Entertainment
7 Best Godzilla Movies Where He’s the Hero, Ranked
Watching the way Godzilla changes as a character, from movie to movie, is always fun to watch, and a big reason to get into the overall (and long-running) Godzilla series. Truth be told, Godzilla isn’t the same character in each movie, and there are a few different eras and continuities found throughout the 70+ years of the Godzilla series. He began as a tragic villain, merged into a hero in some more child-friendly movies, then became a darker anti-hero, and then bounced around between character types in the post-Heisei era.
The Showa era, speaking of Godzilla eras, lasted between 1954 and 1975. It saw Godzilla undergoing something of a character arc, and he eventually became a hero in the second half of that era. So, all the films below are from the Showa era. Maybe that’s boring, but Godzilla is a bit more complex than “just” a hero in the Heisei and Millennium era movies, he’s a bit of an anti-hero in the MonsterVerse movies, and then Godzilla Minus One saw him being outright and unambiguously villainous. But if you like seeing Godzilla as a good guy, then the following films are all worth watching.
7
‘Godzilla vs. Gigan’ (1972)
All in all, Godzilla vs. Gigan is a very straightforward Showa era Godzilla movie; the kind you might well picture in your head when you think about this string of Godzilla films, and the way they leaned into slightly more family-friendly territory in the era’s second half. The plot is also about as simple as giant monster movies get, but in a way that mostly works and proves charming. Gigan is another possible threat to Earth, from outer space and all, with Godzilla having to team up with Anguirus to stop him. And yeah, the humans are also wrapped up in defending the Earth and stuff, because humans are always human-ing in Godzilla movies.
Another noteworthy thing about Godzilla vs. Gigan is that it features Godzilla and Anguirus talking with speech bubbles at one point, which is adorable. If you watch the English dub, they go further than communicating with monster noises, and actually speak in English, which is even wilder (and possibly more charming; your mileage may vary). Otherwise, business as usual. Godzilla vs. Gigan is a little schlocky, and certainly not perfect, but it’s solid and decently fun, as a kaiju movie.
6
‘Godzilla vs. Megalon’ (1973)
There was a good bit of silliness in Godzilla vs. Gigan, but then the follow-up, Godzilla vs. Megalon, really doubled down on all the goofy things. It might well be the most kid-friendly of all the Godzilla movies, and there’s even an argument that this movie should be #1 in this ranking, since Godzilla is just very wholesome here. It’s the cutest Godzilla has ever looked, as far as the suit design goes, and helping the overall cuteness is the fact that this is the movie that sees him giving the peace sign, doing the infamous flying kick, and awkwardly shaking hands with his one-off robot ally, Jet Jaguar.
Speaking of Jet Jaguar, he kind of hijacks the movie in parts, and steals the show a bit from Godzilla, but all is forgiven once they team up at the end, which is fun to watch. Gigan returns as a villain, but Megalon is the main one here, what with being the titular monster and all. They’re decently powerful foes, on one hand, but they’re also in a movie that’s tonally pretty much a comedy, so that creates some dissonance. Still, the weirdness here helps Godzilla vs. Megalon more than it hinders it.
5
‘Godzilla vs. Hedorah’ (1971)
And now things get a bit weirder with Godzilla vs. Hedorah, which is simultaneously one of the most offbeat and almost silly Godzilla films, and one of the creepiest, arguably. Hedorah is, on one hand, ridiculous, since it’s a giant monster that’s basically a walking/fighting pile of pollution, but then Hedorah is also surprisingly powerful, and comes much closer to besting Godzilla in combat than you might expect. He puts up a fight that makes him one of the more fearsome Godzilla foes in the history of the series.
