Mothra


	Species:	Composite Millennian/Godzilla hybrid
	Length:	Showa: 40 Meters Larva 80 Meters Imago Heisei: 120 Meters Larva 65 Meters Imago Millennium: 30 Meters Larva 24 Meters Imago
	Wingspan:	Showa: 250 Meters Larva Heisei: 175 Meters Larva Millennium: 75 Meters Larva MonsterVerse: 244.8 Meters Larva
	Weight:	Showa: 10,000 Metric Tons Larva 15,000 Metric Tons Imago Heisei: 15,000 Metric Tons Larva 20,000 Metric Tons Imago Millennium: 10,000 Metric Tons Larva 15,000 Metric Tons Imago
	Appearances:	Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964 film) Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster (1964 film) Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966 film) Destroy All Monsters (1968 film) Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972 film) Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992 film) Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994 film) GMK: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001 film) Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla (2002 film) Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2002 film) Godzilla: Final Wars (2003 film) Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019 film)

Summary

Mothra (Mosura) is a giant divine moth kaiju who first appeared in the 1961 serialized novel The Luminous Fairies and Mothra, which was adapted the same year by Toho into the film Mothra. Mothra made her first appearance alongside Godzilla in the 1964 Godzilla film, Mothra vs. Godzilla. Her latest appearence was in the 2019 Godzilla film Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

Mothra's major distinction among Toho's library of kaiju, aside from being the first female monster in the Godzilla series, is her benevolent nature and relationship to mankind. While other monsters like Godzilla frequently menace humanity with their very existence, Mothra fights to protect humanity from monsters that threaten it. Mothra is accompanied by two miniature twin priestesses named the Shobijin, who speak to humanity on her behalf. However, Mothra has still wrought destruction herself, though this is only to rescue her Shobijin when they are kidnapped or when she is under the control of the Kilaaks.

In Mothra's onscreen debut, she laid waste to Tokyo and New Kirk City in her quest to recover the Shobijin and return them to Infant Island. Mothra returned in Mothra vs. Godzilla, where she traveled to Japan to battle Godzilla when he threatened her unhatched egg that had washed ashore there. Mothra was killed in the battle, but two twin larvae hatched from her egg and carried on her battle against Godzilla, eventually triumphing over him. One of the larvae died sometime afterward, but the surviving one took her mother's place as the goddess of Infant Island. Mothra was soon called upon to defend Earth against the evil King Ghidorah, and managed to recruit both Godzilla and Rodan to her cause. Mothra eventually matured into an adult and rescued her people from Letchi Island after they were kidnapped and enslaved by the terrorist group known as the Red Bamboo. By the end of the 20th century, a larval Mothra was contained on Monsterland, only to be released when the Kilaaks took over the island and assumed control of the monsters. Mothra was soon freed from Kilaak control and fought alongside the other Earth monsters to kill King Ghidorah once and for all and defeat the alien menace.

Mothra was reintroduced in the Heisei series film Godzilla vs. Mothra, where she fought alongside a dark counterpart named Battra to defeat Godzilla. After the Godzilla Heisei series ended, a standalone trilogy of films focusing on Mothra was released from 1996 to 1998. This trilogy introduced Mothra Leo, Mothra's son, who would go on to star in the trilogy's second and third entries following his mother's death. Mothra made an appearance in the third entry in the Millennium series of Godzilla films, Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, as one of the three Guardian Monsters, who defended Japan against Godzilla. Mothra returned two films later in Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., where she and her twin larvae supported Kiryu in his battle against Godzilla. In Godzilla: Final Wars, Mothra aided Godzilla in his battle against Monster X and Gigan, and sacrificed her own life to destroy Gigan. Mothra made a cameo through a cave painting in the film Kong: Skull Island, the second entry in Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros.' MonsterVerse, and went on to appear in Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 2019, the sequel to Legendary's Godzilla from 2014. Mothra is also a major player in the universe of the GODZILLA anime trilogy, though she does not appear directly. Rather, in the backstory of this universe, Mothra defended a surviving segment of the human population from Godzilla in 2048, and helped to relocate them to the Mount Fuji area, where they evolved over time into the Houtua and continued to worship the egg Mothra left behind.

Name

The name "Mothra" is the suffixation of "-ra" (a common last syllable in kaiju names) to "moth." Since the Japanese language does not have dental fricatives, it is approximated "Mosura" in Japanese. Originally, Mothra's name was approximated in English as "Mosla," but it was later corrected to "Mothra" by the time of the release of her debut film[1]. In the American dubbing and various posters for Mothra vs. Godzilla, Mothra is also referred to as "The Thing." She is among Toho's most popular characters, primarily among female fans, and she has appeared in every Godzilla film era. Toho even honored Mothra with the title "Queen of Monsters" for the soundtrack and home video releases of Rebirth of Mothra, illustrating her proximity in status to Godzilla himself. This subtitle is also used for her in Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, the guardian monster Mothra's name is spelled in kanji but pronounced the same: (Mosura). While Mothra is named in GODZILLA: Project Mechagodzilla, her name is never spoken in any of the films of the GODZILLA anime trilogy. Rather, she is alluded to only as the Houtua's God (フツアの神 Futsua no Kami), while her unhatched offspring is simply referred to as the Egg (Tamago). When Haruo Sakaki sees a vision of the imago Mothra, he mistakenly calls her a "butterfly" (Chō).

