If there is one thing better than a monster becoming a friend of humanity in order to wrassle with other, less-domesticated kaiju, it’s two or more monsters becoming friends of humanity in order to… well, you get it. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, the fifth film in the MonsterVerse franchise and the follow-up to a movie that saw Godzilla and Kong fight and then hesitantly team up at the end, is poised to take advantage of this fine tradition. One trailer even showed Kong riding on Godzilla’s back! That’s cinema, baby.
To honor what might be humankind’s most valuable contribution to the arts, here’s a rundown of all of Godzilla’s previous tag-teams across 70 years of films. They range from forced pairings to wild and fantastical brotherhoods, and some are far more effective than others. Godzilla may have begun as an atomic metaphor and a warning about our own scientific hubris, but he always seems to inevitably loop around to being a 30-story-tall heavyweight champion of the world.
All of the movies below are available to stream on Max and Criterion Channel, or for free with ads on Tubi, Plex, and Pluto TV, with the exception of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (only on Pluto TV), Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (only on Pluto TV), Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (digital rental/purchase only), Godzilla: Final Wars (only on Pluto TV), and the show Zone Fighter (on the Internet Archive).
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Prior to Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Godzilla was pretty firmly established as a heel. He loves nothing more than destroying major Japanese cities and kicking every other monster off his lawn. But as pro-wrestling logic dictates, a proper face turn often requires the introduction of a bigger, badder villain, and that one comes in the form of King Ghidorah, a world-conquering space dragon that necessitates Godzilla pal around with Rodan and Mothra in order to send him packing.
Godzilla isn’t exactly pleased with the arrangement, and he and Rodan duke it out before Mothra comes in to tell him to tone down his language and get along. And so all three face down Ghidorah — Mothra (well, Mothra’s caterpillar baby, a critter that seems pretty cool with Godzilla considering that he killed her mom in the last movie) rides on Rodan’s back and sprays silk on Ghidorah while Godzilla tackles Ghidorah from the front. Ten years after Godzilla debuted as a nightmare nuclear vision, he’d become our last ridiculous hope.
Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
When aliens from Planet X come to Earth begging to use our most powerful monsters in order rid their world of a “Monster Zero,” they end up plucking Godzilla and Rodan. Of course, the “Xiliens” reveal they’ve pulled the oldest trick in the book: Steal people’s kaiju heroes, gain control of them, and then use them against those same people. So after Godzilla and Rodan, now comfortable with one another, tussle with Monster Zero (turns out it was King Ghidorah after all), they get sent back to Earth by the Xiliens to wreck stuff.
It doesn’t last too long and soon enough, King Ghidorah faces down Godzilla and Rodan. Without Mothra there, the victory isn’t as clean as the last throwdown. And though Godzilla has some new Muhammad Ali-esque footwork to show off, Ghidorah ends up flying away while Godzilla and Rodan remain in the ocean. The humans seem pretty confident they’re both alive, though. Invasion of Astro-Monster is a great movie with a pretty funny ending. They tried to kill Godzilla for five straight movies. He’ll be fine.
Son of Godzilla (1967)
What is parenthood if not creating more partners for your domineering tag-team stable? That’s what happens by the end of Son of Godzilla when Godzilla, having grown accustomed to the little tyke that looks like a dumpling-shaped version of him that follows him around, takes on the giant spider Kumonga. A running gag involves Minilla being unable to properly use his atomic breath, instead only delivering pathetic blue smoke rings. Godzilla, acting as annoyed as a sitcom dad, can’t abide by this.
By the end, Godzilla and Minilla do simultaneous atomic blasts and torch Kumonga. And as the human characters leave, they see Godzilla embracing his son. It’s cute, but suggests a lifetime of the kaiju equivalent of Godzilla demanding Minilla try out for quarterback while Minilla hides his poetry in a desk drawer.
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
Originally planned to be the final Godzilla movie, Destroy All Monsters teams Godzilla up with nearly every monster to appear so far in his series and in other Toho productions: Minilla, Rodan, Mothra, Anguirus, Kumonga, Manda, Gorosaurus, Baragon, and Varan. It takes a while to get them all on the same side — another round of aliens take control of them and use them to attack major cities around the world, and it’s only after humans manage to destroy whatever is causing the monster-steering wavelengths that the kaiju can unite and take down the aliens and their pet Ghidorah.
Maybe it wasn’t the best idea for the “Kilaaks’’ to implement a beast that’s already been knocked around a few times. Because after Ghidorah beats up Anguirus (beginning a trend that will only get worse for the turtle-shaped kaiju), the other monsters absolutely curb stomp Ghidorah. It gets “You came to the wrong side of town” ugly for the monster that was once considered Godzilla’s archnemesis, and the collection of kaiju leave Ghidorah lifeless on the ground, bleeding out of multiple places. Brutal.
All Monsters Attack (1969)
All Monsters Attack isn’t much of a team-up film until the end, unless you count the emotional bond between a young boy and Minilla (who the young boy dreams about in order to find some solace in between his parents not being around much and his eventual kidnapping) as one. As it turns out, they both have to deal with bullies, with Minilla’s coming in the form of Gabara. Gabara laughs like a hyena and is generally the most unlikable thing in the series so far, tormenting Minilla when Godzilla isn’t around.
