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| Species: | Ghidorah |
| Height: | Monster X: 120 Meters Keizer Ghidorah: 140 Meters |
| Length: | Milleniumm: 150 Meters (Keizer Ghidorah w/o tail) |
| Weight: | Monster X: 60,000 Metric Tons Keizer Ghidorah: 100,000 Metric Tons |
| Appearances: | Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) |
Summary
Monster X (Monsuta Ekkusu) is a skeletal three-headed dragon kaiju who first appeared in the 2004 Toho Godzilla film, Godzilla: Final Wars. Keizer Ghidorah (Kaiza Gidora) is a transformation of Monster X, and also debuted in Godzilla: Final Wars.
The last and most powerful of the Xiliens' legion of monsters, Monster X arrived on Earth concealed inside the Gorath asteroid, which was shot down by Godzilla over Tokyo. Monster X initiated combat with Godzilla, and proved to be a considerably more challenging opponent than the rest of the Xiliens' monsters. Monster X was briefly joined by Gigan, but Mothra soon arrived and sacrificed herself to destroy Gigan, leaving only Monster X and Godzilla. When the Xilien Mothership self-destructed, Monster X transformed into the immensely powerful Keizer Ghidorah, which nearly killed Godzilla before the Gotengo intervened and gave Godzilla a surge of energy that allowed him to triumph over his extraterrestrial foe. Monster X was Godzilla's final opponent in the Millennium series, as well as his last onscreen foe for a period of 10 years and the final new kaiju introduced in a Toho film until the Servum.
Name
It is possible that Monster X's name is a reference to "Monster Zero," an alias for King Ghidorah. The "X" in his name could come from the Xiliens' Japanese name, the "X Aliens."
Keizer Ghidorah's name comes from the German word kaiser, meaning emperor, and "Ghidorah," coming from the immediate name of King Ghidorah's species. Perhaps coincidentally, the "Keizer" spelling matches the Dutch word for emperor, keizer. Keizer Ghidorah's name was chosen in reference to Keizer Ghidorah's position at the top of the Ghidorah group; an emperor above a king. Keizer Ghidorah's English name is alternatively spelled Kaiser Ghidorah or Kaizer Ghidorah in some Japanese media, while the character is trademarked under the name Monster X II.
Godzilla: Rage Across Time #4 contains a copyright icon for Keizer Ghidorah, despite Godzilla being the only monster to appear in the comic. Peculiarly, the icon used there uniquely bears the name "KEIZER GHIDORAH" rather than "MONSTER X II."[5] Rage Across Time #5�which does actually feature Keizer Ghidorah and Monster X�utilizes the normal "MONSTER X II" icon for the character, as do Godzilla: Ongoing #12 and #13.
Design
Monster X is a bipedal creature with a white bone-like exoskeleton and black skin. Monster X has red eyes, a skeletal face, and long spikes on the top of his head. He possesses two small half-skulls on his shoulders and a long black forked tail.
Keizer Ghidorah incorporates elements of both King Ghidorah and Desghidorah in his appearance. Like Desghidorah, Keizer Ghidorah is quadrupedal, and like King Ghidorah he has gold skin. Keizer Ghidorah has much smaller wings than the other Ghidorahs, and lacks defined scales on his skin, instead having smooth gold skin with teal streaks and spikes erupting from multiple spots on his body. Keizer Ghidorah's middle neck is much longer than the other two, and each of his heads has a different arrangement of horns and spikes. Keizer Ghidorah also possesses two long, whip-like tails.
Personality
Unlike most of the Xiliens' other mind-controlled monsters, Monster X displays true malice in his battle with Godzilla, fighting viciously and relentlessly. He seems to take pleasure in causing Godzilla pain, such as when he breaks Godzilla's wrists and suspends him into the air and when he holds Godzilla still for Gigan to slice him with his chainsaws. Monster X's maliciousness is further demonstrated when he continues the battle even after Gigan and the Xiliens are defeated and any mind-control the Xiliens had over him is severed. After transforming into Keizer Ghidorah, Monster X blasts and beats Godzilla mercilessly across Tokyo, throwing him around with his gravitational beams and kicking the weakened Godzilla in the head.
