ゴジラ Gojira Godzilla
ゴジラ
GOJIRA
GODZILLA
King of Monsters!
Godzilla is something like Superman or Transformers in that there are multiple overlapping contradictory continuities within the franchise. However, with few exceptions, these reboots and retcons maintain a single point of origin for the character; most variations claim the 1954 film GODZILLA as the cornerstone of their individual Godzilla timelines. As this article is about Godzilla in the Television and Movie Crossover Universe, no single established Godzilla continuity will be considered 'correct' over the others, except as where they conflict with the reality of the TVCU.
The simplest explanation is that there is more than one creature known as 'Godzilla', making that designation a title, rather than a proper name. The second Godzilla movie claimed as much, and the presence of a newborn Minya / Minilla / Tadzilla is evidence enough for this research that the species is not unique to a single member. For the purpose of the TVCU, all the other Godzilla continuities are just additional 'hypertimes' of the TVCMultiverse, and vice versa the TVCU within the Toho Multiverse.
Most comedy sketches featuring Godzilla in a parodic manner, and commercials that use Godzilla to sell a product, are not considered part of the TVCU; we have realms like Skitlandia and the Promoverse for those. But there are exceptions to this as well, as will be demonstrated.
GODZILLA has crossed with:
Sky Captain
Cthulhu
Bambi
Transformers
Predator
Ultraman
Mars Attacks!
Zone Fighters
Blue Öyster Cult
Gojiro
Robot Chicken
Lost World
And More!
The following is mostly just cut-n-paste info mentioning Godzilla from other TVCU posts. This post was initially written by Kevin Heim and completed by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
KING KONG (FILM)
Release Date: 1933 (Contemporary Setting, though later stories,such as Farmer’s After King Kong Fell, place the date in 1931, so that a film indeed was made in 1933 based on those events. Any versions that list this as 1933 in-story should be considered as likely confusing the true events with the date of the film release based on those events.)
Series: King Kong (Original)
The Story: A film director obtains a map to a little known island where he plans to film a picture. He gets a crew and some actors and they head off to Skull Island, where they find a land filled with primitives and giant animals, including King Kong, a giant ape. Actress Ann Darrow is kidnapped by the natives as a sacrifice to Kong. Kong takes her but doesn’t kill her, instead finding himself fond of her. Ann is rescued and Kong is subdued and returned to New York as an attraction. Surprisingly, bringing a giant monster into an overpopulated city turns out to be a bad idea. Kong breaks free, finds Ms. Darrow, and takes her to the top of the Empire State Building. Kong is shot down by biplanes, but Ann survives. In the end, it was beauty that killed the savage beast. Well, plus being shot and falling off the Empire State Building.
Notes: Even though these events happened in the Horror Universe, most of the world does not know of it, despite it being very public. Obviously, like with the War of the Worlds, there was a huge conspiracy by government and private concerns to cover things up. The making of the film, to come out two years after the events, being publicized as fictional, helped with this. Of course, in the modern era of iPhones, YouTube, and Facebook, it’s a lot harder to cover up something like this, but this was a different era after all. Note that the 2005 remake is the same story, just reimagined on film by Peter Jackson, which only can help support the fictionality of the events, as with other films and novels featuring Kong. This film is followed by the 1933 sequel, The Son of Kong. The film was remade in 1976, 1998, and 2005. It has been “non-cross” referenced in such films as Godzilla, Revenge of the Creature, and Gorgo. It has also been spoofed in such shows and films as The Addams Family, Gremlins 2, and Courage the Cowardly Dog.
TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN VOLUME 6: GRAND GUIGNOL “THE RED SILK SCARF” (SHORT STORY BY MICHEL STEFAN)
Release Date: 2010 (Setting is 1933 to 1934)
Series: Tales of the Shadowmen
Horror Crosses: Godzilla
Non-Horror Crosses: Harry Dickson; Doc Ardan; Madame Atomos; Ashenden
The Story: Detective Harry Dickson in love?
Notes: Sorry, lame plot synopsis, but I haven’t purchased this one yet. I’m waiting for you to buy my book so I can afford to buy other people’s books. But seriously, the plot isn’t really relevant to the inclusion of this story within the Horror Universe. Godzilla is included in the Horror Universe. He was already brought in via his cross with King Kong. For a while I debated including Godzilla and other Japanese giant monster films in this book. I wasn’t sure if they were really horror. But they are monsters. So in the end, I decided they were a form of horror. In this book, Dr. Daisuke Serizawa appears, who was in the original 1954 Godzilla film. Incidentally, only us Yanks call him Godzilla. In its original Japanese, it’s Gojira. As for the non-horror crosses, Harry Dickson has probably been covered enough. Doc Ardan is a character who has also been conflated with Doc Savage, and I consider that to be canon for this book. Madame Atomos is a villainess from the series of stories by Andre Caroff. And Ashenden is the secret agent character of W. Somerset Maugham.
SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW (FILM)
Release Date: September 17, 2004 (Setting is 1939)
Series: Sky Captain
Horror Crosses: King Kong; Godzilla
Non-Horror Crosses: Lost Horizon; Superman (Max Fleischer)
The Story: Sky Captain must stop a madman who wants to destroy the human race and start civilization over on a new world.
