Godzilla: Awakening is without a doubt a must-have for any Godzilla fan going to see Godzilla (2014) this weekend. The comic offers great insight to many of the unanswered questions surrounding the film’s plot as well as opens up a slew of potential for any sequels Legendary considers. Throughout this review I will try to avoid spoilers, but some details from the comic are crucial to understanding aspects of the new film and so I will be going over those briefly.
Godzilla: Awakening is a moderately paced, easy to follow, enjoyable prequel story to Godzilla (2014). The artwork is superb, Godzilla’s representation is serious in tone and the characters found throughout the comic pay homage to many of the individuals involved with Toho’s original series. It is evident Max and Greg Borenstein (the writers) are Godzilla fans at heart and appreciate the mythology associated with the character.
The story opens up by introducing key characters which help us understand the importance of Ken Watanabe’s character in the film, Ichiro Serizawa. The entire comic explains how and why Godzilla was awakened in the first place, and its relationship with the MUTO organism; both prehistoric creatures which required nuclear radiation to survive and grow. However the true nature of Godzilla’s evolution is not addressed and probably for the best, as some aspects of this mythological creature should be left to the reader’s/viewer’s imagination.
As we now know, the M.U.T.O acronym stands for “Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism”. The comic does a great job of explaining every aspect of both Godzilla’s and the MUTO’s history. Following a meteor’s impact, some hundred million years ago, both Godzilla and the MUTOs were driven deep beneath the Earth’s surface, to where they could feed off of the nuclear energy being expelled from the Earth’s core. The bombing of Hiroshima in 1945 is what drew them from their slumber.
As we later learn, Godzilla was the alpha predator of his time (and any time for that matter). The MUTO is a strange organism, made up of massive cells which can regenerate themselves, even after being ripped apart and even exploded! Godzilla’s purpose was simple – keep the MUTO in check; maintain the balance. When the MUTO’s wake up, Godzilla must regain the balance once again before the MUTO can reproduce and essentially overtake the world.
One of the things I found extremely interesting is how Max and Greg Borenstein added detail and understanding to Godzilla’s atomic breath. Unlike previous Godzilla films and comics, where the atomic breath was used simply as a weapon, in this comic – and again in the film, Godzilla’s atomic breath is actually used as a tool. As it turns out, it’s the only thing that can completely kill MUTO cells. The exact nature of how Godzilla conjures his atomic breath is left as a mystery, but the purpose for which it had been designed is now clear.
These were just a few points throughout the comic’s plotline that really helped put things into perspective and aid in understanding many of the aspects present in the new film. There were other enticing bits of information found throughout the comic, but I don’t want to spoil any surprises.
Godzilla: Awakening offers a lot of depth to the franchise’s history, Godzilla, the MUTO and its human characters. The artwork throughout as well as the cover are magnificent and make for a fine addition to any comic / Godzilla collection. It’s evident that this comic was handled with care and its creators were appreciative of the legacy they were carrying forward. They even named a character in the comic Ishiro, paying homage to Ishiro Honda, the director of the 1954 Gojira (as well as many others). It’s this kind of attention to detail and care for the franchise that makes Godzilla: Awakening a must-have for any true, Godzilla fan.
Overall, I'd give the comic a solid 9/10.
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