70 years ofGodzillafilms make for a truly titanic number of kaiju that appear across the franchise. Some of those monsters are friends of humanity, some are foes, and some go back and forth, but most importantly, they all fight. Kaiju battles are some of the most spectacular parts of these films, and that’s true whether you’re a fan of the modern CGI-based Monsterverse films or the classic tokusatsu films of the Showa and Heisei eras (especially with theirsillier Godzilla stories).
Of course,Godzilla has the best fight record of any kaiju, butplenty of other monsters have had some impressive wins over the years. On the other hand, there are a few always-losers: the floppy-eared Baragon, overgrown shrimp Ebirah, the bug-like Megalon,Godzilla: Final Wars' menacing Monster X, and the plant-kaiju hybrid Biollante all failed to eke out even a single on-screen victory. As we wait for morenews about Studio Toho’s next Godzilla film, we can look back and see how every kaiju’s win count tallies up.
1Godzilla
42 Wins (Plus 6 Monsterverse Wins)
The Big G himself has, of course, the best win record, and well he should considering that most of the movies have his name in the title. While some foes have gotten the best of Godzilla on occasion (namely King Kong, Mothra, and Ghidorah),Godzilla is usually the one to get the final blow, even against the fiercest opponents.
Although he doesn’t always win, Godzilla hasan astounding 75% win rateacross his appearances in the Japanese films. He also came out on top far more often than not in the Monsterverse movies, with six wins and only one loss in eight kaiju battles.
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
Godzilla and Rodan vs. Ghidorah
Ebirah: Horror of the Deep (1966)
Son of Godzilla (1967)
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Godzilla and Anguirus vs. Ghidorah and Gigan
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
Godzilla and Jet Jaguar vs. Gigan and Megalon
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)
Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994)
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah, Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
Godzilla vs. Ghidorah and Mothra
Godzilla vs. Anguirus, King Caesar, and Rodan
Godzilla vs. Hedorah and Ebirah
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
Godzilla and Kong vs. Mechagodzilla
Godzilla and Kong vs. Skar King and Shimo
2MechaGodzilla
7 Wins (+ 1 Monsterverse Win)
The mechanical mirror-match menace has had a solid win record over the years, especially in its first appearance, 1974’sGodzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, whereit managed to break Angurius' jaw, beat Godzilla down, and knock King Caesar out. That film’s direct sequel,Terror of Mechagodzilla, saw the mecha-monster soundly defeated, although it first teamed up with Titanosaurus to give Godzilla a good thrashing.
Mechagodzilla didn’t return until the 1993 Heisei-eraGodzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II,this time as a machine built by the Japanese defense forces. The “good” Mechagodzilla won its first match against Big G and also took down Rodan, but that resulted in a burst of energy that recharged Godzilla and got him back on his feet for an explosive knockout.
Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus vs. Godzilla
3Mothra
6 Wins (+1 Monsterverse)
One of Godzilla’s oldest opponents,Mothra has fought both against and alongside the King of Monsters many timesover the years. She’s helped him defeat Ghidorah in the originalGhidorah, The Three-Headed Monster, but also fought alongside Ghidorah against Godzilla in 2001’sGiant Monsters All-Out Attack. Most often, though, Mothra’s contribution to fights is to sacrifice herself, as she did in bothGodzilla: Final WarsandGodzilla: King of the Monstersto take an opposing kaiju down and give Godzilla the opening (and sometimes power-up) he needs to finish the fight.
Mothra (larvae) vs. Godzilla
Mothra, Godzilla, and Rodan vs. Ghidorah
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
Mothra (larva) and Battra (larva) vs. Godzilla
Mothra and Battra vs. Godzilla
Mothra (larvae) and Mechagodzilla vs. Godzilla
4Ghidorah
2 Wins (+ 2 Monsterverse Wins)
For a kaiju introduced as an intergalactic threat,Ghidorah has had surprisingly few successful fights across all of his incarnations. In the originalGhidorah, The Three-Headed Monster, he was initially defeated by Mothra’s larval form, and while he did survive the final fight of the film to fly away, it was not his finest victory. His reappearance inInvasion of Astro-Monstersaw him repeatedly lose to Godzilla and Rodan fighting together, and when he showed up to help inGodzilla vs. Giganhe lost again.
Even his greater form, King Ghidorah, lost to GodzillainGodzilla vs. King Ghidorah, and his cybernetically enhanced Mecha-King Ghidorah form in the film’s final fight only managed a tie. His Kaiser Ghidorah form, the secret final foe ofGodzilla: Final Wars, also failed to claim victory.
In the Monsterverse films, Ghidorah was more effective, and knocked Godzilla out almost immediately after being awoken by Alan Jonah’s eco-terrorists inGodzilla, King of the Monsters. Their subsequent underwater duel was interrupted by the detonation of the Oxygen Destroyer, although Godzilla had the upper hand until the end. In the film’s final fight, Ghidorah did manage to obliterate Mothra, but that only allowed her energy to infuse Godzilla with enough power that he could tear Ghidorah apart.
