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{{Spoilers}}
{{Recently Released}}
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{{Spoilers}}
[[File:CB9eJgMF 400x400.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Monarch logo]]
{{Quote|Beyond logic lies truth.|Monarch's motto, circa 1972<ref name="DiscoverSkullIsland">[http://www.discoverskullisland.com Discover Skull Island]</ref>}}
{{Quote|Beyond logic lies truth.|Monarch's motto, circa 1972<ref name="DiscoverSkullIsland">[http://www.discoverskullisland.com Discover Skull Island]</ref>}}
{{Quote|Our Mission: Discovery and Defense in a Time of Monsters.|Monarch's mission statement, circa 2018<ref name="MonarchSciences">[http://www.monarchsciences.com/ Monarch Sciences]</ref>}}
{{Quote|Our Mission: Discovery and Defense in a Time of Monsters.|Monarch's mission statement, circa 2018<ref name="MonarchSciences">[http://www.monarchsciences.com/ Monarch Sciences]</ref>}}
[[File:CB9eJgMF 400x400.jpg|right|250px|MONARCH logo]]'''Monarch''' is a secret scientific organization that first appeared in the [[2014]] [[Legendary Pictures]] [[Godzilla (franchise)|Godzilla]] [[:Category:Godzilla Films|film]], ''[[Godzilla (2014 film)|Godzilla]]''. Founded in [[1946]] by [[United States|American]] President [[wikipedia:Harry S. Truman|Harry S. Truman]] to investigate the sinking of the U.S.S. ''Lawton'' by a giant creature, or [[MUTO (designation)|Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism (MUTO)]], Monarch soon expanded into an international organization. In [[1954]], it was involved in attempts to kill [[Godzilla/Legendary|Godzilla]] with hydrogen bomb detonations at [[Bikini Atoll]]. The organization's next breakthrough came in [[1973]], when Monarch agents attached to a Landsat expedition discovered the incredible ecosystem of [[Skull Island]] and the ancient rivalry between its guardian, [[King Kong|Kong]], and the marauding [[Skullcrawler|Skullcrawlers]].
'''Monarch''' {{Nihongo|モナーク|Monāku}} is a scientific organization that first appeared in the [[2014]] [[Legendary Pictures]] ''[[Godzilla (franchise)|Godzilla]]'' [[:Category:Godzilla Films|film]] ''[[Godzilla (2014 film)|Godzilla]]''. Founded as a joint [[Japan]]ese-[[United States|American]] task force in [[1946]] by U.S. President [[wikipedia:Harry S. Truman|Harry S. Truman]] to investigate the [[1943]] sinking of the [[USS Lawton|USS ''Lawton'']] by a [[Ion Dragon|giant creature]], or [[MUTO (designation)|Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism (MUTO)]], Monarch soon expanded into an international organization. In [[1954]], it was involved in attempts to kill [[Godzilla (Monsterverse)|Godzilla]] and the [[Shinomura]] with hydrogen bomb detonations at [[Bikini Atoll]]. The organization's next breakthrough came in [[1973]], when Monarch agents attached to a Landsat expedition discovered the incredible ecosystem of [[Skull Island]] and the ancient rivalry between its guardian, [[King Kong (Monsterverse)|Kong]], and the marauding [[Skullcrawler]]s.


In [[1999]], Monarch assisted in the coverup of a [[MUTO]] attack on the nuclear power plant in [[Janjira]], [[Japan]], and studied the creature as he fed on the reactor. The MUTO emerged from his cocoon in [[2014]] and proved impervious to Monarch's attempts to destroy him. Godzilla intercepted the MUTO in [[Honolulu]], with the ensuing battle revealing the existence of giant monsters to the public. Godzilla ultimately killed the MUTO and his mate in [[San Francisco]] and returned to the sea. By [[2019]], Monarch's existence had become public knowledge as well. The organization subsequently expanded, with at least 67 outposts around the globe. At this time, Monarch's mission had changed from hunting and containing MUTOs to discovering and protecting ancient giant creatures designated [[Titan]]s, which it believed were essential to the preservation of life on Earth. Titans under observation included [[Mothra/Legendary|Mothra]] in [[China]], [[Rodan/Legendary|Rodan]] in a [[Mexico|Mexican]] volcano, and a creature designated [[King Ghidorah/Legendary|Monster Zero]] frozen in [[Antarctica]].  
In [[1999]], Monarch assisted in the coverup of a [[MUTO]] attack on the nuclear power plant in [[Janjira]], [[Japan]], and studied the creature as he fed on the reactor. The MUTO emerged from his cocoon in [[2014]] and proved impervious to Monarch's attempts to destroy him. Godzilla intercepted the MUTO in [[Honolulu]], with the ensuing battle revealing the existence of giant monsters to the public. Godzilla ultimately killed the MUTO and his mate in [[San Francisco]] and returned to the sea. By [[2019]], Monarch's existence had become public knowledge as well. The organization subsequently expanded, with at least 67 outposts around the globe. At this time, Monarch's mission had changed from hunting and containing MUTOs to discovering and protecting ancient giant creatures designated [[Titan]]s, which it believed were essential to the preservation of life on Earth. Titans under observation included [[Mothra (Monsterverse)|Mothra]] in [[China]], [[Rodan (Monsterverse)|Rodan]] in a [[Mexico|Mexican]] volcano, and a creature designated [[King Ghidorah (Monsterverse)|Monster Zero]] frozen in [[Antarctica]].  


In addition to its scientific operations, Monarch established a military branch dubbed the "G-Team" in the wake of the San Francisco incident in order to be prepared to defend humanity from MUTOs by force if necessary. The G-Team recruits from the militaries of member nations which contribute to it, and is currently led by former U.S. Army Ranger instructor Col. [[Diane Foster]].
In addition to its scientific operations, Monarch established a military branch dubbed the "G-Team" in the wake of the San Francisco incident to be prepared to defend humanity from MUTOs by force if necessary. The G-Team recruits from the militaries of member nations that contribute to it and is currently led by former U.S. Army Ranger instructor Col. [[Diane Foster]]. In 2024, Monarch organized a joint operation to the [[Hollow Earth]] with [[Apex Cybernetics]] to retrieve an energy source for a weapon capable of combating the rogue Godzilla when he seemingly turned against humanity. Unbeknownst to Monarch, Apex had its own secret ambitions, and the weapon in question was the colossal machine known as [[Mechagodzilla (Monsterverse)|Mechagodzilla]], which was actually constructed to destroy all of the Titans.
==History==
==History==
*''[[Godzilla (2014 film)|Godzilla]]'' (2014)
*''[[Kong: Skull Island]]'' (2017)
*''[[Godzilla: King of the Monsters]]'' (2019)
*''[[Godzilla vs. Kong]]'' (2021)
*''[[Monarch: Legacy of Monsters]]'' (TV 2023-2024)
===[[Godzilla (2014 film)|''Godzilla'' (2014)]]===
===[[Godzilla (2014 film)|''Godzilla'' (2014)]]===
Monarch became active in the South Pacific in [[1954]], following the U.S.S. ''Nautilus''<nowiki>'</nowiki> discovery of [[Godzilla/Legendary|Godzilla]]. Working with the [[United States]] military, it participated in the hydrogen bomb attack against the monster in [[Bikini Atoll]] the same year, along with the subsequent coverup. Since Godzilla's death could not be confirmed, the organization spent the following decades searching for him and studying the data it had already collected
Monarch became active in the South Pacific in [[1954]], following the U.S.S. ''Nautilus''{{'}} discovery of [[Godzilla (Monsterverse)|Godzilla]]. Working with the [[United States]] military, it participated in the hydrogen bomb attack against the monster in [[Bikini Atoll]] the same year, along with the subsequent coverup. Since Godzilla's death could not be confirmed, the organization spent the following decades searching for him and studying the data it had already collected.


In [[1999]], [[Ishiro Serizawa]] and his assistant [[Vivienne Graham]] were sent by Monarch to the [[Philippines]] to investigate the cave-in of a mine. There, they discovered the skeleton of another member of Godzilla's species that died long ago and two parasitic spores, one of which had hatched. The creature that hatched from the spore arrived at the nuclear power plant in [[Janjira]], where it attached itself to the reactor to feed. Monarch quickly quarantined the city of Janjira in order to study the creature, codenamed [[MUTO]]. In [[2014]], the MUTO burst free from its cocoon and destroyed Monarch's facilities and flew away. Serizawa and Graham then assisted the U.S. military in tracking and studying the MUTO and Godzilla once he emerged to hunt it.
In [[1999]], [[Ishiro Serizawa]] and his assistant [[Vivienne Graham]] were sent by Monarch to the [[Philippines]] to investigate the cave-in of a mine. There, they discovered the skeleton of another member of Godzilla's species that died long ago and two parasitic spores, one of which had hatched. The creature that hatched from the spore arrived at the nuclear power plant in [[Janjira]], where it attached itself to the reactor to feed. Monarch quickly quarantined the city of Janjira to study the creature, codenamed [[MUTO]]. In [[2014]], the MUTO burst free from its cocoon and destroyed Monarch's facilities, and flew away. Serizawa and Graham then assisted the U.S. military in tracking and studying the MUTO and Godzilla once he emerged to hunt it.


