Raymond Martin
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Raymond Martin is the main antagonist of the 2024 Legendary Comics graphic novel Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted.
The CEO of RM Construction, Martin lost his family in 2014 when a building he was working on was attacked by the female MUTO. Scarred and driven by vengeance, Martin became convinced that the Titans should be eradicated. In 2027, Martin, having ordered the construction of Titan Hunter, proceeded to go through a killing spree within the Hollow Earth using the mech. Kong came to the defense of two Spineprowler cubs, besting Titan Hunter and dropping it off a cliff. Martin survived, only to be killed by the cubs.
Personality
Raymond Martin's hunting of Titans and other creatures is driven by the loss of his parents, wife, and son during the 2014 MUTO attack, as well as a desire to demonstrate humanity's supremacy. He expends significant resources on elaborate traps, an arena on his private island, and the Titan Hunter mech, with the last specified to cost $500 million. He exhibits no mercy to the monsters he battles using Titan Hunter, although he acknowledges a female Spineprowler as a worthy opponent. His arrogance proves to be his undoing, as despite his boasting to Kong, he is quickly outmatched by the ape Titan.
History
Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted
After Kong defeated a Spineprowler in Hollow Earth, the retreating Titan unwittingly activated a concealed pressure plate which triggered a barrage of electrified metal arrows from nearby launchers. Amidst the chaos, Raymond Martin, a weathered figure nearby, called for the removal of the defeated Titan.
On a secluded island, Martin took a call confirming Monarch's continued partnership with his company, RM Construction. He passed through a room adorned with trophies of taxidermized superspecies and stepped outside just in time to witness the arrival of a cargo ship carrying the unconscious Spineprowler. Martin's subordinate informed him of the completion of a decoy reactor, designed to divert Godzilla's attention away from their experiment: the testing of their colossal mech, dubbed Titan Hunter, against the Spineprowler. With the decoy successfully luring Godzilla away, Martin assumeed control of the mech. In an enclosed arena, Titan Hunter engaged in a brutal confrontation with the Spineprowler, delivering a barrage of strikes that subdue the creature, despite its desperate attempt to scale the walls to escape. While Martin was satisfied by the outcome of the battle, he took note of a concerning power fluctuation in Titan Hunter, recognizing the danger it could pose when facing larger Titans. Meanwhile, another member of Martin's team informed him that Scylla had responsed to their decoy reactor as well, leading her to attack the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant. Martin's mind drifted back to a traumatic event in 2014, when the female MUTO wreaked havoc on a building he was involved in constructing, resulting in the loss of his family. As he returned to the present, prompted by his subordinate, Martin declared Scylla's attack further justification for the eradication of all Titans, expressing satisfaction that their trail had been effectively obscured by sinking the freighter containing the decoy reactor.
A week later, Martin arrived at a designated entry point into the Hollow Earth, fully equipped for a hunt. He received a report detailing the aftermath of a recent Godzilla attack: the Titan had visited the United Kingdom Nuclear Labs in Preston shortly after Scylla's assault. Following this, she voraciously absorbed nuclear energy from American missiles concealed at the Aviano Air Base in Italy, yet Godzilla has remained notably silent in response to this intrusion. Capitalizing on Godzilla's distraction, Martin embarked on his journey to the Hollow Earth aboard a specially outfitted HEAV, with Titan Hunter awaiting his arrival below. Assured by his subordinate that they've secured the necessary permissions through bribery, Martin prepared to exercise unrestricted control over the terrain for the next 48 hours.
Titan Hunter swiftly neutralized a sleeping Warbat, seizing it by the tail and delivering a fatal blow by crashing it against a rocky outcrop before it could retaliate. Martin next dispatched a Sker Buffalo, much to the disgust of his subordinates tasked with its transportation. Venturing away from the safety of his mech, Martin pursued the trail of another Spineprowler, only to stumble upon two vulnerable Spineprowler kittens. As he prepared to dispatch them, he was suddenly confronted by their protective mother.
Kong, having detected the presence of an intruder, dismantled the truck transporting the Sker Buffalo, causing a resounding explosion. Martin noticed the explosion as the Spineprowler pinned Titan Hunter. He then stabbed her through the chest with one of the horns on the mech's head. He told her she battled well before finding her cubs hiding in a nearby forest. Again he was interrupted, this time by Kong, who stood protectively in front of the cubs. Martin scoffed at Kong, determined to reassert humanity's supremacy by killing Hollow Earth's ruler. He landed the first blows, choking Kong and throwing him to the ground. Kong retaliated by grabbing Titan Hunter's arms and delivering a flying kick to knock it over. After absorbing a punch, the ape Titan suplexed the mech, leaving it dangling on the edge of a cliff. Kong allowed Martin to plummet to his fate, his cries of indignation echoing futilely. Though Martin managed to survive the fall, emerging from Titan Hunter's wreckage, he met his demise at the jaws of the Spineprowler's offspring.
Books
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire - The Official Movie Novelization
Jayne, a Monarch scientist working in Outpost One in Hollow Earth, recalled the recent discovery of the remains of Raymond Martin's Titan Hunter mech. No traces of Martin himself were found except blood. Dr. Ilene Andrews was enraged by the lapse in security and resolved that there would not be another incident like it again.[1]
Gallery
Concept art
Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted
Trivia
- Raymond Martin's role in Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted marks the first instance of a Monsterverse graphic novel's main antagonist being a human.
- Martin is somewhat similar to Walter Simmons from the earlier Godzilla vs. Kong, being the CEO of a company which constructs a Titan-killing mech, but who is ultimately killed by a Titan that exploits his arrogance.
- In the case of Simmons, however, he is killed by his own creation, Mechagodzilla, rather than by the Titan(s) he intended to use it against.
References
This is a list of references for Raymond Martin. 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]
|
Bibliography
- Keyes, Greg (23 April 2024). Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire - The Official Movie Novelization. Titan Books. ISBN 978-1803368108.
Comments
Showing 2 comments. When commenting, please remain respectful of other users, stay on topic, and avoid role-playing and excessive punctuation. Comments which violate these guidelines may be removed by administrators.
|
|
|
|
