These Marvel Godzilla vs. one shots have been fun yet a little shallow. These comics offer fun skirmishes between the King of the Monsters and a Marvel hero or team. They don’t go any deeper than that, and the same can be said with Godzilla vs. Thor by Jason Aaron and Aaron Kuder. Nonetheless, the creative team elevates the material to a much higher standard than the previous one-shots, imbuing the comic with mythological storytelling that feels like it came directly from ancient times. Godzilla has never appeared as evil as has in this issue, and Thor has never come across as heroic.
Aaron writes Godzilla vs. Thor as a tale of two gods, the classic trope of an indomitable force meets immovable object. Kuder’s pencils are the strongest within Marvel’s recent Godzilla comics, containing his trademark attention to detail. Both lead characters look amazing in the comic, and Thor’s thunder is suitably epic. The colors from Jesus Aburtov are sublime, making everything pop, with Thor’s lightning sparking out of the pages themselves. Godzilla vs. Thor is mostly an all-out brawl between the God of Gods and the King of Monsters, yet when they look and read as amazing as this, it boosts the comic into one of Marvel’s best.
Godzilla vs. Thor Is Legendary
Right off the bat, Aaron establishes his Godzilla credentials by having the comic be a continuation of one of the best Godzilla films from Toho, Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. The 2001 film notoriously featured the most malicious Godzilla in the franchise, one that is fueled by the souls of the dead Japanese soldiers. His eyes are chalk-white, showcasing the pure rage inside the monster. The previous Marvel Godzilla comics never specify what version of Godzilla the heroes are fighting. The artists in the comics would take artistic liberty when drawing the King of the Monsters, traditionally illustrating Godzilla with the same design in whatever era the comic is supposed to take place in.
Aaron made the conscious decision to specify which version of Godzilla Thor is facing, giving Godzilla more dread. While most other Godzilla variants have some good, the 2001 Godzilla is an unstoppable force of pure evil. The final haunting shot of Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack had Godzilla’s beating heart sink to the bottom of the ocean. It’s one of the most disturbing endings to any Godzilla movie, and Aaron continues that plot thread by having the Hand resurrect Godzilla with his beating heart. The context may be lost on some people who haven’t experienced the 2001 motion picture, but the backstory of this version of Godzilla adds to the character’s legend. Thor then arrives in Tokyo to fight Godzilla, delivering an enjoyable fight where Thor outsmarts the monster by teleporting him to different realms. However, that was simply the prologue for the bigger fight over the destruction of Asgard. Godzilla is given a power-up with a piece of the All-Black, the legendary blade used by Knull and Gorr the God Butcher.
The final clash between Thor and Godzilla is one of the most majestic battles detailed in the pages of a Marvel comic. Thor’s situation has never felt less hopeless, yet the hero perseveres. Aaron’s narration adds to the mythological tone of the book, describing Godzilla’s indestructibility with grandeur. Likewise, Thor’s unbreakable will is heightened throughout the narration, making the God of Thunder feel like a true God. It’s the same type of narration Aaron used to great effect in the God Butcher arc in his God of Thunder book, emphasizing Thor’s godhood to mythological levels.
Like all great legends, Aaron doesn’t give the comic a true ending, but not in an unsatisfactory manner. The writer gifts Thor and Godzilla a new myth that will go forth forever, with neither ever backing down in life or death. If there’s one downside to this comic, it’s that some of Aaron’s dialogue can be flat. Thor’s characterization is mostly described through the omnipotent narration rather than through his words, which works out for the comic, but doesn’t give Thor much personality. It’s also possible that Aaron made Godzilla too overpowering, yet Godzilla’s power made Thor feel like an underdog, making the final clash between the two titans that much more satisfying. Aaron and Kuder present a modern-day epic with two of the most recognizable legendary figures in current human society. Godzilla vs. Thor is the template for transforming superheroes and Kaiju into modern-day myths, stories that we will pass down for generations.
Rating: 5 out of 5
What did you think of Jason Aaron’s and Aaron Kuder’s Godzilla vs. Thor? Let us know in the comments!
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