"The Godzilla Revelation", a featurette on home video releases of ''Godzilla'', indicates that the world learned of Monarch's existence shortly after the events of the film, with an individual calling themselves MonsterTruth leaking classified videos and documents to the press.
"The Godzilla Revelation", a featurette on home video releases of ''Godzilla'', indicates that the world learned of Monarch's existence shortly after the events of the film, with an individual calling themselves MonsterTruth leaking classified videos and documents to the press.
===''[[Kong: Skull Island]]''===
===''[[Kong: Skull Island]]''===
With Monarch in danger of losing its funding, [[William Randa]] and seismologist [[Houston Brooks]] lobbied U.S. Senator Al Willis to join a [[wikipedia:Landsat|Landsat]] mission to the mysterious [[Skull Island]]. He dismissed their hopes of encountering monsters, agreeing to fund them for the sake of getting ahead of the Soviet Union, which had yet to discover the island. Randa and Brooks were joined by biologist [[Lin San]], former SAS tracker [[James Conrad]], anti-war photographer [[Mason Weaver]], and a U.S. Army helicopter escort. The mammoth ape [[King Kong|Kong]], angered by the seismic charges the helicopters dropped onto his home, soon attacked the expedition, downing all of its aircraft. The survivors headed to the north shore of the island for extraction. Along the way, they encountered the [[Iwi]] civilization and [[Hank Marlow]], an Air Force pilot stranded there since 1944. Marlow told them of a vicious subterranean species he called the [[Skullcrawler]]s, which seemingly confirmed the hollow earth theory that earned Brooks a place at Monarch. One of these creatures devoured Randa during a battle around the skeletons of Kong's parents. Colonel [[Preston Packard]], the leader of the Army escort, attempted to kill Kong to avenge the men he lost in the earlier attack, only to allow a much larger Skullcrawler known as the Skull Devil to surface. After Packard was killed, the remaining survivors reached the north end of the island to make their escape, but were intercepted by the Skull Devil. Kong arrived shortly afterward and fought the Skull Devil, successfully killing it and saving the expedition members. Following their escape from the island, Brooks and San brought Conrad and Weaver to a Monarch facility, where they showed them ancient cave paintings of [[Godzilla/Legendary|Godzilla]], [[Rodan/Legendary|Rodan]], [[Mothra/Legendary|Mothra]], and [[King Ghidorah/Legendary|King Ghidorah]]. "Kong is not the only king," Brooks concluded.
In [[1973]], with Monarch in danger of losing its funding, [[Bill Randa]] and seismologist [[Houston Brooks]] lobbied U.S. Senator Al Willis to join a [[wikipedia:Landsat|Landsat]] mission to the mysterious [[Skull Island]]. He dismissed their hopes of encountering monsters, agreeing to fund them for the sake of getting ahead of the Soviet Union, which had yet to discover the island. Randa and Brooks were joined by biologist [[Lin San]], former SAS tracker [[James Conrad]], anti-war photographer [[Mason Weaver]], and a U.S. Army helicopter escort. The mammoth ape [[King Kong (Monsterverse)|Kong]], angered by the seismic charges the helicopters dropped onto his home, soon attacked the expedition, downing all of its aircraft. The survivors headed to the north shore of the island for extraction. Along the way, they encountered the [[Iwi]] civilization and [[Hank Marlow]], an Air Force pilot stranded there since 1944. Marlow told them of a vicious subterranean species he called the [[Skullcrawler]]s, which seemingly confirmed the hollow earth theory that earned Brooks a place at Monarch. One of these creatures devoured Randa during a battle around the skeletons of Kong's parents. Colonel [[Preston Packard]], the leader of the Army escort, attempted to kill Kong to avenge the men he lost in the earlier attack, only to allow a much larger Skullcrawler known as the Skull Devil to surface. After Packard was killed, the remaining survivors reached the north end of the island to make their escape but were intercepted by the Skull Devil. Kong arrived shortly afterward and fought the Skull Devil, successfully killing it and saving the expedition members. Following their escape from the island, Brooks and San brought Conrad and Weaver to a Monarch facility, where they showed them ancient cave paintings of [[Godzilla (Monsterverse)|Godzilla]], [[Rodan (Monsterverse)|Rodan]], [[Mothra (Monsterverse)|Mothra]], and [[King Ghidorah (Monsterverse)|King Ghidorah]]. "Kong is not the only king," Brooks concluded.
===''[[Godzilla: King of the Monsters]]''===
===''[[Godzilla: King of the Monsters]]''===
By [[2019]], the U.S. government was threatening to shut down Monarch and have the military take over jurisdiction of the many [[Titan]]s under observation by the organization, with much of the public demanding the Titans be destroyed following the [[2014]] [[San Francisco]] attack. At this time, Dr. [[Emma Russell]] was stationed at Outpost 61 in [[China]]'s Yunnan Rainforest, where the Titan designated [[Mothra (Monsterverse)|Mothra]] was under observation. While Mothra's egg had been consistently dormant for some time, it suddenly became active and Emma was quickly called to the chamber housing the egg. She, her daughter [[Madison Russell|Madison]], and the other staff there witnessed the larval Mothra hatch from her egg. Mothra became distressed and lashed out at the personnel trying to contain her, with Emma using her sonar device the [[Orca]] to pacify her. Just then, the Outpost was assaulted by armed attackers who killed most of the staff but captured Emma, Madison, and the Orca. Doctors [[Ishiro Serizawa]] and [[Vivienne Graham]] were alerted to this event during a hearing before several U.S. Senators and were forced to leave. Accompanied by Dr. [[Sam Coleman]], the doctors traveled aboard an [[Osprey]] to the home of Dr. [[Mark Russell]], Emma's estranged husband and a former member of Monarch. They explained the situation to Mark, who was angry Monarch continued work on the Orca, a device he felt was so dangerous it shouldn't exist. Nevertheless, Mark accompanied the scientists to Monarch Outpost 54 in Bermuda, a.k.a. Castle Bravo. They attended a briefing with Monarch's other chief scientists and members of its military G-Team, where it was explained that Emma and Madison were taken by eco-terrorist [[Alan Jonah]]. Mark interjected that he felt Jonah and his men were not after Mothra, but rather a much bigger "prize." Now that they had the Orca, they had access to all of Monarch's observed Titans. Not long after, [[Godzilla (Monsterverse)|Godzilla]] approached the Outpost, which raised its shields and [[Maser Turret]]s defensively. Mark told G-Team to stand down to signal that they were not a threat to Godzilla. Serizawa agreed with Mark and the turrets and shields were lowered. Godzilla seemed to calm down before storming past the Outpost toward [[Antarctica]], the site of Outpost 32.
Monarch and G-Team boarded the flying flagship the [[USS Argo|USS ''Argo'']], bound for Antarctica. Aboard the flight, Serizawa and Graham explained that the Titan in containment, codenamed "[[King Ghidorah (Monsterverse)|Monster Zero]]", was likely another apex predator that rivaled Godzilla. The ''Argo'' arrived at its destination and sent the scientists and soldiers to the Outpost aboard two Ospreys. G-Team entered the Outpost and was ambushed by Jonah's men. Seeing his wife and daughter on a monitor, Mark rushed in after G-Team and made his way onto a catwalk where he came face-to-face with Emma and Madison. Rather than come to Mark, Madison stayed behind with her mother, who warned Mark to run before activating the detonator for charges planted in the ice. Jonah escaped with Emma and Madison in the ensuing chaos, while Mark stayed behind to help G-Team escape. As Mark and G-Team fled the crumbling Outpost, Emma used the Orca to awaken Monster Zero. The three-headed Titan promptly vaporized many of G-Team's soldiers with his gravity beams and gave chase to the survivors. Emma momentarily activated the Orca to prevent Monster Zero from destroying the Osprey Mark fled to before her Osprey escaped the area. Godzilla soon erupted from the ice and fought with Monster Zero, their battle knocking one of the Ospreys into a crack in the ice. Dr. Graham stayed behind to help Mark escape while the rest of the craft's occupants quickly fled. As Mark and Graham ran toward the others, Monster Zero bit down on the ice with one of his heads, swallowing Graham whole. The ''Argo'' arrived soon after and bombarded Monster Zero with missiles, prompting him to retreat.
Back aboard the ''Argo'', the members of Monarch debated whether Emma truly was the one who pressed the trigger at Outpost 32. Mark confirmed it was her, and as if on cue the ''Argo'' was contacted by Emma, who explained her actions. With Monarch on the verge of being shut down and the Titans all set to be exterminated, releasing them was the only way to ensure they could restore balance to the nature that mankind has destroyed and prevent the end of the world, she claimed. Serizawa and the others accused Emma of meddling with forces beyond her control and risking billions of lives, but Emma maintained her resolve. She warned the others to seek shelter before signing off. Monarch learned that Emma was not at Outpost 56 in [[Isla de Mara]], [[Mexico]] as they had previously believed, but rather bouncing her signal off of Monarch's satellites and hiding in an unidentified location. However, she still had the ability to disable the containment field at Outpost 56 and release the Titan inside, so G-Team headed to the nearby village to evacuate it. Emma activated the Orca and awakened the Titan known as [[Rodan (Monsterverse)|Rodan]], who burst from the crater of the island's volcano. Monarch found that Monster Zero, who had previously disappeared within a tropical storm, was now heading directly to Rodan's location, no doubt drawn by the Titan's cries. Colonel [[Diane Foster]] decided to lure Rodan away from Isla de Mara and into the path of Monster Zero. Fighter jets opened fire on Rodan and he quickly gave chase after them and the ''Argo'', leveling the buildings beneath him simply by flying over them. Rodan wiped out the fighter jets and closed in on the ''Argo'' before colliding with Monster Zero. As the two Titans clashed, Mark was able to open the hangar doors to the ''Argo'' to allow an Osprey laden with civilians to land inside. However, Monster Zero had defeated Rodan and was now closing in on the ''Argo''. Luckily, Godzilla leapt from the water and dragged his foe under just before he could reach the craft. Monarch had been contacted by Admiral [[William Stenz]], who ordered the ''Argo'' to withdraw before the military's experimental [[Oxygen Destroyer]] impacted the water and killed everything in a two mile radius. Godzilla had taken the upper hand and managed to sever Monster Zero's left head just before the weapon impacted. Godzilla was severely weakened and seemingly killed by the Oxygen Destroyer, while Monster Zero simply flew out of the water none the worse for wear. The creature perched atop the Isla de Mara volcano and regenerated his missing head in a matter of moments before emitting a deafening cry that awakened all of the dormant Titans around the globe.
Back in China, where Monarch had set up a perimeter around Mothra's cocoon, Dr. [[Houston Brooks]] realized that all of the awakening Titans were responding to Monster Zero's call. He tried to inform Dr. [[Ling]] about the situation, but found her watching the cocoon, which proceeded to break open and unleash Mothra's imago stage. Aboard the ''Argo'', Dr. [[Ilene Chen]] managed to piece together ancient records of Monster Zero and concluded that he was not part of the natural order. In other words, he was an alien, an invasive species, changing the Earth's environment to his own liking. This explained his unusual abilities, such as his immunity to the Oxygen Destroyer, his regeneration of his severed head, and the effect he had on the other Titans. Chen reported that these ancient legends referred to the creature as "Ghidorah, the One Who is Many." When the ''Argo'' returned to Outpost 54, it found the base surrounded by the U.S. Navy. Inside, Admiral Stenz briefed everyone on the situation. The Titans were not taking nuclear weapons as bait like the [[MUTO]]s did in 2014, and Stenz described their behavior as "erratic." Chen and Mark explained that rather than acting randomly, the Titans were responding to Ghidorah like a pack. If they could stop Ghidorah, Mark said, they would stop them all. Unfortunately, the military had killed the only Titan capable of confronting Ghidorah. As Mark prepared to leave Castle Bravo, he witnessed a blinding light appear in the sky and part the clouds. The light was being given off by the imago Mothra, who Monarch recorded emitting a sonar frequency. After searching for a response, Monarch detected a faint noise from Godzilla, meaning he was still alive. Monarch split into two groups: one aboard the ''Argo'' which would combat Ghidorah and Rodan in Washington, D.C., and another composed of Mark, Serizawa, Chen, and Dr. [[Rick Stanton]] which would try to revive Godzilla with the nuclear warheads aboard the USS ''Scorpion''.
Both teams departed Castle Bravo, with Mothra leading the ''Scorpion'' to Godzilla's location, her light acting as a beacon. The ''Scorpion'' was suddenly pulled underwater by a strong current and found itself within the Hollow Earth. There, Monarch witnessed the ruins of an ancient civilization which had coexisted with Godzilla and the Titans. Further within the ruins was a radioactive air pocket in which Godzilla rested on a gigantic altar. Unfortunately, the ''Scorpion''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> firing systems had been damaged and it could not fire a warhead. Furthermore, manually arming a warhead inside the pocket would prove fatal to whoever carried out the task due to the heat and radiation. Serizawa did not hesitate in saying he would do the task. Despite protests from his colleagues, Serizawa was resolute. He gave Mark his notes and told him to take care of the others before departing in a miniature submarine. Serizawa reached the altar and climbed it with the warhead, finally reaching the summit and arming it. He removed his mask and approached Godzilla, placing his hand on the monster's face in the waning moments before the warhead detonated. The blast propelled the ''Scorpion'' to the surface, after which Mark and Chen climbed to the surface to see if Serizawa was successful. Godzilla soon rose from the depths, completely revitalized. Godzilla leaned forward and stared at the humans, with Mark ordering no one to move. Godzilla then turned around and began heading toward [[Boston]], where Madison had taken the Orca.
Mark and the others rendezvoused with the rest of Monarch aboard the ''Argo'', which accompanied Godzilla into the city as he prepared for a final confrontation with King Ghidorah. Mark and G-Team took an Osprey to Fenway Park to save Madison, but could only find the damaged Orca. Emma arrived in a vehicle and ordered them to get in with her. As the two drove through Boston, Godzilla took on Ghidorah while Mothra and Rodan dueled in the sky. They realized that Madison was likely hiding in their old home, and found her holed up inside the bathtub. Working together, Mark and Emma repaired the Orca and used it to lure Ghidorah away from Godzilla. As Mark, Madison, and G-Team boarded an Osprey to escape, Emma chose to take the Orca with her and drive away, buying time for the Osprey to take off. Ghidorah gave chase and destroyed the vehicle, but was confronted by Godzilla in his Burning state and subsequently destroyed. The members of Monarch inside the Osprey watched as the other Titans surrounded Godzilla and proceeded to submit to him as their new alpha.
===''[[Godzilla vs. Kong]]''===
{{Stub|section}}
{{Expand|Monarch's role in the film is not fully summarized.}}
Five years after Godzilla killed his extraterrestrial nemesis King Ghidorah and became the new Alpha Titan, all other Titans on Earth except Godzilla and Kong have become inactive, having been put to rest by Godzilla after Ghidorah's demise. Meanwhile, the isolated Skull Island has become unstable due to one of Ghidorah's storms influencing the natural weather which began to surround the entire island, which forced Monarch to contain it's Alpha, Kong, in a dome-shaped facility imitating the native environment. An orphaned Iwi girl, Jia, who is deaf and can use sign language, keeps him company. Kong eventually uncovers the charade of his residence, which angers him. Dr. Ilene Andrews, the anthropological linguist, Jia's adoptive mother, is suggested on moving Kong elsewhere due to the island's instability and the ape's own growth rate, which she goes against, as the active Godzilla will be a danger to him, as two Alpha Titans can't coexist.
Elsewhere, amidst the unexplained devastation caused by the now destructive Godzilla, Apex Cybernetics employee, Bernie Hayes, the host of Titans conspiracy theory podcast, ''Titans Truth Podcast'', which is listened to by the now grown-up Madison Russell, films another episode over information suggesting Apex Cybernetics' illegal activities at their Pensacola facility, which he infiltrates. Using a flash drive, he observes shipping manifests shipping technology to Hong Kong, shortly before the now hyperaggressive Godzilla emerges and decimates the facility, amidst whose remains he notices a piece of technology resembling a gigantic robotic eye, while Apex CEO Walter Simmons and Chief Technology Officer Ren Serizawa flee via helicopter.
The wave of aggression Godzilla began to spread caused humanity to assume he's gone rogue, while Monarch continues to uncover the cause of the King of the Monsters going rogue inexplicably rogue, which Mark Russell, the current Director of Monarch is trying to understand, dismissive of Madison's belief in the ''Titans Truth Podcast.'' Meanwhile ex-Monarch member Dr. Nathan Lind, now a Hollow Earth theorist is approached by Simmons and Serizawa to serve as a guide to the Hollow Earth, the Titans' hidden birthplace, which Nathan is hesitant about, as his brother was killed by the anti-gravity field in the entrance tunnel, but relents after learning of the Hollow Earth Aerial Vehicle, leaving to meet his old colleague, Dr. Andrews.
Lind then travels to Monarch Outpost #236 to meet Andrews to discuss allowing Kong to lead them to Hollow Earth, which Andrew proposes as dangerous, as Godzilla will target Kong immediately after he leaves the island, but Lind states Kong will need a new home since the island's falling apart and the energy source is needed to stop Godzilla, which she finally agrees to but tells Jia that she immediately regrets it.
===''[[Monarch: Legacy of Monsters]]''===
To be added.
To be added.
===Official Monarch Timeline===
 
