MUTO Prime
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I've documented multiple anatomical parallels between the MUTOs and Jinshin-Mushi. Too many to be a coincidence. I think Jinshin-Mushi is the parent superspecies to the MUTOs...MUTO Prime.
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— Dr. Emma Russell (Godzilla: Aftershock) |
MUTO Prime (ムートー・プライム Mūtō Puraimu), otherwise known as Jinshin-Mushi, is a Titan who debuted in the 2019 Legendary Comics graphic novel Godzilla: Aftershock.
The parent superspecies of two MUTOs which fought Godzilla in San Francisco, MUTO Prime emerged shortly after their death to draw out Godzilla. Gradually weakening him over the course of several brief encounters, MUTO Prime aimed to infect him with its parasitic larvae, potentially giving rise to an entire ecosystem of MUTOs which could wipe out the human race. Fortunately, through the intervention of Monarch's Dr. Emma Russell, Godzilla was able to triumph over MUTO Prime in their last encounter and kill it once and for all.
Name
MUTO Prime's name refers to it being the progenitor of the two MUTOs which fought Godzilla in 2014. In-universe mythology speaks of the creature as the Earthquake Beetle or Dragon Beetle, "a more ancient form" of the Japanese fish kami Jinshin-Namazu, while Monarch gives it the Titan classification Titanus Jinshin-Mushi. Ancient Phoenician paintings depicting an encounter between MUTO Prime and Dagon refer to the creature as the "Abomination" or the "Unclean Thing."
Writer Jorge Luis Borges originally invented an earthquake beetle named Jinshin-Mushi for the 1957 Book of Imaginary Beings, drawing inspiration from the Japanese myths of the kami Namazu, a colossal catfish with the ability to cause earthquakes.[7][8]
Development
Legendary Pictures SVP of Creative Strategy Barnaby Legg presented Godzilla: Aftershock writer Arvid Nelson with the basic concept for MUTO Prime.[9]
Design
MUTO Prime has the same basic body shape and appearance as its offspring. However, it is considerably larger and possesses a hardened outer shell along with razor-sharp back spines. MUTO Prime's legs are gigantic and muscular, as are its forelimbs, which it uses to knuckle-walk. MUTO Prime's skin is primarily smooth and black, save for its spiked forelimbs, which are orange due to the lava-like blood flowing through them.[10] Its red veins are hotter streams of blood.[11]
Personality
Monarch classifies MUTO Prime's behavior as that of a "destroyer,"[12] along with fellow Titans King Ghidorah, Rodan, Scylla, Camazotz, Tiamat, Mechagodzilla, and the Skull Devil. As a prehistoric parasite, MUTO Prime's sole goal is to seek out any suitable hosts to infect with its parasitic spores. In 2014, MUTO Prime eventually gained Godzilla's attention and allowed him to chase it to exhaust him in a hit-and-run tactic. It displayed great brutality in its fights with Dagon and Godzilla, knocking them around with its blows and utilizing its sonic roar on the latter to shatter his dorsal plates. After being lured by the sound of its young, MUTO Prime responded with great hostility.
Origins
MUTO Prime is an ancient superspecies that lived alongside Godzilla and other Titans. While a MUTO Prime could theoretically implant its parasitic larvae into any Titan, MUTO Primes preferably targeted Godzilla's species due to their size and radioactivity. Under the extreme danger of targeting Godzilla's species, MUTO Prime had to evolve to become the "perfect matchup" to them. As a result, MUTO Prime became "custom built" by evolution to counter attacks from the members of Godzilla's species specifically, and became exceptionally dangerous to them. Monarch scientist Dr. Emma Russell theorizes that MUTO Prime is either the adult form of a female MUTO or the last survivor of a MUTO plague which caused a mass extinction in prehistoric times. At the same time a group of ancient Phoenicians traveled to Japan, MUTO Prime battled a Godzilla-like Titan known as Dagon by the ancients and later designated Species 5146_Adam by Monarch. MUTO Prime prevailed and infected Dagon with its spores, eventually killing it before its body became buried in an underground cavern in the Philippines. In 1999, a mining company unwittingly excavated Dagon's skeleton, allowing one of the spores to hatch into the larval male MUTO, while the other dormant spore was taken to the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository, where it finally matured into the female MUTO in 2014.
