Kaiju Profile: King Ghidorah, Mothra & Rodan (2019)

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VIDEOS

Monster Planet

The MonsterVerse King Ghidorah, Mothra and Rodan kaiju profile is the 60th episode of Wikizilla's Kaiju Profiles video series. It was uploaded on July 4, 2020.

Video

Wikizilla: YouTube Kaiju Profile: King Ghidorah,
Mothra & Rodan (2019)

Transcript

Kaiju Profile GKOTM Trio.png
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KP Stats Mothra 2019.png
KP Stats Rodan 2019.png

In 2014, Legendary Pictures announced that the sequel to their Godzilla reboot would feature three of his most famous co-stars. One would oppose him, one would aid him, and one would... see which way the wind was blowing. Greetings kaiju fans, I'm The Boy Who Cried Godzilla - here to give you a glance at the MonsterVerse King Ghidorah, Mothra, and Rodan!

"Godzilla: King of the Monsters" realized Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah using modern computer-generated effects for the first time. However, director Michael Dougherty made sure to remain true to the monsters' roots and keep them recognizable. Initially scattered around the globe, they collided in Boston to determine the fate of the world.

Design

As with a few of our past profiles, the Design section will be uploaded separately. It'll need more time to be finished though, so it'll be a bit after this one.

Origins

To fit in with the mythology of Legendary's MonsterVerse, all three monsters became members of a group of ancient apex creatures dubbed "Titans" by Monarch, the organization devoted to studying them. As the post-credits scene in "Kong: Skull Island" reveals, Monarch has been aware of the trio's existence since at least 1973.

The MonsterVerse Rodan hails from the fictional Mexican island of Isla de Mara (Isla de Mona during production). In 1991, Monarch discovered him hibernating within the molten magma of the island's volcano, and constructed Outpost 56 around him in order to contain the winged Titan. According to Dougherty, Rodan's parents nested in this volcano, which is why he took up residence there himself. Ancient records of Rodan, which spoke of him as "the Fire Demon," recounted how he leveled cities just by flying over them.

In 2009, Monarch found Mothra within her egg inside the ancient "Temple of the Moth" in China's Yunnan rainforest, designed to house each generation of the Titan before she hatched. This became the site of Outpost 61. However, according to the film's novelization, she originally hails from Indonesia, where she was worshiped by the natives and referred to as "Mosura." Mothra appears in mythology and fairy tales from all over the world, which regard her as a truly benevolent being.

King Ghidorah was one of Monarch's most recent findings, discovered frozen in the Antarctic ice by a team headed by Dr. Vivienne Graham prior to 2014. Given the designation "Monster Zero," the three-headed Titan was the largest specimen they had uncovered — his name and origins shrouded in mystery. Only after Ghidorah was unleashed upon the world once more did they learn the truth: he was an alien invader bent on wiping out all life on Earth so he could terraform the planet to his liking. Godzilla and Mothra joined forces to seal him beneath Antarctica several millennia ago.

History

Five years after the existence of Titans became known to the world at large, Mothra began to hatch in her abode, the Temple of the Moth. Witnesses to her birth included Monarch's chief paleobiologist, Dr. Emma Russell, and her daughter Madison. Monarch's containment attempts panicked the newborn larval Mothra, who tossed guards aside and restrained them with her silk. Before Monarch could terminate her, Emma tried calming Mothra using her sonar device, the ORCA. Her first attempt angered Mothra further, but her second try successfully pacified the Titan, allowing Madison to touch her face. Their peaceful communion was broken when an explosion rocked the Outpost. Armed men stormed the control room and gunned down the Monarch personnel before abducting Emma and Madison along with the ORCA.

