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Description
キングギドラ Kingu Gidora

AKA : Ghidrah

Height : Showa : 100 meters / Heisei : 1991 : 150 meters(*The heights for the Heisei King Ghidorah and Mecha-King Ghidorah are inconsistently listed as either 140 or 150 meters. The majority of sources, mostly those published after 1993, state that King Ghidorah is 140 meters tall, though books contemporary with Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah such as the 1991 Kodansha Hit Books: Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah Monster Great Complete Works and the early-1992 Definitive Edition Godzilla Giant Monster Super Encyclopedia, plus the 1995 Godzilla Giant Monster Diagram Encyclopedia and 1998 The Official Godzilla Compendium say King Ghidorah is 150 meters tall.) / 1998 : 60 meters / Millenium : 50 meters(*Concept size charts included in the 2001 book GMK Super Complete Works list King Ghidorah's height at 49 meters from the ground to the top of the middle head, though most sources, including the very book this size chart originates from, seemingly round it up to 50 meters.) / MonsterVerse : 158.8 meters
Length : Anime Trilogy : 20 kilometers
Wingspan : Showa : 150 meters / Heisei : 1991 : 175 meters(*The wingspans for the Heisei King Ghidorah and Mecha-King Ghidorah are inconsistently listed as being either 140, 150 or 175 meters. The 2014 book Godzilla Completely Deciphered and the PlayStation 3 and 4 Godzilla video game's Kaiju Guide state that the Heisei King Ghidorah's wingspan is 150 meters, while the 1998 The Official Godzilla Compendium says it is instead 175 meters. The 1993 Encyclopedia of Godzilla (Mechagodzilla Edition) states that King Ghidorah's wingspan is 140 meters.) / 1998 : 80 meters / Millenium : 93 meters / MonsterVerse : Unknown
Weight : Showa : 30,000 metric tons / Heisei : 1991 : 70,000 metric tons / 1998 : 50,000 metric tons / Millenium : 25,000 metric tons / MonsterVerse : 141,056 tons

First Appearance : Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

Widely considered to be Godzilla's arch-nemesis, King Ghidorah made his debut in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, where he arrived on Earth inside a meteor and prepared to destroy it just as he had done to Venus thousands of years in the past. He was driven off by the combined might of Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra, but returned in Invasion of Astro-Monster as a pawn of the Xiliens in their invasion of Earth. King Ghidorah was unleashed on Earth once again by the Xiliens, along with Godzilla and Rodan, now under the invaders' control as well, but a group of humans managed to sever the aliens' hold on the monsters. Godzilla and Rodan teamed up against King Ghidorah again, sending him back into the void of space. In Godzilla vs. Gigan, King Ghidorah was now under the control of the M Space Hunter Nebula Aliens, who deployed him alongside the cyborg monster Gigan to assault the Earth. Once again, King Ghidorah was beaten by Godzilla, this time aided by Anguirus, and retreated back into space with Gigan. In Zone Fighter, King Ghidorah was one of the Garogas' Terror-Beasts, and did battle with Zone Fighter twice, managing to escape with his life. In the chronologically final film of the Showa series, Destroy All Monsters, King Ghidorah was unleashed by the Kilaaks in a desperate final attempt to defend their base of operations from Godzilla and the Earth monsters, only to be killed in battle by their combined might. Toho brought King Ghidorah back for the Heisei series in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, where he was now the pawn of time-traveling terrorists and the result of three genetically engineered creatures called Dorats being fused together by a hydrogen bomb explosion. The Futurians unleashed King Ghidorah in Japan, demanding for the nation's surrender, but their plot was interrupted when Godzilla appeared and battled King Ghidorah. After destroying the Futurians' time machine, Godzilla decapitated King Ghidorah's middle head and shredded his wings, leaving the creature comatose in the ocean. A defector from the Futurians, Emmy Kano, managed to salvage King Ghidorah's remains in the future and revive him as the cybernetic Mecha-King Ghidorah, then brought him back to the present to battle Godzilla. King Ghidorah was later featured as the antagonist in Rebirth of Mothra III, where he was once again a malevolent space monster, this time seeking to feed on the life forces of human children. King Ghidorah fought and nearly killed Mothra Leo, who traveled back to the Cretaceous in an attempt to destroy King Ghidorah while he was younger and weaker. After seemingly killing Cretaceous King Ghidorah, Leo returned to the present only to find King Ghidorah still alive and well. Leo then transformed into his most powerful form, Armor Mothra, and finally destroyed King Ghidorah. King Ghidorah's only appearance in the Millennium series came in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, where he was one of the three Guardian Monsters that fought to defend Japan from Godzilla, alongside Baragon and Mothra. King Ghidorah was teased in the second entry of the GODZILLA anime trilogy, and appeared as the main antagonist in the trilogy's final entry, GODZILLA: The Planet Eater. King Ghidorah was also teased through a cave painting in the second film in the MonsterVerse, Kong: Skull Island, and is set to appear in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the sequel to Legendary Pictures' Godzilla.
