MUTO Prime

Newly released or upcoming content

Gojipedia doesn't currently possess thorough information on this specimen, character, or event. This article will be updated with new information as it arises, and is subject to change.

Template:Infobox Monster The MUTO Prime, also dubbed Titanus Jinshin-Mushi or simply Jinshin-Mushi, was a giant parasitic daikaiju that appears in the 2019 graphic novel, Godzilla: Aftershock.

Name

The ancient Japanese gave her the name "Jinshin-Mushi", or the "Earthquake Beetle" due to her ability to create earthquakes and her beetle-like appearance. Monarch names her MUTO Prime due to her being larger and more powerful than the regular MUTOs.

Design

Appearance

The MUTO Prime is nearly identical in appearance to a regular female MUTO, except for several notable differences. The MUTO Prime has a hardened outer shell with razor-sharp back spires on it, large orange-glowing forelimbs, as well as several smaller pairs of forelimbs on her chest. Prime's jaws are more defined, along with larger and sharper mandibles. Unlike regular female MUTOs, Prime walks on four legs instead of six, as it appears that some limbs were fused during the process of metamorphosis. Though her exact height is never stated, MUTO Prime was much larger than Dagon, who was 355 feet tall.

Roar

Due to her being portrayed through a graphic novel, MUTO Prime's roar cannot be accurately understood. It can be assumed, however, that she made similar screeches and cackles as her offspring did.

Personality

MUTO Prime is classified as having the behavior of a destroyer. She also appeared to have some sort of rivalry with Godzilla. MUTO Prime was only seen attacking humans to obtain sources of radiation and didn't seem to kill out of pure malice. Dr. Emma Russell even deduced that once MUTO Prime had laid its eggs in a Titan host, it would seemingly cease aggressive behavior and retreat underground.

Origins

History speaks of it as the "Earthquake Beetle", or the "Dragon Beetle", but one name etched into ancient stone tablets echoes through myth and legend, and we have come to know it as Jinshin-Mushi; an ancient adversary of Godzilla with a rivalry as old as the Earth itself.

The myth of Jinshin-Mushi has been largely erased from history. Records of the encounters between the legendary titan Godzilla have been difficult to find, limited to intricate paintings on ancient Phoenician stone tablets. But the more we learn about the mysterious superspecies, our knowledge about the MUTOs we have previously encountered increases.

Jinshin-Mushi is an imposing specimen with razor-sharp back spires towering atop a hardened outer shell, making it an unstoppable mountain of a tank as it erupts from the earth. Powerful legs strike the ground like a devastating seismic salvo of cannons heard for miles with each thunderous step, digging into the earth to take a battle-hardened stance on the surface against any Titan aggressor it faces.

Mythological studies suggest that Jinshin-Mushi is genetically programmed to find a suitable host to reproduce. Ovipositors guided by glands sensitive to the scent of uranium in Titan blood pierce the hide with the deadly speed and reflex of a scorpion tail, depositing eggs inside the stomach lining of its slain opponent. Once nested within the muscle tissue, the eggs begin the incubation process. They slowly feed on the nuclear-rich hemoglobin in the Titan host's blood, making the beast unable to replenish atomic energy and eventually killing it. The embryos continue to grow within the body in a gestation period spanning centuries, before finally emerging from the cracked ribcage of a fallen giant as a male and female sub-species with a biological imperative to reproduce, creating a breeding force to consume all life on Earth. We call them MUTOs.

We theorize that seismic activity is created by Jinshin-Mushi's underground travels, staying localized mostly in Pacific regions, causing supershear earthquakes that can rip through the planet's mantel at unstoppable supersonic speeds. And the fear struck with every major earthquake comes not from what will topple to the ground, but what will raise from beneath it.

― Cryptid Profile

MUTO Prime originated and thrived in the same prehistoric ecosystem as the other Titans, but retreated into dormancy for unknown reasons. As revealed by Dr. Emma Russell in Godzilla: Aftershock, MUTO Prime was the full-grown adult form of a female MUTO. The essential purpose of a MUTO Prime was to infect larger Titans with its parasitic eggs, which would eventually end up killing the Titan host and spawning a smaller, invasive subspecies of itself, the MUTOs. Godzilla's species, in particular, was commonly preyed upon by MUTO Prime, which has driven them to the brink of extinction.

In the year 1100 B.C.E, a MUTO Prime was seen by ancient humans attacking a Titan named Dagon, and infecting him with its eggs. This same MUTO Prime resurfaced in the year 2014 shortly after the death of its offspring at the hands of Godzilla, leading to the events of Godzilla: Aftershock.

History

Godzilla: Aftershock

Around the year 1100 B.C.E., MUTO Prime encounters a member of Godzilla's species (referred to as Dagon by Monarch), and the two Titans engage in a ferocious battle. Eventually, she gains the upper hand, beating down the Godzilla, but not fully killing it. Using her ovipositors, she inserts her eggs into the stomach lining of the wounded Godzilla, leaving them to feed off the Titan's nuclear-rich blood while it still lives.

In the year 2014, MUTO Prime resurfaces and attacks a naval base in Guam, attracted to the payloads of the nuclear submarines stationed there. She lifts a submarine with her mouth and crushes it in her mandibles before Godzilla rises from the ocean to stop her. The two have a brief fight before MUTO Prime retreats, burrowing deep underground. Later, Dr. Emma Russell and her associate, Tarkan, travel to Japan to investigate a massive crater that appeared near a temple. The two are lowered into the depths of the crater and barely escape with their lives after MUTO Prime burrows straight through the tunnel.