Design

Since her first film, Mothra has been depicted in various stages of the lepidopteran life cycle: Mothra's mammoth egg is decoratively colored in blue and yellow waves. The egg hatches into her larva, a massive brown, segmented caterpillar (resembling a silkworm) with glowing blue, sometimes red, eyes. In rare circumstances, twins may emerge from the egg. The caterpillar eventually spins a silken cocoon around itself (the pupa stage), and from this cocoon the imago (adult) Mothra emerges, a gigantic moth-like creature with brightly-colored wings. Mothra's life cycle�particularly the tendency of an imago's death to coincide with its larvae hatching�echoes that of the Phoenix, resembling resurrection and suggesting divinity.

In her debut novel The Luminous Fairies and Mothra, Mothra had a design more reminiscent of a swallow, her head also being more like a butterfly's. Her larval form was segmented, similarly to the way she would be portrayed in her first film appearance, but had longer legs and possessed a more caterpillar-like face.

In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, Mothra is portrayed with purple eyes, although her eyes are normally blue.

Personailty

Despite having wrought destruction worthy of any Toho kaiju, Mothra is almost always portrayed as a kind and benevolent creature, causing destruction only when acting as protector to her worshipers on Infant Island or to her egg, or as collateral damage while protecting Earth from a greater threat. Mothra is usually accompanied by two tiny priestesses or fairies (often called Shobijin�Japanese for "small beauties") who also speak for her.

Origin

Mothra's origins have somewhat varied from film to film, but she is always portrayed as a benevolent and ancient creature that possesses some level of divinity.

In the Showa era, Godzilla vs. Mothra, Rebirth of Mothra, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. and Godzilla: Final Wars, Mothra is the guardian goddess of the remote Infant Island in the south Pacific Ocean. There, she is perpetually reborn through an egg and is worshiped by the island's natives. She is spoken for by two miniature telepathic fairies, called either the Shobijin, Cosmos, or Elias.

Mothra's origin is gone into in greater depth in Godzilla vs. Mothra. This film explains that Mothra was the guardian of the ancient world, protecting all life on Earth from threats. When an ancient civilization created a climate-controlling device, the Earth became offended and created a dark Mothra, called Battra, to destroy it. After destroying the device, Battra proceeded to eradicate the entire civilization and sought to exterminate all of mankind, believing humans to be a blight on the planet. Mothra challenged Battra and defeated him, sealing him away in the North Sea. Following this battle, Mothra and the Cosmos, the only remnants of the ancient civilization, took up residence on the remote Infant Island, where they lived in peace for the next twelve thousand years.

In Rebirth of Mothra, it is established that Mothra is the last living member of an ancient race of giant guardian moths that defended the Earth throughout its history. In her old age, Mothra lived in solitude with the Elias on Infant Island, and with the last of her strength summoned forth an egg to continue her legacy after her death.

In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, Mothra's origin receives its first major alteration. In this film, Mothra is one of the three Guardian Monsters and the Goddess of the Sea. In ancient times, Mothra and her fellow guardians Baragon and King Ghidorah were slain by Japanese warriors. Mothra was laid to rest under Lake Ikeda while the warriors who slayed her prayed for her soul, that she would return one day to save Japan. Thousands of years later, the prophet Hirotoshi Isayama awakened Mothra by transferring the souls of Japan's honorable dead into her, so that she and the other Guardian Monsters could together stop Godzilla.

In the continuity of the GODZILLA anime trilogy, Mothra is a mystical creature which lives in isolation in the Amazon rainforest alongside a tribe of humans known as Mothra's People, who worship her as their deity. Mothra's origins and past are unknown, but she has been living in symbiosis with her people for some time, protecting them from harm and providing for their needs. Mothra also possesses a counterpart named Battra, and together the two moth monsters were believed capable of defeating Godzilla.

In the MonsterVerse, Mothra is again revered as a benevolent goddess, but her origin lies not on Infant Island but rather in China's Yunnan Rainforest. Ancient accounts and paintings of Mothra show that she was worshiped by humans in the ancient past, and she appears in folklore from around the world. Notably, some ancient pictures depict her fighting alongside Godzilla and human warriors against King Ghidorah, either as an account of an ancient battle or a prophecy for a future one. In 2009, a Monarch team headed by Dr. Emma Russel discovered Mothra's cocoon in an ancient temple in the Yunnan Rainforest, dubbed the "Temple of the Moth."

