Godzilla (Marvel Earth-616)
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In conclusion, some factors are certain: Godzilla represents a hitherto unknown essence of life and behavior... As such, he is highly unpredictable, and definitely the most dangerous living creature on the face of the Earth.
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— Dr. Yuriko Takiguchi (Godzilla #2) |
Godzilla (ゴジラ Gojira) is a giant monster who starred in Marvel Comics' Godzilla series. He is the first incarnation of Godzilla to originate in an American comic, or any American story for that matter.
A giant prehistoric monster roused by atomic testing, Godzilla first menaced Japan in 1956 and repeatedly attacked the nation's cities before gradually becoming the lesser of two evils over the ensuing two decades, fending off other more malevolent creatures and unintentionally defending mankind in the process. At some point after that, Godzilla became frozen inside an iceberg, only to break free once the iceberg reached Alaska. Godzilla then began a destructive campaign across the United States, tracked by S.H.I.E.L.D. and crossing paths with the many heroes of the mainstream Marvel universe, known as Earth-616. This finally culminated in a battle against the Fantastic Four and the Avengers in New York City, which ended in a draw as Godzilla was convinced to return to the ocean. He was later captured and mutated by his old nemesis Dr. Demonicus and used as a pawn in his evil plans, at one point clashing with Iron Man. Godzilla disappeared for a long period after this; his last known appearance came when he attacked New York City along with several other inhabitants of Monster Island under the control of the Mole Man. By this point, he no longer bore the mutated appearance that he had had while under Demonicus' control.
Name
- See also: Godzilla#Name.
Godzilla's Japanese name, Gojira (ゴジラ), comes from a combination of the Japanese approximation of "gorilla" (ゴリラ gorira) and kujira (クジラ), the Japanese word for "whale."
Following the ending of his titular series, Godzilla is not addressed by name in most of his subsequent appearances due to Marvel Comics no longer holding the rights to the character, with generic descriptors like "Demonicus' monster" or "monster lizard" used instead. However, he is, perhaps jokingly, referred to as "Godzilla" in issue #31 of The Thing.
Development
Upon finally securing the comics rights to Godzilla, and after opting for an original storyline instead of adapting any of the existing films, Marvel began considering their interpretation of Godzilla's appearance. Due to the campy nature of the contemporary films, they chose to model their Godzilla after the original suit. Despite this, they were willing to make changes to make the character more workable in the new medium.[1]
Design
This incarnation of Godzilla is entirely green, unlike the character's existing film incarnations at the time, and has purely red eyes. His dorsal fins start near the top of his head like the later Hanna-Barbera Godzilla. His head is more dinosaur-like with a long snout, sharp teeth, and eyes positioned higher on his head and facing slightly to the sides. His dorsal fins maintain the traditional maple-leaf shape, but are green in color rather than bone-white. The Marvel Godzilla has long, muscular arms with four claws. The Marvel Godzilla tends to keep his tail suspended in the air rather than drag it across the ground. His claws and toe claws change between a light shade of green and bluish white. His head is typically round but rectangular, occasionally with his teeth being incredibly small. Other times, his teeth are very elongated and his head appears closer to previous designs than not. His entire silhouette sometimes appears as a hybrid between the ShodaiGoji and KingGoji designs.
In three Iron Man issues and The Thing #31, Godzilla's further mutated form has gained webbed fingers, large fish-like fins starting at his armpits and going down to his wrists, and a more stereotypical Tyrannosaurus rex-like build. During his appearances in The Thing #31, the mutated Godzilla has very short arms and large scales on his brow and lip areas. In both comics the mutated Godzilla has a large fish-like fin in place of his dorsal fins and two horns protruding from the top of his snout. He is also a lot smaller than his normal appearance.
In his last known appearance in Mighty Avengers #1, Godzilla has reverted to a more traditional design, appearing closer to his Heisei film counterpart and Godzilla Junior. His sclera are green, his eyes are yellow, and his neck is thick but hunched. In a preview of the comic, Godzilla bore visible dorsal fins, but they were removed for the comic's printing.
Personality
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Nor let it be said that Godzilla is unwilling to meet any challenge, anywhere, at any time.
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The Marvel Godzilla is an aggressive creature who often attacks anything in his path. According to Dr. Yuriko Takiguchi, Godzilla's behavior is unpredictable, making him particularly dangerous. Takiguchi's assistant, Tamara Hashioka, compares Godzilla to an elemental force, claiming that he has his own dignity and cannot truly be judged as evil. His aggressiveness frequently puts him into conflict with other, more malevolent monsters, painting him as the lesser of two evils as he unintentionally defends mankind from his monstrous foes. This Godzilla's portrayal as a violent force of nature is somewhat in line with the character's portrayal in the first four films of the Showa series, and predates his similar portrayal in the seven films of the Heisei series by several years. However, Godzilla has occasionally displayed inquisitive behavior and has also proved capable of conducting complex reasoning and moral decisions. In a fight against the Beta-Beast, Godzilla's perspective explains that his drive for survival is drawn from tapping into his "inner strength", which consists of courage and rage.
Over the course of the series, it becomes increasingly apparent that much of Godzilla's destructive behavior is in direct response to human provocation with humans striking first and merely earning a response; even measly revolver fire will often trigger a disproportionate response from the King of the Monsters, typically in an attempt to terminate attacks regardless of whether or not they actually pose a risk of harming him. Despite demonstrating little regard for human life during his rampages, Godzilla has been shown going to great lengths to avoid directly killing humans and has even gone out of his way to save lives in certain situations. On two separate occasions, Godzilla saved the life of Dum Dum Dugan; while the first instance failed to fully convince Dugan that Godzilla was purposefully acting to protect him, the second instance saw Godzilla catching Dugan's craft out of the air and gently placing it on the ground, proving his intent to save the pilot and convincing Dugan that Godzilla is smarter than he originally assumed. In later issues of the series, Godzilla came to consider young Rob Takiguchi a genuine friend and even seemed "happy" to see him on one or two occasions, trusting Rob and repeatedly listening to his instructions; Godzilla would later go on to trust Moon-Boy simply because he reminded him of Rob. It has been suggested that while Godzilla may not necessarily understand all given instructions, he can sense intent and is capable of differentiating threatening tones from pleas, with the latter often (but not always) earning his cooperation.
