most underrated Godzilla movies returned him to his monstrous roots, and in one 33-year-old movie, that villainous status put him at odds with one of his greatest rivals.

Over the years, Toho has changed the alignment of many of its monsters, with very few exceptions. Godzilla's Heisei Era.

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah Made Godzilla's Biggest Villain The Hero

The 1991 Classic Saw A Version Of King Ghidorah Save Japan From Godzilla Himself

The 18th film in the Godzilla franchise was Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, which saw the return of Godzilla's three-headed nemesis in multiple forms. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah boasts one of the more convoluted plots that Toho has ever come up with, as it unfolds a time-travel narrative full of pseudo-science, a somewhat silly origin story for both Godzilla and King Ghidorah, and confusing motivations for its human characters. That can mostly be forgiven thanks to one of the best on-screen iterations of King Ghidorah in his traditional form, and the addition of his cybernetic upgraded form, Mecha-King Ghidorah.

Skipping over some of the more mind-melting time travel hi-jinks, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah ends with a future-built, robotic King Ghidorah traveling back in time to the present day to stop an angry Godzilla from destroying Japan. Mecha-King Ghidorah was built as the resurrection of the original King Ghidorah, which Godzilla had killed by blasting its middle head off. It was the first time in King Ghidorah's on-screen history that he wasn't portrayed as the ultimate extraterrestrial evil; an invader on the Earth and pure force of destruction.

Ghidorah Was A Hero In Only One Other Movie

Ghidorah Was Part Of A Team-Up Against Godzilla

That would not be the only time that King Ghidorah would be framed as a hero, however. 10 years later, King Ghidorah teamed up with Mothra and Baragon to take down a vengeful Godzilla that was possessed by the souls of those killed in the Pacific theater of World War II in the universally-beloved classic from the Millennium Era, Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. Referred to as GMK by the fans, the movie features King Ghidorah as one of the three element-based Guardian Monsters of Earth who rise to defend the world against Godzilla.

The original version of Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack featured Anguirus, Varan, and Baragon as the three Guardian Monsters, but Toho eventually swapped in Mothra and King Ghidorah to attract viewers with more iconic monsters.

Ghidorah's heroism was not long-lived after GMK. Just a few years later, an evolved version of King Ghidorah known as Monster X/Keizer Ghidorah was depicted as the "final boss" for Godzilla as he fought his way through friends and foes from his movie history for the 50th-anniversary film Godzilla: Final Wars. Despite his past appearances as a hero, Toho was sure to remind everyone that King Ghidorah has always been Godzilla's archrival.