Great enemies from other comics you'd like to see Superman battle?

[JulianPerez]

One of the oddities in Marvel comics is that, technically, Godzilla IS "canon."

The most obvious example was Godzilla's appearance during the CHAMPIONS series by Bill Mantlo, but there were other references. When the license was lost, if they wanted to use Godzilla, they found neat little ways around it: there was an issue of iRON MAN featuring Tony Stark battling what was quite obviously Godzilla, but the kicker is, they never give his name: Iron Man calls him "my old enemy." SHIELD headquarters on many occasions has had a graphic of Godzilla in the background.

Marvel still has the rights to the non-Toho characters created for the miniseries, sort of like how the House of Ideas doesn't have the rights to Conan, but still has the rights to the villain created for his series, Kulan Gath. There was an issue of AVENGERS WEST COAST by Englehart that featured a giant caveman monster that the Big G wrassled during his comics series.

Godzilla, I'd argue, is one of those side properties that very much belongs in the Marvel UnIverse. Don MacGregor's KILLRAVEN is a confused fit at best, Kirby's ETERNALS doesn't belong in a cosmos where the ACTUAL Olympian and Asgardian deities reside, and it's laughable to imagine US-1 happening anywhere at all, much less the MU. But Godzilla is a big, scary superhero menace, right up there with guys like Giganto and Fing Fang Foom.

I found FINAL WARS to be considerably worse than the American Zilla, as strange as it sounds, and the weird part is, it should be something custom-tailored for a guy like me: they had references to Gorath and the Super-Atrigon, and King Seesar in a cameo.

Yet, as unwatchable as the "Plot Does Matter" Godzilla film was, at least it didn't have nearly half the length of the movie be Matrix Kung Fu battles in bullet time.

FINAL WARS reminds me much less of some big "everything but the kitchen sink" comics story like the Avengers/Defenders War, and much more like EPIC MOVIE, only not a parody.

[Kuuga]

One of the oddities in Marvel comics is that, technically, Godzilla IS "canon."

The most obvious example was Godzilla's appearance during the CHAMPIONS series by Bill Mantlo, but there were other references. When the license was lost, if they wanted to use Godzilla, they found neat little ways around it: there was an issue of iRON MAN featuring Tony Stark battling what was quite obviously Godzilla, but the kicker is, they never give his name: Iron Man calls him "my old enemy." SHIELD headquarters on many occasions has had a graphic of Godzilla in the background.

Marvel still has the rights to the non-Toho characters created for the miniseries, sort of like how the House of Ideas doesn't have the rights to Conan, but still has the rights to the villain created for his series, Kulan Gath. There was an issue of AVENGERS WEST COAST by Englehart that featured a giant caveman monster that the Big G wrassled during his comics series.

Godzilla, I'd argue, is one of those side properties that very much belongs in the Marvel UnIverse. Don MacGregor's KILLRAVEN is a confused fit at best, Kirby's ETERNALS doesn't belong in a cosmos where the ACTUAL Olympian and Asgardian deities reside, and it's laughable to imagine US-1 happening anywhere at all, much less the MU. But Godzilla is a big, scary superhero menace, right up there with guys like Giganto and Fing Fang Foom.

I found FINAL WARS to be considerably worse than the American Zilla, as strange as it sounds, and the weird part is, it should be something custom-tailored for a guy like me: they had references to Gorath and the Super-Atrigon, and King Seesar in a cameo.

Yet, as unwatchable as the "Plot Does Matter" Godzilla film was, at least it didn't have nearly half the length of the movie be Matrix Kung Fu battles in bullet time.

FINAL WARS reminds me much less of some big "everything but the kitchen sink" comics story like the Avengers/Defenders War, and much more like EPIC MOVIE, only not a parody.

I think also still has comics publishing rights in America to alot of the classic Japanese Super-Robots. Great Mazinger, Raideen, Combattler V who were used to create "Shogun Warriors". 

Final Wars is a really mixed bag. It's basically two movies with only one being a G flick. You have the big Godzilla movie and then the faux-Matrix movie. It's like far too wacky to be Heisei but too dark to be classic, and not divorced enough from previous movies to fit in with the self-contained 2000 movies.

For myself, I enjoyed the Godzilla stuff and the character of Captain Gordon. Some of the martial-arts stuff I dug but that's prolly more because I dig kung and wire-fu movies as well a henshin hero shows like Kamen Rider and the Super Sentai shows that get turned into Power Rangers. But overall Final Wars ..it's like it IS fun but I think Toho's beancounters prolly had too much imput on the actual script.

