First, a few notes:
- My list is primarily organized by series, but continuity is a factor as well. Each issue of the anthology series Godzilla: Legends and Godzilla In Hell appear to exist independently of one another and are not part of a shared continuity; thus, they are listed as separate categories. However, this does not apply to the third anthology series, Godzilla: Rage Across Time - while each issue is similarly handled by a different creative team, there are recurring human characters and an overarching story with them, thus establishing shared continuity.
- The list does not include characters who only appear on the covers, such as Gigan in Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths, where he is seen on the cover of issue #4 but not in any interiors. Or several of the Matt Frank "kaiju covers" of Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters.
- On occasion, different incarnations of the same character will appear within one series; the most common is Mechagodzilla, though sometimes we'll see other characters, like two Gigans (Showa and Millennium) and two Ghidorahs (Heisei and Showa) in Rulers of Earth. These characters have been given separate entries.
- A few monsters have new “forms”, such as Biollante’s small, plant-like form in Godzilla: Cataclysm. I didn't think this tiny, hand-held Biollante quite fits under the preexisting "Rose form" or "Final Form", so I took it upon myself to consider it a "new form". Feel free to disregard them if you disagree.
- Adding to the above, I made up names for some of these monsters. Some are totally original, others are just different or new versions of preexisting characters. For instance, both Showa and Millennium Gigan appear in Rulers of Earth, so I’ve dubbed the latter “Gigan II” for simplicity’s sake.
- Rodan appears as a baby in two series; in Kingdom of Monsters, there is only one Rodan who we see grow from baby to adult, but in Legends, the baby is a second, separate Rodan, and so has been included as a separate entity. Just my own preference; feel free to add "Baby Rodan" to the KOM list or remove "Baby Rodan" from Legends.
Without further ado, here is THE LIST -
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Text list:
Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters
Godzilla
Anguirus
Rodan
Battra Larva
Kumonga
Mechagodzilla
King Ghidorah
Battra Imago
Spacegodzilla
Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths
Rodan
Kumonga
King Ghidorah
Battra Larva
Godzilla
Mothra Imago
Titanosaurus
Anguirus
Mechagodzilla
Godzilla: Legends #1
Destoroyah
Godzilla
Anguirus
King Ghidorah
Gigan
Godzilla: Legends #2
Rodan
Baby Rodan
Godzilla: Legends #3
Rodan
King Ghidorah
Godzilla
Mothra Imago
Destoroyah
Titanosaurus
Mechagodzilla
Godzilla: Legends #4
Mechagodzilla
Hedorah (Final Form)
Hedorah (Flying Form)
Godzilla
Hedorah (Water Form)
Godzilla: Legends #5
Godzilla
Kumonga
Mutant Birds
Godzilla (Ongoing)
Kumonga
Rodan
Battra Imago
Godzilla
Anguirus
Titanosaurus
Mechagodzilla - 2nd Generation [Kiryu]
Mothra Imago
Hedorah (Final Form)
Spacegodzilla (Final Form)
Gigan
Spacegodzilla (Flying Form)
Monster X
Hedorah (Water Form)
Hedorah (Flying Form)
Keizer Ghidorah
Baragon
Godzilla: The Half-Century War
Godzilla
Anguirus
Rodan
Battra Imago
Kumonga
Megalon
Mothra Imago
Ebirah
Hedorah
Mechagodzilla
Spacegodzilla (Flying Form)
Spacegodzilla (Final Form)
Gigan
King Ghidorah
Mechagodzilla II [Kiryu]
Godzilla: Rulers of Earth
Godzilla
Shockirus
Gigan
Kumonga
Anguirus
Titanosaurus
Mothra Imago
Rodan
Battra Imago
Hedorah (Water Form)
Spacegodzilla (Flying Form)
Zilla
Destoroyah (Juvenile Form)
Manda
Gezora
Gigan II
Destoroyah (Final Form)
Mothra Larva
Destoroyah (Aggregate Form)
Varan
Gaira
Hedorah (Final Form)
Mechagodzilla
Sanda
Moguera
Orga
Jet Jaguar
Biollante
Gorosaurus
Megaguirus
Kamoebas
Megalon
King Caesar
Ebirah
Baragon
Battra Larva
Mechagodzilla - 3rd Generation [Kiryu]
Fake Godzilla
Mechagodzilla (Mass Production Model)
Mecha-King Ghidorah
King Ghidorah (Earth)
Spacegodzilla (Final Form)
Meganulon
Meganula
Trilopod (Beta Form)
Trilopod (Alpha Form)
Trilopod-Megaguirus Hybrid
Trilopod-Spacegodzilla Hybrid
Trilopod-Baragon Hybrid
Trilopod-Rodan Hybrid
Trilopod-Kumonga Hybrid
Trilopod-Battra Hybrid
Trilopod-Gorosaurus Hybrid
Trilopod-Godzilla Hybrid
Kamacuras
King Ghidorah (Alien)
Gigan (Modified)
Trilopod-Gezora Hybrid
Trilopod-Titanosaurus Hybrid
Trilopod-Gaira Hybrid
Trilopod-Kamoebas Hybrid
Trilopod-Anguirus Hybrid
Trilopod-Varan Hybrid
Trilopod-Sanda Hybrid
Trilopod-Manda Hybrid
Trilopod-Kamacuras Hybrid
Magita
Godzilla: Cataclysm
Manda
Anguirus
Mothra Imago
Godzilla
King Ghidorah
Kamacuras
Biollante (Final Form)
Ebirah
Biollante (Plant Form)
Megaguirus
Meganula
Battra Larva
Mechagodzilla [Kiryu]
Rodan
Destoroyah (Final Form)
Destoroyah (Juvenile Form)
Destoroyah (Flying Form)
Mothra Larva
Godzilla In Hell #1
Godzilla
Nuclear Reactor Demon
Doppelgänger Demon (Godzilla Form)
Doppelgänger Demon (True Form)