Notes: This film takes place in an alternate timeline. The events of King Kong and Son of Kong are referenced as having occurred. A newspaper headline refers to the events of Godzilla as recently having happened in 1939. In the main Horror Universe, the events happened around the same time as the the film, 1954. Though it is possible that Tokyo has been attacked by giant lizards in the past, the events of Godzilla seem to indicate that it’s a new thing for them, and also a result of post WWII nuclear testing. Shangri-La appears in this story. And in the film, Sky Captain battles giant remote control robots that were first seen in the 1940s animated Superman shorts. In this reality, they apparently debut a few years earlier. In the main Horror Universe, we might assume that the Superman shorts might be part of Horror Universe canon, but because those stories involve a Superman and supporting cast in Manhattan, rather than Metropolis or Cleveland, it’s best to assume the animated shorts are yet another divergent timeline.
THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (FILM)
Release Date: June 13, 1953 (Contemporary Setting)
Series: The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
Non-Horror Crosses: When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth; Planet of the Dinosaurs
The Story: In the Arctic Circle, a nuclear bomb test causes the release of a Rhedosaurus who had been hibernating for 100 million years.
Notes: Though not the same one, a rhedosaurus also appears in prehistoric times in When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, and in the future on another planet in Planet of the Dinosaurs. Since the Rhedosaurus is not a real historical dinosaur, this is a crossover. The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is brought in via a later cross in Tales of the Shadowmen. This film has been “non-cross” referenced many times in films such as Godzilla, The Giant Behemoth, and King Kong vs. Godzilla. It was also spoofed in the Naked Monster.
1954--GODZILLA, aka GOJIRA (FILM)--King of Monsters rise for the first time in modern history, wakened by atom bomb testing. Some sources will claim that this dai kaiju (giant monster) has existed as such for millinia, while others claim Godzilla was once a 'normal' dinosaur mutated through atomic or extraterrestrial catalysts. The name "Godzilla" is an Anglicisation of the phonetic pronunciation "Gojira", which a portmanteau of two Japanese words meaning 'gorilla' and 'whale'. Godzilla is later established as a mutated godzillasaurus.
1962--KING KONG VS. GODZILLA (FILM)--Both monsters rise once more, menace civilization, and fight each other. What else were you expecting? This is a Toho film that is a sequel in the Godzilla series, and the first of two Toho King Kong films, that is meant to be a sequel to the original King Kong. Faro Island, which is where they find Kong, must be another name for Skull Island. This obviously isn’t the original King Kong, but considering Son of Kong, and common sense, it’s doubtful that Kong would have been the only one of his kind. There must be many giant apes, who do not live in tribes but isolate. For more King Kong crossovers, click here.
KING KONG ESCAPES (FILM)
Release Date: 1967 (Contemporary Setting)
Series: King Kong (original)
The Story: King Kong returns, discovered by folks who visit the island, while a mad scientist creates his own mechanical version of Kong.
Notes: This is not the original Kong but the Kong who fought Godzilla. This film is based on the Rankin-Bass King Kong Show, which means this is also the same King Kong who appears in Mad Monster Party. Incidentally, I should point out the mad scientist in this movie is named Dr. Hu (pronounced “Who”). No relation to the Time Lord, and I’m not sure if this was intentional or coincidental. This film has been “non-cross” referenced in several films and has been spoofed in The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy.
1977-1979--GODZILLA (Marvel Comics)--Godzilla tussles with plenty of generic kaiju in this 24-issue series, but it is the interaction with established Marvel Comics' characters that make it interesting. S.H.I.E.L.D. (seemingly filling the role in the Marvel Universe of Toho's JSDF), Red Ronin, the Champions of Los Angeles, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Devil Dinosaur and Moonboy, the Amazing Spider-Man, and J. Jonah. Jameson all appeared in this series set firmly in the Marvel Universe (Earth-616). Due to the sliding scale timeline it is difficult to say exactly when these crossovers would have taken place in any reality with a fixed timeline, such as the TVCU. Later comics make use of the character of Godzilla after Marvel lost the license, under the non-copyrighted name of Leviathan, and with a redesigned appearance explained as the result of genetic mutation induced by the villainous Dr. Demonicus (a character that originated in the Godzilla comics), and has appeared in issues of THE WEST COAST AVENGERS, IRON-MAN, THE THING, and THE UNCANNY X-MEN.
1978-1981--GODZILLA POWER HOUR (Hanna-Barbara / Toho cartoon)--This animated series featured a Godzilla with very distinct physical and mental characteristics, as well as a "nephew" in the form of the flying 10-foot tall Godzooky. No established characters appeared in this series, but there was a lost city of Atlantis that was actually an extraterrestrial colony, which coincides with the treatment of Atlantis in the STARGATE franchise. Creatures from mythology, such as the Sirens and the Chimera, also made appearances. This series has been placed in the Tooniverse due to the appearance of Hanna-Barbara's Godzilla on an episode of DRAWN TOGETHER.December 1979--GODZILLA--"Island of Doom"--From Salvatore Cucinotta: "Cobra" appeared in the 70s Godzilla cartoon from Hanna Barbera. The episode is "The Island of Doom".
1988 (at the latest)--SCOOBY-DOO AND THE GHOUL SCHOOL (ANIMATED FILM)--Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy takes jobs as coaches at an all-girls school, that turns out to be an all-girl monsters school.
