Baragon

Baragon (バラゴン, Baragon) is a kaiju which first appeared in Ishirō Honda's 1965 film Frankenstein vs. Baragon, produced and distributed by Toho. Depicted as a burrowing, four-legged, horned dinosaur-like creature with large ears, Baragon served as the film's antagonist, fighting against Frankenstein and wreaking havoc across the Japanese countryside. Baragon would later appear in the Godzilla franchise, also produced by Toho, starting with Destroy All Monsters (1968), where it is one of the many monsters that appear within the film. Baragon later appears in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001), where it is depicted as a guardian monster of Japan, though it is killed fighting Godzilla. Baragon also appears in various pieces of spin-off media for the franchise. Baragon was conceived during the production of Frankenstein vs. Baragon as a replacement for Godzilla, who was intended to be Frankenstein's initial opponent before Toho decided to remove Godzilla from the project. Designed by Akira Watanabe, it was portrayed by suitmation in the film. Its creature suit was later loaned off to Tsuburaya Productions for use in the Ultraman franchise, though it was returned for Destroy All Monsters. As the film was planned as a finale for the Godzilla franchise, as many monsters as possible were included in the film, though Baragon's role in the film was greatly diminished due to issues with its costume. It would not appear in another film until 2001's Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. Initially part of a trio of monsters, alongside Varan and Anguirus, meant to fight Godzilla, Baragon ended up being the only one retained for the final product due to Toho requiring that more popular monsters be included to make up for the financial failure of 2000's Godzilla vs. Megaguirus. Baragon has been discussed by critics...