INTERVIEW: 'Godzilla vs. X-Men' #1 Writer Fabian Nicieza Brings The '90s Heat

On May 14, the Children of the Atom are poised to collide with the King of the Monsters in Godzilla vs. X-Men #1 in a story filled with the kind of '90s grade Marvel Comics drama only an expert could distill. To learn more about the upcoming kaiju conflict we got in touch with writer Fabian Nicieza, who with artist Emilio Laiso, is poised to celebrate mutants and a monster the world hates and fears. Read the full interview and check out our exclusive preview of inked pages from Godzilla vs. X-Men #1 below.

Godzilla.com: Godzilla and the X-Men have a number of things in common. Which of their elements and their interplay most inspired your script?

Fabian Nicieza: I think the underlying theme of the one-shot isn't much of a surprise since it's the X-Men's "motto," an integral part of Godzilla's foundation, and the title of the story: A World That Hates And Fears Them. Both mutants and Godzilla are misunderstood beings of tremendous power and in the story, the X-Men have to balance the safety of the very human beings who are responsible for Godzilla's righteous anger. I think X-Men stories are best served when they're caught in a moral conflict between doing what's right for those who might be wrong vs. engaging in a possible conflict with someone (even the King of the Monsters) whose extreme actions might be justified.

Godzilla.com: Fans know you and the X-Men go way back. What about Godzilla? What are some of your most formative Godzilla touchstones?

Fabian Nicieza: Well, I watched the original Godzilla on TV when I was about eight and then got to see several releases in the theatre. My childhood enjoyment kind of ended with Destroy All Monsters, since I figured nothing would ever top a gathering of some many monsters (or Minilla blowing smoke rings!).

I've always appreciated the character, but I wasn't what you'd call an adult fan. I've seen the various movies that were released in the U.S. including the most recent ones. I have some very close friends who worship at the altar of Godzilla, so they were laughing when they found out I really wanted to write this one shot!

Godzilla.com: The '90s X-Men era is as hot as it's ever been. What, if any, impact did the '90s Godzilla films have on this story?

Fabian Nicieza: I just tried to approach it as if I were taking the juice of a really good Godzilla story and a really good X-Men story and pumping it through a tube into an episode of the ‘90s X-Men cartoon. It has tons of action and, as usual when I'm involved, some unexpected crunchy treats of Marvel continuity.

Godzilla.com: Godzilla and X-Men stories tend to balance metaphor with drama for maximum entertainment. What's your approach to walking this line?

Fabian Nicieza: That kind of summarizes every comic I've ever tried to write for 40 years, so I don't know that I approached this one any differently. I was very thankful we had twenty-five pages of story so that we could have a lot of big panels and spreads. I honestly don't know how we could have told a story with multiple X-Men characters and Godzilla without having the extra pages to provide scale and scope.