In their underwater headquarters of Castle Bravo, Monarch determined that the abductor was Alan Jonah, an ecoterrorist bent on "restoring natural order" and trafficking Titan DNA. Mothra had cocooned in a waterfall near the Outpost, but Emma's estranged husband Mark told the others that Jonah was likely after a much bigger prize. After Godzilla paid them a visit and suddenly swam away, Monarch discovered that he was making his way to Antarctica, the site of Outpost 32 and the three-headed Titan known as Monster Zero. Monarch rushed there in their flying fortress, the USS Argo, and landed nearby in an Osprey. By then, the base had already been seized by Jonah; his forces having set a trap for Monarch's G-Team. Mark ran in after them to save his family, but was shocked when Emma and Madison refused to escape with him. Emma grabbed a detonator and set off the terrorists' explosives; as the ice split open and the entire Outpost sank into the fissure, G-Team fled, while Emma used the ORCA to awaken Monster Zero. The freshly-emerged three-headed Titan regarded the humans with some curiosity before swiftly eliminating the majority with his gravity beams. The blast damaged the Osprey, prompting Madison to grab the ORCA to distract Monster Zero before he could smash it. Soon he found himself facing a real Titan, as Godzilla burst through the ice shelf to confront his ancient rival. The two traded blows, with Monster Zero managing to dodge a blast of atomic breath before toppling Godzilla with his gravity beams. The Argo arrived to rescue the survivors and began bombarding Monster Zero with missiles, to which the creature responded by flying away and disappearing within a tropical storm over South America.

Emma contacted the Argo and explained her plan to awaken all of the dormant Titans around the world so they could prevent the inevitable mass extinction humanity's excesses would lead to. Monarch determined Emma and Jonah had set their sights on Outpost 56 in Isla de Mara, Mexico. G-Team helped evacuate the town as Jonah's men disabled the containment field around the volcano and Emma used the ORCA to rouse the Titan within: Rodan. Monarch also became aware that the tropical storm Monster Zero disappeared into was actually being generated by the creature—who was on his way thanks to Rodan's cries. The Argo and a squadron of fighter jets lured Rodan towards the larger monster. The fire demon effortlessly wiped out the fighters, but before he could grab the Argo he found himself in the path of Monster Zero. The Titans clashed in the air, but the three-headed terror swiftly prevailed. He targeted the Argo next, but Godzilla intervened just in time. The King of the Monsters had the advantage underwater, managing to tear off his enemy's left head. However, the U.S. military wasn't content to let them fight, detonating a new weapon called the Oxygen Destroyer in an attempt to eliminate both Titans. Unfortunately, the chemical weapon had no effect on Monster Zero, and drove Godzilla to the brink of death. The now-two-headed beast perched atop the Isla de Mara volcano and regenerated his missing head, then emitted a shriek which echoed across the world, awakening all of the other Titans from their hibernation.

Through further research into ancient records, Monarch learned that Monster Zero was not part of the planet's natural order. These legends referred to him by the name Ghidorah, "the One Who is Many." Emma reached the same conclusion, and was horrified at Jonah's willingness to let Ghidorah run rampant. With Godzilla eliminated, Ghidorah could command the other Titans to destroy the world on his behalf—with one exception. Mothra emerged from her cocoon under the waterfall in China and flew to Castle Bravo, where she put on a dazzling display. By analyzing her bioacoustics, Monarch learned she was communicating with Godzilla, who was still alive. Inside the USS Scorpion, Mark and scientists Ishiro Serizawa, Ilene Chen, and Rick Stanton followed Mothra to Godzilla's lair among the sunken ruins of an ancient city within the Hollow Earth. Serizawa gave his life to detonate a thermonuclear warhead next to Godzilla, the radiation providing him with the energy needed to fully recover from the Oxygen Destroyer and challenge Ghidorah once again.

Mothra flew back to China to lay her egg offscreen. While Ghidorah and Rodan clashed with the military in Washington, D.C. Madison stole the ORCA and brought it to Fenway Park in Boston, broadcasting a signal through the sound system in order to halt the rampaging Titans around the globe. Determined to eliminate this artificial rival, Ghidorah destroyed the loudspeakers and cornered Madison. A blast of atomic breath cut him off: Godzilla had arrived. The ancient enemies battled again in the heart of Boston. Mothra soon joined the battle, briefly tag-teaming the three-headed dragon with the Big G, but Rodan intercepted her afterwards. After feeding on a power substation, Ghidorah began gaining the upper hand against Godzilla. Rodan managed to injure Mothra, but was unprepared for her stinger attack, which took him out of the fight. Ghidorah lifted Godzilla above the clouds and dropped him back down to the ground. Before he could finish him off, the Queen of the Monsters crawled on top of her counterpart and charged Ghidorah, who promptly disintegrated her with a point-blank blast from his gravity beams. Mothra's ashes rained down on Godzilla, infusing him with energy… but Ghidorah began to drain it. By then, Emma had defected from Jonah and worked with Mark and G-Team to rescue Madison. She recalibrated the ORCA and began to drive away with it in order to lure Ghidorah away from Godzilla and an escaping Monarch Osprey with Mark and Madison aboard. Ghidorah pursued her and blew up the vehicle with his gravity beams. As Emma lay on the street, she uttered… "Long live the king" ...up at the looming Ghidorah. He turned to see Burning Godzilla approaching him. An incendiary nuclear pulse in the shape of Mothra's wings melted away the three-headed Titan's wings; he retaliated with his gravity beams, which failed to faze Godzilla at all. The latter sent forth another pulse which incinerated his enemy's left and right heads, after which Godzilla stomped on his chest before his atomic energy reached critical mass and exploded.

