The MonsterVerse is a cinematic universe that stands out for its durability compared to other universes in the genre. Started in 2014, it includes five films, an animated series and a live-action series scheduled for 2024. Its popularity is due to the franchise’s iconic Titans, King Kong and Godzilla, whose origins date back to 1933 and 1954 respectively.
Below is a selection of the most outstanding MonsterVerse monsters (or Titans) to date, whether they are heroic, villainous or simply comparable to forces of nature. Even with a choice limited to just seven films/series, there are many well-conceived, memorable and innovative monsters left out. What follows is the crème de la crème, starting with the excellent and ending with the legendary.
10 – The Ion Dragon
Not limited to the cinematic universe of the 21st century, Godzilla has also made his presence felt on television, playing the main monster in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Although his name doesn’t appear in the title, signalling in advance that there will be a greater focus on humans and other monsters than on the King of Monsters himself, Godzilla makes an appearance when necessary.
His most notable adversary is perhaps the Dragon Ion, a Titan who makes his debut in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, although he was briefly mentioned in the dialogues of Kong: Skull Island in 2017. True to his name, he is a great and menacing being with the appearance of a dragon, whose existence dates back to time immemorial. However, he didn’t have the stamina to sustain a prolonged fight against Godzilla, and was defeated in the final episode, but not before inflicting some damage on the mightiest of the Titans and engaging in a decisive confrontation.
9 – King Skar
King Skar may not be as robust or threatening as the publicity for 2024’s ‘Godzilla vs Kong: The New Empire’ suggests, but he is crucial to several of the film’s striking scenes. Although he doesn’t have the musculature of Kong, his agility during the confrontation between the two Titans is remarkable, as well as controlling the immense and destructive Shimo.
As for Shimo, this Titan deserves to be recognised as a worthy adversary for Godzilla in ‘Godzilla vs. Kong: The New Empire’, while King Skar stands out as a formidable challenger for Kong. With considerable power and impressive looks, Shimo is also notable for being the first primate-like antagonist Kong has faced in a live-action film.
8 – Mechagodzilla
Before anyone criticises Mechagodzilla for being positioned lower on this list, it’s important to only consider his representation within the MonsterVerse. Outside of it, Mechagodzilla is an iconic adversary of Godzilla, appearing numerous times over the decades, debuting at the end of the Showa era and returning in the Heisei and Millennium eras.
In the MonsterVerse, Mechagodzilla is basically a robotic Godzilla, equipped with additional abilities and exceptional durability due to its mechanical nature. Although MonsterVerse’s Mechagodzilla isn’t as impressive as previous versions, it still provides a formidable battle against Godzilla and Kong in 2021’s “Godzilla vs. Kong”, and its origin, which includes a surprising connection to King Ghidorah, is undeniably interesting.
7 – The MUTOs
Honestly, the MUTOs deserve more recognition, as they are some of the best Titans originally created for the MonsterVerse who have faced Godzilla. MUTO stands for “Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism”, and a pair of them confronted Godzilla at the climax of the 2014 film, while a third appeared during the 2019 film, Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
Unlike many monsters/Titans/kaiju, it’s challenging to choose a single species to compare the MUTOs to, and it’s precisely the fact that they are so alien and distinctive that makes them fascinating original monsters. They have features reminiscent of insects, bats, large mammals and even reptiles/dinosaurs, all at the same time, demonstrating the ability to fight intensely against Godzilla, as well as having a complex and tumultuous past with his species.
6 – The Skullcrawlers
When it comes to the original MonsterVerse monsters, the Skullcrawlers are possibly the only species that can rival the MUTOs. They stand out for having an intriguing name and an even more innovative design, debuting in the first MonsterVerse film of Kong: “Kong: Skull Island”. These creatures have a ferocious appearance and, like the MUTOs, share a lethal past with the monster protagonist of the film in which they were first introduced.