The crosses with Godzilla and the Creature from the Black Lagoon bring in not only the 80s Scooby movies, but also the Hanna-Barbera versions of Dracula and Frankenstein Monster, likely another soul clone and copycat creation, respectively. Their daughters are on the school’s volleyball team. At the end of the film, two new students are females from the same species as both the Gill-Man (Creature from the Black Lagoon) and Godzilla. Note that there must be more than one of the Gill-Man species, and in fact, there are in-story references that state that the Gill-Man is the same as the Deep Ones of Innsmouth and the Silurians from Doctor Who. As for Godzilla, it would seem that there is also more than one of this species. In fact, in the classic series of films, it’s stated that the Godzilla from the original film was destroyed, and the one from the rest of the films was a second one.
1989--REAL GHOSTBUSTER #6 "VIDEO NASTIES" (NOW COMICS)--Peter Venkman and Egon Spengler have a conversation about the Ecto-4, still in development, in which it is pointed out that Egon installed a Flux Capacitor, which could be useful if they ever go up against Godzilla.
1992--GODZILLA VS. BARKLEY (TV Commercial)--The Nike commercial depicts Basketball player Charles Barkley as a 50 meter tall giant who plays some one-on-one with Godzilla in Tokyo. The 1993 comic book adaptation (seriously, this really happened) places the action in an unnamed coastal city in California (ostensibly meant to be Los Angeles) and the nearby Scarfe Air Force base.
1992--BUREAU 13: DOOMSDAY EXAM (Novel by Nick Pollatta, 1992)--During a jailbreak from a B13 holding facility, “Zigzagging past Sing-Sing Boulevard, Connie gasped as she saw a ten meter-tall lizard waddling down the street on its plump hind legs. As the beast spotted us, the enlarged dorsal fins began to pulse with a greenish light”. The monster proceeds to spray radioactive flame at the B13 van. At approximate 30 feet, this monster is not any Godzilla we have seen in a movie, but it may be an immature example of the species.
1995--Godzilla Versus Hero Zero.In San Diego for Comic Con Teen SuperHero Hero Zero Battles Godzilla
CARTOON NETWORK (COMMERCIALS)
Release Date: October 1, 1992 - ongoing at time of writing
Series: Cartoon Network
Animated Series Crosses: The Addams Family (Animated); The Addams Family (1992 Animated Revival); Adventures of Aquaman; Adventures of Gulliver; Adventure Time; Almost Naked Animals; Alvin and the Chipmunks; Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan; Amazing Spiez!; The Amazing World of Gumball; Angelo Rules; Animaniacs; Aqua Teen Hunger Force; Arabian Knights; Astro Boy; Atom Ant; Atomic Betty; Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy; Baby Looney Tunes; B.A.E.: The Bremen Avenue Experience; Bakugan; Banana Splits; Barney Bear; Batman Beyond; Batman: The Animated Series; Batman: The Brave and the Bold; Battle of the Planets; Beany and Cecil; Beetlejuice (Animated); Ben 10; Beware the Batman; Beyblade; Big Baby; Big Bag; The Big O; Birdman; Blue Dragon; Bob Clampett Show; Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo; Bomberman Jetters; The Brak Show; Breezly and Sneezly; Buford and the Galloping Ghost; Bugs Bunny; Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids (Animated); Calling Cat-22!; Camp Lazlo; Capitol Critters; The Captain and the Kids; Captain Caveman; Captain Planet; Cardcaptors; Cartoon Cartoon(s)/What a Cartoon!; Cartoon Planet; Casper and the Angels; Casper’s Scare School; Cattanooga Cats; Cave Kids; CB Bears; Centurions; Chaotic; Chop Socky Chooks; Chuck Jones Show; Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos; Clarence; Clue Club; Code Lyoko; Codename: Kids Next Door; Courage the Cowardly Dog; Cow and Chicken; The Cramp Twins; Cyborg 009; Daffy Duck; Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines; DC Nation; Dennis the Menace (1986 Animated); Detentionaire; Deviln; Dexter’s Laboratory; D.I.C.E.; Dingbat; Dink, the Little Dinosaur; Dino Boy; Don Coyote; Dragon Ball Z; Dragon Hunters; Droopy; Duck Dodgers; Dudley Do-Right; Duel Masters; Dynomutt; Ed, Edd n Eddy; Ed Grimley; Evil Con Carne; Fangface; Fantastic Four (1992 Cartoon); Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes (2006 Cartoon); Fantastic Max; Fantastic Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor (1996 Cartoon); Firehouse Tales; Flintstone Kids; Flintstones; Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends; Frankenstein, Jr. (Hanna-Barbera); Freakazoid!; Funky Phantom; Galaxy Goof-Ups; Galaxy Trio; Galtar and the Golden Lance; Garfield; Gary Coleman Show; Generator Rex; George of the Jungle; George of the Jungle (2007 reboot); Gerald McBoing-Boing; G-Force: Guardians of Space (Reboot of Battle of the Planets); G.I. Joe; GoBots; Godzilla (1990s Cartoon); Goober and the Ghost Chasers; Gordon the Garden Gnome; Gormiti; Grape Ape; Green Lantern: The Animated Series; The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy; Grojband; Gumby; Gundam; .hack; Hamtaro; Harlem