Godzilla Vs Freddy Krueger from A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: Who Would Win?

Zak Greene |

Mar 5, 2021

Godzilla stands triumphant, 100 meters of scales, spikes, and radiation. He’s the ultimate apex predator on the planet, though he’s gotten many wins against kaiju from beyond the stars as well. Having appeared in over 30 movies, he’s got this down to a science at this point. Rise from the depths, fight off whatever strange beast is gunning for the title belt using his immense strength and atomic breath, and then head back into the ocean for a well-deserved nap. This is where today’s bout begins.

Waking up and rising from the deep, Godzilla heads for the only place he ever hangs out in between fights, Monster Island. Now, Monster Island hasn’t really appeared since the Showa era, but it’s a cornerstone of the franchise and it’s more or less exactly what it sounds like. It’s the home to such foes as Kamacuras and Kumonga as well as occasionally housing Godzilla himself.

This time around, however, something is wrong. Something is different. There’s an ominous stillness to the island and signs of life appear to be missing. The sky is lit an odd shade of red and lightning crackles in the distance. As Godzilla stomps ashore, he begins to see them. The bones of fallen comrades. The massive skeletons of Anguiras and Rodan litter the ground. The dried-out husk of Mothra lays in a death curl. Finally, he sees the unmoving body of his own son Minilla, lying slumped over against some rocks. Closer inspection reveals… four large slash marks.

Godzilla lets out a loud “SKREEONK!” in defiance of whatever kaiju has been tearing through his friends and allies, and faster than you can say “Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack”, a shadow looms overhead. Three dragon’s heads on long snakelike necks dance in the air. Golden scales reflect the red light in the distance. Godzilla’s most persistent foe, King Ghidorah has somehow taken down everyone in Godzilla’s absence. Considering their track record, this is a big deal. Godzilla rarely defeats him without help, but this time, he’s pissed. Yellow beams of lightning rip through the air as Godzilla closes the distance. Closer and closer, he begins to get a clearer view of his ongoing rival. Ghidorah looks… different. Darker, more evil perhaps? There are distinct red and green stripes along his torso and what appear to be burn marks all over his body. Whatever! Godzilla pounces him, knocking him clean out of the sky and landing right on top. This time he’s not messing around.

Godzilla gets a firm grip around one of Ghidorah’s heads as the other two writhe around spewing lightning, failing to touch the King of the Monsters. Godzilla rips the head right off and tosses it aside. He then does the same to another. Finally, he stands, places a foot on Ghidorah’s remaining neck, and blasts his final head with atomic breath, watching the scales and flesh peel away until only a skull remains. The body goes motionless.

As Godzilla turns his back to the field of corpses left in the wake of this battle and walks off, a sound can be heard from the lifeless body of Ghidorah. It’s not the dragon’s typical high-pitched chirping cry, however. It’s a distinctly human sound. Godzilla looks back at the fallen kaiju and sees it start to change. The bare skull of its final head cackles wildly, still smoking from the atomic breath. The body’s flesh and scales peel away and fall off to reveal the exposed bone. Something bubbles from inside and what looks like a clawed hand bursts forth from one of the two gaping neck wounds where heads used to be. From the other, a wild grinning burned face emerges. This is the face of deceased serial killer and dream demon, Freddy Krueger.

Now, does Freddy really need an introduction? Probably not, but let’s get into it anyway. He debuted in Wes Craven’s 1984 film, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and has appeared in 8 or 9 movies, depending on whether you count Wes Craven’s New Nightmare as actually being Freddy or not. “The bastard son of a thousand maniacs”, he was a child killer in life and much worse in death. In the midst of being burned alive by an unruly mob of Elm Street parents, he gained the power to enter the dreams of their children by a trio of dream demons. Now, he stalks the children of Elm Street whilst they sleep. His trademark weapon is the bladed glove he wears on his right hand. He stands at a meager 5’10”, but given his mastery of dreams, he can adapt to the situation as he sees fit. He’s appeared as a giant snake, a pot-smoking caterpillar, a superhero, a television, and a marionette on various occasions. Freddy would have absolutely no issue matching Godzilla’s massive size due to his incredibly flexible powers.

