Methuselah

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Methuselah
Digital illustration of Methuselah by Drew Johnson
Alternate names Archie[1]
Class-
ification
Titanus Methuselah[1]
Species Horned quadrupedal Titan
Height 322 feet[1] / 98 meters[2][note 1]
Weight 170,000 tons[2]
Place(s) of emergence Munich, Germany
Controlled by King Ghidorah
First appearance Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Roar(s)
...If you have faith... you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.
„ 

— Matthew 17:20[1]

Methuselah (メトシェラ,   Metoshera) is a Titan who first appeared in the 2019 Legendary Pictures Godzilla film Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

Name

Methuselah is named after the biblical figure of the same name (מְתוּשֶׁלַח Məṯûšelaḥ or מְתוּשָׁלַח Məṯûšālaḥ), who is associated with longevity due to the Bible claiming that he lived to be 969 years old. Members of Monarch gave Methuselah the nickname Archie during his time spent as an island in a Canadian archipelago.[1] Monarch gave Methuselah the Titan classification Titanus Methuselah.

Development

Godzilla: King of the Monsters concept art posted by Xu Tianhua to ArtStation offered several different takes on Methuselah, some of them resembling rhinos or bulls.[3] Modeling artist Santosh Brand later posted images of a CG model of the Titan to the same site.[4] It is unknown if this model, which has significantly more detail in the face than the rest of the body, is what was ultimately used for the film.

Footage of the Castle Bravo set in Godzilla: King of the Monsters shows that Methuselah was originally meant to emerge in the Middle East, possibly Israel.[5] While the same screen appears in the finished film, his name is impossible to read. DNEG visual effects supervisor Brian Connor cited Methuselah's awakening as an especially difficult scene, incorporating birds, dust, trees, and debris that had to fall just right to reveal the Titan's face.[6]

Design

Very little is seen of Methuselah onscreen. The creature appears to be quadrupedal, with a reptilian face possessing horns like a bull's. His eyes lack visible pupils and are glossy and clouded-over. Methuselah's most noticeable physical trait is the gigantic mountain he carries on his back, which allows him to blend into the landscape surrounding his place of rest in Germany. He has also disguised himself as an island and an iceberg. A piece by Godzilla Dominion artist Drew Johnson depicts him with larger horns and several towns on his back.[7]

Personality

Monarch classifies Methuselah's behavior as that of a "protector,"[1] along with other Titans like Godzilla, Mothra, Kong, and Behemoth. In the past, he has shielded and even transported groups of humans from natural disasters and Titan attacks.[1]

Origins

Methuselah was discovered by Monarch near Munich, Germany, and Outpost 67 was constructed around him. Covered by a forest, he simply appeared to be a mountain in his dormant state. In Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization, a German man relates to his girlfriend a legend from the Middle Ages just before Methuselah awakens: "My grandfather told me it wasn't always there. There was a village instead. And then one day a guy who was traveling in some other country came home. The village was gone, and that mountain was there."[8]

History

Monsterverse

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Methuselah was awakened from his slumber in Germany by King Ghidorah's call, which also awakened many other Titans around the world. Methuselah erupted from underground, the mountain above him being revealed to actually be part of his body. Like the other Titans, Methuselah rampaged through populated areas, tearing through structures with his horns. Eventually, he made his way to Boston along with Scylla, Behemoth, the Queen MUTO, and a flock of Leafwings. There, they found the alpha they were following, Ghidorah, slain at the hands of Godzilla. Rodan approached Godzilla to challenge him, but was intimidated by his gaze and ultimately submitted. The other Titans all followed suit, each "bowing" in their own way to the new King of the Monsters.

Abilities

Horns

Methuselah demonstrates the capacity to inflict destruction using the massive horns on his head.

Durability

Though not demonstrated in the film, Monarch describes Methuselah as "able to withstand a heavy barrage of attacks."[1]

Camouflage

Monarch describes Methuselah as "bio-geological."[1] Methuselah's gigantic body means that he is able to blend into landscapes by masquerading as areas of the surrounding environment, having disguised himself as an island in a Canadian archipelago, an iceberg, and a small mountain.

Books

Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization

Methuselah performs essentially the same role in the novelization that he does in the film itself.

Comics

Godzilla Dominion

Though absent from the story itself, Methuselah appears in a red-tinted collage of monsters at the start of the comic.

Gallery

Main article: Methuselah/Gallery.

In other languages

Language Name Meaning
China and Taiwan Flags.png Mandarin Chinese 玛士撒拉
Mǎ shì sālā
Transliteration of the English name

Roar

Methuselah roars

Trivia

  • Possibly due in part to his spiky mountainous back and quadrupedal stance, Methuselah was frequently mistaken for Anguirus by fans and media outlets after viewing the trailers for Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
    • American horror and supernatural novelist Stephen King, on the other hand, posted on Twitter that he pondered if Methuselah was Rokmutul, a six-legged kaiju scrapped from the 2014 Godzilla, even stating, "This question may keep me awake tonight."[9]
  • Several fans in Japan have noted similarities between the head of Methuselah and a rejected head design for Godzilla from the 2014 film, which was displayed at San Diego Comic-Con in 2013. These similarities include the shape of their lower jaws and the protruding fangs which are visible when their mouths are closed.[10]

Video

Wikizilla: YouTube Kaiju Profile: The Other Titans
of Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Extended footage of Scylla and Methuselah

Notes

  1. Correction issued by the uploader in the video's comments; the video itself states that Methuselah is 198 meters tall.

References

This is a list of references for Methuselah. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Monarch Profiles - Methuselah.jpg
  2. 2.0 2.1 电影哥斯拉大战金刚2 (March 5, 2024). "哥总用实力说话:我还能打十个!#怪兽之王哥斯拉时隔5年回归 #哥斯拉大战金刚2". Douyin.
  3. Tianhua, Xu (29 July 2019). "Godzilla III". ArtStation.
  4. Barad, Santosh (26 March 2022). "MuntainMan". ArtStation.
  5. Nerd Reactor (31 March 2019). "Breaking into Godzilla: King of the Monster's Monarch HQ". YouTube.
  6. Hogg, Trevor (28 June 2019). "A Monstrous Undertaking: The VFX Behind Godzilla, Ghidorah, Mothra and Rodan". Animation World Network.
  7. Johnson, Drew (25 January 2022). "Methuselah with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Digital illustration. #methuselah #Godzilla #art #artwork #anime #Kaiju #comics #comicbooks #ComicArt #comicartist #comicbookart #comicbook #ContinueTheMonsterverse #digitalart #DigitalArtist #Godzillamovie #gojira #Kong". Twitter. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022.
  8. Keyes, Greg (28 May 2019). Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization. Titan Books. p. 167. ISBN 178909092X.
  9. Stephen King (8 March 2019). "Geekdom at its very best: What do you think of the theory that the "Mountain Kaiju" is actually Rokmutul? This question may keep me awake tonight". Twitter. |archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)
  10. スガワラタカフミ (26 May 2019). "2013年のコミコンで初めてギャレゴジの雛型が発表されたワケですが、その時に一緒に飾られていた頭部だけのモデルも良かったですよね! 初ゴジ雛形を彷彿とさせる顔立ちに嚙み合わせの悪そうな歯並び…今見るとシンゴジラの先取りと言えるな~なんて思ったり…。". Twitter. Archived from the original on 18 November 2021.

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