Characters / MonsterVerse - Mothra

Main Character IndexKaijuGodzilla | King Ghidorah | King Kong | Mechagodzilla | Mothra | MUTO | Rodan | Skull Island Kaiju & Other Creatures
Humans Families (Russell Family) | Monarch (Dr. Ishirō Serizawa) | U.S. Government & Military | Skull Island Expeditions | Eco-Terrorists | Apex Cybernetics

---

Mothra

"Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions over the earth. They were told not to harm the grass or any green growth or any tree, but only those of mankind."

Portrayed By: N/A

Appears In: Kong: Skull Island (cameo) | Godzilla: King of the Monsters | Godzilla Dominion (tie-in comic - vision) | Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Species: Giant flying insect | "Titanus Mosura"

A giant, lepidopteran kaiju which Monarch found incubating as an egg inside an ancient temple within China's Yunnan Rainforest, referred to as the "Queen of the Monsters". She's considered an Alpha Titan in her own right who has a symbiotic relationship with Godzilla's species. After hatching, she proves to be the most benevolent of the Titans toward humans by far. She is woven throughout most secret mythologies and folklores as an angel of the clouds, a deified protector of humanity and the natural order. She possesses powerful bioluminescence which can shatter the skies and can be weaponized into "God Rays" if necessary, and a unique multi-stage evolution from an egg to a larva to a pupa to her imago form.

