00:00These visions, what did they call him?
00:03Ghidorah, the one who is many.
00:06G-why?
00:07She's a gonorrhea, huh?
00:09Ghidorah!
00:10Two heads are better than one, but three heads are even better.
00:13Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're recapping the origin and history of Godzilla's arch-rival,
00:19the terrifying space dragon known as King Ghidorah.
00:31The character has appeared in virtually every major era of the Godzilla franchise,
00:36and is widely considered to be Godzilla's greatest and most iconic nemesis.
00:40But how did he first come to be, and what forms has he taken over the 50-plus years since
00:45his debut?
00:46Let's find out.
00:48King Ghidorah was first introduced in 1964's Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster,
00:53the brainchild of Godzilla's series producer, Tomoyuki Tanaka.
00:57Tanaka loved the idea of a multi-headed monster as a new rival for Godzilla,
01:01and drew inspiration from Yamata no Orochi, an eight-headed dragon from Japanese myth.
01:07There may have also been some inspiration from Zmi Gurenic,
01:10a three-headed dragon that had recently appeared in the Soviet fantasy film Ilya Muromits.
01:15The mythological inspiration can also be seen in his name,
01:18with Ghidorah deriving from the word Hydra, the multi-headed monster in Greek mythology.
01:23In contrast to previous monsters that Godzilla had squared off against,
01:27this new creation would also be extraterrestrial in origin,
01:30bringing a new dimension to Godzilla's rogues gallery.
01:37With three snake-like heads, massive wings, and bright golden scales,
01:42King Ghidorah definitely made an impression upon his debut in 1964's Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.
01:47Although it should be noted that the original English release in 1965 was mistranslated
01:52as Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster with no O.
01:55Though subsequent re-releases fixed the issue.
01:58Anyway, with his ability to fly through space,
02:00fire gravity beams from his three mouths,
02:02and his possession of incredible strength and resilience,
02:06it's no wonder that Ghidorah's appearance on Earth
02:08is what prompted Godzilla to team up with former rivals Rodan and Mothra.
02:22Ghidorah's appearance marked a major change for the Godzilla franchise,
02:26with the role of the titular monster shifting into that of a defender of Earth
02:29and humankind in the face of this new threat.
02:32In his initial appearances, Ghidorah was depicted as a space kaiju,
02:36an ancient entity responsible for the destruction of numerous alien civilizations,
02:40including one that once inhabited the planet Venus.
02:52Sensing his imminent arrival, Mothra set out to unite Earth's kaiju
02:56in an attempt to repel the terrifying invader.
02:59Mothra's efforts paid off, and Ghidorah was defeated by the trio.
03:06After this first appearance, Ghidorah returned in the following film,
03:10Invasion of Astro Monster, as the pawn of numerous alien races,
03:14including the Exilians, who referred to him as Monster Zero.
03:18Look, gentlemen, we are watching an historical battle.
03:22Monster Zero has met his match today.
03:24No doubt his most spectacular appearance in the classic film series
03:28was in 1968's Destroy All Monsters,
03:30which concluded in a massive battle royale between Ghidorah
03:34and virtually every other giant monster in Toho's roster.
03:43The Showa era of Godzilla films ended in 1975,
03:47seemingly marking King Ghidorah's final appearance on screen
03:50in 1972's Godzilla vs. Gigan.
03:53But the franchise was revived in the Heisei era in 1984,
03:57leading to Ghidorah's return in 1991's Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.
04:10In this era, Ghidorah was a creation of humankind rather than an alien,
04:14having first appeared as a trio of pint-sized monsters called Dorats
04:18that were later mutated through time travel and atomic exposure.
04:27Following tradition, this version of Ghidorah was a tool of a sinister group,
04:31in this case, an organization of humans from the far future
04:34who sought to maintain economic balance
04:36by destroying any country that grew too prosperous.
04:44After being defeated by Godzilla in a titanic battle,
04:48Ghidorah's body was rebuilt as the cyborg Mecha King Ghidorah.
04:52Although this iteration was short-lived,
04:54its cybernetic components would later be repurposed
04:56as this era's version of Mecha Godzilla.
05:01Later in the 90s, Ghidorah appeared as the primary villain
05:05in the third film in the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy,
05:08which entirely eschewed his new origin
05:10and re-established him as an ancient space monster.
05:13In this iteration, King Ghidorah first arrived on Earth
05:16130 million years ago
05:18with the intent on wiping out the dinosaurs.
