Godzilla (Marvel comic, 1977–1979)
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Godzilla, also called Godzilla, King of the Monsters on its covers, is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics. Placing Godzilla into the context of the greater Marvel Universe of Earth-616, the series documents the monster's trek across the United States as he is tracked by S.H.I.E.L.D. and encounters characters such as the Champions, the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers.
Information
This series described the adventures and confrontations of Godzilla while he wandered in various regions of the United States, from Alaska to New York City.
The series told original stories and attempted to both fit into the official Toho continuity at the time and, at the same time, avoid referencing it too directly. It also integrated Godzilla into the Marvel Universe of Earth-616, making use of many of its main regular characters, such as the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. It was published from 1977 to 1979, neatly fitting between the Showa era and the Heisei era.
The general situations of the series were fairly similar to those of the Showa-era films, but other than Godzilla himself, all of its monsters were new creations. Likewise, the JSDF was absent, but S.H.I.E.L.D. effectively filled its role in the story.
Issues
Reprints
On March 29, 2006, Marvel reprinted the series in black-and-white as a trade paperback in its Essential Marvel line.[1] The company reprinted the first issue of the series on June 26, 2024, with a foil variant cover also offered. A hardcover book in its Marvel Omnibus line reprinted the series again, this time in color and on higher-quality paper, on October 1, 2024.
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Essential Godzilla -
Godzilla #1 Facsimile Edition -
Godzilla: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus jacket cover by Junggeun Yoon -
Godzilla: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus textless jacket art by Junggeun Yoon -
Godzilla: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Direct Market exclusive first issue variant jacket by Herb Trimpe -
Godzilla: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Direct Market exclusive fourth issue variant jacket by Herb Trimpe -
Godzilla: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus book cover by Herb Trimpe -
Godzilla: The Original Marvel Years inside cover by Herb Trimpe
2024 Godzilla Variant Covers for other Marvel comics
Ahead of the Marvel Omnibus reprint of Godzilla, Marvel Comics announced "Godzilla Variant Covers"[2] for 21 of its other titles, most of which were released in September 2024.[3]
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Daredevil (vol. 8) #13 cover by Nick Bradshaw -
Exceptional X-Men #1 cover by Leinil Francis Yu -
Fantastic Four (vol. 7) #25 cover by Greg Land -
Immortal Thor #15 cover by Jonas Scharf -
Miles Morales: Spider-Man (vol. 2) #24 cover by Romy Jones -
Scarlet Witch (vol. 4) #4 cover by Mitsuhiro Arita -
Spider-Boy (vol. 2) #11 cover by Lee Garbett -
Captain America (vol. 11) #13 cover by Phil Noto -
Spider-Gwen: The Ghost Spider #5 cover by InHyuk Lee -
Vengeance of the Moon Knight (vol. 2) #9 cover by Taurin Clarke -
Avengers (vol. 9) #18 cover by Ario Anindito -
Dazzler (vol. 3) #1 cover by Elizabeth Torque -
Deadpool (vol. 10) #6 cover by Paco Medina -
Incredible Hulk (vol. 5) #17 cover by Andrei Bressan -
Venom (vol. 5) #37 cover by Dave Wachter -
X-Men (vol. 7) #4 cover by Chris Samnee -
Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #58 cover by Leo Romero -
Avengers Annual (vol. 6) #1 cover by Pete Woods -
Phoenix #3 cover by Rickie Yagawa -
Uncanny X-Men (vol. 6) #2 cover by David Baldeon -
Wolverine (vol. 2) #2 cover by Roge Antonio
Appearances
Gallery
Scans
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Artwork used to announce the Marvel comic book series -
Godzilla's first appearance in the U.S. -
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Godzilla with the downed S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier -
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Godzilla at a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility in San Diego -
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Godzilla vs. the Beta-Beast -
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Godzilla vs. Thor -
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Godzilla vs. Thor at the Empire State Building -
Godzilla vs. S.H.I.E.L.D., the Fantastic Four and the Avengers -
Spider-Man takes a picture of Godzilla as he leaves New York City -
Trivia
- Marvel's Godzilla introduced Godzilla's trademark icon, which would be used in almost every piece of official Toho Godzilla media to follow. Toho would also later create trademark icons for most of their other monsters.
- At 24 issues in length, Marvel's Godzilla remained the longest-running Godzilla comic book series of all time until 2015, when IDW's Godzilla: Rulers of Earth surpassed it by one issue.
- Dark Horse's later Godzilla comic series shared the same title as Marvel's, but only lasted 17 issues numbered 0 to 16.
- With the Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong collaboration comic book in 2023, Godzilla has appeared in the universes of both DC and Marvel Comics.
- Dave Watcher's Godzilla Variant Cover for Venom (vol. 5) #37 features a "Venomized" Godzilla. The Venom Symbiote would later combine with Godzilla in two separate Marvel titles, both released in 2025; Godzilla vs. Marvel (specifically Godzilla vs. Spider-Man) and Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe.
- The Avengers Annual (vol. 6) #1 Godzilla Variant Cover features a Mechagodzilla/Iron Man hybrid mech utilizing elements of the former's Showa design while also bearing similarities to the Hulkbuster armor. Illustrator Pete Woods provided his own backstory for the creation, positing that Tony Stark salvaged Mechagodzilla and modified it to create a new giant suit for himself.[4]
- Coincidentally, Godzilla vs. Hulk would go on to feature two Mechagodzilla units (also utilizing Mechagodzilla's Showa design) which were said to have been "rebuilt" by Stark, suggesting a similar backstory of Stark recovering and modifying the mechs rather than creating them himself. Unlike Woods' cover, however, the Mechagodzilla designs in that comic are largely identical to their film counterparts.
External links
- Godzilla comic series on the Marvel Database
- Godzilla comic series on the Complete Marvel Reading Order
References
This is a list of references for Godzilla (Marvel comic). 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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