===Official Monarch timeline===
{{Disclaimer|This section contains some outdated and retconned information. It is featured here for archival purposes.}}
 
Monarch was originally a "small, off-book research team" founded in 1946 by [[wikipedia:Harry S. Truman|President Truman]], in response to an attack on the ''U.S.S. Lawton'' by a massive, unidentified creature in 1943.<ref name="KSI Facebook">[https://www.facebook.com/KongSkullIsland/videos/485495668455520/ ''Kong: Skull Island'' on Facebook]</ref>
Monarch was originally a "small, off-book research team" founded in 1946 by [[wikipedia:Harry S. Truman|President Truman]], in response to an attack on the ''U.S.S. Lawton'' by a massive, unidentified creature in 1943.<ref name="KSI Facebook">[https://www.facebook.com/KongSkullIsland/videos/485495668455520/ ''Kong: Skull Island'' on Facebook]</ref>


In [[1973]], an expedition to [[Skull Island]] led by [[William Randa|Bill Randa]] encountered [[King Kong|Kong]] and the [[Skullcrawler|Skullcrawlers]] as well as the native Iwi people and other [[MUTO (designation)|MUTOs]].
In [[1973]], an expedition to [[Skull Island]] led by [[Bill Randa]] encountered [[King Kong|Kong]] and the [[Skullcrawler|Skullcrawlers]] as well as the native Iwi people and other [[MUTO (designation)|MUTOs]].


In [[1991]], Monarch installed an outpost on Isla de Mona, laying the groundwork for later construction of a "full containment facility" around the inactive volcano there.<ref name="KSI Twitter">[https://twitter.com/kongskullisland/status/882636137927294978 ''Kong: Skull Island'' on Twitter]</ref>
In [[1991]], Monarch installed an outpost on Isla de Mara, laying the groundwork for later construction of a "full containment facility" around the inactive volcano there.<ref name="Outpost 56">{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/kongskullisland/status/882636137927294978|title=1991: A covert Monarch team establishes a quarantine zone around a dormant volcano in Isle de Mona. #KongSkullIsland|author=Kong: Skull Island|date=5 July 2017|work=Twitter|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731205631/https://twitter.com/kongskullisland/status/882636137927294978|archivedate=31 July 2017}}</ref>


In [[1995]], [[Skull Island: The Birth of Kong|a second, off-the-books expedition]] to Skull Island led by [[Aaron Brooks]] became stranded on the island after their aircraft was attacked by [[Psychovulture]]s. They were then taken in by the indigenous Iwi tribe, who taught them about the origins of Kong.<ref name="KSI Facebook"/>
In [[1995]], [[Skull Island: The Birth of Kong|a second, off-the-books expedition]] to Skull Island led by [[Aaron Brooks]] became stranded on the island after their aircraft was attacked by [[Psychovulture]]s. They were then taken in by the indigenous Iwi tribe, who taught them about the origins of Kong.<ref name="KSI Facebook"/>
Line 32: Line 63:
In [[2005]], [[Alan Jonah]] was put in Pakistani prison after he and his band of mercenaries tried to breach the walls of a MUTO dig site.<ref name="KSI Facebook"/>
In [[2005]], [[Alan Jonah]] was put in Pakistani prison after he and his band of mercenaries tried to breach the walls of a MUTO dig site.<ref name="KSI Facebook"/>


In [[2009]], a Monarch study of [[China|Chinese]] temples led Dr. [[Emma Russell]]'s team to a temple housing a [[Mothra/Legendary|giant cocoon with a "quickening heartbeat."]]<ref name="KSI Facebook"/>
In [[2009]], a Monarch study of [[China|Chinese]] temples led Dr. [[Emma Russell]]'s team to a temple housing a [[Mothra (Monsterverse)|giant cocoon with a "quickening heartbeat."]]<ref name="KSI Facebook"/>


In [[2012]], [[Houston Brooks]] received a coded message from his son containing information about Kong.<ref name="KSI Facebook"/>
In [[2012]], [[Houston Brooks]] received a coded message from his son containing information about Kong.<ref name="KSI Facebook"/>


In [[2014]], the "Battle of [[San Francisco]]," fought between [[Godzilla/Legendary|Godzilla]] and two [[MUTO]]s, revealed the existence of giant superspecies to the world. As a result, Monarch went public.<ref name="KSI Facebook"/>
In [[2014]], the "Battle of [[San Francisco]]," fought between [[Godzilla (Monsterverse)|Godzilla]] and two [[MUTO]]s, revealed the existence of giant superspecies to the world. As a result, Monarch went public.<ref name="KSI Facebook"/>
 
In [[2016]], Monarch, led by [[Vivienne Graham]], built a containment and research facility in [[Antarctica]] around a [[King Ghidorah (Monsterverse)|three-headed creature]] found beneath the ice.<ref name="KSI Facebook"/>


In [[2016]], Monarch, led by [[Vivienne Graham]], built a containment and research facility in [[Antarctica]] around a [[King Ghidorah/Legendary|three-headed creature]] found beneath the ice.<ref name="KSI Facebook"/>
==Notable members==
==Notable Members==
*Douglas MacArthur <small>(deceased)</small>
*General Douglas MacArthur <small>(deceased)</small>
*[[Eiji Serizawa]] <small>(deceased)</small>
*Eiji Serizawa <small>(deceased)</small>
*[[Lee Shaw]]
*Shaw
*Zamalek
*Doctor Zamalek
*[[Bill Randa]] <small>(deceased)</small>
*[[William Randa]] <small>(deceased)</small>
*[[Houston Brooks]]  
*[[Houston Brooks]] <small>(retired)</small>
*[[Lin San]]
*[[Lin San]]
*[[James Conrad]]
*[[Ishiro Serizawa]] <small>(deceased)</small>
*[[Ishiro Serizawa]] <small>(deceased)</small>
*[[Aaron Brooks]]
*[[Aaron Brooks]]
Line 56: Line 89:
*[[Vivienne Graham]] <small>(deceased)</small>
*[[Vivienne Graham]] <small>(deceased)</small>
*[[Emma Russell]] <small>(deceased)</small>
*[[Emma Russell]] <small>(deceased)</small>
*[[Mark Russell]] <small>(retired)</small>
*[[Mark Russell]]
*[[Sam Coleman]]
*[[Sam Coleman]]
*[[Rick Stanton]]
*[[Rick Stanton]]
*[[Ilene Chen]]
*[[Ilene Chen]]
*Ling
*[[Ling]]
==Notable Sites==
*[[Nathan Lind]] <small>(retired)</small>
*[[Ilene Andrews]]
*David Lind <small>(deceased)</small>
*[[Keiko Randa]]
*[[Hiroshi Randa]]
*[[Tim]] <small>(resigned)</small>
*[[Michelle Duvall]]
*[[Natalia Verdugo]]
 
