Monsters Solving Human Problems: The Non-Kaiju Villains

[Rodan]

Just like M vs G, their end is quite poetic.

I have to say, I'm a huge sucker for the human villains being killed by the monsters. It's maybe a little too pat to work all the time, but as a basic "here's how you do a giant monster movie" script mechanic, I'll almost always take it. It just really keeps things feeling coherent and tight (and works well with more metaphorical takes (the best ones)). Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster nails it as well, resolving the long-running and vaguely monster-related human caper when their chase takes them too close to Godzilla and Ghidorah's fight.

[Giga Kaiju]

It iss really satisfying to see the villains get 'off'ed' like that. Serves them right for being jerks, using the monsters most of times for their own purposes somehow.

[edgaguirus]

Agreed. The H Man is another good example. The guy pretends to be melted, and then after kidnapping the singer becomes a meal for the mutants.

[KaijuFiend]

Non-kaiju villains are great to have, because they bring a more human and down-to-earth threat to the mix. I hope we see more of them in future G films.

[Giga Kaiju]

Agreed. The H Man is another good example. The guy pretends to be melted, and then after kidnapping the singer becomes a meal for the mutants.

Or when the Futurians in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah get beat up by the MC's only to get finished off by Godzilla later in the movie.

It really is a treat to see things like that with the human villains.

[Pkmatrix]

In general, I like the human villains! They always add something more to the movie and are another reason why the Godzilla films have been so diverse.

My thoughts on each:

Kumayama and Torahata in Mothra vs. Godzilla - These two were the first proper villains in the series and, oh boy, they set the bar so high! They're deliciously greedy and evil, villains you love to hate. What's great about them (besides their slimy smugness) is how powerless the heroes are against them: what they're doing is wrong, but they're just within the law and, ultimately, there's nothing the heroes can do to really stop them. Luckily, Godzilla is on hand to deliver the retribution they deserve. >=D

The Assassins in Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster - Not nearly as memorable as many others, but serve well as more actiony goons for the heroes to battle with. ^_^ They make the human story in GTTHM an exciting and suspenseful one!

The Xians in Monster Zero - Of all the alien invaders, the Xians IMO were probably the most interesting ones and made for pretty great villains.

Red Bamboo in Ebirah, Horror of the Deep - Kinda generic baddies, honestly. They aren't given a whole lot of depth or real explanation for what it is they're doing, so they come across as being evil for evil's sake. They serve the purposes of the movie and have great potential if Toho or Legendary or IDW ever brings them back, but otherwise not much to say about them.

Furukawa in Son of Godzilla - Okay, this is one I think nearly everyone is going to overlook because Furukawa isn't really a villain so much as just the film's human antagonist. What I like about the human plot in this movie is how there are no real bad guys, but there's still a big character v. character conflict between Furukawa and the rest of the team that serves as a driver of a lot of the character interactions throughout the film. He's not evil, he's not villainous, he's just a normal well-meaning guy who's sick of his posting and wants to go home. I like it, it's probably the most subtle of all the human antagonists in the whole franchise. ^_^

The Kilaaks in Destroy All Monsters - Honestly, these are probably the least interesting of all the villains in the series. They're aliens, they want to conquer Earth, and...that's it? They're neat as a concept and work well enough for the plot, but compared to the other alien invaders (and even the Red Bamboo) they're pretty blah.

The Bullies and The Criminals in Godzilla's Revenge - Honestly, I don't have much to say about them since I haven't seen this movie in more than a decade. ^_^()

The Nebulans in Godzilla vs. Gigan and Godzilla vs. Megalon - I like these guys better than the Kilaaks since at least these aliens have some personality, but not particularly a favorite.

The Seatopians in Godzilla vs. Megalon - A step below the Nebulans, but still better than the Kilaaks if only because they at least get some fleshing out for their culture and motivations.

Kuronuma in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla - Easily one of the most memorable villains in the franchise, he's like an alien cigar-chomping version of Toruhata! He's smug, never once believing the heroes stand a chance, and when defeat comes it takes him completely by surprise.

Mugal in Terror of Mechagodzilla - Honestly, I haven't seen ToMG in a long time but I remember Mugal as being very similar to Kuronuma so a pretty good villain. ^_^

Agent SSS-9 and the Bio-Major operatives in Godzilla vs. Biollante - Agent SSS-9 is a cool villain! He serves a very similar role in the story as the Assassins did in GTTHM, but does so well and it very memorable. The Bio-Major operatives are fun too, even if they're really just cannon fodder for SSS-9 to shoot at.

The Futurians in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah - Honestly, I'm not a fan of these guys. Their plan is convoluted, their motivation vague, and really they're pretty forgettable.

Takeshi Tomokane in Godzilla vs. Mothra - My least favorite of all the Godzilla villains. The guy serves basically no purpose in this story and, ultimately, is just written out of by the end (like all the characters, honestly). Just awful.

