Description

Godzilla Rivals: vs. King Ghidorah                                                    One-shot Comic
Writer: Adam Gorham
Artist: Adam Gorham
Colorist: Adam Guzowski
Letterer: Nathan Widick
Editors: Megan Brown & Jazmine Joyner
Cover by: E.J. Su.

“This is not a test. A worldwide state of emergency is in effect. Citizens in densely populated areas are urged to calmly evacuate tall buildings and head to your nearest municipal fallout shelter immediately. This is not a test.”

When Mars invades Earth, Godzilla surfaces from Tokyo Bay and is pulled into battle. Captured and taken by the Martians, Godzilla is forced to fight in a gladiatorial arena, where he faces his biggest challenge yet – King Ghidorah!

Story/Spoilers
In 1996, flying saucers assault Tokyo, destroying buildings, vehicles, and fleeing civilians with laser beams. The Blacksheep fighter jet squadron engages the invaders, but the saucers easily evade their missiles and destroy the fighter jets with their lasers. The squad leader requests permission to retreat, which is granted by JSDF command, only for seismic activity to be reported coming from Tokyo Bay. Command orders Blacksheep to retreat just before Godzilla erupts from the bay. Blacksheep leader requests permission to engage Godzilla, which is denied. Her plane is struck by a laser blast, forcing her to eject. As Blacksheep leader parachutes into the water below, she witnesses Godzilla destroy several saucers with his atomic breath. Three of the commanders of the alien invasion order one of the saucers to engage the “Mega Cannon,” which when fired traps Godzilla inside a bubble of energy. The aliens order Godzilla brought to Xilia, and Blacksheep leader can only watch in shock as the King of the Monsters is lifted into outer space by the saucers.

Several months later, world leaders meet in the secret underground lair of infamous international supervillain Dr. Ogilvy Hu, who has used his scientific expertise to deconstruct the Martian invaders’ weapons and create new hybrid weapons using his own technology, allowing American and European forces to successfully begin fighting back against the invaders. The world leaders admit that they were hesitant to accept help from Hu given his past crimes, but are grateful for his assistance to the rest of mankind. Dr. Hu accepts their gratitude and expresses his belief that despite their past conflicts, he and the leaders of the world have always shared a common goal to advance humanity into the 21st century. He explains that in addition to developing new weapons to fight back against the invaders, he has been able to learn more about humanity’s enemy thanks to Hoshi, a machine man of Hu’s own invention. He asks Hoshi to explain what he knows, and the android elaborates that through interfacing with the onboard A.I. of a downed saucer, he has learned that the invaders call themselves Xiliens. He says that the Xilien ethernet controls their forces on Earth, and without it their invasion would be thrown into disarray. Additionally, as interfacing with the Xilien A.I. required him to expand his bandwidth and processing power, Hoshi states that his sensory modules have become capable of experiencing human emotion, which is both delightful and horrifying to experience. As Hu suggests to Hoshi to only discuss the necessary details, the world leaders determine that all they need to do to stop the invasion is jam the signal. However, Hoshi explains, the Xiliens are using Earth’s satellites to bounce their signal across the globe, with Earth’s forces spread too thin to systematically destroy every satellite. Dr. Hu then explains that he has a more daring solution to the problem, and presents a VTOL aircraft capable of interplanetary flight called the P-1 X. The test pilot for the craft is Captain Daitan Matsushita, the leader of Blacksheep squadron during the battle against the Xilien fleet in Tokyo on the first day of the invasion. Hu says that Matsushita and Hoshi spent months developing the P-1 since the start of the invasion based on his own advanced designs. Dr. Hu says that his plan is to send the P-1 to Mars armed with an Electro-Bomb of his own design which will be detonated in the Xilien hub and sever the connection between the Xilien forces on Mars and Earth. One of the leaders asks what they will do about Godzilla, indicating that he proved himself an ally during the battle of Tokyo and that it might be beneficial to return him to Earth. Matsushita interjects, saying that Godzilla is nothing more than an unnatural terror responsible for causing destruction and killing people, and was responsible for killing her family along with most of her village. With any luck, she says, he will burn along with the Xilien capital when the mission is complete. She also says she hopes that whatever the Xiliens have done with Godzilla is unpleasant.

