ROB TAKIGUCHI
Real Name: Robert "Rob" Takiguchi
Identity/Class: Human;
Japanese citizen
Occupation: Unrevealed;
student when last seen
Group Membership: Formerly an unofficial member of the Godzilla Squad/"Green Team" (Timothy "Dum-Dum" Dugan, Tamara Hashioka,
Dr. Gladstone Hawkins, Hugh Howards, Gabe Jones, Yuriko Takiguchi, James "Jimmy" Woo);
Affiliations: Godzilla, Red Ronin, S.H.I.E.L.D. (Supreme Headquarters
International Espionage Law-enforcement Division; notably Dum-Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, and Jimmy Woo);
he met Mega-Monsters (Krollar, Rhiahn, Triax), Warlords of Mega, YetrigarNick Fury and Tony Stark but had minimal interaction with either of them;
formerly Red Ronin
Enemies: Mega-Monsters (Krollar, Rhiahn, Triax), Warlords of Mega, Yetrigar;
antagonist relationship with Dum-Dum Dugan, although Dugan sought to protect Rob
Known Relatives: Yuriko Takiguchi ((presumptive paternal) grandfather, deceased), Yuriko's son (possibly Rob's father, deceased; see comments)
Aliases: Little Rob;
"Tiger" (from Hugh Howards);
"Champion of Earth" (a descriptive term from the Warlords of Mega);
"whinin' little brat," "snot-nosed punk" (from Dum-Dum Dugan)
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
formerly the Behemoth helicarrier;
at least formerly Japan
First Appearance: Godzilla#1 (August, 1977)
Powers/Abilities: Rob is highly intelligent,
able to understand high-tech blueprints and to operate advanced
technology such as the Red Ronin robot.
See the Red Ronin profile for details on the various weapons systems, etc. that Rob commanded while operating Red Ronin.
Additionally, Rob had a borderline
empathic ability to reach, communicate with, and earn the trust of
Godzilla.
He was also clever enough to outwit various S.H.I.E.L.D. agents (see comments).
High emotional, Rob frequently cried with anger, sadness, and happiness.
Twelve years old at the time of
his Godzilla encounters, Rob likely developed other skills and
abilities as he matured in adulthood.
Height: Unrevealed (approximately 4' when last seen; almost certainly significantly taller since then)
Weight: Unrevealed (perhaps 70 lbs.when last seen; almost certainly significantly taller since then)
Eyes: Apparently blue (see comments; occasionally shown as brown, such as in Godzilla#11 & #13)
Hair: Black
History:
(Godzilla#1
(fb) - BTS) - After
Godzilla surfaced on the coast of Alaska, the Pentagon and the White
House (presumably the President of the United States of America/POTUS)
granted security clearance to Dr. Takiguchi and his assistant, Tamara
Hashioka, based on their plans for a way to stop Godzilla (a giant
robot temporarily designated SJ3 RX, which would become known as Red
Ronin).
(Godzilla#1 (fb) - BTS) - S.H.I.E.L.D.
director Nick Fury flew the two, along with Yuriko's twelve-year-old
grandson, Robert, to meet up with the SHIELD helicarrier/mini-carrier
in Alaska to confront Godzilla.
(Godzilla#1)
- Fury flew Yuriko, Rob, and Tamara to Alaska in an experimental VTOL
(Vertical Take-Off and Landing) fighter jet. As they passed over
northwest Canada, Tamara remarked that she hoped there
would not be more lives lost, and Rob interrupted, asking about Godzilla
and noting that the Americans would probably try to kill him
without trying to understand him. Yuriko tried to silence Rob, telling
him that Fury might overhear him and misunderstand. Rob tried to
continue that he feared for <Godzilla>, but Yuriko cut him off,
stating that they all feared, as well they should, as Godzilla was the
most dangerous and unpredictable being alive.
Rob and the others arrived as
Godzilla fought off and escaped from SHIELD forces led by "Dum-Dum
Dugan," confirming that this was indeed Godzilla. After they landed,
Fury introduced Yuriko and the others to Dugan.
(Godzilla#2) - Aboard the
SHIELD helicarrier/mini-carrier, as Godzilla assaulted Seattle,
Washington, Rob sat and listened as Yuriko revealed his part with Godzilla and concluded that
Godzilla represented a hitherto unknown essence of life and behavior,
which made him both unpredictable and dangerous. Rob interrupted, arguing that
Godzilla had many times saved Japan from real evil and was considered a
hero by many, and that they must not be allowed to kill Godzilla. Yuriko reminded Rob of his instructions against such
outbursts and of his past reprimands.
After SHIELD's efforts led to Godzilla being knocked back into the
ocean, Rob silently considered that the Americans were clever and
resourceful but that they did not understand Godzilla as he did. Rob
concluded that he was Godzilla's only hope.
(Godzilla#3 - BTS) - The SHIELD
"Godzilla Squad" contingent unsuccessfully opposed Godzilla in San
Francisco (with their mini-carrier ultimately/inadvertently being
caused to crash by Hercules of the Los Angeles-based Champions.