[Criadoman]

Final Wars is a really mixed bag. It's basically two movies with only one being a G flick. You have the big Godzilla movie and then the faux-Matrix movie. It's like far too wacky to be Heisei but too dark to be classic, and not divorced enough from previous movies to fit in with the self-contained 2000 movies.

For myself, I enjoyed the Godzilla stuff and the character of Captain Gordon. Some of the martial-arts stuff I dug but that's prolly more because I dig kung and wire-fu movies as well a henshin hero shows like Kamen Rider and the Super Sentai shows that get turned into Power Rangers. But overall Final Wars ..it's like it IS fun but I think Toho's beancounters prolly had too much imput on the actual script.

I have no idea what Toho is up to regarding anything most of the time.  "Final Wars" was a send off of the big G for the next many years until they do some more.  I've always found Goji's popularity to go in waves - but always there.  Even here among the board, although we're all Supe's fans, the prospect of Goji elicited an interesting topic.  Final Wars was as Julian stated, one big smash-bang slam fest that just rolled along.  Still I had a blast watching it.

One of the oddities in Marvel comics is that, technically, Godzilla IS "canon."

Godzilla, I'd argue, is one of those side properties that very much belongs in the Marvel UnIverse.

This is probably food for another thread...

The fact that Atlas produced a plethora of giant monster menaces during the 50's is the key reason I'd agree on Goji being a member of the MU.  But on the topic of "giant menaces", this is a developmental aspect of the days of Atlas I always wondered about, their beating the Comics Code Authority with tame "horror" stories and how Goji might have played a role in it.  If I'm not mistaken, I think it was Goji that reinvigorated the whole "giant monster" genre with a nuclear or atomic "nature's response to man's damage"-type angle.  (As opposed to the earlier silent films and "King Kong" which were of an explorer and huge forces that can't be tamed by man-type sub-genre.)

Were the Atlas monsters really Marvel's attempt to capatalize on the popular thing - e.g. Goji, or what?  "Well, big monsters with a moral message won't offend the CCA?"  What I come down to is Goji's wake created the kaiju/movie monster + radiation gimmick that spawned the Atlas monsters, which in turn spawned renewed interest in monsters as anti-heros in the flavor of Frankenstein's monster - to Hulk, and Thing, et al.  I would say in a case like this, considering the giant monster thing was apparently Kirby's idea, that Kirby was a brilliant, brilliant man riding a wave that he saw coming.

By the way, that "caveman" monster Goji fought, that later turned up in the WCA was actually a Bigfoot.  "Yetrigar" they shall call him.... (Neat Toho name.)

[Gangbuster]

Marvel still has the rights to the non-Toho characters created for the miniseries, sort of like how the House of Ideas doesn't have the rights to Conan, but still has the rights to the villain created for his series, Kulan Gath. There was an issue of AVENGERS WEST COAST by Englehart that featured a giant caveman monster that the Big G wrassled during his comics series.

This is the same position that Superboy is now in, and that Superman will be in in a few years. DC owns the rights to Lana Lang, Luthor, Pete Ross, Smallville, and every other super-supporting character.

During the late bronze age, a Superman/Star Wars crossover would have worked very well, because the style of both comics was similar. I'm not sure whether such a crossover would work now, but it would be interesting to see Superman go up against the emperor.

[TELLE]

I remember an issue of the Paul Smith-era X-Men involving Kitty's pet dragon being enlarged and flying over Japan.  There were Japanese kids with "plane-spotter"-type books with the profiles of all the monster island denizens (but also a page devoted to the Hulk).  A slight Toho homage from 1980s Marvel that seems to imply that Godzilla et al are canonical.

Now I must check out Godzilla Final Battle.

On a related note: I've been trying to track down a U.S.-produced Toho-style giant monster movie from the early 90s for years.  No idea of name or anything else besides the fact that I saw a mention of it Filmfax and it involved giant Azrec statues (or something) duking it out.  Any guesses?

[Criadoman]

During the late bronze age, a Superman/Star Wars crossover would have worked very well, because the style of both comics was similar. I'm not sure whether such a crossover would work now, but it would be interesting to see Superman go up against the emperor.

I never considered that as an idea - although it would be rather neat.  Heck - if they could do it with Aliens, why not?