In the Xilia Arena on Mars, Godzilla, dubbed “Monster 1999” by the arena’s fight announcers, battles a trio of Kamacuras. As Godzilla charges his atomic breath, the Xiliens activate a shock collar on his neck that stops the blast. Improvising, Godzilla catches the claw of one Kamacuras as it attempts to strike him, then uses it to impale another Kamacuras. As Godzilla deals with the remaining Kamacuras, the three Xilien leaders acknowledge how impressive it is that Godzilla has won another match. One of them remarks that this “should keep the rabble happy,” but another responds that since Godzilla has defeated every opponent so far, the crowds are demanding that he face the undefeated champion: Monster Zero. While one of the leaders says that Godzilla will stand no chance against Monster Zero and that they should give the crowds what they want, another responds that once the lower castes’ bloodlust is satiated by the arena, their attention will turn to the war on Earth, which grows more costly and unpopular each day. As it stands, they cannot afford to end it without victory, but cannot continue it without losing support. The third leader proposes that they give the people what they want and allow Monster Zero to kill Godzilla, which will symbolize the pride of Xilia triumphing over Earth’s champion and increase support for the invasion. Then, they will send Monster Zero to Earth to wipe out the remaining human resistance. Since Xilien weapons cannot even harm Monster Zero, the humans’ weapons certainly will prove futile as well. As the Xiliens can control Monster Zero with a secure frequency, the leaders agree to unleash him.

Back at Dr. Hu’s base, the P-1 prepares to launch with Matsushita and Hoshi in the cockpit, but a small squadron of Xilien saucers is detected approaching the base. A group of Xilien infantry breaches the base, but the P-1 departs just in time. Dr. Hu takes command of his giant robot Jet Jaguar and uses it to fight off the attacking Xiliens while the P-1 leaves Earth’s atmosphere. As the craft approaches the capital city of Xilia on Mars, Hoshi detects that the city generates its own breathable atmosphere. Matsushita worries that they will be detected, but Hoshi assures her that their stealth capabilities should conceal them long enough to prime and drop the Electro-Bomb at the source of the Xiliens’ signal. However, the Xiliens had been aware of Hoshi’s interfacing with their ethernet, which allowed them to spy on the humans and locate Dr. Hu’s base. Furthermore, since Hoshi is in range, he is now vulnerable to the Xiliens’ control. Hoshi tells Matsushita that he has detected the Xiliens’ defenses arming, and she prepares to begin the assault.

