Thanks to the burning form, Godzilla was able to defeat Ghidorah in King of the Monsters. But does that mean he can't beat Ghidorah without it?
Godzilla’s burning form was instrumental in his victory in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, but it’s worth wondering if he really needs it to beat Ghidorah. Despite being super-charged by the nuclear explosion in the underwater city, Godzilla appeared to be on the ropes against Ghidorah in King of the Monsters’ ending. But after acquiring what was left of Mothra’s life essence and unlocking the MonsterVerse version of the burning form, Godzilla easily overpowered (and obliterated) King Ghidorah.
Ghidorah came very close to finishing off Godzilla, which was a sign that he did indeed need the burning form to win that particular fight. However, it shouldn’t be forgotten that Godzilla has beaten him without it before. Admittedly, Godzilla won the fight in the ocean because the water gave him the advantage, but that wasn’t the only instance of Godzilla beating Ghidorah in the MonsterVerse. He also appeared to have the edge when they fought in Antarctica. Not only that, but it’s also known that Godzilla defeated Ghidorah thousands of years ago. So by all indications, Godzilla – without any power-ups – has what it takes to defeat Monster Zero.
Why Godzilla Nearly Lost In King of the Monsters’ Final Battle
Godzilla defeating Ghidorah in the past but not being able to do it without Mothra’s help in King of the Monsters’ ending can be explained by one key moment. What made this battle so different was Ghidorah biting the electrical grid. Similar to how Godzilla was strengthened by the nuclear radiation from the bomb detonated by Dr. Serizawa, Ghidorah was able to gain a sizable boost in power of his own. Apparently, the MonsterVerse’s Ghidorah possesses a unique energy absorption power, which proved to be the difference-maker in their fight.
It would seem that as great as Godzilla’s power-up was, the energy Ghidorah absorbed from the electrical grid easily trumped it. Had this not happened, Godzilla most likely would have won without Mothra’s sacrifice ever becoming necessary. As a consequence of Ghidorah’s increased strength, Godzilla needed a second upgrade to win. Since humans weren’t able to harness electricity in the MonsterVerse’s past, this was an issue for Godzilla in King of the Monsters but couldn’t have been a factor in their ancient battles, which provides an explanation for why Ghidorah didn’t win all those centuries ago.
How The MonsterVerse’s Burning Form Compares To Toho’s
The burning form seen in Godzilla: King of the Monsters wasn’t exactly an original creation of the MonsterVerse. It actually stems from a major plot development from the Heisei era that took place in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. Due to an overload of nuclear energy, Godzilla’s body began to melt down, resulting in a fiery appearance. As “Burning Godzilla,” he was stronger than ever, but was also living on borrowed time. As for his MonsterVerse counterpart, he too could have been in the same danger, but he fortunately used up all of that extra energy to destroy Ghidorah.
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