Justice League Vs. Godzilla Vs. Kong Isn't The King Of Monster's Oddest Superhero Story
The Justice League fights more than its fair share of monsters, so it's a little unfair that DC is teaming up with Warner Bros. and Legendary Comics to create a Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. King Kong limited series run. The miniseries, which was officially revealed at San Diego Comic-Con 2023, will be written by Brian Buccellato, inked by Christian Duce, and colored by Luis Guerrero.
The story will see DC's mightiest heroes clash against the classic kaiju in a familiar locale –- Metropolis, Superman's stomping grounds. Unfortunately, based on the currently available art for the upcoming project, the phrase "stomping grounds" might be more literal than figurative. But, as for any other aspect of the story, that's where all assumptions should stop because, among other things, the self-contained story will feature Batman piloting a Batmech to rival the Jaegers of "Pacific Rim."
During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Buccellato warned readers that the opposing factions might not be as clear-cut as they appear. "Godzilla is about restoring balance and the order of nature," explained Buccellato. "So when Godzilla ends up in this world with metahumans and superheroes and supervillains, things are upset. So that's going to make Godzilla want to do what Godzilla does, which is create order."
A clash between the King of Monsters –- the reptile, not the ape ... sorry, Kong -– might seem outlandish, but there's actually a precedent for the crossover because, long ago, Godzilla made a similar trek into the action-packed panels of a Marvel event called "Godzilla: King of the Monsters."
Marvel (apparently) forgot the Hulk when creating its Godzilla crossover
The Marvel vs. Godzilla event began in 1977 and ran for 24 issues, all of which saw a far more morally simplistic narrative than what Brian Buccellato promises for the DC crossover. Entitled "Godzilla: King of the Monsters," the miniseries sees the great creature thaw out near Alaska and begin a cross-country trek in which almost every famous American city is laid to waste.
With similar consistency, most of Marvel's big names rise and fall beneath the indomitable might of Godzilla, including the Fantastic Four and most of the Avengers. Interestingly, the efforts to quell the massive lizard are helmed not by any of the heavy hitters but rather by Dum Dum Dugan, a longstanding agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Marvel's crossover event fails to provide Godzilla with much reason to cause devastation, but it's only a minor sin in comparison to the fact that the Incredible Hulk fails to make an appearance anywhere in the 24-issue run. The fans requested it, and so did Doug Moench, the event's author, but Herb Trimpe, the illustrator, refused to draw Bruce Banner's alter ego. At least, that's Moench's version of the story.
According to Trimpe, who spoke to the subject years later in 2015, the idea to feature Marvel's rage beast never crossed their minds at the time, but he would have loved to bring the battle to life. And just imagine how destructive that battle would have been. Two radioactive creatures of immeasurable strength, one the size of a truck and the other the size of a small nation. In fairness, though ... there's no feasible version of that fight that doesn't end in death. So maybe it's for the better that Hulk slipped through the cracks this one time.