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Who is King Ghidorah? The cosmic connections of Godzilla Minus Zero's foe
The three-headed Kaiju's origins aren't just space-based; one of the largest structures in the universe shares its name.
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Godzilla goes toe-to-toe with long-time foe King Ghidorah in Godzilla Minus Zero, which opened in theaters on Friday (Nov. 6). Though the three-headed golden Kaiju might seem like a natural native of Monster Island, King Ghidorah actually emerged from the depths of space.
However, it isn't just the origins of King Ghidorah — also known as Monster Zero in the Godzilla movie Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965) — that are this beast's only cosmic connection. One of the largest structures in the universe, the King Ghidorah Supercluster, was named in honor of Godzilla's primary antagonist.
King Ghidorah is a three-headed, twin-tailed golden dragon from the stars, first introduced in the fifth Godzilla movie, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964).
In this first appearance, part of the Shōwa era (1964–1975) of Godzilla history, Ghidorah ravaged Venus, wiping out its population 5,000 years before arriving on Earth encased within a highly magnetic meteorite. Ghidorah was bested this first time by Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra.
Undeterred, Ghidorah returned for a rematch just a year later in Invasion of Astro Monster (1965), after being discovered supposedly terrorizing the inhabitants of Planet X, a world found beyond Jupiter. In this movie, it is revealed that Ghidorah is less a king and more a pawn, under the control of calculating Xiliens as part of a plan to subjugate Earth. This will become a theme.
Freed from that control, Ghidorah returns to deep space, once again falling under the thrall of an alien race in 1968's Destroy All Monsters.This movie sees Ghidorah hold its own against a who's who of kaiju, eventually succumbing to the combined might of Godzilla, Minilla, Mothra, Rodan, Manda, Gorosaurus, Anguirus, Kumonga, Baragon, and Varan.
Even with three gravity-beam-blasting heads, that is hardly fair!
Ghidorah returned with some backup for a final time in the Shōwa era in 1975's Godzilla vs. Gigan. This time, Ghidorah and his tag-team partner Gigan (who resembled a giant one-eyed space chicken) were under the control of cockroach-like Nebulans. Getting mind-controlled three times is just embarrassing!