Hedorah is malicious enough to put Godzilla in a clearly heroic role, so that’s why Godzilla vs. Hedorah is worth including here. You could sort of compare the whole film to Godzilla vs. Biollante, but it’s harder to break down the two titular monsters in that one into “hero” and “villain” roles. Godzilla vs. Hedorah is a little more straightforward, as far as the conflict between the monsters is concerned. On a more thematic level, though, it could be one of those “humans are the real monsters” kind of things, since pollution causes Hedorah to mutate, and humans have caused pollution on Earth and stuff, so…
4
‘Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla’ (1974)
A recurring nemesis of Godzilla’s is Mechagodzilla, and he’s fittingly introduced in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. This one came right near the end of the Showa era, and it sort of kept things simple and approachable on a narrative front, but it also made things a bit more violent than Godzilla vs. Megalon. Calling it properly dark might be a stretch, though, at least outside the opening act of the movie, which intends to throw you for a loop by making you believe Godzilla’s turned evil again (poor, poor Anguirus).
Turns out Godzilla isn’t actually evil, and it’s Mechagodzilla (initially disguised as the real thing) who’s to blame, so then the real Godzilla gets to play the hero and take down his mechanical counterpart. It breathed some life into the series at that point in its history, and stands as another overall solid Godzilla flick. Terror of Mechagodzilla followed the year after, and was also pretty good (not to mention the last of the Showa era movies), but it’s mostly just deserving of an honorable mention here, since Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is certainly the better of the two.
3
‘Invasion of Astro-Monster’ (1965)
Invasion of Astro-Monster was the second movie that King Ghidorah was featured in, and since he’s pretty much the best and most iconic of Godzilla’s foes (if you don’t pick fellow king, Kong), he’s going to show up a bunch at the top of this here ranking. This one pushes the sci-fi side of things pretty hard, since it involves a battle in space, and a group of aliens who apparently need their planet saved from the always destructive Ghidorah.
Invasion of Astro-Monster pushes the sci-fi side of things pretty hard, since it involves a battle in space, and a group of aliens who apparently need their planet saved.
Godzilla gets a rematch with Ghidorah, after he made a great impression the year before, and it’s fun to see him and Rodan get loaned, in effect, to a different planet for a fight against a familiar foe. Invasion of Astro-Monster is all a bit wild, but it works and is one of the more successful “Hey, we should take this franchise literally into space” sorts of movies.
2
‘Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster’ (1964)
It would’ve been easier to talk about Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster before discussing Invasion of Astro-Monster, but it’s the better movie of the two, and therefore does have to rank higher, ultimately. It’s also the more important movie of the two, for monster movies overall, since it was the introduction of King Ghidorah, and it also marked the first time Godzilla was unambiguously a hero. Well, mostly.
Godzilla kind of progresses into a hero within this film, as lots of it involves Mothra trying to get him to ally with her to take down King Ghidorah, who’s a bigger and overall substantial threat to Earth. Godzilla is eventually convinced, and does indeed team up with Mothra and Rodan to battle Ghidorah. Spoilers, maybe, but also, it’s Godzilla. You don’t really watch the older ones for the plot, especially those in the Showa era, but it’s still possible to appreciate how Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster could well have been quite surprising to viewers at the time, who would’ve been more used to a villainous and/or force-of-nature sort of monster.
1
‘Destroy All Monsters’ (1968)
It’s hard to put Destroy All Monsters in the #1 spot here, since Godzilla is kind of a hero alongside a bunch of other monsters who end up being more or less heroic, but Godzilla’s still the leader of that group, more or less. Call it the Avengers of the Showa era Godzilla movies, maybe, and if you did, then Godzilla would be either Iron Man or Captain America. Hmm, actually, Mothra would probably be Captain America, and Godzilla’s a bit more of a wild card, so that’s a little more Tony Stark/Iron Man.
Regarding the premise of Destroy All Monsters, it’s about the monsters being made to rampage around the world, but they’re under the control of some aliens who want to take over Earth. They’re released from that control, and then the aliens send good old Ghidorah to take over the world instead, and the “Avengers assemble” thing, but for monsters, comes into effect when they have to team up to take Ghidorah down. It’s very simple, yet also extremely satisfying, and sees Godzilla – plus some friends – saving the Earth, which is always nice to see. Godzilla does the same in 2004’s Godzilla: Final Wars, which had a similar premise to Destroy All Monsters, but Godzilla was more of an anti-hero there.
Destroy All Monsters
- Release Date
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August 1, 1968
- Runtime
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89 minutes
- Director
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Ishirō Honda
- Writers
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Ishirō Honda, Takeshi Kimura
