Godzilla Conquers the Multiverse #1 Review
Today, writer Gerry Duggan and artist Javier Garrón take us on a monstrous multiversal journey in Godzilla Conquers the Multiverse #1! A sequel to Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe and Godzilla: Infinity Roar, also from this creative team.
In my opinion, comic books can be divided into two categories. The first category is characterized by its serious narrative, characters, and dialogue. Examples include Immortal Hulk, Animal Man, and Ultimate X-Men (my beloved). The second type is purely “popcorn” entertainment; these are comic books that are essentially like an Adam Sandler movie on Sunday cable TV. This is one of those books. That’s not meant as a pejorative. On the contrary, I love dumb fun as much as anyone else. However, I think the issue misses the mark. Or maybe I’m just not a big fan of Gerry Duggan’s attempts at comedy.
Our story begins with a gathering of Watchers from neighboring realities within the multiverse. They have come together to discuss their course of action now that Knull has conquered Earth-616 with a Venomized Godzilla, believing that they should break their non-interference oath. However, when they see Doom working alone to save his reality, they back off. Here’s a quick, fun fact: Bonla is the Watcher of Earth-615. That universe is inhabited entirely by multiple Uncle Ben, and it is protected by the A-Ben-Gers, as seen in Secret Wars Too #1 way back in 2015.
In his quest to save his world, Doctor Doom has assembled his own Avengers—a motley crew consisting of Kang the Conqueror, Emma Frost, Johnny Storm, Robbie Reyes, the Punisher, Man-Thing, Miles Morales, and… Herr Kagelmacher, Latveria’s premier baker. To defeat the King of the Monsters and the King in Black, Doom searches alternate realities for a Kaiju that has proven victorious against Godzilla. That’s when one of the things I like most about crossovers happens. I love Godzilla. In general, I love tokusatsu, though I’ll admit I’m much more into Kamen Rider than any other franchise in the genre. I also love Marvel. So, what do I get out of this? Kirby’s giant monsters fighting Toho’s cinematic icons! Rodan battles Giganto, the subterranean monster famous for appearing on the cover of Fantastic Four #1. Only to be killed by a Mecha Fin Fang Foom, which was beautifully designed by Garrón to somewhat evoke the aesthetics of Showa Mecha Godzilla.
After the Mecha Fin Fang Foom pilot, an alternate Red Skull, is dispatched, the Avengers of Doom take the robot and continue their mission. To note, Spider-Man has become friends with Oleg, a little monster who seems to be a wholly original creation for the series. Clearly going to be important for later down the line. That being said, the Avengers’ quest to hunt monsters brings them to a reality in which Kumonga and Maguma are the only things left on Earth, and they are battling each other. If you’re not familiar with Maguma, watch Gorath from 1962. When Frost fails to tame Kumonga, they leave and go to an alternate Savage Land. There, they encounter Torg, the Abominable Snow-King, who is pretty much worthless in a fight. Lastly, Doom discovers a world holding a very special Kaiju, the best there is: Weapon Zilla! Who is giving Titanosaurus a hard time. Meanwhile, on Earth-616, Knull has learned of Doom’s plans and has sent a Kill Crew of Venomized heroes into the multiverse using America Chavez’s powers.
Overall, Godzilla Conquers the Multiverse #1 was a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed the Toho Kaiju cameos, and Mecha Fin Fang Foom was a highlight. I’m also excited to see more of Weapon Zilla. However, I’m not a fan of Duggan’s comedy. The dialogue doesn’t really work for me. However, I chuckled at Robbie’s failed attempt to convince the rest of the team to use Torg solely because he uses his own poop in combat. If you’re a fan of Godzilla or Toho’s tokusatsu productions, you’ll enjoy the monster action. But what about the Marvel side of things? Maybe not so much. But the series is just beginning.
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