Globetrotters (Animated); Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs; Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law; Heathcliff; Help!... It’s the Hair Bear Bunch; He-Man and the Masters of the Universe; Herculoids; Hero: 108; The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange; Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi; Hillbilly Bears; Hokey Wolf; Hong Kong Phooey; Hot Dog TV; Hot Wheels; How To Train Your Dragon; Huckleberry Hound; I am Weasel; Idaten Jump; Immortal Grand Prix; Impossibles (Hanna-Barbera); Inch High, Private Eye; Jabberjaw; Jackie Chan Adventures; James Bond Jr.; Jetsons; Johnny Bravo; Johnny Test; Jonny Quest; Josie and the Pussycats; Justice League; Knights of the Zodiac; Krypto the Superdog; Kwicky Koala Show; La’Antz and Derek; Laff-A-Lympics; Land Before Time; Late Night Black & White; League of Super Evil; Legends of Chima; Lego Ninjago; The Life and Times of Juniper Lee; Lippy the Lion & Hardy Har Har; Li’l Abner; Little Robots; Long Live the Royals; Looney Tunes; The Looney Tunes Show; Loopy De Loop; MAD; Magilla Gorilla; MAR; Marmaduke; Martian Successor Nadesico; The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack; Max Steel; Mega Man; Megas XLR; MetaJets; Midnight Patrol; Mighty Magiswords; Mighty Man and Yukk; Mighty Mightor; Mike, Lu & Og; Mr. Men Show; Mister T; Mixels; Moby Dick (Cartoon); Motormouse and Autocat; The Moxy Show; !Mucha Lucha!; Mumbly; My Gym Partner’s a Monkey; Nacho Bear; Naruto; Neon Genesis Evangelion; New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1992 Animated); Ninja Robots; O Canada; One Piece; Outlaw Star; Over the Garden Wall; Ozzy & Drix; Pac-Man; Paw Paws; Pecola; Pepe Le Pew; Peppa Pig; Perils of Penelope Pitstop; Pet Alien; Peter Potamus; Pink Panther; Pirates of Dark Water; Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks; Pokemon; Popeye; Porky Pig; Pound Puppies; Powerpuff Girls; Precious Pupp; Prince of Tennis; Princess Natasha; The Problem Solverz; Punkin’ Puss & Mushmouse; A Pup Named Scooby-Doo; Quick Draw McGraw; Rad Roach; Rave Master; Real Adventures of Jonny Quest; ReBoot; Redakai; Regular Show; Rescue Heroes; Richie Rich; Ricochet Rabbit & Droop-a-Long; Road Rovers; Road Runner; Robotboy; Robotech; Robotomy; Rocket Jo; Rocky and Bullwinkle; Roger Ramjet; Roman Holidays; Ronin Warriors; Ruff and Reddy Show; Run It Back; Rurouni Kenshin; Sailor Moon; Samurai Jack; Scan2Go; Scaredy Squirrel; Scooby-Doo!; Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated; Screwy Squirrel; Sealab 2020; Secret Mountain Fort Awesome; The Secret Saturdays; Secret Squirrel; Shazzan; Sheep in the Big City; Shirt Tales; Shmoo; Sidekick; Silverhawks; Sitting Ducks; 6teen; Skatebirds; Skunk Fu!; Sky Commanders; Small World; Smurfs; Snagglepuss; Snooper and Blabber; Snorks; Sonic the Hedgehog; Space Ace; Space Ghost; Space Ghost Coast to Coast; Space Kidettes; Space Stars; Speed Buggy; Speed Racer; Spliced; Squiddly Diddly; Squirrel Boy; Star Wars: Clone Wars; Static Shock; Steven Universe; Stoked!; Storm Hawks; Sunday Pants; Super Chicken; Super Friends; Super Hero Squad Show; Superman: The Animated Series; Supernoobs; The Swashbuckling Perils of the Adventures of the Men & Jeremy; SWAT Kats; Sym-Bionic Titan; The Talented Mr. Bixby; Taz-Mania; Team Galaxy; Teddy Blue Eyes; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003); Teen Titans; Teen Titans Go!; Tenchi; Tenkai Knights; Tennessee Tuxedo; Tex Avery Show; The Batman; These Are the Days; Thundarr the Barbarian; ThunderCats; ThunderCats (2011); Time Squad; Tiny Toon Adventures; Tom and Jerry; Tom and Jerry Kids; Toonami; ToonHeads; Top Cat; Total Drama; Totally Spies!; Touche Turtle and Dum Dum; Track Rats; Transformers: Armada; Transformers: Beast Wars; Transformers: Cybertron; Transformers: Energon; Transformers: Robots in Disguise; Tweety and Sylvester; 2 Stupid Dogs; Uncle Grandpa; Underdog; Valley of the Dinosaurs; Voltron; Wacky Races; Wait Till Your Father Gets Home; Wally Gator; Waynehead; We Bare Bears; Wedgies; What a Cartoon!; Whatever Happened To… Robot Jones?; Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch; Where’s Huddles?; Wildfire; Winsome Witch; Winx Club; Woody Woodpecker; Wulin Warriors; Xiaolin Showdown; X-Men: Evolution; Yakky Doodle; Yippee, Yappee and Yahooey; Yogi Bear; Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto!; Young Justice; Young Robin Hood; Young Samson; Yu-Gi-Oh!; YuYu Hakusho; Zatch Bell!; Zixx; Zoids
Other Crosses: Bobb’e Says; BrainRush; Destroy Build Destroy; Dude, What Would Happen; Goosebumps; Hole in the Wall; Incredible Crew; Level Up; My Dad’s a Pro; The Othersiders; Out of Jimmy’s Head; Re: Evolution of Sports; Run It Back; Slamball; Survive This; 10 Count; Thumb Wrestling Federation; Tower Prep; Unnatural History
The Story: Several short stories featuring numerous Cartoon Network characters, original and acquired, in various shared reality segments.
