Yetrigar
Yetrigar is a giant mutant man-beast who first appeared in the tenth issue of the 1977-1979 Marvel comic series Godzilla.
Awakened and mutated by underground nuclear tests, Yetrigar encountered Godzilla in Arizona and battled the King of the Monsters in the Grand Canyon. The battle was further escalated by the arrival of Red Ronin, with pilot Rob Takiguchi desperate to break up the fight and protect both monsters.
Design
Yetrigar's appearance is that of a brown, hairy humanoid with a ferocious face. Long strands of hair fall from his head, distinct from the rest of his body fur.
Personality
Though he may once have been a peaceful creature as Rob Takiguchi speculated, Yetrigar was driven mad by the radiation that mutated him and attacked anything in sight with berserk fury.
Origins
Yetrigar was originally a human-sized hairy man-beast of legend who had become encased in a glacial tomb in the ancient past. Underground nuclear tests not only thawed the creature, but caused him to grow dramatically in size.
Selected history
- Godzilla #10-12 (1978)
Godzilla
"Godzilla vs. Yetrigar"
An underground nuclear test in Arizona conducted by the U.S. Department of Defense had unforeseen side effects. The radiation from the test was channeled into an underground rift, a subterranean passage stretching from Arizona to Alberta, Canada. In Alberta, the radiation came to fill an ice cave, within which a hairy, near-human creature was encased in a glacial tomb, one of the legendary Sasquatches. The Sasquatch was freed from the ice by the radioactivity and revived. The newly revived monster was pained by the continuing effects of the radiation on his body. His mind filled with rage, the Sasquatch turned south, towards where he instinctively sensed the source of his affliction originated. As he strode southward, however, the radiation began to make the man-monster start to grow.
The giant Sasquatch encountered S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Godzilla Squad as they were tracking Godzilla in the Arizona desert. Hurling a huge boulder at the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier Behemoth, Yetrigar put S.H.I.E.L.D. out of the hunt, and began to track their monstrous quarry himself. Yetrigar ambushed Godzilla at the rim of the Grand Canyon, causing both monsters to topple into the natural wonder. From there, the battle quickly escalated until Rob Takiguchi arrived within the massive mech known as Red Ronin to try to break up the fight.
"Arena for Three!"
Upon arrival, Red Ronin fired rockets to break up the fight, only to be tackled by Yetrigar. 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, though the resulting skirmish only weakened both combatants while leaving Yetrigar with the upper hand. After Yetrigar again 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 which seemingly killed the man-beast.
"The Mega-Monsters from Beyond! Part One: The Beta-Beast!"
The Betan aliens were revealed to have been watching Godzilla and Yetrigar's battle while in search of a new war-beast to defend the planet, though the arrival of Red Ronin forced them to retreat before they could determine the victor. They subsequently learned that Godzilla defeated Yetrigar and abducted the King of the Monsters.
Abilities
Strength
Yetrigar possessed immeasurable strength that was capable of overwhelming both Godzilla and Red Ronin combined. The beast was also able to down the gigantic Helicarrier known as the Behemoth with ease by hurling a massive boulder at it.
Gallery
Trivia
- Yetrigar went on to appear in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #32 (1988), in which he was revealed to have survived being buried and ran afoul of the titular superhero team while they vacationed at the Grand Canyon. He was subdued after a long battle by the size-changing Dr. Hank Pym/Yellowjacket, who then used his shrinking gas to reduce Yetrigar down to a manageable size for capture. Yetrigar later appeared in Avengers Spotlight #26 (1989), in which he had a brief cameo as a prisoner of the Vault.
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