Monarch is a secret scientific organization created by Legendary Pictures that first appeared in the 2014 Godzilla film, Godzilla, was a pivotal organization in the 2017 film, Kong: Skull Island, and will appear once more in the 2019 film, Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
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History
Formation
Monarch was founded in secrecy in 1946[2] as a joint coalition between several governments in order to hunt and study massive unidentified terrestrial organisms (MUTOs). 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 nuclear bomb "test". Shinomura was confirmed to be destroyed by the bomb's blast. Godzilla however, managed to survive.
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 and his father's colleague, who offered him the opportunity to join the organization and continue his father's work. Ishiro Serizawa readily agreed and became a member of Monarch.
Mission: Skull
In 1973, Monarch and Landsat conducted an expedition to an island in the South Pacific called Skull Island, with William Randa, Houston Brooks, and San Lin representing the organization. At this time, the organization was nearly bankrupt.
After returning from Skull Island, Brooks and Lin debriefed survivors, James Conrad and Mason Weaver, before presenting them with a slideshow, showing four ominous cave paintings, with each depicting a giant creature.
Awakening in 2014
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.
Timeline
Beginning on June 21, 2017, social media pages for Skull Island began to post weekly videos detailing Monarch's timeline of events from the years 1915 to 2016. While certain timeline events have been named, the full descriptions of said events have not been revealed as of yet.
1915 - Splitting the Atom
Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity ultimately leads to the splitting of the atom and the dawn of the Atomic Age. This epoch-defining stage in human evolution will act as a beacon that awakens ancient superspecies sustained by nuclear energy.[3]
1943 - The U.S.S. Lawton Incident
[Incomplete entry]
[Godzilla attacks the U.S.S Lawton] Haunted by the memory of that day, Randa will go on to become one of Monarch's foremost operatives, searching for the truth behind the ancient creatures that exist beneath the surface of the world.
1946 - Monarch Founded
In the aftermath and cover-up of the U.S.S. Lawton Incident, President Truman unofficially establishes "Monarch Unit", a small, off-book research team established to engage in the systematic study of "massive unidentified terrestrial organisms". Privately, many of Truman's allies question the validity of the group's theories and work to keep their existence a secret.
1952 - The Great Smog of London
Baffling meteorologists and defying atmospheric physicists, this unexplained phenomenon saw London's streets overwhelmed by huge clouds of air-polluting smoke. Monarch theorizes that the beating wings of a giant creature could have created an anticyclone that unleashed airborne pollutants across the city.
1954 - Monarch Goes Global
1959 - Siberian Mystery
At the height of the Cold War, aerial photography taken from a Russian spy plane reveals a huge containment facility established around an ice cap in Siberia. The Monarch symbol can be seen emblazoned across the canopy of the structure.
1973 - Mission: Skull
Monarch surreptitiously partners with Landsat and the 1st aviation brigade, 3rd assault helicopter company to mount an expedition to the mythical "Skull Island" in an uncharted corner of the South Pacific. Encountering the god-like superspecies known as Kong, they soon discover that mankind does not belong here.[4]
1991 - Isla de Mona
A covert Monarch team establishes a quarantine zone around the island's dormant volcano, under the guise of "environmental research". Over the coming years, what began as a small scientific outpost will expand to become a full containment facility around the mouth of the volcano.[5]
1995 - Return to Skull Island
Monarch security officer Aaron Brooks defies his father, Houston Brooks, and leads an off-the-books mission to Skull Island, to not only determine what has become of Kong since the 1973 expedition, but also for assurance that Kong is on their side.
1999 - Janjira Meltdown
2005 - A Mysterious Mercenary
Former British Army Colonel and MI-6 agent Jonah Alan is locked up in Pakistani prison after an encounter with Monarch agents. Alan and his band of mercenary accomplices were caught trying to breach the walls of a subterranean M.U.T.O. dig-site.
2009 - Temple of the Moth
Mythographic studies of Chinese temples leads Monarch to the high-altitude jungles of the Yunnan province. Dr. Emma Russell and her team follow a mysterious bio-acoustic signature to a previously undiscovered megalithic temple, within which lies a gigantic cocoon. A quickening heartbeat is detected inside.
2012 - Message in a Bottle
Days before retirement, Monarch veteran Houston Brooks receives an encrypted recorder bearing a message from his son. His unauthorized mission to Skull Island has resulted in the death of the whole crew (except himself) and revealed dramatic new information about Kong's origins, his role on the island and how Skull Island had evolved since his dad's "visit".
2014 - The Battle of San Francisco
The existence of giant superspecies is revealed to the world as Godzilla clashes with two M.U.T.O.s in the center of San Francisco, unleashing devastation upon the urban center. The world watches as Godzilla defends our world and restores balance to the natural order. The time has come for Monarch to step out of the shadows.
