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Madison Russell is the daughter of Monarch scientists, Drs. Emma and Mark Russell, and Andrew Russell's younger sister. She first appeared in the 2019 MonsterVerse graphic comic, Godzilla: Aftershock, before appearing in the 2019 Godzilla film, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and will reappear in the 2020 film, Godzilla vs. Kong.
Profile
Appearance
Madision has medium-length curly dark brown hair and brown eyes like her father.
Personality
Like her parents, Madison is academically gifted in science. However, she takes after her outdoorsman father and rather have hands-on experience out in the field instead of learning in a classroom. She has gained vast knowledge of the Titans from accompanying her mother on assignments when permitted. Madison possesses a natural scientific curiosity and due to her mother denying her access to containment units at outposts, Madison got several security violations and residential infractions whenever she tried to satisfy her curiosity. Due to traveling around a lot with her mother on assignments, Madison doesn't have many friends outside of her parents and the employees of Monarch. At the end of the day, all Madison truly wants is a normal life and spend her days playing video games, watching YouTube videos, and making and listening to music playlists.
Madison cares about both of her parents but like most children caught between warring parents, she feels trapped, needing to please them both to try and keep their family intact. Despite her father leaving her and her mother after Andrew's death, Madison still loves Mark and doesn't want him to come to harm but she's now slightly wary of him after her mom claimed that he abandoned them. Being with her mother after her parents split, Madison wants to be a good daughter and support her. However, as things transpire during their time with Alan Jonah carrying out Emma's plan to awaken the Titans and restore nature's balance, Madison's loyalty to Emma gets tested, her faith in her begins to waver, and Madison starts to feel that she no longer knows her mother.
Having been convinced by Emma to take part in the plan under the premise of helping people and saving the world, Madison soon becomes distraught and disillusioned with Emma after seeing her mother endanger her father and their friends in Monarch, more so after listening to Mark confront her mother for now believing she has the right to decide everyone's fate. Seeing the truth in her father's words, Madison not only realizes that Emma was wrong about him but her mother gave up on humanity after Andrew died and kept her in the dark about certain things, like Jonah's true homicidal nature and the number of casualties that would occur despite Emma telling Madison they would be careful. Overwhelmed with guilt for her complicity in the death and destruction caused, Madison beats herself up for believing and trusting Emma without question for so long. After watching the horrors that happen around her from the sidelines and letting her mother make all the decisions for her, Madison takes it upon herself to forsake her mother's agenda and save the world by helping Monarch and her father.
Relationships
Emma Russell
Ever since Madison was a small child, her mother has taught her everything she knows about the Titans. After Emma and Mark divorce, Emma retains custody of Madison and continues to raise her on her own, often taking her to work at Monarch. Madison cares greatly for her mother and her safety, as she is seen becoming frantic and upset every time Emma is in danger. Though at first supporting Emma in her choice to work with Alan Jonah, she quickly comes to oppose her mother's actions after seeing the death and destruction they cause. Madison's loyalty to her mother is continually tested as Emma keeps going through with awakening the Titans despite everything falling apart, to the point where the disillusioned Madison disowns her mother. Having grown up believing that Emma kept herself together after Andrew died, Madison realizes that her mother's grief caused Emma to lose her mind. However, despite her mother's betrayal, Madison is devastated when witnessing Ghidorah chase down and kill Emma.
Mark Russell
Since her parents divorced when she was seven years old, Madison's relationship with her father has been slightly distant. Madison became wary of her father due to Emma's claims that Mark left them because he no longer loved them and didn't want to be with them anymore. Despite this, Madison still loves him and remains in contact with him as she calls him several times a week. She still worries about him and what condition he's in as she notices his healthy appearance in the email photos he sent her. Seeing Mark come back for her, putting himself in danger, and risking his life to help people, Madison can't help but admire his bravery. When finally reuniting with him, Madison hugs him, completely forgetting any family tension between them after the divorce. Mark is then seen comforting Madison after watching Ghidorah chase down and kill Emma.
Andrew Russell
Not much is known about Madison's relationship with her older brother Andrew but from photos and an old family video, it's clear that the two siblings loved each other. One time, when she was young, Andrew tricked Madison into eating wasabi after telling her it was green frosting.[2] When mentioning him to her mother, Madison becomes emotional, showing that Andrew's death hurt her deeply, as much as it did her parents.
Alan Jonah
Madison dislikes Alan Jonah due to his cold, condescending nature, his enjoyment of having power over others, and his cruel ways of trying to "save" the world, such as slaughtering Monarch scientists and allowing Titans to ravage the planet. When Jonah attempts to show humor to her as he's wiping blood off his face, Madison is unamused and she casually flips him off. After learning about his daughter's death, Madison sympathizes with Jonah but believes that his loss doesn't condone his actions and his hatred of mankind. She understands that Jonah lost his soul long ago and would kill her either when he deemed it necessary or just for fun.
