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There’s quite a big roster of monsters in theGodzillacinematic universe and more are continually added as the franchise goes on with the appearance of new movies and shows. There’s fan-favorite foes and a few that are hated beyond belief, but there’s always something or interesting for Godzilla to face off against.
Whilst many were original Toho inventions, a few actually had their own movies first before crossing paths with the big lizard, and back then it was huge to see them appearing in Godzilla movies. So for those that are curious about where these chaotic creatures came from, here’s which Godzilla monsters were standalone movies first.
Are All Godzilla Monsters Original?
Whilst the roster of Godzilla monsters is absolutely heaving with all sorts ofradioactive monstrosities, giant mecha, creatures from beyond the stars, man-made nightmares and more, it can be tricky to keep track of where they all came from. Whilst most have their roots inGodzilla movies, quite a few have their own films behind them.
They werebig in their own rightand at the time the appearance of them inGodzilla movieswas a way toadd more monstersfor the big reptile to batter, and also tomarket the filmsto Eastern Cinema. Plus, it was also a way tosubtly power boost Godzillaby having him absolutely wreck or befriend a monster that, in their own films, wasgod-tier powerfulin their own right.
Which Godzilla Monsters Were Standalone Movies First?
The list ofcreatures that had their own filmsbefore going off against Godzilla is a lot larger than you would expect. Whilst there are a few obvious ones, quite a few are pretty obscure andoriginate around the 50’s or before, with a few appearing in obscure b-movies that didn’t get a lot of circulation.
So it’s understandable to see a few of these names andscratch your head feeling puzzledwhilst wondering where they came from.
But we’ve grabbed as many as we could that are well-known, as well as a couple that are on the lesser-known end of theGodzilla monsterspectrum. Here are themost interesting Godzilla monstersthat had their own movies first.
Kong
First up we have the big Ape himself, King Kong. One of theEight Wonders of the Worldand who first appeared in 1933 in King Kong. A movie where everyone’s favorite big Sapien wasclimbing the Empire State Building with a poor woman in handafter he had been taken from his jungle home.
It’s also a movie that would getremade by Peter Jackson decades later, to a mixed reception and subsequent cult-classic status.
Kong had numerous movies of his own, most notablyThe Son of Kong before Toho brought him in around 1962for King Kong Vs. Godzilla.
Thefirst showdown the two ever had, and something that would continue to happen a few more times right up until current day where we see the likes ofGodzilla X Kong, and Godzilla X Kong: New Empire. Amainstay of the Monsterverse, a classic creature and probably a Kaiju we’re going to be seeing for a long time to come.
Rodan
Whilst you would think Rodan is a Godzilla-only monster, given that they’ve appeared in original Toho and Godzilla: King of the Monsters 2019,Rodan first appeared back in 1956. In their own movie, which was creatively called ‘Rodan’.
In this film Rodan was the name given to not one, buttwo monsters that emerged and tormented Japanese Coastal towns, along with a few other massive monsters that were causing grief for the coastline.
The movie ends withthe two Rodans burning to death symbolically in a volcanoat the end. However, this would be slightly altered by Toho years later asRodan emerges from a Volcanoin all of its future appearances against Godzilla.
Rodan alsoserved as the inspirationfor the flesh-eating, laser-spewing Gyaos of Gamera: Guardian of the Universe. The Gyao also in turnheavily influenced Hajime Isayamathe creator of Attack On Titan. Nice one Rodan.
Varan
A lesser-known and even rarely seen Kaiju,Varan is a bit of an obscure fan-favoritefor some as he’s pretty adorable and over the years has been madesurprisingly dociledespite his origins. First appearing in1958 in the Toho movie ‘Varan’, his debut was as amassive prehistoric creaturethat tormented a lake-based town and then later Tokyo.
He would bedefeated by the JSDF at Haneda Airport, but he popped back up in another smaller version inDestroy All Monstersroughly a decade later. Although, this version was said to bea juvenile that merely observed all the chaoscaused by Ghidorah and his crew of Kaiju.
Despite his obscurity, Varan waspushed regularly for further appearancesover the decades in Godzilla comic books, videogames, and many other unfinished monster movie projects.
Space Amoeba
Space Amoeba is one of those70s-era monstersthat were based on the worlds fascination withthe Space Raceas the aforementioned Amoeba gets its way to Earth by taking control of an unmanned Space Probe.
Chaos would later ensue not long after. The movie itself isa classic for any big creature fanand it first appeared in Eastern Cinemas in 1960 and then in Western Theatres not too long later in 1961.
The movie itself is abouta big blob that infects and mutates a selection of creatures to Kaiju size, including a turtle that looks and acts a little like Gamera, but isn’t. It’s more similar to a Snapping Turtle, but asimilar-looking bi-pedal suitwould appear in its own outing with “Gamera” in 1965. So it at least inspired another franchise on its own.
The Amoeba itself possesses the monsters and a human, but is eventuallydefeated by a group of islandersthat cause the creatures to fall into an active Volcano. Also, admittedly technically Godzilla never fought Space Amoeba, butthe movie does take place in the Godzilla universeas the Amoeba is referenced in Godzilla: Tokyo SOS.
