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AMERICAN KAIJU

Real Name: Todd Ziller

Identity/Class: Human mutate, citizen of the United States

Occupation: US Army Corporal

Group Membership: United States army

Affiliations: Doctor Victor Vandoom, Project: Trouble Shooter (doctor Varghese, others), Sandman One, USAgent (John Walker)

Enemies: AIM, Avengers (Hawkeye/Clint Barton, Iron Patriot/Toni Ho, Pod/Aikku Jokinen, Power Man/Victor Alvarez, Red Hulk/Robert L. Maverick, Songbird/Melissa Joan Gold, Sunspot/Roberto Da Costa, White Tiger/Ava Ayala), Deadpool (Wade Wilson), Five Weapons Society, Red Skull (Johann Schmidt), Shang Chi, Symbiotes, Winter Soldier (James 'Bucky' Barnes)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Hong Kong;
    formerly mobile;
    formerly Castle Kruger, Lichtenbad;
    formerly Project: Trouble Shooter

First Appearance: Avengers VI#0 (December, 2015)

Powers/Abilities: After being subjected to a retro-engineered, gamma-infused version of Abraham Erskine's Super Soldier serum, Ziller was transformed into a gigantic lizard-like creature with a prehensile tail. The markings on Kaiju's body and head resemble the flag of the United States. American Kaiju has class 100 strength, immense durability, teeth and claws that can tear through most conventional building materials and more. His major weakness was his unstable genetic structure, he could be reverted to human form by a sufficiently powerful burst of gamma radiation. As American Kaiju, Ziller is aggressive and destructive and usually says little more than 'USA'. In human form, he has bouts of mental instability, including an obsession to return to his Kaiju form.

Height: Approximately 5'9" (as Ziller), approximately 650 feet (as American Kaiju)
Weight: Approximately 200 lbs. (as Ziller), approximately 4000 lbs. (as America Kaiju)
Eyes: Brown (as Ziller), green (as American Kaiju)
Hair: Blonde (as Ziller), none (as American Kaiju)

History:

(King in Black: Planet of the Symbiotes I#2 (fb) - BTS) - The deeply patriotic corporate Todd Ziller felt his life was empty and shallow. He craved power.

(New Avengers IV#9 (fb) - BTS) - Ziller was assigned to Project: Trouble Shooter, a black ops division of the US army tasked with developing human weapons.

(New Avengers IV#9 (fb) - Under supervision of Project: Trouble Shooter's military commander general Maverick and lead scientist Varghese, Ziller was exposed to a retro-engineered version of the original Super Soldier Serum. However, rather than transforming Ziller into a perfect human specimen, he became a gigantic humanoid lizard.

(Avengers VI#0 (fb) - BTS) - Members of W.H.I.S.P.E.R. learned of the existence of American Kaiju when they captured and tortured a precognitive SHIELD agent who showed them glimpses of the future during the final moments of his fatal interrogation.

(New Avengers IV#9 - BTS) - When Roberto Da Costa's AIM backed team of Avengers rescued metahuman whistleblower Rick Jones from US detention, the army was called in to handle the situation. Ziller, his massive form draped in the colors of the American flag, was sent to attack AIM Island, approaching it by walking across the ocean floor. On the island, Hawkeye and Songbird watched its approach.

(New Avengers IV#9) - Moments before Ziller, now known as American Kaiju, could set foot on AIM Island, he was attacked by Da Costa's Avengers piloting Avenger 5, a giant robot based on the Quintronic Man which required five pilots to operate.

(New Avengers IV#10) - American Kaiju fought Avenger 5 near the coast of AIM Island. The creature soon had the robot on the ropes because its five pilots lacked the necessary experience to effectively work together as a team. However, at the last possible moment Roberto Da Costa ordered the robot to vent its gamma powered back-up reactor. Exposure to gamma radiation destabilized Ziller's lizard form. He reverted back to human and disappeared into the waves.

(New Avengers IV#10 - BTS) - Observing the battle from a distance, general Maverick ordered his troops to locate and retrieve the unconscious Ziller.

(U.S.Avengers I#4 (fb) - BTS) - Ziller managed to evade Maverick's troops. Now a free agent, he was hungering for the power he had lost. His desire became so strong he grew unhinged, eventually making his way to the small Eastern European nation of Lichtenbad where he met the villainous geneticist Victor Vandoom at Castle Kruger. They made a deal: Ziller gave Vandoom samples of his blood to perfect the monster making formula he was working on. In return, he helped to restore Ziller's American Kaiju abilities.

(U.S.Avengers I#4 (fb) ) - Ziller remained at Castle Kruger and protected Vandoom from the assassin Deadpool who had been contracted to kill the mad doctor. Ziller restrained the mercenary long enough for Vandoom to inject him with his formula, turning the merc with a mouth into a monster that was sent outside where it roamed the woods and terrorized the locals.

(U.S.Avengers I#4 (fb) ) - Feeling Ziller had held up his end of the bargain, Vandoom injected the corporal with a variation of the formula that immediately turned him back to the nearly mindless American Kaiju.

(U.S.Avengers I#4 (fb) - BTS) - American Kaiju tore a bloody swath through Lichtenbad, which alerted AIM (American Intelligence Mechanics) and its leader Roberto Da Costa. He sent general Maverick, now known as Red Hulk, to the small nation to take out Ziller before his presence could draw Lichtenbad's neighbors Symkaria and Latveria into the conflict.

(U.S.Avengers I#4) - Red Hulk made his way to Lichtenbad where he briefly fought the monster version of Deadpool before taking on American Kaiju. He knocked out his massive opponent when he grabbed him by the tail and smashed him into Castle Kruger, an act that seemingly killed Vandoom in the process.

