Godzilla and the other monsters in the world have changed their allegiances to each other and to humanity in the last 70 years, and some of the most notable have gone from vicious enemies to some of Godzilla’s most loyal allies. Some of Godzilla’s most noteworthy movies are defined by him tag-teaming with another monster to take down powerful villain team-ups that threaten the world. Whether co-existing peacefully on Monster Island or taking down the baddest monsters to ever plague the planet, Godzilla’s relationship with his allies is central to his lore.

With each decade of Godzilla movies, the alignment of Godzilla’s intentions has changed, and with it his relationship to other monsters. As each version of the primary Godzilla timeline has progressed, new monsters have risen up to take on Godzilla, with admittedly very few of them transforming into allies if they survive their first encounter with the radioactive lizard. However, seven monsters from his history began as enemies before joining forces with Big G to take on monstrous and menacing threats.

7

Kumonga

The Giant Spider Helped Take Down King Ghidorah

Kumonga doesn’t have the most inventive design, as he is essentially just a giant spider. Originally native to Sollgel Island, Kumonga appeared as the primary antagonist in 1967’s Son of Godzilla, which saw Godzilla and his smooth-bodied offspring Minilla take on the insect kaiju after he had already proven himself a ᴅᴇᴀᴅly threat by killing one of the island’s remaining Kamacuras. Kumonga was ultimately killed by the combined atomic breath of Godzilla and Minilla in the climax of Son of Godzilla.

However, a second Kumonga (with an eerily similar design, of course) appeared the very next year in the kaiju battle royale movie Destroy All Monsters. That Kumonga lived in peace in Monsterland, which is not to be confused with Monster Island, until King Ghidorah and the alien Kilaaks threatened the world. Kumonga then teamed up with Godzilla and the rest of Earth’s monsters, and Kumonga was part of the tag team (along with the larval Mothra) that encased King Ghidorah in silk and webbing. He then returned with his fellow monsters to live in peace.

6

Kong

Kong Was One Of Godzilla’s Earliest Enemies

Long before their long-standing beef in Legendary’s Monsterverse, Godzilla and Kong did battle across Japan in 1962’s kaiju classic King Kong vs. Godzilla. King Kong was just the second monster Godzilla ever battled in his movie career, and he even wound up beating Godzilla in their final climactic battle. Their animosity continued in Godzilla vs. Kong before they finally put aside their differences to conquer the greater threat to themselves and the world at large, Mechagodzilla. They teamed up again in Godzilla X Kong, and as it stands they have developed an uneasy truce, sticking to their own territories.

5

MOGUERA

The Mechagodzilla Replacement Built To Stop Godzilla

The robot monster Moguera made his debut in Toho’s 1957 non-Godzilla movie The Mysterians, but he was reimagined during the Heisei Era as an alternative to Mechagodzilla, which had not been able to destroy Godzilla in their previous battle. MOGUERA actually stands for Mobile Operations Godzilla Universal Expert Robot Aero-type, but before it could be called into battle against Godzilla, it was sent to stop an unidentified anomaly from space, which wound up being SpaceGodzilla. MOGUERA was nearly destroyed by Godzilla’s cosmic clone, but was salvaged and repaired by G-Force.

From there, MOGUERA was sent in against SpaceGodzilla again, this time working side-by-side with Godzilla to defeat the ultra-powered doppelgänger. While they were able to team up and destroy SpaceGodzilla’s crystalline power source, MOGUERA was destroyed in the process, never to return to Godzilla’s filmography. Despite MOGUERA and Godzilla never actually coming to blows, it was created for the sole purpose of destroying Godzilla, qualifying him as an enemy-turned ally.

4

Shimo

The Powerful тιтan Fought Godzilla, But As A Victim

Shimo’s relationship with Godzilla is interesting, only because audiences don’t know the whole story. The тιтan with the world’s most powerful attack certainly begins Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire as an enemy of Godzilla, but only due to her being controlled through pain by the evil ape тιтan Skar King. She and Godzilla do battle both in the Hollow Earth and on the surface, and while Godzilla never feels truly threatened, Shimo is clearly among the most powerful enemies he’s ever faced. They wind up aligned once Skar King’s hold over her is broken.

There is reason to believe that the two were allies in the past as well. When Alan Jonah and Dr. Emma Russell release Ghidorah in Antarctica, they do so by breaking the ice that encases his entire body. The novelization of Godzilla X Kong reveals that it was in fact Shimo who froze Ghidorah in the first place. That points to her and Godzilla sharing the same role as guardian тιтans, even if Godzilla may have been the Alpha тιтan even in antiquity once Ghidorah was dispatched.

3

Rodan

The Giant Pteranodon First Changed Alliances In The Same Movie

Rodan is one of Toho’s oldest monsters, and one of a very few to get his own solo movie before clashing with Godzilla. Eight years after his debut, Rodan and Godzilla battled each other to a draw early in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. However, they were soon stopped by the larval Mothra, who begged them to unite against the greater threat of King Ghidorah. It was only when Mothra took on the powerful dragon on her own that they put aside their differences, and the three monsters teamed up to stop King Ghidorah.

Since then, Rodan and Godzilla have mostly lived in peace as allies, with Rodan even sacrificing his own life to power up Godzilla during the Heisei Era, Mothra-style. Their relationship was reset for the Monsterverse, as Rodan’s behavior designated him as a destructor тιтan. He bowed before Ghidorah when he defeated Godzilla initially, and after teaming with Ghidorah against Godzilla and Mothra he eventually recognized Godzilla as the Alpha тιтan, leading them back to at least peaceful coexistence.

2

Mothra

The Ultimate Force For Good Began As An Answer To Godzilla’s Destruction

Like Rodan, Mothra debuted in her own solo movie before battling Godzilla for the first time in the 1964 classic Mothra vs. Godzilla. In the movie, an old and dying imago-form Mothra travels from her home on Infant Island to the Japanese mainland to protect her own egg from a rampaging Godzilla. She fights knowing that she will never return home, but knowing that she will be reborn when the egg hatches a new larval form. The adult Mothra manages to defeat Godzilla temporarily before dying, and eventually her twin larva also battle and defeat Godzilla.

Since then, Mothra has more often than not been a steadfast ally of Godzilla. As the Queen of the Monsters, she and Godzilla have a sort of symbiotic relationship, a notion that the Monsterverse picked up for the characters. As a steadfast defender of Earth, Mothra has had occasion to battle Godzilla since they first battled together in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, but only when Godzilla became a real threat to the world.

1

Anguirus

Godzilla’s First Foe And Most Loyal Ally

After Godzilla first destroyed Tokyo in his 1954 debut, Toho sought to capitalize on their runaway success and rushed a sequel into production. Just a year later, Godzilla returned in Godzilla Raids Again, that time fighting against the giant ankylosaurus monster Anguirus. Godzilla actually killed Anguirus in the first battle, but a new Anguirus appeared in Destroy All Monsters that was one of Godzilla’s most effective allies. That same monster tag-teamed with Godzilla to fend off the alien monsters of Godzilla vs. Gigan.

Since then, Anguirus’ reputation has evolved into one of Godzilla’s most brave and loyal allies, living peacefully on Monster Island with him and rushing headlong into battle at his side, even though Anguirus is often outmatched. He fought against Godzilla once more in Godzilla: Final Wars, but only due to the mind control of the Kilaaks. An Anguirus skeleton appears in Godzilla’s home in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, indicating that even in the Monsterverse, Anguirus was at one point Godzilla’s loyal friend.