King Ghidorah (GtTHM)

King Ghidorah キングギドラ (Kingu Gidora) is a three-headed dragon created by Toho that first faced Godzilla in the 1964 Godzilla film, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.

Name
King Ghidorah's name is composed of "King" キング (Kingu) and "Ghidorah." The "Ghidorah" part of King Ghidorah's name comes from the Japanese word for "hydra" ヒドラ (Hidora), which is spelled very similarly to the Japanese katakana for Ghidorah.

King Ghidorah was referred to as either "Ghidrah" or "Ghidorah" in the American versions of his first three movies, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Invasion of Astro-Monster and Destroy All Monsters, presumably because they sounded more like "hydra." He wasn't referred to as "King Ghidorah" in an original American release of one of his movies until Godzilla vs. Gigan.

In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, the guardian monster Ghidorah's name is spelled in kanji but pronounced the same: 魏怒羅 (Gidora). When Ghidorah is revived to fight Godzilla again, he is now known as King Ghidorah.

Appearance
King Ghidorah is a golden dragon monster with two legs, three heads on long necks, giant bat-like wings, and two tails. King Ghidorah's multiple heads were inspired by Yamata no Orochi, an eight-headed dragon from Japanese mythology. King Ghidorah was brought to life on the movie screen by a stunt actor inside an elaborate three-piece suit, with a team of puppeteers to control the suit's many appendages. His design was mostly created by Eiji Tsuburaya based on a minimal description in the script: "It has three heads, two tails, and a voice like a bell."

Personality
King Ghidorah does not have much of a developed personality because he is under someone's control in most of his appearances. The only times he was not under mind-control throughout most of the film were Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Rebirth of Mothra III, and Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. He temporarily was free of mind-control in Invasion of Astro-Monster, Godzilla vs. Gigan and Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. In each instance, he became confused due to no longer receiving commands from his masters and was overwhelmed by Godzilla and his allies, eventually trying to retreat. It seems that each of King Ghidorah's heads can think for themselves separately, although the middle head appears to be dominant. In Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, King Ghidorah was said to be evil, and he destroyed civilizations on several planets for reasons unknown. He tried destroying Earth and its civilizations, but he fought the three monsters that got in his way and retreated eventually. In Rebirth of Mothra III, King Ghidorah caused the extinction of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period, then returned to Earth in the modern day to feed on humanity. In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, King Ghidorah is one of the Guardian Monsters, being the God of the Sky. King Ghidorah was a protector of Japan, making Ghidorah a protagonist for the first, and so far, only time.

Origins
King Ghidorah has traditionally been depicted as an evil destructive creature from outer space, although his origin has varied throughout his appearances.

In the Showa series, King Ghidorah is an alien dragon said to have attacked Venus under his own power many thousands of years ago, wiping out the planet's entire civilization. He later attacked Earth, but was repelled by Earth's monsters. At some point, he was taken control of by the Xiliens and used as a pawn in their invasion of Earth. King Ghidorah was destined to be taken control of by different alien races, losing his history on the way. The Garogas later claimed to have created King Ghidorah, but whether this is true or not is never definitively explained, given the monster's ancient history.

In Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, King Ghidorah is part of a scheme by time-traveling terrorists known as the Futurians to destroy Japan in the past to prevent it from becoming a global economic superpower. He is the result of the Futurians placing three genetically-engineered creatures from the future called Dorats on Lagos Island in the year 1944. In 1954, the Dorats were exposed to the Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb test conducted at nearby Bikini Atoll, which caused them to merge and mutate into King Ghidorah. According to the novelization of the film, the Dorats were engineered using DNA recovered from the corpse of another King Ghidorah found on the surface of Venus, suggesting that like in the Showa series King Ghidorah is originally an alien creature, but the one created by the Futurians is simply a clone of him.

In Rebirth of Mothra III, King Ghidorah, a more powerful relative of Desghidorah, arrived on the Earth millions of years ago and caused the Cretaceous extinction. He returned to Earth in the present in order to feed off of humans, especially children.

In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, King Ghidorah is reinvented as a heroic monster for the first, and so far only, time. In this film, King Ghidorah is the God of the Sky and one of the three Guardian Monsters, along with Mothra and Baragon. An ancient Yamata no Orochi, an eight-headed dragon from Japanese mythology, King Ghidorah was slain by Japanese warriors thousands of years ago and laid to rest underneath Mount Fuji. The warriors prayed for King Ghidorah's soul, and over the next several centuries he slowly regenerated, empowered by the souls of Japan's honorable dead. However, he was awakened before he could grow back all eight of his heads, instead growing only three.

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
Thousands of years ago, King Ghidorah attacked the planet Venus, eradicating the planet's advanced civilization and rendering Venus an uninhabitable wasteland. The few Venusians that survived the monster's attacks fled to Earth, where they interbred with the native humans and gradually began to lose their identity.

