I got me a new copy of Godzilla King of the Mosters in the mail today and have re-read it for the first time in 25 years. I've got a number of nits to pick with it. (Of course, I do. Why else am I posting this?)

The story, "A Tale of Two Saviors" conveniently takes place in San Francisco, so the Champions can participate in it. On the splash page, Godzilla is standing by the Golden Gate Bridge, while some police in boats speed towards him. One of the cops through a bullhorn says, "We've got to keep that thing away from the bridge..." Uh, too late. Godzy's left hand is on the bridge.

The Champions, who were based in Los Angeles, learn of Godzilla's appearance in San Francisco. They take the Champscraft to the San Francisco Bay. It takes them 25 minutes to get there. When they arrive, unbelievably, the Big Green Lizard is still by the Golden Gate Bridge - and the Bridge is still standing!

Only four members of the Champs take on Godzilla: the Angel, Iceman, Hercules, and the Black Widow. Is it just me, or are those guys just begging to be killed? Only Herc and Bobby Drake, the Iceman, have any chance of affecting Godzy. The other two are redshirts.

The classic scene in this issue is where Herc is under Godzilla's foot and he pushes 'Zilla up and on his back. He does this to protect Angel from being stomped on. If you look at panel 3 of page 11, it looks like all Herc has to do is pull Warren Worthington III, the Angel out from under Godzy's foot.

On page 15, SHIELD agent Dum Dum Dugan, Nick Fury's right hand man and the man in charge of the "Godzilla Squad" sees the Champions and indicates that he doesn't know any of them. Really? Not event the Black Widow? I'm not sure if she's ever acted out and out as a SHIELD operative, but she has teamed up with the agency before. Surely, Dugan would know who she is.

You know, for someone who's body is covered in ice, Bobby Drake has some extraordinarily good ears. On page 23, panel 1, Drake is icing up Godzy's head. The Widow is in the Champscraft (what a dumb name), soaring about level with Godzilla'a head and several yards away from it. The Champscraft must be making a lot of noise as it flies. The ocean must be making a lot of noise. The SHIELD Helicarrier must be making a lot of noise. Godzilla himself must be making a lot of noise. Yet, despite these obstacles, Drake can clearly hear everthing the Black Widow tells him while she's in the Champscraft.

At one point mention is made of Godzy's "radioactive" atomic breath. Has anyone, in any medium, considered the implications of his "fiery" breath being radioactive? Surely, wherever he spreads his breath will remain radioactive and a health hazard for years to come? And doesn't his having atomic breath imply that Godzilla is in some way immune to the effects of radiation?

Excelsior!

Champscraft (what a dumb name)
Yep. Grammatically incorrect too. The group is the Champions so Champcraft would seem to be more accurate. If they are going to call it the Champscraft they should have an apostrophe, either Champ'scraft or Champs'craft. None of which sound any better of course.

I can't think of any negative consequences to the radioactive breath in the movies, but I'm not a Godzilla fanatic, so I could be wrong.
Although the movie that supposedly inspired Godzilla, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, did IIRC have people get sick from the radioactive blood of the beast.

As for the radioactive breath having any negative effects in the Marvel Universe, I wouldn't count on it. Spider-Man - radioactive spider bite, the Fantastic Four - cosmic rays, Hulk - gamma radiation. I'm surprised that Godzy's breath didn't create a bunch of new heroes & villains. ;-)

Re: Godzilla...
Godzilla's "fire breath" is officially radioactive, and both it and the giant creature leave radioactive residue, as evidenced in the first Godzilla film (even the Americanized version with Raymond Burr). By the 1970's, though, this radioactive aspect was largely forgotten, even in the films, so I could see why the Marvel comic downplayed it, too. During the film revival of the 1980's (and still continuing today), the radiation's back, and in some cases, it's pivotal to the storylines.

As for the radioactive breath having any negative effects in the Marvel Universe, I wouldn't count on it. Spider-Man - radioactive spider bite, the Fantastic Four - cosmic rays, Hulk - gamma radiation. I'm surprised that Godzy's breath didn't create a bunch of new heroes & villains. ;-) KAM
LOL!

Oh, a really obvious nit is that Godzilla was never green, as Marvel colored him, but dark gray. ('Course, for that matter, his atomic ray was blue, not orange and flame-like!)

Yes... I see...

Godzilla is big now.

Marvel must be kicking themselves for letting this go.

Godzilla is big now.

He was always big. It was Tokyo that got small.

;-)

As I understand it, Toho wanted more money for Marvel to continue the series and the comic wasn't selling enough to justify the raised price.

Although I think in the 2010s they did license the right to print an Essential collection of all the issues.

Greedy old Toho.

Remembered something else.

The reason why Marvel didn't use any of Godzilla's fellow monsters was that Toho would have charged Marvel extra for each monster.

Greedy Toho indeed.

It would be one thing if was for monsters that first appeared in their own films, like Mothra, or Rodan, but apparently it was for ALL the monsters.

Way to shoot themselves in the foot.

Wonder what Toho's finances were like to do that?

What Godzilla movies came out before and after the comic?

Wasn't there a cartoon show around this time?

I think Toho's monsters were licensed to part of the Shogun Warriors toyline. (Yes, the same toyline that Marvel also based a comic on. Funny, huh?)

Wasn't there a cartoon show around this time?

Yes, there was. I remember watching it.