Mothra (MonsterVerse)
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The MonsterVerse Mothra (モスラ Mosura) is an incarnation of Mothra that first appeared in a cave painting in the post-credits scene for the 2017 Legendary Pictures film, Kong: Skull Island, and is set to make her debut in the upcoming 2019 film, Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
This will be the first incarnation of Mothra to appear in an American-made film.
Name
The name "Mothra" is the suffixation of "-ra" (a common last syllable in kaiju names) to "moth." Since the Japanese language does not have dental fricatives, it is approximated "Mosura" in Japanese. Mothra's Japanese name is referenced through the Titan classification given to her by Monarch, Titanus Mosura.
Design
The MonsterVerse Mothra's design is very different from past incarnations of the character. Most notably, she lacks the white fur which covers the bodies of other Mothra designs. Instead, her body seems to be covered in smooth skin which varies in color from light brown to orange. She has a segmented insect-like body, with six legs and two wings. Her legs are considerably different from those of past Mothra designs, which are typically small and equally-sized, with clawed bird-like feet. The MonsterVerse Mothra has two long hind legs with two joints and two clawed toes. She has four forelimbs, two on each side of her body, with one large pair and one smaller pair. Her forelimbs are longer and more muscular than those of past designs, and end in large hooked claws. Mothra's head is comparatively smaller than it usually is, though it retains her traditional large blue eyes, though they are oval-shaped rather than circular. She appears to possess two large white antennae which lay flat against the top of her head. Mothra has two gigantic compound wings each composed of two segments: a larger segment near the front of her body and a smaller segment toward the rear. The wings possess intricate patterns with the character's traditional orange, yellow, and black coloration. There is a circular pattern on both sides of the front corners of Mothra's wings, as is the case with her previous designs. According to Michael Dougherty, these circles are meant to represent Godzilla's eyes, demonstrating a connection between the monsters.
Origins
Mothra's origins are currently unclear, but she is assumed to be some sort of ancient creature, due to being depicted in what appear to be ancient cave paintings. Mothra is shown surrounded by worshipers in the paintings, suggesting that she is perceived to be a deity by some. This is supported by the discovery of her cocoon within an ancient temple in China known as the "Temple of the Moth."[3] According to Monarch, Mothra appears in ancient folklore and fairy tales from across the world.[2] One painting depicts Mothra and Godzilla surrounded by human warriors locked in battle against King Ghidorah, suggesting that she fought alongside Godzilla against King Ghidorah in the ancient past.
History
MonsterVerse
Kong: Skull Island
After their adventure on Skull Island, Monarch members Houston Brooks and Lin San showed James Conrad and Mason Weaver a cave painting of Mothra, along with paintings depicting Godzilla, Rodan and King Ghidorah, as proof that the inhabitants of Skull Island were not the only monsters in the world. Mothra was entirely white in color and surrounded by worshipers in her painting.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Mothra was confirmed to be appearing in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, along with Rodan and King Ghidorah, on July 26, 2014.[4] A Monarch timeline video uploaded to Kong: Skull Island social media accounts describes a giant cocoon with a "quickening heartbeat" discovered by Monarch in China's Yunnan province, within an ancient structure called the Temple of the Moth.[3]
Filmography
- Kong: Skull Island (2017) [cave painting]
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) [post-production]
Comics
Skull Island: The Birth of Kong
A photograph of what appears to be a cave painting of Mothra was taped to a map in Houston Brooks' office in 2012.
Gallery
Mothra cave painting from Kong: Skull Island
- C0879C38-BC11-43F4-8DA4-0016C9E33855.jpeg
Mothra sighting in Bangkok, Thailand
Trivia
- Mothra is referenced in an Easter egg in the first film of the MonsterVerse, Godzilla. At Ford Brody's old house in Janjira, a terrarium with a cocoon in it can be seen with two labels attached to it that together say "Ford's Mothra."
- Earlier in the film, during the sequence where the Janjira Nuclear Power Plant is seen collapsing from Ford's elementary school, a chart showing the lepidopteran life cycle along with numerous large paper butterflies and moths can be seen displayed in the classroom.
- The Monarch outpost where Mothra is being studied is Outpost 61, a reference to the release year of her debut film, 1961.
See Also
References
This is a list of references for Mothra (Monsterverse). 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]
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