G-Force in Godzilla vs. Super-Mechagodzilla - This one is another that I'm sure will make people scratch their heads and go, "Huh?" Yes, G-Force are supposed to be the bad guys in GvMG'93. I admit it's a bit muddled, but the movie pretty strongly implies that you're NOT supposed to side with G-Force in the story. That's why the MG Commander is so unlikeable, the crew basically anonymous, and the G-Force upper personnel treated as seeming to care so little about the people they're supposed to be protecting (look at how no effort is made to draw Godzilla or Rodan away from the city during the finale): you're not supposed to like them at all. G-Force's single-minded goal is to kill Godzilla no matter the cost, and while the heroes start off agreeing with G-Force by the end of the movie they've all pretty much decided that G-Force was wrong to build Mechagodzilla and that Godzilla should be left alone. The movie doesn't make that obvious, though, because a typical movie with this sort of set up would've had a moment where the heroes turn on the organization to do what's right - that never happens here. If it did, it would've been Miki refusing to lock on the G-Crusher. She hesitates, which does show she's changed, but follows through and seems to regret the decision immediately after. It's almost dystopian the way this plays out.

The Yakuza in Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla - Another one where it's been too long that I can't really comment. ^_^()

Katagiri in Godzilla 2000 - Definitely one of the better bad guys, he's another one who isn't really evil but is still a baddie and pretty memorable.

Xilian Commander in Godzilla Final Wars - Good lord, what the hell were they thinking with this guy? WAY beyond over the top, he's kind of funny and amusing but really he's just such a cartoonish character you never take him seriously as the film's villain. Another of my least favorite, and would probably sit at the bottom if not for Tomokane.

[BlankAccount]

Don't forget that G-Force had Baby Godzilla, the whole motivation for Godzilla and Rodan to even show up in a city was to get the baby. Once Godzilla got a companion he really chilled out and only attacked later due to Spacegodzilla kidnapping him and later his meltdown causing pain he did not understand and associated it with humans in his confusion (and in a roundabout way, he isn't wrong).

[Beef Bigshot]

Don't forget that G-Force had Baby Godzilla, the whole motivation for Godzilla and Rodan to even show up in a city was to get the baby. Once Godzilla got a companion he really chilled out and only attacked later due to Spacegodzilla kidnapping him and later his meltdown causing pain he did not understand and associated it with humans in his confusion (and in a roundabout way, he isn't wrong).

Ya I actually never thought about how chill Heisei Goji got when he got baby godzilla. Wander if they had been able to live there life out undisturbed, what would happen?

[darthzilla99]

G-Force in Godzilla vs. Super-Mechagodzilla - This one is another that I'm sure will make people scratch their heads and go, "Huh?" Yes, G-Force are supposed to be the bad guys in GvMG'93. I admit it's a bit muddled, but the movie pretty strongly implies that you're NOT supposed to side with G-Force in the story. That's why the MG Commander is so unlikeable, the crew basically anonymous, and the G-Force upper personnel treated as seeming to care so little about the people they're supposed to be protecting (look at how no effort is made to draw Godzilla or Rodan away from the city during the finale): you're not supposed to like them at all. G-Force's single-minded goal is to kill Godzilla no matter the cost, and while the heroes start off agreeing with G-Force by the end of the movie they've all pretty much decided that G-Force was wrong to build Mechagodzilla and that Godzilla should be left alone. The movie doesn't make that obvious, though, because a typical movie with this sort of set up would've had a moment where the heroes turn on the organization to do what's right - that never happens here. If it did, it would've been Miki refusing to lock on the G-Crusher. She hesitates, which does show she's changed, but follows through and seems to regret the decision immediately after. It's almost dystopian the way this plays out.

It was stated in the movie that G-force's plan was to take baby to some islands to lure Godzilla down there so they could kill him. Rodan took G-force by surprise when he rescued Baby because 1.) They thought Rodan was dead, hence the quote 'Rodan's alive, look." 2.) By the time they realized Rodan was after Baby, it was too late to get the chopper to safety. Heck, Rodan was flying faster then they expected. 3.) When Godzilla came to the area, it's implied the area was evacuated so they thought to take an opportunity to kill him there. 4.) Look at it from G-force's point of view. Godzilla had attacked multiple times in the past unprovoked so there was no guaranty Godzilla would leave humanity alone if they gave him Baby, plus you have the possibility of Two godzillas in the future.
I think G-force was not soo much as really villainous as the movie's point was asking 'Who or what is right here?'
Plus the MG Commander was just a typical Military General to me and not entirely unlikable (Unless you hate the military in general). Him yelling at the Dinosaur guy is pretty standard in the Military.

[Giga Kaiju]

Don't forget that G-Force had Baby Godzilla, the whole motivation for Godzilla and Rodan to even show up in a city was to get the baby. Once Godzilla got a companion he really chilled out and only attacked later due to Spacegodzilla kidnapping him and later his meltdown causing pain he did not understand and associated it with humans in his confusion (and in a roundabout way, he isn't wrong).

Ya I actually never thought about how chill Heisei Goji got when he got baby godzilla. Wander if they had been able to live there life out undisturbed, what would happen?

Something like in Son of Godzilla. Only that instead of Minilla sheananigans, it'd of been Jr. sheananigans.

And with grumpy but loveable Heisei Godzilla dealing with whatever the little one was doing.