Origins
The Marvel Godzilla is a prehistoric hybrid of land and marine reptiles who was awakened in 1956 by an international underwater nuclear weapon test in the Pacific Ocean, which split the ocean floor and released him while also radiologically mutating him. The King of the Monsters first attacked the ship which oversaw the test before attacking Tokyo. Over the ensuing two decades, Godzilla both destroyed several Japanese cities and fended off other malevolent monsters that attacked Japan, becoming the lesser of two evils in the latter case. By unknown means he was eventually trapped in an iceberg, and managed to break free once the iceberg reached Alaska decades after his first appearance.
By the events of Iron Man #193, the supervillain Dr. Demonicus had enslaved a giant green sea monster not unlike Godzilla. Though it is never explicitly stated, this creature is implied to be Godzilla himself, but subjected to genetic alterations by Demonicus: the villain refers to him as "my once greatest enemy" and gloats, "How gratifying it is to have you--the greatest living dinosaur--subjucated in my service! Perform well for Dr. Demonicus, and I may even spare you further mutation!" The former is especially damning as, by this point in the character's history, Demonicus had only been known to clash with Godzilla and the Shogun Warriors (a team of giant robots).
History
- Godzilla #1-24 (1977-78)
- The Uncanny X-Men #181 (1984) [drawing]
- Iron Man #193-194, 196 (1985)
- The Thing #31 (1985)
- West Coast Avengers Annual #6 (1991) [simulation]
- Mighty Avengers #1 (2007)
Godzilla
"The Coming!"
Godzilla suddenly erupted out of an iceberg that floated into Alaskan waters, capsizing a supply ship. The monster quickly stomped ashore and destroyed a lighthouse before making his way to the Alaskan Pipeline. The King of the Monsters easily lifted a section of the pipeline and slammed it onto the ground like a whip, causing untold destruction. S.H.I.E.L.D. was alerted to the attack and sent a Helicarrier commanded by Agent Timothy Aloysius Cadwallader "Dum Dum" Dugan to attack Godzilla. Soldiers were deployed on floating platforms and opened fire on Godzilla, who simply swatted them out of the sky. Dugan commandeered a Disc-Plane and flew at Godzilla, but the monster simply snatched it in his mouth, with Dugan barely escaping. Fighter jets began firing missiles at Godzilla to no effect, with the monster snatching one out of the air and breaking it in half. S.H.I.E.L.D. next deployed an advanced Laser Cannon invented by Tony Stark to attack Godzilla, which only succeeded in hurting and enraging him. Godzilla lashed out with his radioactive fire breath, obliterating the cannon. He continued spewing flames from his mouth, igniting the oil which leaked from the destroyed pipeline and setting the surrounding encampment and forest ablaze. Dugan and Agent Jimmy Woo drew Godzilla's attention and made him smash a nearby mountain, triggering an avalanche that smothered the raging fire. Godzilla then walked off into the sunset unopposed.
"Thunder in the Darkness!"
After leaving Alaska, Godzilla rose from Elliot Bay, still in pain from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Laser Cannon, and set the docks ablaze with his fire breath. Concurrently, Dugan learned more about Godzilla's past from Dr. Yuriko Takiguchi, Tamara Hashioka, and Rob Takiguchi, from his awakening in 1956 to his frequent attacks on Japan. As Godzilla made his way toward the heart of Seattle, he was observed from above by Agent Gabe Jones, who reported the sighting to S.H.I.E.L.D. As night fell, Godzilla laid waste to the city before being drawn toward the lights of the Space Needle. Godzilla peered into the observation deck and lit it on fire with his fire breath. Jones destroyed the local power plant with bombs and plunged the city into a blackout in order to stop Godzilla, but the monster was still attracted to the fire that he had started at the top of the Space Needle. Using Beacon-Flares, S.H.I.E.L.D. began to lure Godzilla away from the city and toward the ocean. However, the monster stopped following the flares once he reached the coastline. The Helicarrier flew overhead and emitted a blinding bright light that blinded Godzilla. With the monster temporarily stunned, Block-Busters opened fire at Godzilla's back, causing him to fall off the cliffside that he was standing on and into the ocean below. Godzilla's head broke the surface as he turned and began swimming out to sea rather than returning to Seattle.
"A Tale of Two Saviors"
Godzilla surfaced next at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Police watercraft opened fire on him, irritating him enough to smash one. Four of the members of the Champions - the Black Widow, Hercules, the Iceman, and the Angel - sortied to the area. They landed their Champscraft on the bridge as Godzilla shifted his attention to Fisherman's Wharf. Godzilla struck the Angel with an errant swing of his tail as the hero tried convincing police to evacuate, knocking him to the ground. Hercules stopped him from stepping on the Angel, using his incredible strength to topple him. He quickly returned to his feet and unleashed his radioactive fire on the city.
The Helicarrier arrived on the scene and readied Electro-Mag-Nets to stun Godzilla, while Dum Dum Dugan bickered with the Champions over jurisdiction. As he took off on his hoverbike, the Angel startled him by flying too close, forcing him to leap off of it as it sailed into Godzilla's mouth. The monster briefly submerged into the bay, only to emerge beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. The Iceman briefly froze Godzilla's head as Hercules swam towards him and an irate Dugan ordered the Electro-Mag-Nets into action. Realizing the danger to Hercules, he tried to call off the attack, failing to do so but spoiling his team's aim. The nets only grazed Godzilla, but his thrashing forced Hercules underwater. The demigod retaliated by throwing a broken-off section of the bridge at Godzilla, only for the monster to dodge it. The missile hit the Helicarrier instead, causing it to drop into the bay directly in front of Godzilla. He paused suddenly amidst the mayhem, gently crumpled one of the Helicarrier's back fins, and returned to the sea. Dugan blamed the Champions for the fiasco, but Jones pointed out that S.H.I.E.L.D. was equally responsible.