==Notable sites==
*'''[[Janjira]] Nuclear Power Plant:''' Built in the ruins of the Japanese power plant, this containment facility was built around the cocoon of the male [[MUTO]], studying it as it fed on the nuclear reactors.
*'''[[Janjira]] Nuclear Power Plant:''' Built in the ruins of the Japanese power plant, this containment facility was built around the cocoon of the male [[MUTO]], studying it as it fed on the nuclear reactors.
*'''Outpost 54:''' Located in Bermuda, Castle Bravo serves as Monarch's primary headquarters. Castle Bravo is a subaquatic facility that is dedicated to studying [[Godzilla/Legendary|Godzilla]] in his natural habitat. It also contains the carcass of the female MUTO. In ''[[Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization]]'', it is also the location where the bodies of [[List of minor Toho monsters#Margygr|Margygr]], the male MUTO and [[MUTO Prime]] are being analyzed.
*'''Outpost 54:''' Located in Bermuda, Castle Bravo serves as Monarch's primary headquarters. Castle Bravo is a subaquatic facility that is dedicated to studying [[Godzilla (Monsterverse)|Godzilla]] in his natural habitat. It also contains the carcass of the female MUTO. In ''[[Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization]]'', it is also the location where the bodies of [[List of minor Toho monsters#Margygr|Margygr]], the male MUTO and [[MUTO Prime]] are being analyzed.
*'''Outpost 61:''' Built in and around the ancient Temple of the Moth in [[China]]'s Yunnan Rainforest, Outpost 61 studied the egg of the lepidopteran [[Titan]] known as [[Mothra/Legendary|Mothra]].
*'''Outpost 61:''' Built in and around the ancient Temple of the Moth in [[China]]'s Yunnan Rainforest, Outpost 61 studied the egg of the lepidopteran [[Titan]] known as [[Mothra (Monsterverse)|Mothra]].
*'''Outpost 56:''' Located in Isla De Mara, [[Mexico]], Outpost 56 was built over the crater of the island's volcano. "El Nido Del Demonio," to contain and study [[Rodan/Legendary|Rodan]], who was discovered hibernating inside.
*'''Outpost 56:''' Located in Isla de Mara, [[Mexico]], Outpost 56 was built over the crater of the island's volcano, "El Nido Del Demonio," to contain and study [[Rodan (Monsterverse)|Rodan]], who was discovered hibernating inside.
*'''Outpost 32:''' Located in [[Antarctica]], Outpost 32 is Monarch's most recently-constructed facility. It was built to study the frozen three-headed superspecies designated [[King Ghidorah/Legendary|Monster Zero]].
*'''Outpost 32:''' Located in [[Antarctica]], Outpost 32 is Monarch's most recently-constructed facility. It was built to study the frozen three-headed superspecies designated [[King Ghidorah (Monsterverse)|Monster Zero]].
*'''Outpost 67:''' Located in Munich, Germany, Outpost 67 was constructed around the Titan known as [[Methuselah]], whose enormous sleeping body was camouflaged as a local mountain.
*'''Outpost 67:''' Located in Munich, Germany, Outpost 67 was constructed around the Titan known as [[Methuselah]], whose enormous sleeping body was camouflaged as a local mountain.
*'''Outpost 55:''' Located in Sedona, [[Arizona]], Outpost 55 was built over an oil field in the Arizona desert, under which the Titan [[Scylla]] was discovered hibernating.
*'''Outpost 55:''' Located in Sedona, [[Arizona]], Outpost 55 was built over an oil field in the Arizona desert, under which the Titan [[Scylla]] was discovered hibernating.
*'''Outpost 58:''' Located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Outpost 58 was built inside a cavern in the Tingua Preserve that held the slumbering [[Behemoth]].
*'''Outpost 58:''' Located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Outpost 58 was built inside a cavern in the Tingua Preserve that held the slumbering [[Behemoth]].
*'''Outpost 75:''' Located in Jebel Barkal, Sudan, Outpost 75 was constructed to study the hibernating [[List of minor Toho monsters#Mokele-Mbembe|Mokele-Mbembe]].
*'''Outpost 33:''' Located on [[Skull Island]], this outpost was built to study [[King Kong|Kong]].
*'''Outpost 33:''' Located on [[Skull Island]], this outpost was built to study [[King Kong|Kong]].
*'''Outpost 75:''' Located in Jebel Barkal, Sudan, Outpost 75 was constructed to contain and study the hibernating [[Mokele-Mbembe]].
*'''Outpost 53:''' Located in Stone Mountain, Georgia, this outpost was constructed to contain and study the hibernating Titan [[Tiamat]].
*'''Unnamed Indian Ocean Outpost:''' Another subaquatic facility that studied and contained [[Na Kika]], who was feeding on a nuclear submarine. The Titan destroyed this facility upon its awakening.
*'''Outpost 14:''' Located in the southern [[Philippines]] and codenamed the Hollow Dark, Outpost 14 was constructed in the cavern containing the skeletal remains of [[Dagon]] and the two MUTO spores attached to his ribcage which was unearthed in [[1999]].
*'''Outpost 14:''' Located in the southern [[Philippines]] and codenamed the Hollow Dark, Outpost 14 was constructed in the cavern containing the skeletal remains of [[Dagon]] and the two MUTO spores attached to his ribcage which was unearthed in [[1999]].
*'''Abandoned Siberian Outpost:''' Located around an icecap in Siberia, [[Russia]], this Outpost was constructed by Monarch sometime prior to [[1959]] during the height of the Cold War. It was unclear what Monarch was investigating at this Outpost, but by [[2014]] it had been abandoned. When Dr. [[Emma Russell]] returned to the Outpost to search for [[Alan Jonah]] in 2014, she found a MUTO nest nearby within a massive borehole, similar to the one in Outpost 14.
*'''Abandoned Siberian Outpost:''' Located around an icecap in Siberia, [[Russia]], this Outpost was constructed by Monarch sometime before [[1959]] during the height of the Cold War. It was unclear what Monarch was investigating at this Outpost, but by [[2014]] it had been abandoned. When Dr. [[Emma Russell]] returned to the Outpost with Tarkan Cavusgolu to search for [[Alan Jonah]] in 2014, she found a MUTO nest nearby within a massive borehole, similar to the one in Outpost 14.
==Filmography==
*'''Outpost #236:''' Also located on Skull Island, Monarch Outpost #236 is a large dome-like structure with an artificial recreation of the island's original environment. It is constructed to contain Kong after a storm generated by Ghidorah had combined with the storm cell perpetually surrounding Skull Island, causing the island to be consumed by a neverending superstorm.
*''[[Godzilla (2014 film)|Godzilla]]'' (2014)
*'''Outpost 47:''' Located in Utah, United States.
*''[[Kong: Skull Island]]'' (2017)
 
*''[[Godzilla: King of the Monsters]]'' (2019)
==Books==
*''[[Godzilla vs. Kong]]'' (2020)
*''[[Godzilla: The Official Movie Novelization]]'' (2014)
*''[[Kong: Skull Island - The Official Movie Novelization]]'' (2017)
*''[[Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization]]'' (2019)
*''[[Godzilla vs. Kong: The Official Movie Novelization]]'' (2021)
===''[[Godzilla: The Official Movie Novelization]]''===
In this version of the story, Monarch's goal in studying the male [[MUTO]] chrysalis was to learn how he could convert radiation into energy.
===''[[Kong: Skull Island - The Official Movie Novelization]]''===
In the novelization, [[Lin San]] and [[Houston Brooks]] tried to steal a sample of a mysterious liquid from a well inside the ''[[Wanderer]]''. An [[Iwi]] girl caught them in the act immediately and they fled with the Iwi in pursuit, leading to a more dramatic departure from the village that almost ended in violence. [[Hank Marlow]] persuaded the ''Iwi'' to let the ''Grey Fox'' leave. In the final scene, Brooks was more direct about offering [[James Conrad]] and [[Mason Weaver]] jobs at Monarch. Instead of [[Godzilla (Monsterverse)|Godzilla]], [[King Ghidorah (Monsterverse)|King Ghidorah]], [[Mothra (Monsterverse)|Mothra]], and [[Rodan (Monsterverse)|Rodan]], the cave paintings he showed them depicted "a Kong-like figure battling a giant winged beast", "[a] huge lizard on its hind legs, at war with a giant dragonfly", "[a] hammer-headed beast in combat with a many-tailed, skeletal bird", and more.
===''[[Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization]]''===
{{Stub|section}}
Castle Bravo's trophies in the novelization included the bodies of the male [[MUTO]], [[MUTO Prime]], and [[List of minor Toho monsters#Margygr|Margygr]]. Several scenes took place at Monarch outposts not seen in the film.
===''[[Godzilla vs. Kong: The Official Movie Novelization]]''===
The novelization included a scene of Monarch's first attempt to deliberately explore the [[Hollow Earth]], told from [[Nathan Lind]]'s perspective.
 
Although the events of ''[[Kingdom Kong]]'' were referenced multiple times, the novelization contradicted the comic's ending, wherein Monarch evacuated the [[Iwi]] from [[Skull Island]]. Instead, Dr. [[Ilene Andrews]] recalled that the Iwi refused relocation, and all but [[Jia]] "vanished" shortly after Andrews tried convincing them. She also noted that Monarch "collected seeds, spores, cell tissue, and even eggs from many of the doomed species" of Skull Island.
 
[[Mark Russell]] had an expanded role, trying to convince his superiors to order evacuations in Florida as [[Godzilla (Monsterverse)|Godzilla]] approached and fielding questions from reporters after his attack. Guillermin, a minor character in the film, was the director of Monarch instead of Mark and had significantly more dialogue. Nonetheless, Simmons referred to Mark as "Director Russell" in both the film and novelization.
 
[[Bernie Hayes]] revealed that Monarch had a close relationship with Apex for years, with both organizations maintaining facilities in many of the same cities. He believed his wife Sarah, a former employee of Apex, was killed by the company while trying to expose its role in building the [[Oxygen Destroyer]] for Monarch. This seems to contradict ''[[Godzilla: King of the Monsters]]'' and its novelization, where Admiral [[William Stenz]] told senior Monarch members of its existence just before using it.
 
To safely move Kong from his enclosure on Skull Island, Monarch knocked him out with an odorless, water-soluble gas developed by sequencing his DNA. Beforehand, Nathan conferred with Araya, the head engineer on the island and a survivor of [[Behemoth]]'s escape from the Monarch containment facility in Brazil.
 
The Vile Vortex in Antarctica was located near Monarch Outpost 32, which once housed [[King Ghidorah (Monsterverse)|Ghidorah]]. Nathan and Ilene speculated on a connection, but decided they didn't have enough information.
==Comics==
==Comics==
*''[[Godzilla: Awakening]]'' (2014)
*''[[Godzilla: Awakening]]'' (2014)
*''[[Skull Island: The Birth of Kong]]'' (2017)
*''[[Skull Island: The Birth of Kong]]'' (2017)
*''[[Godzilla: Aftershock]]'' (2019)
*''[[Godzilla: Aftershock]]'' (2019)
*''[[Godzilla Dominion]]'' (2021)
*''[[Kingdom Kong]]'' (2021)
*''[[Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted]]'' (2024) [mentioned]
===''[[Godzilla: Awakening]]''===
===''[[Godzilla: Awakening]]''===
Monarch was formed in secrecy in [[1946]]<ref name="Timeline">[http://timeline.godzillamovie.com Godzilla | The Conspiracy Timeline]</ref> as a joint coalition between several governments in order to hunt and study "massive unidentified terrestrial organisms," or [[MUTO (designation)|MUTOs]]. During the 1940's, Monarch maintained a museum containing numerous specimens on display, though none of them were alive. The first such living creature Monarch encountered was [[Shinomura]], a deadly hive-minded radioactive creature composed of many smaller composite lifeforms. One of Monarch's operatives, Eiji Serizawa, also was intrigued by eyewitness accounts of a "giant lizard that walked like a man" that seemed to be chasing Shinomura throughout the islands. Serizawa called this creature "[[Godzilla/Legendary|Gojira]]," after Pacific Island legends describing him. In [[1954]], Monarch cooperated with the [[United States]] military to lure Godzilla and Shinomura to [[Bikini Atoll]], where both were thought to be killed by the Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb "test." Decades later, in [[1981]], Serizawa told his son [[Ishiro Serizawa|Ishiro]] about his experiences and belief that Godzilla was still alive somewhere. After Ishiro's father died, he was approached by Shaw, a representative of Monarch, who offered him the opportunity to join and continue his father's work. Ishiro Serizawa readily agreed and became part of Monarch.
Monarch was formed in secrecy in [[1946]]<ref name="Timeline">[http://timeline.godzillamovie.com Godzilla | The Conspiracy Timeline]</ref> as a joint coalition between several governments in order to hunt and study "massive unidentified terrestrial organisms," or [[MUTO (designation)|MUTOs]]. During the 1940s, Monarch maintained a museum containing numerous specimens on display, though none of them were alive. The first such living creature Monarch encountered was [[Shinomura]], a deadly hive-minded radioactive creature composed of many smaller composite lifeforms. One of Monarch's operatives, [[Eiji Serizawa]], also was intrigued by eyewitness accounts of a "giant lizard that walked like a man" that seemed to be chasing Shinomura throughout the islands. Serizawa called this creature "[[Godzilla (Monsterverse)|Gojira]]," after Pacific Island legends describing him. In [[1954]], Monarch cooperated with the [[United States]] military to lure Godzilla and Shinomura to [[Bikini Atoll]], where both were thought to be killed by the Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb "test." Decades later, in [[1981]], Serizawa told his son [[Ishiro Serizawa|Ishiro]] about his experiences and belief that Godzilla was still alive somewhere. After Ishiro's father died, he was approached by Shaw, a representative of Monarch, who offered him the opportunity to join and continue his father's work. Ishiro Serizawa readily agreed and became part of Monarch.
===''[[Skull Island: The Birth of Kong]]''===
===''[[Skull Island: The Birth of Kong]]''===
In 1995, [[Houston Brooks]]' son Aaron led an unauthorized expedition to the island. The team's plane was quickly shot down by a [[Psychovulture]], and they were chased into a cave by [[Death Jackal]]s. After [[King Kong|Kong]] arrived and killed the creatures, the expedition members met a group of Iwi, who led them to their village. [[Ato]], an Iwi boy who had learned to speak English from his father, who himself had learned from [[Hank Marlow]], explained to the expedition members Kong's significance to their people, and offered to lead them on a pilgrimage to several holy sites related to Kong on the island before eventually allowing them to meet Kong himself. En route, they were attacked by a [[Sirenjaw]], which was subsequently attacked and killed by Kong. With the other predators of the island swarming to the carcass, it became unsafe to continue the pilgrimage and the group attempted to return to the village by crossing the "Valley of the Fallen Gods," where Kong's parents had been killed by [[Skullcrawler]]s just after their son was born. Small Skullcrawlers were stalking the area, and the group was forced to take refuge in the same cave where the infant Kong had been hidden by his parents before they were slaughtered. Once the Skullcrawlers had wandered off, the group exited the cave and made contact with their V-22 Osprey, intending to escape the island. However, [[Walter R. Riccio]], a mythographer on the expedition who had gone insane after consuming too much of the Iwi's [[Monkey Juice|hallucinogenic ceremonial brew]], shot the aircraft down with an RPG left behind from the 1973 expedition. He then shot and killed [[Evelyn Matemavi]] and held the rest of the group hostage, proclaiming they would not leave the island and instead meet Kong face-to-face. When a pack of Death Jackals descended upon them, the group were able to escape in the confusion. After they made it back to the Iwi village, Riccio arrived as well and destroyed the village wall with explosives, letting several [[Mother Longlegs]] inside. Riccio believed this was a test to prove whether or not Kong truly was the island's protector, or was just an apathetic god. Kong arrived to rescue the villagers and easily killed the Mother Longlegs. Overjoyed, Riccio approached Kong and praised him, now certain he was a benevolent god who defended his subjects. As if sensing Riccio was responsible for the attack, Kong smashed him under his fist. Brooks was able to finally approach Kong and meet him face-to-face, and at last understood that his father was right in entrusting Kong to keep the island's ecosystem under control. Now trapped on the island for good, Brooks decided to live among the Iwi and recorded an account of the expedition, which he set adrift at sea.
In 1995, [[Houston Brooks]]' son Aaron led an unauthorized expedition to the island. The team's plane was quickly shot down by a [[Psychovulture]], and they were chased into a cave by [[Death Jackal]]s. After [[King Kong|Kong]] arrived and killed the creatures, the expedition members met a group of Iwi, who led them to their village. [[Ato]], an Iwi boy who had learned to speak English from his father, who himself had learned from [[Hank Marlow]], explained to the expedition members Kong's significance to their people, and offered to lead them on a pilgrimage to several holy sites related to Kong on the island before eventually allowing them to meet Kong himself. En route, they were attacked by a [[Sirenjaw]], which was subsequently attacked and killed by Kong. With the other predators of the island swarming to the carcass, it became unsafe to continue the pilgrimage and the group attempted to return to the village by crossing the "Valley of the Fallen Gods," where Kong's parents had been killed by [[Skullcrawler]]s just after their son was born. Small Skullcrawlers were stalking the area, and the group was forced to take refuge in the same cave where the infant Kong had been hidden by his parents before they were slaughtered. Once the Skullcrawlers had wandered off, the group exited the cave and made contact with their V-22 Osprey, intending to escape the island. However, [[Walter R. Riccio]], a mythographer on the expedition who had gone insane after consuming too much of the Iwi's [[Monkey juice|hallucinogenic ceremonial brew]], shot the aircraft down with an RPG left behind from the 1973 expedition. He then shot and killed [[Evelyn Matemavi]] and held the rest of the group hostage, proclaiming they would not leave the island and instead meet Kong face-to-face. When a pack of Death Jackals descended upon them, the group were able to escape in the confusion. After they made it back to the Iwi village, Riccio arrived as well and destroyed the village wall with explosives, letting several [[Mother Longlegs]] inside. Riccio believed this was a test to prove whether or not Kong truly was the island's protector, or was just an apathetic god. Kong arrived to rescue the villagers and easily killed the Mother Longlegs. Overjoyed, Riccio approached Kong and praised him, now certain he was a benevolent god who defended his subjects. As if sensing Riccio was responsible for the attack, Kong smashed him under his fist. Brooks was able to finally approach Kong and meet him face-to-face, and at last understood that his father was right in entrusting Kong to keep the island's ecosystem under control. Now trapped on the island for good, Brooks decided to live among the Iwi and recorded an account of the expedition, which he set adrift at sea.