---

A-G

• Action Girl: One of all of fiction’s most powerful and iconic. She’s been given the honorary title of "Queen of the Monsters", and is said to be just as powerful as Godzilla. With her powers of flight, energy beam projection, and super strength (courtesy of her size), she’s Supergirl in the form of a Kaiju. A cave painting in viral marketing also implies she helped defeat Ghidorah the first time, which is directly referenced in the novelization.
• Action Mom: It's revealed that Mothra laid an egg before flying off to Boston to help Godzilla in fighting Ghidorah and Rodan. Played With, as Word of God confirms that the creature that hatches from the egg will essentially be a clone of Mothra with her Genetic Memory.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In the original films, she and Godzilla vary from allies of convenience to full-blown enemies. In this version, Mothra and Godzilla are indicated to have an ancient, symbiotic relationship, with her being the only Titan (other than Kong due to him being another Alpha Titan) not to submit to Ghidorah, and later sacrificing her life to save Godzilla. The head staff even half-joked about their relationship being romantic.
• Adaptational Heroism: It's easy to forget, but in the Showa and Heisei films Mothra was as much a destructive kaiju as any of her contemporaries, including Godzilla. Her original story had her tear apart Tokyo and kill hundreds trying to find her fairies and the Heisei incarnation would repeat that destruction for largely the same reasons. This version goes out of her way not to kill anyone, even Rodan.
• Adaptational Mundanity: Downplayed. She is still very much a powerful kaiju, but some of her seemingly supernatural abilities here get a Doing In the Wizard explanation, changing her status as an explicit supernatural goddess to a case of Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane. Her magical energy rays are re-interpreted as bioluminescence (yet capable of clearing an entire sky full of Ghidorah's stormclouds), her connection with Godzilla is explained as a "symbiotic relationship", her Born-Again Immortality is explained with Genetic Memory, and the iconic Shobijin are instead humans with an uncanny family history of identical twin girls, descended from priestesses of Mothra. However, when Godzilla becomes Burning Godzilla after Mothra's apparent demise, her wings, and distinctive call can be seen and heard in the radiation waves he unleashes against Ghidorah, implying her spirit is with him. It was later confirmed by the head writer that Mothra's power was intended to be supernatural, but they opted not to get too mystical with the films' setting. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, in particular the novelization, leans deeper into the supernatural, with the original/ultimate Mothra having been hibernating in the Hollow Earth but somehow being the same individual as the Mothra killed by King Ghidorah.
• Adaptational Slimness: Most of her Japanese incarnations have the body of a bee and look like a giant chibi version of a moth. Here, she has the slimmer and elongated body of a wasp.
• Adaptational Ugliness: Downplayed. Whereas the Toho versions of Imago Mothra look like something a child would take to bed at night blown up to ginormous size, MonsterVerse's Imago Mothra has a more bestial and fearsome design to make her look more animalistic and capable of defending herself.
• Adaptation Amalgamation: Her base color scheme seems to greatly resemble that of the Showa Mothra. When her bioluminescence mixes in she seems to take on a look very similar to Rainbow Mothra or Armor Mothra. Her light powers resemble the Heisei Mothra's dozen beam attacks, and the hidden stinger in her abdomen references the GMK Mothra. Her role in the Final Battle at Boston also resembles that of the Final Wars Mothra, since they both aid a Godzilla in fighting against a Ghidorah and his sidekick, defeat said sidekick, and use a fiery move as their final heroic acts in their respective battles. Just like the Anime Mothra, she can also manifest in visions to guide her allies (Madison in the novelization of King of the Monsters and Godzilla in the Dominion graphic novel).
• Alliance with an Abomination: Mothra was always a benevolent protector to humanity since ancient times and she had a symbiotic bond with a primitive culture living in the Yunnan Province more than 10,000 years ago. She's also worshipped as a guardian deity by the Iwi tribe of Skull Island and the Hollow Earth.
• All Myths Are True: Much like Godzilla, Mothra is also the source off many deities and legends all around the world, especially angels and their equivalents from other cultures.
• All Webbed Up: Mothra can use her silk attack to temporarily immobilize her targets, whether they are humans or other Titans.
• Alternate Company Equivalent: Well, Alternate Franchise Equivalent in this case, seeing as how both franchises are owned by Warner Bros. but if Godzilla, Kong and Mothra form the Monsterverse "holy trinity" then that makes Mothra this series' equivalent of Wonder Woman. Both are female heroes associated with light and virture though also possessed of the ability to kick serious ass, both are associated with Gods and both often act as mediators between their more egotistical male team mates.
• Ambiguously Related: To the MUTOs. Both Mothra and the MUTOs are colossal insectoid species of titans, Mothra has a similar body type to that of the Hokmuto and both share special, though diametrically opposed, relationships to Godzilla's species - leaving it ambiguous as to whether the two are related taxonomically (ala dogs and wolves).
• Angelic Beauty: Easily the most aesthetically pleasing looking of the titans, is associated with angels and even theorized she might be the source of all stories about angels.
• Animals Respect Nature: Life just thrives around Mothra. One of her less known abilities is her heightened awareness of the Earth's planetary atmosphere and geological interactions.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Mothra is called the "Queen of the Monsters" for several good reasons. Incapacitating Rodan with her stinger and aiding Godzilla in taking down King Ghidorah (before and after her death) are just some of them.
• Audible Sharpness: Her forelegs make an unsheathing sound when she performs her attack posture.
• Back from the Dead: In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, rather than being reincarnated as a larva like usual, Mothra materializes out of golden energy in her imago form. The novelization elaborates that this is the original/ultimate Mothra, who all the other Mothras are descendants/avatars of, but that she somehow shares the memories of her counterpart who died fighting Ghidorah in Boston.
• Battle Couple: With Godzilla (since they are both the King and Queen of the Monsters) against Ghidorah in Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
• Benevolent Monsters: Like her past incarnations, this Mothra is one of the best examples of the trope. Despite being a giant lepidopterran and the official Queen of the Monsters, with the potential to easily cause mass destruction, she's the most benevolent Titan by far when it comes to humans. She's firmly on Godzilla's side in the war against Ghidorah, it's heavily implied she has a benevolent telepathic connection with the Chens (and also one with Madison in the novelization); and even when she's provoked to defend herself against humans as a grub, she seemingly goes out of her way to dispatch them in ways that are non-fatal.
• Bequeathed Power: Upon being obliterated by Ghidorah, her radioactive remains fall on her crippled symbiotic partner Godzilla as he seems to mourn her death. It's indicated that this enables Godzilla to unlock his Burning Godzilla form without causing too much uncontrolled destruction and/or without the process killing him.
• Berserk Button: Seeing Monarch's containment field killing a bunch of flying insects in her temple is one perfect example to incur her wrath.