"Godzilla Versus Batragon!"
Batragon, a monster that had been attacking oil tankers off the North Pacific Coast for its master, Dr. Demonicus, was intercepted by Godzilla during its latest rampage and injured by him. After their confrontation, Godzilla followed the injured Batragon back to the island of Dr. Demonicus, who had used a glowing meteor that he called the "Lifestone" that was found at the bottom of a crater of a dormant volcano on the island to create his four monsters Batragon, Ghilaron, Lepirax, and Centipor. Because of this, all four of these monsters were dependent on the Lifestone to the extent that if they ever left it, they had to return to it every few hours just to stay alive.
When Godzilla arrived on the island and began both terrorizing Demonicus' Demon-Soldiers and attempting to aid the Inuit slaves that they had forced into laboring for them, Batragon battled Godzilla once more. When Batragon was finally killed by the King of the Monsters, Demonicus almost decided to release all three of his remaining creations to fight Godzilla, just as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Godzilla Squad arrived to attack him. Demonicus then decided to play both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Godzilla against each other, then release his three monsters and send them out to kill the winner of the fight.
"The Isle of Lost Monsters"
As Godzilla battled S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicopters, Dugan and Jones discovered Demonicus' other monsters, prompting the supervillain to release them. The three beasts swarmed Godzilla, though Lepirax soon began terrorizing Dugan's helicopter instead. Dugan called off the helicopters that were overwhelming Godzilla to further investigate the mysterious island, allowing Godzilla to focus on Ghilaron and Centipor. Godzilla quickly vanquished Centipor, but as he began strangling Ghilaron, Demonicus made the mistake of running off to assist his creation, allowing Jones to catch him by surprise and subdue him.
Meanwhile, after slaying Ghilaron, Godzilla turned his attention to Lepirax, who was still attacking Dugan's helicopter. Godzilla waited until the two were close to the ground before grabbing the moth monster, freeing Dugan's helicopter which fell only a short distance to the ground, saving Dugan's life. Godzilla then killed Lepirax with his radioactive flames, and after exchanging glances with Dugan, left the island. In the aftermath, Jones forced Dugan to admit that Godzilla saved his life and that the monster may indeed be smarter than he originally suspected, though he maintained that he wasn't completely convinced.
"A Monster Enslaved!"
In the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Northern California, Jones tailed Godzilla until the latter found a massive cave to rest in. Elsewhere, S.H.I.E.L.D. unveiled their new Helicarrier to replace the previously destroyed one, naming this one Behemoth, while also finishing up the anti-Godzilla weapon developed by Dr. Yuriko Takiguchi - SJ3RX. As the Behemoth closed in on Godzilla's location, Jones convinced Dugan to capture Godzilla instead of attacking him. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents filled the cave with gas, and while Godzilla initially appeared unaffected as he emerged, he soon succumbed to the gas's affects and fell.
Godzilla's unconscious body was loaded into the Helicarrier and brought to a S.H.I.E.L.D. base in San Diego, where a reinforced thermal plexilock-gauge mylarox cage had been constructed to contain the beast. That night, as Jones looked over the captive Godzilla, the King of the Monsters abruptly roared to life. Before the cage could be filled with more gas, Godzilla melted the plastic walls with his radioactive breath and burst out of the containment facility.
"Birth of a Warrior!"
Dugan and Jones discovered that the S.H.I.E.L.D. base also housed a secret nuclear missile installation, with Godzilla headed straight for the missles. As Dugan used the Behemoth in an attempt to hold Godzilla off with pulsar torpedoes and other weapons, Takiguchi's mech was activated by his grandson, Rob, and in doing so accidentally made it so the machine would only respond to his brain patterns. Desperate to save Godzilla and ensure the machine would not be used to kill him, Rob stole the mech and flew it to Godzilla's location, rechristening it "Red Ronin" in the process.
Despite their best efforts, S.H.I.E.L.D. failed to prevent Godzilla from reaching the nuclear missiles, threatening to either obliterate the base or trigger World War III if one of the missiles were to be accidentally launched. Fortunately, Rob and Red Ronin arrived in the nick of time, reluctantly landing a hit on Godzilla to draw his attention away from the missiles.
"Titan Times Two!"
As the only thing standing between Godzilla and a stockpile of nuclear missiles, Rob searched Red Ronin's controls to find the means of driving him off without hurting him when he accidentally activated Red Ronin's laser sword. Seeing the blade as a threat, Godzilla attacked Red Ronin, bathing the mech in flames and threatening to burn Rob alive. Rob reduced the blade's intensity to ensure it would not hurt Godzilla and began driving him back. At the same time, Dugan received word that a child was the pilot of the machine and promptly ordered his forces to distract Godzilla in efforts to protect Rob. However, Rob instead used Red Ronin's laser sword on the Behemoth to defend Godzilla from the craft's wrath, disabling its weapons systems. Rob then activated Red Ronin's magneclamp cables, harnessed Godzilla, and flew him off site.
After shaking off his initial disorientation, Godzilla attempted to shake himself loose before melting the cables with his radioactive breath, sending both titans plummeting to Earth. Godzilla landed in the San Diego Bay, and after recovering, immediately attacked Red Ronin and nearby naval vessels. Rob was forced to battle Godzilla and finally gained the upper hand as he successfully employed several of the mech's weapons against the King of the Monsters while their fight moved into the city. However, after the Behemoth arrived on the scene, Rob used Red Ronin's weapons to keep the Helicarrier at bay. Rob then used Red Ronin to point away from the city, and Godzilla, having recognized the machine's attempts to protect him, ultimately left as instructed.
