10 Best Godzilla Franchise Monsters
5. Mechagodzilla
Humanity’s misguided attempt to fight fire with fire, Mechagodzilla is a cyborg doppelgänger for the big lizard packed full of Kaiju countermeasures and deadly sci-fi weaponry. He is also remote-controlled and prone to malfunction, never getting through an entire movie without turning on his controllers and humanity at large.
Mechagodzilla has seen various upgraded versions over the years and is usually more than a match for Godzilla in the beginning before he is outsmarted, overpowered, or breaks free from whoever is controlling or piloting him and goes on a destructive rampage. Most recently he was the reason for Godzilla and Kong to stop punching each other and finally team up to take down the greater threat.
Most Monstrous Moment: After Kong is defeated by Godzilla and Godzilla is neutralised by Mechagodzilla, the two reluctantly call a truce and unite to fight the seemingly unstoppable cyborg together in Hong Kong. (Godzilla vs Kong)
Recommended for you: Godzilla vs Kong Review
4. Destoroyah
Destoroyah, the result of mutated sea life due to military efforts to kill the original Godzilla with the Oxygen Destroyer, ends up being one of the biggest threats to both the King of the Monsters and the human inhabitants of Earth he is in fragile equilibrium with.
The final film in the Heisei era took some massive swings with having Godzilla going into meltdown and giving him an antagonist that constantly evolves and adapts to his opponent’s attacks, transforming from a horde of pissed off human-sized crustaceans to something colossal that looks like a combination of a lobster, a dragon and Satan.
Most Monstrous Moment: Destoroyah is the absolute worst because midway through the final battle he kills Godzilla’s juvenile son by dropping him from a great height. (Godzilla vs Destoroyah)
3. Hedorah
His appearance as a pile of silver sludge with red eyes might not be all that inspiring, but Hedorah was one of the best metaphors Godzilla ever fought. He’s an alien who feeds on pollution and grows in size and strength the longer he spends in Japan’s smog-shrouded cities.
Political Godzilla is the best Godzilla and so the end of the hippie flower power era gave birth to the evils of industrialisation in monster form. This enemy was so destructive, durable and effective at neutralising Godzilla’s usual attacks that the big scaly dude had to learn to fly using his atomic breath just to keep up.
Most Monstrous Moment: In a constant state of flux and mutation, Hedorah re-emerges from the ocean and takes to the sky in his manta ray/flying saucer form. You can almost see Godzilla do a double-take in horror. (Godzilla vs Hedorah)