• Beware My Stinger Tail: A variant; she has a wasp-like retractile stinger concealed in her abdomen, which she uses to impale Rodan when he has her pinned.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Like her previous incarnations, Mothra generally has an angelic and compassionate nature. However, if you intend to desecrate her planet or harm the lifeforms smaller than her that she cares about, she will show you why she is known as the "Queen of the Monsters".
• Big Creepy-Crawlies: She's a Titan with the physical traits of moths, butterflies, and several other insect species.
• Big Damn Heroes: When the tide of the Final Battle has turned against Godzilla and Mothra; after King Ghidorah severely weakens Godzilla by dropping him from thousands of feet to the ground and the hydra is closing in, Mothra crawls atop Godzilla in continued defiance of the evil dragon. Cue the Heroic Sacrifice which ultimately gives Godzilla the power to annihilate Ghidorah for good.
• Big Entrance: Two of them. Her arrival at Castle Bravo is signified by her God Rays piercing Ghidorah's globally-spreading stormclouds like a shaft of sunlight, before she disperses the storm around her with a mighty blast of wind to leave the sky in that area clear. Her arrival at the Final Battle is signified by vibrant lights flashing through the stormclouds before she divebombs Ghidorah.
• Big Good: As with the Toho versions of her, Mothra is consistently shown to be the most benevolent and friendliest towards humans of all the Titans.
• Bioluminescence Is Cool: She's a giant bug who has the ability to produce brilliant, dazzling light in varying colors when she's in both larval and imago forms, emphasizing her beautiful and angelic nature.
• Blade Below the Shoulder: Permanently-attached blade. Her imago form has scythe-like raptorial appendages on her first two sets of limbs, which she uses offensively during the Boston battle.
• Blinded by the Light: She can use the brilliant light of her God Rays to temporarily blind her enemies.
• Blue Is Calm: In the movie's opening, her bioluminescence initially glows blue, before she gets agitated and it switches to orangey-red. The moment that Mothra is calmed down by the ORCA's alpha frequency, her bioluminescence reverts to a deep blue color and she becomes passive.
• Blue Is Heroic: Mothra has blue eyes, and bioluminescence that allows her to glow blue when she's docile, and she's one of the only Titans alongside Godzilla whom rejects King Ghidorah's new dominance and actively opposes the evil hydra.
• Born-Again Immortality: Mike Dougherty confirmed that upon reaching her imago stage, Mothra lays an egg to reincarnate if she is killed. The egg is discovered in The Stinger, though this is possibly rendered a red herring in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
• Bottomless Bladder: She has never been observed feeding or even attempting to eat, in the time between her larva form's birth and her imago form's death. Her Monarch profile doesn't mention anything about her feeding habits nor whether she's a carnivore, a herbivore, or an omnivore. Whilst her stinger and weaponized forelimbs are indicative of a predator, Word of God says these traits are purely defensive.
• Breakout Character: Godzilla & King Ghidorah may be the star hero and the star villain of King of the Monsters, but Mothra instantly resonated with fans and cast alike. Many of the cast have gone on record admitting she became their favorite character by the end. She is set up to return to the Monsterverse in the Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire because of her popularity.
• Breath Weapon: Her Projectile Webbing is fired from her mandibles.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: The pacifistic, healing Gentle Girl to Godzilla's grumpy, belligerent Brooding Boy.
• The Bus Came Back: After years of being absent both In-Universe and in Real Life, Mothra finally returns to the big screen in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
• Butterfly of Death and Rebirth: In her imago form, she looks like a gigantic moth casting multicolored (primarily blue) light, and she's Not Afraid to Die. She bravely sacrifices herself defying King Ghidorah during the Final Battle, and it's suggested in the Creative Closing Credits (and outright confirmed by Word of God) that she will be reborn from the egg she has laid.
• Close-Range Combatant: Her silk attacks and god rays are effective for immobilizing her targets, but not for killing such as Ghidorah's and Godzilla's beams. As a result, Mothra has to resort to Hit-and-Run Tactics and aerial Close Range Combat.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: You can typically tell what Mothra's current mood is based on what color her bioluminescence is glowing. This is best exemplified during the opening scene after she hatches from her egg. After one of the guards stupidly shoots her, her bioluminescence glows a bright fiery red as she angrily webs up the human guards. After Emma activates the ORCA, Mothra calms down and her bioluminescence immediately switches to a much softer and more peaceful blue.
• Composite Character:
  • Her threat display against Ghidorah has her wings briefly change color to resemble Battra's colors, and her bladed limbs and upright stance in larval form seem to be references to him as well.
  • With her large and powerful forelimbs, piercing stinger, and the fact that smaller insects are drawn to her presence like a hive to a queen, this Mothra is almost like a heroic version of Megaguirus from Godzilla vs. Megaguirus.
  • Mothra's role in the story of sacrificing herself to give a dying Godzilla a massive power boost brings to mind Fire Rodan in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II.
• Death Glare: She give Rodan quite the scary glare while impaling him through the chest and watching him fall to the ground, screeching in pain.
• Determined Expression: Mothra always had big, round Innocent Blue Eyes in her previous portrayals, but here her eyes are designed to look more scary and serious, having a narrowed expression that turn quickly into a Kubrick Stare or Death Glare when things are about to get dangerous.
• Doing In the Wizard: This incarnation somewhat gets the fantasy-to-Sci-Fi type, with several of her previous incarnations' outright magical attributes being explained away scientifically: her relationship with Godzilla is suggested by Coleman to be an interspecies symbiosis, her magic light-rays are reinterpreted as bioluminescence, and her Born-Again Immortality uses Genetic Memory to pass on her memories and personality. That being said, Mothra's implicit Psychic Link to the Chen family (and also to Madison in the novelization), and the Chens' uncanny history of producing identical twin girls, among other preternatural abilities Mothra exhibits; lend some credibility to the idea that she could still be magic. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, however, seems to lead strongly into the supernatural, with her being resurrected by an Iwi ritual that causes her to manifest out of golden light from seemingly nothing.
• A Dog Named "Dog": Similar to Godzilla's case, Mothra's species' name is Titanus Mosura, with "Mosura" being the Japanese translation of Mothra.
• The Dreaded: As with every discovered Titan, Monarch agents follow protocols to either contain or terminate Mothra after she has hatched from her egg. Emma Russell knows that any of those ideas is a bad idea.
• Dynamic Entry: She enters the Final Battle at Boston by bursting from the stormy sky in a flash of colors, catching Ghidorah off-guard with her Projectile Webbing.
• Early-Bird Cameo: She appears in a cave painting in The Stinger of Kong: Skull Island, setting up her debut in King of the Monsters.
• Female Angel, Male Demon: Mothra is the only benevolent female kaiju and in King of the Monsters, she is pitted against Rodan and Ghidorah, both male reptilian kaijus associated with demons and devils, and both being evil counterparts to her angelic and divine nature. Even her partner, Godzilla is perceived as demonic by the Iwi for being part of a rival species to Kong's.
