Godzilla – a true behemoth within the realms of Geek Culture – made his first appearance in the 1954 Japanese film of the same name. Believed to be an ancient sea creature awakened and mutated by hydrogen bomb testing in the Pacific Ocean, the King of the Monsters served as an effective metaphor for the dangers of nuclear weapons.
Godzilla quickly became an overnight sensation not only in Japan but across the world as well. From 1954 through 1975 – known as the Shōwa era – Godzilla appeared in fifteen films, laying waste to Tokyo and other Japanese cities in each and every appearance. Godzilla eventually fought other monsters as time went by, slowly evolving into an antihero protector of the human race from creatures much more dangerous than himself.
In 1977, Marvel acquired the comic book rights to Godzilla and incorporated the giant lizard into the mythology of its own universe. Keeping the events of the Shōwa timeline mainly intact, Godzilla was transported from Japan to North America where S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers and an assortment of other superheroes were tasked with protecting cities across the continent from the King of the Monsters’ destructive attacks.
In the first installment of what would be a 24-issue series, Godzilla made his initial appearance in Alaska, bursting out of a giant iceberg floating off the coast. After the behemoth destroys a section of the Alaskan Pipeline, a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier under the command of Dum-Dum Dugan arrives but its impressive firepower is no match for Godzilla.
Nick Fury heads to Alaska as well, escorting a trio of Japanese nationals who are familiar with Godzilla. The group includes Dr. Yuriko Takiguchi, a scientist who witnessed Godzilla’s first appearance decades earlier. After years of research, he has devised a way to stop the King of the Monsters. Until the device is operational, however, the responsibility for keeping tabs on Godzilla and ensuring the safety of the country falls on the shoulders of Dum-Dum Dugan.
Godzilla retreated back into the Pacific Ocean after his initial assault on Alaska, and issue two of Marvel’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters – entitled “Seattle Under Siege” – opens with the behemoth reemerging in the Emerald City’s Elliott Bay. A foreman at the dock raises the alarm but S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Gabe Jones has likewise spotted Godzilla surfacing from the ocean depths. S.H.I.E.L.D. had sent agents up-and-down the Pacific coastline, and although the King of the Monsters was further south than expected, the espionage agency is ready to act.
While Dum-Dum Dugan waits in the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier for his reconnaissance troops to return, Dr. Yuriko Takiguchi recites the history of Godzilla. Initially awakened by an underwater hydrogen bomb test, the creature headed towards Japan and quickly toppled large slices of Tokyo.
“It was not the last such time he employed violence,” Takiguchi continues. “The city was destroyed repeatedly – as was nearly every other city in Japan. But worse than that, the same blast apparently freed more prehistoric creatures, perhaps similarly imprisoned in some sort of sub-oceanic pocket of suspended animation. There are documented incidents of Godzilla battling any number of bizarre, and probably mutated, behemoths. Often, the lesser of two evils has seemed a blessing.”
In the mind of Takiguchi’s grandson Robert, however, Godzilla is not only a “blessing” but misunderstood “hero” as well. Although Dr. Takiguchi has designed a weapon to stop Godzilla, Robert asserts that the King of the Monsters should not be killed but protected instead.
For Dum-Dum Dugan, Robert’s outburst is irrelevant as his current job is to protect the city of Seattle and buy the time needed for Takiguchi’s weapon to become operational. Gabe Jones, meanwhile, informs his superior officer that their earlier attempt to stop Godzilla in Alaska has only made the situation more dire. “Blasting him with that laser cannon was probably the worst move we could’ve made,” Jones explains. “It’s only driven him berserk with pain, and Seattle is stuck with pickin’ up the tab.”
Gabe Jones is unfortunately correct in his assessment as Godzilla makes his way further into the Emerald City as night falls on the state of Washington. The King of the Monsters destroys a bevy of helicopters the city has deployed against him with a single blast of radioactive flames, forcing the police to order the immediate evacuation of downtown Seattle.
Godzilla is apparently attracted to any light in the darkness, and the most visible light in Seattle is also its most treasured landmark – the Space Needle. In the restaurant at the top of the superstructure, the maitre’d relies the message to evacuate but before a calm and orderly retreat from the Space Needle can be organized, Godzilla’s eye appears in a window and the diners immediately panic instead.
By now Dum-Dum Dugan and his troops have arrived, and although they have no means of subduing Godzilla, there is a plan to distract him nonetheless. It involves shutting off all power within Seattle, however, and bureaucratic red-tape has delayed the city council from authorizing the measure. With time running out for those trapped inside the Space Needle, Dugan ignores political protocol and orders Gabe Jones to destroy the now-evacuated power station, plunging Seattle into total darkness.
Godzilla had ignited a small fire on the top of the Space Needle, but Dugan has something more enticing to attract the King of the Monsters – a chain of small S.H.I.E.L.D. aircrafts that light one-by-one, leading Godzilla away from the city and to a cliff overseeing the Pacific Ocean. While Godzilla follows the bait to the cliff, he is not willing to jump into the ocean despite the presence of another S.H.I.E.L.D. craft in the distance.
Dum-Dum Dugan had already planned for such a glitch and the much larger helicarrier suddenly appears, blinding and disorienting Godzilla with it more powerful beams of light. On the cliff itself, meanwhile, additional S.H.I.E.L.D. agents launch sixteen “inertia-blocks” at the King of the Monster which compress, implode and then explode on impact.
Caught off balance, Godzilla tumbles off the cliff and into the Pacific Ocean. Dugan and his fellow S.H.I.E.L.D. agents hold their breath as they wait to see what his next move will be – thankfully the King of the Monsters heads further into the ocean as opposed to back to shore, and the threat against Seattle disappears in his wake.
While Dum-Dum Dugan celebrates the success of their mission – “ain’t every day we get to save a whole blamed city” – Gabe Jones has conflicting emotions. “Somehow, after seeing that thing blinded… confused like that… and what we did to it,” Jones says to Dugan, “Well, I guess I just don’t feel like of the good guys this time.”
In the closing panels, meanwhile, young Robert Takiguchi silently agrees. “They still have much to learn,” he reflects. “They actually believed Godzilla wished to harm them, that he would turn back on them once he had found the sea. They just don’t understand him… but I do. And that is why I am Godzilla’s only hope.”
Anthony Letizia