According to Godzilla: Aftershock writer Arvid Nelson, MUTO Prime has fought other members of Godzilla's species in the past,[13] defeating many of them.[14]
History
Godzilla: Aftershock
MUTO Prime first revealed itself in 2014 when it attacked a United States military base in Guam, following a series of earthquakes which traveled there from Japan. The creature emerged from the ground underneath the base and tore its way through it before feeding on a nuclear submarine just offshore. Godzilla emerged from the sea to fight it, but MUTO Prime punched him in the face before escaping back underground through the crater where it had initially emerged. Monarch's Dr. Emma Russell was called by the Japanese government to a Shinto shrine in Kyushu, accompanied by Tarkan Cavusgolu of Monarch's Crisis Response Unit and Miles Atherton of the San Francisco Commission.
There, they discovered a massive crater that had opened when the earthquakes first began. Emma and Tarkan began descending into the crater using Katatsumuri gear, but MUTO Prime appeared inside the crater, tossing aside tons of bedrock as it burrowed. Tarkan managed to escape the crater with Emma before they were crushed, while MUTO Prime vanished. The priest at the shrine explained that MUTO Prime was a creature spoken of in ancient myth known as Jinshin-Mushi, the Dragon Beetle, an aspect of the earthquake and rain god Jinshin-Namazu. He explained that the temple was dedicated to Raijin, the lord of thunder. When Raijin tires, he explained, it is said that Jinshin-Mushi rises.
MUTO Prime next appeared in the Barents Sea, destroying a Russian nuclear submarine before being attacked by Godzilla. The beast again punched Godzilla with its massive fist before swimming away. Meanwhile, Emma, Tarkan, and Atherton traveled to an old Monarch outpost in Siberia, which contained a crater similar to the ones MUTO Prime had opened in Guam and Kyushu. Inside, they discovered countless MUTO eggs that were seemingly already hatched. MUTO Prime appeared once again at the Athena II Nuclear Power Plant in France, tearing open the reactor before Godzilla emerged from the sea and fired his atomic breath at it. The two Titans lunged at each other, with MUTO Prime slicing into Godzilla's neck with its claws and then knocking him onto his back with a powerful punch. MUTO Prime leapt onto Godzilla, extending its ovipositors and preparing to infect Godzilla with its parasitic young. However, Godzilla slashed at MUTO Prime's head with his claws and forced it to get off of him. Both monsters exchanged roars before MUTO Prime burrowed away, leaving the badly wounded Godzilla to return to the ocean.
Following this encounter, Emma spoke to Monarch scientists at the collapsed cavern which Drs. Serizawa and Graham had investigated in 1999. She explained that this chamber was nearly identical to the one in Siberia, and that they were not natural chambers but the tombs of Titans brought down by MUTO Prime. She pointed to ancient stone tablets inscribed in Phoenician, which depicted a creature heavily resembling MUTO Prime battling against one resembling Godzilla. She proposed that this Godzilla ancestor, possibly the precedent for the Japanese deity Raijin and the ancient Semitic sea god Dagon, was infected by MUTO Prime's parasitic larvae, which eventually killed it, forming the very underground cavern which was unearthed in 1999 and unleashed the male and female MUTOs. Thus, she concluded, MUTO Prime was the parent superspecies to the male and female MUTOs, and proposed what could have happened had Godzilla not killed them. The female may have killed its mate and matured into another MUTO Prime, or its young may have given rise to an entire subspecies of MUTOs which would eradicate the existing ecosystem until they eventually turned on each other, with the only survivor at the end becoming the next MUTO Prime. Whatever the case, MUTO Prime aimed to incubate its young inside Godzilla, which could lead to an environmental disaster on an unprecedented scale.
Emma believed that they could help Godzilla to kill MUTO Prime by reproducing the sonic pulses given off by the MUTO spores, which she deduced signaled to their parent that they were safely implanted inside the host and would pacify it. With MUTO Prime sighted heading to the Azores in Portugal, this plan was set into motion, with powerful loudspeakers emitting the pulse as MUTO Prime burrowed underneath them. However, this had the opposite intended effect, causing MUTO Prime to burst from underground, killing nearly everyone involved in the operation.
