Godzilla (Marvel)

Godzilla (ゴジラ, Gojira) is a monster based on the original Godzilla that appeared in a series of comic books co-created by Marvel and Toho from August 1977 to July 1979.

History
Awakened from an eons long slumber at the bottom of the ocean off the shores of Japan in 1956 by a joint nation H-Bomb experiment, Godzilla ravaged the Japanese countryside for years. Although a terrible menace, the monster also seemed to regard Japan as his personal domain, and defended the country from a number of strange alien and mutant monsters. Godzilla disappeared for some years in the late 1970's before re-appearing in Alaska, bursting from a massive iceberg in which he had lain dormant.

Godzilla soon made his way down into the mainland of America, with the super-agency SHIELD trying their best to contain and capture the giant reptile. Over the course of his journey, the monster battled many strange foes, from the super weapons of SHIELD, to superhuman heroes like the Champions and outrageous monsters like Batragon and Yetrigar. Godzilla was even instrumental in thwarting the alien Megans in their attempt to conquer the Earth. At last, the shrinking gas of Dr. Henry Pym, otherwise known as Yellowjacket, was employed against Godzilla and the time machine of the villainous Dr. Doom was employed to send the beast back to the late Cretaceous. However, Godzilla's atomic nature made him unstable in his new setting, and after a brief encounter with [Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy, the monster returned to present day New York, once again at his full, mammoth size. Godzilla went on a rampage, opposed by the combined might of the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and SHIELD's Godzilla Squad. In the end, however, it was the pleas of a little boy, Rob Takaguchi, that subdued the giant monster. Godzilla turned away from the city, swimming out into the Atlantic ocean and disappearing from view.

A severally mutated horned creature which may or may not have been Godzilla was later captured and controlled by the evil Dr. Demonicus, and defeated by Iron Man. This same amphibious dinosaur later appeared on an isolated island, menacing a film crew and the Fantastic Four's the Thing.

Godzilla Mutation
Years later, Doctor Demonicus had managed to subdue his once "greatest enemy" and mutated the radioactive leviathan into a more amphibious form, in the process of which the creature also lost the ability to use its trademark breath weapon. Now a mere shadow of his former self, Godzilla was bent to the will of the twisted doctor, who used the beast as a watchdog for his lair in the Pacific, destroying intruders who ventured too close to his fortress.

On one such occasion, the creature attacked an Avengers Quinjet, piloted by the feline superheroine Tigra, that was flying in the area, forcing the craft to make an immediate landing on a nearby island. Demonicus, furious that Godzilla failed to eliminate the intruder, ordered the monster to finish its work. The beast obeyed, traveling to the island and smashing what was left of the craft. Demonicus later visited the island to survey the wreckage, only to discover that the pilot had escaped before Godzilla was able to destroy the jet. Demonicus then ordered Godzilla to destroy the nearby village, in order to fish out the escaped intruder. Godzilla made a path toward the village, but was attacked by Tigra, now sensing the creature's new motive. Tigra fought fiercely against the beast, but was no match for Godzilla, who carelessly slapped away its attacker. Godzilla descended on the small village, but Tigra was persistent, managing to divert the creature's attention long enough for the monster to reach out and grasp her in his hands. The amphibious leviathan moved the small, tiger-like hero up to his eye in order to fully witness his prey struggling, before he was attacked by Hawkeye, Iron Man and Mockingbird, who arrived in another Quinjet. Hawkeye let loose with an arrow at the monster, but the attack proved futile. Godzilla roared at his new attackers, giving Hawkeye an opportunity to fire an explosive arrow directly into the beast's mouth. Godzilla flinched, as the arrow detonated in his throat, and released Tigra from his grasp. Hawkeye then let loose with his entire quiver of arrows against the beast, but his attempt was for not. Godzilla quickly descended upon the archer, until Iron Man intervened and attacked the monster. His attacks proved ineffective, however, as Godzilla's thick hide withstood his attacker's blows. Iron Man, out of options, proceeded to lift the leviathan over his head and took the monster out to sea. The monster proved too heavy for Iron Man, though, as both dropped into the sea like a rock. Godzilla sunk to the depths below, as Iron Man quickly removed his armor and swam to the surface for air.

Later, Godzilla returned to his controller's lair, bearing Iron Man's armor in his jaws as a gift for his master before Demonicus would retire the monster back to its confinement. Demonicus saw his opportunity to attack Iron Man head on, donning the hero's own armor as he flew off to confront the iconic hero. Demonicus' attempt failed, however, and the mad scientist was later taken into custody as a result. Months passed, and Godzilla managed to escape from his former controller's lair out into the open sea. The creature stayed in the Pacific, and ended up wandering onto an open set of "Devil Dinosaur: The Movie." Godzilla moved in as a robotic Devil Dinosaur approached him. The robot, much to Godzilla's surprise, attacked him, an apparent betrayal by his one-time ally. Godzilla fought back, sinking his teeth into the back of the robotic Devil Dinosaur, quickly destroying the machine. Confused by this revelation, Godzilla quickly wandered back into the sea and fled the area. Since then the monster has resurfaced a few times and has seemingly reverted back to its previous form. Godzilla was most recently seen among the army of monsters Mole Man sent to attack New York.

Powers and abilities
Godzilla is able to breathe a radioactive flame of intense heat. He is also immensely strong and possesses a remarkable resilience to injury and a very quick acting healing factor. The mutant dinosaur is also fully amphibious, able to operate underwater as easily as he can on land. His hands are fully usable, enabling him to grab objects and employ them as crude weapons, or even snatch planes from the sky. The monster's long tail can also be employed as a powerful, bludgeoning whip. The monster also goes into a violent frenzy when harmed, overpowering his adversaries with a sudden and surprising burst of berserk strength when on the very verge of defeat.

Godzilla in modern comics

 * Later on in Marvel's career, Godzilla was seen as one of the Mole Man's monsters during their assault on New York. However, he was not in his mutated form, suggesting it was not actually Godzilla Demonicus mutated.
 * Godzilla is the first Marvel monster to jump off the Empire State Building.

Trivia

 * His height is supposed to be based on the Godzilla of the Showa era, but in some issues, Godzilla is seen towering over the Golden Gate Bride, high at its highest point.
 * At the height of 150 meters tall, the Marvel Godzilla is tied for the tallest Toho monster ever, alongside Bagan.
 * The Marvel Godzilla has been used to represent Godzilla in the Godzilla trademark icon since 1977, with the printing of the first Godzilla issue, for the most part. The older trademark icon has been used as late as 1984 in media, an example being the box for Godzilla vs. 3 Major Monsters.