In the decades that he's been on screen, Godzilla has faced a multitude of different monsters. Sometimes are evil, while others act as benevolent protectors. Some stick around for a while, but most usually vanish forever after the credits roll.

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Whatever the case, the Godzilla universe is home to some of the greatest giant monsters in all of science fiction. They've challenged the King of the Monsters time and time again, and while most aren't successful, some of them leave a lasting impression on the series.

Updated on November 13th, 2021 by Ben Hathaway: With the release of Godzilla vs. Kong, there are now several more kaiju to add to the Godzilla enemies roster.

Kamacuras

Son of Godzilla Kamacuras

Arguably the most basic of Godzilla's foes, Kamacuras is nothing more than a massive praying mantis. Initially introduced in Son of Godzilla, Kamacuras (and the spider Kumonga) is a suitable antagonist for one of the franchise's lighter films.

While if it were placed against some of the series' later monsters it wouldn't last long, Kamacuras has intimidating scythe legs that give Godzilla and his son, Minilla, a couple of sharp cuts. A human would certainly want to avoid it if forced to reside on its island.

Battra

Battra flying in Godzilla vs. Mothra

Essentially Mothra's counterpart, Battra only appeared in 1992's Godzilla vs. Mothra yet still made an impact on the franchise. It is an intimidating creature with a phenomenal, fearsome design (both in terms of its larvae stage and final stage).

While it's seemingly just an antagonistic version of Mothra, Battra is much more. It's a powerful monster because it can put its rage aside and work with its mortal enemy to bring down a greater threat. The laser beams that can come out of its eyes also help make Battra a force to reckon with.

Titanosaurus

Titanosaurus monster in Terror of Mechagodzilla

A monster with a memorably bizarre appearance, Titanosaurus was a one-and-done monster as well as the final Kaiju introduction in the Showa series.

Even with Mechagodzilla by its side, the aquatic dinosaur Titanosaurus couldn't hold a candle to Godzilla's strength. With its greatest power being a waving, webbed tail, the beast was at a natural disadvantage compared to both Godzillas' atomic beams. It's actually mentioned several times in Terror of Mechagodzilla that Titanosaurus is a docile creature (hence a lack of genetic defense mechanisms), but its brawn does make it capable of a solid punch if not an outright win.

Hedorah

Hedorah

Hedorah just looks like he hurts. He's a towering, angry molten glob of pure terror and ranks amongst Godzilla's strangest enemies. Actually, it's mostly toxic waste, which Hedorah exudes in addition to his remarkably powerful combat moves.

The monster debuted in the not surprisingly titled Godzilla vs. Hedorah and has proven to be one of the most difficult opponents for Godzilla in the Toho films. Hedorah is Japanese for 'mud,' which is apt considering that Godzilla had a difficult time getting a hold on him.

M.U.T.O.

The MUTOs touching heads in Godzilla 2014

The M.U.T.O. kicked off the reincarnated MonsterVerse Godzilla films in 2014, which was a bold move considering they were a brand new creation for the film.

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The M.U.T.O. proved very powerful, with a pair of them nearly defeating Godzilla in the streets of San Francisco with their strength and cunning. If Godzilla hadn't defeated them both, there would have been thousands (or perhaps millions) of the scary things running around.

Monster X

Monster X is one of the more frighteningly powerful modern monsters Godzilla has faced off against. This three-headed creature with a genetic link to the supremely powerful Ghidorah debuted in Godzilla: Final Wars.

With a bony carapace and insane strength, Monster X handed Godzilla some of his most painful beatdowns. Also, he took a nuclear bomb point-blank and didn't seem to have much to complain about afterward, safely qualifying him as one of the stronger Godzilla baddies to ever hit the screen.

Rodan

Rodan gets slept on sometimes, which is strange, considering Rodan is one of Godzilla's oldest and most powerful enemies. Any creature that can fly and generate shockwaves strong enough to flatten cities deserves some respect.