"The Fate of Las Vegas"
Days after his battle with Red Ronin, Godzilla destroyed part of Boulder Dam and was subsequently washed away when it broke open. The water eventually deposited Godzilla outside of Las Vegas, and after a brief hesitation, Godzilla decided to enter the city. Upon being shot at, Godzilla was provoked into a rampage and began destroying the city. During Godzilla's attack, the rest of Boulder Dam broke open, with the water eventually reaching the city and washing Godzilla away through the remainder of the strip, destroying what was left. Once he got back to his feet, Godzilla decided to leave the remains of the city in peace just as the Behemoth finally caught up to him.
"Godzilla vs. Yetrigar"
As the Behemoth continued trailing Godzilla through the desert, the vessel was attacked and downed by a giant man-beast known as Yetrigar, which began stalking Godzilla. Godzilla, aware that he was being hunted, finally confronted Yetrigar at the mouth of the Grand Canyon, only for Yetrigar to strike first, knocking Godzilla off-balance. However, Godzilla grabbed Yetrigar as he was falling, resulting in both monsters plummeting into the rapids below.
Within the Grand Canyon, the battle quickly escalated, with Godzilla burning Yetrigar with his radioactive breath while Yetrigar bashed Godzilla with a boulder. As they continued to bite and claw at one another, they were interrupted by the arrival of Red Ronin, who had once more been commandeered by Rob.
"Arena for Three!"
Upon arrival, Red Ronin fired rockets to break up the fight, only to be tackled by Yetrigar while Godzilla fired his radioactive breath at the machine. After Yetrigar resumed his battle with Godzilla, Red Ronin briefly restrained him, though he quickly broke free and the three-way brawl continued. Desperate to save both monsters, Rob attempted to prevent Godzilla from killing Yetrigar by firing upon him, though this only earned him Godzilla's untamed fury, forcing him to defend himself. In the process, Rob accidentally wounded Godzilla with Red Ronin's sword. After Yetrigar attacked Red Ronin, Godzilla appeared to come to the mech's defense, though in his weakened state, he struggled to keep the man-beast at bay. With Yetrigar's strength overwhelming them both, Rob reluctantly decided that the only way to stop Yetrigar was to kill him and subsequently buried the monster in a rockslide. Godzilla then acknowledged Red Ronin before departing without further incident.
"The Mega-Monsters from Beyond! Part One: The Beta-Beast!"
Shortly after destroying a freight train, Godzilla was suddenly encased in light and abruptly teleported through space to the Moon, encased in an oxygen sheath. There, he was confronted by the Beta-Beast, which quickly tackled Godzilla and assaulted him with its fire breath and poison darts. Godzilla countered with his own radioactive breath, which eventually overwhelmed his foe and allowed Godzilla to prevail. Godzilla was then frozen in place as an alien base rose from a crater built by the very same aliens who teleported Godzilla to the Moon and forced him to battle the Beta-Beast - the Betans.
The Betans revealed to Godzilla that their people have been at war with another alien race known as the Megans for centuries of Earth's time and used giant war-monsters in the conflict. Having exhausted their resources in the war, the Megans were preparing to plunder Earth for its resources and had already sent three war-monsters known as the Mega-Monsters to ravage the planet. Having now witnessed Godzilla triumph over the Beta-Beast, their most powerful war-monster, the Betans believed Godzilla to be the only thing capable of defending the Earth from the deadly alien monsters and implored him to defend Earth from the Megans. With that, the aliens sent Godzilla back to Earth just as the first Mega-Monster - Triax - arrived to attack Red Ronin just outside of Salt Lake City.
"The Mega-Monsters from Beyond! Part II: Triax"
Triax wasted no time in attacking Godzilla and Red Ronin, though both combatants held their own against the alien invader, prompting the Megans to dispatch their remaining Mega-Monsters - Rhiahn and Krollar - as Red Ronin threw Triax out of the city. Rhiahn was quick to lift Godzilla off the ground, though Godzilla freed himself and bathed his foe in flames. Triax soon returned to attack both Godzilla and Red Ronin, and the duo soon found themselves overwhelmed by their shared foes. Godzilla blasted Rhiahn with his radioactive breath, pushed Krollar back through the city, and tossed Triax into Great Salt Lake, though he proved unable to stop them for good.
As Godzilla battled Krollar again, Rhiahn used its Anterior Bio-Blades on its tail to decapitate Red Ronin, knocking Rob unconscious and deactivating the mecha. To make matters worse, the Megans fired an Energex-Ray at their monsters to increase their size and strength. The three monstrosities loomed over Godzilla, who was now forced to contend with the powerful aliens alone.
"Mega-Monsters Part III: The Super-Beasts"
Krollar immediately spat buildings at Godzilla before Rhiahn tried to continue the assault from above, only to be swatted away by Godzilla's tail. After a failed attempt to grab Krollar out of the ground, Godzilla was knocked back by Triax before Krollar retaliated with an underground attack. Witnessing Godzilla's struggle, Dugan and Jones decided to join the fray. Jones distracted Triax while Dugan distracted Rhiahn, allowing Godzilla to concentrate on Krollar. Despite Krollar's best efforts, Godzilla's strength proved superior as he stomped the monster into oblivion and eliminated the first Mega-Monster for good. Godzilla then turned his attention on Triax, who attempted to ram Godzilla in a flying ambush, only to take Godzilla's radioactive flames directly to its face and open maw, burning it alive and killing it. As Rhiahn attacked Dugan's craft, Godzilla attacked the flying beast from behind and caught Dugan in hand. While Dugan was uncertain of Godzilla's intent, the Monster King gently placed the craft on the ground, prompting Dugan to admit that he was wrong about Godzilla after all. Godzilla then reengaged Rhiahn where he forcibly grabbed the beast and used its own Anterior Bio-Blades to sever its own head. With that, Godzilla successfully thwarted the Megan invasion of Earth, saving both his home and the planet Beta in the process.