In the present day, a meteor shower was visible in the skies above Earth, with one meteor crashing down in the Kurobe Valley in Japan. A scientific team led by Professor Murai traveled to the valley to examine the meteor, which exuded a strange glow and even produced its own magnetic field that fluctuated in strength. After several days of study, Murai and his colleagues observed that the meteor was actually growing in size. One day, the meteor began producing an extremely powerful magnetic field before splitting open and launching a ball of fire into the sky above. The fireball exploded several times before finally taking the form of King Ghidorah, having come to do to to Earth what he did to Venus in the past. King Ghidorah flew over Japan, leveling cities effortlessly with his gravity beams. As the cosmic terror approached the Mount Fuji area, Mothra tried to convince her fellow Earth monsters Godzilla and Rodan to cease their fighting and join forces against King Ghidorah. The monsters refused, forcing Mothra to take on King Ghidorah by herself. King Ghidorah blasted the larva with his gravity beams, arousing the anger of Godzilla and Rodan, who finally entered the battle. While King Ghidorah was more powerful than the three monsters individually, he was no match for their combined might, and was beaten into submission and covered in a silken cocoon. As Godzilla pelted King Ghidorah with boulders and threw him off a cliff, King Ghidorah finally retreated and flew back into the void of outer space.

Invasion of Astro-Monster
When astronauts Fuji and Glenn arrived on the newly-discovered Planet X, they encountered an intelligent and technologically advanced alien race called the Xiliens. The Xiliens' leader, the Controller of Planet X, explained that his people lived in constant terror due to the attacks of a horrific space monster known as Monster Zero. The Controller showed the two a video feed of the creature, revealing it to be none other than King Ghidorah. The Controller explained that he knew Godzilla and Rodan drove off King Ghidorah when the monster attacked Earth, and asked that his people be allowed to "borrow" the two monsters to fight off King Ghidorah on Planet X. When the two astronauts returned to Earth and received the support of the world's leaders, the Xiliens reveled themselves, having already been operating on Earth in secret. The Controller apologized for the secrecy, but thanked Earth's leaders and ordered the Xiliens' UFOs to transport Godzilla and Rodan to Planet X, with Glenn, Fuji and their superior Dr. Sakurai accompanying them to oversee the mission. When the monsters were placed on Planet X, King Ghidorah flew overhead and attacked them. Godzilla and Rodan joined forces again, and managed to force the space monster to retreat. The Controller remarked that this was a triumphant day for Planet X, and provided Glenn and Fuji with a tape he claimed contained the cure for cancer. The Controller sent the astronauts on their way, keeping Godzilla and Rodan on Planet X.

When the astronauts returned to Earth, they found the tape was actually an ultimatum demanding that Earth surrender to Planet X and become a colony. King Ghidorah had actually been under the Xiliens' control the entire time, and now both Godzilla and Rodan had become their pawns as well. When humanity refused to surrender, the Xiliens released the mind-controlled Godzilla, Rodan and King Ghidorah on Earth to destroy its major cities. Thankfully, Fuji and several Earth scientists discovered a device capable of breaking the aliens' control over the monsters. The device was activated, while the J.S.D.F. assaulted the Xiliens' hidden base. The Xiliens lost their control over the monsters, while their forces were defeated by the J.S.D.F. When Godzilla regained consciousness, he woke up Rodan and the two attacked King Ghidorah once again. During the battle, Rodan grabbed Godzilla and carried him in the air, slamming into King Ghidorah and sending all three monsters plummeting into the sea below. After a few moments, King Ghidorah flew out of the water and retreated back to outer space, while Godzilla and Rodan disappeared beneath the waves.

Destroy All Monsters
When the crew of the Moonlight SY-3 destroyed the device the Kilaaks were using to control Earth's monsters, Godzilla and his fellow monsters assembled near the Kilaaks' base at Mount Fuji, preparing to assault it. The Kilaaks proceeded to unleash their trump card, King Ghidorah, to defend their base. King Ghidorah descended and attacked the Earth monsters, managing to hold his own against several opponents. Anguirus bit down on King Ghidorah's neck, causing him to take flight and send Anguirus falling to the Earth. King Ghidorah landed and stomped Anguirus into the dust, then reentered battle against Godzilla and his allies. Anguirus, undeterred, got back up and attacked King Ghidorah again. As King Ghidorah battled Godzilla and his allies, Gorosaurus landed a devastating kangaroo-kick on his back, knocking him to the ground. Godzilla proceeded to stomp on King Ghidorah's necks, causing him to cough up blood. Minilla fired a smoke ring that choked King Ghidorah's remaining head and caused it to fall limp to the ground. When Godzilla found the Kilaaks' base and destroyed it, it caused a huge fissure to open in the ground, with King Ghidorah's lifeless body falling into it. With King Ghidorah defeated for good and the alien invasion thwarted, Godzilla and the other monsters returned to Monsterland to live out their days in peace.

Godzilla vs. Gigan
As part of their plan to conquer the Earth, the M Space Hunter Nebula Aliens took control of King Ghidorah and allied him with their own cybernetic monster, Gigan. Controlling the two monsters from the Godzilla Tower located in World Children's Land, the Nebulans unleashed Gigan and King Ghidorah in Tokyo. The space monsters razed the city and withstood all of the J.S.D.F.'s attempts to stop them, leaving humanity helpless. Thankfully, Godzilla and Anguirus became aware of the invaders' scheme, and swam to Tokyo to battle Gigan and King Ghidorah. However, King Ghidorah and his cybernetic ally proved to be more than a match for the Earth monsters. Godzilla was badly wounded by Gigan's hook-tipped appendages and the Godzilla Tower's laser beam, leaving Anguirus at the mercy of both space monsters. Fortunately, a group of humans managed to destroy the Godzilla Tower, severing the Nebulans' control over Gigan and King Ghidorah and leaving them confused. Godzilla and Anguirus regrouped and assaulted their foes once more, seizing the upper hand. Gigan eventually retreated, allowing Godzilla and Anguirus to double-team King Ghidorah. Godzilla held King Ghidorah still from behind while Anguirus rammed him with his spiky carapace. King Ghidorah soon retreated as well, leaving Godzilla and Anguirus victorious and the Earth safe once again.