In the arena, Godzilla is set loose from the holding cell and witnesses the three-headed Monster Zero burst from Olympus Mons and fly into the arena before him. As the battle finally begins, Godzilla grabs Monster Zero’s left neck, but the alien beast’s right head bites down on Godzilla’s shoulder. The P-1 flies through Xilia, pursued by several saucers and barely dodging their laser blasts. As the P-1 comes within range, the Xiliens use their signal to take control of Hoshi. Hoshi involuntarily seizes up before being forced to attack Matsushita, warning her that they anticipated their arrival and are using him to sabotage the mission. However, through sheer willpower Hoshi is able to fight the Xiliens’ control long enough for Matsushita to take the Electro-Bomb and jump from the craft. Monster Zero strikes Godzilla in the face with one of his tails, as the P-1 loses altitude following a hit to its wing from a laser blast. Matsushita jumps out of the P-1 with the Electro-Bomb, wishing Hoshi good luck. As Monster Zero pins Godzilla to the ground and stomps on his chest, Hoshi takes command of the P-1 and rams it into Monster Zero’s chest, the explosion knocking him off of Godzilla. With Monster Zero stunned, Matsushita lands in front of him and presses the button to detonate the Electro-Bomb. However, Monster Zero simply absorbs the weapon’s payload, seemingly leaving the mission a failure. Matsushita finds Hoshi in the wreckage of the P-1 and rescues him as Godzilla weakly gets back to his feet. Monster Zero, utilizing the extra electrical power absorbed from the Electro-Bomb, bombards Godzilla with three especially powerful gravity beams which cause him to fall to the ground, charred and smoking. Matsushita remarks that she never thought she’d see the day Godzilla finally got what he deserved, but that somehow it doesn’t feel right. Hoshi explains that when the Xiliens were synced to his consciousness, he saw their plans for Earth. After Monster Zero, whose real name is King Ghidorah, destroys Godzilla, the Xiliens will send him to Earth to finish the invasion. Ghidorah’s middle head spots Matsushita and Hoshi nearby and begins charging a gravity beam. The two dodge the blast as they try to make their way to an airfield to escape. As Matsushita continues carrying Hoshi to safety, they narrowly avoid King Ghidorah’s bite. As the sun rises overhead, Ghidorah corners Matsushita and Hoshi and entraps them between his tails. However, the sun’s rays have an unexpected affect on Godzilla now that the collar around his neck has been broken off, causing red cracks to begin forming on his skin as he stirs back to life. Just before King Ghidorah can obliterate Matsushita and Hoshi with his gravity beams, he is suddenly struck by Godzilla’s tail. Godzilla stands and lets out a terrifying roar as the nuclear energy in his body glows forth brightly. Hoshi deduces that since Godzilla feeds on radiation, the cosmic radiation that bombards Mars’ surface must have accelerated his cellular growth.

As the revitalized Godzilla grapples with King Ghidorah, Matsushita and Hoshi attempt to escape the arena along with the Xilien spectators. As they flee, they witness Ghidorah slam Godzilla into one of the arena’s walls. In his empowered state, Godzilla easily lifts and throws Ghidorah. Matsushita and Hoshi manage to reach the airfield and board an Xilien saucer, which takes off just as Ghidorah takes flight and begins charging his gravity beams once more. This time, Godzilla is able to charge his atomic breath, with a fiery red glow building in his mouth in place of the usual blue. He fires forth an extremely powerful red blast of atomic breath which strikes Ghidorah, completely destroying him along with the Xiliens’ control tower and much of Xilia. The saucer that Matsushita and Hoshi commandeered is able to escape the cataclysmic explosion and begins its journey to Earth. Hoshi expresses his conflicted emotions about the result of the mission: while he is glad they succeeded in stopping the invasion, he regrets the loss of so many innocent Xilien lives. Ironically, he adds, after so many years terrorizing mankind, Godzilla became their savior by also becoming the doom of Xilia. He asks Matsushita if this is what it’s like to be human, and she replies that she is conflicted too. While good things can come from bad things, she doesn’t want that to make bad things necessary. She says that war has never seemed human to her, something that she has never told anyone before. Hoshi says he hopes humanity can advance after this calamity, and Matsushita echoes his sentiment. As the heroes return to Earth victoriously, Matsushita says that they just need to let go of the ugly things that hold them back, while the empowered Godzilla roars triumphantly among the devastated ruins of Xilia.

Comic is bagged & boarded and will be carefully / securely packaged then shipped via USPS Priority Mail to ensure that it arrives to you perfectly and quickly.

First Printing
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Publication Date: March 2022
Format: FC, 52 pages, Comic, 10.25″ x 6.75″
UPC: 827714030181

Collectible Entertainment note: One-shot Comic is in Fine + condition.  Very Nice!  Please See Scans!!  A must have for any serious Godzilla and/or King Ghidorah collector / enthusiast.  A fun & entertaining read.  Very Highly Recommended.

Please read return policy.