by Benjamin Haines » Sun Dec 29, 2024 4:05 pm
I've read the whole seven-issue hardcover edition of Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong. It's a blast!
I'm not deeply familiar with DC Comics lore aside from Batman and to a lesser extent Superman. I watched both of their '90s animated series but I've only seen a handful of episodes of the two Justice League animated shows in my life, and I actually saw much more of the first three Super Friends shows on Cartoon Network back in the '90s, which was my introduction to Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Hawkman and the Legion of Doom. I still haven't even seen either cut of the live-action Justice League movie and I'm way behind on live-action DC films in general. I've watched Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey and The Suicide Squad but I still haven't seen Aquaman, Shazam, Joker, Wonder Woman 1984, The Batman, Black Adam, The Flash or Blue Beetle. I've only seen a few of the many direct-to-video animated DC movies and I've never watched any of the many live-action DC shows aside from Adam West's Batman. On top of all that, I've never kept up with the comics, so it's helpful for readers like me that this comic doesn't require any deep DC knowledge.
Even with such a huge roster of heroes and villains, these are characters who have existed agelessly in comics for decades, so this story has no problem establishing its own present-tense status quo. At the outset, Lois Lane already knows that Clark Kent is Superman, they're already dating and he's preparing to propose to her. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor has located Superman's Fortress of Solitude and he leads a cadre of villains inside to steal certain artifacts, but when Toyman picks up a magical item called the Dreamstone, he inadvertently transports the villains into a different reality, namely the Monsterverse right on Skull Island! As Kong battles a Skullcrawler to Gorilla Grodd's astonishment, Toyman's wishes cause the Dreamstone to transport them back to their home reality, along with all of Skull Island itself and a slew of titans from the Monsterverse. Just as Superman is about to propose to Lois on top of the Daily Planet building, Godzilla emerges off the shore of Metropolis! Scylla attacks Central City! Behemoth appears in Themyscira! It's all hands on deck for the Justice League!
Crossovers like this are less about original storytelling and more about mixing and matching the elements of different franchises in interesting ways. Any kid with a sandbox full of toys can mash them together to create a franchise crossover, you know? They're simple and obvious premises, so it's all about how they're done. Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong is no different and it succeeds at making the most of its premise. We get to see a plethora of DC heroes and villains interact with creatures from Legendary's Monsterverse in iconic locations. The seven issues are thoughtfully structured, rather than just a continuous cacophony of toys mashing together, so each issue stands out with its own distinct content.
This comic even went beyond my knowledge of both Batman and the Monsterverse, as it features Gotham City under attack by a giant bat monster called Camazotz. Since it hasn't been in a movie, I initially thought Camazotz was an original creature made for this story but I later learned that he debuted in Legendary's 2021 graphic novel Kingdom Kong, which I don't own as I've mostly ignored Legendary's Monsterverse comics before this. I got the 2014 graphic novel prequel Godzilla: Awakening, which I thought was pretty lame, and then I got the 2019 graphic novel Godzilla: Aftershock but I still haven't read it, and I just never got around to picking up Skull Island: The Birth of Kong, Godzilla: Dominion, Kingdom Kong, or Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted, so I'm glad I made an exception for this one. Batman and his bat-adjacent allies race into action to protect Gotham from the giant bat monster. Along with Batgirl, Batwoman, Black Canary and Cyborg, Dick Grayson is there as Nightwing, and Jason Todd is there as Red Hood, so I assumed that the young Robin riding with Batman in the Batwing was Tim Drake, but apparently he's an even later Robin named Damian Wayne who is Bruce Wayne's son. That's new to me. Another thing in this comic that surprised me, but which is presented like it's nothing new, is that Wonder Woman is able to fly. When did that become the norm? It's also not clear when this comic is supposed to take place with regard to Godzilla vs. Kong. I know that the movies aren't made with the lore of the comics in mind but this comic seems to be set after the events of GvsK, based on context clues throughout the story, with the glaring exception that Kong is shown to still be living on Skull Island in this story rather than in Hollow Earth. There's also a Warbat on Skull Island in this comic, whereas those creatures were never depicted outside of Hollow Earth in the movies. I just chalk that up to inconsistency. This comic is a sequel to an alternate version of GvsK in which Kong resumes living on Skull Island at the end!
There are a lot of cool scenarios throughout this story that take advantage of the crossover premise. Green Arrow investigates Skull Island. Hawkgirl and Shazam show up to assist Superman against Godzilla. Supergirl meets Kong and proves to be unlike any blonde he's ever encountered in prior media. Lex Luthor locates the beacon of a certain Apex Cybernetics cyborg and commences his own reconstruction. Tiamat attacks Atlantis, and I later remembered that those issues were published before her screen debut in GxK this year, and then I learned that she actually first appeared in the Godzilla: Dominion graphic novel back in 2021. I guess that means Tiamat's inclusion in GxK was meant to be a treat for devoted readers of the Monsterverse comics, although I wonder how fulfilling that really was for them considering how quickly and gratuitously she's eliminated in the movie.
There are plenty of other surprises in this comic that I won't spoil, although some of them are spoiled by the variant covers of certain issues so beware looking at those. Speaking of which, the cover art for this series is phenomenal and the hardcover edition includes a full cover gallery at the end. The interior art is really good too. The DC characters look great and the colors pop all around. The monsters are clearly elements that these artists aren't accustomed to drawing, as there are lots of images (particularly of Godzilla) that are obvious recreations of specific shots from the movies and promotional materials. I don't think that ruins anything but that's definitely there.
This series must have sold well because they've already announced a sequel comic for 2025, which will be set in the Monsterverse and feature Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah. I'm all for that, although what I'm really hoping for is a direct-to-video animated film adaptation of this comic. Imagine that: a fully-animated American Godzilla movie, co-produced by Legendary and DC in association with Toho and WB, featuring Kong and the Justice League and the Legion of Doom. It could be the sixth American Godzilla movie, the fifth Godzilla/Kong crossover movie, the fourth fully-animated Godzilla movie after the anime trilogy, and the first movie in which Godzilla fights Superman! Since Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have already had a comic book crossover that was adapted into an animated movie, I'm holding out hope that the same can happen with this!
The 7-issue Justice League vs Godzilla vs Kong is coming from DC and Legendary this October!
I'd seen images of Camazotz before so I knew what it was, but it was cool seeing it in action; and going up against the Bat-family in Gotham was just too obvious *not* to happen!