Mothra's Fairies: Shobijin, Cosmos, Elias, Maina and Miana

Mothra is usually accompanied by two tiny priestesses or fairies (often called Shobijin, Japanese for "small beauties") who also speak for her. For Mothra's first three film appearances these twin fairies were played by the Peanuts, the singing duo of Emi and Yumi Ito. In Mothra, they demonstrate telepathic abilities, within speaking range with people and over great distances with Mothra. They explain that while they call to Mothra in prayer and in song, they and Mothra are also connected on some deeper level beyond their control, and it is this connection that impels Mothra to find them no matter where they are. These qualities are part of the continuity of all subsequent Mothra appearances. In Mothra vs. Godzilla the Shobijin also demonstrate teleportation, when trying to escape from Kumayama and Jiro Torahata. In Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster the Shobijin translate not only Mothra's chirps but an entire conversation among her, Godzilla, and Rodan. In Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, the Shobijin are now played by Pair Bambi, but still demonstrate the same telepathic bond with Mothra. Decades later, in Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., two other Shobijin (portrayed by Masami Nagasawa and Chihiro �tsuka) demonstrate telekinesis as well.

In the Heisei series, Mothra's priestesses (played by Keiko Imamura and Sayaka Osawa) identify themselves as Earth's Cosmos, who claim to have been created by the very life force of Earth, along with Mothra and her dark counterpart Battra. The Cosmos speak not only for Mothra, but for the living Earth as well. The Cosmos say that Battra was first created by the Earth to balance the ecosystem, which was disrupted by the climate-altering device of an advanced civilization, 12,000 years ago. However, Battra proved to be a little too enthusiastic about his task, and attempted to wipe out all of mankind. Mothra, who lived in harmony with humanity, fought Battra to stop his rampage. While the Cosmos are connected to Mothra, they are aware of Battra's activity. They know when Battra has awoken, and what his tasks and motivations are, but Battra is not motivated to seek them out, unlike Mothra, who seems compelled to protect them and talks to them directly.

In the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy, Mothra's priestesses were the Elias; the Elias differ from earlier incarnations in that they are not mind-linked twins but individual persons, Moll and Lora. They are also seen to have an older sister, a dark Elias called Belvera. In addition to accompanying Mothra, the Elias would also ride a smaller Mothra called Fairy. Mothra would reprise the role of ancient guardian, though with only a passing homage to the Shobijin, in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. The Shobijin reappear in Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., and identify themselves as descendants of the two Shobijin who accompanied Mothra in 1961. They appear to Shinichi Chujo and plead with him to convince the Japanese government to return the first Godzilla's remains to the sea. In Godzilla: Final Wars, the Shobijin appear to a group of humans and warn them that the cyborg monster recently uncovered by the Earth Defense Force, Gigan, is an ancient enemy of Mothra who attempted to destroy the Earth. They later summon Mothra to aid Godzilla against Gigan and Monster X.

Two characters based on the Shobijin, Maina and Miana, are featured in the GODZILLA anime trilogy. They are twin sisters and members of the Houtua, a tribe descended from a group of humans that Mothra defended from Godzilla 20,000 years ago and helped to relocate to the Mount Fuji area. Like the Shobijin, Maina and Miana are telepathically bonded to Mothra, in this case her surviving egg, and serve as her priestesses and communicate her messages to others. Maina and Miana are distinct from the Shobijin in that rather than being tiny compared to humans, they are human-sized like the rest of their race.

History

Showa Era

Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964 film)

Mothra's egg washed up on the shores of Japan when a typhoon carried it away from the shores of Infant Island. Kumayama, the owner of the company Happy Enterprises, bought the egg from the citizens of the area where the egg was found and planned to turn it into the main attraction of his upcoming amusement park The Shobijin came to Japan to request the egg's return, only for Kumayama and his financier Jiro Torahata to try and capture them as well. The Shobijin escaped and met with a group of sympathetic humans, warning that when the egg hatched the larva would cause much destruction and death while searching for food and attempting to return to Infant Island on its own. When the Shobijin's allies met with Kumayama and Torahata, they refused to return the egg and wanted to buy the Shobijin instead. The Shobijin then returned to Infant Island with Mothra. When Godzilla emerged in Japan and began heading for the incubator holding Mothra's egg, the three humans who helped the Shobijin traveled to Infant Island, which had been devastated by nuclear bomb tests. They asked the Shobijin for Mothra's help in defeating Godzilla, but they refused. However, Mothra herself, who was living out the last of her days on a sacred rock, agreed to help and flew to Japan, knowing she would never return.

