Several kaiju villains might have been able to fight Godzilla in Toho’s movies, but wouldn’t be any match for him at all in the MonsterVerse. In over 60 years of cinematic history, the Japanese pop culture icon has dispatched more than his fair share of enemies. For one reason or another, more than a dozen monsters have gone against him – and lost.
Legendary’s interpretation of Godzilla, on the other hand, has a much shorter list of wins. So far, he’s only beaten two MUTOs, King Ghidorah, and Kong. However, how he’s portrayed in the MonsterVerse makes it abundantly clear that he’s far and away the most powerful version of Godzilla ever put to the big screen. Even so, he has a lot of unused villains from Toho’s movies who could give him a great deal of trouble. Kaiju like Biollante, Destoroyah, SpaceGodzilla, and Gigan could easily be reimagined as formidable MonsterVerse villains. Unfortunately, though, some of his villains don’t have that same potential. Here’s seven Toho monsters who wouldn’t last long against Godzilla in the MonsterVerse.
7 Megaguirus
A super-sized prehistoric dragonfly, Megaguirus is a one-time adversary of Godzilla. Her species’ ability to steal energy from Godzilla would give her a valuable weapon at her disposal, but she’d need more than that to hold her own against him. Not unlike the male MUTO in the 2014 Godzilla movie, Megaguirus could be a hard target to hit at first, but she’d have to get close eventually. Doing so would likely result in her downfall, though, which is exactly what happened to the Toho version in Godzilla vs. Megaguirus. A point-blank blast of atomic breath would be difficult to withstand for a dragonfly Titan.
6 Kumonga
Before becoming a supporting hero by helping take on Ghidorah in Destroy All Monsters, Kumonga was a Godzilla villain. In terrorizing Minilla on Monster Island in Son of Godzilla, Kumonga inadvertently picked a fight with the King of the Monsters. Unsurprisingly, the giant spider had bitten off more than he could chew, as he lacked the physical might to match blows with Godzilla. His only real weapon was his webbing, which he tried to use to immobilize Godzilla. That tactic wouldn’t be of much use in the MonsterVerse; Godzilla should be able to get past it with his atomic breath, which is noticeably more potent than what he had in the Showa era.
Of course, that’s not to say that Kumonga wouldn’t work in the MonsterVerse. As a massive spider, he would make for an interesting addition but is hardly main villain material. The MonsterVerse would be better served taking inspiration from his Destroy All Monsters role by making him one of Godzilla’s allies against a greater Titan threat.
5 Kamacuras
In addition to beating Kumonga, Godzilla had to get past the Kamacuras in Son of Godzilla. In the 1967 film, it was discovered that a species of giant praying mantis called Kamacuras dwells on Monster Island. In one action sequence, Godzilla had to take down three of them. With their slender bodies, the insect monsters failed to overcome Godzilla (even though they had him outnumbered.) Similar to the situations with Kumonga and Ebirah, A mantis Titan would be an interesting sight in the MonsterVerse, but wouldn’t have any better chance of beating Godzilla than its Toho counterpart.
4 Ebirah
The titular villain of Ebirah, Horror of the Deep was a sea lobster kaiju who patrolled a small island. Despite being Godzilla’s main opponent, the creature didn’t provide that much of a challenge in the film. Godzilla beat him twice without that much difficulty and disposed of him with ease in Godzilla: Final Wars as well. That’s actually not surprising, considering that a giant lobster doesn’t conjure the image of an all-powerful, terrifying beast. However, the idea of a creature like Ebirah existing in the MonsterVerse isn’t far-fetched. The thought of him pushing Godzilla to his limit, though, is another matter altogether.
3 Gabara
Universally regarded as one of the franchise’s worst installments, All Monsters Attack told a story about the dreams of a young child. The antagonist of his Godzilla-centric fantasies was Gabara, a monster that served as the physical manifestation of his school bully. Later media, including comics and the Godzilla: Singular Point anime, established Gabara as a real monster in the Godzilla franchise. Singular Point even showed that he can work when taken seriously. Even so, the MonsterVerse using the All Monsters Attack villain is extremely unlikely in any case.
Despite the changes that have been made to the monster, Gabara has struggled to escape his reputation as the silliest monster in Godzilla’s rogues’ gallery, and it would take even more changes to justify the the monster being a force to be reckoned with in the MonsterVerse. All things considered, a MonsterVerse version of Gabara, even with the Singular Point character’s Kong-like agility, wouldn’t have what it takes to hold off a colossal powerhouse like Godzilla.
2 Titanosaurus
In Terror of Mechagodzilla, Godzilla had to contend with the duo of Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus, a peaceful, aquatic kaiju mind-controlled by the villains of the film. Titanosaurus was vicious in his attacks on Godzilla, but due to the monster’s pacifistic nature, the fish-eating kaiju simply wasn’t built for fighting the King of the Monsters. This should also apply to the MonsterVerse’s Titanosaurus. After all, any potential rival to Godzilla would have to be a fellow alpha Titan and another apex predator. Titanosaurus may be formidable in his own right, but he doesn’t fit that bill.
1 Battra
Debuting in Godzilla vs. Mothra, the 1990s Godzilla villain was characterized as the evil counterpart of Mothra. Boasting a power level similar the benevolent Toho icon, Battra was locked in an ancient conflict with Mothra. In the movie, Godzilla wound up becoming a third party in their battle. Battra was perceived as a threat to the world, but apparently, Godzilla was an even bigger concern. This was demonstrated by the twist in the film where Mothra and Battra actually put aside their differences to stop him. It took their combined strength to win, but Battra lost his life in the process.
There’s no indication that a MonsterVerse incarnation of Battra would fare any better. Mothra was powerful enough to prevail against Rodan, but clearly wasn’t quite on the same level as Godzilla and Ghidorah in Godzilla: King of the Monsters. If Mothra is too weak to challenge a monster of Godzilla’s caliber, it stands to reason that the same would be the case for Battra, especially since they’re commonly viewed as two sides of the same coin.
