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There are also a few non-canon MonsterVerse entries that are not canon, and we should get those out of the way right off the bat. Specifically, the comic series Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong and the games Godzilla: Crisis Defense, Godzilla: Strike Zone, Kong VR: Destination Skull Island, and Godzilla: Smash3.
11) Godzilla: Awakening
Right from the beginning the MonsterVerse was establishing itself as a strong multimedia franchise. However, the kinks hadn’t been quite worked out yet. In fact, the 2014 movie contradicted some of the events in this prequel graphic novel…but not all of them. So, in the end, this tale of Dr. Serizawa’s father learning of Godzilla and seeing a parasitic adversary named Shinomura, is a bit on the soft canon side of things. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has since undone it even more, so at this point it’s most likely not considered canon at all. Great cover, though.
10) Skull Island: The Birth of Kong
Skull Island: The Birth of Kong is a four-issue comic miniseries that takes place both before and after Kong: Skull Island. The action primarily takes place in 1995, decades after the events of the film, and follows Aaron Brooks, the son of Houston (played by Corey Hawkins in Skull Island and Joe Morton in Godzilla: King of the Monsters). Brooks, like his father, travels to Skull Island and, once there, he and his Monarch team learn about Kong’s past from the Iwi tribe.
9) Godzilla: Aftershock
Godzilla: Aftershock is a 112-page graphic novel taking place between Godzilla and Godzilla: King of the Monsters. We learn that there was an especially large MUTO called MUTO Prime that laid a pair of eggs in Dagon, a relative of Godzilla’s. They hatched and we got the two MUTOs seen in the 2014 movie. Godzilla and this mother MUTO fight twice, with Godzilla losing round one and emerging victorious in round two (though he loses a few dorsal plates in the process).
8) Kingdom Kong
A prequel to the franchise-altering Godzilla vs. Kong and a sequel to Skull Island: The Birth of Kong, Kingdom Kong pits the title character against Camazotz, a giant bat monster that also appeared in the non-canon Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong and its sequel. We primarily follow a group of military pilots on Skull Island competing to see who will take on a mission to travel into the Hollow Earth. This is interrupted by Camazotz, and it falls on Kong’s shoulders to reassert himself as the king of his home.
7) Godzilla Dominion
In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the Big G has a lair in a submerged temple deep in the middle of the ocean. When Godzilla is on the verge of death thanks to King Ghidorah, he rests there, which leads to Dr. Serizawa sacrificing himself with a nuke so Godzilla can recover. However, while Godzilla roars once more, the lair is destroyed. Godzilla Dominion which, like Kingdom Kong, is a graphic novel prequel to Godzilla vs. Kong, shows Godzilla trying to find himself a new place to hang his hat. He also has to contend with other monsters such as Scylla, the cephalopod Na Kika, the plantlike Amhuluk, and Tiamat.
6) Kong and Me
Released in 2001, Kong and Me is thus far the MonsterVerse’s one example of juvenile fiction, and it focuses on the best dynamic of the franchise: Kong and Jia, seen in Godzilla vs. Kong and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. It’s all told through Jia’s perspective, and we watch her build a sandcastle with Kong, watch the clouds, and he scoops up some lake water in his hands so she has a little swimming pool. It’s not exactly a book rife with fight scenes, but we do get a glimpse at Kong’s fellow residents on Skull Island including Leafwings, Mother Longlegs, and the Spore Mantis.