Mothra arrived in Japan just as Godzilla reached Mothra's egg and attacked him. Mothra used the gusts of wind from her wings to knock Godzilla of his feet and tried to slash him with her claws, but she was too feeble to injure him. Mothra released poison powder from her wings against Godzilla, but Godzilla simply blasted her with his atomic breath, causing her to fall on top of her egg and die. While Godzilla continued his rampage across Japan, the Shobijin and the Infant Islanders began to pray for Mothra's egg to hatch. Finally, the egg hatched into two twin larvae. The larvae followed Godzilla to Iwa Island and attacked him there. While the larvae were much smaller and weaker than Godzilla, they used their size to hide behind rocks and sneak up on Godzilla, spraying him with silk. Eventually, Godzilla was trapped in a silken cocoon and fell over a cliff into the ocean below. Victorious, Mothra's larvae and the Shobijin returned to Infant Island.

Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster (1964 film)

In the time after Mothra's battle with Godzilla, one of the twin larvae passed away, leaving its sister as the sole goddess of Infant Island. When the evil three-headed space monster King Ghidorah arrived on the Earth, the Japanese government asked the Shobijin to call Mothra to fight him. The Shobijin remarked that the young Mothra had no chance of defeating King Ghidorah on her own, but proposed that if she could recruit the help of Godzilla and Rodan they may have a chance. The Shobijin called Mothra to Japan, where she sought out Godzilla and Rodan, who were battling at Mount Fuji. Mothra used her silk to get the monsters to stop fighting and informed them of the threat posed by King Ghidorah. Godzilla and Rodan stubbornly replied that they had no reason to defend humanity from King Ghidorah, and refused to work together until the other apologized. Mothra told them that the Earth was not just for humanity, but for all creatures and that it was their duty to protect it. Unfortunately, Mothra's words failed to sway either monster, and the young larva was forced to take on King Ghidorah by herself. King Ghidorah easily blasted Mothra aside with his gravity beams, attracting the anger of Godzilla and Rodan, who finally joined the battle. Together, the three Earth monsters overpowered King Ghidorah, knocking him to the ground and trapping him in silk. King Ghidorah finally flew off into space, leaving Mothra and her new allies victorious. Mothra reunited with the Shobijin and swam back to Infant Island, while Godzilla and Rodan watched.

Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966 film)

Mothra, now grown into her imago form, remained asleep on Infant Island while her people were abducted and enslaved by the terrorist organization known as the Red Bamboo, who operated on nearby Letchi Island. The Shobijin and the remaining natives continued to pray to Mothra until she finally awakened and heard their plea. The Shobijin told Ryota and Yata, who had both ended up on Infant Island, to travel to Letchi Island and free the slaves, then create a giant net. The two of them traveled to the island by boat, while Mothra and the Shobijin prepared to fly there as well. When Mothra arrived, the island had been rigged to explode and Godzilla was in combat with the monster Ebirah, who guarded the island's waters. When Godzilla defeated Ebirah and saw Mothra fly overhead, he approached her and tried to initiate combat. Aware that the whole island was about to detonate in a huge nuclear-force explosion rigged by the Red Bamboo, Mothra simply knocked Godzilla over. While Godzilla was down, Mothra grabbed the net carrying the rescued slaves, then flew away from the island. Godzilla soon jumped into the water, just as the entire island was consumed in a nuclear explosion.

Destroy All Monsters (1968 film)

By the end of the 20th century, a larval Mothra was living on Monsterland along with most of Earth's other kaiju. When the Kilaaks invaded the island, they took control of the monsters and sent them to attack major cities around the globe. Mothra first attacked Beijing, and later resurfaced in Tokyo along with Godzilla, Manda and Rodan. The four monsters completely leveled the city before departing. Thankfully, mankind destroyed the Kilaaks' mind-control device and the Earth monsters assaulted the Kilaaks' lair at Mount Fuji. The Kilaaks summoned King Ghidorah to fight off the Earth monsters. Mothra aided in the fight from afar, covering King Ghidorah in webbing alongside Kumonga. When King Ghidorah and the Kilaaks were defeated, Mothra and the other monsters were returned to Monsterland to live out their days in peace.

Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972 film)

In 1972, a single Mothra larva was living on Monster Island with a large number of other monsters. It is unknown whether this larva was the offspring of the second generation Mothra, or itself the third generation Mothra.

Heisei Era

Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992 film)

Twelve thousand years ago, Mothra was the guardian of an ancient civilization. However, this civilization created a climate-controlling device, greatly angering the Earth itself and leading it to create Battra, a dark version of Mothra. Battra destroyed the device, but soon went beyond his purpose and attempted to destroy all of mankind, seeing them as a blight on the Earth. Mothra tried to stop them, and the two moths engaged in a titanic battle that destroyed the ancient civilization. Mothra defeated Battra and sealed him away in the North Sea, while Mothra and the Cosmos relocated to Infant Island to live in solitude. In 1993, an expedition sent to the island by the Japanese government encountered the Cosmos along with Mothra's egg. The Cosmos explained the story of Mothra and Battra to the explorers, and warned that the meteor that recently struck the Earth could awaken Battra. The Cosmos agreed to allow Mothra's egg to be transported to Japan, but en route the barge carrying it was attacked by Godzilla. The egg hatched into a larval Mothra, who attempted to defend herself from Godzilla. Eventually, Battra arrived in his larval form and knocked Mothra aside, attacking Godzilla instead. Godzilla and Battra were eventually swallowed up by a volcanic fault and presumed dead, while Mothra returned to Infant Island and the Cosmos were secretly captured by one of the explorers, Kenji Ando.

