Mothra has a long history in film, but some portrayals did her greater justice than others.
There’s no doubt that Mothra is one of the most iconic and beloved kaiju in movie history, right beside Godzilla and King Kong. And, just like her fellow monsters, there have been many different incarnations of this giant moth throughout her long history, which spans from 1961 and up to 2024.
Mothra is often portrayed as a benevolent guardian, but the Godzilla franchise is known for tackling various genres and atmospheres. This means that each version of Mothra is unique, and they all have their own backstory, personality, design and power set. Some of these iterations are truly creative, making them popular among her fans. This is the definitive ranking of every version of this iconic moth.
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9
Anime Trilogy
A Disappointing Cameo That Never Delivered On Its Promise
Godzilla: The Planet Eater
- Released: November 3, 2018
- Era: Reiwa
- Studio: Polygon Pictures
- Director: Kobun Shizuno & Hiroyuki Seshita
Most fans forget that Mothra technically appeared in Godzilla: The Planet Eater, right at the end of the infamous anime trilogy. It’s established that she’s a benevolent kaiju who was seen as a goddess and who tried to protect the earth from other dangerous monsters.
However, this Mothra is never actually seen on-screen. Her eggs are an important plot point, and Maina uses a shadowy vision of her to free Haruo from Metphies’ telepathic manipulation. While that was a solid scene, it would have been more interesting to see the real Mothra fighting Ghidorah and Godzilla Earth.
8
Rebirth of Mothra
Passing The Torch
Rebirth of Mothra
- Released: December 14, 1996
- Era: Heisei
- Studio: Toho
- Director: Okihiro Yoneda
In the late 90s, Mothra starred in her own movie titled Rebirth of Mothra. Her role in this film is surprisingly short, as she’s mostly there to fulfill the role of a strong matriarch passing on the torch to her offspring. But despite her brief appearance, this is quite effective.
With an appealing design reminiscent of her Heisei Era incarnation, this moth can be seen fighting against Desghidorah to protect both the planet and her son. It’s inspiring, and the moment in which she dies and passes on her legacy to her son is one of the most emotional scenes in a kaiju movie. It would have been great to see a bit more from this amazing version of Mothra.
7
Final Wars
A Formidable Action Heroine
Godzilla Final Wars
- Released: December 4, 2004
- Era: Millennium
- Studio: Toho
- Director: Ryuhei Kitamura
Godzilla Final Wars is well known for featuring over 15 different monsters from all over the franchise, so most of them didn’t have enough screen time to make an impact on the audience. Luckily, this version of Mothra was efficient in providing some solid action scenes during her brief appearance.
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This Mothra shares a design with her Tokyo S.O.S incarnation, but she still looks excellent, thanks to this movie’s solid special effects. Her biggest moment is her violent and ruthless aerial battle against Gigan, which culminates with the guardian moth sacrificing herself to kill her enemy in a fiery explosion. It is one of the best monster deaths in the movie.
6
GMK
A Guardian Monster Doing Her Job
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
- Released: December 15, 2001
- Era: Millennium
- Studio: Toho
- Director: Shusuke Kaneko
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack is a unique film that features an antagonistic Godzilla who has to fight three guardian monsters. One of those monsters is Mothra. This is a fitting role for her, as she has been portrayed as a guardian deity in previous films.
This design is different from other Mothra designs, as she looks more like a typical bug. She is immediately likable because she saves an innocent dog from drowning, and later she holds up well in the fight against Godzilla. She was sadly killed by this evil supernatural entity, but at least her sacrifice led to King Ghidorah’s new power-up.
5
Tokyo SOS
Seamlessly Integrated Into The Sci-Fi Plot
Godzilla: Tokyo SOS
- Released: December 13, 2003
- Era: Millennium
- Studio: Toho
- Director: Masaaki Tezuka
The way that Mothra is involved in the plot of Godzilla: Tokyo SOS is quite clever. She’s a guardian entity who is displeased with humanity because they used an the previous Godzilla’s skeleton to build Kiryu, which was established in the previous film.