(Godzilla#3) - Yuriko,
Rob, Tamara, and Jimmy Woo's plane landed at Tony Stark's private
Detroit airstrip, and they soon met with Stark himself at his Detroit
Stark International facility. After Yuriko introduced
Stark to Tamara and Rob, Stark showed them around. Rob subsequently considered that the security at that location would not be too difficult.
(Godzilla#4) - As Yuriko
worked on designs/blueprints, Rob noted from his his grandfather's
disapproving glare that he did not approve of the Chinese-American Jimmy Woo
flirting with Tamara.
(Godzilla#6 (fb) - BTS) -
Rob studied his grandfather's designs for the giant robot SJ3 RX.
Knowing that too many questions would have made his grandfather and
Tamara suspicious, Rob refrained from asking them much, leaving him in
the dark about what purpose all of its equipment served.
(Godzilla#6 (fb) - BTS) -
Rob sneaked onto catwalk above SJ3 RX -- which the Stark facility had
constructed -- and waited there all day.
(Godzilla#6) - As Yuriko viewed the completed SJ3 RX and noted that he
imagined that one of Fury's SHIELD agents would operate it, he was
unaware that Rob watched from above, plotting to usurp control of the
giant robot for himself.
Later
that night, Rob sneaked past the security guards and descended atop the
giant robot via a rope. Aware of the robot's layout from viewing
blueprints, Rob entered through an eye into the control cockpit and
donned the
cybernetic control helmet; however, his efforts to activate and control
the robot led to an electrical discharge that knocked him out.
(Godzilla#7 (fb) - BTS) -
Gabe Jones called the Stark facility, informing Yuriko that Godzilla
had broken free of containment in a missile installation.
(Godzilla#7 - BTS) - After the
robot activated and began moving without direction, Jimmy Woo
airdropped into the robot's eye, and he apparently lucked upon the
controls that stopped the robot's motion, after which he brought Rob
with him and exited the robot.
Tamara asked the
still-dazed Rob why he had done it, and he told her that he didn't want
the robot to kill Godzilla.
(Godzilla#7) - After Jimmy
Woo recovered Rob from the robot, Yuriko approached, noting that the
news about Godzilla. Though a Stark agent noted that the robot had
neither been cleared for testing nor had been inspected, Yuriko argued
that the robot was in operating condition and it might be their only
chance. Jimmy Woo agreed with Yuriko and entered the robot with the
plan to operate it.
(Godzilla#7 (fb) - BTS) -
Yuriko provided remote instructions to Jimmy via headset, but the robot
failed to respond to Jimmy's commands.
(Godzilla#7) - Yuriko noted that the robots failure to respond indicated that something was wrong.
(Godzilla#7) - When Jimmy
noted that the robot had worked minutes earlier with Rob at the
controls, Yuriko considered that if an overload was caused by a certain
number of circuits being activated in just the right (or wrong,
depending on perspective) sequence, the cybernetic control-helmet could
be locked onto the unique electric impulse frequency of one person's
brainwaves.
However, as they discussed whether Rob might be the
only one who could activate the robot, Rob re-entered the robot and
activated it, taking off in hopes of stopping Godzilla without harming
him.
(Godzilla#7 - BTS) - En route, Rob named the robot "Red Ronin."
(Godzilla#8) - Seeking to
drive Godzilla away from the nuclear missile base, Rob explored the
controls and inadvertently activated the laser-blade. Although Rob
realized that the blade was too dangerous to use against Godzilla, the
threat of the weapon caused Godzilla to use his radioactive
flame-breath against its apparent would-be attacker. Unaware of how to
activate the heat-guard and feeling his skin was starting to burn, Rob
initially concentrated as hard as he could to reduce the laser-blade's
intensity, but found that this actually increased it; after realizing
he had to think calmly, he succeeded in reducing the intensity and then
struck Godzilla, knocking him to the ground.
After Jimmy Woo informed Dugan that Rob was piloting
Red Ronin, Dugan instructed the crew of the Behemoth helicarrier crew to
decoy Godzilla in an effort to save the young boy; however, Rob
perceived that they were going to attack Godzilla, and so he used
Ronin's laser-blade against the Behemoth, knocking out the aircraft's
weapon systems pending activation of auxiliary power.
Rob then deployed Ronin's magneclamp cables and used
them to pick up Godzilla and begin flying with him toward the
sea. Unfortunately, when Godzilla awakened, his struggles
disengaged Rob from the cybernetic helmet, after which Godzilla'
flame-breath melted through the cables. While Godzilla landed in the
water, Rob restored his connection to Ronin and halted the giant
robot's fall, but mental exhaustion forced him to land Ronin. Godzilla
attacked the giant robot anew, and Rob fought back with his low-level
laser-blade and then used Ronin's shield to protect himself from
Godzilla's flames. With his mind clearing, Rob's control and reaction
time improved, and he hurled the shield, which homed in on and struck
Godzilla before returning to his hand. Hoping another good strike would
drive Godzilla off, Rob fired a blast from his left hand, but Godzilla
ducked and then knocked Ronin down with his tail.