05:24Through some time-traveling shenanigans, however,
05:27Mothra's descendant Mothra Leo
05:28goes back in time to battle Ghidorah
05:30before he can lay waste to Japan.
05:32During the battle, one of Ghidorah's tails is severed
05:35and subsequently burrows itself underground
05:37while Mothra Leo defeats Ghidorah
05:40by dropping him into a volcano.
05:45But it's here that we learn of King Ghidorah's newest ability,
05:49just like his Hydra inspiration,
05:51Ghidorah is able to regenerate itself from severed limbs,
05:55with the tail that burrowed itself underground
05:56able to regenerate a whole new King Ghidorah.
06:02In the millennium era of Godzilla films,
06:04Ghidorah only made two appearances,
06:06though he remained a fixture of the Godzilla franchise,
06:09always appearing as Godzilla's rival,
06:11but not exclusively as a villain.
06:13In 2001, Ghidorah made his heroic debut
06:17in Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah,
06:19giant monsters all-out attack
06:21as one of three mystical guardians
06:23alongside Mothra and Baragon,
06:24who are charged with defending Japan from disaster.
06:28In this version, however,
06:29he actually sports two forms,
06:31and he achieves his second more popular form
06:34through Mothra's sacrifice.
06:39In 2004's Godzilla Final Wars,
06:42we're introduced to a new monster known as Monster X,
06:44whom, during the final battle of the film,
06:46transforms into a new iteration of the three-headed dragon
06:49known as Kaiser Ghidorah.
06:59This version sports four legs
07:01and a black and gold design,
07:03though he doesn't last very long.
07:05In Netflix's trilogy of anime films,
07:07a particularly shiny version of Ghidorah
07:10was depicted as a being of pure energy
07:12that used its gravitational powers
07:14to feed off entire planets.
07:15This version is even worshipped as a deity
07:18by the alien Exif,
07:19furthering Ghidorah's tendency
07:21of working with sinister alien races.
07:23Come forth, the Golden King,
07:26whose name is Ghidorah!
07:29The Golden Wings of Demise!
07:32Come forth, Ghidorah!
07:34The Golden Wings of Demise!
07:36Next came the Monsterverse,
07:37with King Ghidorah making his American film debut
07:40in Godzilla King of the Monsters.
07:44In this iteration,
07:46King Ghidorah appeared as an ancient alien titan
07:48that re-emerged after being buried
07:50in Antarctica for millennia.
07:52You mean an alien?
07:53Yes.
07:54He's not part of our natural order,
07:56and he's not meant to be here.
07:58A false king.
08:00An invasive species.
08:01That could explain how he's creating
08:03these massive storms
08:04and the effect he's having on the other titans.
08:06Once freed, wherever he flies,
08:08he brings with him a powerful hurricane.
08:11Specifically, a Category 6 hurricane,
08:13even though such a measure doesn't exist.
08:16That's not possible.
08:18No storm moves that fast.
08:19Unless it's not a storm.
08:21Also, unlike the Japanese films,
08:24each one of Ghidorah's three heads
08:25has a distinct personality,
08:27and they're constantly seen throughout the movie
08:29butting heads with each other.
08:30No pun intended.
08:32In an interesting inversion of Ghidorah's
08:33real-world origins,
08:35Yamata no Orochi,
08:36the key inspiration for Ghidorah,
08:38is hinted at being a real separate monster
08:40in this film.
08:41After King Ghidorah was defeated
08:43in his Monsterverse movie debut,
08:44He returned in the follow-up,
08:472021's Godzilla vs. Kong.
08:49Albeit with a twist.
08:51Ghidorah's severed head is used
08:52as a neural link to pilot Mechagodzilla.
08:55Things obviously take a deadly turn,
08:57and his lingering conscience
08:58takes over the machine menace completely.
09:01But thankfully,
09:02the duo of Kong and Godzilla
09:04are able to save the day.
09:07The sequel to Takashi Yamazaki's
09:10highly acclaimed Godzilla Minus One
09:11caused fans to once again quake with fear
09:14upon hearing his iconic screech
09:15when the trailer was released in 2026.
09:18King Ghidorah is set to terrorize humanity
09:20for this latest entry,
09:22Godzilla Minus Zero.
09:26The Avengers
09:26And the Avengers
09:26No.
09:27No.
09:32No.
09:35No.
09:36No.
09:36No.
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