Back into the fight, Godzilla blasts the Krueger-Ghidorah abomination with atomic breath, but Freddy was born of fire. This doesn’t even phase him. A flap of his wings sends huge gusts of wind at Godzilla, making it hard to maintain footing. Krueger approaches. He slashes Godzilla, managing to break through the tough hide and scales and wound him. Godzilla cries out in pain before attempting to swat Krueger away with his tail. The clawed arm catches and wraps around it, however, digging its blades in. Krueger looks into Godzilla’s eyes, but he’s not seeing the fear that he’s used to. He’s only making the kaiju mad.

Godzilla takes this opportunity to grab Krueger by the jaw and blast that atomic breath one more time, right down his throat. This time, it’s a bit more effective. Krueger-Ghidorah burns from the inside out, falling apart until it is nothing but dust. Unfortunately, this is far from the end of Krueger. He’s not quite so easy to beat on his own turf. In fact, Krueger’s near-limitless dream powers mean that he could win in the blink of an eye. Being such a sadist, however, he revels in the sheer terror that he inflicts on his victims and this causes him to drag things out. Godzilla, being the absolute top of the food chain, does not scare so easily. Freddy’s got to change up his tactics if he really wants to have an effect. Might that be his undoing, though?

An idea forms–and so do Ghidorah’s ashen remains, taking the shape of a human body. This time there’s no disguise. Freddy emerges in his classic human form, albeit one that can stand toe to toe with Godzilla in terms of height. Before the kaiju can react, he takes a bladed finger and taps Godzilla right between the eyes. Confused, Godzilla begins to shrink. From 100 meters down to 80, down to 50, down to the size of a human being. Freddy on the other hand, still stands at Godzilla’s original height of 100 meters tall. Oh, how the tables have turned. Godzilla has never been this outmatched in terms of size before, but he attempts to fight anyway. He shoots yet another blast of atomic breath, but with him being so small now, it barely tickles the slasher.

In a sick role reversal, the kaiju-sized Krueger lifts a massive foot to stomp the man-sized Godzilla. Godzilla’s never been on the receiving end of this, so for lack of a better option he runs. He ducks into the island’s forest, weaving in and out of the trees. Looking for someplace to take shelter as Freddy’s footsteps thunder in the distance, he spots a clearing with an old decrepit house hidden amongst the weeds. Numbers on the outside read “1428”. There’s a sinister air about this place, but he doesn’t have time to second guess it, and the door is open. Taking shelter in the Elm Street house is a fatal mistake. Inside, it’s just as run down. Rotten food sits on a dusty dining room table. Cobwebs litter everything. Children singing can be faintly heard coming from… somewhere. What’s worse, Freddy’s Earth-shattering footsteps can still be felt getting closer and closer.

This place isn’t safe, but the previously open door is now closed tight. It can’t be forced open and it can’t be blasted apart with Godzilla’s atomic breath. Nothing works. Godzilla is trapped. The footsteps get louder and louder. Soon, they stop. Has Godzilla’s foe lost him? Has he lost interest? No, a laugh rings out and a massive foot crashes through the Elm Street house. Godzilla is crushed and buried amongst the rubble. Freddy Krueger wins.

Godzilla was outmatched here, and there are a few main factors I considered when deciding the winner. In the dream world, Freddy is basically unstoppable. He has near limitless power and can alter not only his own body but those of others and even the world around them. He can do basically anything inside of dreams. Outside of dreams, it’s a little vague. He seems to retain certain powers but can also be killed by mortal means. If Godzilla could manage to get him out of the dream world then it wouldn’t even be a contest. That said, Godzilla had no way of knowing what to do and no way of preparing. On top of that, Godzilla regularly takes long slumbers under the ocean, so the chances of him waking up before Krueger finished weren’t looking good. Krueger has been defeated a number of different ways throughout the years, but basically, every time was through someone outsmarting him in one way or another. Godzilla, while fairly intelligent for what he is, is basically still an animal. There’s no way the kaiju would have the brainpower to figure out a way out of this fight.

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