With the Behemoth's auxiliary power back on, Dugan
ordered the crew to protect Rob, but Rob again assumed that it was
trying to hurt Godzilla, and he had Ronin blast it, shorting out the
auxiliary power, leaving only the main engine to keep it airborne.
Perhaps having earned Godzilla's trust, Rob guided Godzilla to depart
the city and head to the open countryside inland.
(Godzilla#9 (fb) - BTS) - In San Diego, it took two days to talk Rob into exiting Red Ronin.
(Godzilla#9) - After Rob
arrived on the ground, Tamara hugged him, while Yuriko advised him to
remember that he might have been injured.
After Dugan yelled at Rob for getting back into
Ronin, Rob defiantly told him that he had done so to stop Dugan and his
people from killing Godzilla, and he pointed out that he had both
prevented Godzilla from hurting anyone or getting hurt...and that he
had been the only who had been able to accomplish those things. Yuriko
further noted that Rob was the only one who could activate and
control Ronin and that while Rob was only a boy, they could certainly
have many worse guardians of such responsibility. Dugan argued that if
the robot could only be controlled by a "snot-nosed punk" that Red
Ronin was not
to be used further.
As Dugan prepared to return with Gabe Jones to the
Behemoth to investigate Godzilla's assault on Boulder Dam, he
instructed Tamara (and presumably Jimmy Woo and Dr. Takiguchi, although
they weren't seen) to shackle him to a "Saturday morning TV set or somethin'. I don't care what you do, but just keep him away from 'Red Roman' <sic>"
Unnoticed, Rob angrily schemed.
(Godzilla#10 (fb) - BTS) - Yuriko instructed that Rob was to stay with Tamara and Jimmy Woo and to stay away from Red Ronin.
(Godzilla#10) -
Tamara reminded Rob of his grandfather's instructions, but when Tamara
and Jimmy were distracted by discussing their attraction to each other,
Rob rushed away. As troops at its front guided Ronin into a hangar, Rob
scaled the unguarded ladder by Ronin's feet and accessed the entry
portal in its heel. Walking up to Ronin's head, Rob linked up with it
via the cybernetic control helmet, activated its boot jets, and flew
off to locate Godzilla outside of Las Vegas.
Within Ronin, Rob located Godzilla as the reptilian creature squared off against the immense Yetrigar.
(Godzilla#11) -
Rob fired a pair of Ronin's shield rockets, breaking up the fight, but
then Yetrigar attacked, tackling Ronin before he could raise his
laser-sword. As Ronin used the laser-sword to force Yetrigar off of
him, Godzilla attempted to use his flame-breath to blast Yetrigar to
aid his previous ally, but inadvertently blasted Ronin instead after
Yetrigar was knocked out of the way. When Yetrigar assaulted Godzilla
anew, Rob had Ronin kick him back and then lock him up in a Full Nelson
wrestling hold. However, hearing the cries of the rafting Jillian, Ron,
Mary, and Jeff upon their seeing the giant trio, Rob was distracted,
relaxing Ronin's grip enough for Yetrigar to throw him off. Although
Ronin was unharmed by the collision, the rocks knocked loose caused the
rafters to crash and suffer injuries.
Not wishing either creature to die, Rob fired
Ronin's wrist cannon into Godzilla, which ricocheted into the cliff,
threatening the former rafters again. When Godzilla struck back with
his flame breath, Rob defended Ronin with the laser-sword, but as
Godzilla stepped forward to attack again, the laser struck Godzilla
with more than the intended force, injuring him. Yetrigar then tackled
Ronin, knocking it over and causing Rob to fall out of the cybernetic
control helmet. Although weakened, Godzilla attacked Yetrigar, holding
it off long enough for Rob to recover control. Believing he could only
stop Yetrigar by killing him, Rob twice slashed at Yetrigar with his
laser-sword and then used Ronin's wrist cannon to blast the top of the
cliff wall, causing a rockslide and burying the creature (Rob
erroneously believed Yetrigar to have perished).
With the former rafters having been rescued from the
canyon by Dugan and Jones, Rob nodded Ronin's head at them and then --
disgusted over having seemingly taken a life (see comments) -- flew away and considered
that he and Ronin should just keep flying and never stop.
Meanwhile, Dugan -- irate over Woo and Tamara having
let Rob get back into Ronin despite his having ended the threat of
Yetrigar -- insisted he wanted to get his hands on Rob and make him
feel more than sorry for himself.
(Godzilla#12) -
Flying through the air in Red Ronin, Rob continued to lament having taken a life.
As he approached Salt Lake City, Utah, Ronin was blasted
out of the air and Rob was briefly knocked free of the control helmet by the
Mega Monster Triax, through whom spoke the Warlords of Mega spoke to Rob telepathically, introducing itself
and warning him to prepare to be slain. When Godzilla arrived seconds
later, teleported in by the Betans (enemies of the Megans, each of whom
used giant creatures harvested from other worlds in their wars against
each other).
