Antra[1] is a giant fire ant-like kaiju and the leader of an ant species created by IDW Publishing who appears in Mothra: Queen of the Monsters. Antra is the queen of a new race of ant-like monsters who invade Earth in the near future. After encountering resistance from the guardian Mothra, Antra managed to slay the protector, allowing her spawn to decimate humanity before the arrival of Mothra's successor, Mothra Gemini.
Name[]
Antra's name follows the same naming convention as Mothra, coming from the word "ant" and the suffix "-ra".[2]
Her name was revealed by Matt Frank on his X account the day after the comic series was announced.[1]
Design[]
Development[]
In the original pitch for the comic, the creators proposed to use antagonists like Battra or King Ghidorah, before deciding on creating an original monster antagonist exclusively for the series. Antra was created by writer Sophie Campbell, who wanted to create an ant monster from her love of ants.[2][3] The decision to make her the queen of an entire species was suggested by Frank to highlight her as a menace and global threat, as well as to parallel her with Mothra's status as the queen of the monsters.[4] Her design was a collaboration between Campbell and Matt Frank, with Matt concocting its final design out of a combination of them;[3] elements of the final design were also inspired by suitmation to make her more akin to traditional kaiju.[4]
Appearance[]
Antra is a large, ant-like creature encased in a spiny charcoal-gray exoskeleton with fiery red accents. She has double-jointed barbed limbs, with the front most set serving as arms that have circular yellow pincers containing yellow membranes. The backside of her exoskeleton is covered in red-tipped spines, some also protruding from the sides of her head. She possesses yellow almond-shaped compound eyes and long antennae, with a smaller set of three bead-like eyes in between them. Her head has an enlarged external set of red mandibles occupies the lower half; the mouth itself possesses two sets of internal mandibles perpendicular to each other with small tendrils underneath.
History[]
Mothra: Queen of the Monsters[]
To be added
Abilities[]
To be added
Trivia[]
- Antra is the tenth original kaiju created for IDW Publishing's Godzilla line, following the Trilopods and Magita from Godzilla: Rulers of Earth; the Doppelganger Demon, Nuclear Reactor Demon, Hellbats, and God-Demon from Godzilla in Hell; the Zoospora from Godzilla: War for Humanity; and Singura and the infant kaiju from the Godzilla Rivals one-shot "Vs. SpaceGodzilla".
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Frank, Matt (October 21, 2024). "Meet Antra" (Tweet). X.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Interview: Writer Sophie Campbell on 'Mothra: Queen of the Monsters'". Godzilla (January 24, 2025).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Maser Squad (October 23, 2024). "Interview with Artist Matt Frank We Discuss IDW Mothra Queen Of The Monsters & More (17:07)" (Video). YouTube.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Interview: Artist Matt Frank on 'Mothra: Queen of the Monsters'". Godzilla (February 3, 2025).