(King in Black: Planet of the Symbiotes I#2 (fb) - BTS) - Ziller was returned to the United States army where he agreed to be used as American Kaiju during crises.

(King in Black: Planet of the Symbiotes I#2) - When a swarm of symbiote dragons threatened New York City, the army decided to send in Ziller as American Kaiju. He tore into his enemies with joyous zeal, biting and ripping them to shreds with no regard for his surroundings. The fight caused massive damage to the city, which Ziller subconsciously felt responsible for but was unable to stop. In the end, the army sent in their operative Sandman One who reverted Ziller back to his human form by firing a bazooka with a specialized payload at the creature.

(King in Black: Scream I#1) - The vigilante Scream briefly observed American Kaiju's fight against the symbiote dragons before focusing her attentions on the evil schemes of Demagoblin.

(Thunderbolts VI#3 (fb) - BTS) - The government paired Ziller with USAgent who became his handler during field missions. John Walker grew close to Ziller and tried to help him better master his transformations. Through targeted breathing exercises, Ziller managed to remain somewhat in control of American Kaiju.

(Thunderbolts VI#3 - BTS) - Both men were unaware their branch of government had been taken over by the Red Skull who was able to use his mental powers to force Ziller to change into American Kaiju. The Red Skull planned to use Ziller to destroy his enemy Doctor Doom by having him attack Latveria under false pretenses.

(Thunderbolts VI#3) - Shang-Chi and the Winter Soldier, having learned of the Skull's plans, caught up with USAgent and Ziller in Hong Kong. When Bucky Barnes approached Ziller on his own, Red Skull sensed what was going on and forced Todd to transform into American Kaiju against his will.

(Thunderbolts VI#3 - BTS) - Shang-Chi summoned the aid of the Five Weapons Society to evacuate the city.

(Thunderbolts VI#3) - At first, USAgent seemed able to reach his partner inside the monster, but American Kaiju fully took over when the Chinese airforce attacked the creature with missiles. In the end, Shang-Chi had Barnes save the day by handing him the mystical ring of Kaufu, an ancient artifact that allowed him to grow to giant size. Winter Soldier confronted Kaiju head on and the trained assassin was even briefly tempted to kill his opponent outright. However, he opted to knock him out instead. Ziller immediately returned to human form and was strapped to a gurney and taken to hospital for treatment.

Comments: Created by Al Ewing & Gerardo Sandoval.

'Kaiju' is Japanese for 'strange creature', most often used to describe giant, fictional movie monsters such as Mothra, King Ghidorah and Godzilla. Bless Al Ewing, he wasn't exactly subtle when he decided on "Todd Ziller" as Kaiju's human identity, was he?

For a character clearly created to be a parody, there's definite potential here. Being American Kaiju gives Ziller a high unlike any drug, but he's well aware of the price he pays: getting to be Kaiju threatens to destroy his other great love: his country, its people and their livelihoods because once American Kaiju comes out, nothing is safe. That's a perfectly decent premise, but so far American Kaiju hasn't been written all too consistently. His inexplicable side adventure as Victor Vandoom's flunky, the mysterious Sandman One who only showed up once...

You might even come up with a borderline sensible explanation for why he grows giant US flags all over his monster body. The transformations are partly caused by gamma radiation, which tends to manifest its subjects personal quirks and tendencies. The Hulk is the embodiment of the immense rage Bruce Banner has felt since childhood, the Leader's big brain symbolizes Samuel Stern's pride in his intellect. Emil Blonsky's self hatred led him to become an Abomination. In this case, the deeply patriotic Ziller became the embodiment of the country he loves. 

Profile by Norvo

CLARIFICATIONS:
American Kaiju should not be confused with

Sandman One

Sandman One is a US army operative tasked to work with corporal Todd Ziller during his missions as American Kaiju. She is sent in to halt his rampage, making sure he reverts back to human form by shooting him with a bazooka that contains a special payload that triggers the change. When New York was attacked by a swarm of dragon symbiotes, the army sent in Ziller who fought off the threat in his kaiju form. As soon as he had gained the upperhand, Sandman One risked her life getting close to the nearly mindless creature before he caused even more collateral damage. She successfully penetrated his hide with her bazooka, causing him to revert to human form. Ziller collapsed on the ground, with Sandman One congratulating him and promising to treat him to mozzarella sticks once they got back to base.

King in Black: Planet of the Symbiotes I#2











Images: (without ads)
New Avengers IV#9, p18 pan3 (main)
New Avengers IV#10, p16, pan1 (transforms back)
King in Black Planet of the Symbiotes I#2, p9, pan2 (versus symbiote dragons)
Thunderbolts VI#3, p13, pan3 (focus on breathing)
King in Black Planet of the Symbiotes I#2, p4, pan4 (Sandman One)

Appearances:
Avengers VI#0 (December, 2015) - Al Ewing (writer), Gerardo Sandoval (pencils & inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
New Avengers IV#9 (June, 2016) - Al Ewing (writer), Marcus To (pencils & inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
New Avengers IV#10 (July, 2016) - Al Ewing (writer), Marcus To & Juanan Ramirez (pencils & inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
U.S.Avengers I#4 (May, 2017) - Al Ewing (writer), Paco Medina (pencils), Juan Vlasco (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
King in Black: Planet of the Symbiotes I#2 (April, 2021) - Marc Bernardin (writer), Kyle Hotz (pencils & inks), Devin Lewis (editor)
King in Black: Scream I#1 (May, 2021) - Clay McLeod Chapman (writer), Garry Brown (pencils & inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Thunderbolts VI#3 (April 2024) - Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing (writers), Geraldo Borges (pencils & inks), Alanna Smith (editor)

First Posted: 09/07/2025
Last Updated: 09/07/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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