Film

We Ranked Every Monster In ‘Godzilla II: King of the Monsters’ By How Queer They Are

Mothra is a gay icon! Don't @ me!

by Laurence Barber  4 June 2019
Godzilla but Queer

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As we have learned from 2017’s foremost queer icon The Babadook, queer monsters can be both impossible to get rid of, and anywhere we look.

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The long tradition of reading queerness in monsters in film, TV and folklore — from Bram Stoker’s Dracula to Ursula the Sea Witch and Mothman — has reached a zenith in recent years.

It all draws on LGBTQ people’s position as the ‘other’ in society, where for so many years we were called monsters — which led us to reclaim those we see in pop culture as our own. It affords LGBTQ people control over stereotypes that are so often applied to us through a positive, tongue-in-cheek lens.

With Godzilla II: King of the Monsters out now in cinemas, it’s clear that all of these kaiju involved are ready to make their mainstream debut representing the queer monster canon. Despite lukewarm reviews, which criticise the film for focusing too much on painterly, seismic kaiju battles — despite that being the entire point of the movie — the new Godzilla is an absolute blast, and reintroduces Western audiences to a bunch of legendary creatures, and teases the appearance of some new ones in the franchise’s future.

To show just how much queer monster action you can expect from Godzilla II: King of the Monsters, we’ve broken down every monster that appears from least to most iconic.

7. Assorted new monsters

Godzilla II: King of the Monsters introduces a series of newly created kaiju — Titans, as they become known in the film — to the Monsterverse, which is set to continue next year when Godzilla faces off against King Kong.

While we only get brief glimpses of them in the film, what little we do get to see positions them all — Baphomet, Typhoon, Abaddon, Leviathan, Sargon, Methuselah and, yes, local legend Bunyip — as icons in the making.

6. Millie Bobby Brown

Okay, hear me out: while she may not be a kaiju, the Stranger Things star absolutely gets to be a queer monster in this movie.

She plays a pivotal role we won’t spoil, but she inserts herself into drama and has serious daddy issues? Defies authority in order to sneak out and hold an impromptu concert?

In her feature film debut, Millie Bobby Brown really showed up.

Godzilla

5. King Ghidorah

This may be controversial — and it pains me to say it — but while King Ghidorah, the multi-headed, winged hydra who fires gravity beams from its snakelike jaws is historically very much a gay icon, Godzilla II downplays his fabulousness a little too much.

The new film positions him as a “false king”, a pretender to Godzilla’s throne, and would fall well short were it not for his heads’ distinct, bitchy personalities and very pop concert lightshow-style flair when powering up his beams.

But, like an Instagay, it feels like he’s not really presenting his true self. Hopefully future films will better explore his icon status, perhaps in his campier form, Mecha-King Ghidorah.

4. Rodan

Rodan is an absolute stunt queen.

This beaky, fiery pteranodon-inspired kaiju is like the sneaky gay sidekick. His loyalties will go wherever they need to go, but you want him on your side. It’s also hard to imagine a more inspired entrance than emerging, screeching, from a volcano.

It’s like a lost Lady Gaga MTV Awards performance from the Born This Way era, horns and all. Combine that with all his aerial acrobatics, and you’ve got yourself a lip sync assassin.

3. Vera Farmiga

The other human queer monster of the film, Vera Farmiga plays Millie Bobby Brown’s mum, who has developed a technology that mimics the Titans’ calls and allows humanity some degree of control over the Titans’ movement.

Make no mistake: this designation is a compliment.

In promoting her role in the film, Farmiga called her character a “DJ for the monsters”, which is both a) perfect, and b) queer as hell. Without her, the other monsters wouldn’t be able to perform. Legend.

Godzilla King Of The Monsters gets a new trailer

2. Godzilla

In 2014’s Godzilla, our titular icon was very much a butch queen, first time in drags at a ball.

But as we begin the new film, we learn that Godzilla has been missing in the years since the destruction in San Francisco that saw him step in to defend humanity. Clearly, he wasn’t quite ready to full come out of the closet — until now.

Godzilla II presents him as an icon coming into his own — including a third act outfit reveal that will leave you gagging.

1. Mothra

Let’s be clear: Mothra is that bitch.

Takes forever to get ready to go out? Can overtake straight couples hogging the footpath by flying at mach speeds? Has bioluminescent wings? Has an outfit reveal built in to her life cycle? Is dubbed Queen of the Monsters and is in a pan-species relationship with Godzilla? We absolutely stan.

The thing about Mothra is that she could never truly be unseated.

Mothra is the queer icon for our times. She is a mother and a fighter, a queen and a warrior. She is not afraid to cut a bitch, but she’s also Miss Congeniality. Mothra attains a special status because she is the lone kaiju in Godzilla mythology to be wholly benevolent; in these trying times, she is the glittery, glowing light in the darkness that we need.

I mean, just look at her: your faves could never.

Godzilla II: King of the Monsters is currently in cinemas.

Laurence Barber is a freelance writer, editor and award-winning film and television critic based in Sydney. He is on Twitter @bortlb.