King Ghidorah (Showa)

King Ghidorah; Kingu Gidora; Ghidrah; Ghidorah; Monster Zero; Kinggidrah; King-Gidora;
Venus Hellfire; Demon of the Galaxy;
Supreme Ruler of the Cosmos

100 meters (328 feet)

122.5 meters (401 feet)

150 meters (492 feet)

30,000 metric tons (33,069 short tons)

• Can fly up to Mach 3 in Earth's atmosphere and Mach 400 in space, as well as produce gale-force gusts of wind with its wings
• Extreme physical strength and durability; totally immune and impervious to damage from conventional weapons
• Lightning-like Gravity Beams it spits from its mouths
• King Ghidorah's scales are poisonous to the touch
• King Ghidorah's horns act as radar so that he doesn't get lost in space, and it also enables Ghidorah to communicate through telepathy

• Though more than a match for Godzilla in a one-on-one battle, King Ghidorah tends to become overwhelmed when facing multiple kaiju at once; this proves to be his downfall in 1999, where he is killed in a battle against all of Earth's monsters at the same time
• King Ghidorah also tends to become confused when the mind control of his alien masters is severed, which leaves him open and vulnerable to attack

King Ghidorah is an evil destructive space monster, and is said to destroy entire planets simply for his own amusement and only thinks about how to destroy all other creatures. King Ghidorah destroyed Venus' entire civilization thousands of years ago, and attempted to do the same to Earth, only to be thwarted by the planet's monsters. Later on, King Ghidorah was the pawn of various invading alien races who used him as a living weapon of mass destruction to attempt to conquer the Earth. Whenever his alien masters' mind control is severed or interrupted, King Ghidorah tends to become confused and easily overwhelmed by his enemies, forcing him to retreat. King Ghidorah does collaborate with Gigan briefly during the M Space Hunter Nebula aliens' attempt at conquering the planet in 1972 without being under mind control, and the two kaiju seem to argue and strike each other in annoyance as they try to kill Godzilla and Anguirus.

A malevolent space monster, King Ghidorah attacked the planet Venus under his own power thousands of years ago, eradicating the planet's entire civilization and rendering it an uninhabitable wasteland in only three days. 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 1964, 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.

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 (怪物０ Kaibutsu 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 revealed 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 its 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 JSDF assaulted the Xiliens' hidden base. The Xiliens lost their control over the monsters, while their forces were defeated by the JSDF. 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.

In 1972, 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. After some more fighting, Godzilla and Anguirus finally regrouped and assaulted their foes once more, seizing the upper hand. Gigan attempted to retreat and was shot out of the sky, 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 along with Gigan, leaving Godzilla and Anguirus victorious and the Earth safe once again.

King Ghidorah was later taken control of by an evil race of aliens called the Garogas, and was deployed to Earth to destroy a newly-developed invention called the Blue-Green device, meant to reduce carbon monoxide pollution. The approaching King Ghidorah was soon engaged by the Japanese Air-Self Defense Force, but their efforts proved futile against the space dragon. The Garogas held the scientists who invented the device hostage, intending for King Ghidorah to destroy the building, including the device and the scientists inside. Luckily, Hikaru Sakimori and his siblings arrived just in time to stop them. Transforming into Zone Fighter, Angel, and Junior, the trio manage to ward off the Garogas.

Later, after the Garogas enacted their Dark Prism operation, planting a crystal-like prism for the Zone Family to recover and eventually leading them into a trap, King Ghidorah appeared once more. Hikaru transformed into his giant Zone Fighter form to combat the Terror-Beast, and attempted to lure him away from the research institute where the Blue-Green device was being held. However, Zone Fighter was greatly inhibited by the Dark Prism, which slowly absorbed the Sun's light and left him unable to recharge energy. In this time of need, Hikaru's grandfather Raita unleashed the artificial cloud Bolt Thunder, which struck King Ghidorah with two bolts of lightning.

Weakened by the Bolt Thunder, King Ghidorah's control over the Dark Prism was severed, and Zone Fighter was able to replenish energy once more. With his energy fully restored, Zone Fighter managed to lure King Ghidorah back into space.

While luring King Ghidorah to Venus, Zone Fighter realized that the monster had disappeared. He returned to Earth to protect his family from the Garogas, only to find that they had been kidnapped. After eventually rescuing his family members, Zone Fighter was given an urgent call to return to the research institute, where he found that several cars had been suspended in midair, deducing it as the work of King Ghidorah. Transforming into Zone Fighter once more, Hikaru rescued the passengers of the floating vehicles, and confronted King Ghidorah yet again. As the titans battled in the city, Zone Fighter was struck in the face by one of King Ghidorah's gravity beams, leaving him blinded. Unable to retaliate, Zone Fighter was forced to revert to his human form as King Ghidorah decimated the institute. Returning home, Hikaru's vision was restored, and he decided to face off against King Ghidorah one last time. Successfully luring King Ghidorah to Venus, Zone Fighter managed to defeat the space demon after a vicious struggle, although King Ghidorah managed to escape with his life after the Baron Garoga commanded him to flee, something few of the hero's enemies—Gigan—were able to do.

In 1999, when the crew of the Moonlight SY-3 destroyed the device the Kilaaks were using to control Earth's monsters as part of their invasion of Earth, 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 re-entered the 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 left neck, causing him to cough up blood, while Anguirus bit hard into his right neck, breaking it. Minilla fired a smoke ring that suffocated King Ghidorah's middle head and caused it to fall limp to the ground. Godzilla then approached King Ghidorah's lifeless body and kicked it, confirming that the space monster was finally dead. Mothra and Kumonga then covered King Ghidorah's carcass with silk and webbing. When Godzilla found the Kilaaks' base and destroyed it, it caused a huge fissure to open in the ground, causing King Ghidorah's body to fall 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.

King Ghidorah is a golden, three-headed, armless, bipedal dragon. Each of his heads are adorned with two horns, a crescent, and a mane of hair, and sit atop long necks. King Ghidorah possesses two large bat-like wings and two long tails tipped with feather-like projections. King Ghidorah stands mostly upright, but with a slight forward hunch. At 100 meters, King Ghidorah is the tallest kaiju in the Showa Godzilla universe.