NAME
The "Ghidorah" (ギドラ Gidora) part of King Ghidorah's name comes from the Japanese word for "hydra" (ヒドラ Hidora), which shares two of its three katakana characters with "Ghidorah." It also, coincidentally or not, sounds very similar to the Russian pronunciation of "hydra" (Гидра, ˈɡʲidrə). The addition of "King" (キング) to his name may have been influenced by King Dragon (キング・ドラゴン Kingu Doragon), the name given to Zmey Gorynych, upon which King Ghidorah's design was based, in the Japanese version of the Soviet film Ilya Muromets. King Ghidorah's name was pronounced several different ways in the English-dubbed versions of his first three films. King Ghidorah was referred to as "Ghidrah" in the American English-dubbed version of Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, presumably because it sounded more like "hydra." In the American dubbed version of Invasion of Astro-Monster, he was called "King Ghidorah," with the "o" syllable unemphasized. He was simply called "Ghidorah" in the English dubs for Destroy All Monsters, with the "o" stressed in the international English dub, but again with an unemphasized "o" in the American English dub. In Omni Productions' English dubs for the films of the Heisei and Millennium series, he is referred to as "King Ghidorah," with the "o" emphasized. 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." In the GODZILLA anime trilogy, the "King" is dropped from the monster's name and he is consistently referred to as just Ghidorah (ギドラ Gidora), although one of his titles refers to him as the Golden King (金色の王 Kin'iro no Ō) and the character Metphies does at one point call him King Ghidorah (王たるギドラ Ōtaru Gidora). The English plot summary on the trilogy's official website does refer to him as "King Ghidorah" in English, however. In Invasion of Astro-Monster, the Xiliens refer to King Ghidorah as Monster Zero (怪物０ Kaibutsu Zero), which has become a popular alias for the monster, particularly in the West where the film was typically known as Monster Zero or Godzilla vs. Monster Zero. He is again referred to as Monster Zero by the scientific organization Monarch in Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
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. 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. In Rebirth of Mothra III, King Ghidorah, a more powerful relative of Desghidorah, arrived on the Earth millions of years ago during the Cretaceous, attempting to wipe out all of the planet's life. He returned to Earth in the present in order to feed on humanity, particularly 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. Known as the Yamata no Orochi, an ancient 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.In the GODZILLA anime trilogy, Ghidorah is an energy-based being that hails from another dimension, the end result of a path of evolution in which life discarded its physical body and became composed of pure energy. Ghidorah's energy-based composition allows him to pass through dimensions, which is how he made contact with the Exif civilization 100,000 years ago. The Exif willingly sacrificed their planet to Ghidorah and accepted him as their deity, then took to wandering the stars over the ensuing millennia in order to offer more planets to him. In the MonsterVerse, King Ghidorah's exact origins are as of yet unknown, however he has been frozen underneath the Antarctic ice for some time. There are many ancient accounts of the monster across several civilizations and mythologies, including some which recount him doing battle with Godzilla and Mothra. What is clear is that King Ghidorah is a dreaded "living extinction event," and has inspired the many multi-headed apocalyptic beasts in the world's religions.
ABILITIES
Fligth : 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. In Rebirth of Mothra III, the mature King Ghidorah could also combine all three gravity beams into a single devastating attack.
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. King Ghidorah has also been seen using this ability in various games and comics.
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.
Fireballs : In Rebirth of Mothra III, Cretaceous King Ghidorah can spit fireballs from his mouths in place of his usual gravity beams.
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. It is suggested in an informational book about the film that King Ghidorah could still regenerate from the wing that is cut off by Armor Mothra in their final battle.In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, after having his left head severed by Godzilla, he was able to completely regenerate it in a matter of moments.
