The wrath of Space Godzilla is felt as he rampages across an alien planet in this issue of Godzilla Rivals, written and drawn by Matt Frank.
I remember watching Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla and the scene where SpaceGodzilla introduces himself to Godzilla for the first time by invading his home island and trapping Godzilla’s son Godzilla Jr. inside a crystalized prison.
SpaceGodzilla had made his presence earlier after he destroyed Moguera, but it was this scene that established him as a menace to society. But while his debut was epic and resulted in an epic showdown, SpaceGodzilla’s introduction was very vague.
Was he made from Mothra’s spores when she went off to space after Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) or the result of the battle between Godzilla and Biolante in Godzilla vs. Biolante (1989)?
These theories were never addressed, but Matt Frank gives SpaceGodzilla long overdue lore that finally gives the classic kaiju some personality and purpose.
After the second reading, I found parallels between this issue and the original 1954 Godzilla film. In the 1954 film, Godzilla was awakened by human arrogance and reckless use of nuclear weapons after World War II. Matt Frank calls back to those roots by pitting a slumbering SpaceGodzilla in a similar situation, but with aliens instead of humans.
On an alien planet that is having its own problems, SpaceGodzilla is the subject of a planetwide religious cult that is at odds with its government and the head of the cult plans to unleash SpaceGodzilla on their planet to answer their prayers. Eventually, albeit tragically, the entire planet finds out that SpaceGodzilla is the exact opposite of a savior.
The dialogue in this issue is a bit hard to understand because it’s written in the alien’s language and even translated, It didn’t appeal to me because it sounded biblical, which was the point, just not to my taste.
Overall this issue was fun to read and respected SpaceGodzilla in all of his glory. If you’re a Godzilla fan, this is definitely worth checking out!
Newsdesk