Who was Godzilla’s Toughest Opponent in the Millennium Era?

[Voyager]

I only added the kaiju in FW that gave him any sort of resistance

Obviously it’s Monster X and Keizer. He was the first true match for Goji in the film, and when he transformed he nearly killed Godzilla.

[Legion1979]

If Kiryu has scored a good direct hit on Godzilla with the Absolute Zero Cannon, he probably would have killed him. So Kiryu.

[Terasawa]

Japanese audiences.

[Arbok]

This thread is making me realize Godzilla wasn't really pushed to his limit during the Millennium by a kaiju opponent the way he was in other series.

I mean... Keizer Ghidorah isn't all that defensive, but still does stand out from the options for almost besting Godzilla.

Japanese audiences.

Ha!

[edgaguirus]

I say Orga. Yes, Orga wasn't the best fighter, but Orga has 2 advantages the others don't. Orga took a major hit from Godzilla's atomic ray and survived, and then rapidly healed. Godzilla couldn't do enough external damage because Orga kept regenerating as fast as it got injured. Only an internal attack worked. Second, Orga is adaptive. If Orga had had more time, then it might have gained its own atomic ray. There's not telling how Godzilla like it would have become if it hadn't tried swallowing Godzilla.

[Voyager]

I say Orga. Yes, Orga wasn't the best fighter, but Orga has 2 advantages the others don't. Orga took a major hit from Godzilla's atomic ray and survived, and then rapidly healed. Godzilla couldn't do enough external damage because Orga kept regenerating as fast as it got injured. Only an internal attack worked.

You must remember that when Godzilla destroyed the shoulder cannon it didn’t regen. It just scabbed over, as others have put it. Orga’s weapon was completely gone from then on.

[miguelnuva]

Kiryu kicked Godzilla's ass the most I would argue. I still believe Keizer Ghidorah was in a similar position as MV Mechagodzilla. Godzilla might have been running close to empty by the time Ghidorah appeared.

Godzilla's best result with Kiryu is a draw however.

[UltramanGoji]

Here I come with another ranking based primarily on authorial intent and readings of the film! This one is gonna be pretty difficult because of the multiple different interpretations of the character throughout this series.

10.) Rodan + Anguirus + King Caesar
Any battle in GFW is going to be placed here, final battle notwithstanding. GFW's main focus with Godzilla as a character was to showcase how much of a badass he was. In doing so, they placed him in short, nearly effortless battles demonstrating his power. While the four-way battle between him, Rodan, Anguirus and King Caesar gave him a little more trouble than most battles in the film, it still ultimately ended up being another easy victory for Godzilla. The little extra time given to these monsters most likely had to do with their history as allies of Godzilla more than anything. As such, as far as this list goes, it's the least toughest battle Godzilla had to endure.

9.) Baragon
It's really difficult to determine whether or not Baragon should be 10 or 9, but I'm gonna place him a stage above the Rodan/Anguirus/KC battle because it still at times tries to evoke a sense of tension as to whether or not Baragon is actually doing well against Godzilla. Sure, there's moments in the GFW battle but they're quick flashes that are quickly forgotten seconds later. But let's not sugarcoat it: Baragon gets his tail handed to him. Godzilla in GMK is portrayed as an unstoppable engine of destruction and the Baragon fight showcases that in spades with Godzilla getting tons of offense in and eradicating Baragon with ease in the end.

8.) Gigan
Another difficult placement because the way GFW Godzilla is written makes it difficult to really judge the battles. Gigan as an opponent was pretty deadly for the most part in the film's final battle but his first appearance in Antarctica was a pushover. Difficult to say for Gigan here, probably a tie with Baragon but not entirely sure.

7.) Mothra (GMK)
Like the GFW monsters, the GMK monsters are difficult to determine because they are written as being significantly weaker than the ultra-powerful Godzilla. Mothra manages to evade some of Godzilla's attacks and bother him slightly at times but she still mostly falls prey to Godzilla more often than not. Like Gigan, unsure about this placement. The bottom four can really go multiple ways.

6.) Ghidorah
Ghidorah is probably GMK's toughest opponent for Godzilla and the one the film gives much more leeway to in fights. Ghidorah manages to keep Godzilla busy for a significantly longer time than Baragon and Mothra but still is a weaker monster overall. Once again, hard to determine because Godzilla in GMK doesn't really have much of an issue with his enemy monsters.

5.) Mothra and her Larvae
How dare you make me try to remember Tokyo SOS! But, much like my post about the Showa Mothra, SOS Mothra manages to give Godzilla a bit of a tough battle. The larvae web up Godzilla again as well but I'm not entirely sure if Godzilla was significantly incapacitated or not. Again, don't make me try to remember Tokyo SOS!

