In the last 70 years, Godzilla has fought some truly awe-inspiring enemies, but his coolest can never appear in the MonsterVerse- and for a very specific reason. Godzilla has become an icon, thanks to a steady stream of films pitting him against other giant monsters or kaiju. The Chain of Rodan to the Evil King Ghidorah, Yet one of Godzilla's best enemies can only appear in Marvel Comics.
Red Ronin, first published in 1978s Godzilla, king of the monsters #6, started out as a potential villain before becoming an uneasy ally of the King of Monsters. Red Ronin was created by writer Doug Moench and artist Herb Trimpe, a mecha, a giant robot piloted by a human, and was created in conjunction with SHIELD, as a means of fighting Godzilla. Before Red Ronin can go on the field, the grandson of one of its designers stole the robot, and fought with Godzilla.
Red Ronin quickly realized that Godzilla was not the enemy and the two teamed up to fight other, more evil monsters.
Godzilla has conquered pop culture - even comic books
For two years, Godzilla was part of the Marvel Universe
Godzilla's progression from destroyer to hero is fascinating. When Godzilla first appeared on Japanese movie screens in 1954, he was portrayed as an unstoppable force of nature, but as the series progressed, he began to soften.Thanks to its popularity with children. With Godzilla no longer the bad guy, villains are needed. Toho Studios, where Godzilla originated, began crafting one of the best rogues 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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None of these monsters would appear in Godzilla's late 1970s Marvel series. In the latter part of the decade, the publisher received 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 adversaries for Godzilla to spar with, and so 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 are equally popular with Japanese audiences as giant monsters.
Red Ronin grew beyond a Godzilla villain
Red Ronin is a key part of the Marvel Universe, and has met some of its biggest stars
And It 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 end of the film. Jet Jaguar may also have inspired Moench, Trimpe and series editor Archie Goodwin to create Red Ronin. Ronin would appear over Godzilla: King of the Monsters run, which ended quietly in 1979. Godzilla's comic book rights returned 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, with him against the Avengers and Wolverine.
While Godzilla may have taken his leave from 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, with him against the Avengers and Wolverine. In both instances, Red Ronin took the teams to the wire, proving that he is a worthy addition to the Marvel Universe. Red Ronin is Godzilla's legacy to Marvel - even though they can't fight in those Monsterverse. If Godzilla Come back to the publisher, the Red Ronin will be waiting.