NAME: 
Mecha-King Ghidorah (メカキングギドラ Meka Kingu Gidora)
FIRST APPEARS IN:
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, 1991
DESIGN FEATURES:
– a classic Ghidorah design + metallic bits
– three heads (two organic, the middle one mechanised)
– cyborgian wings
SKILLS AND QUIRKS:
– a variety of beams
– assisted time travel
MONSTER SOUNDS:
If you read my article about Mechagodzilla or Mechani-Kong, you know I’m a sucker for mecha-monsters. You may have also noticed I’m a huge fan of kaijū movie logic. No other film demonstrates that nutty logic better than 1991’s Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.
In Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, humans utilise monsters to defeat other monsters, which then turn to the city they just saved smashing it to rubble. King Ghidorah is smashing up Japan. Godzilla steps in and saves the day, sending Ghidorah’s broken body to the bottom of the ocean. Then Godzilla starts smashing up Japan. With a bit of ill-conceived and dangerous time travel (assisted by the aptly named “Futurians”), King Ghidorah’s corpse is revived in the 23rd century and transformed into Mecha-King Ghidorah! Part Ghidorah! Part cyborg!
Mecha-King Ghidorah returns to present day, ruins Godzilla’s shit, then, solving any potential time travel related anachronisms, conveniently sinks to the bottom of the ocean again. Mecha-King Ghidorah is not as awesome as Mechagodzilla, but he certainly scores points for a beautifully convoluted backstory.
Like the original, non-mechanised King Ghidorah, Mecha-King Ghidorah’s design and execution is incredible in its complexity. In presenting Mecha-King Ghidorah, there’s much to take into consideration — three separate heads bobbing about, flight, multiple animated beams — and never does he come across as shoddy. The action in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is, in fact, some of the best of the 90s entires have to offer.
With only a paltry ten minutes of screen time, Mecha-King Ghidorah was a super short-lived monster. He is referenced and briefly seen in the Heisei films that followed, but mostly the mecha-incarnation of Godzilla’s greatest foe remains a strange little bookend to a Godzilla film where this happens.