Zone Fighter
King Ghidorah was taken control of by an evil race of aliens called the Garogas, who claimed to also be his creators, and was deployed to Earth. While on Earth, King Ghidorah was confronted by Zone Fighter, who defeated the space demon after a vicious struggle. King Ghidorah managed to escape with his life, something few of Zone Fighter's enemies, not even Gigan, managed to do.

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
Planning to destroy Japan in the past and prevent it from becoming a corrupt economic superpower by the 23rd century, a group of time-traveling terrorists known as the Futurians traveled to 1992 Japan and claimed that Godzilla would return to destroy Japan in the near future, rendering the nation uninhabitable in the future. The Futurians assembled a team of Japanese citizens and traveled to Lagos Island in 1944, where it was believed a Godzillasaurus would later be exposed to the Castle Bravo H-bomb test conducted at nearby Bikini Atoll in 1954 and transform into Godzilla. The Futurians teleported the Godzillasaurus to the Bering Sea, where they believed it would die, and in its place secretly left behind three genetically-engineered creatures called Dorats. In 1954, the Dorats were exposed to the H-bomb test and merged together into King Ghidorah, who was taken control of by the Futurians in 1992 and unleashed against Japan.

King Ghidorah first attacked Fukuoka, tearing the metropolis apart with his gravity beams. The Futurians demanded that the Japanese government surrender to them and follow their demands for rebuilding the country. The government, unwilling to comply, sent a nuclear submarine owned by a private corporation to the Bering Sea, believing the Godzillasaurus was still dormant there and could be transformed into a new Godzilla by the sub's torpedos. Instead, the sub was intercepted en route by Godzilla, who was never actually erased from the timeline in the first place. Godzilla fed on the submarine's radiation, curing his Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria infection and causing him to grow to 100 meters in height. Godzilla came ashore in Hokkaido, much to the Futurians' irritation. The Futurians sent King Ghidorah to kill Godzilla, and the two titans battled near Hokkaido. King Ghidorah seemed to have the upper hand, until Emmy Kano and her android M11, defectors from the Futurians, assaulted their comrades' ship MOTHER and destroyed the computer controlling King Ghidorah. King Ghidorah was stunned, allowing Godzilla to knock him to the ground and sever his central head with his spiral breath. Emmy used MOTHER's subship KIDS to teleport MOTHER in front of Godzilla, who promptly destroyed it with his atomic breath. King Ghidorah tried to fly away, but Godzilla blasted out his wings with his atomic breath and caused him to fall into the North Sea. The empowered Godzilla began a new rampage across Japan, leaving the nation helpless. Emmy believed that King Ghidorah could be revived with technology from her time so long as his corpse was preserved by the cold water, and traveled back to 2204 in KIDS.

Mecha-King Ghidorah
When Emmy discovered King Ghidorah's comatose body in 2204, she outfitted the beast with cybernetic enhancements, including a mechanical central head, metal wings and a metal chest containing electrical capture cables and a machine hand. Emmy and M11 took control of the new Mecha-King Ghidorah メカキングギドラ (Meka Kingu Gidora) and traveled back to 1992 Tokyo, where Godzilla had reached the heart of the city. Mecha-King Ghidorah attacked Godzilla with its advanced new weapons, subduing him with its capture cables and machine hand. Mecha-King Ghidorah flew out over the sea with Godzilla, only for him to blast out Mecha-King Ghidorah's wings and send them both plummeting into the ocean. Emmy and M11 escaped the mech inside of KIDS and teleported back to 2204, leaving Godzilla defeated, but still very much alive.

Cretaceous King Ghidorah
King Ghidorah's younger form, Cretaceous King Ghidorah 白亜紀キングギドラHaku Aki Kingu Gidora, first arrived and attacked the Earth 130 million years ago in the Cretaceous period. Cretaceous King Ghidorah quickly caused the KT extinction event, exterminating the dinosaurs and almost every other life form on the planet and feeding on their life forces. Cretaceous King Ghidorah then encased himself within a meteor and left the Earth, using the life-essence of the creatures he had destroyed to live as he traveled through space. However, Mothra Leo managed to transform into Light Speed Mothra and travel back to the Cretaceous period and attack Cretaceous King Ghidorah while he was still on Earth. King Ghidorah's younger form was still more than a match for Leo, shredding both of his wings and mortally wounding Leo before being dropped into a volcano and seemingly killed. Unbeknownst to Leo, one of King Ghidorah's tails was severed in their battle, and burrowed underground to hide and regenerate.

Modern Type King Ghidorah
130 million years later, Cretaceous King Ghidorah arose again as Modern Type King Ghidorah 現代型キングギドラ (Gendai-Gata Kingu Gidora). King Ghidorah came to Japan in a meteor to feed on humans, mainly children, but he soon started to eat adults. King Ghidorah built a dome in the Mount Fuji area where he kept his victims and absorbed their life forces. Rainbow Mothra heard of this monster, and he quickly took action to defeat it. Even with all of Rainbow Mothra's power, King Ghidorah quickly defeated him. Rainbow Mothra touched down nearby, but was healed and transformed into Light Speed Mothra by his priestess Moll and traveled back to the Cretaceous period to defeat King Ghidorah's younger form. When Leo returned to the present day, King Ghidorah had vanished and it appeared he had been victorious. However, King Ghidorah reappeared in the sky and resumed his reign of terror, having regenerated from the tail Leo had left behind millions of years ago. Leo was reborn as Armor Mothra and engaged King Ghidorah in battle again, this time proving to be the more powerful combatant. Armor Mothra sliced off King Ghidorah's wing with his own razor-sharp wing then completely destroyed him with a powerful laser beam.

