressive display of weaponry at his command.

As if that wasn’t enough, the M Space Hunter Nebula aliens enlist the services of Godzilla’s other cosmic nemesis, King Ghidorah. In his many forms, King Ghidorah has always been one of Godzilla’s biggest rivals and strongest opponents, so the fact that he’s the secondary monster shows how powerful Gigan is viewed in his debut appearance. They have Godzilla and Anguirus all but defeated when, as is usually the case, the human protagonists intervene and blow up the famous Godzilla Tower, which was where the M Space Hunter Nebula aliens were controlling the alien monsters from.

Godzilla is instantly rejuvenated, showcasing his extraordinary regenerative abilities, and the tide of the battle turns. Gigan and King Ghidorah are separated and Godzilla uses his atomic breath to keep Gigan from using his flight speed as a weapon, which ultimately leads to their retreat back into space. As far as the Showa Era is concerned, this is probably the deadliest duo that Godzilla ever faced, and with absolutely no offense meant to Anguirus fans, Godzilla didn’t have a particularly strong ally to back him up.

4

Male And Female MUTOs

Godzilla (2014)

The MUTOs of the Monsterverse don’t have any special laser beams or radioactive breath at their disposal, but in the context of the Godzilla that they fought, they’re a very legitimate threat. Their main asset is their ability to coordinate a two-pronged attack; while the smaller yet faster, flying male MUTO can attack Godzilla from the air, the bulkier female MUTO can bully him on the ground. Godzilla is in fact completely outmatched by the duo when they work together, and there was a legitimate chance that they could have killed Godzilla and fed on his bio-nuclear energy.

It’s important to note that in the novelization of the movie Godzilla, it’s explained that the MUTOs’ specially-evolved electro-magnetic pulse actually had an impact on the atomic breath of Godzilla’s species. It had an impact on the bio-electric spark that triggers and produces Godzilla’s atomic breath, and while the female MUTO’s EMP didn’t disable Godzilla’s atomic breath, it was the reason that it appeared considerably weaker. They are a terrible match-up for Godzilla, and the proof is how close he came to losing in San Francisco. While he eventually won, they were separated, allowing him to take them on individually.

3

Ghidorah And Rodan

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters (2019)

The Monsterverse’s version of Ghidorah is the most perfect adaptation of any Toho monster that Legendary Pictures has produced. It fully captures his awesome might and the legitimacy of the threat that he poses as a global force of destruction. His sheer size combined with his devastating gravity beams and remarkable regenerative ability make him one of the baddest foes that any version of Godzilla has taken on.

In the climax of Godzilla: King of the Monsters in Boston, Ghidorah is supported by Rodan, who is simply following Ghidorah’s orders given his perceived status as the alpha Titan on the planet. His subservience doesn’t make him any less of an aerial threat, and Monarch classifies him as a “destroyer” Titan just like Ghidorah, Tiamat, or Scylla. While he and Ghidorah are never shown directly working in tandem, they are still a formidable duo that Godzilla requires help to overcome.

Godzilla has Mothra on his side, and while the Monsterverse version is far more battle-capable than her Toho counterparts, she is beat down by Rodan until she manages to surprise him with her stinger. Likewise, Ghidorah has Godzilla on the ropes until Mothra’s sacrifice helps him charge up his nuclear pulse, which is what finally destroys the planet’s ultimate threat. Ghidorah and Rodan may have been beaten, but they are a truly deadly pair.

2

Skar King And Shimo

Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire

This duo is admittedly one-sided in Shimo’s favor, but that doesn’t make them any less powerful when put together. To be clear, Skar King is no slouch in combat; he’s able to use his whipslash melee weapon to deadly effect, and his agility is superior to Kong’s. However, as it stands, Shimo’s Frost Bite Blast is the most powerful attack in the Monsterverse, and while Skar King controls her, he is able to wield that power with ruthlessness and cruelty.

Shimo’s icy power plunged the entire planet into an Ice Age in the distant past, and the Godzilla X Kong novelization revealed that it was Shimo who froze Ghidorah centuries earlier. Godzilla and Kong have to not only team up, but go to extreme lengths to enhance their own abilities to take on the threat of Shimo and Skar King. While the final battle comes to a screeching halt once Skar King’s hold on Shimo is broken, its outcome was far from certain as long as Skar King held her crystal, even with Kong’s B.E.A.S.T. gauntlet and Godzilla’s evolution.

1

Modified Gigan And Monster X

Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Godzilla: Final Wars saw Godzilla take on many of the monsters from his past, but they saved the best for last in that regard. As mentioned, Gigan and King Ghidorah have long been considered two of Godzilla’s deadliest enemies, so the final movie in Godzilla’s Millennium Era put them back together. However, in that instance, it wasn’t the basic Gigan and King Ghidorah that Godzilla and his ally Mothra had to take on.

Mothra went wing-to-blade with the creature known as Modified Gigan, an iteration of the alien cyborg that swapped out his arm hooks for upgraded body armor, projectile bladed discs, and two-pronged chainsaw arms. Meanwhile, Godzilla took on Monster X, a mysterious bipedal alien far more agile and strong than Godzilla who is also capable of taking a point-blank blast of atomic breath to the face with little to no effect. The two aliens even teamed up directly, with Monster X holding Godzilla’s arms back while Gigan slashed at his chest.

As the final battle rages, Gigan is eventually dispatched in the silliest way possible (with his own flying razor discs boomeranging back to cut off his head), but Monster X somehow becomes deadlier. He transforms into the quadrapedal Keizer Ghidorah, the most powerful version of King Ghidorah that Toho has ever produced. In addition to immense strength and the ability to withstand seemingly any Godzilla attack, Keizer Ghidorah is also armed with the “Destroyed Keizer” beams, which are a far more powerful version of King Ghidorah’s gravity beams.

Godzilla needs a special supercharge from his human allies in order to survive Keizer Ghidorah’s onslaught and push the limit of his own powers to defeat him. Once powered up, Godzilla produces his strongest attack, the Burning G Spark Heat Ray, an ultra-charged version of his atomic breath that blasts Keizer Ghidorah into space before destroying him once and for all. Due to Modified Gigan’s upgrades and King Ghidorah’s two terrifying final forms, this is the deadliest villain team-up that Godzilla ever encountered.

Godzilla

Movie(s)

Godzilla, Godzilla 2, Godzilla 3, Shin Godzilla, Godzilla, Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla Minus One, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Godzilla Vs King Kong, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., godzilla: monster planet, Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, Godzilla: Final Wars, King Kong vs. Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Godzilla: The Showa Era Films, Godzilla vs. Biollante

Created by

Tomoyuki Tanaka, Akira Watanabe

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