The Origins of King Ghidorah Explained

The Origins of King Ghidorah: Explained

Two heads are better than one, but three heads are even better. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re recapping the origin and history of Godzilla’s arch-rival, the terrifying space dragon known as King Ghidorah. The character has appeared in virtually every major era of the Godzilla franchise, and is widely considered to be Godzilla’s greatest and most iconic nemesis. But how did he first come to be, and what forms has he taken over the fifty plus years since his debut? Let’s find out.

King Ghidorah was first introduced in 1964’s “Ghidorah: The Three-Headed Monster”, the brainchild of Godzilla series producer Tomoyuki Tanaka. Tanaka loved the idea of a multi-headed monster as a new rival for Godzilla, and drew inspiration from “Yamata no Orochi”, an eight-headed dragon from Japanese myth. There may have also been some inspiration from Zmey Gorynych, a three-headed dragon that had recently appeared in the Soviet fantasy film “Ilya Muromets.” The mythological inspiration can also be seen in his name, with “Ghidorah” deriving from word “Hydra”, the multi-headed monster of Greek mythology. In contrast to previous monsters that Godzilla had squared off against, this new creation would also be extra-terrestrial in origin, bringing a new dimension to Godzilla’s rogue’s gallery.

With three snake-like heads, massive wings and bright golden scales, King Ghidorah definitely made an impression upon his debut in 1964’s “Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster” Although it should be noted though that the original English release in 1965 was mistranslated as “Ghidrah: The Three Headed Monster” (no ‘O’). Though subsequent rereleases fixed that issue. Anyways; With his ability to fly through space, fire “gravity beams” from his three mouths and possessed of incredible strength and resilience, it’s no wonder that Ghidorah’s appearance on Earth is what prompted Godzilla to team up with former rivals Rodan and Mothra. Ghidorah’s appearance marked a major sea change for the Godzilla franchise, with the role of the titular monster shifting into that of a defender of Earth and mankind in the face of this new threat.

In his initial appearances, Ghidorah was depicted as a “Space Kaiju”, an ancient entity responsible for the destruction of numerous alien civilizations, including one that once inhabited the planet Venus. Sensing his imminent arrival, Mothra set out to unite Earth’s Kaiju in an attempt to repel the terrifying invader. Mothra’s efforts payed off, and Ghidorah was defeated by the trio. After this first appearance, Ghidorah returned in following film “Invasion of Astro-Monster” as the pawn of numerous alien races including the Xiliens, who referred to him as “Monster Zero”. No doubt his most spectacular appearance in the classic film series was in 1968’s “Destroy All Monsters”, which concluded in a massive battle-royale between Ghidorah and virtually every other giant monster in Toho’s roster.

The Showa Era of Godzilla films ended in 1973, seemingly marking King Ghidorah’s final appearance onscreen in 1972’s “Godzilla vs Gigan”. But the franchise was revived in the Heisei era in 1984, leading to Ghidorah’s return in 1991’s “Godzilla vs King Ghidorah”. In this era, Ghidorah was a creation of mankind rather than an alien, having first appeared as a trio of pint-sized monsters called Dorats that were later mutated through time-travel and atomic exposure. Following tradition, this version of Ghidorah was a tool of a sinister group, in this case an organization of humans from the far-future who sought to maintain economic balance by destroying any country that grew too prosperous. After being defeated by Godzilla in a titanic battle, Ghidorah’s body was rebuilt as the cyborg Mecha King Ghidorah. Although this iteration was short lived, it’s cybernetic componants would later be repurposed as this era’s version of MechaGodzilla.

Later in the 90s, Ghidorah appeared as the primary villain in the third film in the “Rebirth of Mothra” trilogy, which entirely eschewed his new origin and re-established him as an ancient space monster. In this iteration; King Ghidorah first arrived on Earth 130 million years ago with the intent on wiping out the dinosaurs. Through some time travelling shenanigans however, Mothra’s decendant “Mothra Leo” goes back in time to battle Ghidorah before he can lay waste to Japan. During the battle; one of Ghidorah’s tails is severed and subsequently burrows itself underground, while Mothra Leo defeats Ghidorah by dropping him into a volcano. But it’s here that we learn of King Ghidorah’s newest ability. Just like his Hydra inspiration, Ghidorah is able to regenerate itself from severed limbs, with the tail that burrowed itself underground is able regenerate a whole new King Ghidorah.

In the millemum era of Godzilla films, Ghidorah only made 2 appearences, though remained a fixture of the Godzilla franchise, always appearing as Godzilla’s rival, but not exclusively as a villain. In 2002, Ghidorah made his heroic debut in “Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack” as one of three mystical guardians alongside Mothra & Baragon, who are charged with defending Japan from disaster. In this version however, he actually sports two forms, his first form lacking any wings, and achieving his 2nd more popular form through Mothra’s sacrifice. In 2004’s “Godzilla Final Wars”, we are introduced to a new monster known as “Monster X”, whom during the final battle of the film transforms into a new iteration of the 3 headed dragon known as “Keizer Ghidorah”. This version sporting 4 legs and a black and gold design, though he doesn’t last very long.





In Netflix’s trilogy of anime films, a particularly shiny version of Ghidorah was depicted as a being of pure energy that used its gravitational powers to feed off entire planets. This version is even worshipped as a deity by the alien Exif, furthering Ghidorah’s tendency of working with alien sinister alien races.





Finally, we’ve arrived at the “MonsterVerse” with King Ghidorah making his American film debut in “Godzilla: King of the Monsters”. In this iteration, King Ghidorah appeared as an ancient alien “Titan” that re-emerged after being buried in Antarctica for millenia. Once freed; whereever he flies; he brings with him a powerful hurricane. Specifically a Category 6 hurricane, even though such a measure doesn’t exist. Also unlike the Japanese films, each one of Ghidorah’s three heads has a distinct personality, and are constantly seen throughout the movie butting heads with each other (no pun intended). In an interesting inversion of Ghidorah’s real-world origins, Yamata no Orochi, the key inspiration for Ghidorah, is hinted at being a real separate monster in this film. Thus it’s not out of the realm of possiblity that a future confrentation with his original inspiration could happen, should the Monsterverse continue. After Ghidorah grows back his other 2 heads of course.

Godzilla has faced off against some incredible adversaries over the years, from giant apes to robot doppelgangers and a whole lot in between. But without any doubt, King Ghidorah is the Big Guy’s most enduring and iconic foe. He’s taken several forms over the years, but you can always bet that he’ll be big, golden, three-headed and absolutely ready for a fight.