King Ghidorah

King Ghidorah
Godzilla film series character
First appearance Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Last appearance Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
Created by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Portrayed by Shōwa
Shoichi Hirose
Susumu Utsumi
Kanta Ina
Heisei
Hurricane Ryu
Millennium
Akira Ohashi
Aliases Ghidrah
Ghidora
Monster Zero
Thousand Year-Old Dragon
Grand King Ghidorah[1]
King of Terror[1]

King Ghidorah (キングギドラ Kingu Gidora) is a kaiju film monster that first appeared in the Toho's 1964 film Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. Although Toho officially trademarks the character as King Ghidorah[2] the character is usually referred to as Ghidrah in English markets.[3][4] WatchMojo.com listed King Ghidorah as #1 on their "Top 10 Godzilla Villains" list.[5]

Overview

Development

The initial idea for Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster came from Tomoyuki Tanaka, who also created Godzilla. Tanaka's inspiration came from an illustration of the Lernaean Hydra in a book about Greek Mythology, and Orochi of Japanese folklore. Tanaka was enamored with the idea of Godzilla fighting a multi-headed serpent, but considered 7-8 heads to be excessive, with the number of heads being reduced to three.[6] The final version was an armless, three-headed dragon with large wings, two tails and of extraterrestrial origin.[7] Screenwriter Shinichi Sekizawa insisted that the Ghidorah suit be fabricated using light-weight silicon-based materials in order to grant the wearer greater mobility.[8] The final Ghidorah design was constructed by special effects artist Teizo Toshimitsu,[9] who had initially painted it green in order to further differentiate it from Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra, but changed it to gold on the insistence of Eiji Tsuburaya, after his assistant noted that being a creature from Venus, the "gold planet", Ghidorah should be that color.[6] The monster costume itself was built by Akira Watanabe, and worn by Shoichi Hirose, who also played King Kong in Toho's King Kong vs. Godzilla. Hirose walked hunched over inside the Ghidorah costume, holding a metal bar for balance, while puppeteers would control its heads, tails and wings off-camera like a marionette.[7] Each of the monster's heads were fitted with remotely controlled motors, which were connected to operators via a wire extending from the suit's backside.[9] Performing as Ghidorah proved challenging to Hirose, as he had to time his movements in a way that would not conflict with the separately operated heads and wings, as doing so would have resulted in the overhead wires tangling.[8] Because of the suit's weight, it frequently snapped the overhead wires supporting it.[9] Special effects were added as the creature is capable emitting destructive, lightning-like "gravity beams" from its mouths and generating hurricane-force winds from its wings.[10] Despite King Ghidorah's central role in the film's plot, the character was given little screen time, as Hirose had fallen out with special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, who never forgave Hirose for accepting a Hollywood deal, and subsequently hired Susumu Utsumi to play King Ghidorah after Invasion of Astro-Monster.[8]

In Invasion of Astro-Monster, King Ghidorah was given a darker shade of gold, and its movements both on land and in the air were more fluid than during Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, as the special effects crew had at that point learned from the shortcomings of the previous film's depiction of the creature.[11]

In Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, the character's ruffs of hairs surrounding its heads were replaced with horns, as it proved difficult for the special effects team to superimpose the individual strands of hair onto footage of people escaping the monster.[12] Special effects director Koichi Kawakita had originally planned on having each of Ghidorah's heads fire differently colored beams, but this was ultimately scrapped in favor of the classic yellow color.[13]

For Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, director Shūsuke Kaneko had originally planned on using Varan as Godzilla's principal antagonist, but was pressured by Toho chairman Isao Matsuoka to use the more recognizable and profitable King Ghidorah,[14] as the previous film in the franchise, Godzilla x Megaguirus, which featured an original and unfamiliar antagonist, was a box office and critical failure. In order to emphasize Ghidorah's heroic role in the movie, his size was greatly reduced. He was portrayed by Akira Ohashi, who moved the creature's heads as hand puppets.[15]

Fictional biography

Shōwa era (1964-1973)

In his debut film, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Ghidorah is portrayed as an ancient extraterrestrial entity responsible for the destruction of the Venusian civilization, five thousand years before the film's events. His attempt to destroy Earth is thwarted by the combined efforts of Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra.[16] Subsequent Shōwa era films would portray Ghidorah as the pawn of various alien races seeking to subjugate Earth.[17][18][19]

King Ghidorah also appears in the fifth and sixth episodes of the television series Zone Fighter, where it is revealed that he is a creation of the Garoga aliens.[20][21]

Heisei period (1991-1993)