Godzilla Island
In Episodes 6-15, the Xilien Zaguresu controls the monsters into fighting against each other and sends King Ghidorah to Earth. The humans break the mind-control, but most are too injured to continue fighting. Godzilla and Rodan battle King Ghidorah and all three monsters are knocked off the cliff. King Ghidorah lay at the bottom of the ocean, but Zaguresu zapped him with her beam and revived him. He battled furiously against Godzilla, who's atomic ray did nothing. Godzilla finally went down, but Torema unleashed a psychic wave that knocked King Ghidorah back. Godzilla fired his ray again, and this time King Ghidorah could feel it. She eventually weakens from an attack from Zaguresu earlier and King Ghidorah continues his fight with Godzilla. Godzilla eventually gains the upper hand, biting one of King Ghidorah's necks. King Ghidorah tries to fly away but Godzilla bites on King Ghidorah's leg. King Ghidorah uses all of his strength to free himself, even lifting Godzilla into the air, and eventually breaks free and flies away.

Ghidorah
Thousands of years ago, King Ghidorah, an eight-headed dragon known as a Yamata no Orochi, was slain by ancient Japanese warriors and laid to rest in the forests around Mount Fuji, with the warriors praying for his soul so that he would rise again one day to defend Japan. In 2002, the still-regenerating Ghidorah 魏怒羅 (Gidora), who had only grown back three of his eight heads, was discovered dormant underground by a suicidal man. Hirotoshi Isayama, a prophet attempting to revive Japan's ancient Guardian Monsters to stop Godzilla, traveled to Ghidorah's grave and channeled the souls of Japan's honorable dead to revive him. King Ghidorah rose and traveled to Yokohama, where his fellow guardian Mothra was battling Godzilla. Ghidorah arrived and bit Godzilla, electrocuting him through his bite. Godzilla swatted Mothra aside with his tail and bit down on Ghidorah's necks before slamming him onto a building. Before Godzilla could finish Ghidorah with his atomic breath, Mothra flew in front of the beam and was blasted away. Godzilla turned his attention to the J.S.D.F., attempting to wipe out their battleships with his atomic breath. Mothra tried to surprise Godzilla from behind, but was vaporized by his atomic breath.

Thousand-Year-Old Dragon, King Ghidorah
Mothra's energy flowed into the unconscious Ghidorah, reviving him as the Thousand-Year-Old Dragon, King Ghidorah 千年竜王 (Chitose ryūō). King Ghidorah took flight and surrounded himself with an energy shield, which deflected Godzilla's atomic breath. King Ghidorah launched his energy shield at Godzilla, blasting him out of the harbor and into the ocean. King Ghidorah flew over the water and kicked Godzilla when he surfaced, only for Godzilla to drag him underwater. As the monsters battled beneath the waves, the Satsuma attempted to fire a D-03 Missile at a wound on Godzilla's neck, but it struck King Ghidorah's neck instead and rendered him unconscious on the sea floor. Godzilla swallowed the Satsuma whole and surfaced, destroying a suspension bridge and sending Yuri Tachibana and her friend falling into the water. Yuri dropped a sacred stone into the water, which revitalized King Ghidorah and allowed him to fly out of the water. King Ghidorah blasted Godzilla with his golden gravity beams, but Godzilla managed to absorb them into his. Godzilla fired a powerful blast of atomic breath wrapped in a golden spiral, which obliterated King Ghidorah in a single hit. King Ghidorah's spirit, along with the spirits of Mothra and Baragon, flowed into Godzilla and caused him to sink. The Satsuma then fired a D-03 Missile from inside Godzilla that expanded Godzilla's neck wound. When Godzilla surfaced and fired his atomic breath, it fired out of the wound and caused him to fall back underwater. As the Satsuma floated out of Godzilla, Godzilla charged his beam one more time, only for it to cause him to explode. When the Satsuma surfaced, Taizo Tachibana exited the submarine and saluted the sacrifices of the J.S.D.F. soldiers and the Guardian Monsters that had died to stop Godzilla.

Godzilla 2
On July 26, 2014, King Ghidorah was confirmed to be appearing in Godzilla 2, along with Mothra and Rodan.

Abilities
King Ghidorah has had a number of changes made to himself over the years, but most of his traditional battle characteristics have remained the same. His different forms in the different movies have their own abilities.

Flight
King Ghidorah is able to fly up to speeds of mach 3 in the Earth's atmosphere. He exceeds this speed while flying through space. In Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster and Rebirth of Mothra III, King Ghidorah can encase himself within a meteorite while traveling from planet to planet. In Godzilla vs. Gigan he encases himself in a large diamond-like structure while traveling through space. In Rebirth of Mothra III, King Ghidorah is able to fly even with the loss of one of his wings using a zero gravity field.

