The Japanese Godzilla franchise is one of the longest in film history, with 32 films already having been released since the original hit cinemas in 1954, and with the next already on the way in the form of Godzilla Minus One, there’ll be no shortage of fans revisiting the previous incarnations of the franchise.
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While there have been plenty of other Kaiju that Godzilla has fought against over the years, the main focus is always on the big lizard himself. Though many of his qualities remain the same over time, the different eras and sometimes just individual films are constantly reinventing the character to the point that there have been a huge number of distinctly different versions of Godzilla, each with a different level of power.
Updated on January 17, 2024, by Chris Harkin: The Godzilla franchise continues to grow. With both Legendary Pictures in America and Toho in Japan bringing out new projects, fans of the historical Kaiju are enjoying seeing different versions of the character. With another Godzilla crossover with Kong set for release in 2024, and with the huge success of Godzilla Minus One likely spurring Toho onto further Japanese projects featuring the character, we are sure to keep seeing new, powerful versions of Godzilla on the big screen a lot over the next few years, adding to the mythos and changing strengths continually, as has been occurring for seventy years now.
9 First Showa Era
Represents The Original Atomic Bomb
- Appears In Godzilla (1954)
Not the strongest version of the creature ever seen, but the original Godzilla that first appeared seventy years ago was still a powerhouse of a creature. Standing over 50m tall, this creature was able to tear through Japan almost at will after being disturbed by the hydrogen bomb testing.
Despite only lasting a single film, this version of Godzilla was extremely powerful. The true strength it held was never seen against another Kaiju, but it can be estimated that it was nearly as strong as the second Showa Era Godzilla, which lasted many battles. The oxygen destroyer weapon that killed it remains the most devastating creation ever seen in the franchise.
8 The Animated Series
Survived Many Battles Working With H.E.A.T.
- Appears In Godzilla: The Series (1998-2000)
The Godzilla animated series around the turn of the century presented a very different sort of character, teaming with a group of humans, one of whom it had latched onto from birth. This iguana-based creature was one of the spawns of the 1998 Godzilla from the live-action American film, but it appeared throughout this series to be much tougher than its mother.
While the 1998 Godzilla was still a large creature, it was one of the very weakest versions of the monster. The animated series followed up by showing the spawn of that Godzilla to be capable of fighting and winning against many large creatures, giving it many more actual victories than other versions of the creature.
7 Second Showa Era
Defeated A Long List Of Foes
- Appears In: Godzilla Raids Again (1955) - Terror Of Mechagodzilla (1975)
The Showa Era was the first of the Japanese Godzilla film eras, filled with a wide variety of monsters that challenged Godzilla in a rotating pattern that became familiar. Crazy fight scenes, convoluted stories, and Godzilla being triumphant in the end once again proved that he was the King of the Monsters every time another challenger arrived on the scene.
Though he struggled with his opponents, most of the Showa Era following the original Godzilla film made the Kaiju feel like an old-school superhero fighting a villain of the week. Even if he took a beating, the light-hearted feel assured viewers that their heroic lead would always come out on top. Using a variety of fighting styles and specialized attacks to defeat his opponents, the Second Showa Era Godzilla took on everyone from Ghidorah to Mothra to two different versions of Mechagodzilla and succeeded every time, albeit with some help on certain occasions.
6 Shin Godzilla
Shown To Be A Nuclear Force Disaster
- Appears In Shin Godzilla (2016)
One of the more recent forms of the titanic creature is Shin Godzilla, Toho’s answer to the 2014 American version of the beast. Following the big-budget release of Godzilla in 2014, Toho got back into the business of creating their own Godzilla movie for the first time in a decade. Shin Godzilla was the result and was a controversial and much-changed version of the character from any previous incarnation, returning him to a previously more villainous role.