In 2012, Monarch recovered Brooks' log and gave it to his father [[Houston Brooks|Houston]], who was on the verge of finally retiring from the organization. After listening to the log, Brooks decided to return to Skull Island and be reunited with his son.
In 2012, Monarch recovered Brooks' log and gave it to his father [[Houston Brooks|Houston]], who was on the verge of finally retiring from the organization. After listening to the log, Brooks decided to return to Skull Island and be reunited with his son.
==Gallery==
==Gallery==
====Logos====
====Logos====
<gallery widths='120' position='center' captionalign='center' spacing='small'>
<gallery widths="120" position="center" captionalign="center" spacing="small">
MONARCH.png|Monarch logo from ''Godzilla'' (2014)
MONARCH.png|Monarch logo from ''Godzilla'' (2014)
MONARCH2.png
MONARCH2.png
MUTA.png
MUTA.png
Monarchlogodiscoverskullisland.png
Monarchlogodiscoverskullisland.png
File:Ogol hcranoM.png
File:AppleTV_MonarchHashmoji_November2023.png|[[2023]] Twitter emoji
</gallery>
</gallery>
===Screenshots===
===Screenshots===
====[[Godzilla (2014 film)|''Godzilla'' (2014)]]====
====[[Godzilla (2014 film)|''Godzilla'' (2014)]]====
<gallery widths='120' position='center' captionalign='center' spacing='small'>
<gallery widths="120" position="center" captionalign="center" spacing="small">
Fullscreen capture 352017 101806 AM.bmp.jpg
Fullscreen capture 352017 101806 AM.bmp.jpg
Fullscreen capture 352017 101603 AM.bmp.jpg
Fullscreen capture 352017 101603 AM.bmp.jpg
Fullscreen capture 352017 101548 AM.bmp.jpg
Fullscreen capture 352017 101548 AM.bmp.jpg
File:Screenshot 2020-08-09 First MUTO Scene,Electromagnetic Pulse Scene ¦ Godzilla 2014 Movie Clip 4K +Subtitles - YouTube.png|Monarch containment site at the [[Janjira]] Nuclear Power Plant
</gallery>
</gallery>
====[[Godzilla (2014 film)|''Godzilla'' (2014)]] Bonus Features====
====[[Godzilla (2014 film)|''Godzilla'' (2014)]] Bonus Features====
<gallery widths='120' position='center' captionalign='center' spacing='small'>
<gallery widths="120" position="center" captionalign="center" spacing="small">
Fullscreen capture 352017 102619 AM.bmp.jpg
Fullscreen capture 352017 102619 AM.bmp.jpg
Fullscreen capture 352017 102611 AM.bmp.jpg
Fullscreen capture 352017 102611 AM.bmp.jpg
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</gallery>
</gallery>
====''[[Kong: Skull Island]]''====
====''[[Kong: Skull Island]]''====
<gallery widths='120' position='center' captionalign='center' spacing='small'>
<gallery widths="120" position="center" captionalign="center" spacing="small">
Fullscreen capture 3112017 101754 AM.bmp.jpg
Fullscreen capture 3112017 101754 AM.bmp.jpg
4838382888383.jpeg
4838382888383.jpeg
1491591009869.png
1491591009869.png
1491591038486.png
1491591038486.png
</gallery>
====''[[Skull Island: The Birth of Kong]]''====
<gallery widths="120" position="center" captionalign="center" spacing="small">
Screenshot 2020-04-25 RCO008 1492047017 jpg (JPEG Image, 1988 × 3056 pixels).jpg|Members of the [[1995]] Monarch expedition to [[Skull Island]].
</gallery>
====''[[Godzilla: King of the Monsters]]''====
<gallery widths="120" position="center" captionalign="center" spacing="small">
File:Screenshot 2020-08-09 Mothra hatches (no background music) - Godzilla King of the Monsters - YouTube(2).png|Monarch laser containment field in the Temple of the Moth
File:Screenshot 2020-08-09 Mothra hatches (no background music) - Godzilla King of the Monsters - YouTube.png|Monarch taser gun
File:Screenshot 2020-08-09 Mothra hatches (no background music) - Godzilla King of the Monsters - YouTube(1).png|Monarch taser gun
File:KOTM_-_Rodan_Gives_Chase.jpg|The [[USS Argo|USS ''Argo'']], a Monarch-operated aerial vehicle
</gallery>
</gallery>
====Official Monarch Timeline====
====Official Monarch Timeline====
<gallery widths='120' position='center' captionalign='center' spacing='small'>
<gallery widths="120" position="center" captionalign="center" spacing="small">
Monarch_Timeline_001.PNG
File:Monarch Timeline 002.PNG|Full timeline up to [[2019]]
Monarch_Timeline_002.PNG
File:Monarch Timelne 005.PNG
Monarch_Timeline_003.PNG
File:Monarch Timeline 004.PNG
Monarch_Timeline_004.PNG
File:Monarch Timeline 001.PNG
Monarch_Timelne_005.PNG
File:Monarch Timeline 003.PNG
Monarch Timeline 006 Mothra and Ghidorah locations.JPG
File:Monarch Timeline 006 Mothra and Ghidorah locations.JPG
</gallery>
</gallery>
===Merchandise===
===Merchandise===
<gallery widths='120' position='center' captionalign='center' spacing='small'>
<gallery widths="120" position="center" captionalign="center" spacing="small">
Tumblr ojmx2qn6701s2jfn0o1 1280.jpg|''[[Kong: Skull Island]]'' t-shirt
Tumblr ojmx2qn6701s2jfn0o1 1280.jpg|''[[Kong: Skull Island]]'' t-shirt
Lanard Kong Skull Island Battle for Survival Set Dino Monster with Shack & Figure 001.jpg|''[[Kong: Skull Island]]'' "Battle for Survival: Creature Contact" set by [[Lanard]]
Lanard Kong Skull Island Battle for Survival Set Dino Monster with Shack & Figure 001.jpg|''[[Kong: Skull Island]]'' "Battle for Survival: Creature Contact" set by [[Lanard]]
File:Godzilla King of the Monsters Monogram figures.png|[[Monogram International]] ''[[Godzilla: King of the Monsters]]'' Figural Bag Clips
File:MV-MOLOGO-1-101195-FT-MF.jpg|Notebook
File:MV-L6O-1-100894-MF.jpg|Monarch Level 6 Operative t-shirt
</gallery>
</gallery>
==In Other Languages==
 
