For decades, the cant-miss 100% perfect formula for making a Godzilla movie was set in stone. Come up with a big monster, give it a distinctive roar, unique powers, and a hilariously overblown name, and send it to Tokyo to fight the King of the Monsters. Many came and went with a single entry, but even they left an impression. Look at Destoroyah, perhaps the most evil of Godzilla's foes.
Today, most Godzilla entries bring back the classics in triumphant new forms. Legendary's Monsterverse franchise has only introduced one new kind of kaiju, and it was one of the most forgettable giant monsters ever depicted. The new owners are obliged to exercise some creativity and introduce some new talent to the roster.
Who is Destoroyah?
Destoroyah, a name that literally means "destroyer," was devised by Minoru Yoshida as Godzilla's final nemesis. The Heisei Era of the franchise was coming to an end with its seventh film and screenwriter Kazuki Ōmori came up with a solid antagonist. Ōmori wanted Heisei Godzilla to fight the ghost of the original 1954 Godzilla. That idea didn't last long. Instead, they imagined a creature who would arise from the Oxygen Destroyer device that laid that Godzilla to rest. They called him "Barubaroi" before abandoning that name because it sounded too similar to the North African ethnic group Berbers. The first look of Destoroyah is a mess. It had multiple living heads, each of which resembled different animals. It kind of resembled a hydra, with many more legs and wildly varying faces. However, Yoshida would eventually nail down the look.
Destoroyah began life as a colony of microscopic prehistoric trilobites. When the Japanese military detonated the Oxygen Destroyer to kill Godzilla in 1954, they began to mutate. Over 40 years later, the individual crustaceans were the size of full-grown humans. In this form, they were able to repel an assault by the same military. As they grew in strength, these organisms merged into a 50-foot-tall crab monster. Destoroyah would continue to evolve. He next gained the power of flight in a form that resembled a bat. Destoroyah's final "perfect" form resembles a biblical demon. He's sporting four leathery wings, giant crests on either side of his head, a tail that ends in a pitchfork, massive spikes on his shoulders, and a horrific mouth in the center of his stomach. Destoroyah's design takes some cues from the xenomorph from the Alien franchise, but he's ultimately designed to resemble the kaiju answer to the devil himself.
Why is Destoroyah Godzilla's Most Evil Monster?
The strange thing about morality in kaiju films is that most of the villains can barely be blamed for their actions. The monsters who fight Godzilla are unquestionably the enemy of the King of the Monsters and mankind, but they're often only as intelligent as regular animals. Most were just nuclear mutants, but there were some aliens to contend with. The original King Ghidora was frequently under the control of an exterior force, Gigan is violent but cowardly, and Mechagodzilla is usually just a machine. The biggest competitor for the title is unquestionably SpaceGodzilla, who is the other truly evil Godzilla monster. Destoroyah and SpaceGodzilla are the two kaiju who exhibit real cruelty. They're the only monsters to attack Godzilla emotionally, both using his son as leverage to defeat him. The difference is that SpaceGodzilla wants to take over the world, while Destoroyah wants to obliterate it and everything else. He's pure evil, seeking to eliminate all life with his immense power.
How did Godzilla Defeat Destoroyah?
Unshockingly, the King of the Monsters retains his throne after his battle with Destoroyah. After Destoroyah's successful scrape with the military, he encounters Godzilla Jr. He's unable to defeat the prince in his bat form, so he grows to his full power. In his final form, Destoroyah captures and kills Godzilla Jr. This enraged Godzilla, leading to a final battle between the two. In this battle, Godzilla attained a new form called Burning Godzilla, which emitted an immense amount of heat at all times. His new internal temperature critically injured Destoroyah, forcing the beast to retreat. However, the armed anti-kaiju G-Force team managed to tag him with freezer canons, causing Destoroyah to plummet to the Earth. The crash landing dragged him back into the extreme heat, causing him to dissipate into a mist.
Destoroyah may not be the most powerful foe Godzilla ever faced, but he is the cruelest, the most vicious, and the most evil. He looks like a demon, and he fits the bill. He's the only monster in the franchise to laugh at Godzilla during the fight. He's not just an animal fighting for territory or an alien trying to take over, he's a true monster that seeks only to destroy. Destoroyah deserves more attention. He's got a great look, a great set of powers, and one of the most distinct depictions in the franchise.