Ghidorah

**King Ghidorah** is a three-headed Titan who first appeared in a cave painting in the post-credits scene for the 2017 Legendary Pictures film *Kong: Skull Island*, then went on to serve as the main antagonist of *Godzilla: King of the Monsters* in 2019.

## Personality

Monarch classifies King Ghidorah's behavior as that of a "destroyer," along with fellow Titans Rodan, Scylla, MUTO Prime, Camazotz, Mechagodzilla, and the Skull Devil, and considers him "Godzilla's ultimate nemesis." He lives up to this reputation upon awakening, commanding the other Titans around the world to help him decimate the planet's ecosystems. Unlike Godzilla, Ghidorah demonstrates true malice and is shown to be openly hostile toward humans which are far too small to injure him, such as when he vaporizes a group of soldiers with his Gravity Beams, when he chases down and kills Vivienne Graham, and when he stalks and attempts to kill Madison Russell. Dr. Rick Stanton speculates Ghidorah's ultimate goal is to terraform the Earth in his own image. In the novelization, Mark Russell opts for a simpler explanation: Ghidorah is trying to kill every living thing that isn't him because he's driven by hatred and malice. King Ghidorah's three heads each have their own personalities and are akin to conjoined triplets rather than a single individual with three heads. *Godzilla: King of the Monsters* director Michael Dougherty described the center head as "the one who's sort of the big brother and the most serious," the right head as "slightly more aggressive and tenacious," and the left head as "[displaying] signs of curiosity." King Ghidorah uses body language to intimidate Godzilla, shaking the ends of his tails like a rattlesnake and spreading his wings like how a cobra opens its hood. Ghidorah can also flick out his tongues like a snake or lizard.

## Origins

According to Dr. Ilene Chen, Ghidorah is an ancient creature who was feared by many ancient cultures and was said to have been a "dragon who fell from the stars", suggesting that he is of extraterrestrial origin. Judging by his appearance in ancient cave paintings, he has invaded Earth sometime in the past, and clashed with Godzilla and Mothra. He was eventually defeated by Godzilla in Antarctica and sealed beneath the ice. He was discovered buried under ice in modern-day Antarctica before 2014 by a Monarch team headed by Vivienne Graham. The massive wall of ice surrounding Ghidorah was dubbed the "Wall of Serpents." Monarch links King Ghidorah to mythical creatures such as the Hydra and the Rainbow Serpent, and describes him as a "living extinction event."

## History

#### *Kong: Skull Island*

After their adventure on Skull Island, Monarch members Houston Brooks and Lin San showed James Conrad and Mason Weaver two cave paintings of King Ghidorah, along with paintings depicting Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan, as proof that the inhabitants of Skull Island were not the only monsters in the world. In the second painting, he was shown fighting Godzilla.

#### *Godzilla: King of the Monsters*

After obtaining the ORCA, Alan Jonah and his men traveled to Monarch's Outpost 32 in Antarctica, where they gunned down all of the Monarch personnel. They entered the base and found King Ghidorah frozen within the ice. Jonah's men drilled into the ice and planted explosive charges within it, while Emma Russell calibrated the ORCA to Ghidorah. Monarch soon arrived and stormed the outpost, engaging in a firefight with Jonah's men. Emma grabbed the detonator for the charges and pressed it, freeing Ghidorah from the ice. After retreating to their stolen Monarch Osprey, Jonah ordered Emma to awaken Ghidorah with the ORCA. She obliged, and the three-headed Titan rose from the ice. Monarch's G-Team opened fire on Ghidorah's heads as they eyed them curiously before retaliating with devastating gravity beams that vaporized them. Ghidorah completely freed himself from the ice and made his way to Monarch's Ospreys, though her daughter Madison used the ORCA to distract him before he attacked them. Godzilla soon erupted from the ice to confront Ghidorah, and the two Titans collided. Ghidorah was more than a match for Godzilla physically, forcing Godzilla to call upon his atomic breath. Ghidorah's heads weaved out of the way of the blast and countered with their gravity beams, which knocked Godzilla off of the ice shelf. Ghidorah resumed terrorizing the humans, destroying one Osprey and killing Dr. Vivienne Graham as she and Mark Russell tried to flee to safety.

Before he could kill the others, the USS *Argo* flew overhead and bombarded Ghidorah with missiles.

As Godzilla crawled back onto the ice, Ghidorah took flight and escaped.