"Roam on the Range"
After discovering Godzilla on their land, a pair of cowhands assumed that the monster was to blame for recent cattle disappearances they had previously suspected to be the result of rustling. As Godzilla rested, some of the cowhands conspired to take the monster down themselves. At nightfall, Godzilla unwittingly disturbed a herd of cattle, causing them to stampede off in the direction of a cliff while the curious monster followed. To save the cattle from running off the cliff, the cowhands followed Godzilla, tied dynamite to his tail, and detonated it, causing the Monster King to abandon the cattle and begin chasing his attackers instead. The cowhands fled to their boss John Hawks' ranch, which was subsequently destroyed by Godzilla during his pursuit of the assailants.
"The Great Godzilla Roundup!"
The cowhands hid from Godzilla in a drainage ditch before the monster lost interest and moved on. Hawks, blaming Godzilla for ending his career by eating his cattle and destroying his ranch, vowed revenge and convinced other ranchers to help him stop the monster. Later that day, a large group of cowhands located Godzilla heading towards Box Canyon and triggered a rockslide to block his path, forcing him to face them. The lot struggled to wrangle Godzilla before the King of the Monsters grew tired of their fruitless antics and unleashed his radioactive fire, missing the cowboys but reopening the passage into Box Canyon. Rancher Bill Ford attempted to prevent Hawks and his men from following Godzilla by firing upon them, but was quickly forced to retreat. Hawks and his lot soon learned why Ford was so desperate to stop them when they discovered Hawks' missing cattle in the canyon; Ford had stolen the cattle and attempted to pin the blame on Godzilla. As Ford tried to shoot Hawks from atop a cliff, Godzilla knocked him off the cliff to his death, saving Hawks and allowing him to rebuild his ranch by selling off half of his rediscovered cattle.
"Of Lizards, Great and Small"
In Colorado, Godzilla stopped in uninhabited land to get some much-needed rest while S.H.I.E.L.D. met with Dr. Gladstone Hawkins, a paleontologist who sought to study the unique creature. While discussing what to do with Godzilla, Dugan had the epiphany of using Dr. Henry Pym's shrinking gas on the monster to reduce him to a more manageable size, prompting Jones to meet with the doctor in question as the others located the resting Godzilla with the repaired Behemoth. The next day, the plan was set in action, with Rob rousing Godzilla from his sleep and gaining his trust. While Rob distracted Godzilla, Jones fired the gas directly into the monster's maw, though it appeared to have no effect as Godzilla attacked the Helicarrier and grabbed Dugan in retaliation for the surprise attack. While menacing Dugan, however, Godzilla began to rapidly shrink in size, and within seconds was smaller than Dugan himself. The group briefly chased the increasingly-shrinking monster around before Hawkins caught him in a butterfly net.
"Fugitive in Manhattan!"
Aboard the Behemoth, Godzilla was kept in a small cage, though Rob began to regret his part in shrinking the monster and tried to comfort the captive beast. After arriving in New York City, Hawkins tripped and dropped Godzilla's cage, which promptly opened as a result of being tampered with by Rob, and allowed Godzilla to escape into the harbor. As the team scrabbled to relocate the monster, the tiny, lizard-sized Godzilla began exploring the city before accidentally falling into the sewers, where he encountered a rat.
The rat initiated the battle by pouncing on Godzilla and biting him, and though the King of All Monsters fought back, he struggled to stop his adversary given his current size. After taking their battle to the water, Godzilla used his radioactive fire to burn the rat alive. Godzilla then proceeded to escape from the sewers when he happened upon none other than Rob, who was relieved to finally find him - a relief that quickly turned to fear when Godzilla underwent a sudden growth spurt as the shrinking gas began wearing off.
"With Dugan on the Docks!"
Now as tall as Rob himself, Godzilla watched as Rob cautiously approached him and tried to comfort him, regaining his trust. The two then fled as Rob strived to conceal Godzilla from the prying eyes of the public, though the duo were quickly spotted and were briefly trapped in an alleyway until Godzilla burned a hole through a fence to free them. As dusk fell, Rob found a trenchcoat and hat to disguise Godzilla, who protected Rob from a pair of muggers with his radioactive fire. Soon after, Rob and Godzilla managed to make it to the docks, at which point Godzilla experienced another growth spurt, now seven feet tall as he was confronted by the Godzilla Squad.
Dugan and Jones attempted to restrain and capture Godzilla using tranquillizer darts, though their actions only antagonized him and prompted an aggressive reaction. Rather than try to deescalate the rapidly deteriorating situation, Dugan chose to give Godzilla the fight he was looking for and brawled with the monster. Jones repeatedly tried to help, but only succeeded in being thrown off the docks into the harbor. Though Dugan was able to land a few hits on Godzilla, the King of the Monsters soon bested him before retreating back further into the city, ignoring Rob's pleas to return to the Helicarrier.
"A Night at the Museum"
Godzilla continued experiencing random growth spurts as he slowly but surely began returning to his original height. At 20 feet tall, Godzilla smashed his way through a traffic jam, antagonized by the noise from cars and angry drivers. The Godzilla Squad was able to follow the trail of destruction to relocate their target when Hawkins suggested luring him to the American Museum of Natural History, which was Godzilla's intended destination for study prior to his escape. Recalling Godzilla's attraction to lights, Dugan and Jones lured Godzilla through the city to the museum as Hawkins and Takiguchi prepared the museum. Godzilla's presence in the city soon drew the attention of the Fantastic Four, who descended upon the museum just after Godzilla entered and offered to assist the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in subduing Godzilla.
Despite the Godzilla Squad's pleas to avoid antagonizing Godzilla, the Thing was enraged after being tail-whipped by the monster and launched a full assault, grabbing onto Godzilla and lifting him in the air. During the fight, Godzilla blasted the Thing with his radioactive fire, prompting the intervention of the Human Torch. As the battle escalated and began damaging nearby exhibits, Mr. Fantastic briefly restrained Godzilla while the Invisible Girl attempted to contain him in a force-field, hoping that Godzilla would pass out from a lack of oxygen, though Godzilla broke free and fled deeper into the museum. The Thing followed and continued the assault, oblivious to the fact that their brawl had led them directly to a new aquarium exhibit above a shark tank. Despite all efforts to avoid catastrophe, the Thing soon knocked Godzilla directly into the tank anyway.