Gravity Beams
King Ghidorah's most famous ability is the golden lightning bolt-like gravity beams he spits from his three mouths. These beams are roughly equal in power to Godzilla's atomic breath, and are capable of causing large-scale explosions when fired at buildings. King Ghidorah's younger form from Rebirth of Mothra III, Cretaceous King Ghidorah, spit fireballs from his mouths instead of gravity beams.

Hurricane Winds
King Ghidorah can produce hurricane-force winds by flapping his wings, which are capable of blowing away buildings and knocking other kaiju off their feet.

Constricting Necks
In Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, King Ghidorah constricted his necks around Godzilla in an attempt to strangle him, causing him to foam at the mouth.

Durability
King Ghidorah is usually portrayed as being extremely durable and resistant to damage, often to an extent close to Godzilla. He withstands conventional weaponry with no noticeable effect, and can even shrug off point-blank blasts from Godzilla's atomic breath. In Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, he survives having his middle head decapitated and his wings shredded, and remains alive but comatose for over 200 years laying on the sea floor. In Rebirth of Mothra III his mature form cannot be damaged at all by Mothra Leo's attacks until the latter transforms into Armor Mothra. In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, King Ghidorah's durability is reduced, but he still survives being knocked out by Godzilla multiple times and withstands multiple blasts from his atomic breath.

King Ghidorah tends to use his durability to his advantage, as he often prefers to escape from a battle that he can't win before he suffers more injuries than necessary.

Regeneration
In Rebirth of Mothra III, King Ghidorah is shown to have regenerated his entire body from a severed tail that was cut off by Rainbow Mothra in the past.

Barrier
In Rebirth of Mothra III, King Ghidorah's scales can manipulate the light from projectiles to form a protective barrier.

Electric Bolts
In Rebirth of Mothra III, King Ghidorah can shoot six bolts of electricity from each of his wings.

Dome
In Rebirth of Mothra III, King Ghidorah is able to create a dome that allows objects to pass through, yet has a corrosive effect when they try to leave. The dome's exterior is laced with tentacles that pull outside victims inside. Living creatures inside the dome slowly have their life-force drained and transferred to King Ghidorah.

Teleportation
In Rebirth of Mothra III, King Ghidorah can teleport smaller beings inside his dome.

Mind Control
In Rebirth of Mothra III, King Ghidorah can install a weak mind control on other beings susceptible to it.

Electric Bite
In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, Ghidorah can release a strong electric shock through his bite. After absorbing Mothra's power and becoming King Ghidorah, this ability is replaced by his traditional gravity beams.

Energy Shield
In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, after absorbing Mothra's energy, King Ghidorah can form a golden round energy shield that deflects Godzilla's atomic breath. King Ghidorah can release this energy shield and send it colliding with the ground, which will cause a massive explosion.

Magnetic Powers
In Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, while encased in the meteorite, King Ghidorah had the ability to generate what appeared to be magnetic fields that varied in strength from time to time. While it was never stated directly what purpose they served, it was stated that they were somehow connected to its powers. It seems possible that King Ghidorah used them as a form of levitation. In the Game Boy Advance video game Godzilla: Domination!, the space monster King Ghidorah has two new, never-before-seen fighting abilities: first, the ability to emit devastating magnetic beams from his mouth, and second, the ability to produce a powerful magnetic pull around him which will draw nearby monsters closer and injure them. King Ghidorah is able to maintain the presence of his magnetic pull for roughly ten seconds before halting the attack and needing to recharge in order to reuse the attack.

Filmography

 * Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
 * Invasion of Astro-Monster
 * Destroy All Monsters
 * Godzilla vs. Gigan
 * Zone Fighter
 * Terror of MechaGodzilla (Stock Footage)
 * Bye-Bye Jupiter (Stock Footage)
 * Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
 * Adventure! Godzilland (Animated Segments)
 * Recommend! Godzilland
 * Godzilla Island
 * Rebirth of Mothra III
 * Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
 * Godzilla 2

Video Game Appearances

 * Godzilla vs. 3 Giant Monsters
 * Gojira-kun
 * Godzilla (Gameboy)
 * Godzilla: Monster of Monsters
 * Battle Soccer: Champion of the Field
 * Super Godzilla (also Mecha-King Ghidorah)
 * Godzilla, King of the Monsters (also Mecha-King Ghidorah)
 * Godzilla (Arcade) (also Mecha-King Ghidorah)
 * Godzilla: Battle Legends (also Mecha-King Ghidorah)
 * Godzilla: Great Monster Battle
 * Godzilla: Giant Monster March (also Mecha-King Ghidorah)
 * Godzilla: Archipelago Shock
 * Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!!
 * Godzilla Movie Studio Tour
 * Godzilla: Trading Battle (also Mecha-King Ghidorah)
 * Godzilla Generations
 * Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee (also Mecha-King Ghidorah)
 * Godzilla: Domination! (also Mecha-King Ghidorah)
 * Godzilla: Save the Earth (also Mecha-King Ghidorah)
 * CR Godzilla 3S-T Battle
 * Godzilla: Unleashed (Wii and PlayStation 2, also Mecha-King Ghidorah)
 * Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash (also Mecha-King Ghidorah)
 * Godzilla: Pachislot Wars
 * Godzilla: Monster Mayhem
 * CR Godzilla: Descent of the Destruction God
 * Godzilla On Monster Island
 * Godzilla: The Game (also Mecha-King Ghidorah$GTHM$)
 * Godzilla: Kaiju Collection (also Mecha-King Ghidorah)
 * Ace Combat Infinity (Tokyo Martial Law online mission)

