Kaiju Characters We'd Love To See In Legendary's MonsterVerse

Although he only appears in 1973's Godzilla vs. Megalon, Jet Jaguar is a longtime favorite among Godzilla fans. Eager to capitalize on cultural interest in robots and superheroes, Toho held a contest in 1972 for fans to design a robot for their next movie. The winner was picked, his design tweaked, and his name changed from "Red Alone" to "Jet Jaguar" — but Toho wasn't ready to give him his own movie. Rather than headlining, he fights alongside Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Megalon. 

Don't let that secondary status fool you, however: Jet Jaguar is no ordinary robot. Having gained sentience at an indeterminate point in his history, he is able to alter his own programming to suit the battle at hand. In terms of superpowers, he is enormously strong, capable of flight, and possesses two bright floodlights in his eyes, capable of blinding his opponents. Perhaps his most impressible attribute, however, is his ability to change his size. Though he typically stands at 5'9", he can grow to a towering 150 feet when necessary, though it does make him fairly slow. Beyond all of this, he's a stalwart hero who's quick with a handshake and friendly with kids. Jet Jaguar could be a sunny contrast to the MonsterVerse's otherwise taciturn denizens — plus, he has a killer theme song. 

Toho's 1966 film The War of the Gargantuas is a sequel to 1965's Frankenstein Conquers the World. The Gargantuas (called Frankensteins in Japan) are two enormous, ape-like monsters of tremendous strength. One of them, christened Gaira by the military, wreaks havoc across Japan, attacking fishing boats, airports, and hikers. The other, a brown creature called Sanda, is more gentle, and seeks to stop his brother before it is too late. Upon learning that Gaira has eaten people, however, Sanda realizes he cannot stop his "brother," and decides he must fight him to the death.

Sanda and Gaira would make an interesting addition indeed to the MonsterVerse. Gaira, bereft of conscience, would throw Godzilla's comparatively kind nature into interesting contrast — Big G doesn't exactly love humanity, but he's not about to let a creature like Gaira do harm to his planet and its people. Sanda would be on Godzilla's side, but intriguingly compromised by his desire to save his brother from a world that doesn't understand them. It's emotional, action-packed, and chock-full of special effects ripe for reinterpretation by modern artists.

Gamera, sometimes known as "the friend to all children," is a massive, fire-breathing turtle of prehistoric origin. He first appeared in the 1965 film, Gamera, the Giant Monster, where, like Godzilla in his first film, he wreaks havoc upon Japan after being awakened by nuclear war. In later films, Gamera is more of a protector than an assailant, defending the Earth and its people against alien invaders and malicious kaiju. Gamera has a soft spot for children in particular, and will go out of his way to make sure they aren't hurt. Even in his first movie, he interrupts his rampage to save a young boy from a falling lighthouse. He is, as that boy goes on to deduce, misunderstood — and in time, the people of Earth embrace him.

So let's evaluate: Gamera is a giant turtle who can fly, breathe fire, and absorb massive quantities of energy, who has become beloved for his surprisingly gentle heart. Picture him fighting alongside Godzilla, atomic and fire breath spewing everywhere, Godzilla taking care of the surface while Gamera attacks from above. It's utterly fantastic — and utterly suited to the MonsterVerse.

Debuting in the Daiei's 1969 movie, Gamera vs Guiron, this knife-headed foe is an interesting match for Gamera. Gamera, on a rescue mission to help a couple of kids who were kidnapped from Earth onto a mysterious spaceship, encounters Guiron in his role as guard dog. His masters are a pair of alien women, Florbella and Barbella, who plan to eat the boys' brains, which will, they think, allow them to absorb the boys' knowledge. Yes, this is a kid's movie. Guiron is a capable beast, his bladed skull able to bisect monsters with ease. But that's not his only power — his blade conceals shuriken he can control telepathically. 

In the end, Guiron isn't actually very interested in protecting his cannibalistic masters. One of the boys, in the process of releasing the other, accidentally frees Guiron — who proceeds to destroy his surroundings, attack Florbella and Barbella, and generally rampage across the planet. Both Florbella and Barbella die as a result of his rage, which only ends when Gamera rams Guiron head-first into the earth. There he dies, the forgotten watch dog of two of kaiju culture's weirdest villains — but who says his story has to end there? As a denizen of the MonsterVerse, Guiron could provide some magnificent melee mayhem. He's sharp, he's angry, he's the closest thing kaiju have to a canine beast. What's not to love?

A robotic version of Godzilla, Mechagodzilla first appeared on screen in the 1974 movie Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla. There, he is introduced as a weapon created by aliens, who intend to conquer the Earth. Later iterations re-imagine Mechagodzilla as a a defense measure created by human authorities to defend against Godzilla himself. In every version, Mechagodzilla is massively powerful: He launches missiles from his extremities, fires energy beams from his chest and eyes, can create a durable force field, and is constructed from indestructible materials. It takes a team-up between Godzilla and King Caesar, another 1974 debut, to finally defeat Mechgodzilla by ripping off his head and blowing his body apart.

Whether he arrives from beyond the stars or was constructed by panicked humanity, Mechagodzilla is well-matched foe for Godzilla to face. His backstory, already subject to change, would take well to modern tweaking, while his design is a feast for those in charge of visual effects. Imagine a Mechagodzilla empowered by artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, or quantum physics, up against a beast of raw, organic power. It's the stuff of cinematic dreams, and deserves a place in the MonsterVerse.

Gigan is one of the strangest looking monsters in the Godzilla universe — which is saying a lot, for a franchise featuring robotic Godzilla dopplegangers and enormous moths. He is cybernetic, with a giant buzz-saw embedded in his belly, hooks for hands, steel spikes running down his back, and a broad red visor that acts as an eye. Yet his hide, beak, and scales are reptillian. Debuting in 1972's Godzilla vs. Gigan, he is a mystery unto himself — and boy, does he play dirty. Gigan enjoys hurting his opponents for the sake of it, shredding them with his buzz saw belly at brutally close range. Yet for all his sadistic glee, Gigan is the first to run away when a fight turns against him. He might be a giant robotic dinosaur, but he's still a bit of a coward.

2004's Godzilla: Final Wars introduced a far more streamlined Gigan that would suit the MonsterVerse perfectly. He's far sleeker, more coherently robotic, and sports a few new weapons. Sure, there's still something goofy about him, but that's the fun of it — after all, who goes to a Godzilla movie for realism? Introducing a synthetic baddie to the MonsterVerse's organic array is a tantalizing idea ... just as long as they keep the buzz saw in Gigan's belly.