Three-Headed Dragon — Cartoon illustration of a three-headed golden dragon with two fierce heads and one goofy head sticking out its tongue.

Three-Headed Dragon

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Published October 3, 2026

Three-Headed Dragon is a goofy fan drawing of King Ghidorah created by artist Michael J. Larson days after Godzilla: King of the Monsters hit theaters in 2019. The cartoonish portrait of the three-headed kaiju picked up thousands of retweets within weeks and became an object-labeling template Reddit couldn't stop editing.

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Overview

The source image is a cartoon of the three-headed kaiju King Ghidorah drawn in a wobbly, bug-eyed style that strips the Toho monster of any menace2. Each of the three heads sports its own dopey expression, which is exactly what makes the drawing work as a template: posters slap labels on the individual heads to turn them into separate characters with different reactions to the same situation3.

Most edits follow the object-labeling convention. The dragon's body stands in for a shared source or group, while the three heads get captions for distinct personalities, opinions, or outcomes4. The humor usually hinges on one head being noticeably dumber or more unhinged than the other two, mirroring the lopsided faces Larson gave the original drawing2.

Origin & Background

Platform
DeviantArt / Twitter (source), Reddit (viral spread)
Creator
Michael J. Larson
Date
2019

Godzilla: King of the Monsters opened in United States theaters on May 31st, 20191. Two days later, on June 2nd, 2019, artist Michael J. Larson uploaded his cartoon take on King Ghidorah under the title "King Ghidorah in a Nutshell" to DeviantArt2, then crossposted it to Twitter3 and Instagram5. The Twitter version pulled in more than 4,300 retweets and 9,600 likes over its first two weeks4.

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How It Spread

On June 3rd, 2019, King Ghidorah motion capture actor Richard Dorton shared the drawing on Twitter, where it collected roughly 500 retweets and 1,500 likes in two weeks and introduced the image to viewers tied directly to the film's production6.

The meme format took hold on Reddit the following week. On June 8th, 2019, Redditor MGHQ_YT posted what is cited as the first object-labeling edit of the drawing to r/gaming, where it passed 1,500 upvotes7. Two days later, on June 10th, 2019, Redditor Yagisaki reposted another unknown-author edit to r/HistoryMemes, where it cleared 7,200 upvotes in three days4.

In the days that followed, the template kept moving through Reddit's biggest humor subreddits, with notable edits landing in r/dankmemes8 and r/freefolk, where posters used the three heads to rank Game of Thrones seasons9.

Timeline

2019-05-31

Godzilla: King of the Monsters opens in US theaters, putting King Ghidorah back in the pop-culture spotlight.

2019-06-02

Michael J. Larson posts 'King Ghidorah in a Nutshell' to DeviantArt, Twitter, and Instagram.

2019-06-03

Ghidorah mocap actor Richard Dorton tweets the drawing, boosting it among fans tied to the film.

2019-06-08

Redditor MGHQ_YT posts the first known object-labeling edit to r/gaming, cracking 1,500 upvotes.

2019-06-10

A repost of another edit to r/HistoryMemes passes 7,200 upvotes in three days.

2019-06

Edits spread through r/dankmemes and r/freefolk, including a Game of Thrones seasons ranking.

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How to Use This Meme

The typical edit labels the dragon's shared body with a category or source, then gives each head a different caption for a type of person, reaction, or opinion within that group. One head is often set up as the odd one out, since the drawing's uneven faces already read as three mismatched personalities2.

Frequently Asked Questions