Notes: Since its inception, Cartoon Network has run numerous promos that featured it’s original characters and acquired properties in original short segments that demonstrate that everything seen on Cartoon Network, original or reruns from other networks, takes place in the same shared reality. Most of the segments take place at the Cartoon Network studios, or the town the studio is set in, which seems to be Townsville from the Powerpuff Girls. I conjecture that Townsville is nearby Los Angeles and Toontown. However, there is evidence elsewhere, in Phineas and Ferb, that Townsville is part of the same Tri-State Area as Dansville from Phineas and Ferb. There are several areas in the United States that are known as the Tri-State area, and California is not in any known “tri-state area”. Note that some of the series above are not part of the main Cartoon Universe. Also, some of these series exist in the past for future. Clearly Cartoon Network has access to travel between time and alternate realities.
1995--Godzilla Versus Hero Zero.In San Diego for Comic Con Teen SuperHero Hero Zero Battles Godzilla
1998--GODZILLA (TRI-STAR PICTURES )--A semi-reptilian kaiju emerges near a French Polynesian island and makes its way underwater to Manhattan Island. Based on one survivor's description, the American press labels the creature Godzilla, which it is clearly not. It is theorized in the film that the beast was a marine iguana mutated by radiation. The French send a covert ops team to the US to handle the situation. The US Military makes a mess of Manhattan, and the ersatz Godzilla makes a mess of the US Military, while protecting its nest (this particular monster is hermaphroditic and laid several dozen eggs inside Madison Square Garden). The Frenchmen claim to work for an insurance company named Lao Che, which is the same name as the villain at the beginning of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
This movie did NOT happen in the TVCU. If it had, New York City would have been decimated in 1998. However, the 2004 movie GODZILLA: FINAL WAR shows that the 1998 version of Godzilla does exist in the Toho Multiverse, where he was originally mistaken for Godzilla by the Americans but is now known as Zilla. Because the reality of the TVCU is in the same multiverse as the reality of that movie (due to the shared character of Godzilla), the character of Zilla must also have a counterpart in the TVCU, albeit with a different set of events in its life. So too must Philippe Roaché (played by Jean Reno) and his secretive French commandos exist in the TVCU, allowing at least for the possibility that they have connections to a firm called Lao Che. Another version of Zilla is used in the follow-up animated series GODZILLA: THE SERIES (1998-2000), where the beast is still referred to as Godzilla, and its one surviving offspring travels the world fighting other monsters (this series has no crossovers with established characters owned by Toho or not, but it does feature a few creatures of legend, such as Quetzlcoatl and Nessie). A skewed, less destructive version of the 1998 fiasco exists in an apocryphal version of the TVCU, as confirmed in the April Fool's Day blog, where a hatchling Zilla is designated as a Ginomorph.
SPIDER-MAN/X-MEN: TIME’S ARROW (TRILOGY BY TOM DEFALCO)
Release Date: July 1 - September 1, 1998 (Contemporary Setting)
Series: Spider-Man; X-Men
Horror Crosses: Godzilla
Non-Horror Crosses: Avengers; The Shadow; Doc Savage
The Story: Kang the Conquorer’s latest scheme threatens the multiverse.
Notes: This story takes place in the Marvel Universe, but at one point, alternate realities are shown, including those of the Shadow, Godzilla, and Doc Savage. Thanks to Army of Darkness vs. Marvel Zombies, we know that indeed the Marvel Universe and Horror Universe are part of the same multiverse.
THE SIMPSONS (ANIMATED SERIES)
SEASON 10 EPISODE 23 “THIRTY MINUTES OVER TOKYO”
Release Date: May 16, 1999 (Contemporary Setting)
Horror Crosses: Godzilla; Mothra; Rodan
The Story: The Simpsons visit Tokyo.
Notes: When flying out of Tokyo, the plane the Simpsons are on gets caught in a battle between Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan. Godzilla is in the Horror Universe via a cross with King Kong. This cross brings in Mothra and Rodan, as well as the Simpsons. See my notes on this series above. This episode will be spoofed in 2015’s Hotel Transylvania 2.
GODZILLA AT WORLD’S END (NOVEL BY MARC CERASINI)
Release Date: March 31, 1998 (Setting is 2001)
Series: Godzilla
Horror Crosses: Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos
The Story: At the South Pole, science students find the awakening of an ancient people, who are appalled by the humans who now populate their world, and create cybernetic monsters which they set loose. They devastate South America, Russia, and China, before arriving in Japan where they face Godzilla.
Notes: These ancient ones are the Old Ones from Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness. This is part of a series of novels, which has to take place in a divergent timeline. I do place the original films in the Horror Universe, but here in this story, for example, a huge portion of the world is devastated, which would really alter the rest of the Horror Universe and its views. Additionally, the socio-political structure of the world in this story is not like the real world. Therefore we must assume this to be a divergent timeline. This story is preceded by Godzilla 2000 and followed by Godzilla vs. the Robot Monsters.
