King Ghidorah

Godzilla film series character
King Ghidorah
Alias	Ghidrah Monster Zero Thousand-Year Old Dragon
Height	49-140 meters
Weight	25,000 tons
Wingspan	93-175 meters
Abilities/Weapons	Flight Breath weapons Interplanetary Travel
Allies	Gigan (Shōwa era) Baragon/Mothra (Millennium series)
Major Enemies	Godzilla Rodan Mothra
First appearance	Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
Created by	Eiji Tsuburaya

King Ghidorah (キングギドラ, Kingu Gidora^?) (also known as King Ghidrah, King Ghidora and Monster Zero) is a kaiju, a fictional Japanese monster featured in several of Toho Studios' Godzilla films. Ghidorah appears as an armless, three-headed alien dragon with large wings and two tails.

Appearances

Shōwa series

Shōwa era:

• Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964): The monster travels to Earth in a magnetic meteorite, and devastates Japan until repelled by Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra.

• Invasion of the Astro-Monster (1965): Ghidorah is now the mind-controlled pawn of aliens from "Planet X", and refer to Ghidorah as "Monster Zero". The "Xians" covet Earth's water resources and also take control of Godzilla and Rodan in an attempt to conquer the planet. When Earth forces free Godzilla and Rodan, the pair drive Ghidorah off into space.

• Destroy All Monsters (1968): Set in the future, Ghidorah is controlled by the alien Kilaaks. The monster is eventually killed by Godzilla and several other monsters.

• Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972): Set in the present day, Ghidorah teams with fellow monster Gigan until both are driven away by Godzilla and Anguirus.

Heisei series

Heisei series:

• Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991): Time-travelers from the 23rd century (called "Futurians") travel to the past to release three genetically-engineered creatures called "Dorats" at the location at which a Godzillasaurus was to be exposed to radiation and become Godzilla. The irradiated Dorats subsequently fuse into King Ghidorah, which the Futurians then use to devastate present-day Japan. Godzilla eventually battles and cripples Ghidorah, with the wounded monster falling into the ocean. The Futurians, however, locate Ghidorah in the future, and using advanced technology create the cyborg "Mecha-King Ghidorah". The monster battles Godzilla to a standstill, before both disappear into the ocean.

Millennium series

Millennium series:

• Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001): Godzilla again attacks Japan and is repelled by the combined might of the guardian monsters (Baragon, Mothra, and Ghidorah) and the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

• Godzilla: Final Wars (2004): Godzilla defeats every monster ever encountered before battling "Monster X", a disguise for a version of "Keizer Ghidorah".

Other Appearances

The monster also featured in two films in the Mothra trilogy, both of which involved time-travel and different versions of Ghidorah:

• Rebirth of Mothra (1996): A version of Ghidorah, referred to as "Desghidorah" (or Death Ghidorah) appeared as a black, quadrupedal, three-headed extraterrestrial dragon. Freed from imprisonment in a prehistoric cave, the creature battles both an adult and larvae form of Mothra before being entombed once again.

• Rebirth of Mothra III (1998): Ghidorah appears in a more traditional form known as "Grand King Ghidorah" and battles Mothra Leo, who undergoes several transformations to match the monster.

In other media

Television

Ghidorah appeared in two episodes of the tokusatsu superhero TV series, Zone Fighter (1973).

Video games

Godzilla: Monster of Monsters (1989, Nintendo Entertainment System), Godzilla 2: War of the Monsters (1992, Nintendo Entertainment System), Super Godzilla (1993, Super Nintendo Entertainment System), Godzilla: Battle Legends (1993, Turbo Duo), Godzilla Trading Battle (1998, Playstation), Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee (2002, Nintendo GameCube and Xbox. Released in Japan in 2002 as Godzilla: Domination! for the Game Boy Advance), Godzilla: Save the Earth (2004, Playstation 2 and Xbox), Godzilla: Unleashed (2007, Playstation 2 and Wii. Also released in 2007 as Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash for the Nintendo DS).

Abilities

King Ghidorah possesses strength and durability commensurate with the creature's size. Ghidorah is also capable of flight, with the creature's wings generating hurricane strength winds. The creature also possesses several breath weapons (e.g heat and energy).

External Links

• Toho Kingdom - fan site