Despite being a life-long G-fan, I didn't buy this series (written by Doug Moench and drawn by Herb Trimpe) when it was new. I did buy the first and last issues years later, but didn't feel the need to collect the series as backissues. When I had the opportunity to buy the "Essential" version, I snapped it up and tried to read it, but the b&w art didn't appeal to me. Deep down I think I was waiting for the right format to come along, and now it has. I think part of my reluctance to read this series stemmed from my aversion to comic books based on TV or movies (and vice versa). But one of my favorite comics from that era was Marvel's Planet of the Apes (the b&w magazine, not the comic book), which was also written by Moench (with some of the later chapters draw by Trimpe). I should have trusted Moench to "Marvelize" the franchise, not that Marvel's POTA was set in the Marvel Universe as their Godzilla was, only that it had a certain "Marvel Comics" flavor. (I'm referring here to the "Terror on the Planet of the Apes" serial, not the movie adaptations.)
Apart from a rare (because of rights issues) appearance of the Champions in #3, the first two thirds of this 24-issue series is little more than a "monster of the month" showcase with a decidedly juvenile angle (although I'm sure that was the intention). Characterization is provided by a large cast of characters, including SHIELD and a Japanese expert, his son and his assistant. His assistant provides a romantic angle with SHIELD agent Jimmy Woo, and his 12-year-old son comes to operate the giant robot "Red Ronin" (in that respect, it it very much like Johnny Socko and his Flying Robot). It is clear that Marvel's licensing agreement with Toho included only Godzilla, but Moench and Trimpe designed several Toho-esque monsters early on, such as Batragon, Ghilaron, Lepirax, Centipor, Yetrigar, and others. (Also, Red Ronin bears a striking to Jet Jaguar as well.)
The series concludes with a rip-roarin' eight-parter which draws it much closer to the Marvel Universe proper. First, Henry Pym's shrink gas reduces Godzilla to the size of a rat. But as the gas wears off, the monster grows from issue to issue. Next, is grows to four-foot size and battles mano-a-mano with SHIELD agents in the streets of New York City. After that, the Fantastic Four pitch ion to help as the monster grows to 20 feet. Using Dr. Doom's time machine, they send Godzilla to the "Lost Valley" of Moonboy and Devil Dinosaur. But the effect is temporary and Godzilla returns to the present. By this time Godzilla has regained full size. The Avengers join the Fantastic Four (also Spider-Man makes a cameo appearance) in getting rid of him for good.
Red Ronin later appeared in Avengers #198-199, which I invariably skip when re-reading Avengers. I last read it in conjuction with Richard Mantle's "And There Came ANOTHER Day..." discussion in 2019 (pp. 183-184). I used to think Red Ronin was a Shogun Warrior. I have less use for comics based on toys (with the the possible exception of Micronauts) than I do for comics based on movies or TV, so I never paid Avengers #198-199 much attention. In that two-parter, a mentally unbalanced renegade SHIELD scientist takes control of the Red Ronin robot with the intention of alliviating his fears of World War III by instigating it. What can I say? He was insane. Read more about it in Richard's discussion linked above.
In Godzilla's last appearance in the Marvel Universe (that I know of), Iron Man #193-194, he appeared "in disguise." Marvel's licensing agreement with Toho had long since lapsed, so they had to alter Godzilla's appearance (by giving him horns, webbed hands and altering his dorsal fins) to avoid copyright infringement, explaining he was "mutated" by Dr. Demonicus. At the time (1985) I had no idea this was supposed to be Godzilla. I didn't find out for some time, and when I did I still didn't know the purpose of this story. Maybe I'll find out when it appears in "Masterworks" format in a year or two. The only footnote in the issue refers to Shogun Warrior #14, which explains my confusion surrounding Red Ronin. When I first bought the Godzilla omnibus I thought these issues of Avengers and Iron Man maybe should have been included, but now that I've reread them I see that Marvel made the right call.
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