The United Nations Security Council held a hearing with Monarch, expressing concern over the deaths caused by Emma's failed attempt to pacify MUTO Prime. The tribunal concluded that the best course of action was to, in Serizawa's words, "let them fight" and allow MUTO Prime and Godzilla to kill each other, despite Monarch's protests. With MUTO Prime heading toward a storage site for decommissioned nuclear submarine power cores, Monarch set into motion a last-ditch effort to save Godzilla and stop MUTO Prime. Atherton was able to secure the prototype for the Orca, a sonar device Emma and her ex-husband Mark had developed, which was subsequently taken to the facility in Montana. Emma believed that if the sonic pulse was played from underground, the sound would be affected in such a way to sufficiently convince MUTO Prime its spores were implanted inside a host.
As MUTO Prime approached the facility, Godzilla arrived and knocked his enemy to the ground. While the Titans clashed, the Osprey carrying Emma and Tarkan touched down, and the two hurried to the facility to set up the Orca prototype. MUTO Prime clobbered Godzilla with its fist, after which he retaliated by ramming it. MUTO Prime leaped above Godzilla, stunning him long enough to emit a sonic roar which shattered his dorsal fins. Godzilla collapsed, and MUTO Prime once again extended its ovipositors. However, Emma successfully activated the Orca prototype, which caused MUTO Prime to hesitate just long enough for Godzilla to recover and lift MUTO Prime onto his back. Godzilla unleashed a powerful pulse of atomic energy from his shattered dorsal fins, launching MUTO Prime into the air, severing some of its limbs, and sending it crashing back to Earth. As MUTO Prime lay on its back, Godzilla quickly walked over to it and stomped on its head, killing it.
Godzilla Dominion
While searching for a place to replenish his energy, Godzilla swam past an underwater graveyard of monsters, including a MUTO Prime.
Books
Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization
By 2019, the remains of Jinshin-Mushi and both the male and female MUTOs were being dissected inside of Monarch Outpost 54 in Bermuda. Mark Russell learned of Godzilla's battle with the Titan when inquiring about the Orca.[15]
Abilities
Seismic concussive blast
In its third encounter with Godzilla, when it punched the ground, MUTO Prime triggered a shockwave that either destabilized a nearby faultline by finding its nearby pressure points[16] or created a new one as a result of its fracturing a weak portion of an existing tectonic plate. It used this ability directly on Godzilla and turned it into a concussive blast to knock him off his feet. Its shockwaves are weakened underwater.[17]
Sonic roar
MUTO Prime can emit a sonic roar which causes seismic instability and is evolved to shatter the dorsal fins of Godzilla and similar creatures through harmonic resonance.[18][19] Its eyes glow bright red before using this attack.
Bio-terrestrial nature
Monarch describes MUTO Prime as "bio-terrestrial."[12] MUTO Prime appears to create earthquakes and is capable of manipulating tectonic plates, which it evolved as a counter to the physical strength and atomic breath of Godzilla and others like him to keep them at bay long enough to implant its eggs into them.[20] The means through which it does this, however, are unknown.[21] It also exploits weaknesses in fault lines that it discovers as it travels underground across the Earth. According to Godzilla: Aftershock writer Arvid Nelson, MUTO Prime could cause an earthquake as powerful as magnitude 12 with the proper fault lines, although "conditions for quakes of that magnitude are very rare."[22] He also states that it could theoretically replicate any previous earthquake in recorded history, including the 1960 Valvidia earthquake, the most powerful on record.[23]
Reproduction
MUTO Prime is genetically programmed to seek out a Titan host for its offspring. After defeating an opponent in battle, MUTO Prime's flexible, arrow-like ovipositors, guided by the uranium in a Titan's blood, stab it like a scorpion's tail and implant parasitic spores into the Titan's stomach lining. The spores incubate by breaking down the hemoglobin in the host's blood to feed on the nuclear material, eventually rendering the host unable to replenish its atomic energy until it finally dies. The embryos then continue to develop within the host's carcass for centuries before finally hatching and breaking through its rib cage. The result of this parasitic infection is two subspecies of MUTO Prime, a male and a female which will subsequently mate and reproduce, creating countless offspring capable of overrunning the world. Monarch simply designates MUTO Prime's offspring as "MUTOs," an acronym for "Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism."