Shin Godzilla was all about redirecting Godzilla to showcase the monster as a destructive force inspired by the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster in 2011. As such, this huge creature evolved through different stages, spraying smog all over the city that later ignited, and when he evolved enough to use his atomic breath, he used it to do a staggering amount of damage. He sliced through countless buildings and destroyed everything, and despite never facing off against another creature, he proved himself to be one of the most violent and terrible versions of Godzilla ever seen in a movie
5 King of the Monsters
Biggest Live-Action Godzilla
- Appears In Godzilla (2014) - Godzilla vs Kong (2021)
The Legendary Pictures' version of Godzilla has proven himself against some of the toughest foes he can ever face. Having defeated King Kong, a first-time victory against the ape from the Hollow Earth, and besting Ghidorah, albeit after previously losing against the monster, this version of the character boasts an impressive resume already.
In terms of sheer size and power, the MonsterVerse Godzilla has been a champion, a reluctant ally of humans, and a protector of Earth, never once seeming to be the true villain despite causing a great deal of destruction in his battles with other monsters. While he may not be the strongest version ever seen, this Godzilla is definitely one of the largest.
4 Burning Godzilla
So Powerful It Cannot Be Contained
- Appears In Godzilla vs Destoroyah (1995)
Remembered by many fans as one of the very best films in Toho’s franchise, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah was the culmination of the Heisei Era, the second era of Japanese Godzilla films. This Godzilla and the films of the Heisei Era were, in general, much more serious than those of the previous Showa Era. However, it was Godzilla’s battle with Destoroyah that really took the cake and proved just how strong this version of the character was once and for all.
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Destoroyah was a creature birthed from the oxygen destroyer weapon that killed the original Godzilla. This kaiju was a constantly evolving monstrosity designed to defeat Godzilla by nature. However, Godzilla, who at this point had begun “melting down” due to his heart working similarly to a Nuclear Reactor, entered his final form, the ultimate Burning Godzilla, long enough to finally defeat Destoroyah, spurred on by the other monster having killed Godzilla’s child. While Godzilla didn’t survive the meltdown, this deadly, nearly dead version of the character was the height of the Heisei Era of Godzilla movies.
3 Final Wars Godzilla
Bests Every Monster In The World Back-to-Back
- Appears In Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
One of the biggest Godzilla films of all time, Godzilla: Final Wars, ended the Millennium Era of the franchise. This third era went to some strange places, and the culmination resulted in Godzilla being pitted against a huge number of different monsters, all in one massive movie, while aliens simultaneously tried to take over the Earth.
This Godzilla, having already defeated multiple enemies from the other films in the Millennium Era, although each film was something of a reboot in this Era, proved himself one of the greatest of all time. He dispatched a huge number of monsters in an extremely short space of time before returning to the ocean for a surprisingly peaceful ending.
2 Godzilla Minus One
Levels Cities With Atomic Blasts
- Appeared In Godzilla Minus One (2023)
The most recent version of Godzilla was unveiled by Toho in Godzilla Minus One. This version appears to be different from anything seen previously in the franchise, especially judging from the raw power of the atomic blasts it can generate. As seen in this film, the atomic blasts, normally destructive in other versions of the character, were able to level entire cities.
In one infamous scene, Godzilla unleashes its full power on Ginza in Tokyo, creating an atomic shockwave unlike anything ever seen before from Godzilla. This alone places it among the ranks of the very most powerful versions of the character ever seen, making it seem as if it could kill any other Kaiju with one single blast.
1 The Planet Eater
Biggest & Most Destructive Kaiju Ever
- Appears In Godzilla: Planet Of The Monsters (2017) - Godzilla: The Planet Eater (2018)
The absolute pinnacle by a long way of any version of Godzilla is the one from the recent trilogy of Reiwa Era anime movies. While the Godzilla that appears during most of the Planet of the Monsters is already larger than any version of the character ever seen, he isn’t even the true version that chased all of humanity off Earth years prior.
That version reveals itself near the end of this film and appears in the following ones. This version wasn’t shown to be entirely evil, but he was a monstrous creature, encompassing a vast portion of the Earth. He was able to fight entire city-sized beings and intergalactic versions of Ghidorah that could destroy whole planets with his strange set of abilities. This version of Godzilla isn’t definitive, but it is the largest and most devastating version of Godzilla by far.