Godzilla: 8 Best Ghidorah Designs, Ranked

Summary

• Planet Eater Ghidorah offers a unique design, but neck focus detracts.
• Chibi Ghidorah captures charm and simplicity in a smaller scale.
• Heisei Ghidorah's malice and evolution make it a memorable design.

When it comes to Godzilla's long list of fearsome foes, the mighty three-headed dragon, King Ghidorah, reigns supreme over all the rest. Well, okay, maybe all the rest except Destroyah, but that's another conversation for another day. Regardless, King Ghidorah is easily one of Goji's most beloved adversaries, and we say it's time Ghidorah's best designs got some love.

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You might think Ghidorah's design hasn't changed nearly as much as some of Godzilla's other iconic monsters like Mothra or Rhodan, but you'd be surprised at some of the forms this chaotic kaiju has taken over the years. Of each appearance Ghidorah has made, these are our favorite takes on the King's design.

8 Planet Eater Ghidorah

Biggest And Baddest, In More Ways Than One

Just because the Planet Eater movies weren't exactly what fans were hoping for doesn't mean they're completely devoid of quality or creativity, in fact, the latter is perhaps one of the Netflix trilogy's most redeemable attributes. Sure, this version of King Ghidorah should probably never be the definitive design, but we think it's pretty cool, all things considered.

At least, it's pretty cool when you can actually see it. Unfortunately, a lot of the time King Ghidorah's neck takes center stage rather than the design as a whole, which is pretty disappointing, but in a vacuum, we would buy a poster with this design on it any day.

7 Chibi Ghidorah

Certified Little Guy Energy

Chibi Godzilla Raids Agian is far and away one of Godzilla's greatest TV outings, with its in-joke riddled writing and charming execution. Chibi Ghidorah, of course, is an early example of why this unassuming web series was so worthwhile. Ghidorah's design fits the Chibi Godzilla style while still remaining true to what makes the character work.

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Sure, it might be a bit simple for some tastes, but we say the simplicity is what makes the Chibi design so effective in the first place, and we wouldn't have Chibi Ichi, Ni, or Kevin look any other way.

6 King Ghidorah (Godzilla The Ride)

Ghidorah Hits The Gym

They... they gave King Ghidorah pecs ...and arms... and it works? This may be the kaiju's most baffling design on paper, but when you see it in context on the 2021 Universal Studios Japan attraction Godzilla The Ride: Giant Monsters Ultimate Battle, this muscular take on the classic design really works.

It's a shame that we can't have the Godzilla rides overseas, especially when the rides feature designs like this one, which really helps sell the raw power at Ghidorah's disposal. Get enough reps in, and you can have Ghidorah's pecs too, kids.

5 Showa Era Ghidorah

The Original Design Still Holds Up

Showa-era Ghidorah is the original, and it's a classic. Really, we could just leave it there, but how can we not gush over this iconic design? Even the most outlandish modern takes on the kaiju's design still incorporate the instantly recognizable three heads, two tails, and hooked wings of this 1964 beast, all of which were birthed with the character in Ghidorah: The Three Headed Monster.

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Even if we prefer some of Ghidorah's more recent designs to the classic original, we can't help but feel obligated to include Showa-era Ghidorah anyway thanks to his intimidating size, impressive suit design, and the uncanny jiggliness with which its heads move in the film.

4 Shin Ghidorah

The Nightmare We Never Knew

It is truly a shame that the only time we ever saw this ghostly, spine-riddled take on Ghidorah was in 2019's Godzilla VS. Evangelion: The Real 4D at Universal Studios Japan. Now, some of us here at TheGamer actually got to experience that attraction, but as for the vast majority of Godzilla fans in the West, this version of the classic kaiju may as well be lost media by now.

As the Evangelion units approach Godzilla, a terrifying new take on King Ghidorah appears, with a Shin Godzilla style design. Ghidorah sported gaping maws filled with shark-like teeth, and a haunting form that made us believe he was just as deadly as the legends say. Farewell, 4D Experience Ghidorah, you will be missed.

3 Heisei Ghidorah

The Most Well Known Design

Heisei Ghidorah is a sight to behold. The sheer malice conveyed with the heads on the Heisei-era suit is so palpable that when most people think about Ghidorah today (most people who haven't seen the Monsterverse movies, at least), they think about this design.

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Of course, Heisei Ghidorah also eventually became Mecha-King Ghidorah, a design that is, in our eyes, pretty close to being on par with Mechagodzilla's Kiryu design in terms of memorability, but King Ghidorah himself, pre-mecha form, is just phenomenal in terms of taking what worked about the Showa-era design, and showcasing that design's natural evolution into a titanic monster we won't soon forget.

2 MonsterVerse Ghidorah

Another Win For The Monsterverse

If you somehow didn't know, this design is where the whole Ichi, Ni, and Kevin thing came from. Luckily for both that fan favorite piece of trivia and the monster behind it, King Ghidorah as seen in Godzilla: King of the Monsters is beyond just a silly three-headed dragon; he's downright breathtaking.

The gruff, realistic take lends the creature a whole new sense of scale, and the heads, which probably take the most inspiration from the Heisei design, are incredibly expressive and lifelike, something previous suit incarnations struggled with, to put it lightly. All in all, it's easy to see why this design is so beloved by kaiju fans worldwide.

1 Grand King Ghidorah

Grand Indeed

It takes a lot to dethrone the fan-favorite Monster Zero design Ghidorah had in the Monsterverse, but something about the extra thick scales and intimidating size of the iconic hooks on the beast's wings really bring Ghidorah's appearance in Rebirth Of Mothra 3 to the next level.

Rebirth of Mothra 3 actually had multiple Ghidorahs in multiple time periods, but we're specifically referring to the Grand King Ghidorah design here. We love the center head's antler-like horns, which contrast beautifully with the symmetrical ones on either side, and the powerful gold finish on the suit. His mighty stature and proud presentation make Grand King Ghidorah feel truly worthy of being called a king.

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