2016 - Monster Zero
When Monarch discovers an extraordinary superspecies sealed beneath the Antarctic ice sheet, Dr. Vivienne Graham leads the effort to build a covert containment and research facility around the dormant creature. Her classified field notes contain a mysterious footnote: "The devil has three heads."[6]
Notable members
- Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
- Dr. Vivienne Graham
- Dr. Emma Russell
- William Randa (deceased)
- Houston Brooks (retired)
- San Lin
- James Conrad
- Mason Weaver
- Aaron Brooks
- Evgenij Medov (deceased)
- Evelyn Matemavi (deceased)
- Helen Karsten (deceased)
- Walter R. Riccio (deceased)
- Cejudo (deceased)
- Shaw
- General Douglas MacArthur
- Dr. Zamalek
- Singh
- Ishiro Serizawa's father (deceased)
- Sam Coleman (liaison between Monarch and the government)
- Barnes
Notable paraphernalia
While much of Monarch's paraphernalia is relatively unknown, it is known that Aaron Brooks used a special recorder that featured military grade bubble memory (which kept the files intact) and password protection.
It is shown to be capable of being plugged into a computer through a cable similar in size to an audio cable (for unlocking the password), and like most military paraphernalia, the recorder also features a serial number related to the owner in question. The audio speaker is located on the back of the recorder, and it appears to feature dual microphones on top. It is also capable of producing a mayday signal.
The password can be selected by the owners as well, in the case of Aaron's, the password is "Gjallarhorn" (due to his father, Houston, reading him Norse mythology as a child, and it became a shared password between father and son).
Monarch also uses Kevlar "float bags" (most notably, Aaron used one to send his recorder out to sea akin to a "message in a bottle"); while the purpose of said bags is not spoken by the workers, writing on the bag shows that the primary purpose is to contain (and aid in the disposal of) extremely hazardous materials.
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.jpg "A Monarch Recorder (front).jpg (28 KB)")
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As stated by Aaron Brooks, Monarch has their own field manual. Additionally, as seen in Godzilla, they have hazmat suits and geiger counters for highly-irradiated environment.
Method(s) of operation
While most of how Monarch carries out their work is unknown, it is known that they prefer a non-lethal approach at best, as Aaron Brooks' recording to his father stated that the "Monarch Field Manual" says "If you must resort to weaponry, in all likelihood, you've already made a mistake." As of King of the Monsters, though, they now have their own special forces military group (dubbed "G-Team") for battles involving the Titans.
Headquarters
As revealed in King of the Monsters, Monarch's headquarters is an underwater base.
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, but Godzilla: Awakening, Kong: Skull Island and the official Monarch timeline contradicts this saying Monarch was founded in 1946.
- It is entirely possible that since President Truman "unofficially" established Monarch, they were never considered an "official" group (on the level of groups such as the CIA or the FBI) and as a result, they were never given proper funding for their projects (as they were nearly bankrupt around the time of "Mission: Skull"), and that Monarch was "officially" founded in 1954 as a true group (as the timeline states they "went global" in 1954).
- In Skull Island: The Birth of Kong, it is heavily implied that Monarch is ahead of everyone else technologically, as Aaron's recorder looks exactly like a Zoom H4n (albeit with minor differences), a digital recorder released in 2009, but Aaron had it in his possession during his off-the-books expedition to Skull Island circa 1995.
- According to Mike Dougherty, King of the Monsters will focus more on Monarch than Godzilla did.[7]
List of appearances
Films
- Godzilla (First appearance)
- Kong: Skull Island
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters
- Godzilla vs. Kong
Comics
References
- ↑ http://www.monarchsciences.com/
- ↑ Godzilla | The Conspiracy Timeline Godzilla. Retrieved June 16, 2017
- ↑ (June 21, 2017). Every great organization has a beginning. Follow the timeline to learn about the history of Monarch. #KongSkullIsland Facebook. Retrieved July 6, 2017
- ↑ (June 28, 2017). 1973: Monarch launches its first expedition to the mythical “Skull Island.” #KongSkullIsland Facebook. Retrieved July 6, 2017
- ↑ (July 5, 2017). 1991: A covert Monarch team establishes a quarantine zone around a dormant volcano in Isle de Mona. #KongSkullIsland Facebook. Retrieved July 6, 2017
- ↑ (July 12, 2017). 2016: An extraordinary superspecies is discovered beneath the Antarctic ice. #KongSkullIslandFacebook. Retrieved July 12 2017
- ↑ http://collider.com/godzilla-king-of-the-monsters-michael-dougherty-interview/