(Godzilla#13) -
After Triax attacked Godzilla, Rob activated Ronin's laser-blade and
attacked it. Although he regretted attacking another giant monster, he
considered that this creature was evil and wished to kill; however, the
Warlords of Mega clarified that their creatures merely obeyed their
will. After Triax blasted Ronin back with energy from its feet, Rob was
pleased to see Godzilla was on his side when he swatted Triax back with
his tail. When Triax flew toward the city, Rob flew after the creature
and flew it into the air to get it away from the people, leading the
Warlords of Mega to unleash their other creatures, Rhiahn and Krollar,
to aid Triax. Rob had Ronin hurl Triax at the new arrivals, both of
which evaded the attack, with Krollar burrowing under the ground and
then suddenly emerging under Ronin's feet, knocking the giant robot
off-balance.
As their assault struck the edge of the city, the
national guard arrived and opened fire on all of the giant combatants,
and Rhiahn attacked Red Ronin. Dugan ordered the National Guard to hold
their fire as long as Red Ronin was involved in an effort to protect
Rob. However, at the instruction of the Warlords of Mega, Rhiahn used
its bio-blade to decapitate Ronin. The giant robot's head hit the
ground, and Rob was knocked unconscious or stunned, hanging motionless
outside of Ronin's right eye slit.
(Godzilla#14) -
Tamara rushed to Rob, and Jimmy Woo followed her; Triax spotted them,
but Dugan blew up a building in its face, distracting Triax so that
Jimmy could carry Rob back to the others. As Rob awakened soon after,
he noted the voice in his head giving the Mega-Monsters orders, but
neither Tamara nor Jimmy could hear it. Jimmy remained seated as
Godzilla -- with Dugan and Gabe distracting the Mega-Monsters in their
helicopters -- in series slew Krollar, Triax, and Rhiahn.
(Godzilla#15) -
After Dugan instructed the Nation Guard to handle the clean-up, Rob
asked about Red Ronin, stating that they could not just throw him away.
Tamara assured Rob that they would get Ronin to Tony Stark's factory
and repair him in no time. Rob asked Dugan if it was true that they
would fix Red Ronin, and Dugan replied, "Yeah, I s'pose so, kid...we can't leave the blasted thing just lyin' there anyway. We'll send a crew to haul it away."
After Dugan and Jones departed, Rob joined Tamara and Jimmy in a
helicopter with the plan to meet up with them back aboard the Behemoth
heli-carrier. En route, Rob told Tamara, "They've got to fix Red Ronin...they've just got to..."
(Godzilla#17 (fb) - BTS) -
Back aboard the Behemoth, Rob accompanied Tamara, Yuriko, Jimmy, Dugan,
Gabe, and S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot/technician Hugh Howards to the Utah cattle ranch of John Hawkes.
(Godzilla#17) - While
Hawkes related the events to Dugan, Jones, and Yuriko, Rob stood
silently within the Behemoth. In the process of introducing himself to
Rob (and calling him "Tiger"), Howards noted that while they had both
been involved in this "Godzilla-chase" for awhile, it occurred to him
that they had never met. Not evening turning toward Howards, Rob
replied, "Glad to meet you."
Howards initially retorted, "Well, don't slay me
with your enthusiasm," but then he redirected, inviting Rob to "fiddle
with the controls" of the helicarrier. When Rob politely declined,
Howards was shocked, as he would have loved such a thing at his age,
but Rob explained that all he wanted to do was to sit at the controls
of Red Ronin again. "Ronin and I were one -- not like you and the helicarrier." Howards admitted that Rob had a point, as he and Ronin "were dynamite."
Jimmy Woo then approached Rob, telling him that Ronin would be alright. When Rob replied, "So you say," Jimmy reminded him that he had heard Dugan say that, too, and when Rob retorted, "But is it true?,"
Jimmy assured him that they would get Ronin all back together again,
and that SHIELD agents and Stark International technicians were working
on him right now. Nonetheless, Rob dejectedly walked away, asserting
that once Ronin was put back together they would make sure he never
combined with Ronin again. Jimmy Woo had no reply.
(Godzilla#17 - BTS) - After
Dugan, Jones, and Yuriko re-boarded the Behemoth, Yuriko's associate
Gladstone Hawkins, a paleontologist, joined the crew. The discussion led
Dugan to conclude that they should enlist Hank Pym to supply them with
some Pym Particles to shrink Godzilla down to a size they could more
easily deal with.
Gabe
Jones flew a mini-jet to meet with Pym and acquired the Pym particles.
(Godzilla#17 - BTS) -
As Rob had proven to be the only one who could get through to
Godzilla, Dugan asked Yuriko if Rob could/would manipulate Godzilla
into a position to be doused with Pym's reducing gas. Dugan noted that
it would take guts, and Yuriko replied, "Since the viscera involved as Rob's...I think the choice should be his."