Monarch tracked Ghidorah aboard the Osprey, only for him to disappear in a tropical storm over Brazil. Their new priority became dealing with Rodan, a winged Titan which Emma had unleashed from Outpost 56 in Isla de Mara, Mexico. As the *Argo* engaged in an aerial chase with Rodan, Ghidorah was detected moving to the location within the tropical storm. Monarch decided to lure Rodan to Ghidorah so they would fight each other. As the *Argo* entered the eye of the storm, it dove out of the way as Ghidorah and Rodan collided and began tearing at each other. Ghidorah restrained Rodan's wings with his left and right heads and fired a gravity beam from his central head that blasted Rodan into the water below. Ghidorah turned his attention to the *Argo* and pursued it, only to be dragged underwater by Godzilla. Godzilla pulled Ghidorah under the surface and bit down on his left neck, tearing it off. Just as Godzilla seemed about to win, the military's Oxygen Destroyer struck the water and produced a colossal green explosion. While Godzilla was severely injured by the blast, Ghidorah was unharmed and flew out of the water, landing atop the Isla de Mara volcano. Ghidorah regenerated his missing head in a matter of moments and spread his wings, shrieking loudly into the sky. His call awakened other Titans around the world, including Scylla, Methuselah, Behemoth, and the Queen MUTO, all of whom began to rampage. Rodan landed at the foot of the volcano and submitted to Ghidorah, doing his bidding along with the other newly-awakened Titans. Ghidorah made his way to the East Coast of the United States, bringing with him a massive hurricane that settled over Washington, D.C. When Monarch learned that Godzilla was still alive, it sent a nuclear submarine to try and revive him while the *Argo* battled Ghidorah and Rodan in D.C. along with the military.

Horrified at what her mother had helped to unleash, Madison stole the ORCA and brought it to Fenway Park, where she broadcast a signal that calmed the other Titans and lured Ghidorah to Boston. Upon landing, Ghidorah destroyed the loudspeakers broadcasting the sound and fired his gravity beams into the press box. Madison managed to escape onto the field, but Ghidorah found her and prepared to fire his gravity beams. However, the now-revitalized Godzilla arrived in the city surrounded by a military escort and blasted Ghidorah with his atomic breath. Ghidorah charged at Godzilla and the Titans collided with each other, producing a shock-wave that shook the *Argo*. Monarch deployed two Ospreys to try and save Madison and recover the ORCA as Godzilla and Ghidorah continued to fight. Ghidorah restrained Godzilla with his heads and pinned him to the ground, but Godzilla used his atomic breath to force him off. Mothra flew overhead and used her silk to pin Ghidorah's heads against a building. As Ghidorah tried to free his heads, Godzilla charged and tackled him through the building. As Ghidorah lay on the ground and witnessed Godzilla approaching, he called to Rodan to intercept Mothra. With Rodan and Mothra fighting in the air, Ghidorah and Godzilla continued their battle on the ground. Ghidorah bit down on a nearby power substation and absorbed the electricity, which he projected through the tips of his wings, blinding and stunning Godzilla. Ghidorah pressed his advantage and leaped onto Godzilla, grabbing him in his claws and carrying him into the sky. Ghidorah used his middle neck to strangle Godzilla until he went limp, then dropped Godzilla from above the clouds. Godzilla struck the ground and was left immobilized as Ghidorah landed near him, ready to finish him off. The injured Mothra weakly crawled onto Godzilla and shielded him with her wings, then flew at Ghidorah as he fired his gravity beams, vaporizing her. After Mothra's energy flowed into Godzilla, Ghidorah bit down on his foe and began siphoning his energy through his mouths. Emma, having had a change of heart, repaired the ORCA with Mark and used it to distract Ghidorah and force him to release Godzilla. In order to allow the Osprey to escape, Emma took the ORCA and lured Ghidorah away in a jeep. Ghidorah pursued Emma and destroyed the vehicle with his gravity beams, launching Emma from the car. Mortally wounded on the ground, Emma looked up at Ghidorah and said "Long live the King" as her final words. Ghidorah turned to see Godzilla, covered in glowing orange cracks and emitting intense heat, approaching him. Godzilla emitted a nuclear pulse shaped like Mothra's wings and making the sound of her roar, with Ghidorah trying to shield his heads with his wings. The blast incinerated the flesh on Ghidorah's wings, and he fired his gravity beams at Godzilla, Godzilla was unaffected and unleashed another pulse, disintegrating Ghidorah's left and right heads. Godzilla stomped on Ghidorah's chest as the accumulated nuclear energy inside him exploded, leveling a huge portion of the city. When the smoke cleared, Ghidorah's last remaining head emerged from the rubble, hanging from Godzilla's mouth. Godzilla fired his atomic breath, which incinerated the head and reduced Ghidorah to nothing but ash.

