Toho's Godzilla film franchise was, in many ways, one of the earliest cinematic universes ever attempted. Several of the iconic kaiju who fought with or against the King of the Monsters enjoyed introductions in wholly unrelated films. Mothra and Rodan, for example, could have launched series of their own. Godzilla remained the central figure, so everyone else stepped into his orbit. Though he's much less well-known, Varan is another example of a monster from a solo movie who later joined Godzilla's entourage.