Physical abilities
MUTO Prime's powerful legs create thunderous steps which generate loud seismic disturbances and allow it to stand its ground in battle against other Titans. MUTO Prime's spiked forelimbs are its primary means of attack, considered stronger than even Godzilla's[24] and powerful enough to knock him back with a single blow. Its smaller legs are also able to draw blood during their battle in France, due to their sharp claws. MUTO Prime also possesses razor-sharp back spines, though it is not seen using them in battle. Its mouth contains "hard grinding surfaces" that it uses to shatter rocks while tunneling.[25] According to Godzilla: Aftershock illustrator Drew Johnson, MUTO Prime's strength is "exponentially proportional to some beetle traits."[26]
Lava-like blood
MUTO Prime's blood is a lava-like substance, particularly visible in its arms.[10] Its super-heated blood can strengthen its attacks.[27]
Amphibiousness
MUTO Prime is able to swim into the ocean to attack a submerged submarine. It then swam away from Godzilla when he confronted it.
Durability
MUTO Prime is covered in an armored outer shell which, according to Monarch, makes it "an unstoppable mountain of a tank as it erupts from the Earth."[12] Its shell allows it to withstand Godzilla's attacks in their various encounters, including a brief exposure to his atomic breath.
Weaknesses
Despite its power, when MUTO Prime awakens, it is in a weakened state, similar to a bear waking up after hibernation, and resorted to feeding on nuclear reactors to gain strength. MUTO Prime is inferior to Godzilla and his kind in physical combat, and chose to perform a "hit and run" in the first two encounters due to its momentary weakness. MUTO Prime's spores emit a sonic pulse while inside a host that signals to their parent that they are safely incubating and change MUTO Prime's response from fight to flight. Emma Russell was able to exploit this by replicating the sonic pulse effect, called the "Drums of Raijin," using a prototype for her sonar device the Orca. This pacified MUTO Prime long enough for Godzilla to take the upper hand in their battle. While its shell can protect it from most damage, Godzilla's blunt-force attacks can damage MUTO Prime's armor, and his atomic breath does indeed hurt it, even though it never critically injures it. MUTO Prime is finally killed when Godzilla stomps on its head while it is helpless after being knocked onto its back, crushing it.
Nelson has stated that, because MUTO Prime's abilities evolved specifically to combat Godzilla and his kind,[28] it would either be at a disadvantage against other Titans such as King Ghidorah[29] or Camazotz,[30] or be roughly on par with them.[31]
Gallery
Concept art
Concept art by Drew Edward Johnson
Design sheet by Drew Edward Johnson
Comics
Godzilla: Aftershock
An ancient painting depicting MUTO Prime locked in battle with Dagon
Monarch's Superspecies Profile on MUTO Prime
Textless Godzilla: Aftershock cover by Christopher Shy
MUTO Prime's complete profile
Merchandise
Spiral Studio MUTO Prime statue digital draft
Roar
Though MUTO Prime has never appeared in audiovisual media and therefore its roar has never been heard, Godzilla: Aftershock writer Arvid Nelson supposed that it would be a much deeper version of the female MUTO's roar from Godzilla (2014).[32]
Video
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Trivia
- Drew Johnson included the head of his original MUTO Prime design in a panel of Godzilla Dominion, part of a monster graveyard Godzilla swims past.[33]
- MUTO Prime's design appears to draw heavy influence from an early female MUTO design by Simon Webber.[34]
- Arvid Nelson has stated that the Queen MUTO seen in Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) will mature into another MUTO Prime unless Godzilla decides to kill her first.[35]
Notes
- ↑ Godzilla: Aftershock writer Arvid Nelson appeared to agree with a fan estimate of 330-360 feet for MUTO Prime's height.[2] Nelson later clarified that he imagined Prime being shorter than Godzilla,[3] who stood at 355 feet in Godzilla (2014) and presumably Aftershock. A Monsterverse guidebook included with EZHobi's Shin Godzilla Furious Red figure finally gave Prime a concrete height of 350 feet.[4]
- ↑ When asked about MUTO Prime's weight, Godzilla: Aftershock artist Drew Edward Johnson estimated it as being roughly 50% heavier than Godzilla,[5] which would place it at 135,000 tons, assuming Godzilla weighs 90,000 tons as in his 2014 film. Aftershock writer Arvid Nelson, meanwhile, has given conflicting opinions on Prime's weight, initially stating that he imagined it being "roughly comparable in weight" with Godzilla, if not "a bit lighter," but later describing it as heaver than Godzilla.[6][3] He also appeared to agree with a fan's estimation of Prime weighing between 90,000 and 99,000 tons.[2] Nonetheless, a Monsterverse guidebook included with EZHobi's Shin Godzilla Furious Red figure gives Prime's weight as 135,000 tons.[4]
References
This is a list of references for MUTO Prime. 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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