Rodan has been fighting Godzilla since 1964, though he debuted in another unrelated film in 1956. Rodan also featured heavily in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, where his powers got amplified to terrifying effect.

King Kong

Kong with his ax on Hollow Earth

The main event in the Godzilla vs. Kong movie. Some might quibble whether King Kong is actually a Godzilla opponent, but they've appeared together before and will likely continue to even after the MonsterVerse movie.

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King Kong is strong enough to knock down buildings and rip apart giant snakes, putting him high on any list of monsters. In his most recent incarnation, his size and strength have been increased considerably, no doubt to match that of Godzilla.

Anguirus

Godzilla King of the Monsters Anguirus

Anguirus is Robin to Godzilla's Batman. Always there when Godzilla needs him, he was a common sidekick in the Showa era. While he was first introduced as Godzilla's enemy, Anguirus seemed to patch things up with the big G and decided to fight on his side. With a back covered in sharp spikes, Anguirus is difficult to attack from behind, and Godzilla often bounces enemies off of it for added damage.

But while Anguirus may be a trusted ally, he's pretty useless by himself. Without any ranged attack, his ability to hold his own is limited, and if a monster ever manages to kick him onto his back, his belly is left exposed to potential damage. Still, despite enduring the most damage out of any of Godzilla's allies, he keeps coming back to help his buddy time and time again.

Gigan

Gigan waves his razor hands around from Godzilla vs Gigan

With a pair of curved blades for arms and a saw in his belly, Gigan is a mishmash of different monsters thrown together. Part machine and part animal, Gigan's body doesn't make a whole lot of sense. But Gigan is still considered one of the toughest foes of the 1970s.

Gigan is pretty much a giant Swiss Army Knife. He has a laser that he shoots out of his forehead, he can pull enemies into his spinning blade, and he can fly. Sadly, Gigan is one of the more arrogant monsters of the Godzilla universe, and it is here where he often meets his demise.

Megalon

Megalon stands in front of the landscape from Godzilla vs Megalon

Another Swiss Army Monster, Megalon can seemingly do anything he wants. He can fly, and burrow underground. He has a pair of spinning drills for arms. The thing that sticks out of his head shoots lightning bolts. He looks like a cockroach from hell and was sent by a group of underground humans to conquer the world.

But even with everything going for him, he still needs Gigan to help him fight off Godzilla and Jet Jaguar. And he still managed to lose. Much like Gigan before him, Megalon was simply not cunning enough to withstand Godzilla and his allies.

Biollante

Godzilla and Biollante

Part plant, part Godzilla, and part human, Biollante makes Audrey II look like a daisy. The result of a freak accident at a lab, Biollante begins life as a rose, before morphing into a freakish monster that takes root in Tokyo bay. Despite her ugliness, she's actually an ally to mankind, who's possessed by the spirit of a girl who died in a bombing.

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Biollante's mouth is full of hundreds of razor-sharp teeth, and she spits an acid that melts flesh. She also has an army of Venus Flytraps that can extend as long as she needs them. They can sprout out of the water and hold an enemy down, or pull them into her jaws. While Godzilla was too much for her to bear, the spirit that occupied her continues to live on.

Space Godzilla

Space Godzilla clone Biollante Toho

Another creature born who is part Godzilla, Space Godzilla was created when some of Godzilla's skin cells were accidentally carried into space by Mothra. The result was a creature equal to Godzilla in almost every way, with the addition of psychic abilities that put him a cut above his earth-born counterpart.

Space Godzilla can pick up and throw things with his mind, including Godzilla, and he was able to spawn crystal pits that give him power. He could also levitate and fly in order to get to where he needs to be. In the end, though, Godzilla and G-Force's Moguera unit made quick work of this Godzilla wannabe, and his potential was ultimately wasted.

Mecha-King Ghidorah

Mecha King Ghidorah Godzilla

A Frankenstein-like monster, combining pieces of the dead King Ghidorah with mechanical parts, Mecha-King Ghidorah is the most advanced and powerful mech of the Heisei era. Created in the 23rd century, the cyborg was sent back almost three hundred years in the past to prevent the destruction of Japan by Godzilla.