A highlight of the Space Amoeba movie isthe dopey Giant Squid Kaijuas the suit actor always looks about two seconds away from tripping over.
Mothra
Another friendly, fuzzy, andvery flammableface worth a shoutout is Mothra. A dependable ally of Godzilla, she first appeared in her own film in1961 from Toho titled ‘Mothra’before eventually crossing over with Godzilla in 1964 withMothra Vs. Godzilla. Then later on she quickly became afriend and known ally of Godzillaas the franchise went forward.
However, unlike the other Kaijus in the Toho corral, there is a fun distinction in thatthe nameMothradoesn’t apply to the individual creature, it applies to the species. There have been many Mothras over the years as her whole shtick is aboutthe metaphorical cycle of rebirth through fire.
Kind of like a Phoenix but without the coming back after burning alive part. Though in her case there’salways another egg off on an island somewherebeing looked after by telepathic natives in a cave.
A fun fact about Mothra is that in almost every movie she’s in,she catches fireand dies somehow. There’s a few exceptions, butit becomes a recurring bitas the movies go on.
Baragon
A massive and pretty adorable combination of lizard and rodent, Baragon first appeared inFrankenstein Conquers The Worldin 1956. It’s asubterranean creaturethat appeared from underground one day to eat livestock and people, mostly at night.
Throughout the movie,these massacres are blamed on Frankenstein, before the two have a massive throwdown and Baragon loses. But he does take Frankenstein with him into a huge ravine.
The next time we see Baragon, it’s apparently alater generation of the same speciesbut it’s trapped on Monster Island with the other Kaiju. Here it stays safely contained where it can be monitored and studied, that isuntil Destroy All Monsters when it escapedand was later spotted near Mt. Fuji.
Baragon would continue to run amok when it could whenever it wouldpop up in other Godzilla movies over the yearsand its current whereabouts are still unknown.
An interesting tidbit about Baragon is that itsmonster suit would be used again as a base by Tohoover the years to make other monsters in other non-Godzilla films. Such as Neronga, Macular, Gabora and Pagos.
Ultraman
This ones areal deep cutbut follow us on this one because it’s fun. So technicallyGodzilla hasn’t fought Ultraman in a movie, but he has fought him in Battle Soccer and Battle Baseball. Two very earlySuper Nintendo videogamesmade by Banpresto.
Plus, Ultraman had and continues to havemultiple successful movies and spin-offsall on his own where he fights other Kaiju, just like Godzilla.
Also, the other main reason Ultraman is worth mentioning is that he wascreated by Eiji Tsuburaya, who was the head of Toho’s Special Effects and created Godzilla. So there is a through-line. Plus, even though Ultraman was made for his own thing,there were plans for him to be in the Godzilla Universe, but they went with a stand-in instead called Jet Jaguar.
First appearing in 1973 in Godzilla Vs. Megalon,Jet Jaguar was created by inventor Goro Ibukias a deterrent to Kaiju attacks. He also hassimilar abilities to Ultraman, namely size-changing, flight, and blue lasers that would fire from his hands.
Although he would becaptured by Aliens and used against Humantiy. But not long after that gain he gained self-awareness andjoined forces with Godzillato drive the aliens off Earth.
Jet Jaguar got his design from akid’s competition held by Tohocalled Chibikko Kaiju Daigaku or Children’s Monster University. Thewinning designgot to appear in Godzilla Vs. Megalon.
Godzilla 1998
This one is a bit of a silly one, but it’s worth going into as those who may have missed Godzilla: Monster Wars are missing out asthe 1998 Godzillamakes an appearance. For those that don’t know,the Godzilla movie that was made in 1998is widely considered to be just all-around awful.
From itsjanky design that was hidden in the dark and rain, to the by-the-numbers cinematography by Roland Emmerich, tothe concept of self-fertilizationand the general brain-dead approach to that whole movie in general.
But, we do get some great catharsis because Godzilla 1998 does turn up inthe Toho Universeas a monster the OG Godzilla faces off against, and it is absolutely glorious. In Godzilla: Monster Wars,the 1998 Zilla turns up as a creature created by the Aliensto destroy Sydney Australia. But don’t worry, he doesn’t last for long.
The scene in Sydney is set during the night,a nice reference to the 1998 Godzilla only having scenes at nightto hide the rough CGI.
The OG Godzilla appears and within about roughly 30 seconds, with the whole encounter set to a fittingangry punk rock soundtrack provided by Sum41, Godzilla 1998 gets slam dunked like a basketball.
He goesheadfirst into the Sydney Opera House, with the whole building crumbling ontop of him. Then, whilst lying in the rubble it getsannihilated by the OG Godzillaas he uses his Radioactive Fire Breath.
It’s afast jab by the directors at the 1998 Godzillaand for fans that had a lot of bile for that 90’s film, it’s a heartwarming and satisfying moment to see that old mess of a monster get their comeuppance.
The 1998 Godzilla movie is still anenjoyable piece of cinemain its own right, and it did spawn afantastic animated show. But theJurassic Park Velociraptor-esque monster designstill causes a lot of contention.