(Godzilla#17 (fb) - BTS) - Rob agreed to help with this plan after Dugan agreed that Godzilla should not be harmed.
(Godzilla#17) - After Gabe
returned with the Pym Particles and "the whiz-kids" had cannibalized
some of the Behemoth's equipment into some kind of pressurized CO2
nozzle-blaster, the Behemoth approached the sleeping Godzilla, with Rob
standing on its top surface. Rob yelled to awaken the sleeping Godzilla
and drew him toward him, after which Gabe used the device to spray
Godzilla with the Pym Particles; Godzilla assessed this as treachery
from Rob.
Godzilla's size and radioactive nature delayed his
shrinking, allowing Godzilla to punch the Behemoth back and then grab
Dugan. Rob urged Godzilla not to hurt Dugan, but then Godzilla rapidly
began shrinking, and finally Gladstone Hawkins caught him in a net. Rob
urged Hawkins not to hurt the rodent-sized Godzilla, but Hawkins
assured him that he was an old hand at this. As Godzilla growled within
the net, Rob promised Godzilla that he would be alright.
(Godzilla#18) - Sitting in
the Behemoth's cockpit with Hugh Howards, Rob sorrowfully blamed
himself for Godzilla's capture and shrinking. Howards reminded Rob that
this was all for Godzilla's own good and assured him that Gladstone
would never hurt him. Rob nonetheless noted how sad and confused
Godzilla seemed in the cage, and that this made him feel like a traitor.
Visiting Godzilla, Rob told him that he hoped he
didn't blame him for tricking him into this state, but he advised him
that it was for his own good and that he would not be in the cage much
longer, as Dr. Hawkins' museum in New York would have a special place
with lots of room. After he was there, they could decide where he could
be set free to live forever in peace. Rob asked Godzilla to please
trust him, and he received an ambiguous low roar in response.
(Godzilla#18 (fb) - BTS) -
According to Rob, he considered unlocking the cage latch but realized
that he should not; however, he then apparently went numb...into
something of a trance...and he did not recall what happened. He presumably unlocked the cage latch...
(Godzilla#18) - Having
exited the Behemoth, Rob was in the process of boarding Dugan's
watercraft when Gladstone -- who was a few steps behind him -- tripped
and dropped the cage; although it was designed that not to open even if
an elephant stomped on it, the cage popped open and Godzilla dropped
into the East River.
(Godzilla#18 (fb) - BTS) - Rob was left under Hugh Howards' care while the others searched futilely for Godzilla.
(Godzilla#18) - Pretending
to agree to a game of checkers to pass the time, Rob slipped away from
Howards and made his was down to the Behemoth's lower levels. An alarm
sounding caused the guards to rush to investigate, and they left open
a room containing emergency equipment, from which Rob obtained some
scuba gear and leapt out of the Behemoth into the East River.
Rob made his way to the streets nearby, unaware that
Godzilla was in a nearby sewer tunnel, but when he passed by, calling
out to Godzilla, the shrunken king of the monsters climbed to the
surface. Rob was pleased to see Godzilla, but he was surprised when
Godzilla's system began to counteract the shrinking gas, and he grew to
Rob's height, four-feet-tall.
(Godzilla#19) - Calming
speaking to Godzilla, Rob earned his trust and led him back toward the
Behemoth. Unfortunately, as they passed by a homeless man, the shocked
man threw down his alcohol bottle and ran away, screaming for the
police. Rob and Godzilla ducked down an alley but were spotted a
policeman; however, they escaped when Godzilla burned through a fence
blocking their egress.
(Godzilla#19 (fb) - BTS) - Finding an old overcoat and hat, Rob convinced Godzilla to wear them as superficial coverage.
(Godzilla#19) - After it got dark,
Rob and Godzilla were accosted by a pair of would-be muggers until
Godzilla stripped off the clothing and drove them off with a flame
blast.
(Godzilla#19 (fb) - BTS) - Rob convinced Godzilla to put the coat and hat back on.
(Godzilla#19) - Rob and
Godzilla reached the dock after the others -- Dugan, Hawkins, Jones,
Woo, Tamara, and Yuriko -- had met back up there after having no
success in finding the lost reptile. Having believed Rob to have been
aboard the Behemoth with Howards, Dugan started berating Rob before
Hawkins pointed out the figure beside Rob. Godzilla then through off
his coat and hat, after which he had another growth spurt, reaching 7'
tall. Despite Rob's urging everyone not to crowd Godzilla, Dugan and
Gabe tried to surround him and were swatted away by Godzilla's tail. As
Dugan and Jones repeatedly engaged Godzilla, Rob approaching Godzilla
and asked him to please not hurt them" "They're not really
mean...they're just crazy Americans who don't understand that a monster
doesn't have to be a monster." However, when Gabe rushed toward Rob,
seeking to protect him from Godzilla, the slightly-mighty reptile
interpreted this as a threat against Rob and launched Gabe into the
East River.
