Though all Godzilla’s enemies must lose eventually, some have proven their prowess in battle by pulling off some impressive victories. Godzilla has fought well over a dozen different monsters, yet only a handful can claim even one win against him in the franchise. The vast majority of Godzilla’s adversaries have never beaten him or one of his allies.
Godzilla has done more than enough to earn his reputation as King of the Monsters, as evidenced by all the kaiju he’s defeated, going all the way back to his historic win over Anguirus in the franchise’s second installment, Godzilla Raids Again. However, that’s not to say he has a flawless record. While Godzilla is certainly not prone to losing, there have been occasions where it’s his opponent who comes out on top. Every single one of Godzilla’s enemies has lost to him in battle at some point or another, but there were six who eked out a win in a movie.
6 Biollante Has Beaten Godzilla Once
A one-off villain from the Heisei era, the titular antagonist of 1989’s Godzilla vs. Biollante was a giant plant kaiju created from the DNA of a rose, a deceased young woman, and Godzilla himself. Biollante was overwhelmed by Godzilla during their first encounter, but the creature’s regenerative capabilities made her nearly impossible to kill. After blasting Godzilla with her corrosive sap, the latter appeared to finish her off with his atomic breath. Succumbing to the effects of his opponent’s sap, Godzilla lost consciousness afterward and sunk into the depths of the ocean. Having reduced itself to a much smaller form, Biollante escaped into space, with Godzilla’s state at the end of the movie rendering her the true victor.
5 SpaceGodzilla Has Beaten Godzilla Once
Godzilla experienced a rare loss when he went up against SpaceGodzilla for the first time. The second-to-last villain of the Heisei era, SpaceGodzilla was a force to be reckoned with, thanks in large part to the power granted to him by the crystals on his shoulders. Godzilla struggled mightily with him, but gained an edge during their final battle. With a little help from Moguera and the humans, Godzilla targeted SpaceGodzilla’s weakness – his shoulder crystals – and avenged his earlier defeat. The spiral heat ray, the strongest attack in Godzilla’s arsenal, is what finished off the monster.
4 King Kong Has Beaten Godzilla Once
Across two movies, King Kong has had four chances to beat Godzilla, but in only one of those movies has he actually emerged victorious. Following a brutal loss in 1962’s King Kong vs. Godzilla, King Kong was struck with a bolt of lightning that inexplicably recharged him. Having gotten a second wind, Kong used his new electrical powers to overcome the power level gap between him and Godzilla. Kong, who clearly had all the momentum in their fight, tumbled into the ocean with him. By becoming the only one of the two to surface from the water, Kong was deemed King Kong vs. Godzilla’s winner.
Due to losing both rematches in Godzilla vs. Kong, he doesn’t have an overall good record against Godzilla, but he has done quite well against other monsters. Due to multiple movie appearances, Kong has prevailed over a long list of gigantic creatures, including two from Godzilla’s franchise, Mechagodzilla and Gorosaurus. He also bested his own robotic counterpart in the form of Mechani-Kong in Toho’s Kong Kong Escapes.
3 King Ghidorah Has Two Contested Wins Over Godzilla
Despite being the villain in more Godzilla movies than any other kaiju, King Ghidorah only had two fights that can be chalked up to a victory for Monster Zero, though both are admittedly debatable. Similar to the situation that culminated in King Kong being crowned the winner of King Kong vs. Godzilla, Ghidorah was the only monster to come out of the water after he, Rodan, and Godzilla all fell in together in Invasion of Astro Monster. The idea that Ghidorah, who struggled with them throughout the movie, could win against both in the ocean would be surprising, but that is what the ending implied.
King Ghidorah can also be considered the winner of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah’s final battle. Godzilla decisively won the first round, but the second one can be called a tie – if not an outright win for Ghidorah. After being rebuilt as Mecha-King Ghidorah by the humans, Ghidorah sacrificed himself to take Godzilla out, seemingly ending his rampage in Tokyo. Ghidorah’s victory was slightly undermined by the reveal at the end that while Godzilla was beaten, he managed to survive Mecha-King Ghidorah’s last-ditch effort to defeat him.
2 Mothra Has Beaten Godzilla Twice
Although not a villain in any sense, Mothra is rightfully regarded as one of Godzilla’s biggest enemies. After all, she’s taken it upon herself to defend the world from him in multiple films. Unfortunately, this has resulted in repeated deaths for Mothra. That said, she has succeeded in stopping him, but her efforts always come with a cost. After Mothra’s death in Mothra vs. Godzilla, her twin larvae immobilized him with their silk, allowing the two to come away with a victory. In 1992’s Godzilla vs. Mothra, she teamed up with her mortal enemy, Battra, and defeated Godzilla. Mothra survived, but Battra died in their joint effort to seal him away in their ocean.
1 Mechagodzilla Has Beaten Godzilla 3 Times
The monster with the most wins against the King of the Monsters is none other than Mechagodzilla. After a string of losses in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, Terror of Mechagodzilla, and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, the robot kaiju finally got a win in his fourth movie. Following yet another defeat early in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, the new version of the character – named Kiryu – fared much better in their final battle, doing so well that Godzilla halted his rampage and went back into the ocean. The fact that Godzilla retreated is enough to qualify this as a win for Mechagodzilla.
The direct sequel, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S, saw Godzilla prove that despite his loss, he was still the stronger of the two. Mechagodzilla’s inability to win on his own led Mothra to get involved and sacrifice herself to give the robot a chance. In the end, Mechagodzilla died beating Godzilla and saving Japan. In contrast to Toho’s last two takes on the kaiju, the MonsterVerse created a villainous interpretation of the robot for Godzilla vs. Kong. Having exhausted himself fighting Kong, Godzilla came up short against Mechagodzilla and needed Kong to step in. Looking at his history with Mechagodzilla, it seems fitting that Godzilla’s first-ever loss in a one-on-one fight in the MonsterVerse would come at Mechagodzilla’s hands.
