Mušmaḫḫū Mušmaḫḫū Mušmaḫḫū, inscribed in Sumerian as MUŠ.MAḪ, Akkadian as "muš-ma-ḫu", meaning "Exalted/distinguished Serpent", was an ancient Mesopotamian mythological hybrid of serpent, lion and bird, sometimes identified with the seven-headed serpent slain by Ninurta in the mythology of the Sumerian period. He is one of the three horned snakes, with his companions, Bašmu and Ušumgallu, with whom he may have shared a common mythological origin. In "Angim" or "Ninurta's return to Nippur", the storm god describes one of his weapons as "the seven-mouthed muš-mah serpent" (line 138), reminiscent of the Greek myth of Heracles and the seven headed Lernaean Hydra he
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster Yoshio Tsuchiya was originally attached to play Malmess but scheduling conflicts prevented him from participating. After the success of previous films where monsters were partnered up such as "King Kong vs. Godzilla" and "Mothra vs. Godzilla", producer Tomoyuki Tanaka decided to develop a film which would feature Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra. The film also includes a new monster, King Ghidorah. Ghidorah's design owes much to Japanese mythology. In 1959, producer Tanaka developed a film that retold the legendary stories of Japan. These included the tale of "Yamata no Orochi", an eight-headed dragon. King Ghidorah is based on Tsuburaya's design for