Monarch

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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 logo

Monarch is a secret scientific organization created by Legendary Pictures that first appeared in the 2014 Godzilla film, Godzilla. Founded in 1946 by American President Harry S. Truman to investigate the sinking of the U.S.S. 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 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 61 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.

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 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.

"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

With Monarch in danger of losing its funding, William 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.

Official Monarch Timeline

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 Mona, 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, Jonah Alan 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

Filmography

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. The first such creature Monarch studied was Shinomura, a deadly hive-minded radioactive creature composed of many smaller composite lifeforms. One of Monarch's operatives, 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

Official Monarch Timeline

Merchandise

Trivia

  • According to Godzilla: Awakening, Monarch was the first mixed Japanese-American government unit created since World War II.
  • 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. It is possible that Graham lied to Ford, but the discrepancy is more 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 comic 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.[6]

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]

Legendary
Warner Bros.
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