Godzilla Vs. Spider-Man (2025) #1 (Godzilla Vs. The Marvel Universe

by Joe Kelly, Nick Bradshaw (Artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (Color Artist)

ROUND VS. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN! Fresh from the original Secret Wars, Peter Parker A.K.A. the Amazing Spider-Man returns to Earth with a spiffy new (alien) costume without a care in the world except for a complicated love triangle with MJ and Black Cat…and unbelievable pressure at the Daily Bugle…rent…bills…super villains…oh, and GODZILLA IS IN NEW YORK CITY with all its destructive power aimed squarely at the wall-crawler! Don’t miss the two most popular characters in pop culture history absolutely going at it in this kaiju-sized slugfest for the ages!

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Spider Man, Comic Book, Superheroes

25 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 30, 2025

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Reviews

[Christopher Desruisseau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great artwork, although there were a few plot holes.

[Carly · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was fun! i still think the Hulk one was the best so far. We'll see how X-Men do next month. my biggest complaint would be the editor notes. they were too frequent and unnecessary. they really pulled you from the story. i started skipping them near the end and i wish i did it sooner because they didnt add to the story at all.

[Craig Schorling · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one really jived with me. I loved how it tries to tie in a lot of Spider-Man history into it. The art is phenomenal and Godzilla and Peter both get equal time being awesome. I hope the X-Men one is on par with this.

[Kamen Rider Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Divertido... entrenido y genial todo lo que deben ser este tipo de eventos

[Harsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Black Cat and MJ fighting over who gets to keep Peter because they both hate him had me rolling.

[Jordison Francisco · Rating 3 out of 5]

O lagartão e o Aranha.

Nota: 3/5 (BOM)

Para a minha mais profunda surpresa, essa palhaçadinha chamada Godzilla vs. Marvel finalmente lançou uma boa edição! Dá até medo de elogiar, porque vocês sabem: estraga! Bem, Joe Kelly escreve aqui uma trama que entrelaça os dilemas de identidade trazidos pelo simbionte com a destruição típica do Godzilla. Passada nos anos 1980, num momento em que Peter Parker carregava o peso de Venom em suas costas — herança das abobalhadas Guerras Secretas —, a história aproveita esse cenário para intensificar os dilemas do jovem herói, que se vê sufocado por sua vida financeira, pelos altos e baixos de um triângulo amoroso com Mary Jane e Felícia Hardy (Gata Negra), e a tensão constante de esconder quem realmente é. Quando Godzilla aparece “do nada” em Nova York, esmagando tudo em seu caminho, o caos externo esbarra nas tormentas pessoais de Parker, e o roteiro até brinca um pouco (de maneira nada inteligente e meio simplória) com essa dualidade.

Nick Bradshaw é o responsável, aqui, pela coisa mais interessante, cativante e elogiável da edição: a arte. Sim, apesar de o roteiro ter boas escolhas dessa vez, não se compara à abordagem estética da edição, que é criativa e visualmente impressionante. Com uma Nova York retratada em desespero e grandiosidade, com prédios tombados como brinquedos e sombras projetadas engolindo as pessoas num espetáculo sufocante, o artista conseguiu mostrar densidade e impacto no ponto mais chamativo do projeto (a relação Venom-Godzilla) e, ainda assim, criar um excelente entorno. O ponto alto, claro, está no surgimento do Venomzilla, fusão fascinante e grotesca que eu queria ver em muito mais páginas, com suas escamas se contorcendo como tentáculos e veias pulsando num corpo de criatura lutando para se libertar. Essa abordagem carregada de body horror amplifica o conflito central e dá ao leitor uma imagem palpável da luta entre controle (simbionte) e caos com propósito (lagarto atômico) que envolve o kaiju, seu inimigo-despertador alienígena e o herói que trouxe o uniforme-criatura para a Terra.

Confesso que ver o menino Parker recorrer às manoplas do Shocker para bombardear o simbionte com ondas sonoras me arrancou um sorriso. Foi uma escolha simples do roteiro que funcionou muito bem e que mostrou o quanto o Aranha é inteligente a ponto de observar o que acontece ao seu redor e usar os materiais mais improváveis que tem em mãos para ganhar tempo até que a cavalaria chegue. Joe Kelly acerta ao resgatar uma fraqueza clássica do Venom, mas escorrega na pressa com que resolve tudo (a luta entre as criaturas existe — e é boa — mas não progride organicamente para dar uma noção de “começo, meio e fim”), como se o autor preferisse as cenas chamativas a uma construção mais cuidadosa que levaria para o final. Ainda assim, há um brilho especial na resistência de Godzilla, que, com seu sopro atômico, expele o parasita alienígena, mostrando a força bruta rejeitando ser um peão de uma criatura externa e sorrateira.