{{Other languages
|ja=モナーク ''Monāku''
|jameaning=Transliteration of English name
}}
==Trivia==
==Trivia==
*Asked to design a Monarch logo that looked like an "M", a warning symbol, or a butterfly, ''[[Godzilla (2014 film)|Godzilla]]'' title designer Kyle Cooper came up with a combination of all three.<ref name="Legendary TWT">{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/GodzillaMovie/status/1248409042382286855 |title="Kyle Cooper who did the titles, also designed the monarch logo. His brief was for it to be like an M or butterfly or warning symbol. He did all three. Genius #MonsterverseWatchalong" |author=Edwards, Gareth |date=9 April 2020 |work=Twitter}}</ref>
**Monarch's logo also resembles the [[wikipedia:Dagaz|dagaz]] rune from the [[wikipedia:Old English language|Anglo-Saxon]] [[wikipedia:Rune poem|rune poem]], though this may be unintentional.
*In a [[Godzilla (June 2012 screenplay)|''Godzilla'' draft dated June 6, 2012]], Monarch was a United Nations organization called the Special MUTO Unit.<ref name="06-20-2012">[[Godzilla (June 2012 screenplay)|June 20, 2012 revision of ''Godzilla'' script]] by David Callaham, David S. Goyer, and Max Borenstein.]</ref> During filming, they were simply called "M.U.T.O.", as evidenced by the [[MUTO Research]] viral site, and finally became Monarch at some point in post-production. The word "Monarch" is only spoken four times in ''Godzilla''.
*According to ''[[Godzilla: Awakening]]'', Monarch was the first mixed Japanese-American government unit created since World War II.
*According to ''[[Godzilla: Awakening]]'', Monarch was the first mixed Japanese-American government unit created since World War II.
*In ''[[Godzilla (2014 film)|Godzilla]]'', [[Vivienne Graham]] tells [[Ford Brody]] that Monarch was founded in [[1954]] in the wake of [[Godzilla/Legendary|Godzilla's]] discovery, although ''Godzilla: Awakening'', ''[[Kong: Skull Island]]'', and the official Monarch timeline all cite 1946 as the year of the organization's formation. It is possible that Graham lied to Ford, but the discrepancy is more likely an act of [[wikipedia:Retroactive continuity|retroactive continuity]].
*Monarch has appeared in every canonical [[Monsterverse]] installment except the television series ''[[Skull Island (series)|Skull Island]]'' and the comic ''[[Legends of the Monsterverse: The Omnibus|Godzilla: Fight or Flight]]''.
*In ''Godzilla: Awakening'', General Douglas MacArthur briefs the founding members of Monarch in 1946 and gives the order to target Godzilla and [[Shinomura]] with a hydrogen bomb in 1954. In real life, MacArthur was relieved of his command by President Truman in 1951. This suggests that MacArthur was either never fired in the world of the comic or retained in secret to oversee Monarch.
*In ''[[Godzilla (2014 film)|Godzilla]]'', [[Vivienne Graham]] tells [[Ford Brody]] that Monarch was founded in [[1954]] in the wake of [[Godzilla (Monsterverse)|Godzilla's]] discovery, although ''Godzilla: Awakening'', ''[[Kong: Skull Island]]'', and the official Monarch timeline all cite 1946 as the year of the organization's formation. This discrepancy is likely an act of [[wikipedia:Retroactive continuity|retroactive continuity]].
*In ''Godzilla: Awakening'', General Douglas MacArthur briefs the founding members of Monarch in 1946 and gives the order to target Godzilla and [[Shinomura]] with a hydrogen bomb in 1954. In real life, MacArthur was relieved of his command by President Truman in 1951. This suggests that MacArthur was either never fired in the world of the MonsterVerse or retained in secret to oversee Monarch.
*References to Monarch in the script of ''[[Kong: Skull Island]]'', establishing a previously-unannounced connection to ''Godzilla'', played a major role in the film's move from [[Universal Pictures|Universal]] to [[Warner Bros.]]<ref>[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywood-gorilla-warfare-s-universal-823715 Hollywood Gorilla Warfare: It's Universal vs. Legendary Over 'Kong: Skull Island' (and Who Says "Thank You") - The Hollywood Reporter]</ref>
*References to Monarch in the script of ''[[Kong: Skull Island]]'', establishing a previously-unannounced connection to ''Godzilla'', played a major role in the film's move from [[Universal Pictures|Universal]] to [[Warner Bros.]]<ref>[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywood-gorilla-warfare-s-universal-823715 Hollywood Gorilla Warfare: It's Universal vs. Legendary Over 'Kong: Skull Island' (and Who Says "Thank You") - The Hollywood Reporter]</ref>
==External Links==
*The numerical designations of the Monarch outposts are direct references to the years in which their corresponding monster first debuted on film:
**Outpost 14 - [[Godzilla (2014 film)|''Godzilla'' (2014)]]
**Outpost 33 - [[King Kong (1933 film)|''King Kong'' (1933)]]
**Outpost 54 - [[Godzilla (1954 film)|''Godzilla'' (1954)]]
**Outpost 56 - ''[[Rodan (film)|Rodan]]''
**Outpost 61 - ''[[Mothra (film)|Mothra]]''
**Outpost 32, which holds [[King Ghidorah (Monsterverse)|King Ghidorah]], is a double reference. 32 is half of 64, with [[1964]] being the year when ''[[Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster]]'' was first released. The name also evokes Outpost 31, the setting of the 1982 sci-fi horror film ''[[wikipedia:The Thing (1982 film)|The Thing]]'', which also involves an extraterrestrial creature discovered in Antarctica.
**Outpost 55 in Arizona, built above [[Scylla]], references the 1955 movie ''[[wikipedia:Tarantula!|Tarantula!]]'', in which a giant spider menaces a small town in the same state.
 
==External links==
*[http://www.monarchsciences.com/ Monarch Sciences viral site]
*[http://www.monarchsciences.com/ Monarch Sciences viral site]
*[https://twitter.com/MonarchSciences @MonarchSciences Twitter account]
*[https://twitter.com/MonarchSciences @MonarchSciences Twitter account]
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20140411111205/http://mutoresearch.net/ M.U.T.O. Research site used for promotion of ''Godzilla'' (archived)]
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20140411111205/http://mutoresearch.net/ M.U.T.O. Research site used for promotion of ''Godzilla'' (archived)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170927025954/https:/twitter.com/MonarchSciences Deleted Tweets on @MonarchSciences used for promotion of ''Kong: Skull Island'' (archived)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170927025954/https:/twitter.com/MonarchSciences Deleted Tweets on @MonarchSciences used for promotion of ''Kong: Skull Island'' (archived)]
*[https://twitter.com/Legendary/status/1250966628822511618 @Legendary’s Twitter account]
==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Godzilla 2014}}
{{Races and Organizations}}
{{Kong: Skull Island}}
{{Comments|scroll=yes}}
{{Godzilla: King of the Monsters}}
{{Comments}}
{{Era|LEG|WB|MV}}
{{Era|LEG|WB|MV}}
<seo metakeywords="monarch, wikizilla, godzilla, 2014, wiki, monsterverse, kong skull island, king of the monsters"/>
[[Category:Legendary Pictures]]
[[Category:Legendary Pictures]]
[[Category:Organizations]]
[[Category:Organizations]]
[[Category:Godzilla 2014]]
[[Category:Godzilla 2014]]
[[Category:Monarch]]
[[Category:Monarch]]

Latest revision as of 13:56, 23 March 2024

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Monarch logo
Beyond logic lies truth.
„ 

— Monarch's motto, circa 1972[1]

Our Mission: Discovery and Defense in a Time of Monsters.
„ 

— Monarch's mission statement, circa 2018[2]

Monarch (モナーク,   Monāku) is a scientific organization that first appeared in the 2014 Legendary Pictures Godzilla film Godzilla. Founded as a joint Japanese-American task force in 1946 by U.S. President Harry S. Truman to investigate the 1943 sinking of the USS Lawton by a giant creature, or Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism (MUTO), Monarch soon expanded into an international organization. In 1954, it was involved in attempts to kill Godzilla and the Shinomura with hydrogen bomb detonations at Bikini Atoll. The organization's next breakthrough came in 1973, when Monarch agents attached to a Landsat expedition discovered the incredible ecosystem of Skull Island and the ancient rivalry between its guardian, Kong, and the marauding Skullcrawlers.

In 1999, Monarch assisted in the coverup of a MUTO attack on the nuclear power plant in Janjira, Japan, and studied the creature as he fed on the reactor. The MUTO emerged from his cocoon in 2014 and proved impervious to Monarch's attempts to destroy him. Godzilla intercepted the MUTO in Honolulu, with the ensuing battle revealing the existence of giant monsters to the public. Godzilla ultimately killed the MUTO and his mate in San Francisco and returned to the sea. By 2019, Monarch's existence had become public knowledge as well. The organization subsequently expanded, with at least 67 outposts around the globe. At this time, Monarch's mission had changed from hunting and containing MUTOs to discovering and protecting ancient giant creatures designated Titans, which it believed were essential to the preservation of life on Earth. Titans under observation included Mothra in China, Rodan in a Mexican volcano, and a creature designated Monster Zero frozen in Antarctica.

In addition to its scientific operations, Monarch established a military branch dubbed the "G-Team" in the wake of the San Francisco incident to be prepared to defend humanity from MUTOs by force if necessary. The G-Team recruits from the militaries of member nations that contribute to it and is currently led by former U.S. Army Ranger instructor Col. Diane Foster. In 2024, Monarch organized a joint operation to the Hollow Earth with Apex Cybernetics to retrieve an energy source for a weapon capable of combating the rogue Godzilla when he seemingly turned against humanity. Unbeknownst to Monarch, Apex had its own secret ambitions, and the weapon in question was the colossal machine known as Mechagodzilla, which was actually constructed to destroy all of the Titans.

History

Godzilla (2014)

Monarch became active in the South Pacific in 1954, following the U.S.S. Nautilus' discovery of Godzilla. Working with the United States military, it participated in the hydrogen bomb attack against the monster in Bikini Atoll the same year, along with the subsequent coverup. Since Godzilla's death could not be confirmed, the organization spent the following decades searching for him and studying the data it had already collected.

In 1999, Ishiro Serizawa and his assistant Vivienne Graham were sent by Monarch to the Philippines to investigate the cave-in of a mine. There, they discovered the skeleton of another member of Godzilla's species that died long ago and two parasitic spores, one of which had hatched. The creature that hatched from the spore arrived at the nuclear power plant in Janjira, where it attached itself to the reactor to feed. Monarch quickly quarantined the city of Janjira to study the creature, codenamed MUTO. In 2014, the MUTO burst free from its cocoon and destroyed Monarch's facilities, and flew away. Serizawa and Graham then assisted the U.S. military in tracking and studying the MUTO and Godzilla once he emerged to hunt it.

"The Godzilla Revelation", a featurette on home video releases of Godzilla, indicates that the world learned of Monarch's existence shortly after the events of the film, with an individual calling themselves MonsterTruth leaking classified videos and documents to the press.

Kong: Skull Island

In 1973, with Monarch in danger of losing its funding, Bill Randa and seismologist Houston Brooks lobbied U.S. Senator Al Willis to join a Landsat mission to the mysterious Skull Island. He dismissed their hopes of encountering monsters, agreeing to fund them for the sake of getting ahead of the Soviet Union, which had yet to discover the island. Randa and Brooks were joined by biologist Lin San, former SAS tracker James Conrad, anti-war photographer Mason Weaver, and a U.S. Army helicopter escort. The mammoth ape Kong, angered by the seismic charges the helicopters dropped onto his home, soon attacked the expedition, downing all of its aircraft. The survivors headed to the north shore of the island for extraction. Along the way, they encountered the Iwi civilization and Hank Marlow, an Air Force pilot stranded there since 1944. Marlow told them of a vicious subterranean species he called the Skullcrawlers, which seemingly confirmed the hollow earth theory that earned Brooks a place at Monarch. One of these creatures devoured Randa during a battle around the skeletons of Kong's parents. Colonel Preston Packard, the leader of the Army escort, attempted to kill Kong to avenge the men he lost in the earlier attack, only to allow a much larger Skullcrawler known as the Skull Devil to surface. After Packard was killed, the remaining survivors reached the north end of the island to make their escape but were intercepted by the Skull Devil. Kong arrived shortly afterward and fought the Skull Devil, successfully killing it and saving the expedition members. Following their escape from the island, Brooks and San brought Conrad and Weaver to a Monarch facility, where they showed them ancient cave paintings of Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah. "Kong is not the only king," Brooks concluded.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

By 2019, the U.S. government was threatening to shut down Monarch and have the military take over jurisdiction of the many Titans under observation by the organization, with much of the public demanding the Titans be destroyed following the 2014 San Francisco attack. At this time, Dr. Emma Russell was stationed at Outpost 61 in China's Yunnan Rainforest, where the Titan designated Mothra was under observation. While Mothra's egg had been consistently dormant for some time, it suddenly became active and Emma was quickly called to the chamber housing the egg. She, her daughter Madison, and the other staff there witnessed the larval Mothra hatch from her egg. Mothra became distressed and lashed out at the personnel trying to contain her, with Emma using her sonar device the Orca to pacify her. Just then, the Outpost was assaulted by armed attackers who killed most of the staff but captured Emma, Madison, and the Orca. Doctors Ishiro Serizawa and Vivienne Graham were alerted to this event during a hearing before several U.S. Senators and were forced to leave. Accompanied by Dr. Sam Coleman, the doctors traveled aboard an Osprey to the home of Dr. Mark Russell, Emma's estranged husband and a former member of Monarch. They explained the situation to Mark, who was angry Monarch continued work on the Orca, a device he felt was so dangerous it shouldn't exist. Nevertheless, Mark accompanied the scientists to Monarch Outpost 54 in Bermuda, a.k.a. Castle Bravo. They attended a briefing with Monarch's other chief scientists and members of its military G-Team, where it was explained that Emma and Madison were taken by eco-terrorist Alan Jonah. Mark interjected that he felt Jonah and his men were not after Mothra, but rather a much bigger "prize." Now that they had the Orca, they had access to all of Monarch's observed Titans. Not long after, Godzilla approached the Outpost, which raised its shields and Maser Turrets defensively. Mark told G-Team to stand down to signal that they were not a threat to Godzilla. Serizawa agreed with Mark and the turrets and shields were lowered. Godzilla seemed to calm down before storming past the Outpost toward Antarctica, the site of Outpost 32.

