10 Titan Rivalries I Want To See In Godzilla’s Monsterverse

Godzilla and Kong have already gone head-to-head multiple times in Legendary’s Monsterverse, but there are plenty of other incredible head-to-head Titan battles that the connected cinematic universe can explore. The Godzilla franchise, and really all of Toho’s movie catalog, is predicated on massive monsters battling each other with an array of energy blasts, fists, and claws. The Monsterverse has followed through with that as a foundational aspect of the connected universe, with one-on-one fights and multi-monster team-ups acting as the high points of each movie.

Godzilla and Kong seem to have buried the axe for now (pun very much intended), but there are a number of Titans on the surface, deep in the Hollow Earth, and beyond who may have a bone to pick with either of the planet’s two Alpha Titans. More than a dozen Titans have already been introduced in the Monsterverse, and there are plenty more of Godzilla’s nemeses waiting in the wings. Like other Godzilla fans, I want to see some of his classic Toho fights included in the Monsterverse, but I’m even more interested in a few Titan fights that have never happened on the big screen before.

10 Kong vs. Rodan

A showdown between two daikaiju icons

I count myself among the Godzilla fans who believe that the Monsterverse has wasted Rodan thus far, and Legendary would benefit from giving the massive pteranodon-like kaiju another appearance at the very least. He’s already submitted to Godzilla once (at the end of Godzilla: King of the Monsters) and taken on Mothra with mixed results, but I want to see Rodan get a shot at Kong. What makes this matchup so interesting is the difference in fighting styles; Rodan obviously uses his speed to execute aerial attacks, while Kong’s primary assets are his athleticism and strength.

Kong has a history of struggling to overcome flying opponents, which could make this outcome far less certain than most would think. Kong has fought flying Titans twice in the Monsterverse already, and needed help from humanity to survive both battles. Kong was in trouble against a Warbat in his first foray into the Hollow Earth until the H.E.A.V.s intervened, and in the companion graphic novel Kingdom Kong, the massive ape was on the ropes against the demonic bat Titan Camazotz before Monarch fighter jets stepped in. Kong vs. Rodan could be a highly entertaining showdown with no obvious winner.

9 Mothra vs. Battra

The Queen of the Monsters meets her dark reflection

The Monsterverse has already seen Godzilla and Kong take on an evil version of themselves, so it stands to reason that Mothra would be afforded the same opportunity. The Mothra of the Monsterverse is a bit more fearsome than her Toho counterpart, thanks in large part to the massive stinger that she’s equipped with. That may not be enough for her to defeat her dark rival Battra, a creation of the Earth itself who seeks to destroy humanity for everything that it has done to the Earth. ​​​​​

Battra was strong enough to give Godzilla a true fight in both its larval and imago forms, although he has only ever appeared in one movie, 1992’s Godzilla vs. Mothra. Known as “the Black Mothra”, Battra isn’t inherently evil, but would still have plenty of cause to go to war with the Monsterverse’s Mothra, who acts as a bridge between humanity and Titankind. Their fight would largely take place in the air, and would require Mothra to get creative to offset Battra’s deadly Prism Beams.

8 Anguirus vs. Megalon

A Hollow Earth clash for the ages

These two monsters have never met on the big screen, but their rivalry makes a ton of sense as the two burrowing monsters from the Toho universe. Anguirus’ species has been semi-introduced in the Monsterverse, with at least a skeleton appearing briefly in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and Megalon makes sense to introduce via the Hollow Earth given that canonically he’s a guardian monster of an underground civilization, the Seatopians. The two monsters would face off very naturally in the Monsterverse setting-wise, and are evenly matched in weaponry/armor outside of Megalon’s “Beast Killer Laser Beam” from his horn.

7 Godzilla vs. Gigan

A rematch between Big G and one of his deadliest opponents ever

If Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla are Big G’s two biggest rivals, then Gigan is number three on the list. The alien cyborg monster features one of the coolest monster designs in any of Godzilla’s movies, which has gone through several iterations over the decades. He is also responsible for inflicting some of the most grisly damage on Godzilla over the years; thanks to his many bladed attacks, he drew copious amounts of blood from Godzilla in their first showdown in Godzilla vs. Gigan.

With a body covered in sharp edges, supersonic speed, and a potent laser weapon in his head, Gigan is a true threat to the Monsterverse’s Godzilla. He is a truly unique opponent for Godzilla, and would represent a very real threat to the world if he were to emerge from the cold darkness of space.

6 Kong vs. King Caesar

An evenly-matched battle between two guardian Titans

King Caesar is historically a Godzilla ally/opponent, but he actually makes a much more interesting opponent for Kong in the Monsterverse as it stands. Like many of the Titans in the world, King Caesar is canonically worshiped as a guardian deity, and because he requires a form of magic to be woken up, there’s a built-in reason he hasn’t appeared in the Monsterverse to this point. While the ancient shisa kaiju protects humanity like Kong, there are plenty of ways for beef to start between the two.

King Caesar’s energy redirection through his eyes is known as the Prism Eye, and is made possible by a U-shaped crystal behind his eyes where the actual redirection mechanism occurs.

What makes their fight so interesting is how evenly I think they would be matched up. King Caesar’s primary asset is his athleticism, not unlike Kong; he doesn’t blast lasers or fire from his mouth or eyes, although he is able to redirect energy bursts with his eyes. If these two face off, the Monsterverse could feature an elevated level of hand-to-hand fight choreography that was only hinted at in Kong’s first encounter with Skar King in Godzilla X Kong. An extended fight sequence between Kong and King Caesar could be highly entertaining from an actual combat perspective.

