Godzilla Rivals (2021-2024)

IDW Godzilla Rivals #1 • #2 • #3 • #4 • #5 • #6 • #7 • #8 • #9 • #10 • #11 • #12 • #13 • #14 • #15 • #16

Godzilla Rivals (ゴジラ：ライバルズ,   Gojira: Raibaruzu, lit. "Godzilla: Rivals") is a quarterly series of one-shot comics by IDW Publishing which began on June 30, 2021, and concluded on November 20, 2024. The series' 16 issues vary between pitting various kaiju against Godzilla and pitting two kaiju other than Godzilla against each other; though most feature existing characters, the ninth issue uniquely saw SpaceGodzilla fighting an original kaiju, Singura. Rivals is the longest-running American Godzilla comic. Due to its irregular publishing schedule, several other series contain more issues; however, as each installment of Rivals is twice the length of a standard comic issue, it is also the Godzilla comic with the highest page count.

Saldapress published an Italian translation of Rivals' first four issues from June to September 2022, while Phase Six has brought the series to Japan in trade paperback form.

Issues

• 
  Vs. Hedorah
• 
  Vs. Mothra
• 
  Vs. King Ghidorah
• 
  Vs. Battra
• 
  Vs. Gigan
• 
  Rodan Vs. Ebirah
• 
  Mothra Vs. Titanosaurus
• 
  Biollante Vs. Destoroyah
• 
  Vs. SpaceGodzilla
• 
  Vs. Mechagodzilla
• 
  Jet Jaguar Vs. Megalon
• 
  Mothra Vs. M.O.G.U.E.R.A.
• 
  Mothra Vs. Hedorah
• 
  Vs. Manda
• 
  Mechagodzilla Vs. King Ghidorah
• 
  King Ghidorah Vs. SpaceGodzilla

Italian release

• 
  Godzilla #20
  (Vs. Hedorah)
• 
  Godzilla #21
  (Vs. Mothra)
• 
  Godzilla #22
  (Vs. King Ghidorah)
• 
  Godzilla #23
  (Vs. Battra)

Trade paperbacks

A trade paperback collecting the series' first four issues, entitled Godzilla Rivals: Round One (ゴジラ：ライバルズ ROUND1,   Gojira: Raibaruzu Raundo Wan), was originally slated to be released on October 4, 2022 but was delayed to January 3, 2023, then again to March 7, and then moved back up to January 24. Phase Six released a translated version in Japan on October 31, 2022, while a variant cover by Matt Frank was made available exclusively through the Godzilla Store that November 3. The contents of Round One will be republished in English again as part of the Godzilla Library Collection, Vol. 7 paperback in October 2026, along with Godzilla: Rage Across Time and Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons.

• 
  Godzilla Rivals: Round One
• 
  Round One
  Japanese cover
• 
  Round One Japanese limited cover
• 
  Round One Godzilla Store-exclusive cover by Matt Frank
• 
  Godzilla Library Collection, Vol. 7

Godzilla Rivals: Round Two (ゴジラ：ライバルズ ROUND2,   Gojira: Raibaruzu Raundo Tsū), collecting the next four issues, was released in the U.S. on October 24, 2023. Phase Six published a Japanese translation of the paperback on June 30.

• 
  Godzilla Rivals: Round Two

Godzilla Rivals: Round Three, collecting the next four issues, was published in the U.S. on August 20, 2024. An IDW online exclusive hardcover edition of the volume, featuring a textless cover, was also released.

• 
  Godzilla Rivals: Round Three
• 
  Godzilla Rivals: Round Three Hardcover Exclusive

Godzilla Rivals: Round Four, collecting the final four issues of the series, was published in the U.S. on May 6, 2025.

• 
  Godzilla Rivals: Round Four

Gallery

• 
  Original Round One trade paperback cover featuring Gigan by E.J. Su
• 
  Original Round One trade paperback cover inks
• 
  Textless Round One trade paperback final art, with Battra replacing Gigan
• 
  Textless Round Two trade paperback art by E.J. Su
• 
  Textless Round Three trade paperback art by E.J. Su

In other languages

Language Name Meaning Japanese ゴジラ：ライバルズ (Gojira: Raibaruzu) Godzilla: Rivals Italian Godzilla - Rivali Godzilla - Rivals

Trivia

• Godzilla Rivals: Vs. Gigan was originally announced as the fourth installment of the series, but was repeatedly delayed until after Godzilla Rivals: Vs. Battra, which was intended to be the fifth. Because of this, Godzilla Rivals: Round One was originally solicited with Vs. Gigan included, as reflected by E.J. Su's original cover art, which featured Gigan. Following the restructuring of the series, the trade paperback cover was updated to replace Gigan with Battra.
• Strangely, the cover of Godzilla Rivals: Round Three prominently features King Caesar, who never appears in the series. Meanwhile, MOGUERA, who starred in Godzilla Rivals: Mothra Vs. M.O.G.U.E.R.A., is completely absent from the cover.
• The monsters Hedorah, Gigan, Megalon, Jet Jaguar, and Mechagodzilla have been featured in issues that were released on their respective 50th anniversaries.
• Godzilla and Mothra are the only two monsters to have appeared in every "Round" of the series' collection into trade paperback.
• Godzilla Rivals: Mothra Vs. Titanosaurus, Mothra Vs. M.O.G.U.E.R.A., and Mothra vs. Hedorah are the only issues in which Godzilla does not appear in any capacity, although he is referenced in Mothra Vs. M.O.G.U.E.R.A..
• The first six issues of this series each take place in a different decade, although this conceit was abandoned as the series went on. In all, at least one issue takes place in every decade from the 1970s to the 2030s.

References

This is a list of references for Godzilla Rivals. 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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