Soon after, Godzilla took off, ignoring Rob's
calling out to him. Rob was upset with Dugan's joking about Godzilla
being the undisputed king of the docks, reminding that Godzilla was now
loose in the city and big enough for everybody to see.
(Godzilla#20) - As Dugan
prepared to pursue Godzilla, he instructed Tamara to take Rob back to
the Behemoth and keep him there. Rob defiantly and tearfully shouted, "No! You can't make me! I'm going with you -- and you can't stop me!"
However, Yuriko sternly
silenced him, noting how he had been behaving as a spoiled child and
that now he must be obedient instantly. As his grandfather so seldomly
asserted his authority so forcefully, Rob knew better than to challenge
him, and he quietly accompanied Tamara and Jimmy back to the Behemoth.
(Godzilla#20 - BTS) -
Following Gladstone Hawkins' recommendations, Dugan and the others led
Godzilla -- who had grown to 20' tall -- into the Museum of Natural History where Gladstone had the
facilities to contain him. However, after the Fantastic Four arrived to
help, a conflict ensued....
(Godzilla#21 - BTS) -
Godzilla was eventually subdued and brought to the Baxter Building,
where the group resolved that Godzilla would be happiest and safest if
sent into the past during the age of dinosaurs.
Jimmy considered that this would shatter Rob, at
least at first, and Tamara agreed, but she added that all Rob had ever
wanted was peace for Godzilla -- a normal life free of mankind's
harassment -- and that Rob was mature enough to understand that this
was the best way.
However, Reed's time machine instead sent Godzilla to Earth-78411 ("Dinosaur World").
(Godzilla#21-22 - BTS)
- Earth-78411's Moon Boy reminded Godzilla of Rob, which led Godzilla
to be receptive to Moon Boy's instructions/requests.
(Godzilla#22 (fb) - BTS) -
Unspecified crewmen aboard the Behemoth told Rob that the leaders of
the group had sent Godzilla back in time (see comments).
(Godzilla#22) - As
Yuriko and Gladstone discussed the apparent resolution of the matter,
Rob rushed in,
lamenting that Godzilla had been sent "back in time" where other
creatures like him would try to kill him. After Rob repeatedly asked
his grandfather, "How could you?" Yuriko reminded Rob that Godzilla
had been out of place in the modern world, and he further and that it
was not he who
had made the decision to send Godzilla back, suggesting that
fate/destiny/a higher force had decreed where Godzilla should go.
However, when Rob countered that the same"higher force" had decreed
that Godzilla
should awaken in their world, Yuriko pondered the thought with a "Hmmm..." Gladstone added, "Hmmm, indeed. I do believe the lad's got a point, Tak."
(Godzilla#22 - BTS) - Godzilla's radioactive nature apparently combined with a mystic pit (associated with the Hag of the Pits)
on Earth-78411 and sent Godzilla -- who had just returned to his full
size -- back to Earth-616, and he emerged through the time portal
(which Reed Richards, realizing what was happening, had moved out of
the Baxter Building) in the middle of Manhattan.
(Godzilla#23) - As Howards
piloted the Behemoth in an effort to
lead Godzilla out to the river and away from city, Rob noticed the
activity in the crew, and he looked out a port window and was ecstatic
to see that Godzilla had returned and regained his full size. He rushed
to talk to Dugan to be sure Dugan did not think Godzilla was trying to
hurt anyone.
After Dugan had Howards fire a couple missiles at
Godzilla to keep his attention (as he had been distracted by the
yelling of Jonah Jameson), Rob rushed in and shouted at
Dugan that attacking Godzilla would not calm him down and would only
make things worse. Ignoring him, Dugan ordered Yuriko and Tamara to get
him out of there now as he did not have time to argue: "I mean it -- ten seconds, and I bite his blasted head off!"
Despite Rob's protests, Yuriko and
Tamara led him away, and Yuriko told Rob, "It is out of our hands now."
(Godzilla#24 (fb) - BTS) - Somehow, Rob returned to the Behemoth's cockpit / command center.
(Godzilla#24) - As the
Avengers and Fantastic Four engaged Godzilla, trying to prevent him
from heading deeper into the city, Rob rushed forward and angrily
pounded the controls, shouting, "No
-- You must stop it! Force isn't the way to halt Godzilla! Haven't you
Americans learned anything yet?! You can't make him calm by attacking
him!" Dugan ordered Jones and Woo to take Rob out of the room, and when Rob protested, Dugan told him, "Shuddup,
ya whinin' little brat! You're confined to yer quarters as of right
now! And if ya give me any more lip about it, I'm gonna turn ya right
over my knee!" OUT!!"
As Gabe Jones took Rob towards his quarters, he
expressed his sympathies, and Rob noted that his appreciation that Gabe
realized more than any of the Americans that Godzilla was not really
evil. Noting his apologies in advance, Rob kicked Gabe in the shin and
rushed toward the hatch leading out onto the deck. As he did so, he
explained to to Gabe that they would not listen to him and would not
try anything but violence, and so he would have to do it himself. Atop
the Behemoth's deck, Rob shouted out to Godzilla, asking him to listen
to him and give him his trust one more time.