• Fisher King: The temple where her egg has been residing for 10,000 years is teeming with plant and insect life, reflecting her supreme benevolence and alignment to the preservation of life. When she hatches into her imago form and arrives at Castle Bravo amidst King Ghidorah's global apocalypse, both times her arrival is signified by Ghidorah's rainstorms dispersing to leave the skies clear again, signifying Mothra's peaceful nature and her commitment to restoring the natural balance which Ghidorah is trying to destroy.
• Foil:
  • To Rodan. Rodan fights for the strongest side and is associated with the color red, flames, and demons. Mothra is a benevolent, loyal being associated with the color blue and is often considered a goddess by those who worshipped her. Also, Rodan is an avian while Mothra is an insect Titan.
  • And to King Ghidorah. They're both intelligent, sentient, and powerful airborne Titans with high-pitched wailing vocalizations, they both influence the weather with their presence (Mothra clears up Ghidorah's stormy weather when her cocoon hatches, whereas Ghidorah creates catastrophic tempests), and both of them have certain natural ways of cheating certain death (Healing Factor for Ghidorah, plus his severed left head's decayed remains retain at least some of his consciousness, Born-Again Immortality for Mothra). Though that's about where their direct similarities end and give way to contrasts. Ghidorah is reptilian and Mothra insectoid. Mothra has a culture of human worshippers who've survived in some form to the present day, whereas Ghidorah is the Unperson. Mothra is very benevolent towards other life including humans, whereas Ghidorah is a Sadist Omnicidal Maniac. Life and hope are drawn to Mothra, whereas Ghidorah brings as much death and destruction as he can. Mothra produces mainly teal-colored lights and has multiple colors, whereas Ghidorah solely produces yellow-colored light and has yellow and gold colors. Mothra is initially reborn in a rainforest in the northern hemisphere whereas Ghidorah reawakens in Antarctica. One has a symbiotic relationship and possible genuine emotional connection to Godzilla, while the other is Godzilla's Arch-Enemy. One barely defeated Rodan while the other more or less Curb-Stomped him. Mothra possesses her allies (Godzilla) via symbiosis and common goals, whereas Ghidorah possesses his (Rodan and the awakened Titans) through domination. Even the elements they're meant to represent are opposites.
• Fragile Speedster: Implied. In her imago form, she's an agile and graceful combatant who relies on Hit-and-Run Tactics against Ghidorah. But when she's forced into an up-close-and-personal scuffle with Rodan, she comes out of the fight severely burned and weakened, and she almost loses the fight — although it should be noted that her injuries have a lot to do with Rodan being a Magma Man, and she managed to keep the fight up for quite a while before finishing it.
• Friend to All Living Things: Certainly Played With. She's no pushover, but she is the most benevolent of the Titans, and she attracts all manner of life to her — vegetation, insects — which would normally flee from any other Titan. The novelization even notes that her larval form's breath smells partly like hay. She also goes out of her way to avoid killing, such as when she's provoked into attacking Monarch's containment team; notably subduing them without killing a single one.
• Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: When an enraged Godzilla is on the cusp of killing Kong in Egypt, Mothra quickly arrives and knocks her king flat on his ass, snapping him out of his Unstoppable Rage long enough to fully consider a team-up with Kong.
• Genetic Memory: When asked about Mothra's reincarnation process, Mike Dougherty commented on Twitter that she passes on her memories genetically... though later films indicate there's also something about her that defies scientific explanation—in the novelization of Godzilla x Kong reveals that the original/ultimate Mothra—who's been slumbering in Hollow Earth for millennia—is somehow the same individual killed by Ghidorah in Boston.
• Gentle Giant: Despite her size and how intimidating she can be when her wrath is incurred, she's the most benevolent Titan that we know of. After hatching from her egg, she's docile and curious until some genius decides to shoot the 30-foot tall caterpillar, and even in her aggressive state, she notably dispatches Monarch's containment team in non-fatal ways. Upon being calmed down by the ORCA, Mothra allows Madison to approach her, gingerly moving her head towards the girl. In her imago form, Mothra is the only Titan besides Godzilla who both resists King Ghidorah's control and actively opposes his reign of terror, and in the novelization, it's implied that she's responsible for resuscitating Madison via a Psychic Link to the girl.
• Giant Flyer: Goes with being a moth-like Titan. In her imago form, her wingspan is said to be 803 feet, yet she can fluidly fly on the air.
• Glass Cannon: Although Mothra is incredibly powerful, she is easily wounded by Rodan's fire (although to give credit where credit is due, she managed to maintain and draw out the fight against Rodan for some time despite being on the ropes). In her weakened state, King Ghidorah's gravity beams finish her off in a single combined hit. In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, she's able to knock (an upgraded, rage-fuelled) Godzilla on his ass with one strike of her god-rays and her webs are powerful enough that she's able to immobilise the Skar King's army all by herself, sugesting that her struggle against Rodan was more him being a Man of Kryptonite and her intentionally holding back due to being surrounded by human jets.
• Go Through Me: As Ghidorah bears down on an injured Godzilla, Mothra, battered and weakened from her fight with Rodan, puts herself between them. Even though she can barely muster the strength to take flight, she readily sacrifices herself to defend Godzilla, loyal to the natural order and to the true King of the Monsters to the end.
• Gold and White Are Divine: When she appears in the sky and beats back Ghidorah's spreading stormclouds, her God Rays manifest as near-blinding golden-white light emanating off her entire body. Fitting for a Titan who is compared to an angel In-Universe and is the only monster, besides Godzilla, to reject King Ghidorah's domination. The original/ultimate Mothra in Godzilla x Kong materializes out of gold energy, and her wings and bioluminescence are golden.
• Gold-Colored Superiority: At Castle Bravo, Mothra's blinding God Rays take on a brilliant golden color, and as the "Queen of the Monsters" she's one of the few Titans that refuses to follow King Ghidorah during the latter's reign of terror. In Godzilla x Kong it's revealed the Iwi worship her as a guardian deity, and once awakened she stops Godzilla from killing Kong and convinces him to work together with his rival.
• Good Counterpart: To Hokmuto - both are insectoid Titans (that might Ambiguously Related due to similarities between their designs), and both are the bewinged smaller and faster half of their respective duos. Hokmuto forms a Battle Couple with and protects his Explosive Breeder partner whereas Mothra and Godzilla are Platonic Life-Partners, working together to protect the natural order. Hokmuto is part of a rival species to Godzilla's, while Mothra has a symbiotic relationship with his species.
• Good Is Not Soft: Mothra is arguably the most docile and benign of the Titans, but she will not hesitate to throw down if you cross her by harming creatures under her charge, and if you're Ghidorah, she will show you why she is called the "Queen of the Monsters".
• Good Wings, Evil Wings: She has smooth-edged, sail-like wings, emphasizing her benevolent personality; compared to the more fiery-looking and bat-like wings of Rodan and Ghidorah respectively.
• Guardian Angel: Mothra is characterized as a "devastating guardian angel" in a cryptic file belonging to Monarch, as a nod to her benevolent nature and role as protector of humanity.