Ando brought the Cosmos to his employer, the Marutomo Company, who planned to exploit the tiny fairies as a publicity stunt. The Cosmos prayed to Mothra, who left the island to recover the Cosmos. The JSDF tried to fight Mothra in the ocean as she approached Japan, but failed to halt the larva. Mothra came ashore in Tokyo, unintentionally leaving a trail of destruction as she searched for the Cosmos. Masako Tezuka, her daughter Midori and Miki Saegusa recovered the Cosmos and brought them to Mothra, causing her rampage to cease. Unfortunately, the JSDF opened fire on Mothra with artillery, wounding her. Mothra crawled to the National Diet Building and encased herself in a cocoon. Meanwhile, Godzilla surfaced from the crater of Mount Fuji while Battra reappeared in the ocean and transformed into his imago form. As both Godzilla and Battra approached the Tokyo area, Mothra emerged from her cocoon in her imago form and flew off to stop Battra. Mothra and Battra clashed in the skies above Yokohama, with Battra overpowering Mothra and causing her to crash to the ground in the Minato Mirai 21 district. Before Battra could kill his light counterpart, Godzilla appeared and attacked them both. Godzilla proved to be more than a match for either moth, subduing Battra and nearly killing Mothra before Battra came to her aid, realizing that Godzilla was a far greater threat. Mothra saved Battra and temporarily knocked Godzilla down. Mothra communicated with Battra, and they decided to put aside their differences to defeat Godzilla. Mothra and Battra joined forces, firing their various beam attacks in tandem against Godzilla. Godzilla was subdued, and Mothra and Battra grabbed him, carrying him out over the ocean. Godzilla bit into Battra's throat and fired his atomic breath, killing him and forcing Mothra to drop both monsters into the sea below. Mothra placed a sacred seal over the water and reunited with the Cosmos at Haneda Airport. The Cosmos revealed that Battra told Mothra that a larger meteor was going to strike and destroy the Earth in 1999, and it was his duty to stop it. In the event of Battra's death, Mothra agreed to destroy the meteor instead. Mothra and the Cosmos bid farewell to the humans and flew into outer space, preparing to intercept the meteor before it could reach Earth.

Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994 film)

While flying through space to intercept the meteor that was destined to hit Earth in 1999, Mothra became aware of an evil extraterrestrial clone of Godzilla called SpaceGodzilla that was heading to Earth with the intention of killing his Earthling counterpart and conquering the planet. Mothra sent a Fairy Mothra to Earth, where it revealed itself to Miki Saegusa and transformed into a projection of the Cosmos, who warned Miki of the impending to disaster and stressed the importance of Godzilla in defending the planet. When SpaceGodzilla was ultimately defeated by the combined efforts of Godzilla and G-Force, the projection of the Cosmos reappeared to Miki and congratulated her on saving the planet.

It was also speculated by U.N.G.C.C. scientists that SpaceGodzilla's creation may have been due to Mothra unwittingly carrying some of Godzilla's flesh into outer space following their battle, allowing it to be pulled into a black hole and released through a white hole, where it was exposed to supernovas and mutated into a crystalline lifeform.

Millennium Era

Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001 film)

Mothra (Mosura) was a legendary beast from ancient Japan and was known as the Goddess of the Water. Ages ago, noble Japanese warriors slayed Mothra and laid her to rest under Lake Ikeda. The warriors prayed for Mothra's soul, in the hope that she and the other guardian monsters, Baragon and King Ghidorah, would rise again one day to defend Japan.

In 2002, a group of teenagers disturbed Mothra's shrine after robbing a convenience store near Lake Ikeda. Mothra awakened and pulled the teenagers underwater, wrapping their bodies in a cocoon of silk. Mothra then encased herself in a cocoon which sat on the lake's surface. When the prophet Hirotoshi Isayama called upon the guardian monsters to stop Godzilla, Mothra emerged from her cocoon and flew to Yokohama to battle him. Mothra perched atop the Yokohama Landmark Tower and flew at Godzilla, firing poisonous stingers at him and scratching his face with her claws. Godzilla fired his atomic breath at Mothra, but she avoided the blast, which struck and destroyed the Landmark Tower instead. Ghidorah arrived shortly afterward and joined forces with Mothra against Godzilla. Godzilla easily overpowered both monsters, knocking Ghidorah unconscious and sending Mothra flying into a railroad track after she deflected his atomic breath from striking Ghidorah. Godzilla turned his attention to the JSDF's battleships in Tokyo Bay, but Mothra flew behind him to take him by surprise. However, Godzilla turned his head at the last moment and fired his atomic breath at Mothra, vaporizing her. Mothra's life force flowed into Ghidorah's body, reviving him as the Thousand-Year-Old Dragon, King Ghidorah and giving him an advantage in the fight.

