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The most overlooked part of Godzilla is the trauma that follows in his footsteps. In the new comic book Mega, the kaiju is trauma.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Red 5’s Mega
In the American version of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the iconic Kaiju’s first attack is referred to as a bright flash of light causing devastation to those in range. As the series went on, so did the allegory of the dangers of nuclear war. As times changed, so did what Kaiju represent. In Pacific Rim, Kaiju represented the effects of climate change. In the more recent Godzilla films, they represented the protective, if indifferent, forces of nature. In Mega, a new Red 5 series written and drawn by Salvador Sanz with cover art by Raymond Estrada, the monsters of the deep seem to represent something far different: childhood trauma.
Mega begins with a monster, Salamander, being released from a cocoon which is later revealed to be a prison cell. Tina, a six-year-old girl, becomes aware of the monster on the news. Her grandfather then tells her that using a horn in his office will stop it. This horn summons the Guardian, another Kaiju, and the guard of the prison, to defeat Salamander. All of this is rather standard Kaiju fare, but the way that Mega approaches these monsters implies that there is more than simple Kaiju fighting about.
Unclear Kaiju Look Like Unconquerable Disasters
The design of the first Kaiju stands out in stark contrast to the light colors of most of the book, and it lacks a lot of definition. In a comic that isn’t lacking in detail, this massive monster without a definitive shape stands out. Though the creature is easy for the reader to see in detailed close-ups, the overwhelming darkness of it takes over the image. There are pages that are covered in only the blackness of the Salamander and the orange-red of the destruction his fire breath wreaks. The fight in Issue #2 blurs which monster is the Guardian and which is the Salamander, much like how a child feels hearing so many terms and events on the news of importance, but is confused as to what it all means.
The Kaiju’s aetheric shapes feel at once foreboding and unclear. Their form seems unknown and unknowable, even to the generally omniscient reader. The only clarity of these unknown creatures is that they are huge and destructive. To Tina as a child, these would be as difficult to process as any given disaster. Scores of people are dying, a relatively new experience for her, and nobody can do anything about it.
Mega Has Godzilla-Sized Responsibility For A Child
Nobody, that is, except for Tina. She is told by her grandfather that she is the only one who can save the world after not speaking to her in years. A “naughty boy named Sandoval” is releasing monsters who were the original residents of the earth, which was a prison colony. Not only is the weight of the world put on the girl’s shoulders, but she learns that the earth is actually a rotten, evil place beyond her imagination. All of this is to be kept as a secret from her father according to a man whom she barely knows.
All of this pressure and evil is allegorical for the loss of innocence, a common form of scarring trauma for child characters. This six-year-old girl has her belief in what the world is ripped away, and the trauma associated with this isn’t given the time it needs. She must immediately steal a magical object in order to save the world. Much like the children of today, Tina cannot rely upon the former generations to make things good for her or leave the world better than they found it. She has the entirety of the responsibility foisted upon her, even though it feels far larger than anyone could handle.
The Long Game of Trauma And The True Monsters
Tina being forced to save the world is not the sole event that serves as trauma either. Most instances of trauma, too, are not from a single event, but many. She is a child of a divorced household, and the relationship between her parents appears to be tenuous at a minimum. Tina’s father yells at her in the first issue for leaving the lights on. What’s more, after summoning the Guardian, the Kaiju appear to end their fight with death, which was ultimately caused by Tina’s actions.
This isn’t a story about Kaiju. They are present, but they serve as a foil for the characters’ perceptions, especially Tina. In focusing on Tina as the main character of the narrative, Mega takes what could be a straightforward comic about giant monsters fighting and makes it much deeper.
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