H-R

• Healing Hands: Apart from how Mothra's Bequeathed Power stop a severely-injured and radiation-overloaded Godzilla's nuclear meltdown and enable him to reach his Burning mode; in the novelization, it's implied Mothra's psychic influence resuscitates Madison when the latter is knocking on death's door.
• Heavenly Blue: Mothra's bioluminescence glows blue if she is not enraged, and is associated with angels. Her scene when she attacks Ghidorah is full of biblical symbolism from the way she descends among the storm clouds illuminating the sky. Mothra really looks like she is coming from Heaven.
• Helicopter Flyswatter: An accidental case. When she's grappling Rodan through the air, Mothra's wing catches a helicopter and sends it crashing to earth in a fireball, narrowly missing the Russell parents and the G-Team in their borrowed jeep.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Type 2 and 3. During the Final Battle, she dies charging at Ghidorah in defence of the downed Godzilla, which gets her atomized by Ghidorah's gravity beams. However, upon her death, her radioactive ashes which rain down on Godzilla enable the latter to unlock his Burning Godzilla form, implying she intentionally gave up her life so her King would have the power needed to end Ghidorah for good.
• The High Queen: Mothra is Godzilla's counterpart, the Queen to his King, with the two species having some sort of symbiotic relationship where she is able to sense him, she comes to his aid in battling Ghidorah, etc.. She's also an exceptionally beautiful Titan to an unearthly degree. Mothra is not put under King Ghidorah's sway and remains aligned with Godzilla and humanity, and moreso she's portrayed as an exceptionally benevolent Titan who's far on the opposite end of the morality scales to Ghidorah. It's hinted at early on as upon hearing the Alpha Frequency, Mothra responds not with intimidation or submission but curiosity.
• Hit-and-Run Tactics: In her imago form, she at first uses this approach when engaging Ghidorah in Boston, though based on how she draws her raptorial forelimbs right before Rodan intervenes, she might've gotten more physical with the three-headed dragon if not for Rodan forcing her into a one-on-one with himself. Either way, Mothra shows she's very much capable of brawling, as her fight against Rodan lasts for quite some time despite the heavy injuries she's received by the end of it.
• Hope Bringer: She's the one who proves that Godzilla is still alive, and humanity has a chance at killing Ghidorah with Godzilla's aid. Her arrival later turns the tide against Ghidorah, only for Rodan to be called in to oppose her. Godzilla x Kong reveal that the Iwi tribe worshipped her as a guardian goddess in the same capacity as the Kongs and had a prophecy that she would return to save them when the Skar King threatened to conquer the world.
• Iconic Sequel Character: Mothra makes her debut barely in the third installment, but quickly became a fan-favorite and a Breakout Character. The original/ultimate Mothra appears in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, and is somehow the same Mothra who died fighting Ghidorah despite having been hidden away for millennia.
• Impossibly Graceful Giant: Mothra's graceful movements were conceived to resemble female martial artists wearing flowing robes. Her walking is not as weighty as the MUTOs despite both species having same insectoid design as base. She possesses huge wings that could wipe out a human settlement just by flying above it much like Rodan, but she never creates such shockwaves when she flies.
• Intimidation Demonstration: Whenever she gets provoked, Mothra changes her colors from blue to red/orange hues to show aggression.
• It Can Think:
  • Heavily implied when she heads to Castle Bravo — it seems like she came there so that the humans will tune into her and Godzilla's bio-acoustic communication and pick up Godzilla's vocalizations, thereby alerting the humans that Godzilla is still alive and they can help him. Furthermore, it's implied in the film (and confirmed in the novelization) that Mothra deliberately leads the Monarch submarine to the entrance to the Hollow Earth so they can reach Godzilla. This all implies that Mothra is actually smart enough to not only recognize the Monarch humans as allies of Godzilla, but to also realize that they have the capacity and resources as well as the motive to help Godzilla put a stop to King Ghidorah's reign of terror. This is the closest (at least before Kong) that any Titan has come to actively communicating with humanity — which, given the Chen twins are the analog to Mothra's Shobijin and seem to have a telepathic connection to her, Mothra may actually be genuinely capable of.
  • It's also implied during Mothra's Heroic Sacrifice that she knows what will happen when Ghidorah atomizes her, namely that her radioactive ashes will unlock Godzilla's Burning mode so he can kill Ghidorah for good, and it's why she makes the suicidal charge when she does.
• Lady of War: Everything about her, in contrast to the other kaiju, even Godzilla, is presented as beautiful, calming, and elegant. When she first appears, her wings unfurl smoothly. When she flies, her wings move gracefully. Even her roar is beautiful, almost like singing rather than the rough roars of the other kaiju. And as mentioned above, she's a badass queen. She's notably an Alpha Titan, meaning she's in the same tier of power as Godzilla and Kong. All her movements were based on cinematic depictions of female martial artists wearing flowing robes.
• Leitmotif: Bear McCreary's work on the movie grants her a serene, exotic, and powerful score representing serenity, majesty, and the return of hope.
• Light 'em Up: She's the most heroic Titan around (more than even the fire-themed Godzilla), and her thorax produces beta-wave bioluminescence that can be weaponized through the markings on her wings, using the resulting God Rays to blast back King Ghidorah's spreading stormclouds.
• Light Equals Hope: After Godzilla is seemingly killed, and Ghidorah usurps Godzilla's dominance to begin destroying the world with nothing able to continue stopping him; torrential stormclouds perpetually darken the skies. When Mothra shows up at Castle Bravo, a blast of her God Rays clears the storm and bathes Castle Bravo in brilliant golden-white light. Her presence not only makes the cast aware that Ghidorah's control over the Titans isn't absolute yet, it directly alerts Monarch that there's a chance to bring Godzilla back and turn the tide.
• Light Is Good: Like Godzilla but unlike Rodan and Ghidorah, her cave painting is pure white, and she has numerous humans worshipping her, implying she is benevolent or at the very least non-aggressive. King of the Monsters outright confirms that she's a benevolent Titan who is firmly life-aligned, attracting all kinds of life to her that would normally vacate a Titan's presence, and that she's usually docile and curious toward humans (even when humans have aggravated her, she dispatches them in ways that avoid bloodshed; and it's hinted by her connection to the Chens and to Madison in the novelization that her fondness for humans runs even stronger than these outward displays). Mothra produces bright bioluminescence from her body, and also blinding God Rays to beat back Ghidorah's dark stormclouds, and her Bequeathed Power is key to defeating Ghidorah for good.
• Light Liege, Dark Defender: Inverted. She and Godzilla are in the perfect position to be this, Mothra being the wise but delicate high queen who is literally associated with light and Godzilla being the Grumpy Old Man earth guardian, but she consistently seems to be the one trying to protect him, up to the point of self-sacrifice.