4.) Orga
Probably the most equal opponent to Godzilla's might in the Millennium Series, Orga isn't particularly written as weak due to his massive regenerative abilities and physical prowess but he also, say it with me now, doesn't give Godzilla much trouble overall. Godzilla's battle with Orga is sort of written into the film as something of an afterthought as while the Millennian's story is integral and weaved through much of the film's plot, the actual conclusion being a monster battle might not be the end-all-be-all for it. As such, Orga gives Godzilla a bit of trouble physically but ultimately succumbs to a similar fate to future monsters in the series.

3.) Megaguirus
Megaguirus might not be physically tough but she makes up for it with her blinding speed. The intent was clearly there for her to be a significant threat to Godzilla with her energy absorption powers and, again, the super speed. Godzilla clearly struggled a lot with the Megaguirus fight, even if he came out on top in the end.

2.) Monster X (+ Keizer Ghidorah)
I know the FM nerds will be screaming and crying at this placement but...sorry, it's true! Monster X is GFW's ultimate enemy monster, portrayed as such in how he is presented, introduced, and what he does to Godzilla. He is the only monster in the entire film that gives Godzilla a difficult time, which is especially boosted by the fact that Godzilla effortlessly runs through the rest of the Xilien monster army. If the super badass Godzilla that defeats opponents in seconds struggles with Monster X then the latter is clearly intended to be one of Godzilla's toughest enemies. And Keizer Ghidorah I feel needs little explanation. Narratively, Godzilla would've been finished without the help of Ozaki, clearly showcasing the intent by the writers to have KG be Godzilla's ultimate opponent, natch.

1.) Kiryu
What puts Kiryu over Monster X is one simple fact: Godzilla never managed to defeat Kiryu. In both movies, Godzilla was the loser in their final confrontations and Kiryu was the only monster to deliver hardcore physical damage to Godzilla himself. Even though Monster X/Keizer Ghidorah had Godzilla on the ropes for a good while, Godzilla still ultimately won in the end. But against Kiryu? Godzilla is 0-2 (0-1-2 if we count their initial encounter in GXMG). If Godzilla could never best Kiryu, that just simply makes him the toughest opponent overall.

[miguelnuva]

What puts Kiryu over Monster X is one simple fact: Godzilla never managed to defeat Kiryu. In both movies, Godzilla was the loser in their final confrontations and Kiryu was the only monster to deliver hardcore physical damage to Godzilla himself. Even though Monster X/Keizer Ghidorah had Godzilla on the ropes for a good while, Godzilla still ultimately won in the end. But against Kiryu? Godzilla is 0-2 (0-1-2 if we count their initial encounter in GXMG). If Godzilla could never best Kiryu, that just simply makes him the toughest opponent overall.

If you count the intial encounter that is a win For Godzilla. Kiryu is a stand in for humanity, our champion, Godzilla reawakening the 1954 Godzilla and turns our champion against us. The goal of humanity is to stop Godzilla's attack and they didn't stop him even if it was the wrong Godzilla.

[Spuro]

I'm the sole Megaguirus voter, just because she came really close to landing a potential killing blow on Godzilla, averted by Godzilla catching the stinger just in time.

[Demon Lord Gira]

I'm the sole Megaguirus voter, just because she came really close to landing a potential killing blow on Godzilla, averted by Godzilla catching the stinger just in time.

The issue there is, that's only the tail end of the fight (no pun intended). The rest of the fight is more Megs just being very annoying, and once Godzilla becomes wise to Meg's BS, she starts getting bodied until the energy blast into attempted tail stab to the head. Otherwise, it's moreso a conceptually even fight. Really, you can argue the Megs fight is more like Orga's fight with Godzilla, where once Godzilla gets used to Orga's nonsense, Orga just kinda goes down like a sack of bricks even with a final desperation ploy.

Contrast with the battle against Keizer Ghidorah. yes, Monster X does fuck all to Godzilla aside from a fancy combo and then gets pummeled into the dirt for an eternity, but once he turns into Keizer, Godzilla literally cannot fight. He gets his beam rammed down his throat, tossed around like a ragdoll, and then drained when he's too in pain and exhausted to properly fight. Had it not been for a last second powerup turning him into Kaiser Godzilla, Ghidorah would have slaughtered Godzilla with no chance of proper retaliation.

[godjacob]

Keizer Ghidorah. Was the one foe in the Millennium films Godzilla could not defeat, and the one foe in the film to give that Godzilla a challenge within its own context. So an easy answer for me.

Orga and Megaguirus were tricky/underestimated foes for the Big G (For funny enough opposite reasons) but never felt like foes Godzilla couldn't overcome on his own like say Keizer Ghidorah felt like.