Both Godzilla and the heroes engaging him all
paused, and Rob continued, acknowledging that he was the one who got
him shrunken down and into New York, but that he had done it for
Godzilla's own good. Dugan worried that Rob was going to get himself
fried, but Gabe asked that Dugan hold off on doing anything as they
could not risk angering Godzilla mad now, and he further noted that Rob
had gotten through to Godzilla in the past. Learning who the boy was,
the Human Torch suggested that Dr. Takiguchi should put a leash on the
boy, while Iron Man considered that the whole conflict resting on one
small child was more terrifying than a dozen crushed buildings. Thor
silently considered that the gentleness known only to a child was more
effective than all the force he had brought against Godzilla.
As Rob asked Godzilla if he believed him when he
said that he would be left in peace, Godzilla gently picked up Rob
between his fingers, and Rob thanked him. Tamara assured Yuriko that
Rob would be alright as Godzilla trusted him, and Yuriko acknowledged
this but nonetheless feared what would happen if Godzilla's trust
wavered even for the briefest of
moments.
Rob then told Godzilla that he had to leave and get
away from the city, as far away as he possibly could. With the Behemoth
following a safe distance behind to avoid provoking him, Godzilla made
his way to the waterline. After carefully placing Rob back on top of
the Behemoth, Godzilla headed into the water as Rob bade him goodbye.
With a final roar, Godzilla disappeared under the waters.
Rob then tearfully berated the others, asking if they were
satisfied now that Godzilla was gone. Yuriko and the others, including Dugan,
respectfully remained silent.
(Uncanny X-Men I#506 (fb) - BTS) - Yuriko's son died as a hero (see comments).
Comments: Created by Doug Moench, Herb Trimpe, and Jim Mooney.
However, I believe characters created in the
Godzilla series are not owned by Marvel, but rather by Toho Co, Ltd.:
see here.
Rob got away with a lot in the
Godzilla series. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s security was spectacularly lax in
allowing him to repeatedly get away, accessing Red Ronin multiple
times, interfering with Godzilla's imprisonment, even pounding on the Behemoth's control panel, etc.
Jimmy and Tamara were watching Rob visit Godzilla in
#18, and it was implied that Rob unlocked Godzilla's cage when he went
into a trance-like state, from which he could not recall anything. They
should have seen what happened.
Given Rob's past behavior, it would have been
insanely negligent for them to have left Rob unsupervised or to have
gotten all twitterpated and distracted from Rob by their own
attraction/emotions.
Yetrigar did not perish at Rob/Red Ronin's hands...see Yetrigar's profile for further details.
Reed Richards...idiot?
He intended to send Godzilla to "the Cretaceous Period of the Mesozoic Era -- 900 million years in the past."
The
Cretaceous Period was indeed within the Mesozoic era (its third and
final period), but it was not 900 million years ago, but rather 145-66
million years ago...right up to the point of the apparent asteroid
strike that brought about the end of the age of dinosaurs.
So...they could have been dropping Godzilla off the
night before the asteroid strike that would have killed him. That's not
cool.
900
millions years ago is the division between the mesoproterozoic period
(1600-900 million years ago) and the neoproterozoic period (900-543
millions years ago).
Dinosaurs first appeared during the Mesozoic era circa 250 million
years ago, and the giant dinosaurs into which Godzilla might have fit
would indeed by the Cretaceous period.
However, Reed was off in his time settings by 800 million years (or
perhaps by a factor of 10, and he meant 90 million years ago)...and the
time machine did not send Godzilla into the past but rather to another
reality.
Did he
mean to do that to avoid massively disrupting the past and potentially
changing the future by sending an immense fire-breathing reptile who would
have dominated any other creature in that time period (and perhaps
inadvertently set massive, uncontrollable fires)?
What a terrible idea!
They could have sent him to the Savage Land so as not to risk changing the past...
Or was
there error just because computers weren't so accessible in the 1970s,
there was no internet, and someone just checked and misreported
information from an encyclopedia?
Odd that Tamara or Yuriko would
not have told Rob directly of Godzilla's seeming transportation into
the past. Perhaps each thought the other was doing it, or perhaps
Yuriko was just about to do so, but one of the crewmen let the cat out
of the bag first?
Uncanny X-Men#506 notes that
Yuriko's son died a hero; as Yuriko's son was never mentioned before this story,
and Yuriko had been most closely associated with his grandson, Rob, it's a
bit of an odd reference. However, there's nothing at all that
contradicts Yuriko's son having died after the Godzilla stories, and I
have zero desire to push this into actually meaning Rob's death.
Rob was noted to be 12-years-old
in Godzilla#24. As of 2024, about 45 years of real time have passed
since that 1979 issue, which would equate to about 9 years of Marvel
Time, which would make Rob 21-years-old at this time. I wonder what he
is up to these days?
Don't you make my brown eyes blue?
Both Rob and Tamara fairly consistently are shown with light blue eyes.
