For the past 70 years,Godzillahas fought some truly awe-inspiring foes, but his coolest can never appear in theMonsterVerse–and for a very specific reason. Godzilla has become an icon, thanks to a steady stream of films that have pit him against other giant monsters, or kaiju. These range from Rodan to the evil King Ghidorah,yet one of Godzilla’s best foes can only appear in Marvel Comics.
Red Ronin, first appearing in 1978’sGodzilla, King of the Monsters#6, began as a potential villain before becoming an uneasy ally of the King of Monsters. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Herb Trimpe, Red Ronin is a mecha, a giant robot piloted by a human being, and was created in conjunction with SHIELD, as a means of fighting Godzilla. Before Red Ronin could go onto the field, the grandson of one of its designers stole the robot, and fought Godzilla.
Red Ronin quicklyrealized Godzilla was notthe enemy and the two teamed up to fight other, more evil monsters.
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Godzilla’s progression from destroyer to hero is a fascinating one.When Godzilla first appeared on Japanese movie screens in1954, he was portrayed as an unstoppable force of nature, but as the series progressed, he began to soften, thanks to his popularity with children. With Godzilla no longer the bad guy, villains were needed. Toho Studios, where Godzilla originated, began crafting one of the best rogue galleries in film history. In addition to the aforementioned Rodan and Ghidorah, Godzilla also fought a giant, robotic version of himself, called Mechagodzilla.
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Marvel Comics is releasing a number of variant covers featuring Godzilla fighting iconic heroes and villains, including the all-powerful Galactus.
None of these monsters would appear in Godzilla’s late 1970’s Marvel series. In the latter part of the decade, the publisher obtained the license to produce Godzilla comics. According to legend, Marvel’s license only allowed them to use Godzilla, and none of the other MonsterVerse characters. Therefore, Marvel needed to create new opponents for Godzilla to spar with, and thus came creatures such as Yetrigar, a kaiju-sized equivalent of Bigfoot. In the Godzilla film series, he also fought giant robots,such as Mechagodzilla. Giant robots were equally popular with Japanese audiences as giant monsters.
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Andit was this popularity that may have inspired the creation of Red Ronin.In addition to Mechagodzilla, Godzilla encountered another mecha-inspired character: Jet Jaguar. Unlike Mechagodzilla, however, Jet was a good guy and teamed up with Godzilla by the film’s end. Jet Jaguar may have also inspired Moench, Trimpe and series editor Archie Goodwin to create Red Ronin. Ronin would appear throughoutGodzilla: King of the Monsters’run, which ended quietly in 1979. Godzilla’s comic book rights reverted to Toho, making the character now off limits for Marvel. Godzilla has not returned to the Marvel Universe since.
As a full-fledged Marvel character, the publisher is free to use Red Ronin in any way they see fit, and they have, pitting him against the Avengers and Wolverine.
While Godzilla may have taken his leave of Marvel, the characters created for his book have stuck around–including Red Ronin. As a full-fledged Marvel character, the publisher is free to use Red Ronin in any way they see fit, and they have, pitting him against the Avengers and Wolverine. In both instances, Red Ronin took the teams down to the wire, proving he is a worthy addition to the Marvel Universe. Red Ronin is Godzilla’s legacy to Marvel–even though they cannot fight in theMonsterverse. IfGodzilladoes return to the publisher, Red Ronin will be waiting.
