Which Toho monster – King Ghidorah or Mechagodzilla – is Godzilla’s best villain? The golden dragon has fought the King of the Monsters a total of seven times on the big screen, beginning with Godzilla’s first heroic outing in 1964’s Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, whereas Godzilla’s robotic counterpart first appeared in the penultimate film in the Showa series, 1974’s Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. Mechagodzilla has fought Godzilla five times, but is expected to make a sixth appearance in the MonsterVerse’s Godzilla vs. Kong.
Godzilla has a long list of villains in Toho’s library. There’s Ebirah, the giant crab that he encountered in Ebirah, Horror or the Deep in 1966. Gigan, a cyborg alien with hooked hands, gave the King of the Monsters a bloody thrashing in the 1970s. In the Heisei series, Godzilla crossed paths with Biollante, a menacing beast created from the DNA of a deceased girl, Godzilla himself, and a rose. In 1994, SpaceGodzilla became the only monster who Godzilla could never beat without help. There’s also Destoroyah, the last creature the 1990s Godzilla fought before his death. Other opponents Godzilla has clashed with over the years include Megaguirus, Orga, Titanosaurus, Megalon, and Hedorah.
However, none have the reputations of King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla, who easily take the two top spots as Godzilla’s best villains. There’s a question, though, of which monster between the two of them is the King of the Monsters’ greatest enemy. In Toho’s early movies, Godzilla always relied on assistance from other heroic kaiju to take down Ghidorah, but it’s important to keep in mind that in these films, particularly Destroy All Monsters, Toho didn’t offer Ghidorah much of a chance to prove himself, as he typically had the odds stacked against him. The only Toho film where the two were given a one-on-one showdown without any outside interference was in 1991’s Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. He provided a sufficient challenge to Godzilla, but was defeated twice.
Mechagodzilla has consistently been more dangerous to Godzilla than Ghidorah. His arsenal of high-powered missiles and laser-cannons have really pushed Godzilla to his limit in movies like Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. For the most part, Godzilla has his hands full when fighting the robotic kaiju. Godzilla was on the brink of death when he had his second brain penetrated by Mechagodzilla in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, and would have died if it wasn’t for a last-minute sacrifice from Rodan. One strike against him is that the monster had to team up with Titanosaurus and Mothra respectively to even rival Godzilla in Terror of Mechagodzilla and Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. Also, Mechagodzilla has only been a true "villain" in two movies.
Both monsters have distinguished themselves as Godzilla’s most powerful foes, but only one can be the best. Despite all the trouble that Mechagodzilla has thrown at Godzilla over the years, Ghidorah barely edges him out, thanks to Godzilla: King of the Monsters. The 2019 MonsterVerse movie made major improvements to Ghidorah and succeeded in delivering a character who felt like the ultimate antagonist for Godzilla. His alien origins became integral to the plot, and helped make him into a more interesting villain. In King of the Monsters, Godzilla’s struggle with Ghidorah was more difficult than ever before. The final battle where Ghidorah flew Godzilla into the sky and dropped him demonstrated just how ruthless and evil Monster Zero is. The incredible challenge he posed to the titular Titan forced Godzilla to depend on a new transformation to finally destroy him.
With all things considered, Ghidorah is arguably Godzilla’s best villain -- but Mechagodzilla is right behind him. It’s worth wondering if that will change when the MonsterVerse introduces its own take on Mechagodzilla in Godzilla vs. Kong.
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