Godzilla (ゴジラ Gojira) is a giant monster who starred in Marvel Comics' Godzilla series. He is the first incarnation of Godzilla to originate in an American comic, or any American story for that matter. A giant prehistoric monster roused by atomic testing, Godzilla first menaced Japan in 1956 and repeatedly attacked the nation's cities before gradually becoming the lesser of two evils over the ensuing two decades, fending off other more malevolent creatures and unintentionally defending mankind in the process. At some point after that, Godzilla became frozen inside an iceberg, only to break free once the iceberg reached Alaska. Godzilla then began a destructive campaign across the United States, tracked by S.H.I.E.L.D. and crossing paths with the many heroes of the mainstream Marvel universe, known as Earth-616. This finally culminated in a battle against the Fantastic Four and the Avengers in New York City, which ended in a draw as Godzilla was convinced to return to the ocean. He was later captured and mutated by his old nemesis Dr. Demonicus and used as a pawn in his evil plans, at one point clashing with Iron Man. Godzilla disappeared for a long period after this; his last known appearance came when he attacked New York City along with several other inhabitants of Monster Island under the control of the Mole Man. By this point, he no longer bore the mutated appearance that he had while under Demonicus' control.