Godzilla may have evolved in form and tone over the decades, but the monster’s loyal fanbase remains as fierce as ever — a devotion clearly on display during its 70th anniversary celebration at this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego.

The Japanese studio Toho, which first introduced Godzilla in 1954, marked the milestone with a series of global events — with Comic-Con featuring prominently on the calendar. The convention, one of the world’s largest pop culture gatherings, draws around 130,000 attendees, many in costume, to celebrate film, TV, comics, and iconic characters like Godzilla.

First unleashed on November 3, 1954, in a film directed by Ishiro Honda, Godzilla emerged from the sea as a mutated prehistoric beast awakened by nuclear bomb testing in the Pacific. It became a symbol of nuclear devastation — especially resonant for post-war Japan.

“I am a very big fan of Godzilla,” said Angela Hill, a teacher from Arizona who made the trip to Comic-Con to take part in the festivities. “He came from such a historic event… a lot of other monsters don’t hold the grief of a nation.”

Comic-Con featured a panel discussion with Shinji Higuchi, co-director of the 2016 reboot Shin Godzilla, as well as displays and interactive exhibits celebrating the monster’s legacy. Fans lined up to take photos with Godzilla images and collect memorabilia.

The Godzilla franchise now includes nearly 40 films and has expanded into animation, television, and graphic novels. At Comic-Con, writers Ed Godziszewski and Steve Ryfle signed copies of their book Godzilla: The First 70 Years, which quickly sold out.

“This is the longest running feature film franchise in cinematic history focused on a single, continuous character,” Ryfle said. “It’s been around longer than James Bond.”

He credited the monster’s longevity to its flexibility and deep emotional roots. “Godzilla has been serious, scary, heroic, even funny,” Ryfle said. “But it always comes back to the trauma Japan experienced — the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”

Michelle Pena, another fan attending the event, said the monster`s complexity is part of its appeal.

“Good, bad, hero, anti-hero — and I like that,” she said. “He’s scary. But you really, really find yourself rooting for him.”