• Lightning Bruiser: Mothra's imago form is incredibly fast in flight, and she proves to be a dangerous opponent for Ghidorah and Rodan. Whilst her imago form relies on Hit-and-Run Tactics against Ghidorah, she holds out for a while in an up-close-and-personal fight against Rodan despite the heavy injuries she sustains.
• Living Mood Ring: You can typically tell what Mothra's current mood is based on what color her bioluminescence is glowing. This is best exemplified during the opening scene after she hatches from her egg. When she becomes agitated by Monarch attempting to use a containment field that kills several insects, her formerly bluish-white bioluminescence changes color to a bright fiery red; after Emma activates the ORCA, Mothra calms down, and her bioluminescence immediately switches to a much softer and more peaceful blue.
• Long-Range Fighter: As seen in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Mothra prefers to keep her distance and use her webs and god-rays to take down her foes. Both because she prefers to fight non-lethally and also because, as her fight with Rodan shows, she struggles with physically larger opponents in close-quarters.
• Male Might, Female Finesse: Played With. She's a front-line combatant like Godzilla, but she doesn't have a high level of Super-Toughness when it comes to sustaining damage, and she's more of a Fragile Speedster.
• Mama Bear: Played With in her first scene, where she doesn't react positively when Monarch's containment field fries a bunch of (normal-sized) flying insects in her temple, something which the director explicitly pointed out.
• Martial Pacifist: Mothra is by far the most gentle of the Titans and is described as pacifistic, but it's clear she's no pushover in a fight. This is made most clear when she responds to Monarch's Containment Field frying several of her insects with wary agitation, but it's only once one of the security team fires on her in a panic that she outright attacks (and even then, she dispatches them all in ways that notably don't involve her killing them). However, Mothra is entirely willing to help Godzilla kill Ghidorah because of the three-headed dragon's sheer threat and malevolence. In Godzilla x Kong she settles for webbing-up the Skar King's minions while Kong and Godzilla use lethal force.
• Master of Your Domain: The novelization confirms the film's suggestion that it's no coincidence Mothra's cocoon hatches at the onset of King Ghidorah's takeover: she senses from inside the pupa what Ghidorah has started doing to the world, and it prompts her to accelerate her metamorphosis.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: This continuity presents Mothra in such a way that makes it ambiguous whether she's simply a huge and powerful ancient animal worshiped as a deity, like the other Titans, or if she's genuinely a supernatural goddess. On the Mundane side, several of her abilities and characteristics that were previously considered magical (such as her God Rays, her alliance with Godzilla, and her reincarnation cycle) get Doing In the Wizard treatment. On the Magic side, she has a strange, seemingly supernatural connection to a family line whom have an abnormal hereditary disposition toward identical twin girls in every generation; in the novelization, Madison's dream of Mothra during her Near-Death Experience can be interpreted as just that or as a sign that she too has formed a Psychic Link to the Titan; and both the Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong novels outright depict Mothra as possessing a degree of omniscience. In Godzilla x Kong, Jia resurrects Mothra through an Iwi ritual, with the lepidopteran Titan materializing out of golden energy in her imago form—adding to the ambiguity regarding her nature.
• Meaningful Name: The novelization of the King of the Monsters reveals that "Mosura" is a name given to her by the natives of a small Indonesian island that worshipped her. It means "giver of life".
• Messianic Archetype: She evolves into this role by the time of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Mothra possesses a quasi-divine status within the Monsterverse. The film series hints at Mothra being the source of all the stories with angelic beings, is Incorruptible Pure Pureness, and was worshiped as a benevolent goddess by numerous civilizations in the past, further solidifying her association with benevolent intervention. She stands alongside Godzilla as a co-guardian of balance within the Monsterverse, earning herself the title of Queen of the Monsters. Mothra's abilities further align with the trope. Her Rays from Heaven and healing powers highlight her role as a protector and life-giver. She actively combats threats like Ghidorah, Rodan, and indirectly Skar King, who are associated with the Satanic Archetype. In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Mothra's messianic role is further emphasized. She is positioned as the fulfillment of a prophecy triggered by Skar King's emergence. The Iwi orchestrate her revival, cementing her role as a savior-like figure who returns to combat a rising threat.
• Metamorphosis Monster: Shortly after hatching from her egg, she metamorphoses from a gigantic grub into an even-larger moth, capable of producing God Rays and beating back Ghidorah's storms. The trope is slightly discussed by Rick and Ilene while Mothra is pupating, debating what Mothra's imago form will be like.
• Mirror Character: To Godzilla, thanks to his massive Adaptational Heroism and Adaptational Species Change. Both are benevolent Alpha Titans with Blue Is Heroic motifs, both have blue bio-luminescence, both act as protectors of humanity and are benign parts of the natural order. Gozilla is the King of the Monsters and Mothra is the Queen of the Monsters. With so many similarities, is a little wonder Mothra and Godzilla have a symbiotic relationship as old as their species.
• Mistaken for Romance: Barnes assumes that her relationship with Godzilla is romantic and is squicked out, until Coleman corrects him by saying it's likely that their interspecies comradery is based on biological symbiosis.
• Mix-and-Match Critters: In her grub form, she looks like a giant caterpillar with arthropod-like mandibles, a vaguely armadillo-like back and surprisingly vertebrate-like eyes. Her imago form has a moth-like body with two pairs of mantis-like raptorial forelimbs and a wasp-like stinger.
• Monster Delay: An as-benevolent-as-monsters-come case with her imago form. When Mothra's pupa hatches, and when she later approaches Castle Bravo, her new form is largely obscured in silhouette save for her glowing eyes and wings. It isn't until her dramatic entrance at the Final Battle that we see Imago Mothra in full.
• Monster Lord: Played With. Mothra is an Alpha Titan carrying the moniker of "Queen of the Monsters", but it's ambiguous if she has any sort of authority over Titans or is more of a symbolic status representing her symbiotic bond with Godzilla.
• Moth Menace: Although she's one of the more benevolent Titans, Mothra is still a very dangerous adversary to those she perceives as her enemies.
• Mother Nature: Implied. She attracts all kinds of teeming life to her, and she's nigh-universally benevolent in turn. Godzilla Dominion and the Godzilla vs. Kong novelization indicate her fusion with Godzilla via her ashes has granted the latter a frankly preternatural awareness of Earth's geological and atmospheric history and processes. Godzilla: King of the Monsters writer and executive producer Zach Shields commented that her vocalizations were intended to sound like "Mother Earth calling out to us."
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous: As an insect, it makes sense for Mothra to have six limbs, though her first and second pair are scythe-like raptorial limbs reminiscent of the MUTOs', while her hind legs have two toes.
• Not Afraid to Die: She isn't afraid to fly at King Ghidorah in defence of her King while heavily injured, leading to her death by Heroic Sacrifice. Word of God confirms that Mothra has no fear of death, due to her Born-Again Immortality.