"The Doom Trip!"
Hoping to rectify his error, the Thing leapt into the tank, fought off the sharks that had swarmed Godzilla, and tossed the King of the Monsters out of the tank, leaving him in a daze. Mr. Fantastic took advantage and wrapped himself around Godzilla's head, cutting off his airways and rendering him unconscious. Mr. Fantastic then offered to help S.H.I.E.L.D. find a more permanent solution to their Godzilla problem as the lot traveled to the Baxter Building with Godzilla in tow. There, Mr. Fantastic proposed his plan of using Dr. Doom's time machine on Godzilla, earning the support of the others who hoped that they could send Godzilla to a time where he would be free of humanity's constant harassment. Before long, the plan was set in motion, and the still-unconscious, 20-foot Godzilla was lowered onto the time platform and sent 900 million years into the past.
Upon awakening, Godzilla found himself in a familiar environment from long ago and began exploring his surroundings, quickly finding a sense of peace in his new home. Said peace was swiftly shattered by the arrival of a tribe known as the Lizard-Warriors with their Beasts of Strife, who sought to invade and conquer the valley. Godzilla roared out a challenge as the Lizard-Warriors unleashed two Allosaurus-like dinosaurs known as Chargers, who immediately tackled Godzilla and knocked him down the side of a mountain all while refusing to relent as they bit and clawed their foe. The trio's battle attracted the attention of the valley's protectors - Moon-Boy and Devil Dinosaur. After witnessing Godzilla slay the dinosaurs with his radioactive flame breath, Moon-Boy believed that the monster was evil and sent Devil Dinosaur to stop him for bringing conflict to their valley. Devil Dinosaur struck first and quickly overwhelmed Godzilla, but the King of the Monsters waited for the opportunity to strike back and gained the upper hand in no time. Fortunately, the arrival of the Lizard-Warriors' vast army prompted Moon-Boy to realize his error as he ran to the dueling titans, pleading for them to stop and work together to defend the valley. With Moon-Boy reminding him of Rob, Godzilla complied and stood side-by-side with Devil Dinosaur.
"The Devil and the Dinosaur!"
As the Lizard-Warriors and their Beasts of Strife swarmed into the valley, Godzilla and Devil Dinosaur did their best to repel the unwanted invaders, though their numbers soon proved overwhelming. Nevertheless, the undaunted Godzilla fought off many of the attacking dinosaurs with his radioactive breath and tossed them aside until he witnessed Devil Dinosaur flee the battlefield with Moon-Boy, who had concluded that they needed to employ a new strategy to best the vast army. At Moon-Boy's urging, Godzilla reluctantly abandoned the battle as the Lizard-Warriors gave chase, though he and Devil Dinosaur were forced to reengage the army shortly thereafter to buy Moon-Boy time to set a trap further into the valley. Eventually, the two titans led the army into the Region of the Pits, where Moon-Boy had covered several of the mysterious pits with brush. While Godzilla and Devil Dinosaur avoided the trap, the invaders fell in and were engulfed in a bright light, putting an end to their threat. However, at that time, Godzilla began growing again as the effects of the shrinking gas finally wore off completely.
Meanwhile, back in the present, as the Godzilla Squad was preparing to move out, Mr. Fantastic and the Thing discovered that Dr. Doom's time platform was inexplicably glowing, with Mr. Fantastic concluding that the machine had been affected by Godzilla's radiation. Worried that the radiation will induce a slingshot effect on the time machine and pull Godzilla back into the present at any second, Mr. Fantastic ordered the Human Torch to clear Times Square - the largest open area nearby - as quickly as possible. While the team successfully relocated the time machine, Godzilla suddenly appeared above the time machine mere moments later in the empty Times Square, now back at his full height as he nearly struck the approaching Behemoth.
"The King Once More"
With the time machine's slingshot effect leaving him disoriented and enraged, Godzilla instinctively attacked the approaching Behemoth. The Fantastic Four and S.H.I.E.L.D. conspired to lure Godzilla to the East River, navigating the Behemoth above wide streets to minimize Godzilla's destruction while sporadically firing small rockets at him anytime his attention was diverted from the Helicarrier. Despite their best efforts to contain the mayhem, pandemonium flourished in the streets while Godzilla continued to damage buildings - including J. Jonah Jameson's office at the Daily Bugle building - prompting Mr. Fantastic to send the Human Torch on a mission to summon the Avengers for further assistance.
Shortly thereafter, Iron Man, Thor, Yellowjacket, the Wasp, and the Vision arrived and convened with the Fantastic Four to confront Godzilla, who had stopped just before entering the river and evidently refused to leave the city without a fight. As the superheroes converged, Godzilla struck first and blasted the lot with his atomic breath. The Human Torch pressed onward and attempted to continue the attack alone, only to find his efforts in vain. Thor then slammed his hammer, the mighty Mjolnir, into Godzilla, causing him great pain. As the other superheroes fought on, the Wasp and Yellowjacket flew into Godzilla's ear and disrupted his center of equilibrium, causing him to lose his balance and fall into the river. Unfortunately, rather than accept defeat, Godzilla merely rose form the water upon recovering and roared another challenge at the superheroes, their efforts only succeeding in inviting further ire.
"And Lo, A Child Shall Lead Them"
Driven solely by destructive instincts in his disoriented and enraged state, Godzilla began heading deeper into the city with his sights set on the largest building that offered the potential for the greatest destruction - the Empire State Building. The Fantastic Four and the Avengers desperately sought to slow the monster down by flying around him to block his path, though they failed to sway the determined monster. After knocking the Human Torch out of the sky with his flame breath and swatting Mr. Fantastic away, Godzilla began destroying other skyscrapers and forcing the remaining heroes - including Iron Man and Thor - to focus their efforts on rescuing civilians over stopping Godzilla. With little remaining opposition, Godzilla arrived at his destination in no time and grabbed onto the side of the Empire State Building. However, Thor arrived in the nick of time and began pushing back on the building's opposite face, resulting in a brief stalemate until the building began crumbling from the weight being exerted from both sides.