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.In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, King Ghidorah can project lightning from the tips of his wings. In addition to damaging aircraft it strikes, this lightning blinds and temporarily stuns Godzilla, allowing Ghidorah to attack him.
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. In GODZILLA: The Planet Eater, additionally, he can drain energy through his bite thanks to his space-time distortion abilities. He uses this to drain Godzilla Earth's electromagnetic energy and the intense heat he produces as fast as he generates it.
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 Zone Fighter, King Ghidorah seems to retain his control over gravity, managing to suspend several cars midair above a research institute. 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.
Energy absorption : In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, King Ghidorah is able to absorb energy through his mouths. He is shown doing this twice in his final battle with Godzilla. At one point, he bites down on a nearby power substation and absorbs the electricity, which he projects through the tips of his wings. Later, he constricts his necks around Godzilla before biting down on him and draining his atomic energy. The energy is visible coursing through Ghidorah's necks as he bites down on Godzilla.
Tail Spikes : In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, King Ghidorah has retractable spikes on the ends of his tails, though he does not seem to use them specifically in combat. King Ghidorah is seen shaking the ends of his tails in the air like a rattlesnake, possibly as an intimidation display.
Intelligence : In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, According to cranial scans, King Ghidorah has a divergent frontal lobe density in the brains of all three heads, indicating that each of his heads can have disparate levels of cognitive functions, possibly including independent thought. Monarch has determined that each of King Ghidorah's heads exhibits its own individual personality.
Counducting Scales : In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Monarch scientists theorize that King Ghidorah's scales are gilded with trace amounts of aurum which act as conductors, capable of carrying bio-electrical currents throughout his body. This allows Ghidorah to conduct electricity through his body and project it in different ways, either through the gravity beams he spits from his mouth or the lightning bolts he fires from his wings.
Super Gravity : Ghidorah is said to have eaten thousands of planets through the use of Super Gravity. He demonstrates an ability to control gravity when he attacks the Aratrum, generating a strong gravitational field around the ship which allows him to trap it and crush it until it explodes. While Ghidorah cannot be detected by United Earth technology, the gravitational anomalies he produces are detectable.
Interdimensional Travel : Due to being composed of energy rather than physical matter, Ghidorah has the ability to pass through dimensions. His heads pass into other dimensions through three black portals, and his necks can extend to incredible lengths. During his summoning ritual, Ghidorah initially manifests in this dimension as a shadow that bites down on the shadows of the cultists present at the summoning, which causes their actual bodies to be dismembered.
Space-time Distortion : When summoned into this dimension, Ghidorah can alter space-time. When he surrounds the Aratrum, Ghidorah interferes with its systems, constantly giving it different data and run time errors. Ghidorah can also override the ship's steering and navigation systems. He also alters the the passage of time on the ship. For example, when the crew on the bridge receive a transmission from Halu-elu Dolu-do from the engine room, it turns out the engine room was already destroyed 40 seconds ago. The Aratrum's systems also show that all life signs on the bridge have ceased even while moments before Ghidorah finally destroys the ship. When fighting Godzilla Earth, Ghidorah is able to interfere with his atomic breath by shifting space-time and causing the beam to curve around his head or be reflected to the ground. He is also able to bypass Godzilla's Asymmetrically Permeable Shield and absorb the heat he generates by converting his electromagnetic energy. Even the United Earth's tracking system are unable to track Ghidorah's electromagnetic and infrared waves, only detecting gravity waves. Martin Lazzari determined that this was due to Ghidorah coming from another dimension, meaning the laws of this dimension do not apply to him.
Intangibility : Another effect of Ghidorah's energy-based body composition and his extradimensional nature is selective intangibility. Both physical and energy based attacks from Godzilla Earth are shown to pass harmlessly through Ghidorah's body, while Ghidorah is able to bite down on Godzilla and restrain him.
Gematron Calculation : In GODZILLA: The Planet Eater, Ghidorah has the capacity to communicate with Exif clergy through a technology called Gematron calculation. The Exif pick up Ghidorah's messages through a device wielded by Endurph and Metphies known as the Garbetrium. Gematron calculation can be used to develop advanced artificial intelligence and carry out complex mathematical calculations, as well as provide the Exif with probabilities and even predict the future. The Garbetrium is also a key component in the ritual to summon Ghidorah.