• Not Enough to Bury: In King of the Monsters, she gets vaporized by all three of Ghidorah's gravity beams, leaving nothing of her body but raining radioactive ashes.
• Occult Blue Eyes: Mothra has big bright eyes which indicate her divine nature.
• The Omniscient: In King of the Monsters, Mothra seems to sense inside her pupa when King Ghidorah has begun wreaking global destruction, even before Ghidorah's storms materialize above the rainforest (something which gets explicit attention drawn to it in the novelization), prompting her metamorphosis to speed up. Godzilla Dominion and the Godzilla vs. Kong novelization indicate that Mothra, true to past incarnations being a goddess of nature and the Earth, perceives and is aware of the Earth's entire history as well as the movements and harmonies (or disharmonies) of the planet's very elements; and that she furthermore passed this omniscient awareness onto Godzilla lastingly when she empowered him with her Heroic Sacrifice:
  "They were not the same recollections as those he had experienced himself; there were no colors or remembered shapes or even places, but instead a deep certainty. As his senses stretched to encompass the wind that blew from the heart of the planet and encircled the world above to meet the winds from the sun, as he could feel the slow rivers of molten rock flowing, colliding, swallowing land, giving birth to it, the cycle of hot rise and cold fall in the waters, the pumping heart of the oceans, everything that was now, so too did he feel what was, when the surface of the earth was liquid rock, when waters came, when ice covered everything, when the green life came and clawed its way onto bare rock. When many of his kind lived, fighting always, and the New Ones came to try to claim dominance."
• Orange/Blue Contrast: In several occasions, Mothra uses both orange and blue bioluminescence to convey aggression and determination, especially if she is about to fight.
  • Her cyan bioluminescence strongly contrasts Rodan's vulcanic appearance and orange aura in their battle.
  • She has a brief moment going against Ghidorah illuminating her wings for the last time before being hit by Ghidorah's yellow lightning.
• Our Angels Are Different: Mothra's Monarch Sciences profile compares her to an angel, and Word of God confirms that this is the effect they were going for. This helps her further contrast with Rodan, who is viewed in-universe as a demon. Mothra is directly allied with the "God" of the setting (Godzilla) in doing battle with Ghidorah and preserving the world's natural order, and whilst she gets heavily injured fighting Rodan, she still puts up a brave fight. She's one of the most purely benevolent Titans there are (with what we see of her, she comes across as even more flawless than Godzilla); she sails the skies on vast, sail-shaped lepidopterran wings; she produces brilliant light, including blinding God Rays which look like Rays from Heaven lighting up the sky; and she might be legitimately-supernatural compared to the other Titans.
• Physical God: She's a gigantic moth creature with God Rays, Weather Manipulation, the ability to unlock Godzilla's city-nuking Super Mode, Born-Again Immortality, and implicitly she's psychic. She's been worshiped as a benevolent goddess by numerous civilizations, including China's Yunnan Province, Birth Island in Indonesia, and the Iwi tribe of Skull Island and the Hollow Earth. Whereas the other Titans are overall treated as Animalistic Abomination megafauna, there are some hints that some of Mothra's abilities might actually be supernatural in nature. In the novelization of Godzilla x Kong, Monarch are dumbstruck to discover that the Mothra seen breaking up the fight between Godzilla and Kong is somehow the same individual who died in Boston, rather than a member of the same species.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Comparably speaking. She's one of the smaller kaiju in terms of overall mass (her wings making up most of it), but she's so powerful that she can shatter the sky with her God Rays, and she shows enough physical strength to debilitatingly impale Rodan on her stinger and then throw the much larger and heavier kaiju off of herself. She's classified as an Alpha Titan and known as the Queen of the Monsters, meaning that despite her size, she's one of the most powerful Titans on Earth.
• Power Glows: She's constantly-bioluminescent, she has light-based abilities such as her God Rays, and despite her comparatively small stature, she is ultimately one of the most powerful Titans in the setting as Godzilla's symbiotic partner.
• Pretty Butterflies: She's a benevolent lepidopteran Titan, and she's explicitly (and effectively) portrayed as an exceptionally beautiful and magnificent creature to behold.
• Primary-Color Champion: Mothra's bioluminescence allows her wings to feature different combinations of colors, but she has blue eyes and produces blue light when docile, she glows red when she's pissed, and her God Rays are brilliant gold/yellow in color.
• Projectile Webbing: Like previous incarnations, she has a silk attack for restraining opponents, though it works differently for this version in the sense that it's a quick, short-ranged blast which pins them to the ground (similar to Spider-Man's webbing), instead of the long-range cocooning spray that older iterations used (similar to a String Shot move in Pokemon). Also, retaining this ability in her imago form is something unique to the MonsterVerse incarnation of Mothra. In Godzilla x Kong it's revealed that the mysterious barrier protecting the Iwi tribe of Hollow Earth is comprised of her silk, and once the Skar King is dealt with she repairs it before flying away.
• Pupating Peril: Discussed. When she's pupating, Ilene Chen and Rick Stanton debate what'll happen once Mothra reaches her imago form, more specifically whether or not the imago Mothra will be meaner. Fortunately, it turns out once her cocoon hatches that the imago Mothra is tougher but she's not malevolent.
• Rays from Heaven: When arriving at Castle Bravo in the wake of Ghidorah's global Armageddon, one of the first signs of Mothra's presence is a golden shaft of light piercing through the dark stormclouds overhead that are being spread by Ghidorah. Then the stormclouds break apart under a blast of divine golden light and wind, unveiling the angelic Queen of the Monsters hovering in the sky. It helps that Mothra was made to look like an angel and that this moment signifies the return of hope for the cast.
• Red Baron: She's known as the "Queen of the Monsters" and the "Giver of Life".
• Red Is Heroic: The first time Mothra's bioluminescent light turns red, it's strictly a case of Red Is Violent. After reaching her final form, the coloration of Mothra's wings becomes red when she is prepared to confront anything that threatens to kill all life on Earth.
• Red Is Violent:
  • In her introductory scene, her bioluminescence turns an angry red when Monarch attempt to use a Containment Field on her which fries several of the insects in her temple, signaling her agitation which turns to outright hostility and wariness of the humans once she's fired upon. The red color fades only once she's been fully calmed down by the ORCA.
  • When using her threat display against Ghidorah, desperately trying to keep him from killing Godzilla.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: She's a beautiful, elegant creature of an Alpha Titan that's called the "Queen of the Monsters" and is Godzilla's symbiotic partner. And she's no less ferocious and hands-on than her King is when it comes to saving the Earth from Ghidorah.
• Rule of Symbolism: Mothra's eyespots from her wings are intentionally designed to look like Godzilla's eyes according to Michael Dougherty because he "wanted to create a connection between [her] and Godzilla".

