An Easter egg in Godzilla: King of the Monsters revealed that an iconic battle from a 1960s Toho Godzilla movie happened in the MonsterVerse’s history. It’s well-known that Godzilla and Ghidorah clashed thousands of years ago (and in several of Toho’s movies), but apparently that wasn’t the only fight the two have had before their encounter in Antarctica in King of the Monsters. It would seem that in at least one of their past confrontations, they weren’t alone.
The third MonsterVerse movie expanded on its Godzilla lore and his rivalry with Ghidorah by explaining that the two have known each other for several millennia. Though the exact circumstances behind their original meeting haven’t been spelled out, it’s been established that the MonsterVerse’s ancient humans witnessed the alien Titan Ghidorah crash-landing on Earth. At some point, he wound up in Antarctica, where he engaged in a heated showdown with Godzilla that he ultimately lost. Following his defeat, Ghidorah remained frozen in ice until he was thawed out by King of the Monsters’ villains.
A scene in Godzilla: King of the Monsters pointed to a different battle between the two Titans taking place in the MonsterVerse’s ancient history. One of the walls in Godzilla’s underwater Hollow Earth city shows Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan all lined up on one side in a faceoff with Ghidorah. What’s particularly interesting about this reveal is that this highly specific scenario was the focus of a previous Godzilla movie. Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan fought as a trio against Monster Zero in Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster, which was the latter’s movie debut and Godzilla’s first-ever meeting with Rodan. In the 1964 classic, the larval form of Mothra interrupted a fight between Godzilla and Rodan to recruit them for the battle with Ghidorah. Albeit reluctantly, the two teamed up with Mothra and drove Ghidorah away.
The wall mural in King of the Monsters strongly indicates that the MonsterVerse has its own version of this fight, with the only notable difference being that Mothra had already matured when they took on King Ghidorah, a.k.a. Monster Zero. The idea that the same four kaiju that fought in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster battled it out (on the same sides as their Toho counterparts, no less) raises questions about what set this in motion. It’s possible that like the events that unfolded in the original movie, Mothra was the one who united the Titans against Ghidorah. Since the MonsterVerse’s Ghidorah is portrayed as an outsider whose existence threatens the ecosystem on a global scale, the Earth’s natural-born Titans may have taken a stand against him. As for Rodan, he may have fought on Godzilla’s side if Godzilla was the alpha during this period.
Regardless of what caused Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra to team up on Godzilla: King of the Monsters’ Ghidorah in the MonsterVerse’s past, it’s likely that the result was essentially the same as Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster’s ending, where the villain was forced to escape. Obviously, the MonsterVerse’s Ghidorah didn’t suffer a final defeat, since he met Godzilla again in Antarctica. But it’s hard to imagine him coming out on top, especially when taking consideration the odds he was up against. Instead, it makes sense that Ghidorah staged a retreat. The combined forces of Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra may have been too much for him to handle. Either way, this Easter egg means that even though audiences were denied a chance to see this iconic Godzilla moment play out onscreen, it’s still a part of the MonsterVerse mythos.