Ghidorah vs. Godzilla and Rodan
5King Kong
1 Win (+ 2 Monsterverse Wins)
When King Kong and Godzilla first faced off in 1962’sKing Kong vs. Godzilla, kaiju films were still a new thing, and the inclusion of the United States' only contender meant that the nascent Godzilla fandom had high hopes for how the King of the Monsters would perform. Unfortunately,the film is effectively a wash; Godzilla wins the first fight in the movie, but the concluding rematch is a technical point for Kong, who tackles Godzilla off a cliff into the ocean and is the only one seen to swim away.
The lizard and the apesomehow didn’t tangle again until the Monsterverse films slammed them back together. 2021’sGodzilla vs. Kongsaw Big G beat Kong to the brink of death, but the intervention of Mechagodzilla, possessed by the lingering spirit of Ghidorah, forced the foes to stand together. This time, it was Godzilla who provided the assist, infusing Kong’s mighty axe with his atomic breath so that Kong could decapitate the corrupted machine. The sequel,Godzilla x Kong: The Final Empire, saw the pair team up again to fight the Scar King, another simian kaiju who Kong literally shattered.
King Kong and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
6Rodan
2 Wins
Like Mothra,Rodan is one of Godzilla’s earliest peers, and a kaiju that got his own movie to star in before being relegated to B-list status in Godzilla’s rogue’s gallery. He first appeared inGhidorah, The Three-Headed Monster, where he fought Godzilla to a draw before being convinced by Mothra to help defeat Ghidorah.
Rodan also helped Godzilla defeat Ghidorahtwice inInvasion of Astro-Monster, and then didn’t appear again until the 199xGodzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, where Rodan first got taken out by Godzilla, then powered up into his Fire Rodan form and lost to Mechagodzilla. He also tried taking Godzilla out along with Angurius and King Caesar inGodzilla: Final Wars, but failed.
Rodan’s Monsterverse incarnation has never won a fight, and appeared inGodzilla: King of the Monsters. He tangled with Ghidorah amid the storm and was sent crashing into the ocean; acknowledging Ghidorah as the stronger Titan, he then sided with the three-headed monstrosity against Godzilla and Mothra, but even a wounded Mothra proved to be stronger, and she pinned him to a ruined building for the rest of the fight.
Rodan, Mothra and Godzilla vs. Ghidorah
Rodan and Godzilla vs. Ghidorah
7SpaceGodzilla
One of Godzilla’s vilest foes, SpaceGodzilla may have been created when some of Godzilla’s cells – carried into space either by Mothra or by the disintegrated components of the plant-kaiju hybrid Biollante – were swallowed up by a black hole and mutated into a strange, crystalline entity.This twisted clone of Godzillaappeared in 1994’sGodzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, first defeating the United Nations defense mecha M.O.G.U.E.R.A. in Earth orbit, then landing on Birth Island, where he overpowered Godzilla, trapped Little Godzilla in a crystal, and then flew off to feed on the power of Fukuoka Tower.
M.O.G.U.E.R.A.’s pilots managed to repair it and take the fight back to SpaceGodzilla in Fukuoka, butthe beast was able to fend it off until Godzilla arrived. Together, they were eventually able to weaken SpaceGodzilla enough that Godzilla was able to finish him off with his powerful red spiral ray.
SpaceGodzilla vs. Godzilla and Little Godzilla
8King Caesar
1 Win
With a design evoking the ancient guardian lions of Okinawan mythology, King Caesar’s first appearance was the originalGodzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, where he was the initial target of the machine servant of the dread inhabitants of Black Hole Planet 3.Mechagodzilla defeated King Caesar soundly in their initial battle, but Godzilla’s appearance leveled the playing field, and eventually the duo were able to defeat the horrible machine.
King Caesar returned inGodzilla: Final Wars, where he was one of the many kaiju used by the Xiliens to subjugate humanity. After cutting a swath of destruction across Okinawa, he was teamed up with Rodan and Angurius to defeat Godzilla, but the trio together wereno match for the King of Monsters.
King Caesar and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
9Hedorah
This strange, amorphous alien from the Dark Gas Nebula arrived on Earth in 1971’sGodzilla vs. Hedorah, feasting on the copious pollution produced by human industry in order to grow more powerful. Godzilla and Hedorah clashed repeatedly as the alien creature continued to find sources of pollution to feed on, finally growing into a massive, vaguely humanoid sludge pile. The two kaiju clashed near Mt. Fuji, and the fully-grownHedorah was able to beat Godzilla into unconsciousness.
Unfortunately for the sludge monster, human ingenuity won out, as an electric trap had been set to stun the creature. The trap initially failed when a fuse blew, but it distracted Hedorah long enough for Godzilla to awaken and recharge the trap,dehydrating Hedorah and allowing Godzilla to rip it apart.
10Anguirus
Anguirus was Godzilla’s first non-human foe, appearing in 1955’sGodzilla Raids Again. The two kaiju first clashed on Iwato Island, knocking each other into the sea with no clear victor. Their rematch in Osaka saw a clear victory for Godzilla, who first ripped Anguirus' throat out with his teeth and then blasted him with atomic fire. He also helped Godzilla in the tag-team fight inGodzilla vs. Gigan, evening the odds when Ghidorah appeared to help Gigan. His brief appearance in the firstGodzilla vs. Mechagodzillasaw him trounced by the mechanical menace from space.
Anguirus and Godzilla vs. Gigan and Ghidorah