Shortly afterward, MUTO Prime attacks a Russian submarine in the Barents Sea, splitting it cleanly in half and killing the entire crew. Godzilla appears and rams her away from the sub, but she quickly retreats once again. Meanwhile, Emma Russell travels to Siberia with Tarkan and San Francisco Commission member, Miles Atherton, to investigate yet another crater, presumed to have been created by MUTO Prime. While there, they discover dozens of MUTO egg casings in the remains of a Godzilla.

MUTO Prime continues her rampage, this time attacking a nuclear power plant located in Creys-Malville, France. Godzilla arrives to fight her, and charges directly at her before she can escape. MUTO Prime fights back, swiping at Godzilla with her massive forelimbs, causing blood to be drawn. She manages to knock him down and attempts to stick him with her ovipositors, but Godzilla throws her off before she can do so. The two Titans roar at each other before MUTO Prime burrows into the Earth once more.

After gaining enough evidence from research, Emma Russell presents her findings to her team in the southern Philippines. First, she reveals that the MUTOs are a weaponized sub-species of MUTO Prime, specially evolved to destroy ecosystems and reshape them for their own needs. Emma also reveals that given enough time to grow and mature, a female MUTO can metamorphose into a MUTO Prime, if need be. Finally, she explains that MUTO Prime had killed multiple Godzillas in her lifetime, as evidenced by egg casings found in Siberia and the Philippines. The team begins to put together a plan to help Godzilla defeat MUTO Prime, and deduce that tricking/confusing Prime using sonic pulses would be the best option.

Emma and her team travel to Angra Do Heroismo, located in the Azores, to carry out their plan. Utilizing massive speakers, the team blasts sonic pulses to trick MUTO Prime into thinking her eggs are in danger. MUTO Prime arrives and realizes she is being tricked. In a rage, she smashes the speakers and causes the Monarch operatives to retreat. Emma realizes that MUTO Prime did not fall for the trick due to the sonic pulses not coming from inside the body of a Titan, as they naturally would. The plan is revised, this time with the pulses to be played from within the depths of a bunker holding nuclear material, located in the Beartooth Mountains, Montana.

MUTO Prime travels to the bunker to feed on the nuclear material stored there. As she approaches the bunker, Godzilla arrives and rams her to the ground. She quickly rises to her feet, and the two Titans proceed to violently pummel and wrestle with each other. While fighting, MUTO Prime releases a sonic roar so powerful that it shatters some of Godzilla's dorsal plates. Emma and Tarkan rush into the bunker and activate a device that blares the sonic pulses, which effectively distracts Prime. With the massive parasite distracted, Godzilla grabs and lifts her onto his back before releasing a massive nuclear pulse from his dorsal plates, sending her soaring into the air and causing limbs to break off. MUTO Prime falls from the sky and slams back onto the ground, heavily wounded. Before she can react, Godzilla crushes her head with a devastating stomp, killing her. With his ancient rival finally defeated, Godzilla makes his way back into the ocean, radiating a pure nuclear energy cloud from his back.

Abilities

Bio-terrestrial Nature

The MUTO Prime possessed tremor-inducing legs, which made her capable of producing massive earthquakes. As explained by Dr. Emma Russell in the graphic novel, MUTO Prime triggered these massive earthquakes to lure out members of Godzilla's species into a fight they cannot win.

Durability

Unlike the MUTOs, the MUTO Prime had a hardened tank-like outer shell with sharp spires on her back.

Reproduction

Being a parasite, the MUTO Prime reproduced by inserting her eggs into the stomach lining of a suitable Titan host through ovipositors guided by traces of uranium in the host's blood. Then, the eggs settle within the muscle tissue and incubate, slowly feeding on the nuclear-rich hemoglobin in the host's blood and eventually killing it by draining its atomic energy. After growing for sometimes up to centuries, two mature MUTOs, a male and female, will hatch and begin breeding rapidly with other MUTOs, creating a "breeding force" capable of quickly overwhelming life on Earth. It is stated by Dr. Emma Russell that a basic female MUTO can eventually metamorphose into a MUTO Prime if one does not exist or if circumstances demand it.

Strength and Combat

The MUTO Prime's legs are notably powerful enough to cause tremors strong enough to be heard for miles with each step. Throughout her life, MUTO Prime had killed several Godzillas, no easy feat for any Titan, and successfully planted her eggs inside their bodies. She was able to knock Godzilla himself down in one hit, temporarily staggering him.

Sonic Roar

File:Nani.jpeg

MUTO Prime using sonic roar while fighting against Godzilla

The MUTO Prime was able to release a powerful sonic roar, which was so powerful that the sound waves easily shattered Godzilla's dorsal plates. The MUTO Prime's eyes would glow red when she used the sonic roar, similar to how Godzilla's eyes glow blue when he uses atomic breath.

Swimming

MUTO Prime could swim underwater quite efficiently, using her massive forelimbs to propel herself through the water. It is assumed that she was a fast swimmer, as even the amphibious Godzilla himself could not catch her as she swam away from him.

Trivia

• The rivalry between Godzilla and MUTO Prime echoes the rivalry between Kong and the Skullcrawlers. Like the latter two, Godzilla's species has been rendered nearly extinct by the MUTO Prime, and like Kong, Godzilla was forced to fight and kill the MUTO Prime to ensure his continued survival.

List of appearances

• Godzilla: Aftershock (First appearance)
• Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization (Corpse)