As death and rebirth is a recurring theme for Mothra, the legendary creature has died numerous times in the Godzilla movies. As a kaiju who has fought both with and against the King of the Monsters since the 1960s, some of Mothra's deaths have been at Godzilla's hand, while others have occurred while she was fighting at his side.
The legendary guardian deity made her big screen debut in the 1961 Toho film, Mothra, before being integrated into the Godzilla franchise in 1964's Mothra vs. Godzilla. Ever since, Mothra has been one of the most important monsters in the Godzilla movies. In fact, Mothra is one of only a few kaiju who have been represented in the Showa (1954-1975), Heisei (1984-1995), and Millennium (2000-2004) series. Due to Mothra's importance and popularity, she was chosen to be one of the three Toho properties to be added to Legendary's MonsterVerse in 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters, alongside Rodan and King Ghidorah.
As a creature who is consistently portrayed as a heroic figure, Mothra is a character who is willing to pay the ultimate price in order to protect her children, the planet, and humanity. But, death is never the end for Mothra, as she always returns by being reborn through one of her offspring. Through this process of laying an egg, going into a cocoon, dying, and being born all over again, the cycle never ends, and it's repeated in multiple Godzilla films. Here's every time Mothra has died in Toho's movies.
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
Japan was under attack from Godzilla in Mothra vs. Godzilla, in 1964. As the military couldn't stop him, it was all up to Mothra, despite the fact that the creature was near the end of her lifespan. With her Twin Fairies looking on, Mothra engaged Godzilla in battle, and hit him with everything she had. Mothra even tried dragging him by his tail, but he was too powerful. Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.
Rebirth of Mothra (1996)
In the 1990s, Toho produced a spinoff trilogy of Mothra movies titled Rebirth of Mothra. The three films focused on a brand new, male version of Mothra called Mothra Leo, who had his own unique design. He was born after his mother - a more traditional version of Mothra - died trying to save her son from a monster called Desghidorah in the first installment in the trilogy.
Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
Godzilla has been portrayed as a villain multiple times, but for the first time ever, Godzilla was a truly evil beast in Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. In the 2001 film, it was explained that prophecy revealed the existence of three legendary guardian monsters. The three guardians were Baragon, Mothra, and Ghidorah. After being unleashed to do battle with Godzilla, Baragon was the first to die. Later, Mothra, too, proved incapable of defeating Godzilla. Once again, Mothra was killed after taking the full brunt of a blast of Godzilla's atomic breath. With Mothra dead, her life essence entered the body of Ghidorah, and transformed him into the incredibly powerful, "King Ghidorah". Mothra's energy had powered up Ghidorah and provided him with a fighting chance against Godzilla. After Ghidorah was destroyed as well, the spirits of Mothra, Ghidorah, and Baragon flew into the sky and then pushed Godzilla underwater, giving the military an opportunity to finish him off.
Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003)
Japan's latest version of Mechagodzilla, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. Kiryu, who had yet to be fully repaired from the damage it sustained in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, wasn't ready to repel Godzilla's attack, forcing Mothra to intervene instead. Mothra managed to hold off Godzilla until Kiryu could arrive on the scene. Though the odds were stacked against Godzilla, he was still able to beat both of them. While Kiryu was being repaired for a rematch, Mothra and her two children had no choice but to face off against Godzilla. When Godzilla was about to annihilate the larvae with his atomic breath, the adult Mothra flew between them, and died saving her children. In the aftermath of Mothra's death, the larvae teamed up with Kiryu and managed to save Japan from Godzilla.
Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
In the final film in the Millennium series, Godzilla: Final Wars, Godzilla was back in the role of the protagonist to battle a multitude of kaiju, including Ebirah, Hedorah, an updated version of Gigan, and even Anguirus, and King Caesar, who were traditionally utilized as allies of Godzilla but were being mind-controlled by aliens. However, one creature in particular, Mothra, remained on Godzilla's side. It was revealed in the film that centuries ago, Mothra defeated Gigan. After Gigan was upgraded with new weapons, he renewed his battle with Mothra. Mothra was mortally wounded by a powerful blast from Gigan, but before she died, her scales reflected some of Gigan's projective weapons back at him. As a result, Gigan's head was removed from its body. Afterward, Mothra flew into him, and the ensuing explosion destroyed what was left of both of them.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
In Legendary's Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Mothra was shown to have a symbiotic relationship with Godzilla after she emerged from her cocoon. She communicated with Godzilla while he was recovering from the Godzilla: King of the Monsters credits teased Mothra's return by revealing that she had left behind a giant egg. This means that, just like previous versions of the character, the MonsterVerse's Mothra will live again.