When King Ghidorah was ultimately killed by Godzilla, the spirit of all three guardian monsters flew into Godzilla, causing him to sink underwater and allowing the Satsuma to fire a D-03 Missile from within Godzilla's body, opening a gaping wound on his neck that ultimately caused Godzilla to destroy himself when he fired his atomic breath.

Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla (2002 film)

When a second Godzilla attacked Japan in 1999, the Prime Minister of Japan and the Minister of Science and Technology discussed how ever since the first Godzilla attacked Tokyo in 1954, giant monsters have often raided the country. One such monster was Mothra, who attacked Tokyo in 1961.

Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2002 film)

Mothra was sighted flying over the skies of Japan, prompting two fighter jets to try and shoot her down. Mothra was unaffected by the jets' missiles and continued flying to Japan. Mothra landed near the home of Shinichi Chujo, a man who had helped reunite Mothra with her Shobijin in 1961. The Shobijin appeared to Chujo and asked him to tell the government to scrap the Kiryu project, which utilized the remains of the first Godzilla as a weapon. The Shobijin claimed this was a crime against nature and the sanctity of life, and that Mothra would be forced to declare war against humanity if the first Godzilla's remains were not returned to the sea. They also promised that Mothra would take it upon herself to defend Japan from Godzilla. When Chujo told his story to Prime Minister Hayato Igarashi, he regretfully told Chujo that the government could not afford to scrap the project, as too much had already been sacrificed for it. When Godzilla appeared in Tokyo, Chujo's grandson Shun used school desks to recreate Mothra's symbol and summon her to Tokyo. Mothra engaged in battle with Godzilla, but due to her old age was easily overwhelmed. Igarashi ordered Kiryu to be launched to aid Mothra, and the machine entered the battle as well. Godzilla defeated Kiryu, while Mothra's egg on Infant Island hatched into two twin larvae. The larvae arrived in Tokyo to communicate with their mother, but Godzilla noticed them. Godzilla fired his atomic breath at the larvae, only for Mothra to fly in front of the beam, sacrificing herself for her children. Enraged with grief, the larvae attacked Godzilla, distracting him while Kiryu was repaired. Kiryu soon re-entered the battle, defeating Godzilla by using his drill hand to open a previously-inflicted wound on Godzilla's chest. Mothra's larvae encased Godzilla in silk, leaving him trapped and helpless. Rather than kill Godzilla, Kiryu overrode his programming and carried Godzilla out to the sea, sinking them both in the Japan Trench. Mothra's larvae swam back to Infant Island with the Shobijin, content that the souls of the dead could now rest in peace.

Godzilla: Final Wars (2003 film)

Thousands of years ago, Mothra defended the Earth from an alien monster known as Gigan, defeating him and entombing him off the coast of Hokkaido. In the year 20XX, the Earth Defense Force recovered Gigan's mummified remains, drawing the attention of Mothra and her Shobijin. The Shobijin appeared to several members of the EDF and warned them that Gigan was evil and could awaken, but promised that Mothra would appear to defend the Earth. When the alien force known as the Xiliens took control of Gigan and an army of monsters and used them to conquer the planet, Mothra flew to Tokyo to aid Godzilla against Gigan and Monster X. Mothra saved Godzilla from being double-teamed by the enemy monsters, then confronted Gigan once again. Gigan fired two razor discs at Mothra, but she used her reflective scales to avoid them. Gigan responded by blasting Mothra with his laser beam, causing her to erupt in flames. Believing himself victorious, Gigan turned around only for his head to be sliced off by his reflected razor discs. Mothra, still on fire, flew into the headless Gigan and exploded, seemingly killing them both.

The film's end credits show an unharmed Mothra flying back to Infant Island, although it is possible this is simply unused footage and not meant to suggest Mothra survived her battle with Gigan, similar to how footage of Hedorah destroying Tokyo is also shown during the end credits.

