There are few characters in the Marvel Comics universe as strange as American Kaiju, and the strangest part about him is how much in common he has with Captain America. Commonly known as Marvel's resident Godzilla, American Kaiju occupies a specific corner of comics that balances familiar themes with an outlandish premise. He combines Marvel's rich history of monsters with its cautionary tales about government-sanctioned scientific experimentation.
American Kaiju's origin story is very similar to Captain America's, and is the latest in a long line of heroes who were created in an effort to replicate the original Super Soldier Serum. Corporal Todd Ziller was a lab rat in an experiment led by US Army general Robert L. Maverick, a man whose lofty ambitions even Thunderbolt Ross thought were "heavy-handed." Obsessed with recreating the original Erskine Super Soldier Serum, Ziller was given a nightmarish cocktail of substances that included Pym Particles, gamma radiation, mutant growth hormone, and even the serum developed by the Lizard (Curt Connors). The result turned Ziller into a hybrid of all of these substances: a giant lizard monster with an enormous American flag emblazoned on his skin.
Ziller retains his ability to think like a human while in kaiju form, and he is able to change back to his original body with an anti-serum injection. Perhaps the funniest part about his character is that his battle cry is "YUUUU ESSSSSSS AYYYYYYY!" He possesses a level of theatrics that makes him unrivaled by most of Marvel's hero lineup. Debuting in 2015 with All-New, All-Different Avengers #0 by Al Ewing (art by Gerardo Sandoval, colors by Dono Sanchez, Almara, ad letters by VC's Joe Caramagna), American Kaiju has not been seen much outside of a fight he had with the New Avengers in 2016. However, recently, the character appeared in Planet of the Symbiotes #2, (written by Marc Bernardin, art by Kyle Hotz, colors by Rachelle Rosenberg) from The King in Black storyline. And it is here that the character really gets to shine as Captain America's dark kaiju alternate.
Covering the course of his brutal battle with Knull's Grendel dragons, Ziller wondered whether or not his superpowers made him a monster, both in the literal and figural sense. He admits that he joined the army because he wanted to do good things on behalf of his country, but has since become disillusioned with the actions of the state. Being transformed into a kaiju to satisfy the goals of a gung ho general was not exactly part of his plan, and he spends the issue ruminating on how his very existence as American Kaiju puts him on a path of destruction. No matter how heroic his actions are, Ziller always leaves a trail of destruction in his wake.
Bernardin's writing brings out subtle parallels between Ziller's story and Steve Rogers's, providing American Kaiju with some much-needed psychological depth. While the kaiju genre provides plenty of awe-striking spectacles, Ziller's self-reflective inner monologue prompts readers to question how they consume kaiju media. Yes, it is satisfying in The King in Black to see a giant lizard take down Grendel dragons like paper airplanes, but at what cost?
Steve Rogers was chosen for the Super Soldier Serum because of his honorable conscience, but Todd Ziller volunteered for General Maverick's experiment because he had no qualms with trading his humanity for becoming America's greatest weapon. American Kaiju presents a dark underside to Captain America's patriotism, one that is updated for the world today, endowing him with immense character potential. Given how Captain America has evolved with the times these past several decades, American Kaiju is poised for a similarly impactful journey in the years to come.