S-W

• Sealed Good in a Can:
  • Her egg has been hidden away from mankind's world for thousands of years, within an ancient temple high in the mountains of the Yunnan province, China. When she hatches, Monarch attempt to use a Containment Field on her, but that goes out the window thanks to Jonah's interference which allows Mothra to escape into the rainforest. Fortunately, she's one of the explicitly-benevolent Titans.
  • In Godzilla x Kong it's revealed that the cocoon of the first/original/true/ultimate Mothra has been hidden away in Hollow Earth for untold millennia waiting to fulfill a prophecy involving the defeat of the Skar King, with her emerging when Jia awakens her.
• Seers: Inverted. Godzilla Dominion and the Godzilla vs. Kong novelization reveal that Mothra has an instinctive knowledge of the Earth's history, as far back as when the planet was a molten ball of rock (which is a time when Mothra likely hadn't even come into existence as a physical creature yet).
• Silk Hiding Steel: She's beautiful, delicate-looking, and graceful, but she can be one heck of a fighter in actual combat. Best shown during her fight with Rodan when, after being severely burned and pinned down by the avian Titan, she catches him off-guard by impaling him on her abdominal stinger.
• Sinister Scythe: Her forelimbs resemble those of a mantis, blade-like in shape and function, as Rodan finds out during their fight. Ironic, since she's the Titan who's the least likely to send any enemy who isn't Ghidorah to the Grim Reaper if she can help it.
• The Smurfette Principle: The only female Alpha Titan known in the Monsterverse, whereas the other four -Godzilla, Kong, Ghidorah and the Skar King- are all males.
• Thou Shalt Not Kill: Interestingly, she's the only Titan onscreen who has never tried to kill a human, even when provoked to action. When she's retaliating against Monarch's security team for attacking her, she traps them in her webbing instead of killing them outright (most notably, she at one point grabs a fleeing soldier in her mandibles, and instead of crushing or swallowing him, she hurls him into a nearby giant spider-web which immobilizes him while cushioning his impact), and it's implied this might have saved their lives when Alan Jonah and his group massacre the facility. Mothra is willing to help Godzilla kill Ghidorah, but this is portrayed as an acceptable exception to the rule considering Ghidorah's nature. By contrast, she merely wounds Rodan during their fight and she only webs up Skar King's army.
• Tiny-Headed Behemoth: Not so much in her larval form, where her head takes up 10% of her total body plan. In her imago form, however, Mothra's head looks miniscule atop her body, especially in proportion to her giant wings when she spreads them.
• Truly Single Parent: Once she's reached her imago form, she can apparently lay an egg which will continue her cycle of Born-Again Immortality via the Genetic Memory without a sex partner, as confirmed by Word of God.
• Undying Loyalty: To Godzilla. She's just about the only Titan who outright defies King Ghidorah's takeover in favor of continued loyalty to Godzilla, and she does not betray Godzilla no matter how dire things get for them. She even gives her life protecting him.
• Walking Techbane: When she's about to emerge from her cocoon, she causes power fluctuations and finally causes floodlights to explode.
• Weather Manipulation: Right before she emerges from her cocoon, Ghidorah's storm over the Yunnan Rainforest suddenly disperses to leave the night sky clear, something which the novelization draws attention to. When Mothra arrives at Castle Bravo, her God Rays and a blast of wind from her wings are enough to disperse the stormclouds again. In Godzilla x Kong she uses her God Rays to help Godzilla dispell the blizzard summoned by Shimo.
• Willfully Weak: She never uses her God Rays against Rodan despite them being powerful enough to knock an evolved, enraged Godzilla on his butt in one hit and stagger the massive Shimo. Given how protective she is of humans and the fact she was surrounded by the military, it's implied she was holding back for their sake.
• Wind from Beneath My Wings: She beats back Ghidorah's stormclouds at Castle Bravo with powerful gusts of wind, seemingly generated from her wings.
• Worf Had the Flu: The situation severely handicapped her while fighting Rodan in King of the Monsters: her God Rays are potent enough to floor Godzilla and stagger the massive Shimo, but she also will go out of her way not to harm humans and even take time to protect them midfight, so she couldn't easily use them against Rodan surrounded by human fighter jets during the Battle of Boston. Her prefered method of offense is her silk which was able to restrain King Ghidorah briefly and the Skar King's minions are essentually taken out of the fight entirely with one shot, but Rodan was on fire and thus couldn't be restrained with it. When neither of those things are in effect, she does most of the leg work taking out Skar King's army in the Final Battle without much difficulty so Kong and Godzilla can deal with Skar King and Shimo, showing what she can do when those handicaps weren't in place.
• Wonder Twin Powers: According to Mike Dougherty, Burning Godzilla is part of her and Godzilla's symbiotic power, and Godzilla needs her to achieve it. It's unclear if Mothra can power Godzilla up into Burning Godzilla without dying, however.

---