This Mothra looks stunning, and it’s one of her best designs in the entire franchise. She tragically dies at the hands of Godzilla once again, but she inspires her two children to keep fighting. They later play a big part in the final defeat of the King of the Monsters alongside Kiryu. Mothra always sacrifices herself for her childre – it’s one of this character’s main attributes – and Tokyo SOS uses this to its advantage.
4
Monsterverse
A Wonderful Portrayal By Hollywood
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
- Released: May 31, 2019
- Era: Monsterverse
- Studio: Legendary Pictures
- Director: Michael Dougherty
Godzilla: King of the Monsters marked the first appearance of Mothra in an American Godzilla movie, and the final result did not disappoint. Despite her more bug-like appearance, this version of Mothra is still surprisingly beautiful. It was evident that the people behind this movie felt a lot of respect for this iconic character.
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The symbiotic relationship between her and Godzilla was refreshing, and her inevitable sacrifice in the battle against King Ghidorah was emotional. But the Queen of the Monsters lives once again. She was recently seen in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, where she played a key role in convincing Godzilla to join forces with Kong. Hopefully, she’ll keep appearing in future Monsterverse projects.
3
Showa Era
The Birth Of A Beloved Kaiju Icon
Mothra vs. Godzilla
- Released: April 29, 1964
- Era: Showa
- Studio: Toho
- Director: Ishiro Honda
As is the case with most Toho kaiju, Mothra was born during the classic Showa Era. She first starred in her own film in 1961, and crossed over with Godzilla a few years later. As expected, this version of the character had a rough design and was portrayed with some outdated special effects. But none of that matters, because this is where it all started for her.
This Mothra was a ruthless guardian who didn’t hesitate to fight other monsters up close. She didn’t have many special abilities yet, but she still showed herself as a benevolent guardian towards humans. Technically speaking, there were three different generations of Showa Mothra because she also had to sacrifice herself. But her strong children were enough to protect humanity, and one of them even joined Godzilla and Rodan in the battle against King Ghidorah.
2
Heisei Era
The Most Iconic Iteration Of The Character
Godzilla vs. Mothra
- Released: December 12, 1992
- Era: Heisei
- Studio: Toho
- Director: Takao Okawara
Despite only appearing in only one movie, the Mothra from Godzilla vs. Mothra is what most people think about when this character is brought up — and with good reason. Her design is perfect, and was executed very well with the Heisei Era groundbreaking special effects.
This Mothra is yet another guardian deity, but this one is different. Not only does she fight against Godzilla, but she also has to fight her dark counterpart, Battra. She manages to deal with both opponents thanks to her vast array of new abilities, which make this Mothra more powerful than previous incarnations. She can fire ultrasonic beams and shoot lightning from her wings. This impressive showing would cement her as possibly the most iconic version of this great character.
1
Mothra Leo
One Of The Most Powerful Kaiju In Movie History
Rebirth of Mothra 3
- Released: December 12, 1998
- Era: Heisei
- Studio: Toho
- Director: Okihiro Yoneda
The Mothra from Rebirth of Mothra had to die in order to pave the way for the true hero of this movie, Mothra Leo. As the protagonist of his own trilogy, Leo is an amazing character who never fails to protect the planet from some of the most dangerous monsters, like Desghidorah, Dagahra, and King Ghidorah.
Leo has an incredible design, with beautiful multicolored wings, but what sets him apart from any other Mothra are his transformations. Like an anime protagonist, Leo can transform himself into many different forms depending on the situation, like Rainbow Mothra, Aqua Mothra, Armor Mothra and much more. They’re all equally powerful and useful. This means that he’s a very versatile fighter, which led him to become one of the strongest kaiju in the entire franchise. Because of this, most fans hope that the great Mothra Leo will reappear in future Godzilla movies someday.
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