Baragon, Mothra and even GMK Ghidorah were the underdogs against Godzilla and while Ghidorah managed to land a key wound ultimately they were all overpowered a touch easier than the prior foes.

Kiryu pushed Godzilla to a tie in the first film and a team assist win in the second one, and is the only one who fought a Godzilla in more than one film so easy second place. The issue is the Godzilla Kiryu fought, while not AS bad as others make him out to be, isn't the finest fighter of the Millennium series. Often standing around and letting Kiryu get the first shot against it in both fights. And Kiryu needed a lot of luck and help from other pilots or Mothra to stall Godzilla off when it did land a hard blow given Kiryu tended to break down a bit too easily.

Adult Mothra at most was a minor annoyance to Godzilla and while the children were key assists to defeating him, were no threat to Godzilla on their own without having a hole in his chest by Kiryu.

Gigan was one shot by Godzilla in a one on one and did better in the second fight but had Monster X backing it up.

Anguirus, King Caesar and Rodan gave Godzilla more trouble than Gigan did but ultimately were beaten together in short order much like others in GFW.

[HillyHulk]

Kiryu was the one out anybody else here to give Godzilla the hardest fight. Some of the choices here has had some kind of hard hitting move against him (the shield attack from the King Ghidorah & nearly swallowing him whole from Orga) but most were either decent challenges or didn't stand a chance like two of the Yamato Guardians or Gigan. Monster X, while one of the harder fights for Godzilla, needed the Keizer Ghidorah form to truly have a chance to win. Kiryu, with and without help, was both the closest to win when it had the Absolute Zero Cannon and ultimately won when Godzilla was too injured to stop him from bringing him into the ocean. Thanks to its connection to Akane and its physical prowess, Kiryu is the toughest challenger for Godzilla in this era.

[Gailah 1966]

Kiryu was the one out anybody else here to give Godzilla the hardest fight. Some of the choices here has had some kind of hard hitting move against him (the shield attack from the King Ghidorah & nearly swallowing him whole from Orga) but most were either decent challenges or didn't stand a chance like two of the Yamato Guardians or Gigan. Monster X, while one of the harder fights for Godzilla, needed the Keizer Ghidorah form to truly have a chance to win. Kiryu, with and without help, was both the closest to win when it had the Absolute Zero Cannon and ultimately won when Godzilla was too injured to stop him from bringing him into the ocean. Thanks to its connection to Akane and its physical prowess, Kiryu is the toughest challenger for Godzilla in this era.

This is absolutely correct.

[tbeasley]

According to an interview with Shogo Tomiyama during the U.S. premiere of Godzilla: Final Wars, Godzilla's most dangerous adversary is Pikachu and that hopefully, "Godzilla's new film will finally win the hearts of children back from his most dangerous advisory ever: Pokémon".

[Kaltes-Herzeleid]

Gotta go with Monster X/Keizer Ghidorah. Only equal and eventual superior Godzilla ever fought with. Keizer Ghidorah decimating him during the fight is probably the most helpless Godzilla's ever been.

Shoutout to Megaguirus too. Love the fight for how balanced the back and forths are; it may not be a grand fight to save the earth but it's still tense (with some funny moments throughout). Both had their strengths and weaknesses and it was plausible either or could win.

[Major sssspielberg!]

I had to think about it, finally settled on Keizer Ghidorah/Monster X since they gave Godzilla the business for a solid half hour/45 minutes. Said iteration of Godzilla cut through most of the Toho pantheon like a hot machete through oxygen.
My second choice though would be Megaguirus. She gave Godzilla a very unique challenge, and other than Monster X I can't think of a fight in the Millennium series that drug out like that.
Well, there's Kiryu... but I didn't count Kiryu because so much of the fights with it relied on script convenience to determine who was winning at what point in their battles.

[Kaltes-Herzeleid]

My second choice though would be Megaguirus. She gave Godzilla a very unique challenge, and other than Monster X I can't think of a fight in the Millennium series that drug out like that.

Megaguiruschads rise up.

[MechaGoji Bro7503]

I'll always appreciate the Megaguirus battle, I still find it so cool that Godzilla had to adapt and use patience to defeat her. I think whenever Godzilla is shown thinking in a battle it sets him apart more than just being the baddest monster with the meanest swag walk. Plus who can jump like that.

[shadowgigan]

GMK Ghidorah is a perplexing monster. On one hand, its clearly the weastest iteration of Ghidorah we've seen on film. On the other hand, it's "spirit bomb" attack seemed devastating. However, it didn't really do much damage to Godzilla and it seems like it can only be used once.

To answer the actual question at hand, I would say (1) Keizer Ghidorah / Monster X, (2) Kiryu, (3) Orga (4) Ghidorah 2001. I can't remember Megaguirus, haven't seen the film in years. Maybe I'll bust it out tonight.