Skullcrawlers resemble infernal lizards, with heads that resemble skeletons – which explains their name – and a peculiar appearance due to the fact that they only have two legs. Several of them are introduced during the film, all with a very frightening appearance. However, the largest of them, known as Alpha Skullcrawler or Skull Devil, is the most notable, starring in a brutal and memorable fight against Kong.
5 – Mothra
Like Mechagodzilla, Mothra has been an icon in Japanese Godzilla films since the beginning of the franchise, but it wasn’t until 2019 that she made her debut in an American film. Characterised as a heroic and charismatic creature, Mothra is often Godzilla’s ally, although she is sometimes portrayed as his adversary, especially when Godzilla takes on the role of antagonist.
In the MonsterVerse, Mothra is highly valued among the Titans due to her faithful representation of their historical image in the franchise. As protector of the Earth, she demonstrates the ability to be reborn repeatedly and plays a crucial role in helping Godzilla defeat King Ghidorah at the climax of “Godzilla: King of the Monsters”.
4 – Rodan
Rodan is a monster that predates even the earliest versions of Mothra and King Ghidorah, having debuted in his own film just two years after the release of the original Godzilla film in 1954, before starting to appear in other parts of this series years later. Like Mothra, Rodan made his American film debut in ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’, a somewhat flawed addition to the series that nevertheless managed to feature some of the iconic and fan-favourite monsters.
Within the film, Rodan also stands out and, although opinions on his design may vary, there are those who argue that his appearance in this film is more impressive than in certain previous representations of the franchise. He leaves a significant mark during his scenes, proving quite menacing and making a memorable contribution to King Ghidorah, just as Mothra does for Godzilla.
3 – King Ghidorah
When it comes to memorable fights in the Godzilla films, many of them show the King of the Monsters facing another king: the three-headed dragon known as King Ghidorah. Not only is he spectacular and acts as the main antagonist in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, but one of his three skulls is also used in the creation of Mechagodzilla, thus ensuring a form of Ghidorah’s presence in Godzilla vs. Kong.
A recurring element of the series that has been well adapted for the MonsterVerse, King Ghidorah is imposingly large, ferocious and undeniably unique in his appearance. Within the pantheon of MonsterVerse Titans so far, it is appropriate to consider King Ghidorah as the sovereign of all Titans who are not the protagonists… it remains to be seen whether Ghidorah will return in some form (beyond his connection to Mechagodzilla).
2 – King Kong
Kong made his debut in “Kong: Skull Island” before starring in two films with Godzilla, both directed by Adam Wingard, becoming a central figure in the MonsterVerse. Although the series began with “Godzilla” in 2014, Kong featured prominently in both “Godzilla vs. Kong” and “Godzilla vs. Kong: The New Empire”, with more screen time than the beloved radioactive Titan, acting as the underdog in the first and leading the plot in the second film.
Although not called King Kong in MonsterVerse for various reasons, Kong is, in essence, King Kong: a giant ape who shows more emotion and possibly more intelligence than the average kaiju/titan. The MonsterVerse version of Kong is remarkably huge and has proved to be an entertaining and compelling presence in the three films he has appeared in, from 2017 to 2024.
1 – Godzilla
He’s known as the King of the Monsters for a reason: it’s impossible to ignore Godzilla, almost regardless of his version (except for the rather ridiculous 1998 version). The Godzilla franchise is extensive and the monster that gives the series its name is omnipresent, which is evident in MonsterVerse, where Godzilla has appeared in four of the five films to date. He was also given much more prominence in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters than Kong, despite the fact that the Eighth Wonder of the World had a special appearance at the end of the series.
Godzilla has proved to be a box office success in recent years, with the moderately successful MonsterVerse films and the acclaimed Godzilla Minus One indicating that his reign should continue for some time to come. Kong offers stiff competition and is extremely iconic in his own right, but when it comes to the best Titans of the MonsterVerse, the top spot is unquestionably Godzilla.