Summer 2003 – MONSTER HUNTER INTERNATIONAL--Accountant Owen Pitt kills his boss upon learning that he is a murderous werewolf, and is recruited by Monster Hunter International, a company that kills monsters to cash in on secret government bounties. Owen is told that The Creature from the Black Lagoon was based on a true story, and that both HP Lovecraft and JRR Tolkein based their works on stories they heard from monster hunters. MHI battles the Old Ones. Upon hearing the main villain referred to as “CO”, Owen thinks “After having seen him, and feeling a taste of his power, calling the evil creature something so innocuous seemed a little silly. The residents of Tokyo didn't call Godzilla “Big G.”” Julie Shackleford mentions “the Vanni Fucci incident in Dothan”. Earl Harbinger compares the agents of MHI to famous monster hunters of the past, including Odysseus, St. George, Beowolf, and “Van Helsing with firepower”. (Vanni Fucci is a historical person and a minor character in Dante’s Inferno; this particular reference is to the characters appearance in Dan Simmons short story “Vanni Fucci is Alive and Well and Living in Hell”, in which the character briefly gets out of Hell and appears on an Alabama televangelists program.)
2005 – SECRETS OF JAPAN--The existence of Godzilla within the Lovecraft Mythos RPG CALL OF CTHULHU is confirmed in this sourcebook, though the daikaiju is referred to as "Gazira" for copyright purposes. Gazira is demonstrated to be an enemy to most Mythos forces in the Pacific Ocean, particularly near the Sea of Japan, though he does not show any particular concern for humanity. CALL OF CTHULHU: SECRETS OF JAPAN, Chaosium, 2005
Spring 2005 – MONSTER HUNTER LEGION--While tracking a monster with an unusually large PUFF bounty on its head, an MHI team wonders what it could be, with suggestions ranging from Godzilla to Dracula riding Godzilla.
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| Hangar 18 in Marseilles, France |
Ivan reports on board the USS Lagos Isle on June 6, 2006, and begins a 6-month deployment that takes him to France, Italy, Cyprus, the UAE, and Bahrain. Most significant on this voyage are the two trips to France, which involved working with the French agency Félicie at a local Hangar 18 to study an egg recovered from Madison Square Gardens in 1997, and the subsequent hatching of an alien / kaiju hybrid designated a "Ginomorph". In addition to Félicie and Ordnance forces, Ivan works with the Vatican, Norway's Troll Security Service, the British DMOA, genetic engineer Luthor Praetorius (prodigy of Septimus Pretorius), anthropologist Victoria Waddell, and zoologist Misty Dawn to pursue and subdue the beast. It eludes them at the Chateau d'If and they wind up chasing it across southern Europe. They ultimately dispose of it in Mount Vesuvius near Pompeii in Italy, with help from the Blackhawks. |
| Ivan with the baby Ginomorph |
HELL TO PAY (NOVEL BY SIMON R. GREEN)
Release Date: December 26, 2006 (Contemporary Setting, some weeks after the Lilith War)
Series: Nightside
Horror Crosses: Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos; Shoggoth’s Old Peculiar; Dracula (maybe Love at First Bite); Godzilla; War of the Worlds (novel); Gravel
Non-Horror Crosses: Soylent Green; The Time Machine; Philip Marlowe; Shadows Fall; Maltese Falcon; Back to the Future; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The Story: After war has left the Nightside without leadership, Jeremiah Griffin plots to fill the void. But when his granddaughter goes missing, he hires John Taylor to find her, using his special abilities. However, something is blocking those abilities.
Notes: John comments that the Griffin library probably has the Necronomicon. There is a brewery called Shoggoth’s Old and Very Peculiar. This is a reference to the Cthulhu Mythos and Neil Gaiman’s Shoggoth’s Old Peculiar. There is a mobster named Kid Cthulhu. There is a very drunk Dracula who has been driven out of his castle by the Communists and has to pay alimony to his brides. This might be a reference to Love at First Bite. Whether it is or not, I would propose this to be another soul clone. There is a reference to Godzilla, though not by name. In a bit of a parody, he is treated as a has-been monster. There is a drug called Martian Red Weed, a reference to War of the Worlds. One place that John visits in his investigation is guarded by combat magician Gravel. John mentions that since the war, a lot of the Nightside restaurants are serving Soylent Green. (Soylent Green is people.) There are some Morlocks at the Strangefellows bar. These are the creatures who exist in the far future in H.G. Wells’ Time Machine. There have been different origins for the Morlocks in the Horror Universe. The initial idea was that they were an evolutionary offshoot of humanity. Other stories have tied them to the Mi-Go of Lovecraft’s Mythos or the descendants of Moreau’s experiments. Whatever the case, these Morlocks are probably from the future, as the Nightside exists outside time and space. John remarks that if Philip Marlowe had had this case, he would have quit and become a plumber. Old Father Time is mentioned. He is a character from Shadows Fall. Also appearing are Bruin Bear and Sea Goat. They are characters from Shadows Fall as well. Their realm is a place where imaginary characters exist, and even real people reside there if they become legends. In many ways, this is similar to Imaginationland from South Park or the Land of Fiction seen in Hellblazer. They may be the same place. It may be that the animated beings brought to life such as the Looney Tunes characters may actually be pulled from this realm. Another character remarks that Griffin’s wife would buy the Maltese Falcon just so that nobody else could have it. A Delorean is spotted, “still spitting discharging tachyons”. Clearly this is the same time machine from Back to the Future. Two elves from A Midsummer’s Night Dream appear. One attendee at a party is Lady Orlando, whose description matches that of Orlando from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
HACK/SLASH # 28 “SOMETHING’S FISHY” (DEVIL’S DUE)
Release Date: December 2, 2009 (Contemporary Setting)
Series: Hack/Slash
Horror Crosses: Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos; Frankenstein (Mary Shelley); Hellboy; Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Godzilla
Non-Horror Crosses: Archie (See Notes)
The Story: In her continuing quest to recreate reality, the entity known as Mary Shelley Lovecraft tries to alter the town of Haverhill, transforming it from the typical slice of Americana to a Lovecraftian horror story.