In Isla de Mara, with the sea still devoid of life due to the effects of the Oxygen Destroyer, one fisherman had managed to dredge up Ghidorah's severed head, which had been torn off by Godzilla in their second battle. Jonah and his men traveled to a warehouse in Isla de Mara where the head was being kept. After observing the head with sinister intent, Jonah simply remarked, "We'll take it."

#### *Godzilla vs. Kong*

Sometime during the five years following Ghidorah's defeat, Apex Cybernetics purchased the skull of the surviving Ghidorah head from Jonah, and converted it into an organic supercomputer by using the neural pathways scattered throughout it. Apex intended to use Ghidorah's skull as a neural interface for its artificial Titan, Mechagodzilla. Ren Serizawa piloted Mechagodzilla from within the Ghidorah skull during a demonstration of the mecha in which it cleaved a gigantic Skullcrawler in half with its proton scream. When Apex finally obtained the energy data from the Hollow Earth needed to fully power Mechagodzilla, it fed the copied energy into the mecha. However, doing so caused Ghidorah's consciousness to override control of Mechagodzilla, after which it killed Apex CEO Walter Simmons and Serizawa. Under Ghidorah's influence, Mechagodzilla freed itself from Victoria Peak and began attacking Hong Kong before engaging Godzilla in battle. Mechagodzilla easily dominated the fight before Kong joined in on Godzilla's side. The two Titans tag-teamed Mechagodzilla, and eventually defeated it when Godzilla used his atomic breath to power up Kong's axe. Kong sliced Mechagodzilla apart before tearing off its head, ending Ghidorah's brief resurgence.

## Abilities

### Gravity beams

Monarch describes King Ghidorah as "bio-electrical." 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.

His signature attack is spitting bio-electrical golden gravity beams from each of his mouths. These are powerful enough to tear through buildings and disintegrate human beings. The fronts of his necks glow yellow while charging this attack. This attack is also shown to cause physical harm to other Titans. With only one shot, Ghidorah was able to shoot Rodan down and a concentrated barrage was enough to disintegrate Mothra. This attack also had enough force to drive Godzilla off the ice during their first battle in Antarctica, though it does no lasting damage to the Titan. He can charge his gravity beams far faster than Godzilla can charge his atomic breath.

### Wing lightning

King Ghidorah can project lightning from the tips of his wings, albeit only after absorbing a large amount of electricity from Boston's power grid. In addition to damaging aircraft it strikes, this lightning blinds and temporarily stuns Godzilla, allowing Ghidorah to press his advantage. This ability damaged Ghidorah himself, scorching small holes in his wings, which were quickly repaired by his regenerative powers.

### Flight and atmokinesis

The muscle tendons in King Ghidorah's wings are described as being incredibly hyper-tensile, and their massive aerodynamics could generate hurricane-force winds when flying. When combined with his body's electro-receptor molecular biology, water vapor in the air would be superheated, creating a localized storm system as he flies, equivalent to a Category 6 hurricane. The power of King Ghidorah's flight is so great that as a result, "the stratosphere would be torn open by an otherworldly tempest of thunder and lightning [Earth's] sky has never seen." When he usurps Godzilla's position as alpha, he begins creating multiple offshoot storms around the world. The novelization notes this on its own would be enough to cause the Earth's biosphere to suffer an extinction event even without the other Titans contributing to the destruction. King Ghidorah flies at a speed of 550 knots, or about Mach 0.8, while all previous live-action incarnations of the character could reach at least Mach 3 while in the Earth's atmosphere. Nonetheless, he was able to swiftly carry the 99,634-ton Godzilla into the troposphere before dropping him.

### Alpha call

After the Oxygen Destroyer forced Godzilla to retreat from Isla de Mara, King Ghidorah established himself as Earth's new alpha Titan and unleashed a call heard around the world compelling dormant monsters to awaken and destroy humanity. Rodan, already active, worked closely with Ghidorah as he invaded the United States. Only Godzilla, Mothra, and Kong resisted the call.

