Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters Finally Brought Rodan Back To The Monsterverse
Rodan is feeling supersonic.
The Monsterverse is expanding. While much of Monarch Season 2 was focused on the sea-dwelling monster dubbed Titan X, the final moments of the Season 2 finale fully revealed the return of one very classic kaiju, one that hasn’t been glimpsed in the Monsterverse since Godzilla: King of Monsters in 2019. But, in terms of the current Monsterverse timeline, the Season 2 finale of Monarch, “Where We Belong,” reveals Rodan, roughly two years before his appearance in King of Monsters.
So, how does Lee Shaw fit into this version of Rodan? And is this actually the same version of Rodan from King of Monsters? Let’s dig in.
Spoilers ahead.
Monarch Season 2 Ending Explained
Lee (Kurt Russell) and Keiko (Mari Yamamoto) in the Monarch Season 2 finale.
Monarch Season 2 concludes with a solid victory for Kong, and with Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell) splitting off from the mainstream version of Monarch and Apex. Thanks to some time travel shenanigans, the younger Lee Shaw (Wyatt Russell) is able to say goodbye to Keiko (Mari Yamamoto), which is an event his older self, naturally, remembers. For those who remember that Lee is getting his own spinoff series, set in the 1980s, this moment seems to suggest that Monarch Season 3 won’t include any young Lee and Kei flashbacks, since we’re literally saying goodbye to the younger version of this character in this season. Plus, Kei now lives in the relative present, so there likely aren’t any more flashbacks from the 1950s and 1960s left.
As the core team of Monarch downsizes, Old Lee is still very much on the move. Which leads us to Rodan. After paying off some shady associates, Lee hikes to the summit of a volcano, where a winged Kaiju, who can only be Rodan, is perched. Lee says, “See you soon,” and the episode ends. So, what’s next?
What Rodan Could Mean for Monarch Season 3
Rodan in 1956.
As classic monsters go, Rodan is one of the all-time greats. After his first film in 1956 (just two years after the original Godzilla), Rodan became part of the larger pantheon of monsters in the Showa era of the Godzilla universe. As the slightly less-famous flying monster in this club (Mothra is probably more popular), Rodan is notable for his ability to go supersonic and create sonic booms with his wings.
In the 2019 Monsterverse movie Godzilla: King of Monsters, Rodan was responsible for a lot of property destruction without touching anything. For Season 3, of Monarch, this means, in theory, the show is dealing with a Titan that has even more destructive power than Godzilla, Kong, and Titan X.
That said, in that film, Rodan is depicted as being asleep at a Monarch base in Mexico, and has to be woken up to cause havoc. Because Monarch Season 2 takes place sometime in 2017, this suggests that Lee Shaw will have to put Rodan back to sleep at the end of Season 3. Either that, or this is a different member of Rodan’s species, in which case, anything is possible.
In any case, with the Rodan reveal, Monarch is going back to one of the best original monsters of all time, and could be setting up an explosive Season 3, full of more sonic booms than anyone can handle.