In Kazuki Ōmori's Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, the character's backstory is completely re-envisioned: he originates as a trio of diminutive genetically engineered creatures called "Dorats" owned by members of the 23rd century Equal Environment Earth Union, a group dedicated to equalizing the power of Earth's nations. Seeking to stop Japan's global economic dominance in their timeline by transforming the Dorats into King Ghidorah through nuclear exposure, the Earth Unionists hope to plant the Dorats on Lagos Island during the 1944 H-bomb tests there. Prior to doing so, they remove the dinosaur that would ultimately become Godzilla from the island, so that the resulting King Ghidorah would be able to attack Japan without opposition. In 1992, the Earth Unionists unleash Ghidorah onto Japan, but he is defeated by a recreated Godzilla. The wounded King Ghidorah lies dormant under the sea for two centuries before being outfitted with robotic parts by a disillusioned Earth Unionist and sent back to 1992 in order to stop Godzilla's rampage.[22] In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, "Mecha-King Ghidorah's" remains are salvaged by the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasures Center (UNGCC) and reverse engineered to create Mechagodzilla.[23]

Millenium period (2001)

In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, Ghidorah is portrayed as having been one of the three guardians of Yamato, originating 1,000 years before the events of the film. Initially an antagonist, Ghidorah was imprisoned in Mount Fuji, only to be reawakened in 2001 to halt Godzilla's destruction of Tokyo. He is defeated, but then revived and empowered by his ally Mothra.[24]

Appearances

Spin-off characters based on Ghidorah (although quadruped in appearance) were featured in other Toho films: "Desghidorah" (or Death Ghidorah) in Rebirth of Mothra and "Keizer Ghidorah" in Godzilla: Final Wars. In July 2014, Legendary Pictures confirmed to have obtained the rights to King Ghidorah, Mothra, and Rodan from Toho and plan to feature them in their sequel.[25][26]

Films

Television

Video games

Literature

Music

References

  1. 1 2 Rebirth of Mothra III Toho 1998
  2. ↑ "King Ghidorah Official Trademark". Toho. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  3. ↑ "North American poster for GHIDRAH". Continental Releasing-1965. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Ghidorah Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Toho. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  5. ↑ WatchMojo.com (September 25, 2015). "Top 10 Godzilla Villains". YouTube. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  6. 1 2 CHO Japan (2012-10-31). "1970's Godzilla FX Director - PART I - ７０年代のゴジラの特技監督 (SciFi Japan TV #06)". YouTube. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
  7. 1 2 David Kalat - Ghidorah: The Three Headed Monster, Classic Media R1 DVD Audio Commentary
  8. 1 2 3 Kalat, D. (2010), A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series, McFarland, p. 77-78, ISBN 978-0-7864-47-49-7
  9. 1 2 3 Yasuyuki Inoue: 1922-2012, SciFi Japan (February 24, 2012)
  10. ↑ King Ghidorah character profile - Godzilla Movie Studio Tour (PC Game), 1998
  11. ↑ Ryfle, S. (1998). Japan’s Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of the Big G. Toronto: ECW Press. p. 124. ISBN 1550223488.
  12. ↑ David Milner, "Shinji Nishikawa Interview", Kaiju Conversations (December 1995)
  13. ↑ David Milner, "Koichi Kawakita Interview", Kaiju Conversations (December 1994)
  14. ↑ Ed Godziszewski and Norman England, "Interview with Shusuke Kaneko", Japanese Giants, Issue #9 (June, 2002)
  15. ↑ Kalat, David (2010). A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. pp. 240–41. ISBN 978-0-7864-47-49-7.
  16. ↑ Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964). Directed by Ishirō Honda. Toho.
  17. ↑ Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965). Directed by Ishirō Honda. Toho.
  18. ↑ Destroy all Monsters (1968). Directed by Ishirō Honda. Toho.
  19. ↑ Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972). Directed by Jun Fukuda. Toho.
  20. ↑ "Attack King Ghidorah!". Zone Fighter. Directed by Jun Fukuda. April 30, 1973
  21. ↑ "King Ghidorah's Counterattack!". Zone Fighter. Directed by Jun Fukuda. May 7, 1973
  22. ↑ Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991). Directed by Kazuki Ōmori. Toho
  23. ↑ Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993). Directed by Takao Okawara. Toho
  24. ↑ Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001). Directed by Shusuke Kaneko. Toho.
  25. ↑ Jeffries, Adrianne (July 26, 2014). "Gareth Edwards returns to direct 'Godzilla 2' with Rodan and Mothra". The Verge. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  26. ↑ Sullivan, Kevin P. (2014-08-14). "‘Godzilla 2′ Gets Release Date: ‘Let Them Wait’". MTV.
  27. ↑ "Graphic Novel: Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah". Tohokingdom.com. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
  28. ↑ "Book: Godzilla Saves America: A Monster Showdown in 3-D!". Tohokingdom.com. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
  29. ↑ "King Geedorah "Take Me To Your Leader"". HipHop-Elements.com. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
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