A capacidade de ir além do espetáculo raso e sondar as fissuras dos indivíduos e das estruturas que os cercam, com o simbionte funcionando como um espelho das distorções que nascem de pressões internas e externas, torna esta a primeira boa revista da série Godzilla vs. Marvel, que, além de tudo, sabe aproveitar muito mais (e com maior sentido) as batalhas envolvendo o lagartão e a gosma inteligente. No desfecho, a transformação de Eddie Brock em Godvenom reforça a noção de que os ciclos de falhas e ambições desmedidas estão fadados a se repetir, gerando novos monstros a partir de velhas feridas. Enquanto Godzilla se afasta, Parker assume um erro e Nova York tenta se reerguer, a permanência de um Venom alterado nas sombras torna a história inteligentemente inacabada (o melhor uso desse recurso até agora). O autor nos faz entender que os verdadeiros monstros não vêm apenas da terra ou do mar, mas das fraquezas prontas para se erguer do entulho e desafiar, outra vez, seu inimigo de estimação. Um retorno que não oferece trégua.

OBS: Chegou o momento da Marvel expandir essa linha para pelo menos mais 15 one-shots desses com a Lagartixa Atômica e aí partir para Mothra vs Marvel, King Ghidorah vs Marvel, Biollante vs Marvel e assim por diante, cada edição (cinco de cada no mínimo!) com crítica do público !!!

PS: Uma explosão para os fãs do Escalador de Paredes ou do Rei dos Monstros!

É o início dos anos 80 e Godzilla está em Nova York, justamente quando o Homem-Aranha retorna das primeiras Guerras Secretas! A HQ tem a pegada tanto de um filme de Godzilla de Heisei quanto de uma HQ do Homem-Aranha dos anos 80! Muita ação, humor e os problemas pessoais de Peter, além de Godzilla destruindo Nova York! Esta HQ também pode fazer com que alguns de nós repensemos o que muitos de nós pensávamos estar implícito em Godzilla enfrentando a Dimensão Negra no próximo filme: Godzilla Destrói o Universo Marvel!

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun story to read. I greatly enjoyed the artwork - I felt it fit the tone and quality of a lot of 80s comics. The story is fun, light-hearted, and moves pretty quickly. I enjoyed this one - I know I said this already but it was a lot of fun to read. And lets be real - it's not like Spider-Man could truly take on Godzilla by himself, hahahah!

The jokes throughout were hilarious - such as Peter commenting how his new black suit doesn't bunch in the crotch - not something I have ever though of until the Spider-Man: Into the Multiverse movie, hahahah! MaryJane snarking at Peter about how she's a model, not an idiot, and had figured out his identity years ago. Black Cat and MJ's cordiality with each other was so hilarious, as were their digs at each other. Or the editorial box saying to watch for the Web of Spider-Man miniseries "Plot Holes" that will never happen - that was just genius (and reminded me of the similar plug for the Doctor Strange series that never happened in Amazing Spider-Man #500). And Spidey's choice of facing off against Godzilla over staying in between two angry women that he loves and who love him - priceless and oh, so true! Very well done!

I also enjoyed the little editorial boxes scattered throughout the book as they were brought back fond memories of the authors and editors using these throughout the 70s and 80s to either remind the reader of important trivia or poke fun at something.

Godzilla catching Spider-Man was pretty sweet, as was Godzilla snorting at Spider-Man and Spider-Man instantly knowing why (the alien symbiote). Too bad we probably won't get a story with God-Venom! That was a crazy image to end the story! It also made for a weak ending because it was pretty much stated earlier that Godzilla came to NYC because of the threat posed by the alien symbiote and yet Godzilla left the symbiote alive at the end.

It is funny- Spider-Man references hearing about the Hulk fighting Godzilla, but Spider-Man is not surprised the Hulk reappeared after having been missing for however many years. It was a bit of an odd moment in the story for me, but fine all the same.

The authors did a nice job of mixing Godzilla and Spider-Man's history like they do, especially bringing in the more recent King in Black and introducing that whole storyline into "the Godzilla mythos". I liked that the authors incorporated Godzilla's being the cure for certain plagues on the Earth into Godzilla being the cure of the symbiote on Earth and protecting the Earth from the King in Black. At the same time, Godzilla's behavior reminded me of how Godzilla went after Superman right away with the intent to remove the only Alpha capable of opposing Godzilla in DC's miniseries a year or so ago. So, yeah, it was interesting to see Godzilla go after the symbiote like he did (although I would have assumed he would have kept searching for whatever remained, since a decent-sized chunk of the symbiote absorbed or bonded with Eddie Brock).

It is kind-of funny that no other heroes are in NYC at the time Godzilla appears, that only Spidey is available to face off with Godzilla and save Godzilla from the symbiote's attack. I do find myself wondering what the FF, Avengers, and X-Men were doing at the time this story takes place. Not that it really matters; more curiosity on my part (as it feels like it creates a bit of a plot hole that no other heroes were around to help - NYC is so full of heroes you could practically throw a twig in any direction and hit one it seems like at times, hahahah!).