Origin
Monster X was summoned by the Xiliens from the Gorath asteroid, which has unknown origins. Keizer Ghidorah is a form of Monster X. It is unknown if the Xiliens themselves created Monster X or if he was simply discovered by them.
In the comic series Godzilla: Ongoing, Monster X's origins are equally cryptic. According to the Shobijin, Monster X is a creature who is "both of this world, and not of this world." Later comics establish that Monster X is likely of the same species as King Ghidorah, who is established to be a space-faring alien beast in Godzilla: Rulers of Earth.
History
Millennium Era
Monster X was summoned by the Controller of Planet X through the Gorath asteroid. Godzilla destroyed Gorath with his atomic breath in the skies over Tokyo, devastating much of the surrounding area. Monster X then floated down behind Godzilla and attacked him. Monster X overpowered Godzilla in hand-to-hand combat until Godzilla retaliated, resulting in a stalemate between the two monsters. Eventually, the modified Gigan arrived to assist Monster X. Monster X held Godzilla still from behind while Gigan sliced his chest with his chainsaw hands. Mothra arrived and knocked Monster X and Gigan down, freeing Godzilla. Mothra and Gigan then fought and destroyed each other, leaving only Monster X and Godzilla. The monsters resumed their battle, with Godzilla gaining the upper hand and pinning Monster X to the ground, then proceeding to punch him repeatedly. Godzilla tried to blast Monster X in the face with his atomic breath, but Monster X pushed his head away, causing the beam to strike the Xilien Mothership instead. After the Mothership self-destructed and the Xiliens were destroyed, Monster X and Godzilla engaged in a beam-lock, causing both monsters to be blown back. After this, Monster X transformed into Keizer Ghidorah.
After his transformation, Keizer Ghidorah engaged in a beam lock with Godzilla, his antigravity beams easily overpowering Godzilla's atomic breath. Keizer Ghidorah then repeatedly attacked the outmatched Godzilla with his antigravity beams, tossing him across the ruins of Tokyo like a ragdoll. Eventually, Keizer Ghidorah approached the fallen Godzilla and kicked him repeatedly in the head before lifting him into the air and draining his energy through his bite. The crew of the Gotengo saw Godzilla losing his energy to Keizer Ghidorah, and Shinichi Ozaki used the ship's Maser Cannon to transfer some of his Keizer energy into Godzilla. Godzilla was immediately re-energized and released a shockwave of energy, breaking him free from Keizer Ghidorah's grip. Keizer Ghidorah tried to retaliate with his antigravity beams, but Godzilla blasted off his middle head with his atomic breath and caused one of Keizer Ghidorah's antigravity beams to sever another head. Godzilla then tossed the maimed Keizer Ghidorah over his shoulder by the beast's remaining neck. Finally, Godzilla threw Keizer Ghidorah into the air and blasted him with his red spiral ray, pushing Keizer Ghidorah into space and causing him to explode.
Trivia
- The name "Monster X" is also used to refer to Jiger (in the American title of her film, Gamera vs. Monster X) and Guilala (in the title of his second film, Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit).
- Neither Monster X nor Keizer Ghidorah are referred to by name in Godzilla: Final Wars.
- Toho intended to keep Monster X's transformation into Keizer Ghidorah a secret prior to the release of Godzilla: Final Wars, copyrighting the latter as "Monster X II." However, the fansite Henshin!Online leaked Keizer Ghidorah's role on July 6, 2004.
- Monster X was briefly considered for Godzilla: Unleashed.
- Shunsuke Fujita wanted to include Monster X in Bandai Namco's 2014 Godzilla video game, but couldn't because of time constraints.
- Monster X's design may have been influenced by Seabozu, a monster from the original Ultraman series. Both monsters are skeletal in appearance with black and white bodies, horns on their heads, and spikes on their backs.
