(Originally posted on
In my youth, Marvel Comics shoehorned Godzilla, King of the Monsters into the Marvel Universe. I’m not kidding. Godzilla was, for a brief time, a character in the Marvel Universe. Written by Doug Moench and penciled by Herb Trimpe, the comic lasted two years. Two years of awesome.
How the hell did this happen, you might ask. Apparently someone at Marvel noticed the popularity of the Showa Era Godzilla movies. This same someone convinced Marvel to buy the U.S. rights for Godzilla. Somewhere along the line, the same entities incorporated Godzilla into the Marvel Universe. I can only assume these entities were taking controlled substances.
Godzilla fought SHIELD, The Fantastic Four, Avengers and The Champions (now defunct,) while rampaging across America. If that sounds bizarre and cool at the same time, the Big G also duked it out with Devil Dinosaur in an alternate prehistoric past. (Having Jack Kirby pencil those comics is the only way to make that cooler.)
Don’t think that Godzilla contained only Marvel character cameos. The comics crafted a few unique characters and monsters which manage to survive in the Marvel Universe to this day. Doctor Demonicus (you have to love that name) and Red Ronin. Demonicus is a loony scientist who specializes in mutating creatures and making giant monsters (who could have guessed?) Red Ronin is a giant samurai robot built to fight Godzilla. Red Ronin has since shown up in a couple of comics, including one in which the Avengers had to take it down before it started a nuclear war.
If all of this sounds like some kind of fanboy fiction mash-up, well, it kinda is. I assume Marvel wanted to cash in on Godzilla popularity while incorporating their own characters. In a bizarre, 70s way, it actually works. 70s Marvel comics got very weird and this isn’t even close to the strangest comics of that decade.
Technically, Godzilla is still part of the Marvel Universe, but they lost the rights to the character and had him ‘mutated’ by Demonicus. I think the unofficial name now is “Don’tSueUsTohoasaurus” or something. They changed him enough to avoid legal action but still milk a few old fanboy bucks.
This series is cheesy. It’s crazy. I still love it. Amidst the strangeness are a few scenes that rise above the common cheese. There’s the Devil Dinosaur versus Godzilla fight, of course. However, the scene Trimpe did with Hercules (yes, that Hercules) and Godzilla sticks with me to this day. Angel (of the X-Men, although with the Champions at the time) is unconscious and Godzilla is about to step on him. Hercules runs beneath G’s foot, lifts, and throws Godzilla on his back! As a kid, that one scene alone probably sped up puberty by a few months.
There are also the conventions one expects from Godzilla. He fights other monsters, aliens, alien monsters and a giant Sasquatch. Yes, a giant Sasquatch. Suck that, D.C.! There are also the issues where Godzilla is shrunk by Pym Particles down to the size of a rat and runs around in the New York sewers. Told you it’s weird.
Marvel has a collected edition of all 24 issues. Go check them out. Preferably after taking controlled substances.