When Minilla finally stands up for himself, Godzilla is mighty proud. And then Godzilla thrashes Gabara, too, for good measure. The whole film has an anti-bullying message, which is noble. However, the message gets warped a bit when the outcome is “Stand up to your bullies until you can notify your parents… at which point your parents will then beat the shit out of whoever was messing with you.”
Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Here, Godzilla and Anguirus have to take on Ghidorah and a sleek new space monster called Gigan, who does most of the heavy lifting for their team. He’s not alone — look, Anguirus is a great guy who’s probably really fun when you get a few drinks in him, but in terms of who Godzilla should call when he needs backup, he’s, like, fourth or fifth on the list. He’s no Rodan and tends to get pummeled when left to his own devices. Points for enthusiasm, though.
The tag-team battle here is a great introduction to the vibe of the ’70s Godzilla film, which would whiplash between pure kid-friendliness and blood-soaked carnage. Both Godzilla and Anguirus get busted open by Gigan, the former having his skull nearly caved in. It’s the last run for Anguirus as Godzilla’s little buddy — his final appearance as a good guy would be in 1974’s Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, a film that had the robot doppelganger tear Anguirus’ jaws open and leave him wailing and gushing blood. Poor turtle was always punching above his weight class.
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
Godzilla hopped among different pairings throughout the early ’70s, and here he teams with the grinning robot, Jet Jaguar. He’ll need the assistance, as Gigan returns and joins the titular new villain, a big bipedal beetle. Overall, Godzilla seems pretty chummy with his new friend, and it’s in Godzilla vs. Megalon that most of the tendencies he’s developed during his new period of being the general of MonsterLand come to full, cartoonish focus.
This is the movie with the infamous (or famous, depending on if you have enough good taste to enjoy monster wrasslin’) scene of Godzilla riding along his tail on the ground to deliver a dropkick. Jet Jaguar is the cyborg holding Megalon’s arms down while Godzilla crushes his rib cage, and that’s a pretty good use of his limited skill set. It’s clear that in the ’70s, monster beggars couldn’t be choosers, and Godzilla had to fight alongside whoever was available. Did Rodan retire? Is Mothra just not picking up the phone anymore?
Zone Fighter (1973)
One of the reasons why Godzilla films faced such a financial decline in the late ’60s and ’70s was that television was absolutely eating its lunch. Why wait for a Godzilla film in theaters when you could sit in the living room and watch the array of monsters and baddies in shows like Ultraman and Kamen Rider? So, Godzilla producer Toho Studios introduced its own alien-fighting do-gooder, Zone Fighter. And because it owned Godzilla, why not throw him in as well?
Godzilla appears in a few episodes to help out Zone Fighter when the latter is getting too battered. Oddly enough, when Zone Fighter takes on King Ghidorah, Godzilla is nowhere to be found. He is around to beat up on poor ol’ Gigan, though, and helps Zone Fighter against numerous other challenges. He even gets his own “Godzilla Cave” headquarters to live in, complete with retractable doors! Honestly, it makes all of the other nonsense he had to put up with worth it.
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
After Anguirus’ aforementioned defeat, Godzilla is forced to find a new aide when he goes toe-to-toe with his robot antagonist. This comes in the form of King Caesar, a deity that protects Okinawa from anything, including saurian cyborgs sent from space. Caesar makes for a pretty fun guy to hang out with, as his fighting style is frantic, furious, and capable. It’s a far cry from Anguirus and Jet Jaguar, bros that Godzilla seemed to be bailing out of trouble more so than teaming up with.
Mechagodzilla’s appearance ends the Showa era of Godzilla films with a bang — he’s seemingly got a counter for everything Godzilla can throw at him and, suitably for the time, he leaves Godzilla covered in his own blood before the fight can end. Caesar, on the other hand, is sadly not as well known and wouldn’t appear in another film for 30 years.
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993), Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994), Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
A group of honorable mentions here. The Heisei era of Godzilla films operated under the idea that every Showa film was erased, aside from the 1954 original. Thus, Godzilla was reverted to a more primal creature. He lacks a lot of the anthropomorphic traits the later sequels imbued him with, which, depending on how you like your Godzilla-ing, can be a good or bad thing. In the negative column, the fights are a lot less physically intense. Gone is most of the punching and grappling. Instead, lasers abound, and when Godzilla does team up, it’s rarely in a form of camaraderie.
Rather, potentially helpful beasts like Rodan in Mechagodzilla II or the MOGUERA robot in SpaceGodzilla are treated by Godzilla with, at best, indifference. Even his own child, which first appears in Mechagodzilla II and grows up during the next two films, is treated with a sense of perfunctory paternity. The closest Godzilla gets to caring is when little Godzilla is killed by Destoroyah, an act that pisses Godzilla off. Otherwise, this particular Godzilla was made for stomping, not sharing.
Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
Godzilla: Final Wars celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Godzilla franchise and is basically a monster world tour. We get a few grand returns (King Caesar is director Ryuhei Kitamura’s favorite kaiju, so he finally makes a brief comeback here before Godzilla defeats him), and Godzilla even gets to be amiable for the first time in a few decades. The movie ends with Godzilla and Minilla, father and son, walking into the ocean together, which is the cutest thing one can do in a movie like this.
However, even this is a far cry from the films of the ’60s and ’70s, where Godzilla seemed to outright relish getting the chance to make new monster friends and charge into battle with them. Will Godzilla x Kong return us to the glory days of Godzilla not just being the King of the Monsters but also the ultimate wingman? One can only hope Hollywood is brave enough for that.
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