Godzilla In Hell #2
Godzilla
Rodan
Anguirus
Varan
King Ghidorah
Godzilla In Hell #3
Moguera
Godzilla
Spacegodzilla
Godzilla In Hell #4
Godzilla
King Ghidorah
Destoroyah (Final Form)
Destoroyah (Flying Form)
Destoroyah (Aggregate Form)
Godzilla In Hell #5
Godzilla
Flying Demon
Gatekeeper Demon
Godzilla: Oblivion
Fire Rodan
Mechagodzilla (Earth-2) [Kiryu]
Godzilla
Mothra Larva
King Ghidorah
Mechagodzilla (Earth-1) [Kiryu]
Mecha-King Ghidorah
Mothra Imago
Biollante
King Caesar
Anguirus
Zilla
Hedorah
Battra Imago
Godzilla: Rage Across Time
Gigan
Megalon
Orochi
Godzilla
Hydra
Meganulon
Megaguirus
Mothra Imago
Ebirah
Gezora
Rodan
Baragon
Varan
Anguirus
Kumonga
Battra Imago
Titanosaurus
Manda
King Caesar
Gorosaurus
Kamacuras
Keizer Ghidorah
Monster X
RANDOM TRIVIA:
- IDW is the first American comic publisher to feature Toho kaiju besides Godzilla in their comics. IDW started their Godzilla run in 2011 with the rights to 13 Toho kaiju – Godzilla, Anguirus, Rodan, Battra, Kumonga, King Ghidorah, Mothra, Mechagodzilla, Titanosaurus, Destoroyah, Gigan, Spacegodzilla, and Hedorah. In 2012, they renegotiated their deal and gained the rights to over 30 kaiju, covering the majority of the Godzilla catalog.
- Adding to the above, Godzilla: The Half-Century War is the first series to feature new kaiju as part of IDW's expanded deal, with Ebirah and Megalon added to the roster.
- At least two kaiju IDW acquired the rights to, Ganimes and Minilla, were never used in any comics, though both were planned to appear in Godzilla: Rulers of Earth. Ganimes appears in a cave drawing in issue #9, while Minilla appears on an early, unused cover concept for issue #8, back when it was planned to be the final issue of the series.
- IDW was generally not allowed to redesign the kaiju and had to choose from preexisting designs. Of course, some artistic liberties were taken with some of the designs throughout the entire series. The closest to a full redesign is Godzilla's appearance in Godzilla: Legends #1; while primarily based on Godzilla 2002, the design features some notable deviations. As it was created by artist Matt Frank, it has been nicknamed "Frank-Goji".
- Minor Toho kaiju make cameo appearances. Toho’s Snowman from Half Human (1958), Matango-like mushrooms and a giant dragonfly resembling the Meganula appear in Godzilla: Rage Across Time #1. The “Mystery Bones of Infant Island”, also called “Skeleturtle”, appears in Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #18.
- Fake Godzilla – Mechagodzilla in disguise – appears in Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, utilizing a new design based upon a Bullmark toy from the 1970’s. This is not the first time Fake Godzilla has been given a new design, as the character previously appeared in several video games and the Godzilla Island TV series utilizing a Heisei Godzilla design.
- Though Godzilla: Rulers of Earth utilizes the Godzilla 2002 design, the Godzilla 2000 design appears in the human protagonist's nightmare in issue #13.
- By coincidence, both of the Showa Mechagodzilla’s appearances depict the character as a mass-production model as opposed to a single robot.
- Several characters appear on the covers on comics without appearing within the interiors in any capacity. These include – Mothra, Mothra Larva, Gigan, Hedorah, and Titanosaurus in Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters, Gigan in Godzilla: Gangsters and Goliaths, Mothra Larva in Godzilla (Ongoing), and Biollante Rose in Godzilla: Cataclysm. Biollante Rose may be most notable for not appearing in any of IDW's comic series, though Biollante's final form appeared in three series.
- In addition to all of the Toho kaiju, IDW introduced several original kaiju. Most of these are either minor characters, demons from Godzilla In Hell, or new adaptations of mythological monsters, such as the Hydra or Orochi – the latter being separate from Toho’s own movie take on the character. However, one prominent original kaiju was introduced – the Trilpods! Created by Chris Mowry, Matt Frank, and Jeff Zornow, the alien kaiju has the ability to “copy” the abilities of other kaiju. Matt Frank has even suggested that, in Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Orga was essentially a prototype of the Trilopods! The monsters and their queen, Magita, serve as the primary antagonists in ROE.
- Godzilla, Rodan, and Anguirus appear at least once in every series. King Ghidorah appears in all but two series, Godzilla (Ongoing) and Godzilla: Rage Across Time; however, Keizer Ghidorah appears in both of those series, so at least one Ghidorah makes an appearance in every series.
And there you have it! Lots of kaiju, huh? Especially Trilopods - there's an awful lot of those! Love those guys!
I'll also see if I can update this when the new run begins, though I may not be able to promise a consistent update schedule. But at least I covered the entire first run, so enjoy!