History
Born in 2007, Madison spent much of her childhood living in Boston and traveling the world with her mother on field assignments. Through her mother and Monarch Field Tutor, Madison gained extensive knowledge on Titans and became noted for being academically gifted like her parents. At some point, the family moved to San Francisco but during the battle between Godzilla and the MUTOs in 2014, Madison's older brother Andrew was killed. The grieving family moved back to Boston, and Mark and Emma destroyed their prototype of the ORCA, a special device that releases sonar pulses only understood by Titans. The loss of Andrew became too much for Madison's parents to deal with as her father started drinking to cope, and her mother poured herself into rebuilding the ORCA to ensure that Andrew's death wasn't meaningless. Mark and Emma eventually divorced, and Madison stayed with her mother and continued traveling around.
Godzilla: Aftershock
While Emma is working at Monarch Outpost 14 in the Philippines, Madison surprises her mother after Vivienne Graham told Mark that seeing Maddie would help ease Emma of the stress she's been suffering recently. Madison's reunion with her mother is cut short by Dr. Graham telling Emma about MUTO Prime's recent attack. Then they watch a live video feed of Godzilla returning to the ocean after his latest fight with the creature, and Madison tells her mother how injured Godzilla looks.
Back in Boston, after Godzilla kills the MUTO Prime, Madison tells Emma that she saw her on the news being called a hero, something Emma credits to the accounts left behind by the ancient Phoenicians. Madison asks what happened to them and Emma replies she doesn't know but expresses how much she admires those who have the guts to venture into the unknown.
Between Aftershock and King of the Monsters
Despite becoming distant from her father over the next five years, the now 12-year-old Madison keeps in contact with him regularly and spends some time with him now and then. Madison and Emma are now stationed at Monarch Outpost 61 - The Temple of the Moth in the jungle of China's Yunnan province, where Maddie spends her free time studying the insects in the ecosystem as Emma forbids her from having containment access. However, as she is entering her teenage years and desiring normalcy, Madison spends her evenings taking up regular interests like a normal kid.[1]
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Madison is listening to music and watching videos online on her laptop. She receives an email from her father, Mark, who is away in the Colorado wilderness studying wolves. She types a quick reply about missing him and wanting to talk to him about how she's getting worried about her mother. Before she can send it, Madison hears the smoke alarm go off as she was making breakfast for her mother and herself, and burns the bacon. Madison lies to her mom about looking for recipes but her mother isn't convinced so Madison admits to answering her father's emails. She asks if her dad will be okay and Emma says Mark is safe where he is, and reveals she finished rebuilding the ORCA.
Madison and Emma are caught in Jonah's raid.
Then Madison and Emma witness the hatching of Mothra, a prehistoric moth-like Titan. The larva quickly becomes agitated after Monarch personnel begin firing electrical pulses at it to pacify it. Emma rushes into the containment chamber with the ORCA. Madison swipes Dr. Mancini's ID badge and runs into the chamber to protect her mother but is helpless as the massive larva prepares to strike down on them. Emma manages to find the right frequency and calms the larva, who leans downwards and allows Madison to touch her. Soon after, eco-terrorists and their leader, Alan Jonah, raid the facility, executing all Monarch personnel except for Madison and Emma. The mercenaries fail to capture Mothra, who retreats behind a nearby waterfall and seals herself in a cocoon.
With a Monarch Osprey, the eco-terrorists take Madison and Emma to the Monarch outpost in Antarctica, killing all personnel stationed there as they did in China, with Madison visibly shaken. The terrorists then escort Madison and Emma down into the depths of the containment facility, where they intend to awaken a three-headed, dragon-like Titan dubbed Monster Zero. Madison marvels at the sight of Monster Zero, who is frozen under hundreds of feet of ice. She runs her hand across the ice as Monster Zero's massive silhouette towers over her, frozen in the same position as he was in many millennia ago. Jonah has his men drill large holes in the ice and place charges in them order to aid Monster Zero in waking up, but Monarch reinforcements soon arrive, along with Mark Russell.
Madison is pulled away from the ORCA by Emma and Jonah.
During an intense standoff between Jonah and G-Team, Mark tells Madison and Emma to come towards him. Madison begins walking to him slowly but Emma calls her back. Madison reluctantly backs away from Mark and escapes with Emma and the terrorists after her mother detonates the charges. Reboarding their Osprey, Madison tells her mother they can't leave Mark behind before watching Emma use the ORCA to awaken Monster Zero, who rises from the shattered ice and begins terrorizing her father and the trapped Monarch personnel below. Fearing for her father's life, Madison grabs the ORCA from Emma and sends out sonar pulses to distract Monster Zero but she is pulled away from it by Emma and Jonah, who restrains Madison so Emma can turn off the ORCA to prevent Monster Zero from killing them. Then Madison watches somberly as Monster Zero closes in on her father, trapped in a damaged Osprey below, before flying off.
Madison begs Emma to reconsider releasing Rodan.