Godzilla: Unleashed
Height: 120 meters Weight: 80,000 tons

"If Gigan is the hammer of the Vortaak invasion forces, then King Ghidorah is the anvil. King Ghidorah is the most physically powerful monster in the universe, and blends immense size, incredible strength, and near invulnerability into a unified engine of monstrous destruction. The Vortaak often hesitate to deploy King Ghidorah at all, lest he demolish their enemies and leave nothing to subjugate. King Ghidorah is at home in the vacuum of space, and travels between planets under his own power. King Ghidorah's wings allow him to fly in Earth's atmosphere, though his great mass hinders his aerial mobility. He naturally generates intense electrical energy that he unleashes as a powerful Triple Gravity Beam from his three heads. Despite all this, King Ghidorah's greatest ability is his asset to withstand damage-all known forms of attack splinter against his thick golden scales."

Godzilla: The Game
King Ghidorah appears as a boss on multiple levels, and an ending boss on the final level of some paths. King Ghidorah is one of the most powerful in the game. He attacks using his gravity beams, flying kick and melee attacks. He will approach Godzilla quickly by flying through the air and firing his gravity beams. He appears as a playable character in the PS4 version.

Moveset

 * Square
 * One tap: Pincer Bite
 * Two taps: Three Headed Bite
 * One tap (Mid Air): Bite Kick
 * Triangle
 * Tap: Three Headed Attack
 * Tap (Mid Air): Rotation Attack
 * X
 * Tap: Jump
 * Hold: Fly
 * Tap (Mid Air): Land
 * Circle
 * Tap: Gravity Beam
 * Down + Tap: Wind Gust
 * Roar + Tap: Triple Discharge
 * R2
 * Tap: Windstorm

Kaiju Guide
King Ghidorah, the Super Monster from Outer Space This fearsome space monster destroyed a once highly developed civilization on Venus in mere days, earning it the name "Venus Hellfire" by the Venusians. It absorbs solar heat and cosmic rays with its golden wings and converts them into energy. It arrived on Earth via a meteor that landed in Kurobe Gorge. It began to ravage Tokyo, shooting gravitational rays out of the mouths of its three heads. Mothra, who sensed this brutality and the crisis facing Earth, convinced its former foes Godzilla and Rodan to intercept King Ghidorah at the foot of Mt. Fuji.

In the Heisei series film, "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah" (1991), King Ghidorah appeared in the form of a super dragon, an artificial lifeform equipped with a genetic mutation system and created by the Futurians before being warped back to the 20th century to fight Godzilla. Later, King Ghidorah became a mechanical cyborg.

In the Millennium series movie "Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack" (2001), it appeared as "Ghidorah," on of the three sacred guardian monsters who protected Japan that had been stuck in hibernation under Mt. Fuji for 10,000 years, Once its energy was fully restored, it transformed into its complete form, the "Thousand Year Dragon King".

The original King Ghidorah was a full-body costume at first, with a blue body and iridescent wings. However, some of the crew mistakenly thought it was supposed to be golden, and special-effects director Eiji Tsuburaya liked the idea so much he gave the word, having the crew change the color right before filming. As the arch-enemy of Godzilla, King Ghidorah had a costume that required 25 people to operate its three heads and two tails.

■ Specifications ● Original Height: 100 meters Weight: 30,000 tons Abilities: Gravity beam Shockwaves from its wings Appearances: "Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster" "Invasion of Astro-Monster" "Destroy All Monsters" "Godzilla vs. Gigan"

● Second Generation Height: 140 meters Wingspan: 150 meters Weight: 70,000 tons Abilities: Gravity beam Shockwaves from its wings Appearances: "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah"

● Third Generation Height: 50 meters Wingspan: 93 meters Weight: 25,000 tons Abilities: Gravity beam Electric bolts it shoots into adversaries as it bites them Appearances: "Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack"

Godzilla, King of the Monsters
In this manga produced by Kodansya Comics, King Ghidorah is the first opponent Godzilla faces in the second and final volume, although he first appears in Volume 1 approaching Earth with Neo Gigan. He was either resurrected or acquired by Doctor Oniyama and utilised as one of the many in his collection, being named as King Ghidorah III, indicating that both the Showa and Heisei King Ghidorahs are present in the manga's continuity. King Ghidorah III fought Godzilla viciously, but was defeated after Godzilla tore off his auxiliary necks. King Ghidorah is also one of the genetic donors for King Godzilla, and his auxiliary necks and heads form King Godzilla's arms.

The Godzilla Comic Raids Again
King Ghidorah appeared in the The Godzilla Comic Raids Again manga, being used by the Xiliens to take over Earth. Before reaching Earth, King Ghidorah encounters Biollante, who later becomes a King Ghidorah clone.

Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters
King Ghidorah was featured in IDW's Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters, where he is portrayed as an ancient monster. In issue #8, he was revived after a young Asian monk performed a suicide ritual in order to revive the monster. Upon awakening, King Ghidorah flew to combat Godzilla in Washington, D.C. In the ensuing battle, King Ghidorah was beaten when knocked down by Godzilla. In a later issue, he briefly participated in a battle between Godzilla and MechaGodzilla. In the following three-way battle, Steven Woods fired MechaGodzilla's special weapon at both King Ghidorah and Godzilla, knocking out both monsters in the process. King Ghidorah did not appear again in the series and is presumed to be dead.