In response, the recovered members of the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and S.H.I.E.L.D. launched an all-out assault on the King of the Monsters, hitting him with everything they had in a desperate attempt to get him away from the iconic structure. Godzilla, however, was unfazed by the varied assaults launched against him until Rob called out to him from the Behemoth's flight deck. At last, Godzilla's attention was diverted from the building as he withdrew to face the child. The superheroes halted their assault as Rob tearfully apologized for everything that had been done to Godzilla, even if their various efforts to stop him were for his own good. Godzilla gently took the child in his hand as Rob guided him through the streets to the river, urging Godzilla to get as far away from this city and these people as possible while the Behemoth silently followed. After returning Rob to the deck of the Helicarrier, Godzilla did as he was instructed, entering the harbor and departing the city without further incident. With a final roar, Godzilla submerged himself beneath the waves, with Rob tearfully declaring that Godzilla had left for good.
Iron Man
"The Choice and the Challenge!"
At some point following his attack on New York, Godzilla was captured by his former nemesis Dr. Demonicus and mutated to an unrecognizable extent, with further mutation constantly being threatened as punishment for misbehavior. One day while in the Pacific Ocean, Godzilla swatted an Avengers Quinjet out of the sky and onto an uncharted island, though Demonicus was greatly angered by the fact that the beast had not destroyed it completely. On reaching the shore and seeing the ship unoccupied, Demonicus discovered a native village, and ordered Godzilla to destroy it. However, Tigra, the ship's pilot, attempted to lure him away and leapt at the beast before trying to run away to divert his attention from the villagers. The monster grabbed her, but was then intercepted by a group of Avengers. Hawkeye fired an explosive-tipped arrow into Godzilla's mouth, causing the monster to drop her. The mutated monster attempted to swipe at Hawkeye, but was stopped by Tony Stark, who used an old Iron Man suit to carry him away over the ocean.
"Otherwhere!"
After the suit's boosters could no longer sustain their combined weights, Stark and the mutated Godzilla fell into the sea, with the latter losing interest and swimming away.
Iron Man #196
After abandoning Stark, Godzilla discovered his abandoned old Iron Man suit and brought it back to Demonicus' lair. There, the doctor took the beast back in and shelved his plans to take over the world with an army of mutations for the time being, now favoring the use of Stark's armor to take personal revenge on him for his interference in his schemes.
The Thing
"Devil Dinosaur: The Movie!"
The mutated Godzilla resurfaced on a desert island in the Pacific Ocean, the filming location of Devil Dinosaur: The Movie. Likely intrigued by the activity, Godzilla poked his head above the water's surface to take a peek at the island one evening, before attacking during the night. Godzilla proceeded to destroy the film set before returning to the sea.
Despite the destruction, production continued later that afternoon. As filming commenced, Godzilla arose yet again to menace the film crew. After venturing onto the beach, Godzilla approached a Devil Dinosaur animatronic that he mistook for a rival, endangering the actors still on set. The special effects director, Trimble, swung the suspended "pteradactyl" prop at him in an attempt to distract him long enough for the actors to escape from the set. However, Godzilla bit into and crushed the prop with ease, prompting Trimble to activate the robotic Devil Dinosaur and using it to buy the film's crew additional time to evacuate. The false Devil Dinosaur bit into Godzilla's leg, causing him to roar out in pain before he retaliated with a bite of his own directly into his foe's back. However, upon doing so, he was startled by the sparking animatronic and ceased his assault, retreating back into the ocean.
In the aftermath, the Thing was informed of the monster's appearance and suggested that the Fantastic Four might go looking for him.
West Coast Avengers Annual
"West Side Story!"
As Spider-Woman was taken through a computer-simulated history of the West Coast Avengers designed by Dr. Henry Pym, she witnessed a recap of the Avengers' encounter with Dr. Demonicus and the mutated Godzilla.
Mighty Avengers
"The Mighty Avengers"
When the Mole Man invaded New York City with his army of giant monsters from Monster Island, an unmutated Godzilla was among them. It is unknown what happened to Godzilla in the subsequent battle against the Avengers, as he was not seen again following the appearance of Ultron, who began killing the Mole Man's monsters until he retreated.
Abilities
Radioactive breath
Godzilla is capable to breathing a breath weapon of highly concentrated radiation resembling fire from his mouth, referred to as "flaming breath", "radioactive breath" in issue #5, or "radioactive blasts" in issue #23. Godzilla's radioactive breath is strong enough to overpower even the Human Torch.
It is unknown if Godzilla retained this ability following his mutation at the hands of Dr. Demonicus, as it is never demonstrated.
Hot breath
This was used in issue #24, when Godzilla did not feel like using his radioactive breath and blew hot air on the Daily Bugle building at J. Jonah Jameson, who had been berating him and whom he considered to be just a mere annoyance and not even worth bothering with.
Durability
Like most other incarnations of Godzilla, the Marvel Godzilla displays an impressive level of durability. Godzilla is immune to all conventional weaponry, and appears to be mostly unharmed when hit full-force by Thor's hammer Mjolnir, though it did make him feel enormous pain.
Physical abilities
Godzilla’s strength is unimaginable, being able to match Thor, who even compared Godzilla to the Midgard Serpent, whose reputation revolves around circling around the Earth and biting his own tail. Hercules, the Greek god of strength and known for handling the weight of the universe itself, struggled to hold back Godzilla when the monster tried to crush him under his foot.