Jonah takes Madison and Emma to a Monarch bunker just outside of Boston, which the eco-terrorists have taken over to use as a hideout. From there, Emma contacts Mark and Monarch via video feed from the control room. Relieved that her father is alive, Madison apologizes to him for what happened before. Then she listens to Emma as she reveals that she and Jonah are working together to "save the world" by freeing the Titans before her parents argue about Emma's reasoning stemming from Andrew's death. Then Jonah orders Emma to wake up another Titan, a massive pteranodon-like creature dubbed Rodan, located in Isla de Mara, Mexico. After hearing what her father said, Madison begs Emma to reconsider and allow the village near Rodan's volcano outpost to be evacuated. Then Jonah interjects and mockingly asks Madison if Emma sold her on the idea to release the Titans with the promise of humans and monsters living together in peace. Madison still begs her mother to let the islanders find shelter first but the despondent Emma proceeds to use the ORCA to wake Rodan anyway. By simply flying overhead, Rodan creates a massive cyclonic drift stream and wipes out the village and many of its inhabitants, before proceeding to decimate a squadron of jets.
Madison argues with her mother about the plan to release the Titans.
Soon after, the military fires a prototype missile called an "Oxygen Destroyer" at Monster Zero and Godzilla as they fight in the ocean in Mexico. Godzilla is seemingly killed while Monster Zero survives. He regrows the head Godzilla previously tore off during the fight, perches atop Rodan's volcano, and gives out a roar that awakens the remaining Titans around the world. Horrified by the needless death and destruction, and disenchanted with her mother's beliefs, a tearful Madison calls her a monster. Later, Madison storms down a corridor followed by her mother. She angrily confronts Emma about the plan to gradually release the Titans and restore balance to the world, as her mother told her she would be careful. Then Madison says her mother told her that they were doing it in Andrew's memory, and asks Emma if Andrew would approve of what they've done before locking herself in an old radio room.
The Titans continue to ravage the planet under the leadership of Monster Zero, now known as Ghidorah, who had usurped the position of Alpha Titan from Godzilla. Overhearing Emma and Jonah discuss the possibility of using the ORCA to broadcast a signal from the Fenway Park stadium, Madison decides to carry out her mother's plan herself so she steals the ORCA, escapes the bunker undetected, and heads into the city. She reaches the stadium just as the last evacuations are completed, and heads into the broadcast booth. From there, she uses the ORCA to blast sonar pulses through Fenway's speakers, effectively distracting the Titans all over the globe, including Ghidorah.
With the ORCA, Madison runs from Ghidorah as he attacks Fenway Park looking for her.
Eventually, Ghidorah arrives at Fenway, slamming down into the stadium and searching for the source of the sonar pulses. He destroys the speakers but continues to hear the ORCA. Madison tries to disable the ORCA, but Ghidorah spots her and attempts to kill her with his gravity beams. Madison escapes the stadium but comes face-to-face with Ghidorah on the field. She throws the ORCA at him, which he stomps on and destroys. With nowhere left to run or hide, Madison screams at Ghidorah as he charges up to kill her. Suddenly, the three-headed beast is thrown back by a blast of energy. Godzilla arrives from the ocean with an entourage of jets and naval vessels, ready to face Ghidorah again. The two Titans proceed to viciously battle each other while Madison escapes. Meanwhile, Mothra and Rodan also arrive and begin battling each other. Madison runs to her family's old house on Beacon Street and screams in terror as the very Earth shakes due to the battle between the colossal beasts.
Madison, Mark, and Monarch see the Titans recognize Godzilla as the Alpha.
Emma and Mark eventually track down Madison and find her in the bathtub of their old house, buried under some rubble. Upon reviving Madison, the family shares an emotional reunion and watch as Ghidorah lifts Godzilla thousands of feet into the air and drops him. Mothra, who just barely defeated Rodan, attempts to defend Godzilla but is obliterated by Ghidorah. Madison's parents repair the ORCA as Ghidorah begins to drain the remaining energy out of Godzilla and an Osprey arrives with Monarch. Saying her final goodbyes to Madison and Mark, Emma takes the now repaired ORCA and drives off into the city, grabbing Ghidorah's attention and allowing her family to safely escape with Monarch. Madison tearfully watches as Ghidorah closes in on Emma and blasts her with his gravity beams. Before Ghidorah can finish Emma off, Godzilla enters the scene, glowing orange and melting everything around him. Ghidorah is incinerated by Godzilla, who secures his position as Alpha once again, and Madison watches somberly as she flies off with Mark and Monarch in the Osprey.
Godzilla vs. Kong
Trivia
- In both a deleted scene and the novelization, Madison shows considerable fighting prowess, proving Emma's claim of her training Madison to survive. In a scene cut from the film, Madison is sparring one of Jonah's men in boxing practice, watched by him and some of his mercenaries. In the book, when Madison attempts to steal the ORCA, she takes down one of Jonah's men with a stun gun.[3]
- The novelization reveals that a Monarch employee named Tana taught Madison calculus and how to count to ten in the Chuukese language.[4]
List of appearances
Films
Comics
- Godzilla: Aftershock (First appearance)
Novels
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Operatives: Madison Russell - Monarch Sciences. Retrieved May 7, 2019
- ↑ Keyes, Greg. Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization. Titan Books. p. 275. ISBN: 9781789090925.
- ↑ Keyes, Greg. Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization. Titan Books. p. 215. ISBN: 9781789090925.
- ↑ Keyes, Greg. Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization. Titan Books. p. 74. ISBN: 9781789090925.
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