King Ghidorah

"King Ghidra" redirects here. For the Japanese hip hop group, see King Giddra. For the rapper, see MF Doom. For the software, see Ghidra. Not to be confused with Hedorah.
King Ghidorah
Godzilla character
A production image of the first Ghidorah suit, not fully painted[1]
First appearanceGhidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Last appearance Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Created byTomoyuki Tanaka[2]
Eiji Tsuburaya[3]
Shinichi Sekizawa
Designed byAkira Watanabe[3]
Portrayed byShōwa era:
Shoichi Hirose[4]
Susumu Utsumi[5]
Kanta Ina[6]
Heisei era:
Hurricane Ryu[7]
Tsutomu Kitagawa[8]
Millennium era:
Akira Ohashi[9]
Legendary Pictures:
Jason Liles[10]
Alan Maxson[11]
Richard Dorton[11]
In-universe information
AliasGhidrah[12]
King Ghidra[13]
King Ghidora[14]
Monster Zero[15]
The 10,000 Year Old Dragon[16]
The King of Terror[17]
The Gold King[18]
God of the Void[18]
King of the Void[18]
Titanus Ghidorah
The Death Song of Three Storms
Destroyer of Worlds
Ghidorah
The One Who is Many
SpeciesThree-headed dragon-like monster

King Ghidorah (キングギドラ, Kingu Gidora) is a fictional monster, or alien, or kaiju, which first appeared in Ishirō Honda's 1964 film Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. The creature was initially created by Tomoyuki Tanaka, Eiji Tsuburaya, and Shinichi Sekizawa as an homage to the eight-headed mythological Japanese dragon Yamata no Orochi. Although the name of the character is officially trademarked by Toho as "King Ghidorah",[19] the character was originally referred to as Ghidorah, Ghidrah, or Monster Zero in some English markets.[12]

Although King Ghidorah's design has remained largely consistent throughout its appearances (an armless, bipedal, golden and yellowish-scaled dragon with three heads, two fan-shaped wings, and two tails), its origin story has varied from being an extraterrestrial planet-destroying dragon,[20] a genetically engineered monster from the future,[21] a guardian monster of ancient Japan,[22] or a god from another dimension. The character is usually portrayed as the archenemy of Godzilla and a foe of Mothra,[23] though it has had one appearance as an ally of the latter.[22]

Despite rumors that Ghidorah was meant to represent the threat posed by China, which had at the time of the character's creation just developed nuclear weapons,[24] director Ishirō Honda denied the connection and stated that Ghidorah was simply a modern take on the dragon Yamata no Orochi.[25][2][26]

  1. ^ Homenick, Brett (2018-05-23). "Memories of Japan's Master Monster Maker! Keizo Murase Shares the Secrets of the World's Greatest Kaiju!". Vantage Point Interviews. Archived from the original on June 14, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: CHO Japan (2012-10-31). "1970's Godzilla FX Director - PART I - ７０年代のゴジラの特技監督 (SciFi Japan TV #06)". YouTube. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
  3. ^ a b Ragone 2014, p. 90.
  4. ^ Ryfle 1998, p. 116.
  5. ^ Ryfle 1998, p. 357.
  6. ^ Ryfle 1998, p. 359.
  7. ^ Ryfle 1998, p. 364.
  8. ^ Solomon 2017, p. 102.
  9. ^ Kalat 2010, p. 238.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Jason was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Additional KG performers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ a b Ryfle 1998, p. 117.
  13. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "AMC Intro - "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah" (1990s)". YouTube. March 19, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  14. ^ "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah - Initial Sony 1998 VHS Release". Pinterest. Archived from the original on August 4, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  15. ^ Solomon 2017, p. 37.
  16. ^ DeSentis, John (July 4, 2010). "Godzilla Soundtrack Perfect Collection Box 6". SciFi Japan. Archived from the original on August 4, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  17. ^ Yoneda 1999, 4:49.
  18. ^ a b c "Godzilla: The Planet Eater Press Notes, Trailer and Pics From Toho". SciFi Japan. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  19. ^ "King Ghidorah Official Trademark". Toho. Archived from the original on February 28, 2023. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  20. ^ Ryfle 1998, p. 115.
  21. ^ Ryfle 1998, p. 267.
  22. ^ a b Solomon 2017, p. 193.
  23. ^ Solomon 2017, p. 282.
  24. ^ Jess-Cooke 2012, p. 38.
  25. ^ David Milner, "Ishiro Honda Interview" Archived 2017-11-14 at the Wayback Machine, Kaiju Conversations (December 1992)
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference dvdcommentary was invoked but never defined (see the help page).