Per my
understanding and some half-@$$ internet searching, most Japanese
people have dark brown eyes and others have light brown eyes. There is
reportedly a population of Japanese people known as the Ainu or the
indigenous people of Japan, who live in Hokkaido, with blue eyes (and
other different physical features than other Japanese people. There are
also people with partially blue eyes in Akita and Aomori with
"partially blue eyes"; it is speculated that this originates from
Russian people mixing with the local population thousands of years ago.
Other sources note that Japanese people with mixed
European ancestry (especially with mixing on the side of both parents)
may have blue eyes.
I would
speculate that choosing the unlikely eye color was not intentional, but
perhaps the colorist and editor were not aware of the typical brown eye
color in people from Japan.
I did not see Rob in #5 or #16, nor did the Marvel Chronology Project, so probably good...
I also don't see Rob in #21 (beyond the image where Godzilla looks at
Moon Boy and sees the resemblance to Rob). He was last seen in
#20, when Yuriko sternly sent him back onto the Behemoth...and while
Tamara and Jimmy Woo had taken him there and they were at the Baxter
Building in #21, Rob wasn't there, and Tamara discussed how he would
feel about things.
Rob originally had a sub-profile in the "Godzilla Squad" profile, which was one of the earliest Appendix profiles, before I uploaded everything and started keeping track of the order.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Yuriko Takiguchi should be distinguished from:
- TAKI ?? - friend of Glory Grant's cousin Ramon, drugged by Midas
the Golden Man--Marvel Team-Up I#30
- TAKI - S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate), designed Symbionic Weapon
Suit-Mark Two; eager to test it, she lost control of it in test battle when it
overheated--Marvel Comics Presents#173/4
- TAKIMOTO, KEIKO of Earth-97082 - step-daughter of
Hideo Shinoda, executive at Stark International's Japan division,
assisted Stark in opposing assaults originating from Hiro Matsui--Iron Man: Crash
- TAKIMOTO, RON - Hydra, elite bounty division,
teamed with Punisher against Guillotine, killed in the process. Japanese male, skilled in martial arts--Daredevil Annual#7TAKIGUCHI
- other "Rob" or "Taki" characters
images: (without ads)
Godzilla#1, pg. 16, panel 4 (full)
#2, pg. 5, panel 4 (shins-up);
#7, panel 2 (wear cybernetic interface and operating Red Ronin);
#11, pg. 7, panel 1 (cybernetic interface);
#17, pg. 5, panel 1 (face, "is it true");
#19, pg. 11, panel 2 (next to same-sized Godzilla);
#22, pg. 7, panel 1 (full & face; complaining about Godzilla having been sent back in time);
#23, pg. 8, panel 5 (ecstatic at Godzilla's return);
#24, pg. 14, panel 3-5 (picked up and held by Godzilla);
Appearances:
Godzilla#1 (August, 1977) - Doug Moench (writer), Herb Trimpe (pencils), Jim Mooney (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Godzilla#2 (September, 1977) - Doug Moench (writer), Herb Trimpe
(pencils), Frank Giacoia & George Tuska (inks), Archie Goodwin
(editor)
Godzilla#3 (October, 1977) - Doug Moench (writer), Herb Trimpe (pencils), Tony DeZuniga (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Godzilla#4 (November, 1977) - Doug Moench (writer), Tom Sutton (pencils), Tony DeZuniga (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Godzilla#6 (January, 1978) - Doug Moench (writer), Herb Trimpe (artist), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Godzilla#7-11 (February-June, 1978) - Doug Moench (writer), Herb Trimpe (pencils), Fred Kida (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Godzilla#12-13 (July-August, 1978) - Doug Moench (writer), Herb Trimpe (pencils), Fred Kida (inks), Jim Shooter (editor)
Godzilla#14 (September, 1978) - Doug Moench (writer), Herb Trimpe (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Jim Shooter (editor)
Godzilla#15 (October, 1978) - Doug Moench (writer), Herb Trimpe (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Bob Hall (editor)
Godzilla#17 (December, 1978) - Doug Moench (writer), Herb Trimpe (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Bob Hall (editor)
Godzilla#18 (January, 1979) - Doug Moench (writer), Herb Trimpe (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Jim Shooter (editor)
Godzilla#19 (February, 1979) - Doug Moench (writer), Herb Trimpe (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Jo Duffy (editor)
Godzilla#20-21 (March-April, 1979) - Doug Moench (writer), Herb Trimpe (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Godzilla#22 (May, 1979) - Doug Moench (writer), Herb Trimpe (pencils), Jack Abel (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Godzilla#23-24 (June-July, 1979) - Doug Moench (writer), Herb Trimpe (pencils), Dan Green (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Uncanny X-Men I#506 (April, 2009) - Matt Fraction (writer), Terry
Dodson (penciler), Rachel Dodson (inker), Daniel Ketchum (assistant
editor), Nick Lowe (editor)
First started 09/02/2021
Last updated: 03/17/2024
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
© 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you
like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to
www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!
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