Godzilla: Gangsters and Goliaths
King Ghidorah later appeared in three issues of the mini-series Godzilla: Gangsters and Goliaths. Here, it is shown that King Ghidorah is a resident of Monster Island along with Godzilla, Mothra, Anguirus, and Battra.

Godzilla: The Half-Century War
King Ghidorah appears in Godzilla: The Half-Century War, where he and Gigan were lured to Earth via a transmitter made by rogue Anti-Megalosaurus Force scientist Dr. Deverich. The device had already summoned SpaceGodzilla to Earth by accident, and soon enough, King Ghidorah and Gigan picked up the signal and headed to Earth. Upon making landfall in 2001, the duo proceeded to destroy half the world in a year. By 2002, the Anti-Megalosaurus Force had developed a weapon called the Dimension Tide, a device that could open miniature black holes. The AMF planned to use it on the alien duo and Godzilla himself. The two aliens were lured to Antarctica, soon were involved in a four-way battle between themselves, Kiryu, and Godzilla. At the fight's climax, the Dimension Tide fired and opened a miniature black hole. King Ghidorah and Gigan were soon sucked into the hole, with a heavily-damaged Kiryu following in suit shortly afterwards.

Godzilla: Rulers of Earth
King Ghidorah returns as Mecha-King Ghidorah in issue #15 of Godzilla: Rulers of Earth. In issue #16, the Cryog leader Rhizon recalls discovering the badly wounded body of King Ghidorah following his earlier battle with Godzilla and MechaGodzilla. Rhizon ordered Gigan to slice off Ghidorah's middle head so that he could replace it with a mechanical head that gave him control over the entire monster.

In issue #24, it was revealed by Rhizon in a flashback that the Cryogs' homeworld was destroyed by King Ghidorah, and that the race's emperor, Karkaro, fled the planet when King Ghidorah arrived, prompting Rhizon to seize control of the planet.

Godzilla: Cataclysm
King Ghidorah appears in Godzilla: Cataclysm Issue 1 locked in battle with Godzilla. King Ghidorah bites Godzilla and shocks him through his bite, but Godzilla lifts Ghidorah by his head and slams him to the ground. Godzilla then blasts Ghidorah at point-blank range with his atomic breath and defeats him. It is unknown if King Ghidorah survived the encounter or not. Arata's grandfather later recalls that some members of his village pray to King Ghidorah as a deity that brings rain.

Godzilla in Hell
King Ghidorah appears in the second issue of the series Godzilla in Hell. He appears after Godzilla defeats the Demon Varan and sends him into a whirlpool with his gravity beams. King Ghidorah returns in the fourth issue, where he and Destoroyah are seen, defeated by Godzilla, in the ruins of a city. Suddenly, both heal and get back up, then relentlessly attack Godzilla together in a recreation of Tokyo in Hell, surrounded by a wall of flesh. Any time any of the three monsters were killed or mortally wounded, they instantly recovered and continued their assault. Godzilla eventually tricked King Ghidorah and Destoroyah into aiding him in escape by ducking when they both fired their beams and combining his beam with them, creating a blast powerful enough to destroy the wall. As Godzilla marched onward, King Ghidorah, Destoroyah, and everything else on the battlefield besides Godzilla disappeared into nothingness.

Godzilla: Oblivion
In Godzilla: Oblivion, King Ghidorah attacked and chased the humans visiting the alternate dimension in which he lived. Due to power problems, he was able to follow them through the inter-dimensional portal and began rampaging in their dimension. After emerging through the portal, King Ghidorah attacked the eastern United States for two weeks, completely destroying the cities of New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. and resisting all attempts by the U.S. military, NATO, and the United Nations to stop him.

Godzilla was eventually brought through to the original dimension to fight King Ghidorah. The monsters battled in Washington D.C., after which King Ghidorah grabbed Godzilla and carried him over the ocean. The military detonated a nuclear bomb in the vicinity of both monsters, which appeared to kill King Ghidorah but left Godzilla unharmed.

King Ghidorah's carcass laid still at the bottom of the ocean, missing its middle head and with shredded wings and a gaping wound in its chest. A group of humans reached the monster's location and raised him up to the surface using a giant balloon. They then brought King Ghidorah's corpse to a facility and mechanically modified it as Mecha-King Ghidorah in order to fight Godzilla and draw him back into his own dimension.

Sightings

 * King Ghidorah appears four times in Courage the Cowardly Dog, notably two episodes when LeQuack turns on a TV with King Ghidorah on it, and shoots fire from the TV. Another time is when Courage opens a door and King Ghidorah is behind it giving a loud roar. Both clips were from Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.
 * In the film Independence Day, a young boy is seen playing with a King Ghidorah toy.
 * In Growing Up Creepie, King Ghidorah was seen in a drive through movie screen, the clip was also from Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.
 * In one episode of the TV series T.U.F.F Puppy, Dudley Puppy, the show's protagonist, turned into a giant, 3-headed monster that could breathe fire.
 * An episode of Histeria covering Ancient Rome described the strength of Roman architecture, but saying it couldn't stand up to Ghidorah. The segment ended with the host being crushed by Ghidorah's foot, similar to "Bambi Meets Godzilla."
 * In the Cartoon Network television show M.A.D., there's a skit involving the Jonas brothers where a fan sends them a letter asking how they stay so close. They reply by saying they are a giant three headed monster and go on attacking a city.
 * In the anime series Shinzo, a similar monster named "Grandorah" was the antagonist in a few episodes.
 * King Ghidorah appeared briefly in a Crest commercial.
 * In an episode of the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy titled "Giant Billy and Mandy All Out Attack", there was a parody of King Ghidorah called "Kitty Rah" and barfed hair balls as opposed to King Ghidorah's gravity beams.
 * The Pokémon Hydreigon resembles King Ghidorah strongly.
 * In August of 2014, the 1998 film was mocked by RiffTrax Live, which was created by and shares many of the former members of Mystery Science Theater 3000. During the riffing, they made witty references to King Ghidorah and Mothra.
 * In the film Pee Wee's Big Adventure, during a chase scene through a movie studio, both Godzilla and King Ghidorah can be seen on a set during the filming of a movie.
 * In the Cartoon Network television show Teen Titans Go!, The Twin Destroyers of Azarath were transformed into a giant 2-headed monster by Starfire's affection.
 * In Tsuburaya Productions' original Ultraman series, King Ghidorah's roars were recycled as the ringtone for the Science Patrol's telephone.

