Godzillahas a massive selection of antagonists, but only a few stick around to become his sworn enemies. The classic Toho series pits the King of the Monsters against everything from a giant beetle with drills for hands to a towering mutated plant with an alligator’s mouth. Most of his foes are one-and-done, while a few stick around for a few repeat appearances. King Ghidorah stands as Godzilla’s archnemesis. The mighty three-headed dragon once returned for a rematch with cybernetic enhancement to become Mecha-King Ghidorah.
One of the most interesting choices in the modern Monsterverse is the decision to makeKing Kong Godzilla’s longtime nemesis. Of all the creatures he could maintain an endless beef with, he picks the one Titan who’s a pretty decent guy. The logical explanation is that the writers needed a justification forGodzilla vs. Kongand a headbutting hero dynamic for the sequel. Plus, Kong is practically the only foe that can survive facing Godzilla more than once. In any case, Godzilla has considerably nastier threats to tangle with.
First Appearance Date
December 14th, 1991
Mecha-King Ghidorah is the resurrected and cybernetically-enhancedcorpse of King Ghidorah. Ghidorah made his debut in the Heisei era of the franchise in 1991’sGodzilla vs. King Ghidorah. It’s a fascinating film about Godzilla’s place in the world and the efforts to remove him from it. The human narrative follows the people of 1992 encountering a group of time travelers from 2204. They explain that Godzilla will soon destroy Japan and that the only way to save the nation is to prevent Godzilla’s birth. A combined effort of 20th century and 23rd century professionals remove the dinosaur that would become Godzilla from the Bikini Atoll before the H-bomb test that would irradiate him. The 23rd century scientists replace Godzilla with three genetically modified dragon infants to create King Ghidorah. The Futurians reveal that they lied about Godzilla. Theyactually traveled back in timeto prevent Japan becoming a tyrannical global superpower by unleashing King Ghidorah upon them. Without Godzilla, Japan seemed doomed.
Luckily, Godzilla is inevitable. The Japanese government arms a submarine with nukes to restore Godzilla, but they find that the King of the Monsters is already ready to go.Humanity’s trifles with nuclear violencewill always create a Godzilla. It’s human nature to build bigger and bigger bombs, and Godzilla will always be the living embodiment of the consequences. Godzilla mutated sometime during the Cold War after eating a Soviet nuclear submarine. As he emerges, he consumes the Japanese submarine and becomes more powerful than ever. His newfound power allows him to stroll casually into Japan and destroy King Ghidorah. The Futurians and the people of the 20th century realize that Godzilla could be an existential threat, prompting one 23rd-century voice to suggest a new solution. Emmy Kaho quickly travels back to 2204, finds Ghidorah’s comatose body, and fits it with cybernetic enhancements. Kaho brings Mecha-King Ghidorah back to 1992 to defeat Godzilla with a remote-controlled kaiju.
What happened to Mecha-King Ghidorah?
Despite Mecha-King Ghidorah’s considerable cybernetic enhancements, his return was short-lived. Mecha-King Ghidorah fought one battle against Godzilla, which ended as badly as they usually do for him. Emma Kaho controls Mecha-King Ghidorah, possibly accounting for some of the monster’s poor performance. An initial exchange of laser blasts leaves Godzilla unharmed while damaging Ghidorah’s wings. Realizing the mismatch, Kaho tries to drag Godzilla away from Tokyo. Mecha-King Ghidorah attaches a pair of cables to Godzilla’s chest and takes flight. Over the Pacific,Godzilla unleashes a jetof atomic breath that sends them both crashing into the sea. Believing the job done, Kaho returns to the future. The film’s final shot sees Godzilla emerge from Mecha-King Ghidorah’s corpse. G-Force, the military branch concerned with fighting Godzilla, later finds Mecha-King Ghidorah’s corpse in the ocean. Reverse engineering the future technology, they use the knowledge to construct Mechagodzilla.
Could Mecha-King Ghidorah join the Monsterverse?
Fans may recall the idea of using Ghidorah to construct Mechagodzilla from the Monsterverse.InGodzilla vs. Kong, an evil company called Apex Cybernetics snags the remains of King Ghidorah’s left head. They wire the skull and brain to a massive glowing machine that works as a neural network. Through this absurd technology, a pilot controls the new Mechagodzilla. This scheme falls through as Ghidorah’s consciousness overpowers the pilot and takes command. Godzilla and Kong briefly put aside their differences to destroy the autonomous Mechagodzilla. Since the Monsterverse skipped straight to scrapping Ghidorah for parts, it’s very unlikely that they’ll bring Ghidorah back as Mecha-King Ghidorah. They could construct a fully robotic Ghidorah, but the three-headed dragon stars in theleast profitable Monsterverse movie, likely consigning the character to the dustbin.
Mecha-King Ghidorah is a fascinating idea that doesn’t stick around long. Most fans may recognize the character from the myriad of games, comics, and othermedia he appears in. Mecha-King Ghidorah supports the thematic qualities ofGodzilla vs. King Ghidorah. Even as humanity bends time to stop Godzilla, the King of the Monsters will always return and triumph.