Monarch and G-Team boarded the flying flagship the USS Argo, bound for Antarctica. Aboard the flight, Serizawa and Graham explained that the Titan in containment, codenamed "Monster Zero", was likely another apex predator that rivaled Godzilla. The Argo arrived at its destination and sent the scientists and soldiers to the Outpost aboard two Ospreys. G-Team entered the Outpost and was ambushed by Jonah's men. Seeing his wife and daughter on a monitor, Mark rushed in after G-Team and made his way onto a catwalk where he came face-to-face with Emma and Madison. Rather than come to Mark, Madison stayed behind with her mother, who warned Mark to run before activating the detonator for charges planted in the ice. Jonah escaped with Emma and Madison in the ensuing chaos, while Mark stayed behind to help G-Team escape. As Mark and G-Team fled the crumbling Outpost, Emma used the Orca to awaken Monster Zero. The three-headed Titan promptly vaporized many of G-Team's soldiers with his gravity beams and gave chase to the survivors. Emma momentarily activated the Orca to prevent Monster Zero from destroying the Osprey Mark fled to before her Osprey escaped the area. Godzilla soon erupted from the ice and fought with Monster Zero, their battle knocking one of the Ospreys into a crack in the ice. Dr. Graham stayed behind to help Mark escape while the rest of the craft's occupants quickly fled. As Mark and Graham ran toward the others, Monster Zero bit down on the ice with one of his heads, swallowing Graham whole. The Argo arrived soon after and bombarded Monster Zero with missiles, prompting him to retreat.

Back aboard the Argo, the members of Monarch debated whether Emma truly was the one who pressed the trigger at Outpost 32. Mark confirmed it was her, and as if on cue the Argo was contacted by Emma, who explained her actions. With Monarch on the verge of being shut down and the Titans all set to be exterminated, releasing them was the only way to ensure they could restore balance to the nature that mankind has destroyed and prevent the end of the world, she claimed. Serizawa and the others accused Emma of meddling with forces beyond her control and risking billions of lives, but Emma maintained her resolve. She warned the others to seek shelter before signing off. Monarch learned that Emma was not at Outpost 56 in Isla de Mara, Mexico as they had previously believed, but rather bouncing her signal off of Monarch's satellites and hiding in an unidentified location. However, she still had the ability to disable the containment field at Outpost 56 and release the Titan inside, so G-Team headed to the nearby village to evacuate it. Emma activated the Orca and awakened the Titan known as Rodan, who burst from the crater of the island's volcano. Monarch found that Monster Zero, who had previously disappeared within a tropical storm, was now heading directly to Rodan's location, no doubt drawn by the Titan's cries. Colonel Diane Foster decided to lure Rodan away from Isla de Mara and into the path of Monster Zero. Fighter jets opened fire on Rodan and he quickly gave chase after them and the Argo, leveling the buildings beneath him simply by flying over them. Rodan wiped out the fighter jets and closed in on the Argo before colliding with Monster Zero. As the two Titans clashed, Mark was able to open the hangar doors to the Argo to allow an Osprey laden with civilians to land inside. However, Monster Zero had defeated Rodan and was now closing in on the Argo. Luckily, Godzilla leapt from the water and dragged his foe under just before he could reach the craft. Monarch had been contacted by Admiral William Stenz, who ordered the Argo to withdraw before the military's experimental Oxygen Destroyer impacted the water and killed everything in a two mile radius. Godzilla had taken the upper hand and managed to sever Monster Zero's left head just before the weapon impacted. Godzilla was severely weakened and seemingly killed by the Oxygen Destroyer, while Monster Zero simply flew out of the water none the worse for wear. The creature perched atop the Isla de Mara volcano and regenerated his missing head in a matter of moments before emitting a deafening cry that awakened all of the dormant Titans around the globe.

Back in China, where Monarch had set up a perimeter around Mothra's cocoon, Dr. Houston Brooks realized that all of the awakening Titans were responding to Monster Zero's call. He tried to inform Dr. Ling about the situation, but found her watching the cocoon, which proceeded to break open and unleash Mothra's imago stage. Aboard the Argo, Dr. Ilene Chen managed to piece together ancient records of Monster Zero and concluded that he was not part of the natural order. In other words, he was an alien, an invasive species, changing the Earth's environment to his own liking. This explained his unusual abilities, such as his immunity to the Oxygen Destroyer, his regeneration of his severed head, and the effect he had on the other Titans. Chen reported that these ancient legends referred to the creature as "Ghidorah, the One Who is Many." When the Argo returned to Outpost 54, it found the base surrounded by the U.S. Navy. Inside, Admiral Stenz briefed everyone on the situation. The Titans were not taking nuclear weapons as bait like the MUTOs did in 2014, and Stenz described their behavior as "erratic." Chen and Mark explained that rather than acting randomly, the Titans were responding to Ghidorah like a pack. If they could stop Ghidorah, Mark said, they would stop them all. Unfortunately, the military had killed the only Titan capable of confronting Ghidorah. As Mark prepared to leave Castle Bravo, he witnessed a blinding light appear in the sky and part the clouds. The light was being given off by the imago Mothra, who Monarch recorded emitting a sonar frequency. After searching for a response, Monarch detected a faint noise from Godzilla, meaning he was still alive. Monarch split into two groups: one aboard the Argo which would combat Ghidorah and Rodan in Washington, D.C., and another composed of Mark, Serizawa, Chen, and Dr. Rick Stanton which would try to revive Godzilla with the nuclear warheads aboard the USS Scorpion.

Both teams departed Castle Bravo, with Mothra leading the Scorpion to Godzilla's location, her light acting as a beacon. The Scorpion was suddenly pulled underwater by a strong current and found itself within the Hollow Earth. There, Monarch witnessed the ruins of an ancient civilization which had coexisted with Godzilla and the Titans. Further within the ruins was a radioactive air pocket in which Godzilla rested on a gigantic altar. Unfortunately, the Scorpion's firing systems had been damaged and it could not fire a warhead. Furthermore, manually arming a warhead inside the pocket would prove fatal to whoever carried out the task due to the heat and radiation. Serizawa did not hesitate in saying he would do the task. Despite protests from his colleagues, Serizawa was resolute. He gave Mark his notes and told him to take care of the others before departing in a miniature submarine. Serizawa reached the altar and climbed it with the warhead, finally reaching the summit and arming it. He removed his mask and approached Godzilla, placing his hand on the monster's face in the waning moments before the warhead detonated. The blast propelled the Scorpion to the surface, after which Mark and Chen climbed to the surface to see if Serizawa was successful. Godzilla soon rose from the depths, completely revitalized. Godzilla leaned forward and stared at the humans, with Mark ordering no one to move. Godzilla then turned around and began heading toward Boston, where Madison had taken the Orca.

Mark and the others rendezvoused with the rest of Monarch aboard the Argo, which accompanied Godzilla into the city as he prepared for a final confrontation with King Ghidorah. Mark and G-Team took an Osprey to Fenway Park to save Madison, but could only find the damaged Orca. Emma arrived in a vehicle and ordered them to get in with her. As the two drove through Boston, Godzilla took on Ghidorah while Mothra and Rodan dueled in the sky. They realized that Madison was likely hiding in their old home, and found her holed up inside the bathtub. Working together, Mark and Emma repaired the Orca and used it to lure Ghidorah away from Godzilla. As Mark, Madison, and G-Team boarded an Osprey to escape, Emma chose to take the Orca with her and drive away, buying time for the Osprey to take off. Ghidorah gave chase and destroyed the vehicle, but was confronted by Godzilla in his Burning state and subsequently destroyed. The members of Monarch inside the Osprey watched as the other Titans surrounded Godzilla and proceeded to submit to him as their new alpha.

Godzilla vs. Kong

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Monarch's role in the film is not fully summarized.

Five years after Godzilla killed his extraterrestrial nemesis King Ghidorah and became the new Alpha Titan, all other Titans on Earth except Godzilla and Kong have become inactive, having been put to rest by Godzilla after Ghidorah's demise. Meanwhile, the isolated Skull Island has become unstable due to one of Ghidorah's storms influencing the natural weather which began to surround the entire island, which forced Monarch to contain it's Alpha, Kong, in a dome-shaped facility imitating the native environment. An orphaned Iwi girl, Jia, who is deaf and can use sign language, keeps him company. Kong eventually uncovers the charade of his residence, which angers him. Dr. Ilene Andrews, the anthropological linguist, Jia's adoptive mother, is suggested on moving Kong elsewhere due to the island's instability and the ape's own growth rate, which she goes against, as the active Godzilla will be a danger to him, as two Alpha Titans can't coexist.

Elsewhere, amidst the unexplained devastation caused by the now destructive Godzilla, Apex Cybernetics employee, Bernie Hayes, the host of Titans conspiracy theory podcast, Titans Truth Podcast, which is listened to by the now grown-up Madison Russell, films another episode over information suggesting Apex Cybernetics' illegal activities at their Pensacola facility, which he infiltrates. Using a flash drive, he observes shipping manifests shipping technology to Hong Kong, shortly before the now hyperaggressive Godzilla emerges and decimates the facility, amidst whose remains he notices a piece of technology resembling a gigantic robotic eye, while Apex CEO Walter Simmons and Chief Technology Officer Ren Serizawa flee via helicopter.

The wave of aggression Godzilla began to spread caused humanity to assume he's gone rogue, while Monarch continues to uncover the cause of the King of the Monsters going rogue inexplicably rogue, which Mark Russell, the current Director of Monarch is trying to understand, dismissive of Madison's belief in the Titans Truth Podcast. Meanwhile ex-Monarch member Dr. Nathan Lind, now a Hollow Earth theorist is approached by Simmons and Serizawa to serve as a guide to the Hollow Earth, the Titans' hidden birthplace, which Nathan is hesitant about, as his brother was killed by the anti-gravity field in the entrance tunnel, but relents after learning of the Hollow Earth Aerial Vehicle, leaving to meet his old colleague, Dr. Andrews.

Lind then travels to Monarch Outpost #236 to meet Andrews to discuss allowing Kong to lead them to Hollow Earth, which Andrew proposes as dangerous, as Godzilla will target Kong immediately after he leaves the island, but Lind states Kong will need a new home since the island's falling apart and the energy source is needed to stop Godzilla, which she finally agrees to but tells Jia that she immediately regrets it.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

To be added.

Official Monarch timeline

Disclaimer: This section contains some outdated and retconned information. It is featured here for archival purposes.

Monarch was originally a "small, off-book research team" founded in 1946 by President Truman, in response to an attack on the U.S.S. Lawton by a massive, unidentified creature in 1943.[3]

In 1973, an expedition to Skull Island led by Bill Randa encountered Kong and the Skullcrawlers as well as the native Iwi people and other MUTOs.

In 1991, Monarch installed an outpost on Isla de Mara, laying the groundwork for later construction of a "full containment facility" around the inactive volcano there.[4]

In 1995, a second, off-the-books expedition to Skull Island led by Aaron Brooks became stranded on the island after their aircraft was attacked by Psychovultures. They were then taken in by the indigenous Iwi tribe, who taught them about the origins of Kong.[3]

In 1999, the Janjira nuclear power plant underwent a meltdown after the male MUTO breached its reactor. The city was evacuated soon after, and a Monarch facility set up around the MUTO's chrysalis, which it had constructed around the reactor.