Description
キングギドラ Kingu Gidora

AKA : Ghidrah

Height : Showa : 100 meters / Heisei : 1991 : 150 meters(*The heights for the Heisei King Ghidorah and Mecha-King Ghidorah are inconsistently listed as either 140 or 150 meters. The majority of sources, mostly those published after 1993, state that King Ghidorah is 140 meters tall, though books contemporary with Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah such as the 1991 Kodansha Hit Books: Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah Monster Great Complete Works and the early-1992 Definitive Edition Godzilla Giant Monster Super Encyclopedia, plus the 1995 Godzilla Giant Monster Diagram Encyclopedia and 1998 The Official Godzilla Compendium say King Ghidorah is 150 meters tall.) / 1998 : 60 meters / Millenium : 50 meters(*Concept size charts included in the 2001 book GMK Super Complete Works list King Ghidorah's height at 49 meters from the ground to the top of the middle head, though most sources, including the very book this size chart originates from, seemingly round it up to 50 meters.) / MonsterVerse : 158.8 meters
Length : Anime Trilogy : 20 kilometers
Wingspan : Showa : 150 meters / Heisei : 1991 : 175 meters(*The wingspans for the Heisei King Ghidorah and Mecha-King Ghidorah are inconsistently listed as being either 140, 150 or 175 meters. The 2014 book Godzilla Completely Deciphered and the PlayStation 3 and 4 Godzilla video game's Kaiju Guide state that the Heisei King Ghidorah's wingspan is 150 meters, while the 1998 The Official Godzilla Compendium says it is instead 175 meters. The 1993 Encyclopedia of Godzilla (Mechagodzilla Edition) states that King Ghidorah's wingspan is 140 meters.) / 1998 : 80 meters / Millenium : 93 meters / MonsterVerse : Unknown
Weight : Showa : 30,000 metric tons / Heisei : 1991 : 70,000 metric tons / 1998 : 50,000 metric tons / Millenium : 25,000 metric tons / MonsterVerse : 141,056 tons

First Appearance : Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

Widely considered to be Godzilla's arch-nemesis, King Ghidorah made his debut in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, where he arrived on Earth inside a meteor and prepared to destroy it just as he had done to Venus thousands of years in the past. He was driven off by the combined might of Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra, but returned in Invasion of Astro-Monster as a pawn of the Xiliens in their invasion of Earth. King Ghidorah was unleashed on Earth once again by the Xiliens, along with Godzilla and Rodan, now under the invaders' control as well, but a group of humans managed to sever the aliens' hold on the monsters. Godzilla and Rodan teamed up against King Ghidorah again, sending him back into the void of space. In Godzilla vs. Gigan, King Ghidorah was now under the control of the M Space Hunter Nebula Aliens, who deployed him alongside the cyborg monster Gigan to assault the Earth. Once again, King Ghidorah was beaten by Godzilla, this time aided by Anguirus, and retreated back into space with Gigan. In Zone Fighter, King Ghidorah was one of the Garogas' Terror-Beasts, and did battle with Zone Fighter twice, managing to escape with his life. In the chronologically final film of the Showa series, Destroy All Monsters, King Ghidorah was unleashed by the Kilaaks in a desperate final attempt to defend their base of operations from Godzilla and the Earth monsters, only to be killed in battle by their combined might. Toho brought King Ghidorah back for the Heisei series in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, where he was now the pawn of time-traveling terrorists and the result of three genetically engineered creatures called Dorats being fused together by a hydrogen bomb explosion. The Futurians unleashed King Ghidorah in Japan, demanding for the nation's surrender, but their plot was interrupted when Godzilla appeared and battled King Ghidorah. After destroying the Futurians' time machine, Godzilla decapitated King Ghidorah's middle head and shredded his wings, leaving the creature comatose in the ocean. A defector from the Futurians, Emmy Kano, managed to salvage King Ghidorah's remains in the future and revive him as the cybernetic Mecha-King Ghidorah, then brought him back to the present to battle Godzilla. King Ghidorah was later featured as the antagonist in Rebirth of Mothra III, where he was once again a malevolent space monster, this time seeking to feed on the life forces of human children. King Ghidorah fought and nearly killed Mothra Leo, who traveled back to the Cretaceous in an attempt to destroy King Ghidorah while he was younger and weaker. After seemingly killing Cretaceous King Ghidorah, Leo returned to the present only to find King Ghidorah still alive and well. Leo then transformed into his most powerful form, Armor Mothra, and finally destroyed King Ghidorah. King Ghidorah's only appearance in the Millennium series came in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, where he was one of the three Guardian Monsters that fought to defend Japan from Godzilla, alongside Baragon and Mothra. King Ghidorah was teased in the second entry of the GODZILLA anime trilogy, and appeared as the main antagonist in the trilogy's final entry, GODZILLA: The Planet Eater. King Ghidorah was also teased through a cave painting in the second film in the MonsterVerse, Kong: Skull Island, and is set to appear in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the sequel to Legendary Pictures' Godzilla.
