Godzilla's Toughest Opponent Over All

[Maritonic]

Nope. Like I said, Grand King Ghidorah is giving me misery over on the FMs. All day has been spent growing more and more arguments over Ghidorah that I wouldn't have even thought should be arguments in the first place. This has been six hours of seething, mounting aggravation, and all Ghidorahs must pay the price.

Well, kinda goes back to what I said earlier; it's so hard to quantify who is stronger than who because so many of these powers rely on plot elements and other factors. So when you put kaiju up against each other in the Fantasy Matches or ask Who is the Toughest? you're going to get resistance because there are so many factors.

This is very true. My frustration- and indeed, probably most of my resentment toward kaiju like Ghidorah and SMG come from the FM boards- are the times when I feel that debate and logic are met with reputation that doesn't allow the arguments to be fairly considered. Here, I was frustrated by lack of agreement, but at least knew that the discussion was getting a fair shake. You evaluated the arguments and found them wanting. On the FM, sometimes it feels that certain kaiju have a rep that does half the fighting for them, and presents a barrier to considering any points that don't accord with it.

Ironically, of course, Hedorah used to be among those- until, on my most recent rewatch, I formed an opinion that happened to match the broader concensus. So maybe it's all sour grapes, I dunno. I'm just tired, and tired of arguing- and yet compulsively drawn to debate. It is a poor condition in which to torture oneself.

Hahaha I know what you mean. I get what you mean by reputation vs. logic, though. And I can see how that absolutely comes into play here and on other threads.

[Godzillian]

Godzilla can still move and act despite Hedorah's acid skin. He must attack differently, but he isn't paralyzed and helpless until his inevitable death. Likewise for Orga's bite, as Godzilla was still able to launch a pulse and kill his enemy. Neither is an instant death-sentence just for connecting.

except its brought up in film that Godzilla was exhausted before even fighting Kaiser Ghidorah not to mention the deus ex machina power up Godzilla gets that pretty laughably powers up Godzilla to a ridiculous amount

I mean you'd be hard press to find any Godzilla movie without a deus ex machina power up in it. Either for the favor of Godzilla or one of his enemies. Remember Rodan's never before mentioned or hinted at ability to transfer his life energy to Godzilla after it was killed?

Basically every Showa film until Mechagodzilla doesn't give Godzilla a power up at the end as do most of the millenium films, and a good chunk of the 90s films

[BlankAccount]

This pick of mine might sound cliched, but my pick for Godzilla's Toughest Opponent would be Mankind. Despite being the King of the Monsters and possessing more power than any single human, Mankind has consistently proven to be Godzilla's equal. Humanity has killed Godzilla on a few occasions, with weapons and inventions (e.g., Oxygen Destroyer, Super MechaGodzilla) that would qualify for this list. Hard-fought battles have been won through ingenuity and planning (e.g., luring Godzilla into Mt. Mihara, poisoning him with Anti-Nuclear Bacteria), improvising on the spot (e.g., blowing up Godzilla from within in GMK), preventing cataclysms (e.g., preventing Godzilla from melting down), and, in at least one continuity, keeping him contained (e.g., Destroy All Monsters).

Humankind has suffered decisive defeats, of course. But let's be real: When you're advanced enough to weaponize a miniature black hole and, despite everything, you still lose? There's no shame in that.

If I had to choose a kaiju adversary, however, I'd pick SpaceGodzilla. SpaceGodzilla is essentially an augmented Godzilla, with a wicked mind to match. Godzilla needed help in the form of MOGUERA to stop him, an even then it was close. Without the humans and MOGUERA, SpaceGodzilla would've slain the mighty King of the Monsters, and turned the planet into a crystal fortress.

Dr. Serizawa.

You can't the number of man made weapons on one hand, you can count the number of single individuals who've beaten him on one finger.