Roar
The most common version of King Ghidorah's roar is screeching with some clicking sounds added and modified to sound deeper. In the Heisei era, his roar is borrowed and modified from Rodan and Biollante (as seen and heard in the behind the scenes and film) in order to sound more dragon-like and somewhat metallic. This was done by multi-tuning Rodan's roar in both high and low pitches. This roar was used again for the mature King Ghidorah in Rebirth of Mothra III, but deepened and mixed with growling noises. Cretaceous King Ghidorah's roars were modified from Desghidorah's elephant-like roar with an increased pitch, and were later used for Orga in the Japanese version of Godzilla 2000: Millennium. In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack , King Ghidorah's new roar was modified from his Showa roar.

In Other Languages

 * Spanish: Rey Ghidorah
 * Russian: Кинг Гидора
 * Chinese: 王者基多拉
 * Cantonese (Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, VHS dub): 大水怪
 * Cantonese (Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, DVD dub): 三頭金龍王

Trivia

 * King Ghidorah can be considered the primary antagonist of the Godzilla franchise due both to his popularity and his film count of six.
 * King Ghidorah was the very first alien monster to fight Godzilla.
 * King Ghidorah consistently ranks as one of viewers' favorite monsters in the Godzilla films. This fame, coupled with the unimpressive box office run of Godzilla vs. Biollante, inspired Kazuki Omori to revive King Ghidorah for the 1991 film.
 * King Ghidorah in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is the tallest monster in the Heisei Godzilla series.
 * King Ghidorah is one of few monsters to appear in all three series, the others being Mothra, Rodan, MechaGodzilla, Godzilla's son, and Godzilla himself. King Ghidorah has also been confirmed to be appearing in Legendary's Godzilla series, along with Mothra and Rodan.
 * King Ghidorah is considered to be one of the strongest out of all of Godzilla's enemies and might possibly be just as strong or even stronger than Godzilla due to the fact that Godzilla almost always has help from other monsters or characters with control over King Ghidorah being interfered with.
 * Once the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy came out, the word "Ghidorah" changed its meaning, as it was no longer an alias for King Ghidorah, it now means a species of space monsters, as there have been other Ghidorahs appearing in some of Toho's movies ever since the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy, Desghidorah from Rebirth of Mothra and Keizer Ghidorah from Godzilla: Final Wars.
 * The Heisei King Ghidorah and Mecha-King Ghidorah are the tallest main series Godzilla monsters.
 * King Ghidorah, along with Mothra, were offered to TriStar to oppose Godzilla for the original 1994 American film, but the price they offered was too high, so it was declined by TriStar. Instead, the monster Godzilla was going to face was the Gryphon. This too was scrapped in favor of the 1998 film directed by Roland Emmerich.
 * In Rebirth of Mothra III, King Ghidorah became the only monster to debut in the Godzilla series and later appear in a non-Godzilla film.
 * King Ghidorah is traditionally depicted as a space monster in both film and non-film media, however his origin has been changed throughout his appearances.
 * In Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, King Ghidorah's origin was changed, making him the mutation of three genetically-engineered creatures from the future called Dorats. This was due to the fact that the film's director, Kazuki Omori, reportedly did not want King Ghidorah to be a space monster again. However, the film's novelization explains that the Dorats were genetically engineered from DNA recovered from the corpse of another King Ghidorah found on Venus. Toho planned to produce a direct sequel to the film where Godzilla was to battle another King Ghidorah from outer space called The Return of King Ghidorah, but opted to produce Godzilla vs. Mothra instead.
 * King Ghidorah's uncharacteristic heroic portrayal as well as his status as a terrestrial monster in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack is due to the fact that Shusuke Kaneko originally intended the role for Varan, but Toho pressured him to include King Ghidorah and Mothra in the film to increase the marquee value. As a result, King Ghidorah is portrayed as a hero for the first time and is smaller and weaker than Godzilla. King Ghidorah also possesses Varan's facial fins on his three heads in this film. King Ghidorah was included in early drafts for Godzilla: Final Wars, but was replaced by Monster X and Keizer Ghidorah.
 * Stock footage of King Ghidorah from Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah was to be included as part of a training simulation in Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 2, but the scene was cut.
 * King Ghidorah bears a resemblance to a Russian dragon of legend named Zmey Gorynych.

Poll
Do you like King Ghidorah? Yes! No. Kind of.