Intelligence
On multiple occasions, Godzilla was shown to be capable of understanding human speech and complying with requests, and occasionally will go out of his way to rescue and protect individual humans. While Godzilla may not necessarily understand every given order, it has been established that he can sense the intent behind words, most notably demonstrated in his various interactions with Rob Takiguchi, a young boy that he shared a close bond with. Rob was even able to convince Godzilla to stand down in the midst of his battle with the combined forces of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers, with Godzilla evidently understanding and complying with Rob's pleas for him to leave humanity alone and return to the ocean for good.
Gallery
Godzilla
Godzilla with the downed S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier
Godzilla at a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility in San Diego
Godzilla vs. the Beta-Beast
The shrunken Godzilla attacking Dum Dum Dugan
Godzilla and Devil Dinosaur vs. the Lizard-Warriors' army
Godzilla vs. Thor
Godzilla vs. Thor at the Empire State Building
Godzilla vs. S.H.I.E.L.D., the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers
Spider-Man taking a picture of Godzilla as he leaves New York City
Godzilla on the cover artwork of Godzilla: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus by Junggeun Yoon
Iron Man
The mutated Godzilla in Iron Man #193
The mutated Godzilla with Dr. Demonicus in Iron Man #193
The Thing
The mutated Godzilla seeing the robotic Devil Dinosaur
The mutated Godzilla destroying the robot
West Coast Avengers Annual
The mutated Godzilla and Dr. Demonicus as seen in a computer simulation
Mighty Avengers
Godzilla in Mighty Avengers #1
Merchandise
Raymond Toys Marvel Godzilla figure
Roar
Godzilla's roar is spelled "MRAWWW" in the comic.
Trivia
- Artwork of this incarnation of Godzilla was used by Toho to create Godzilla's original trademark icon.
- Godzilla is implied to be a movie star in various Marvel titles released both before and after his titular series. For instance, The Spectacular Spider-Man #2 (1976) references Godzilla vs. Megalon by name, indicating the existence of the fictional Godzilla movie series within the Earth-616 continuity, despite Godzilla also existing as a real monster. Godzilla also appears on some form of Japanese poster in Takeshi Matsuya's dorm in X-Terminators #1 (1988), and an American poster for Gigantis, the Fire Monster hangs in Kei Kawade's room in Monsters Unleashed (vol. 3) #6 (2017). Beyond Godzilla, Ms. Marvel mockingly refers to Khadar as a "refugee from Toho Studios" in Ms. Marvel #20 (1978) and an Italian poster for Rodan is seen in the aforementioned Monsters Unleashed issue.
- Godzilla is alluded to in Marvel Comics' Transformers #3 (1984), which was initially intended to take place on Earth-616. Nick Fury laments to Dum Dum Dugan (both characters featured in Marvel's Godzilla), "Dum Dum, if that big green, fire-snortin' lizard is loose again, I quit!" However, the Marvel Transformers comics were later retconned to take place on Earth-91274 for their U.S. run and Earth-120185 for their UK run. This therefore makes these universes' Godzillas different individuals from, though evidently similar to, the Earth-616 Godzilla.
- The Marvel Godzilla's appearance reflects the American poster artwork for Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, which depicted Godzilla as green and breathing orange flames. The stereotype of Godzilla being green and breathing fire would be carried over to many other depictions of the character in both American and Japanese media, such as Hanna-Barbera's Godzilla animated TV series and the Godzilland merchandise line, as well as the television series and OVAs based on the latter. Most notably, in the 1999 Toho film Godzilla 2000: Millennium, Godzilla's skin was a dark green color and his dorsal fins were a dark purple color, while his atomic breath was orange rather than blue. These characteristics were carried over into the next film, Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, a year later, although Godzilla's skin in this film was a brighter green color and his dorsal fins were a brighter purple color.
- The backstory given for Marvel's version of Godzilla loosely reflects that of the Showa Godzilla films, in that he is said to be a prehistoric monster living deep underwater before being unleashed and both irradiated and radiologically mutated by an underwater nuclear bomb test. After first attacking Tokyo, he gradually began to be viewed over the years as the lesser of two evils as other, more malevolent monsters began to attack Japan. The comic specifies that Godzilla's first attack on Tokyo occurred in 1956 rather than 1954, reflecting the release date of Godzilla, King of the Monsters! instead of the original 1954 Japanese version of his debut film. It also makes no specific mention of any of the other monsters that Godzilla encountered in the Showa films (mainly because Marvel's contract with Toho only permitted them the comics rights to Godzilla), nor does it indicate that more than one Godzilla existed, as was the case in said films.
- The Marvel Godzilla's size in his regular form is wildly inconsistent, with him varying in scale when compared to other characters and real-world structures. In the second issue, he was depicted as being nearly the same height as the 605-foot (184-meter) tall Seattle Space Needle, while in issue #3, he was shown to be roughly as tall as the Golden Gate Bridge, which is 746 feet (227.4 meters) tall. In subsequent issues, he was shown to be about the same height as Red Ronin, who was later given an official height of 102.4 feet (31.2 meters) tall. Regardless, none of these estimates have ever been officially recognized, and the only direct estimation of Godzilla's height is provided in issue #23, where a police officer estimates him to be "ten times bigger" than his previously-seen 20-foot height.
- While the 2025 Godzilla vs. Marvel series utilizes more film-accurate designs for Godzilla, the original Marvel Godzilla design is featured on several variant homage covers.
- Multiple other characters that were similar in appearance to Godzilla would appear in Marvel Comics long after the rights to use Godzilla expired, including Leviathan, Spider-Kaiju, the American Kaiju, and one of Hallow's Eve's transformations.
External links
Notes
- ↑ In issue #23, after Godzilla returns to full size after having been shrunk by Henry Pym's shrink-gas, a police officer estimates him to be "ten times bigger" than his previously-seen 20-foot height, indicating Godzilla's full height to be 200 feet (~61 meters) if the estimation is taken literally. Godzilla's height is otherwise inconsistent throughout the series and varies dramatically when compared to real-life structures.
References
This is a list of references for Godzilla (Marvel Earth-616). These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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