MonsterVerse Era

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019 film)

While discussing the completion of her sonar device the ORCA, Monarch's Dr. Emma Russell and her daughter Madison overheard Mothra's roar from their dwelling built in China's Yunnan rainforest. Emma was contacted and told to report immediately to Outpost 56, the Temple of the Moth. Upon arrival, they were greeted by entomologist Dr. Tim Mancini, who explained that Mothra's radiation levels have suddenly skyrocketed after she was sleeping peacefully just before. As they entered an observation room overlooking a huge chamber, they witnessed Mothra's glowing blue egg begin to pulse and shift before a huge mass burst from it. Shaking the amniotic fluid from her body, Mothra's larval form finally hatched. Monarch attempted to put a containment field around Mothra, but their systems inexplicably shut down, as if they were being sabotaged by an outside party. Seeing the armed soldiers surrounding her, Mothra began to panic as the soft blue bioluminescent glow being emitted from her body shifted to a red glow. Mothra began to thrash about, spitting silk at the guards and grabbing one guard in her mouth before throwing him into a wall. Emma ran into the chamber with the ORCA and activated it, trying to use it to calm Mothra. As Emma struggled to find the right sonar pattern, Mothra became aggressive and began spitting silk at her. Madison ran into the chamber after her mother, and watched as Mothra was bearing down on both of them. Fortunately, Emma successfully pacified Mothra with the ORCA, and her glow returned once again to the peaceful blue color from when she hatched. Emma and Madison were able to approach Mothra, and Madison placed her hand on the monster's face. Mothra blew air through her nostrils that blew both Emma and Madison back. This peaceful communion between man and monster was interrupted however when a bomb was detonated in the observation room. A group of armed mercenaries entered and gunned down most of the Monarch personnel, then absconded with Emma, Madison, and the ORCA. Mothra subsequently escaped the temple and cocooned herself under a nearby waterfall.

In their quest to retrieve the ORCA, Monarch came to realize that Emma had been in league with the eco-terrorist group, led by Alan Jonah, and intended to use the ORCA to reawaken the Titans around the globe in order to restore balance to nature before the government could exterminate them. The first Titan they unleashed, King Ghidorah, proved to not belong to the natural order like the others and emitted a call that awakened all of the other Titans around the world. Each of these Titans responded to Ghidorah's call and began doing his bidding, converting the planet's ecosystem to his liking by causing destruction across the globe. However, Mothra did not respond to Ghidorah's call as she emerged from her cocoon in her imago stage. Monarch's Dr. Ling and Dr. Houston Brooks watched as the imago Mothra spread her glowing wings. Mothra made her way to Monarch's Castle Bravo underwater base, where Monarch and the U.S. military were discussing countermeasures against Ghidorah and the other Titans now that Godzilla was seemingly killed by the experimental Oxygen Destroyer weapon that failed to harm Ghidorah. Mothra emitted blinding white bioluminescence from her wings that parted the surrounding stormclouds and revealed her presence to everyone in the base. Monarch discovered that Mothra was using sonar to communicate, and that Godzilla was responding from somewhere. Using her bioluminescent God Rays as a beacon, Mothra led Monarch to Godzilla's location. The submarine they were traveling in was pulled inside the Hollow Earth, where they found an ancient sunken city which contained Godzilla's lair. Dr. Ishiro Serizawa sacrificed himself to detonate one of the sub's nuclear torpedoes next to Godzilla, with the radiation revitalizing him and allowing him to fight once more.

Godzilla made his way to Boston to confront Ghidorah, supported by the military. Mothra arrived not long after and assisted Godzilla by pinning Ghidorah's heads against a building with her silk attack. Godzilla tackled Ghidorah through the building, but before he could attack again Ghidorah summoned Rodan to support him. Rodan intercepted Mothra, and the two flying Titans engaged in an aerial battle across the city as Godzilla and Ghidorah continued to fight on the ground. The molten magma emitted from Rodan's wings burned Mothra's own, causing her to eventually lose her ability to fly. Rodan sent Mothra crashing into a nearby skyscraper, but she used her claws to knock him off and climbed to the top. Rodan flew back around and pinned Mothra to the top of the skyscraper, trying to stab her with his beak. Mothra dodged his attacks and used her stinger to pierce directly through Rodan's chest. Immobilized by the sting, Rodan fell backward down into the burning city below, shrieking in rage. When Ghidorah dropped Godzilla from the sky and seriously injured him, Mothra intervened by weakly climbing onto Godzilla as Ghidorah closed in. She spread her wings to shield Godzilla, then flew directly at Ghidorah who easily disintegrated her with his gravity beams. Mothra's energy floated down onto Godzilla, causing glowing orange cracks to begin forming in his skin. Ultimately, Mothra's energy provided Godzilla with a huge boost in power which caused his entire body to become covered in these glowing patterns and emit intense heat. Godzilla used his new power to finish Ghidorah once and for all. His dorsal fins sparked with energy as he launched forth a burning nuclear pulse of energy which took the shape of Mothra's wings and made the sound of her roar. This pulse incinerated both of Ghidorah's wings, after which Godzilla fired another pulse that melted his left and right heads. Godzilla stomped onto Ghidorah's chest as the energy inside him built to critical levels and exploded. When the smoke cleared, Godzilla emerged victorious from the rubble, holding Ghidorah's remaining head in his jaws. Godzilla incinerated this head with his atomic breath before being confronted by Rodan and the other Titans which Ghidorah had controlled. With Ghidorah gone, the Titans all one by one submitted to Godzilla, accepting him as the new King of the Monsters.