When the smoke cleared, Godzilla rose from the rubble, holding Ghidorah's remaining head in his jaws, then proceeded to burn it away with his atomic breath. Victorious, he turned to see four of the other Titans Ghidorah had awakened approaching him: Behemoth, Scylla, Methuselah, and the Queen MUTO. Rodan, still alive, landed in front of Godzilla and roared. Godzilla returned a glare which caused Rodan and all of the other Titans to bow before the definitive King of Monsters.

In the following months, Rodan began nesting in Fiji, while Monarch uncovered Mothra's egg in China. Meanwhile... fishermen from Isla de Mara recovered Ghidorah's severed head and sold it to Jonah and his men.

[Alan Jonah:] "We'll take it."

Abilities

All three Titans are capable of flight despite their tremendous size. Mothra and Rodan's exact flight speeds are unknown, though Rodan's is specified to be supersonic. When flying, he generated sonic booms that leveled Isla de Mara. King Ghidorah, who could break the sound barrier in all prior live action films, was only capable of flying at a speed of about Mach 0.8.

Physical Capabilities: Rodan is deadliest in the air. He easily dismantled the fleet of F-35 fighter jets engaging him by smacking them with his wings, tearing them apart with his talons and beak, and by performing a midair barrel-roll maneuver. During the battle in Boston, he utilized his aerial prowess to repeatedly ram Mothra while clawing at her with his talons.

The Legendary Mothra is equipped with mantis-like clawed forelimbs which she uses to defend herself in close combat - a departure from the puny legs of previous iterations. A strike from these claws forced Rodan off of her. Her deadliest weapon is her stinger, which she drove straight through Rodan's chest. Though he survived, he was incapacitated on the ground, flailing, only recovering after Godzilla killed Ghidorah.

Ghidorah preferred to make use of his multiple heads in melee combat. His necks and tails were fully prehensile, and he effortlessly lifted the Big G's over-90,000 ton body thousands of meters into the air. This incarnation's wings, clearly modified from arm-like forelimbs, were more versatile than those of past versions; he can even wingwalk with them.

Like all Titans, Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah are highly durable, rendering them immune to conventional weaponry and resistant to savage blows from other Titans. Ghidorah's most impressive feat was enduring two blasts of Godzilla's atomic breath in Boston, and of course being unaffected by the Oxygen Destroyer - which killed most everything in the sea save for the Big G, who was dramatically weakened by it. Resulting from his prolonged time submerged in molten magma, Rodan has formed an armored layer of volcanic rock over his wings. A point-blank gravity beam shot launched him into the sea, but he was back up and bowing to the new alpha not very long afterwards. Mothra's durability is less proven, but her victory over the larger Rodan is notable.

Rodan is equipped with a biological magma system, meaning that his very blood is like molten lava. Dripping from the ends of his wings, it burned Mothra's wings during their battle, hindering her ability to fly. In addition, the movie's novelization states that Rodan can cause volcanoes to erupt simply by flying over them.

Mothra's primary form of defense is her silk attack. Unlike past incarnations, she can use this technique even in her imago stage. This silk completely immobilized two of King Ghidorah's heads, allowing Godzilla to tackle him.