5 Shimo vs. SpaceGodzilla

A crystalline clash of ultra-powered monsters

SpaceGodzilla is regarded as one of, if not the most powerful enemies that Godzilla has ever faced. However, in lieu of Godzilla facing yet another evil version of himself (which was a criticism of the original SpaceGodzilla), why not have him face off with a Titan who can provide a more entertaining fight? SpaceGodzilla’s control over crystals could make him an interesting foil for Shimo, the ultra-powerful ice dragon introduced in Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire.

Shimo was controlled by a crystal that Skar King used against her until Suko destroyed it, which creates an interesting connection with SpaceGodzilla, who uses crystals as shields, weapons, and as a power source. SpaceGodzilla’s formidable arsenal of attacks could be matched by Shimo’s frost bite blast, which is recognized as the strongest power in the Monsterverse. Shimo vs. SpaceGodzilla simply seems like a more fun matchup to me than Godzilla vs. another variation of Godzilla again.

4 Godzilla vs. Hedorah

The defender of the natural order vs. the manifestation of human ecocide

Hedorah is a truly iconic classic Toho villain, and while his original tokusatsu appearance seems silly, he was a real threat to Godzilla. An updated, Monsterverse-ified Hedorah could be extremely cool, especially since he fits so seamlessly into the greater Monsterverse narrative. Godzilla is the protector of nature, and Hedorah is the representation of humanity’s devastation of the planet; what better reason could Godzilla have to go to war than that? Hedorah’s power set could make for a fascinating fighter in the Monsterverse, especially since Godzilla in his current state may not have a quick answer for any of them.

Hedorah is seen in five different forms in
Godzilla vs. Hedorah
: his Initial Stage, Aquatic Stage, Landing Stage, Flying Stage, and Perfect Stage.

Hedorah is composed of an acidic sludge known as Hedrium, and he is able to launch parts of his own body in the form of that sludge, using it to burn or smother them. In his flying form, he is capable of spraying a lethal sulfuric acid mist, and in his perfect form he is capable of blasting a “Hedrium Ray” laser from his eye. Godzilla is strong, but he is far from invincible in the Monsterverse. Hedorah’s attacks could prove devastating not only to Godzilla, but to the world around him, putting some real stakes into their showdown.

3 Rodan vs. Megaguirus

A dogfight in the skies

While the aforementioned battle with Kong would be entertaining, an even better foe for Rodan would be able to match him in the skies. The insectoid daikaiju Megaguirus possesses a power set that would be particularly effective against Rodan, although her frailer body would certainly even things up a bit. Megaguirus has a stinger that is capable of draining energy, which she is able to redirect into a fireball. She’s capable of supersonic speed with apex-level agility to match it, making her extremely difficult to actually hit with an attack.

Rodan already had one sky battle in the Monsterverse against Ghidorah, although the fight was brief and not particularly creative. Megaguirus could provide an even more entertaining version of that battle as she and Rodan fight their way across the open skies, as she is a much more natural foil for Rodan than the massive and ultra-powerful Ghidorah.

2 Mechagodzilla vs. Jet Jaguar

A metallic melee between robotic rivals

Given that both franchises fall under the Legendary umbrella and focus on massive monsters, fans have long theorized about and wished for a cross-over between the Monsterverse and the Pacific Rim universe. With Mechagodzilla, Apex Cybernetics introduced the concept of robotic kaiju to the Monsterverse, further opening the possibilities of a cross-over. Digging into Toho lore, Jet Jaguar makes the perfect bridge between the two franchises, and I want to see him in the Monsterverse–but not against a flesh-and-blood Titan.

Jet Jaguar originated from a fan design campaign in 1971, and is based on the winning design of a boy, Masaaki Sano, who nicknamed his original creation “Red Alone”.

I want to see a Monsterverse-ified Jet Jaguar take on Mechagodzilla. The technology and energy source to make Mechagodzilla work is already in the cinematic universe, so a revamped version of the robot could definitely appear in short order. Monsterverse Mechagodzilla was on the verge of killing both Godzilla and Kong, and likely would have if not for the mind-bogglingly silly method of interference with his internal systems. A fast, flying, agile, weaponized Jet Jaguar would give Mechagodzilla a real fight, and would make for an extremely fun matchup.

1 Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

The King of the Monsters vs. the demon born of the Oxygen Destroyer

Many Godzilla fans, myself included, believe that Destoroyah is the “final boss” that the Monsterverse is building towards; he was created by the deployment of the Oxygen Destroyer, which has already happened in the Monsterverse. The ever-evolving crustacean kaiju is positively massive, and is among the strongest foes that Godzilla has ever faced. His Toho design is nightmare-inducing, and seeing him fully fleshed out with modern effects in the Monsterverse is an obvious desire for Godzilla fans.

Seeing a max-level Godzilla face-off against the most powerful kaiju to ever originate on Earth is the type of battle that the Monsterverse deserves as a climax

Godzilla evolved himself in the most recent Monsterverse movie, but he may need to do so again to match up to Destoroyah. In fact, if Destoroyah begins as multiple creatures before combining to create the perfect form, Godzilla may need to recruit some support from his fellow Titans. Seeing a max-level Godzilla face-off against the most powerful kaiju to ever originate on Earth is the type of battle that the Monsterverse deserves as a climax.