Under Godzilla's leadership, the Titans became peaceful and helped to restore damaged ecosystems across the globe. Monarch also discovered a Titan egg, which was speculated to be either another Mothra, or something else entirely.

Trivia

Mothra was the first Toho kaiju Godzilla faced that did not debut in the Godzilla series but was instead incorporated into and absorbed by it, becoming one of the series' recurring characters.
Mothra is also the only Toho kaiju to receive films dedicated to herself and her kind (Rebirth of Mothra and its two sequels) after appearing in the Godzilla series.
Mothra has become one of Godzilla's most challenging opponents, having achieved the greatest success rate against him in battle. She has once overcome Godzilla in imago form, and twice Godzilla has fought her to her death only later to be bested by her newborn larvae. It should be mentioned that Mothra has never beaten Godzilla alone in her imago form. The only victories by Mothra over Godzilla were the twin Mothra larvae in Mothra vs. Godzilla in the Showa series, imago Mothra and imago Battra in Godzilla vs. Mothra in the Heisei series and the twin larvae and Kiryu in Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. in the Millennium series.
Mothra was the first kaiju fought by Godzilla to be female, the first one to be an insect, and the first one capable of flight. She was also the second insect kaiju to appear in a Toho film, predated only by the Meganulon from Rodan.
Mothra is widely considered to be Toho's second most popular kaiju behind Godzilla, due to her numerous film appearances both in and outside of the Godzilla franchise. Toho has even given Mothra the title "Queen of (the) Monsters," a counterpart to Godzilla's "King of the Monsters."
Toho had intended to follow Godzilla vs. Biollante with a revival of Mothra in her own spin-off film, Mothra vs. Bagan. However, following the unimpressive box office performance of Biollante, Toho discarded the project in favor of another Godzilla film, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. A 1992 survey revealed that Mothra was Toho's most popular kaiju among women, an observation which inspired Toho to again revise its plans, abandoning a proposed direct sequel to King Ghidorah in favor of a Godzilla�Mothra film. Following the end of the Heisei Godzilla series, Toho produced the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy. Mothra thus became the first Toho kaiju to lead its own films after its incorporation into the Godzilla franchise.
According to an interview with Kenpachiro Satsuma, Koichi Kawakita originally wanted Mothra to be killed in Godzilla vs. Mothra and appear in a sequel as MechaMothra.
Mothra is one of the few monsters that has appeared in the Showa, Heisei, and Millennium Godzilla series, and she is slated to appear in Legendary's series of Godzilla films as well.
Despite dying frequently in her film appearances, Mothra has only ever been killed by Godzilla and Desghidorah, though she did seemingly kill both herself and Gigan instantaneously in Godzilla: Final Wars.
Although Mothra is one of Godzilla's most frequent allies, she has only been his ally in the films Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla: Final Wars, although briefly, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters. In all of her other film appearances alongside Godzilla so far, Mothra has been his enemy.
In addition to her appearance on Monster Island via stock footage in Godzilla vs. Gigan, Mothra can be very briefly seen during the film's final battle, appearing behind Godzilla as he walks towards King Ghidorah. This "cameo" is unintentional, a result of the film's extensive use of stock footage from Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster and other Showa Godzilla films.
Though Mothra is in general a female kaiju, there have been male members of her kind. In Rebirth of Mothra, Mothra has a son named Mothra Leo, who goes on to star in the next two films of the trilogy. Mothra Leo reappears as Mothra's son in Godzilla Island, where he has a sister named Baby Mothra. Sometimes, Mothra's twin larvae possess different genders. In the Godzilland merchandise line released in 1984, one of Mothra's larvae is depicted as a boy and the other as a girl. Merchandise for Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. differentiates the two larvae from the film as male and female, with the male having darker colored skin and longer tusks and tail projections than the female. During production of the film, the male larva was nicknamed "Taro" by the staff, while they called the female "Hanako." The American dubs of Mothra and Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster refers to Mothra as male, though this only applies to the dubs and all other official translations refer to the character as a female.
GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse, the prequel novel to GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters, makes reference to Mothra through the mention a monster living in South America that fights using silk and powder and is friendly to humans, though Mothra is not actually mentioned by name. The novel's sequel GODZILLA: Project Mechagodzilla, however, confirms that the monster in South America is in fact Mothra.
Early concept art by Tohl Narita for the monster Guesra from Ultraman envisioned the monster as a spiky, caterpillar-like creature who would have been portrayed with a modified Mothra larva prop.[19] Tsuburaya Productions ended up modifying the Peter suit from Ultra Q instead.