[JAGzilla]

I would just like to say that King Ghidorah's reputation as a planet-killer is totally deserved. And no, not just because we're told that he kills planets. It's just that nobody ever said he kills planets inhabited by powerful kaiju. If he were to show up on an Earth without Godzilla and Friends, and excluding the possibility that nuclear weapons might put him down, said Earth would be utterly screwed. He flies faster than sound, spams devastating beams from each mouth, blows away building just by flapping his wings. He has the power to rip cities apart in minutes, cut down armies like grass, and generally just kill and kill and kill until he runs out of things to kill- and then it's on to the next unsuspecting world.

But by that definition, a lot of kaiju could be considered potential planet-killers. Megalon, for example. I agree that in terms of actual kaiju combat feats, non-Keizer Ghidorahs aren't worthy of the top spot in this thread.


Now, to actually address the OP's scenario: '91 Godzilla isn't going to win a fight against Hedorah. He's a tank, and it would take a long time for Hedorah to actually wear him down... but it would eventually happen. Super Mechagodzilla would also destroy him; this is the same Godzilla from '93, so he has the same weakness, and no Rodan to bail him out. He dies. And I haven't seen Final Wars recently enough to remember what Keizer could do, so I'll abstain with him.

If I have to boil this down to one answer, I'll go with Hedorah. Godzilla could theoretically take SMG in a melee fight if he managed to force one, but there's simply nothing he can do to hurt Hedorah.

[GojiDog]

The Oxygen Destroyer, duh, lol.

[Zarm]

The Oxygen Destroyer was pretty cheap...

(I'm mocking myself from yesterday, not actually trying to debate this point; please, let's not argue...)

[Jomei]

Mechamegalon.

[Mr_Goji_and_Watch]

Rotten Tomatoes

[LockBite]

Hedorah, based on the fact that Godzilla really didn’t have a way to dry him out without human intervention. Every time he dug into Hedorah’s body, Godzilla would corrode some of his own skin. I know there have been other opponents where Godzilla needed assistance, but even so, there was always some kind of implication that he could’ve done it on his own if X or Y had gone differently. Hedorah just seems like a no-win situation without a man made dehydrator.

[Kaeyas]

I'm still torn between Destoroyah and Kaizer Ghidorah. Hedorah for sure...my own poll and I haven't even voted yet. In hindsight, perhaps I should have allowed 3 votes. Yes Destoroyah is overrated but he stood his own against Godzilla at his strongest. I don't think a non Burning Godzilla would have stood much of a chance against Final Form Destoroyah. And I agree with the comments that Kaizer Ghidorah is cheap but it doesn't change the fact of his awesome power and ability to drain another one of Godzilla's strongest incarnations; However, as others have stated, it's hard to gauge how strong this Godzilla really was. Maybe most of his enemies were just weak. I also think to myself. How would Kaizer Ghidorah fare against Burning Godzilla? I have serious doubts that he could have beaten him. He was dispatched quickly by the spiral heat ray after Godzilla got Kaiser energy. Burning Godzilla's defualt heat ray is already the spiral; Which by default would make Destoroyah the stronger Kaiju. Still unsure though. Someone help sway me one way or the other lol

Added in 10 days 9 hours 1 minute 17 seconds:
I'm actually surprised that the voting so far is about how I think it should be. Hedorah front and ahead, a tie between Destoroyah and Kaizer Ghidorah followed by MechaGodzilla. Happy that Hedorah is where he deserves to be. Like him or not, and regardless of your adoration or hatred for the film; fact is Godzilla had no way of beating him without help from the JSDF. WITHOUT the electrodes, Hedorah would have eventually killed Godzilla. Period. And he'd have most likely went on to turn Japan into a massive polluted graveyard, grow huge and eventually the entire world would choke to death. Hedorah would eventually be as big as Godzilla Earth. Not much debate there. I don't really see any limit to how big he could get if he had a steady supply of pollution and nothing to stop him. If you think about it, Godzilla really didn't even beat Hedorah, the JSDF did. A distinction shared with Destoroyah.