The alternate covers are pretty cool. I have a copy of the one homaging issue #16 from the original Godzilla series (where a bunch of cowpokes go after Godzilla because they think he is eating their herds of cattle when it is actually a group of rustlers trying to make off with the various herds for the sake of profit). It is a nicely done cover, what with Spider-Man in his regular suit mimicking the cowboy who attempted to lasso Godzilla and ride him like a bucking bronco. Robbie, JJ Jameson, and Venom mimic the poses of other cowboys on the original cover, and Godzilla has the same look peering over the top of the skyscraper as he does peering over the edge of the cliff in the original comic. The homage even has the "Jaws Of Fear!" tagline on the cover! Whoot-whoot! I would have loved to have found the variant cover of Spider-Man hanging from the Statue of Liberty with Godzilla just staring at Spidey as Godzilla's about to cut loose. That is such an amazing cover! I did find another variant cover - the one where Godzilla appears to be flexing and the blurb on the cover reads "He Held the World in His Giant Claws!" That is another fun cover.

So, yes, it was a lot of fun to read. And Spidey even had a cameo in the last issue or two of the original series as he is seen hanging from a skyscraper watching the Avengers and FF take Godzilla on. It was fun to see him "face off" with Godzilla. I can't say this was a "strong story", but it sure was a fun story to read! I will rate this one 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars (because of how much I enjoyed the artwork over the prior two comics in this series). And, yeah, the ending is a bit weak because of how it ignores the reason for Godzilla even coming to NYC at this point in time. I found it hard to believe Godzilla would leave NYC with the alien symbiote still alive and having "mutated" into a deadlier version of its former self. In any case, such a popcorn-filled delight of 80s nostalgia to read!

[Sam Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my favorite of the 2025 Marvel vs. Godzilla series so far. I liked Godzilla vs. Fantastic Four well enough, I felt it was a good showing of the characters and Gerry Duggan’s always fresh take on them, but I wasn’t as much of a fan of Godzilla vs. Hulk. I want a newer, more situationally aware Hulk in my currently releasing 2025 Marvel comic. It’s been several years since Immortal Hulk ended, and we all love that shit, get with the program GD! I know this is set in the past and it wouldn’t make sense for Hulk to have his more modern characterization, I just don’t care.

This issue though, was spectacular. Duggan’s Spider-Man is one of my favorite versions of the character, and this issue shows it off amazingly. Loved the Venom stuff, if we see Eddie again in either of the final two issues I’ll be satisfied.

[Nicholas Driscoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given that Spidey barely crossed paths with Godzilla back in the old Godzilla comics by Marvel, it's nice having a proper battle between the two here. And it goes all-out. Lots of spunky dialogue, but gosh Spider is a player!

And yes, of course Godzilla gets taken over by the Venom symbiote. Talk about a fan dream come true! Very satisfying Godzilla book, though the art is inconsistent, and the story is rushed at times.

[Michael Castillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 3rd story of the Godzilla VS The Marvel Universe has Godzilla fighting Spider-Man for something done in a previous Earth-616 comic. Spidey has to use his brain over brawn due to Godzilla being bigger and stronger than him and it shows just how smart Peter is. A great comic with a great fight! It also has a plot twist towards the end that I would love to see continued if we ever get that chance again.

[Kevin Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Making room for standard Peter Parker woes alongside superb Godzilla action and a nice dash of extra Venom, this is the best of the Marvel Godzilla one-shots that I have read so far. I cannot wait to get to the rest though, and every single one has been quite the treat in how it has made use of specific superhero traits being mixed with the typical Godzilla carnage.

[Chris Loan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really fun story, but didn’t need all of the references to old stories, or no stories. Honestly I just enjoyed the story and the fun and craziness of this so much!

[flame03fire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such good art

[Andy Waldron · Rating 1 out of 5]

not good. bad, in fact

[Alex Fyffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[alejandro galvez · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok

It was an ok story. I liked the Hulk one of out all of them so far. But still a pretty cool series overall. Just mindless fun.

[Richard A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess this was good for a laugh but otherwise a waste of both time and money. Done with this series.

[Yasser Maniram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny issue that delivers on what it promises and then some.

[Nightwing’s Thiccness · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ngl, venom Godzilla was metal af.

Also like that the writing feels like the old days with a LOT of thought bubbles. Also a lot of editors notes…?

[Micah Glus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was cool cuz I read the issues that it referenced in it before. Venom Godzilla goes crazy, but that bastard Eddie Brock has a lot going on now.

[Raymond Paquette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't wait for the mini-series, Spider-Man: Plot Holes. Mary Jane and The Black Cat's digs at each other were the best part of this story.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

4
Silly and rediculous but in a fun way that worked.

[Paper Ghost ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Killer art but it felt unfinished.

[Anna Reads Mysteries · Rating 1 out of 5]

bruh ... how lame