Godzilla has a lot of enemies. He fights giant animals, dangerous aliens, robots, fellow dinosaurs, lab-grown monstrosities, and everything in between. With so many monsters trying to come at the king, Godzilla could do with a few more allies. Many of his antagonists join him in a battle against a greater threat, but he doesn’t have a lot of ride-or-die compatriots. Ask anyone to name a friend of Godzilla’s, and they’ll probably come back with Mothra. Is Mothra always on Team Godzilla, or is their relationship more complicated?
Mothra joined the Godzilla franchise in 1964’s Godzilla vs. Mothra, but she debuted in a 1961 self-titled project. She’s one of a few independent kaiju who worked together to form an early cinematic universe. The format lives on in the Monsterverse, perhaps the most streamlined and efficient example of the concept. Since Mothra was an early adopter, she’s been present in nearly every permutation of the Godzilla franchise.
Who is Mothra?
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Names |
Mothra, Mosia, The Thing |
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Subtitles |
Queen of the Monsters, Giant Supersonic Moth, God of the Sea |
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First Appearance |
Mothra |
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First Appearance Date |
July 30, 1961 |
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Portrayers |
Haruo Nakajima, Kazue Ikura, Sakurako Kishiro |
Mothra is a giant moth kaiju who borrows the naming convention from Godzilla. She’s the first female kaiju in Godzilla’s orbit and one of the few consistently benevolent beings in the franchise. Lore-wise, Mothra is generally a divine guardian who works tirelessly to defend humanity. She sometimes presides over a specific area, but she’s always a powerful defender of the weak. She often has a pair of mystical twins to serve as her spokespeople. When she dies, she’s quickly reincarnated as an egg. Throughout time immemorial, Mothra is the stalwart vanguard against evil monsters. She does sometimes wreak havoc on humanity, but usually only to defend her twin heralds. Some worship Mothra, leading her to regularly live in solitude among her supporters. Mothra is a morally unimpeachable hero, and her relationship with Godzilla is entirely dependent on the King of the Monster’s current mood.
What is Godzilla and Mothra’s relationship in the Toho films?
Toho’s Godzilla franchise is rarely consistent in its lore. The series has several eras, many of which begin and end with complete narrative rewrites. Subsequently, Mothra’s relationship with Godzilla shifts regularly. Mothra is always heroic and righteous. Godzilla is far less reliable. With exactly one exception, Mothra is Godzilla’s ally as long as the classic kaiju is working to defend humanity. The first Mothra died fighting Godzilla. She was already on her way out, leading to an unfortunate final struggle to protect her eggs. Mothra’s two larvae escaped Godzilla’s wrath. One of the children died, leaving the other to inherit her mother’s mantle. That Mothra established the trend of kaiju working together in 1964’s Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. The larval Mothra attempted to convince Godzilla and Rodan to join forces to face King Ghidorah, but both refuse to work together. They changed their tune when Ghidorah knocked Mothra aside, allowing the two monsters to defeat the three-headed dragon. Godzilla and Mothra briefly tussled in Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, but their basic relationship was established.
In the Heisei era, Godzilla turned against humanity again. This leads him to several fights with Mothra. Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) delves deeper into Mothra’s origin. She defended ancient humans from her wicked brother, Battra. She later joins forces with Battra to fight Godzilla, but still loses. She has to take off into space to prevent a meteor from hitting the Earth, but she sends a spiritual double to help humanity face SpaceGodzilla. The Millennium era placed Ghidorah on the heroic side, letting Mothra team up with her old enemy against Godzilla. Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack sees Mothra sacrifice herself to let Ghidorah and humanity defeat Godzilla temporarily. She would fight against Godzilla again, working with the latest Mechagodzilla incarnation to bury the beast once more. Finally, Mothra fought alongside Godzilla in Final Wars, reintroducing the idea of the duo as heroes. Mothra gave her life to beat Gigan, allowing Godzilla to defeat Monster X and save the world.
What is Godzilla and Mothra’s relationship in the Monsterverse?
The Monsterverse is much more streamlined and consistent. Mothra has only appeared in two Monsterverse outings so far. She’s one of the three returning faces in 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Her relationship with Godzilla is described as symbiotic, suggesting a mutually beneficial partnership. Cave paintings depict the two working together to protect ancient humans from extraterrestrial horrors. When King Ghidorah returns to establish his dominance, Mothra and Godzilla band together to strike. Mothra joins the film’s final battle, in which Ghidorah quickly devastates her. She gives her life to empower Godzilla, who takes on his burning form and destroys Ghidorah.
This year’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire reveals that Mothra survived the event or later reincarnated. Jia, a young Iwi native, awakens Mothra to defend her people against the Skar King. Mothra escapes the Hollow Earth and interrupts Godzilla’s long-awaited rematch with Kong. While Kong wants to mend fences, Godzilla is eager to finish off that ape. Only Mothra’s intervention saves Kong from further violence at that inopportune moment. This reveals some sort of emotional connection between Mothra and Godzilla, suggesting some limited camaraderie. Mothra fights alongside Godzilla and Kong, defeating Skar King and Shimo. They go their separate ways once again, Mothra continuing her life in the Hollow Earth while Godzilla returns to the sea.
Godzilla and Mothra aren’t allies as often as one might think. They’re enemies in the majority of their shared film projects. This is a consequence of Godzilla’s moral inconsistencies. Godzilla leaves the sea to destroy or to protect, and that decision will illuminate his relationship with Mothra. The modern movies describe them as symbiotic organisms, but Toho imagined them more as occasional friends.
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