After Godzilla vs. Kong: The New Empirethe door is open for the Godzilla franchise’s first long-running rivalry to play out on the big screen. Since the beginning of the Monsterverse, the concept of creatures involved in conflicts dating back millennia has been an integral part of the lore. The theme began with Godzilla and the MUTOs in 2014 Godzillaand has continued to be relevant in every Monsterverse film released since.
Godzilla vs Kong kept that trend alive when he brought Skar King into the mix; It turns out that the Skar King of the Monsterverse is also an old rival of Godzilla from ages past. Helping to end this threat in Godzilla vs Kong it was Mothra, who was resurrected in the film. By bringing her back, the film created new storytelling opportunities for future films. One of them could lead to another old rivalry emerging in the Monsterverse, Mothra vs. What makes this specific conflict so special is the fact that it predates all others in the franchise.
Mothra vs. Battra is the first ancient rivalry in Toho’s Godzilla films
Toho created the Mothra vs. Battra in 1992
Despite Godzilla boasting 70 years of cinematic history, the role that ancient rivalries play in his universe has only existed for about half that time. The first Godzilla film to implement this idea was Godzilla vs. Mothrathe 1992 film that introduced the kaiju villain known as Battra. In the film, it was established that Mothra and Battra were good and bad counterparts of each other, but with different goals for the planet. In fact, they both consider themselves his protector, but they differ in their opinions on humanity. Mothra protects and values humans, while Battra is convinced they are harming the planet.
According to Godzilla vs. Mothra, Mothra and Battra have been at war for centuries. A few millennia ago, Mothra and Battra fought for the fate of humanity, with Mothra triumphant in the end. Battra’s defeat left him frozen in the Arctic Ocean, where he remained until he was awakened by the events of Godzilla vs. Mothranot unlike the backstory given to Godzilla and Ghidorah’s rivalry in Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Their awakening continued the rivalry, but the film offered a twist by having the two put aside their differences. Battra decided that Godzilla was a greater danger to the planet and died helping Mothra defeat him.
The versions of Godzilla seen in Toho’s classic films hadn’t existed for thousands of years, and thus had no centuries-old rivalries with any of their villains.
However the plot of Godzilla vs. Mothra sounds very similar to stories found in the Monsterverseit was unique to everything else in the Godzilla franchise at the time. This is largely because Toho’s Godzilla is traditionally defined as a product of nuclear testing. The versions of Godzilla seen in Toho’s classic films hadn’t existed for thousands of years, and thus had no centuries-old rivalries with any of their villains. The franchise had to delve into Mothra’s past to explore this concept.
Battra would continue with Godzilla: King of the Monsters, a theme that the Monsterverse forgot
Like the villains in King of the Monsters, Battra wants to stop humans from destroying the planet
Because of what Godzilla vs. Mothra has in common with the Monsterverse, Battra makes a lot of sense for the Monsterverse. Making this fit even better is how Battra leans into the franchise’s environmental themes. Both Godzilla and Godzilla: King of the Monsters leaned toward the notion that humanity is responsible for the planet’s problems. Of the two, King of the Monsters was the most direct about it, with Emma Russell explicitly blaming civilization for the planet’s suffering. King of the Monsters used this viewpoint as the setting for Ghidorah’s awakening and King of the Monsters’ other Titans.
As some Titans are characterized as creatures that protect the balance of nature, it is not difficult to imagine that there is someone who has identified the destruction of humanity as the solution to nature’s problems.
Through Battra, the Monsterverse could relive this story, but in a different way than before. King of the Monsters‘ approach. Instead of allowing humans to solve the problem, a movie with Battra as the villain could have a Titan adopt that mindset. As some Titans are characterized as creatures that protect the balance of nature, it is not difficult to imagine that there is someone who has identified the destruction of humanity as the solution to nature’s problems. This could put Battra on a collision course with Godzilla and Mothra, who clearly want to protect both the planet and humans, rather than just the former.
How Godzilla: King of the Monsters May Have Subtly Set Up Battra’s Fight with Mothra
Battra already has a path to the Monsterverse
If the Monsterverse intends to bring Battra into the picture, it already has a clear path to do so, thanks to an Easter egg in King of the Monsters’ credits. According to one of the newspaper articles following the credits, Monarch discovered an egg identical to Mothra’s some time after her death at the end of the film. The impression given by this revelation was that Mothra laid an egg some time before joining the fight against Ghidorah and Rodan in Boston. But with Mothra being brought back to life in the Hollow Earth world, the egg is no longer necessary for her resurrection.
Instead, it could facilitate Battra’s introduction to the Monsterverse. As the two are homologous, It stands to reason that a Battra egg would be confused with a Mothra egg. If that were to happen, the egg’s eventual hatching while it was in the Monarch’s custody could be what awakens the monster in the present day. And with Mothra also alive at this point, it would be relatively easy for this to turn into a Mothra vs. Mothra conflict. Godzilla x Kong’s next sequence or a potential Mothra spinoff series, which could very well be one of Apple TV+’s planned Monsterverse shows.
Focusing specifically on Battra’s history with Mothra is arguably the best way to make use of the kaiju. With Godzilla being so much stronger than Mothra, it is extremely unlikely that his evil counterpart would be powerful enough to challenge Godzilla, much less the alpha Titan and Kong. With that in mind, it might work better if Battra appears as a secondary antagonist. The two-on-two fight in Godzilla vs. Kong: The New Empire The ending is evidence that Monsterverse battles are growing in scale and could be a step towards larger teams. In this case, Mothra will be able to have her own opponent fight in Battra if she teams up with Godzilla and Kong a second time.