### Intelligence

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. King Ghidorah shows his intelligence during combat, such as when he bites down on electrical wiring during his battle with Godzilla in Boston, allowing him to temporarily stun his nemesis long enough to subdue and incapacitate him. While attempting to free his other heads from Mothra's silk, the right head was able to recognize Godzilla was behind him by looking at his own reflection. Realizing that he was overwhelmed by both Godzilla and Mothra, Ghidorah wisely calls in Rodan to keep the Queen of the Monsters occupied. King Ghidorah also recognizes the ORCA frequency as a potential threat and makes several attempts to take out the source, such as when he destroys the Fenway Park speakers to cut off the sound.

Posthumously, when Mechagodzilla was powered by the energy from the Hollow Earth, King Ghidorah's consciousness took the opportunity to possess the mecha, severing its neural link with its pilot, Ren Serizawa. Under Ghidorah's influence, Mechagodzilla killed its creators, and the mecha effectively utilizes its new body and abilities to overpower Godzilla.

### Telepathy

According to Bernie Hayes in *Godzilla vs. Kong*, due to the massive length of Ghidorah’s necks each head communicated telepathically with the other.

### Physical capabilities

When not using his gravity beams to attack from a distance, King Ghidorah uses his jaws when in close combat in a similar manner to a snake. He also has the ability to constrict an opponent with his three necks and two prehensile tails, strangling Godzilla at one point. He also has retractable spikes on the ends of his tails, though he does not seem to use them specifically in combat. His strength greatly outclasses that of Rodan, as King Ghidorah was able to easily restrain the winged Titan's wings with his left and right heads, allowing his middle head to fire a Gravity Beam at him. King Ghidorah is also shown to be capable of lifting enemies comparable to him in size with his tails, as seen when he slams Godzilla to the ground and carries his 99,634-ton body up into the atmosphere in order to drop him. However, he was only able to do this by absorbing massive amounts of electricity and stunning Godzilla.

### Durability

King Ghidorah is immune to conventional weaponry, and is also able to withstand a blast of Godzilla's atomic breath at point-blank range, though it still pushes him back. Due to his extraterrestrial nature, Ghidorah is immune to the effects of the Oxygen Destroyer, which seriously injured Godzilla and killed all other life within a two-mile radius. King Ghidorah was seen using his wings as a shield to protect his heads from missiles. He tried using them to shield his heads from Godzilla's nuclear pulse, but they were unable to withstand the intense heat and were incinerated. Strangely, the middle head of Ghidorah is the only part of the three-headed dragon to have withstood Burning Godzilla's nuclear pulses despite being destroyed by Godzilla’s atomic breath moments later. In *Godzilla vs. Kong*, Ghidorah's long-dead disembodied skull retains active neural pathways that are used to control Mechagodzilla, and the creature's consciousness remains attached to the skull and eventually takes over control of the mecha.

### Regeneration

King Ghidorah possesses an exceptional healing factor. After having his left head severed by Godzilla, he was able to completely regenerate it in a matter of moments. According to director Michael Dougherty, when one of King Ghidorah's heads is severed and a new one grows, "the newly regenerated head retains the memories and personality of the old one. Most of Ghidorah's neurons are scattered throughout his body and limbs, much like an octopus." However, he needs to absorb radiation or electricity to do this. During his final battle with Godzilla in Boston, Ghidorah regenerated holes and tears in his wings after absorbing electricity from a nearby power substation. Though his regeneration was unable to keep up with Burning Godzilla's nuclear pulse, he survived having his wings, two of his heads, and the entirety of his body incinerated by the attack, and was only finally killed once Godzilla burned away his last head.

### Energy absorption

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. *Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization* notes that King Ghidorah absorbed radiation from the Isla de Mara volcano to provide the nourishment necessary to regenerate his severed head.

### Weaknesses

While a skilled fighter on the ground and in his element when in the air, King Ghidorah demonstrates considerable difficulty when fighting in the water, as shown when Godzilla dragged him underwater in Mexico and would have been killed then and there if it were not for the interference of the Oxygen Destroyer. His regeneration takes time and he wasn't able to regenerate his wings and left and right heads after they were disintegrated by Burning Godzilla's nuclear pulse, nor when he was reduced to a single head before Godzilla incinerated it with his atomic breath. Godzilla also comes close to, if not, rivals his strength. Because each head is capable of independent thought, they may become distracted and require the dominant middle head to get their attention and give them orders. However, all three were distracted by and pursued the ORCA when they had Godzilla at their mercy in Boston, giving him time to recover and ultimately leading to Ghidorah's downfall.