NAME
The "Ghidorah" (ギドラ Gidora) part of King Ghidorah's name comes from the Japanese word for "hydra" (ヒドラ Hidora), which shares two of its three katakana characters with "Ghidorah." It also, coincidentally or not, sounds very similar to the Russian pronunciation of "hydra" (Гидра, ˈɡʲidrə). The addition of "King" (キング) to his name may have been influenced by King Dragon (キング・ドラゴン Kingu Doragon), the name given to Zmey Gorynych, upon which King Ghidorah's design was based, in the Japanese version of the Soviet film Ilya Muromets. King Ghidorah's name was pronounced several different ways in the English-dubbed versions of his first three films. King Ghidorah was referred to as "Ghidrah" in the American English-dubbed version of Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, presumably because it sounded more like "hydra." In the American dubbed version of Invasion of Astro-Monster, he was called "King Ghidorah," with the "o" syllable unemphasized. He was simply called "Ghidorah" in the English dubs for Destroy All Monsters, with the "o" stressed in the international English dub, but again with an unemphasized "o" in the American English dub. In Omni Productions' English dubs for the films of the Heisei and Millennium series, he is referred to as "King Ghidorah," with the "o" emphasized. 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." In the GODZILLA anime trilogy, the "King" is dropped from the monster's name and he is consistently referred to as just Ghidorah (ギドラ Gidora), although one of his titles refers to him as the Golden King (金色の王 Kin'iro no Ō) and the character Metphies does at one point call him King Ghidorah (王たるギドラ Ōtaru Gidora). The English plot summary on the trilogy's official website does refer to him as "King Ghidorah" in English, however. In Invasion of Astro-Monster, the Xiliens refer to King Ghidorah as Monster Zero (怪物０ Kaibutsu Zero), which has become a popular alias for the monster, particularly in the West where the film was typically known as Monster Zero or Godzilla vs. Monster Zero. He is again referred to as Monster Zero by the scientific organization Monarch in Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
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. 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. In Rebirth of Mothra III, King Ghidorah, a more powerful relative of Desghidorah, arrived on the Earth millions of years ago during the Cretaceous, attempting to wipe out all of the planet's life. He returned to Earth in the present in order to feed on humanity, particularly 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. Known as the Yamata no Orochi, an ancient 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.In the GODZILLA anime trilogy, Ghidorah is an energy-based being that hails from another dimension, the end result of a path of evolution in which life discarded its physical body and became composed of pure energy. Ghidorah's energy-based composition allows him to pass through dimensions, which is how he made contact with the Exif civilization 100,000 years ago. The Exif willingly sacrificed their planet to Ghidorah and accepted him as their deity, then took to wandering the stars over the ensuing millennia in order to offer more planets to him. In the MonsterVerse, King Ghidorah's exact origins are as of yet unknown, however he has been frozen underneath the Antarctic ice for some time. There are many ancient accounts of the monster across several civilizations and mythologies, including some which recount him doing battle with Godzilla and Mothra. What is clear is that King Ghidorah is a dreaded "living extinction event," and has inspired the many multi-headed apocalyptic beasts in the world's religions.
ABILITIES
Fligth : 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. In Rebirth of Mothra III, the mature King Ghidorah could also combine all three gravity beams into a single devastating attack.
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. King Ghidorah has also been seen using this ability in various games and comics.
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.
Fireballs : In Rebirth of Mothra III, Cretaceous King Ghidorah can spit fireballs from his mouths in place of his usual gravity beams.
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. It is suggested in an informational book about the film that King Ghidorah could still regenerate from the wing that is cut off by Armor Mothra in their final battle.In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, after having his left head severed by Godzilla, he was able to completely regenerate it in a matter of moments.
