Godzilla Week: Top 10 Toho Monsters (Kaiju)

#3 KING GHIDORAH (Kingu Gidora, キングギドラ)

First Sighting: December 1964

Size: 150 Meters, Wingspan 175 Meters

Powers: Mach 3 flight, Mach 4 Anti-Gravaity flight, Gravity beam, wing hurricane, Laser trip beam, Upgraded to Mecha Armor

Featured Films: Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster, Invasion of the Astro Monster, Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, Godzilla Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack

Bio: Ghidorah, named from the Japanese word for Hydra (hidora), is inspired by the the eight headed Japanese mythic beast, Yamata no Orochi. The monster, with three independently thinking heads, has been characterized as both a pure evil and a creature who is merely psychically controlled, save for his final appearance in 2001, as a Guardian of the Earth. Ghidora is about the most popular of Godzilla’s nemesis, and is said to have an origin similar to that of Godzilla, as Atom Bomb testings resulted in the fusion of small, harmless animals, called the Dorat, into the fearsome dragon.