Combining advanced, almost otherworldly technology with Ghidorah's size and strength, Mecha-King Ghidorah was the best of both worlds. In addition to firepower from three heads and powerful grapples that were strong enough to restrain anything, Mecha-King Ghidorah could have been the death of Godzilla himself. And while he was defeated, his mechanical remains were used by G-Force to build Mechagodzilla.

Destoroyah

Created by the oxygen destroyer that killed the first Godzilla in 1954, Destoroyah is the grim reaper of the Godzilla series. Appearing around the same time that Godzilla was dying, Destoroyah threatened to end the human race with his army of crab-like minions. And with Godzilla's death threatening to cause the apocalypse, Destoroyah's spawn could've replaced the human race as earth's dominant species.

Able to break himself down into smaller versions of himself, Destoroyah is a threat on every level. His arsenal of attacks includes a horn that could turn into a katana, able to slice through anything and everything. Not even Godzilla could kill Destoroyah, and he defeated, it was a hollow victory.

Mechagodzilla

There have been three incarnations of Godzilla's robotic doppelganger in the live-action Toho films. The first from 1974 was built by space aliens to take over the world. The second was created by G-Force using the remains of Mecha-King Ghidorah. And the third, sometimes called Kiryu, was brought to life using DNA from the 1954 Godzilla. But no matter who built him, Mechagodzilla has remained one of Godzilla's most formidable foes. Possessing state-of-the-art weaponry like missiles, lasers, and jetpacks, Mechagodzilla has everything he needs to tame his adversaries. While Godzilla usually beats him in the end, there have been more than a few times when Mechagodzilla has come close to toppling the King of the Monsters for good.

A new incarnation of Mechagodzilla also appeared in 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong. In that film, it was a weapon designed by Apex Cybernetics to kill Godzilla, Kong, and the rest of the Titans. It's particularly driven to kill Godzilla, considering it was partially crafted with Ghidorah's skull. This also means that it was a version of Mechagodzilla that was controlled by neither man nor alien, it was essentially a sentient organism.

King Ghidorah

Godzilla's arch-nemesis, Ghidorah is the Joker of the Godzilla universe. A three-headed dragon of otherworldly origins, Ghidorah appears and re-appears regularly to give Godzilla a good thrashing. Perhaps the biggest of the Godzilla Kaiju, he towers over all those who oppose him.

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His wings generate hurricane-force winds, his serpentine necks can asphyxiate his victims like a boa, and each head shoots yellow lightening. But it's the sound he makes that stands out the most, a telltale laugh that makes it seem as though he's mocking his opponents.

Mothra

While not indestructible, Mothra is easily the smartest and most cunning creature in the Godzilla universe. Possessing human-like emotion and empathy, she's able to easily outsmart her attackers, exploiting gaps in their judgment to bring down even her toughest adversary.

Mothra's greatest asset of all is her sense of duty. Sent to protect the earth from potential harm, Mothra is willing to do whatever it takes to complete her mission, even if that means sacrificing her life, a feat that most monsters are unwilling or unable to do. And while she may not live to see another fight, her legacy lives on in her offspring, who go on to take her place. Mothra is an iconic Kaiju because she manages to be complex.

Godzilla

Godzilla 1954 Criterion Collection art

As iconic and resilient as Mothra is, she still isn't the Big G. Godzilla is iconic for one reason: his seemingly unlimited power. No matter how many ways the atomic behemoth is "killed," he comes back. Depending on the film (or era), he can be a 400-foot tall Jason Voorhees with little motivation outside cause chaos.

The monster's powers stay in place when combatting another monster, and it's almost always enough to win out in the end. The exception would be Destoroyah, who came very close to destroying Godzilla. Even still, it takes him dying from the inside to even come close to being bested by another monster.

NEXT: 10 More Awesome Kaiju Movies That Don't Feature Godzilla