Even I thought that the MonsterVerse had run its course when, after three entries, we finally got to the cumulation of its monster vs. monster arc the moment Godzilla and Kong gave the Kaiju version of a bro-fist and double teamed Mechagodzilla to robot knock-off heaven. However, with a sequel to Godzilla Vs. Kong on the way (titled rather romantically, Godzilla And Kong), rabid speculation has already begun as to who the 100-storey black hat will be this time round – and returning director Adam Wingard ain’t giving away squat.
So it’s time to have a quick shmooze over all the rumours, fan theories and some random wild cards I just thought up just to throw around for some gigantic shits and giggles to muse just who in the existing pantheon of Kaiju-dom is monster enough to stand up to not one – but two Alphas.
5) The Rest Of The MonsterVerse
If there’s an issue to be leveled at Legendary’s MonsterVerse, it’s that it hasn’t exactly established its rapidly growing monster cast beyond the overstuffed monster mash of Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, which not only added Mothra, Rodan and Ghidorah to the roster, but also concocted such new faces as Behemoth, Scylla, Methuselah and MUTO Prime to fill out a world ruled by giant beasts. One way to put this diverse cast of characters to good use is to play on the fact that the natural order has been thrown into chaos due to the fact that the original, two competing Alphas have come to some sort of agreement to timeshare the top spot.
Just because Godzilla and Kong are cool with the former ruling the surface and latter being king of the hill in the subterranean world of the Hollow Earth (would that technically mean that Kong’s subletting Godzilla’s basement?), it doesn’t mean that nature is and the subsequent upheaval/uprising – maybe led by Rodan – is something the two Alphas would have to team up to quell.
The chances of this as remote as Ghidorah’s three heads attending therapy, but it’s could make a nifty, graphic novel spin-off.
4) The Gargantuas
Another random concept I’ve just pulled out of my butt that has zero chance of gaining any traction, but if Legendary wanted to expand their adaption of the world Toho established over six years ago, they could think outside the box and introduce iconic creatures from outside the Godzilla franchise. Step up warring brothers, the Gargantuas, a couple of fuzzy, troll-like monsters that could form a formidable tag-team the likes of which could cause a super-sized rumble that could entertainingly riff on 80’s wrestling (think the Legion Of Doom Vs. The Nasty Boyz from Summerslam ’92) as Godzilla and Kong have to not only fight side-by-side, but actually work as an actual unit to best them.
Whether you could actually stretch this out into an actual, full length movie is unlikely, but with a bit of fan annoying ret-conning, they could be formidable in a hench-monster capacity.
3) Gigan
Yep, Gigan. I don’t think I’ve made a single Kaiju list on this site that hasn’t included this weird-ass, sickle-armed, space chicken in it in some capacity and the reason is simple – I just fucking love this guy.
However, for once, my inclusion of him here goes beyond the fact that I can’t get enough of his buzz-saw stomach or that his 2004 update saw him upgrading his stabby arms to sport double-bladed chainsaws as the beaked, inter-galactic assassin recently celebrated his 50th birthday and had a recent surge on popularity thanks to the hit fan film, Godzilla Vs. Gigan Rex.
Maliable as both an arch villain and a henchman, he’d be all the more lethal considering that there could be an entire flock of Gigan to fight (he is a bird, after all) with his motives possibly falling in line with a nefarious, alien scheme to mine the untapped Hollow Earth for resources. Either way, the sight of Kong and Godzilla brawling back to back against an onslaught of lithe, razor limbed Gigan would be one that would have me sink into warm catatonic state of Kaiju euphoria.
Mmmmm, that’s good Gigan.
2) Destoroyah
Despite being formed of trillions of carnivorous crab monsters and only boasting a single appearance, Destoroyah neither the less has established himself as the unofficial Satan of Toho’s line up of monsters, carrying just as much weight as such fan favourite heavyweights and repeat offenders as Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla. The reason for this is that not only is Destoroyah created from the Oxygen Destroyer weapon (already cannon in the MonsterVerse thanks to Godzilla: King Of The Monsters), but he’s also responsible for wrecking unhitherto damage on the Zilla family. Fatal wounding Godzilla Junior in a fight more mismatched than Vern Troyer squaring off against Connor McGregor in a cage match, a Godzilla dangerously reaching meltdown, fights his crustacean nemesis to the death, vanquishing his foe, but finally succumbing to his super-heated condition. As a weird side-effect, Destoroyah jumped up to the top of the power rankings despite not actually scoring the big win and thus has proven to be a regular name people throw in the ring when it comes to prospective villains.
To be fair, it’s a good shout as in his final form Destoroyah is ludicrously OP’d and his ability to split into separate spikey forms means he has a better than average chance of fending off one of those awesome, finishing move fatalities the MonsterVerse is so good at delivering. However, if the rumour mill is to be believed, the current favourite to face-off with the massive monkey and the large lizard is an antagonist who hails from much further away…
1) Spacegodzilla
If current news reports are to believed, the current favourite to take the latest crack at the Kaiju world title will be Spacegodzilla, an interstellar juggernaut who is born from some of the Big G’s cells that got carried into space with some Biolante spores (don’t ask). While plot details are scarce (Legendary are keeping their cards close to their chest), it’ll most likely involve the galactic doppelganger simply coming to Earth and unleashing its sizable arsenal upon anyone or thing who gets in his way.
While I don’t personally count Spacegodzilla among my favourites, his power level does make him an “Avengers-level threat” and Adam Wingard’s love for lashings of 80’s-style neon will certainly find a garish use for the creature’s most noticable feature, the fetching, glowing crystals that grow out of his shoulders like a pair of Dynasty-era, Joan Collins shoulder pads.
Whoever it eventually is, we still have a while to mull it over as Godzilla And Kong isn’t released until March 2024
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