Godzilla vs. America: Chicago (2025)
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Godzilla vs. America: Chicago, internally titled Godzilla vs. Chicago, is the first issue of IDW Publishing's anthology comic series Godzilla vs. America. At 48 pages long, it includes four separate stories from different authors, all involving Godzilla in the American city of Chicago, Illinois. It was published on February 26, 2025.
Description
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NEW SERIES DEBUT!
Godzilla is coming to America, and its first stop? CHICAGO! Join a star-studded crew of Chicago comics creators through four epic stories across the Windy City. The L train experiences its worst delays yet, Godzilla interrupts a major sporting event, and a new Chicago-based superhero reaches the end of her rope. This issue features a superstar lineup of creators including Tim Seeley (The Local Man, Grayson), Mike Costa (God is Dead), Ryan Browne (Eight Billion Genies, Curse Words), Caroline Cash (PeePee PooPoo Comics), and Ezra Clayton Daniels (Upgrade Soul, BTTM FDRS)! Join us at the start of a new anthology series that follows Godzilla across the United States! |
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Plot
"Godzilla Does Chicago"
Fangoolie the Fan Man was once a paraglider renowned for dropping into sporting events with a giant fan strapped to his back. After the wind blew him into the path of the football that would have scored a game-winning field goal, costing Chicago's football team the NFC Championship Game, he became a outcast, and now works as a janitor. In a desperate bid to regain his social standing, he steals the keys to Mechagodzilla, which his employer has stored in an underground hanger to defend the Windy City against Godzilla. Fangoolie emerges at the helm of Mechagodzilla in downtown Chicago. As the machine is usually piloted by multiple people, he practices on its controls by obliterating the nursing home where his ex-girlfriend works and crushing his neighbor's beloved car. He then walks Mechagodzilla to the football stadium, where he plans to stage an attack which he will foil as the Fan Man using the machine's self-destruct. Just then, Godzilla emerges from Lake Michigan. He wastes little time pummeling Mechagodzilla as the football fans cheer. Fangoolie returns fire with Mechagodzilla's breath weapon, knocking a tooth out of Godzilla's mouth that crashes into the office of a dentist who killed his partner to secure the tallest practice in the world. Drunk on power, Fangoolie misses Godzilla with Mechagodzilla's eye laser and instead cleaves a building in half. Godzilla retaliates with his atomic breath, knocking off Mechagodzilla's head and leaving Fangoolie face-to-face with the King of the Monsters. He deploys a parachute to make his escape as the crowd jeers, announcing that he plans to save them from both giants. Before he can activate the self-destruct, however, Godzilla vaporizes his parachute, sending him crashing into the Lollapalooza. In the aftermath of the incident, he is arrested for the murder of thousands and the mayor bans all fans.
"Blue Line Sign"
A college student riding the Chicago "L" train, Jessie, tallies good omens as she works up the courage to ask out an art student Cameron Crowley, who she went to high school with. News reports from a fellow passenger's phone warn of seismic activity in Lake Michigan, a surge of radioactivity, and a military helicopter sortie. Just before she can open her mouth, the reporter hollers that Godzilla is attacking Chicago - and he's right outside the train. She tackles Cameron to the ground as his tail sheers off the top of the train car. They find that the emergency brake was tripped, but the driver was decapitated, and resolve to drive the train forward themselves. Godzilla, assailed with missiles, follows the train car to deter the helicopters from attacking. With her extensive knowledge of the line, Jessie determines that they won't return underground for another three stops. As Godzilla charges his atomic breath, she increases speed, determined to take more chances in life. As soon as the train disappears from sight, the helicopters fire, interrupting Godzilla's attack. Their fellow passengers celebrate; Cameron, recognizing her and caught up in the moment, asks her on a date. Jessie deems it a terrible sign that the first time they talked coincided with a Godzilla attack, then decides to discard her superstition and kiss him.
"Chi Godzilla"
After losing a battle in space to a giant amoeba, Godzilla crash-lands in rural Illinois and makes a beeline for Chicago, the closest major power center, to recharge for a rematch. At a community meeting on the crisis, Alderman Allan Gaines, representing Cottage Grove Heights, proposes luring Godzilla to his own ward with searchlights to avoid damage to downtown. When Terrence, one of his constituents, asks what will happen to Cottage Grove's residents, Gaines simply resolves to "rebuild even better." The plan is approved as Godzilla enters the city. Driving home, Terrence explains to his grandmother that Gaines plans to have Godzilla level the ward so he can sell the land to his developer friends, which he's been trying to do for years. Gaines himself doesn't live in the ward, instead residing in well-off Lake Forest. He arrives in Cottage Grove Heights to find his outraged neighbors preparing to evacuate. One neighbor is a snowplow driver who the city has called to help carry out Gaines's plan, giving Terrence an idea. As downtown Chicago shuts off its power, the snowplows deploy their searchlights and start driving - towards Lake Forest. Godzilla follows. Buses evacuate the residents, with Terrence personally seeing Gaines and his bickering allies to safety. As Godzilla trains his atomic breath on Gaines's house and surges with power, Terrence dryly tells him, "I'm sure you'll rebuild even better."
"Godzilla Versus Chicago"
Godzilla comes ashore in Chicago, to the delight of the city's #1 Godzilla fan and the terror of everyone else. Wrigley Field is leveled; Lori Lightfoot is missing; a hot dog stand closes early for the day. One woman, walking past an electronics store whose display TVs are all reporting on the crisis, remains oblivious. Bored, she wanders into an empty convenience store. The clerk explains there's an evacuation order, which she mistakes as a tornado warning. She asks to sample a Giant Woman Energy Drink on sale, which promptly turns her into a giant, bursting through the store's roof. She's amazed that the drink actually works as advertised - but she's also completely naked, so she wraps herself in a Chicago flag. Distracted by thoughts of her limitless prospects at a local lesbian bar, she suddenly finds herself standing next to Godzilla. He's confused, but soon resumes leveling Chicago. Realizing that the monster's rampage will destroy "not just the Loop, but also the parts of the city I like," she finishes the energy drink and surges to a even greater height than the King of the Monsters. She picks him up and carries him across Lake Michigan, leaving him to ravage Indiana.
Appearances
"Godzilla Does Chicago"
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"Blue Line Sign"
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"Chi Godzilla"
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"Godzilla Versus Chicago"
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Gallery
Covers
Cover A by Ryan Browne
Cover B by Tim Seeley
"Browne Full Art B&W" 1:10 retailer incentive cover by Ryan Browne
Textless Cover RI (1:50)
Scans
Textless previews
Trivia
- Fangoolie's name and appearance are based on the Chicago-area horror host Svengoolie, while the incident which leads to his infamy—inteference with the path of a ball in a semifinal playoff game—evokes Steve Bartman.
- Cover A features a person dumping liquid from a bus off of the Kinzie Street Bridge, referencing a real-life incident in which a tour bus for Dave Matthews Band dumped 800 pounds of human waste off of the bridge.
- Although it is the third-most populous city in the United States, Godzilla only visited Chicago twice in official media prior to this issue, likely due to its great distance from any ocean. Those visits took place in the picture book Godzilla Discovers America and episode 30 of Godzilla: The Series, "Metamorphosis". Series composer Michiru Oshima also wrote the piece "Godzilla vs. Chicago" for the Kaiju Crescendo concert held in 2019 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, Illinois.
- Surprisingly, none of the stories in this issue reference G-Fest, the unofficial Godzilla convention which has been held in Chicago or its suburbs almost every year since 1994. Rosemont, the convention's current location, is partially visible on a list of stops for the "L" train in "Blue Line Sign".
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