In 2005, Alan Jonah was put in Pakistani prison after he and his band of mercenaries tried to breach the walls of a MUTO dig site.[3]

In 2009, a Monarch study of Chinese temples led Dr. Emma Russell's team to a temple housing a giant cocoon with a "quickening heartbeat."[3]

In 2012, Houston Brooks received a coded message from his son containing information about Kong.[3]

In 2014, the "Battle of San Francisco," fought between Godzilla and two MUTOs, revealed the existence of giant superspecies to the world. As a result, Monarch went public.[3]

In 2016, Monarch, led by Vivienne Graham, built a containment and research facility in Antarctica around a three-headed creature found beneath the ice.[3]

Notable members

Notable sites

  • Janjira Nuclear Power Plant: Built in the ruins of the Japanese power plant, this containment facility was built around the cocoon of the male MUTO, studying it as it fed on the nuclear reactors.
  • Outpost 54: Located in Bermuda, Castle Bravo serves as Monarch's primary headquarters. Castle Bravo is a subaquatic facility that is dedicated to studying Godzilla in his natural habitat. It also contains the carcass of the female MUTO. In Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization, it is also the location where the bodies of Margygr, the male MUTO and MUTO Prime are being analyzed.
  • Outpost 61: Built in and around the ancient Temple of the Moth in China's Yunnan Rainforest, Outpost 61 studied the egg of the lepidopteran Titan known as Mothra.
  • Outpost 56: Located in Isla de Mara, Mexico, Outpost 56 was built over the crater of the island's volcano, "El Nido Del Demonio," to contain and study Rodan, who was discovered hibernating inside.
  • Outpost 32: Located in Antarctica, Outpost 32 is Monarch's most recently-constructed facility. It was built to study the frozen three-headed superspecies designated Monster Zero.
  • Outpost 67: Located in Munich, Germany, Outpost 67 was constructed around the Titan known as Methuselah, whose enormous sleeping body was camouflaged as a local mountain.
  • Outpost 55: Located in Sedona, Arizona, Outpost 55 was built over an oil field in the Arizona desert, under which the Titan Scylla was discovered hibernating.
  • Outpost 58: Located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Outpost 58 was built inside a cavern in the Tingua Preserve that held the slumbering Behemoth.
  • Outpost 33: Located on Skull Island, this outpost was built to study Kong.
  • Outpost 75: Located in Jebel Barkal, Sudan, Outpost 75 was constructed to contain and study the hibernating Mokele-Mbembe.
  • Outpost 53: Located in Stone Mountain, Georgia, this outpost was constructed to contain and study the hibernating Titan Tiamat.
  • Unnamed Indian Ocean Outpost: Another subaquatic facility that studied and contained Na Kika, who was feeding on a nuclear submarine. The Titan destroyed this facility upon its awakening.
  • Outpost 14: Located in the southern Philippines and codenamed the Hollow Dark, Outpost 14 was constructed in the cavern containing the skeletal remains of Dagon and the two MUTO spores attached to his ribcage which was unearthed in 1999.
  • Abandoned Siberian Outpost: Located around an icecap in Siberia, Russia, this Outpost was constructed by Monarch sometime before 1959 during the height of the Cold War. It was unclear what Monarch was investigating at this Outpost, but by 2014 it had been abandoned. When Dr. Emma Russell returned to the Outpost with Tarkan Cavusgolu to search for Alan Jonah in 2014, she found a MUTO nest nearby within a massive borehole, similar to the one in Outpost 14.
  • Outpost #236: Also located on Skull Island, Monarch Outpost #236 is a large dome-like structure with an artificial recreation of the island's original environment. It is constructed to contain Kong after a storm generated by Ghidorah had combined with the storm cell perpetually surrounding Skull Island, causing the island to be consumed by a neverending superstorm.
  • Outpost 47: Located in Utah, United States.

Books

Godzilla: The Official Movie Novelization

In this version of the story, Monarch's goal in studying the male MUTO chrysalis was to learn how he could convert radiation into energy.

Kong: Skull Island - The Official Movie Novelization

In the novelization, Lin San and Houston Brooks tried to steal a sample of a mysterious liquid from a well inside the Wanderer. An Iwi girl caught them in the act immediately and they fled with the Iwi in pursuit, leading to a more dramatic departure from the village that almost ended in violence. Hank Marlow persuaded the Iwi to let the Grey Fox leave. In the final scene, Brooks was more direct about offering James Conrad and Mason Weaver jobs at Monarch. Instead of Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Mothra, and Rodan, the cave paintings he showed them depicted "a Kong-like figure battling a giant winged beast", "[a] huge lizard on its hind legs, at war with a giant dragonfly", "[a] hammer-headed beast in combat with a many-tailed, skeletal bird", and more.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization

Castle Bravo's trophies in the novelization included the bodies of the male MUTO, MUTO Prime, and Margygr. Several scenes took place at Monarch outposts not seen in the film.

Godzilla vs. Kong: The Official Movie Novelization

The novelization included a scene of Monarch's first attempt to deliberately explore the Hollow Earth, told from Nathan Lind's perspective.

Although the events of Kingdom Kong were referenced multiple times, the novelization contradicted the comic's ending, wherein Monarch evacuated the Iwi from Skull Island. Instead, Dr. Ilene Andrews recalled that the Iwi refused relocation, and all but Jia "vanished" shortly after Andrews tried convincing them. She also noted that Monarch "collected seeds, spores, cell tissue, and even eggs from many of the doomed species" of Skull Island.

Mark Russell had an expanded role, trying to convince his superiors to order evacuations in Florida as Godzilla approached and fielding questions from reporters after his attack. Guillermin, a minor character in the film, was the director of Monarch instead of Mark and had significantly more dialogue. Nonetheless, Simmons referred to Mark as "Director Russell" in both the film and novelization.

Bernie Hayes revealed that Monarch had a close relationship with Apex for years, with both organizations maintaining facilities in many of the same cities. He believed his wife Sarah, a former employee of Apex, was killed by the company while trying to expose its role in building the Oxygen Destroyer for Monarch. This seems to contradict Godzilla: King of the Monsters and its novelization, where Admiral William Stenz told senior Monarch members of its existence just before using it.

To safely move Kong from his enclosure on Skull Island, Monarch knocked him out with an odorless, water-soluble gas developed by sequencing his DNA. Beforehand, Nathan conferred with Araya, the head engineer on the island and a survivor of Behemoth's escape from the Monarch containment facility in Brazil.

The Vile Vortex in Antarctica was located near Monarch Outpost 32, which once housed Ghidorah. Nathan and Ilene speculated on a connection, but decided they didn't have enough information.

Comics

Godzilla: Awakening

Monarch was formed in secrecy in 1946[5] as a joint coalition between several governments in order to hunt and study "massive unidentified terrestrial organisms," or MUTOs. During the 1940s, Monarch maintained a museum containing numerous specimens on display, though none of them were alive. The first such living creature Monarch encountered was Shinomura, a deadly hive-minded radioactive creature composed of many smaller composite lifeforms. One of Monarch's operatives, Eiji Serizawa, also was intrigued by eyewitness accounts of a "giant lizard that walked like a man" that seemed to be chasing Shinomura throughout the islands. Serizawa called this creature "Gojira," after Pacific Island legends describing him. In 1954, Monarch cooperated with the United States military to lure Godzilla and Shinomura to Bikini Atoll, where both were thought to be killed by the Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb "test." Decades later, in 1981, Serizawa told his son Ishiro about his experiences and belief that Godzilla was still alive somewhere. After Ishiro's father died, he was approached by Shaw, a representative of Monarch, who offered him the opportunity to join and continue his father's work. Ishiro Serizawa readily agreed and became part of Monarch.

Skull Island: The Birth of Kong

In 1995, Houston Brooks' son Aaron led an unauthorized expedition to the island. The team's plane was quickly shot down by a Psychovulture, and they were chased into a cave by Death Jackals. After Kong arrived and killed the creatures, the expedition members met a group of Iwi, who led them to their village. Ato, an Iwi boy who had learned to speak English from his father, who himself had learned from Hank Marlow, explained to the expedition members Kong's significance to their people, and offered to lead them on a pilgrimage to several holy sites related to Kong on the island before eventually allowing them to meet Kong himself. En route, they were attacked by a Sirenjaw, which was subsequently attacked and killed by Kong. With the other predators of the island swarming to the carcass, it became unsafe to continue the pilgrimage and the group attempted to return to the village by crossing the "Valley of the Fallen Gods," where Kong's parents had been killed by Skullcrawlers just after their son was born. Small Skullcrawlers were stalking the area, and the group was forced to take refuge in the same cave where the infant Kong had been hidden by his parents before they were slaughtered. Once the Skullcrawlers had wandered off, the group exited the cave and made contact with their V-22 Osprey, intending to escape the island. However, Walter R. Riccio, a mythographer on the expedition who had gone insane after consuming too much of the Iwi's hallucinogenic ceremonial brew, shot the aircraft down with an RPG left behind from the 1973 expedition. He then shot and killed Evelyn Matemavi and held the rest of the group hostage, proclaiming they would not leave the island and instead meet Kong face-to-face. When a pack of Death Jackals descended upon them, the group were able to escape in the confusion. After they made it back to the Iwi village, Riccio arrived as well and destroyed the village wall with explosives, letting several Mother Longlegs inside. Riccio believed this was a test to prove whether or not Kong truly was the island's protector, or was just an apathetic god. Kong arrived to rescue the villagers and easily killed the Mother Longlegs. Overjoyed, Riccio approached Kong and praised him, now certain he was a benevolent god who defended his subjects. As if sensing Riccio was responsible for the attack, Kong smashed him under his fist. Brooks was able to finally approach Kong and meet him face-to-face, and at last understood that his father was right in entrusting Kong to keep the island's ecosystem under control. Now trapped on the island for good, Brooks decided to live among the Iwi and recorded an account of the expedition, which he set adrift at sea.

In 2012, Monarch recovered Brooks' log and gave it to his father Houston, who was on the verge of finally retiring from the organization. After listening to the log, Brooks decided to return to Skull Island and be reunited with his son.

Gallery

Logos

Screenshots

Godzilla (2014)

Godzilla (2014) Bonus Features

Kong: Skull Island

Skull Island: The Birth of Kong

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Official Monarch Timeline

Merchandise

Trivia

  • Asked to design a Monarch logo that looked like an "M", a warning symbol, or a butterfly, Godzilla title designer Kyle Cooper came up with a combination of all three.[6]
  • In a Godzilla draft dated June 6, 2012, Monarch was a United Nations organization called the Special MUTO Unit.[7] During filming, they were simply called "M.U.T.O.", as evidenced by the MUTO Research viral site, and finally became Monarch at some point in post-production. The word "Monarch" is only spoken four times in Godzilla.
  • According to Godzilla: Awakening, Monarch was the first mixed Japanese-American government unit created since World War II.
  • Monarch has appeared in every canonical Monsterverse installment except the television series Skull Island and the comic Godzilla: Fight or Flight.
  • In Godzilla, Vivienne Graham tells Ford Brody that Monarch was founded in 1954 in the wake of Godzilla's discovery, although Godzilla: Awakening, Kong: Skull Island, and the official Monarch timeline all cite 1946 as the year of the organization's formation. This discrepancy is likely an act of retroactive continuity.
  • In Godzilla: Awakening, General Douglas MacArthur briefs the founding members of Monarch in 1946 and gives the order to target Godzilla and Shinomura with a hydrogen bomb in 1954. In real life, MacArthur was relieved of his command by President Truman in 1951. This suggests that MacArthur was either never fired in the world of the MonsterVerse or retained in secret to oversee Monarch.
  • References to Monarch in the script of Kong: Skull Island, establishing a previously-unannounced connection to Godzilla, played a major role in the film's move from Universal to Warner Bros.[8]
  • The numerical designations of the Monarch outposts are direct references to the years in which their corresponding monster first debuted on film:

External links

References

This is a list of references for Monarch. 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. Discover Skull Island
  2. Monarch Sciences
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Kong: Skull Island on Facebook
  4. Kong: Skull Island (5 July 2017). "1991: A covert Monarch team establishes a quarantine zone around a dormant volcano in Isle de Mona. #KongSkullIsland". Twitter. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017.
  5. Godzilla | The Conspiracy Timeline
  6. Edwards, Gareth (9 April 2020). ""Kyle Cooper who did the titles, also designed the monarch logo. His brief was for it to be like an M or butterfly or warning symbol. He did all three. Genius #MonsterverseWatchalong"". Twitter.
  7. June 20, 2012 revision of Godzilla script by David Callaham, David S. Goyer, and Max Borenstein.]
  8. Hollywood Gorilla Warfare: It's Universal vs. Legendary Over 'Kong: Skull Island' (and Who Says "Thank You") - The Hollywood Reporter

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