Mothra is bioluminescent, and emits a variety of colorful lights from her body depending on her mood or the situation. As a larva, Mothra emits a soft blue light when she is calm, and a bright red light when she is agitated. In her imago stage, Mothra can emit volumetric beta-ray bioluminescent patterns from her wings called God Rays which dispel surrounding clouds and produce blinding white light. She used them as a beacon to lead Monarch to Godzilla's lair so they could revitalize him.

Mothra possesses a symbiotic relationship with Godzilla, dating back to the ancient past. The Queen and King of the Monsters communicate with each other using sonar patterns over great distances. The final stage of their symbiosis occurs when Mothra is killed and her energy flows into Godzilla's body. This causes him to temporarily enter a superpowered state called Burning Godzilla, in which he emits a tremendous amount of heat and can utilize extremely powerful nuclear pulses. These pulses possess the pattern of Mothra's wings and the sound of her roar.

Moreover, she has a psychic connection with the twin sisters born into each generation of the Chen family. Their bond is an ancient one: note the statues flanking her egg in the Temple of the Moth. The novelization suggests that this link extends to Madison Russell, who has a vision of Mothra while lying unconscious in the ruins of her old house in Boston.

Mothra's capable of reproducing asexually, allowing her to survive as a lineage in perpetuity. When a new individual is born, she isn't simply a new offspring but a reincarnation, with all of her memories passed on genetically.

King Ghidorah's signature weapon are his golden bio-electrical gravity beams. These beams vaporize human beings instantaneously and deal incredible damage to other Titans. Godzilla was knocked off his feet by them, while Rodan was dispatched by a direct blast from just one. A point-blank blast from all three heads completely disintegrated Mothra.

King Ghidorah has an affinity for electricity, granted by the highly conductive properties of his scales, which contain trace amounts of gold. He can generate powerful storms around himself, which project lightning that disintegrates organic life. He grew more powerful after absorbing electricity from a power station in Boston, discharging lightning bolts from his wings that obliterated surrounding aircraft and even disoriented Godzilla.

King Ghidorah could siphon energy through his bite. After the wounded Godzilla absorbed energy from Mothra's ashes, Ghidorah bit down on him and started absorbing it - visible as a red glow traveling through his necks. Hm… Keizer Ghidorah, much?

Thanks to his bizarre alien biology, King Ghidorah possesses extremely potent regeneration. After having his left head torn off by Godzilla, Ghidorah completely regrew it in a matter of moments. Because the majority of his neurons are distributed throughout his body like an octopus', the new head had the same memories and personality as the old one. Ghidorah's healing factor was demonstrated again in Boston, when holes in his wings visibly healed as he launched lightning from them.

Trivia

Accidental Foreshadowing: "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" is not the first Warner Bros. film where Godzilla battled King Ghidorah. That distinction goes to 1985's "Pee-wee's Big Adventure", which went a prophetic step further by staging their battle on the Warner Bros. studio lot. The Yokohama set in "GMK" also features a WB sign. And, Mothra's name appears briefly in "Godzilla" (2014), as a pair of stickers on an insect terrarium in the Brody family's long-abandoned Janjira apartment.

One With Three Heads: The shooting script for "Kong: Skull Island" called for Iwi artwork of a three-headed monster living beneath Skull Island. The novelization kept this detail, but steered clear of describing any Toho monsters during the post-credits scene.

It Runs in the Family: The Chen twins are, of course, a reference to Mothra's tiny priestesses in the Toho movies, typically called the Shobijin. Their hairstyles also recall Miki Saegusa and the Cosmos in "Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla", though that may be a coincidence.

Numbers Game: The numbers for the Monarch outposts built around Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Rodan all have special significance. Outpost 32 in Antarctica references the 1982 film "The Thing," which takes place at Outpost 31. It's also half of 64, with 1964 being the year King Ghidorah made his debut. Outpost 56 in Mexico and Outpost 61 in China recall the years Rodan and Mothra made their own debuts. By the way, although we never go inside Outpost 56 in the movie, there is some concept art of it showing murals and a Monarch facility.

That wraps up the main part of the MonsterVerse Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah. We originally planned to profile this trio shortly after "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" hit Blu-ray, then after "Godzilla vs. Kong" came out in case any of them turned out to be in it. But with the movie delayed and no sign of them in the Playmates and Funko toys, it was time to just go for it. Thanks for bearing with us⁠—we'll see you next time!

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