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.In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, King Ghidorah can project lightning from the tips of his wings. In addition to damaging aircraft it strikes, this lightning blinds and temporarily stuns Godzilla, allowing Ghidorah to attack him.
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. In GODZILLA: The Planet Eater, additionally, he can drain energy through his bite thanks to his space-time distortion abilities. He uses this to drain Godzilla Earth's electromagnetic energy and the intense heat he produces as fast as he generates it.
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 Zone Fighter, King Ghidorah seems to retain his control over gravity, managing to suspend several cars midair above a research institute. 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.
Energy absorption : In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, King Ghidorah is able to absorb energy through his mouths. He is shown doing this twice in his final battle with Godzilla. At one point, he bites down on a nearby power substation and absorbs the electricity, which he projects through the tips of his wings. Later, he constricts his necks around Godzilla before biting down on him and draining his atomic energy. The energy is visible coursing through Ghidorah's necks as he bites down on Godzilla.
Tail Spikes : In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, King Ghidorah has retractable spikes on the ends of his tails, though he does not seem to use them specifically in combat. King Ghidorah is seen shaking the ends of his tails in the air like a rattlesnake, possibly as an intimidation display.
Intelligence : In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, According to cranial scans, King Ghidorah has a divergent frontal lobe density in the brains of all three heads, indicating that each of his heads can have disparate levels of cognitive functions, possibly including independent thought. Monarch has determined that each of King Ghidorah's heads exhibits its own individual personality.
Counducting Scales : In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Monarch scientists theorize that King Ghidorah's scales are gilded with trace amounts of aurum which act as conductors, capable of carrying bio-electrical currents throughout his body. This allows Ghidorah to conduct electricity through his body and project it in different ways, either through the gravity beams he spits from his mouth or the lightning bolts he fires from his wings.
Super Gravity : Ghidorah is said to have eaten thousands of planets through the use of Super Gravity. He demonstrates an ability to control gravity when he attacks the Aratrum, generating a strong gravitational field around the ship which allows him to trap it and crush it until it explodes. While Ghidorah cannot be detected by United Earth technology, the gravitational anomalies he produces are detectable.
Interdimensional Travel : Due to being composed of energy rather than physical matter, Ghidorah has the ability to pass through dimensions. His heads pass into other dimensions through three black portals, and his necks can extend to incredible lengths. During his summoning ritual, Ghidorah initially manifests in this dimension as a shadow that bites down on the shadows of the cultists present at the summoning, which causes their actual bodies to be dismembered.
Space-time Distortion : When summoned into this dimension, Ghidorah can alter space-time. When he surrounds the Aratrum, Ghidorah interferes with its systems, constantly giving it different data and run time errors. Ghidorah can also override the ship's steering and navigation systems. He also alters the the passage of time on the ship. For example, when the crew on the bridge receive a transmission from Halu-elu Dolu-do from the engine room, it turns out the engine room was already destroyed 40 seconds ago. The Aratrum's systems also show that all life signs on the bridge have ceased even while moments before Ghidorah finally destroys the ship. When fighting Godzilla Earth, Ghidorah is able to interfere with his atomic breath by shifting space-time and causing the beam to curve around his head or be reflected to the ground. He is also able to bypass Godzilla's Asymmetrically Permeable Shield and absorb the heat he generates by converting his electromagnetic energy. Even the United Earth's tracking system are unable to track Ghidorah's electromagnetic and infrared waves, only detecting gravity waves. Martin Lazzari determined that this was due to Ghidorah coming from another dimension, meaning the laws of this dimension do not apply to him.
Intangibility : Another effect of Ghidorah's energy-based body composition and his extradimensional nature is selective intangibility. Both physical and energy based attacks from Godzilla Earth are shown to pass harmlessly through Ghidorah's body, while Ghidorah is able to bite down on Godzilla and restrain him.
Gematron Calculation : In GODZILLA: The Planet Eater, Ghidorah has the capacity to communicate with Exif clergy through a technology called Gematron calculation. The Exif pick up Ghidorah's messages through a device wielded by Endurph and Metphies known as the Garbetrium. Gematron calculation can be used to develop advanced artificial intelligence and carry out complex mathematical calculations, as well as provide the Exif with probabilities and even predict the future. The Garbetrium is also a key component in the ritual to summon Ghidorah.