[Spuro]

Still unsure though. Someone help sway me one way or the other lol

Keizer Ghidorah is strong, offensively, but he's a glass canon in the worst possible way. Given this is a poll for the toughest kaiju, Keizer would easily be in last place. It doesn't take much force to put him down.

A single blast of atomic breath destroyed one of his heads. Immediately after, another head is severed by a gravity bolt that was never designed to penetrate or cut into materials to begin with.

Destoroyah on the other hand is difficult to put down for the same reasons as Hedorah. He's an organism composed of microscopic organisms. That's not something pure physical force can defeat and makes him effectively unkillable for many monsters. Even extreme heat is only a temporary solution; while it can break down Destoroyah's form, it only gives the microbes more fuel, which it turn allows it to reproduce as grow even larger the next time it reforms. Not to mention it becomes more resistant to heat the further it adapts, to the point that it was withstanding blasts of the super spiral ray.

[Maritonic]

G-Force effectively killed Destroyah so I don't think he's really the "toughest"...

[Spuro]

G-Force effectively killed Destroyah so I don't think he's really the "toughest"...

With a specialized weapon that could exploit its weakness. Just as with Hedorah, or even the Blob or the Thing.

No shame in that.

[Maritonic]

G-Force effectively killed Destroyah so I don't think he's really the "toughest"...

With a specialized weapon that could exploit its weakness. Just as with Hedorah, or even the Blob or the Thing.

No shame in that.

A specialized weapon that was designed to incapacitate Godzilla, not kill Destroyah...

Not the same thing as Hedorah, haven't seen The Blob in a minute, and which Thing are you referring to?

Hey, I'm a fan of Destroyah. And I think, in concept, he's one of the toughest. But from what we've seen of him on screen? Eh. Not so much. Poorly executed. Same with Spacegodzilla.

[edgaguirus]

Destroyah is a tough kaiju. The final form pushed Burning Godzilla to his limits, and it took some assistance from the JSDF to finally put him it down. However, I understand that a passed over ending would have had Godzilla's meltdown kill Destroyah, so Hedorah still has the advantage that nothing Godzilla could do could defeat the smog monster.

[Kaeyas]

In the end, I chose Destoroyah as my second vote. But I don't even think he could have beaten Hedorah. If Hedorah had had a bit more intellegence and cunning..I doubt even the electrodes would have saved Godzilla or the World for that matter. He'd have figured it out and the world've been skreoked.

[PitchBlackProgress]

Godzilla’s toughest opponents? Easy…

American Audiences.

Rotten Tamotoes scores.

Oxygen Destroyers.

Budget and time restraints.

Terror of Mechagodzilla and Godzilla: Final Wars’ box office reception.

Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich.

Mathew Broderick & The Brooklyn Bridge.

Def-Con 4 soundtrack music.

[BlacktimusPrime]

Hedorah as number one, no doubt. For all the already stated reasons. Kaiser Ghidorah gets number two for me, just ahead of Destroyer.

[Toho1993]

Keizer with Destroyah in a very close second. Keizer isn’t as powerful as Destroyah however, his fighting tactics reign supreme in the kaiju community. He doesn’t waste time (partly because this was the end of the movie) but he doesn’t combat Godzilla in close quarters until he threw him around the city like a rag doll. If he did that with any kaiju he would win. I don’t see Ozaki giving Destroyah Kaiser energy. Also, we don’t know if any kaiju would have defeated KG without Keizer energy or they would just have to adopt better strategies/tactics. Destroyah could win if he quickly closed the distance between he and Keizer. I know this wasn’t a thread about enemy foes fighting but when looking at who the strongest G foe is you gotta take it into consideration.

[GodzillaFan1990's]

G-Force effectively killed Destroyah so I don't think he's really the "toughest"...

Why do you guys still ignore after taking multiple hits from empowered red spiral rays? I guarantee if it wasn't for those the G-Force wouldn't had been able to finish him off.