Comic Book Review – Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #7

Who… or what, is Jet Jaguar? The size-changing robot has appeared mysteriously, but is he friend or foe? As the alien attack on earth ramps up, Jet Jaguar holds the balance of power in his hands!

PUNCH! PUNCH! PUNCH!

In the last issue of Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Chris Mowry and Matt Frank made a very strong effort to make some of the lesser known kaiju into worthy advisories to take on The King of the Monsters. Due to the duo’s incredible level of talent, they managed to make Moguera and Orga into characters that could stand toe to toe with Godzilla, but the final panel tease showed that they were about to take on a kaiju that is known as the “joke” of the franchise.

Mowry and Frank have brought Jet Jaguar into the fold.

For those not in the know, Jet Jaguar was the product of Godzilla’s declining popularity in the 70s against the easier-to-access Tokusatsu shows such as Ultraman. In order to get the kids back into the cinemas, Toho put out a competition for children to create a new character that they would then make a film from. The winning kaiju was the size-changing robot Jet Jaguar (who really bears a striking resemblance to Ultraman) and his movie was about to go into production. But when they got cold feet about whether Jet Jaguar could hold his own in a solo feature, Toho put Godzilla in the movie to add marquee value in what would become the 1973 flop Godzilla vs. Megalon. Made on a very low budget, Godzilla vs. Megalon was a critical and financial failure and has become the butt of jokes among the franchise, having been spoofed by shows such as Mystery Science Theatre 3000. With the movie’s failings, Jet Jaguar was thrown on the scrap heap, only to be referenced as an embarrassment of as a character. He didn’t even get a second chance in Godzilla: Final Wars, and even Hedorah got a showing in that picture.

So it’s very brave of Mowry and Frank to bring this much maligned character into their mix, but his inclusion further highlights just how brilliant these two have been during this series. Like many have been saying about Gareth Edwards and his Godzilla trailer, Mowry and Frank are clearly fans of this franchise and their love of everything Godzilla shines through the pages. Jet Jaguar isn’t treated as a joke and is instead given some dignity as he throws down with Gigan and even the big guys himself. Like Zilla, Mowry and Frank are clearly clued up on Jet Jaguar’s reputation but they don’t let it phase them, and it pays off in a big way.

Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #7 is an amazing amount of fun. After the action-packed previous issue you’d think they’d step of the gas to allow for some exposition, but Mowry and Frank power forward with another full-blown action spectacle with some superb kaiju collisions that are coupled with beautiful artwork and excellent writing. There are times when the action can be hard to follow as the panel progression doesn’t always work, but 90% of the time it’s fantastic.

But that’s not to say that Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #7 is mindless as it also makes time to move the plot forward. Again taking clear inspiration from the Godzilla movies of the 60s and 70s, Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #7 delves further into the sci-fi elements which leads to some interesting (if a little obvious) plot twists. Monster action is the hook that gets readers in, but it’s the brilliant stories that keep us watching (or reading in this case) and Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #7 has that in spades.

It’s a lot of fun, there’s some great monster action and the story is showing no signs of getting stale – Chris Mowry and Matt Frank have done it once again. Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #7 is another great issue in what has already been an amazing series.

Luke Owen is one of Flickering Myth’s co-editors and the host of the Flickering Myth Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @LukeWritesStuff.