Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong 2 #1
Scheduled to arrive in stores: June 4, 2025
Cover date: August 2025
“Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong 2”
Writer: Brian Buccellato
Artist: Christian Duce
Cover: Christian Duce
Variant Cover: Dan Mora, Alan Quah, and Gabrial Hardman
Foil Variant: John Giang
1:25 Variant Cover: Kevin Maguire
1:50 Variant Cover: Carlos D’anda
1:100 Variant Cover: Christian Duce
Reviewed by: JP Rocha
The story starts off with Amanda Waller reviewing the recent Titan attack. As part of a countermeasure to protect the interest of the United States of America in the event of another Titan attack, Task Force X has entered an interagency partnership with the Human Defense Corps (HDC). The HDC was created to eliminate government dependency on unaffiliated metahumans.
The story transitions to the wedding of Barry Allen and Iris West. In attendance are Clark and Lois, and standing up in the wedding are Hal Jordan, Wally West, Bart Allen, and Jay Garrick. All the other heroes are watching from a screen in another room, since they do not have public relationships with Barry Allen. They do not want Barry’s identity to be revealed, for not even Iris knows that he is The Flash.
During the wedding reception, Lois gets a message from Mercy Graves that Lex Luthor is missing and cannot be found despite Lexcorp’s many resources. The Justice League meets Mercy at an off-the-grid Nevada desert bunker. Mercy updates the team that Lex’s power suit went online 36 hours ago from this site, then disappeared. The team goes to investigate and finds a Boom Tube that has been modified into a Multiversal Portal. The assumption is that wherever Lex is, he is on the other side of that portal. A team of Superman, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Flash goes to investigate, and they find that the portal leads to Skull Island.
Meanwhile, we see that Amanda Waller, the HDC, Task Force X, and Lex are experimenting on King Shark. Lex Luthor and the Enchantress have used a combination of technology and magic to enhance King Shark. The beta experiment seems to have worked as King Shark is now larger than Cape Town Stadium, as in a scene right out of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, he emerges from the stadium.
This alerts Godzilla, who confronts the amped-up King Shark. For a short time, King Shark holds his own unit, the effects wear off, and he returns to his normal size. With the threat neutralized, Godzilla retreats back to the sea.
Shortly after the successful experiment, Amanda Waller is alerted that the Justice League has followed them through the portal, as she has been monitoring Kong, who has just confronted the Justice League. Unfortunately, the Justice League’s hopes are lost, as it seems that Kong does not remember them from their first interaction.
Story – 4: Brian Buccellato is back to tell us the next installment of the “Justice League vs Godzilla vs Kong” story. This story takes place four years after “G-Day”. This time, at least for this first issue, it seems that the story will take place in the world of the Monsterverse. In the first installment, it was the Legion of Doom that initiated the plot. In this installment, it is Amanda Waller and Task Force X. The common link between both teams of antagonists is Lex Luthor, who has been recruited by Waller for her Suicide Squad.
This Suicide Squad is made up of Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Peacemaker, Captain Cold, Black Manta, Enchantress, Cheetah, King Shark, and Killer Croc. When we are first introduced to the team, Lex’s arrogance is clearly annoying the team, who dismiss him as annoying. This dynamic helps to add a little humor to the story.
Crossover events can be a fun way to play with different character dynamics. It is a common trope in crossovers for the story to focus on characters from different universes just reacting to each other, but ultimately lacking a strong plot. Buccellato tries to make the world feel more real, giving readers a sense that these crossovers can and are happening in the DC and Monsterverse worlds. One tool that Buccellato uses is focusing on character development, as the first installment had the plot of Clark and Lois getting engaged, and now, in this first issue, with Barry and Iris getting married.Art – 4: Christian Duce is also back for this installment, but unfortunately, we must wait for almost half of the book to get his first monster. However, the wait is worth it as we get a great three-quarter page shot of a giant King Shark rising out of DHL Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa. While the King Shark spotlight is great, the issues spotlight images of Godzilla and Kong are even better. Duce reminds us that he is the perfect artist to draw this DC Monsterverse crossover.Cover Art – 4: The main cover by Christian Duce features Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, with Godzilla and King Kong in the background. While the monsters look great, the characters, while good, are uniquely stylized. Duce’s Batman and Wonder Woman are unique but look great. His Superman, while good, just does not look like Superman to me.
There are variant covers by Dan Mora, Alan Quah, and Gabriel Hardman. All three variant covers are good, the Gabriel Hardman cover is my favorite. The Dan Mora cover spotlights the Suicide Squad: Harley Quinn, Black Manta, King Shark, Killer Croc, Peacemaker, Cheetah, and Lex Luthor. Also featured are three monsters: King Ghidorah, Rodan, and Mothra. The Alan Quah is a fun cover, he draws our eye from Superman to Green Arrow to Lex Luthor. Outside of this main triangle, the characters are surrounded by Godzilla and other monsters. The Hardman is broken into quadrants, each featuring a character: King Ghidorah, Godzilla, Green Lantern, and Flash. There is also a foil variant by John Giang with a gold and red King Ghidoarah surrounded by Green Lantern, Superman, and Wonder Woman.
There are two Incentive Covers: Kevin Maguire (1:25), Carlos D’Anda (1:50), and Christian Duce (1:100). The Kevin Maguire cover is a simple but excellent cover of Godzilla staring at us and Superman. The Carlos D’Anda is a fun, more cartoony style featuring the Suicide Squad. The Duce cover is a virgin version of his main cover.
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