Notes: Mary Shelley Lovecraft is a recurring foe of Cassie. She is an otherworldly entity that sees everything as fictional and can traverse through alternate realities. She is obsessed with rewriting reality. Her name is chosen for the inference to Mary Shelley and H.P. Lovecraft. In this story, she turns Deep Ones (from Lovecraft’s Shadow over Innsmouth) into creatures like the original Frankenstein Monster. Mary mentions that with all the monster hunters running around, she is lucky not to have run into that red devil boy with the horns, a reference to Hellboy. She also compares Cassie to the more popular Summers girl, meaning Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Mary also brags that she is Cthulhu, Frankenstein, and Godzilla all rolled into one. The town of Haverhill is a parody of Riverdale, and indeed the characters of the town are all parodies of Archie and his supporting cast. Cassie has been here in a previous story. However, since this is a parody, I’m choosing not to use this to bring in Archie. However, in reverse, Riverdale was actually based on the real town of Haverhill, Massachusetts. Since there are no indications that the comic book or cartoon versions of Archie exist in the Horror Universe, there’s no reason not to believe that this version from this story isn’t the Horror Universe counterpart of Archie and his gang.
October 2010--FAMILY GUY--"Halloween on Spooner Street"--Mayor Adam West passes out candy to a kid dressed as Batman. The real Adam West starred in the title role of the classic campy 1960's TV show of the same name. A monster resembling Godzilla is shown getting blown up by Stewie's rocket after it misfires.
MONSTER HUNTER LEGION (NOVEL BY LARRY CORREIA)
Release Date: September 4, 2012 (Contemporary Setting)
Series: Monster Hunter International
Horror Crosses: Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos; Godzilla; Dracula (novel)
The Story: The MHI team must stop an ancient god from returning in Las Vegas.
Notes: All MHI books have Lovecraftian references. When referencing a monster, they compare it to ”Dracula riding Godzilla”. In the first MHI novel, Van Helsing and Godzilla are both referred to as real.
2013--HELL TO PAY (Novel by Larry Correia, Baen Books, 2013)--“Not far away, half-spilling out of a private booth and ostentatiously ignoring the old vampire, was the Thing That Walked Like an It. Star of a dozen monster movies back in the fifties, now it was reduced to signing photos of itself at memorabilia conventions. There’d been a whole bunch of them the week before, reminiscing about all the cities they’d terrorized in their prime. Now, if it wasn’t for nostalgia, no one would remember them at all. (The Big Green Lizard was banned from the convention circuit because of his refusal to wear a diaper after the “radioactive dump” incident.)” The "Big Green Lizard" is a clear reference to Godzilla.
May 20, 2014--JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE--Lie Witness News on Jimmy Kimmel Live asked people on the streets of their opinions about exploiting the 'real' Godzilla attack on Tokyo for the purpose of making movies. Some people took the bait, mean that they live in the TVCU, the Toho Multiverse, or worse, some dark cave in the recesses of their minds.
TVCU Crew Review!
This week I posed the question: Anyone here have any theories regarding multiple Godzillas coexisting in the same reality, to explain variations on the character? This sparked a very lengthy multi-day discussion with lots of involvement from many folks. The major consensus seems to be that Godzilla is a reference to a type of creature, and that there are indeed more than one. In fact, the second Godzilla film mentions that the first Godzilla was indeed killed and that the one appearing in the follow-up Toho films is a second Godzilla.
PACIFIC RIM (FILM)
Release Date: July 12, 2013 (Setting is the 2020s)
Series: Pacific Rim
Horror Crosses: Hellboy (film); Godzilla (2014); Godzilla (original)
Non-Horror Crosses: Portal; Doctor Who
The Story: A portal opens that sends giant monsters from their dimension to ours over a period of time, a few at a time. The humans fight back by creating giant robots.
Notes: Pacific Rim takes place in a divergent timeline. Even though the main story is set in our near future, the monsters are said to have started to show up in 2013. When Gypsy Danger travels to the monster dimension, the Crystal Prison from Hellboy is seen. In flashbacks to the early days of the war against the monsters, Godzilla’s roar is heard, lining up with the 2014 Godzilla film. The GLaDOS operating system in this film is from the Portal video games. Some argue that the drift technology in this film is a crossover with Doctor Who. Others say it’s not. I’m including it and letting the reader decide. The Serizawa Scale is used to determine the size of the monsters (called kaiju). Serizawa was the scientist in the original Godzilla film. One of his family was also an expert in the 2014 film. The 2014 film references that the original events from 1954 also happened. It seems that the Pacific Rim timeline may have diverged during the events of the original Godzilla film.
Alternate Versions:
Yes, even this character has counterparts in other realms.
AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE--A horror themed alternate reality for the Archie Comics characters. Crossovers include: "The Music of Eric Zann", "Godzilla is Yig", Cthulhu, shoggoths and other Lovecraftian entities, the Necronomicon, Dr Lovecraft, Kandarian demons
In Marc Cerasini’s Godzilla novel Godzilla at World’s End, Miskatonic University is mentioned.
In the Godzilla movie Godzilla-Mothra-King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, the 1998 American Godzilla is mentioned. It’s mentioned that a giant monster attacked New York a few years ago, and one Japanese soldier comments that he thought that was Godzilla, to which his friend says “That’s what the Americans claimed, but our scientists have their doubts.” Godzilla would go on to fight different versions of “Zilla” in both the movie Godzilla: Final Wars and in IDW’s comic Godzilla: Rulers of Earth.
GODZILLA DIVERGENT TIMELINE--In the alternate timeline where Godzilla rose and attached New York City in 1998, The insurance company Jean Reno claims to work for is named Lao Che, which is the same name as the villian at the beginning of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Bonus. Horror Crossover Universe! --Godzilla
Crazy Ivan: Live action movies I place in the Loonieverse include George of the Jungle and Dudle Do-Right, as well as Godzilla vs Hedoah (the Smog Monster). But when a movie like Roger Rabbit, Space Jam, or Rocky & Bullwinkle makes a clear distinction between the reality the cartoon characters live in and the reality that the humans live in (so does Cool World, but there's no crossover for that one that I know of). Robert E. Wronski, Jr.: As for George and Do-Right, those are live action remakes, so they would be in the Cineverse. Cool World has no crossover connections, so likely is in the Cineverse and Tooniverse. I actually think Rocky and Bullwinkle is in the TVCU, because of a reference in Crossovers. I'm curious how you connect the Godzilla film to the Loonivers. Crazy Ivan: The Loonieverse already has a version of Godzilla, as seen in the old Hanna-Barbara series (w/ Godzooky, the Jar Jar Binks of dai kaiju) and an episode of Drawn Together. In the movie Godzilla vs Hedorah, the Big G dances, flies, and generally acts like a dilweed in light of the awful majesty that IS the King of Monsters in every other G-flick (except maybe the one that's just a dream sequence in which a kid thinks Minya can talk and change his size). I'll point out that the movie ALSO has animated sequences, which is why I feel justified in thinking this is a live movie of the Looneyverse Godzilla, rather than, say, the lame-o-verse version of Godzilla. Robert E. Wronski, Jr.: Just being animated is not enough to bring something into the Looniverse. Let's be clear there is a difference between the Looniverse and the Tooniverse. The Looniverse is connected via crossovers whereas the Tooniverse contains all cartoon. It's the same distinction between the TVCU and Toob World. But the Drawn Together connection does bring the cartoon into the Looniverse, and probably dancing Godzilla.
GODZILLA DIVERGENT TIMELINE--In the alternate timeline where Godzilla rose and attached New York City in 1998, The insurance company Jean Reno claims to work for is named Lao Che, which is the same name as the villian at the beginning of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Bonus. Horror Crossover Universe! --Godzilla
Crazy Ivan: Live action movies I place in the Loonieverse include George of the Jungle and Dudle Do-Right, as well as Godzilla vs Hedoah (the Smog Monster). But when a movie like Roger Rabbit, Space Jam, or Rocky & Bullwinkle makes a clear distinction between the reality the cartoon characters live in and the reality that the humans live in (so does Cool World, but there's no crossover for that one that I know of). Robert E. Wronski, Jr.: As for George and Do-Right, those are live action remakes, so they would be in the Cineverse. Cool World has no crossover connections, so likely is in the Cineverse and Tooniverse. I actually think Rocky and Bullwinkle is in the TVCU, because of a reference in Crossovers. I'm curious how you connect the Godzilla film to the Loonivers. Crazy Ivan: The Loonieverse already has a version of Godzilla, as seen in the old Hanna-Barbara series (w/ Godzooky, the Jar Jar Binks of dai kaiju) and an episode of Drawn Together. In the movie Godzilla vs Hedorah, the Big G dances, flies, and generally acts like a dilweed in light of the awful majesty that IS the King of Monsters in every other G-flick (except maybe the one that's just a dream sequence in which a kid thinks Minya can talk and change his size). I'll point out that the movie ALSO has animated sequences, which is why I feel justified in thinking this is a live movie of the Looneyverse Godzilla, rather than, say, the lame-o-verse version of Godzilla. Robert E. Wronski, Jr.: Just being animated is not enough to bring something into the Looniverse. Let's be clear there is a difference between the Looniverse and the Tooniverse. The Looniverse is connected via crossovers whereas the Tooniverse contains all cartoon. It's the same distinction between the TVCU and Toob World. But the Drawn Together connection does bring the cartoon into the Looniverse, and probably dancing Godzilla.
And you can purchase the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia by clicking here.
Robert: When I was little, my parents didn’t let me watch R rated movies. But I was allowed to watch anything that was on any of the six channels our television received. So I got to see older films and edited for television films. I fondly remember on Saturdays watching the Creature Double Feature, which showed old Universal, Hammer, Godzilla and B-1950s sci-fi monster films. I was very interested in scary stories, particularly with a supernatural element. Of all the monsters, vampires were my favorite, and I even admired Dracula’s character.
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