REVIEW: Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong 2 #5
The last issue’s massive cliffhanger was exacerbated by a little more than a month delay, but Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong 2 #5 just manages to be worth the wait and its honestly thanks to Rodan and King Ghidorah.
Christian Duce and Luis Guerrero’s cover doesn’t even include any DC characters, it’s just Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, that’s how big of a deal his return is –that it completely omits any crossover elements. The two titans flex their respective powers on one another. Usually, Godzilla and King Ghidorah are evenly matched, but this Ghidorah always was a real menace. This cover could be a Monsterverse comic one on its own.
Also making his return since 2019 is Rodan, and Kevin Maguire’s variant is for all the flying monster’s fans out there. It’s actually fitting Rodan should be paired up with Hal Jordan in a cover with fighter pilots being a popular target for the titan. It’s a good thing this iteration doesn’t breathe fire. For the little screen time he had, Maguire captures all his fine details like a concept artist.
Luca Meyer puts the Suicide Squad against King Ghidorah for the ultimate suicide mission in his variant. They got some heavy hitters like Enchantress, Giganta, and Lex Luthor as opposed to to their more street level criminals, so maybe they have a chance. It’s also hard to tell who is responsible for the city’s destruction, the villains, or the kaiju.
Alan Quah continues his connecting image with his variant with this issue as well. This one featuring the titan Behemoth with Green Lantern, Cyborg, Cheetah, and Captain Boomerang.
We’ve getting spoiled this year with giant Superman stories –The Kryptonite Spectrum and now this. There are always ways for the Man of Steel to beef up. In this case, it’s because of a growth serum Mr. Terrific made. It’s a shame that he’s not nearly at full power with this Earth’s strange sun. His battle with Godzilla is cut short when King Ghidorah and Rodan, attacking as his lackey, appear. Supergirl, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern (in a cool Titan-sized construct) join Godzilla in helping repel the hostile Titans.
Kong is also somewhere in the area. Meanwhile, Harley tells Batman she wants to find the Joker or the man or could be the Joker on this Earth. The Flash also finds the imprisoned Suicide Squad who point him in the direction of Colonel Shaw. It’s also her where the heroes learn that Amanda Waller is dead. And while Mr. Terrific must make more Titan serum, Lex Luthor’s plan to control the Titans is revealed.
Again, usually Godzilla gets all the cool stuff in crossovers, so its neat seeing heroes get some for a change. Harley’s little side quest here seemed like a weird use of pages with how it was presented in previous issues. But the idea of there being some form of characters in another world or property they don’t exist in on some level is cool. Like DC being comic books in the Marvel Universe, could there be depowered and human versions of DC characters in the Monsterverse? Brian Buccellato may be on to something there. Meanwhile, we got tons of titan fighting and giant Superman action to keep us entertained. Letters are by Tyler Smith.
Christian Duce, with colors by Luis Guerrero, give us some earth-shaking panels and pages. The best thing about drawing King Ghidorah are the long and winding heads that can act as snakes –the tails too. In fact, he’s a monster that takes up a lot of space and the Monsterverse always expanded on it. Tail swipes, bites, and heat rays are thrown all around in true giant monster fashion. Giant Superman gets a couple hits in and manages to do a number on Rodan. Always knew that King Ghidorah would be a Justice League level threat.
(9/10) Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong 2 is back with issue #5 starring familiar faces who haven’t graced the Monsterverse in years and continuing the mega-Man of Steel escapades from the previous one –guess he was too big for just one issue. This issue manages to maintain the momentum that was left behind more than a month ago.
