Natalia Verdugo is a character created by Legendary Pictures who made her first appearance within the 2023 MonsterVerse series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
Personality[]
Relationships[]
History[]
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters[]
In 2015, alarms went off at Monarch employee Collins's desk. She alerted her superior, Tim, that someone had accessed drives that once belonged to William Randa. Tim recognized the files and refused her request to kick it up to Verdugo. Collins wasn't sure this was correct as after G-Day, it was protocol to alert Verdugo. He insisted and kicked her out of his office.[1] Verdugo was later alerted to the movements of Michelle Duvall and Tim. She learned they had investigated the found files of William Randa in Japan. She flew there to confront them, as the mission was rogue and she was forced to make her ex-husband drop their daughter off to college instead. She wanted Tim to return with her to America while Duvall continued her mission to find an escaped Lee Shaw, who was in cohorts with the children of MIA Monarch agent Hiroshi Randa. Duvall convinced Verdugo that Tim might prove useful with his knowledge of Shaw and Randa's files.[2]
Verdugo returned to Arlington, Virginia, to oversee Monarch's movements. She was alerted to and conversed with Dr. Barnes. The doctor detected significant radiation that was supposed to only exist in black holes. The equipment that picked up the radiation is an antique. The pulsar she found was in Alaska. The last time anyone saw readings like this was before the last emergent event; from Janjira and Yucca Flat, before G-Day. Verdugo informed the Monarch operatives about Dr. Barnes's findings. It mirrored the gamma rays found before the San Francisco event. Tim, who was still with Duvall, shouted out to be heard. He didn't want them to dismiss Bill Randa's files yet. Lee Shaw knew something they didn't and that was why Lee wanted the files. Tim gave a speech about preventing the next Titan emergences through being more open-minded. Monarch later intercepts an SOS call from Kentaro Randa in Alaska. They deployed a rescue team to bring Kentaro, Cate, May, and Lee Shaw to a Monarch Command Post in Alaska.[3]
Verdugo watched the apprehended individual from a monitoring room. Tim refused to believe the Randa children lacked knowledge of Monarch and monsters. Duvall insisted they weren't special, though Tim wanted to teach the kids through recruitment. Verdugo was reluctant because a legacy was more dangerous than anything else. She followed Duvall's suggestion to release the kids and watch their next move. Shaw, however, was still Verdugo's problem. She visited him in his cell and her recognized her as a deputy director. He made his displeasure for Monarch clear and their conversation turned tense. She didn't think Hiroshi wanted a life of monsters for the Randa kids. Shaw planned to ask Hiroshi when he found him. Verdugo wondered what made him escape now when he had decades to do it. He wanted to do something about the world being on fire. He thought their "let the monsters fight" solution was stupid. He looked to the cameras and told them that Monarch was wrong and had been for a long time.[4]
Shaw escaped Monarch custody so Tim and Verdugo followed Cate, May, and Kentaro back to San Francisco. They learned the trio had broken into Hiroshi's office and went there to investigate. Tim figured out that the pin holes on the wall were a pattern from a map. He pressed Verdugo for the reason Hiroshi was exiled from Monarch. He retargeted deep-space satellites to look at Earth's gamma rays instead of space. Tim realized Hiroshi was tracking the gamma rays around the Earth, because each spike meant a monster appearance. Based on where the kids had been, Tim deduced they were looking for Hiroshi. They headed to the next point on the map, the Algerian desert. Verdugo commissioned a plane so Tim and a group of operatives could find Shaw, May, Cate, and Kentaro.[5]
Tim contacted Verdugo, who was back at Monarch headquarters, and let her know that his plane was crashed by Godzilla. Cate offered Tim a deal - if he helped them find a kidnapped May she would help him find Shaw. Tim contacted Verdugo to get approval and debriefed her on the Godzilla attack. She suspended him because of his attitude so he bluntly said he was right the whole time, and she wasn't. He needed to find May with the kids and she allowed it. Meanwhile, Verdugo heard from Dr. Barnes in Outpost 88 that Shaw and Duvall had usurped the Outpost. She sent help to Barnes. When the still in-progress Godzilla alert system went live, Verdugo knew Tim was behind it. She went to San Francisco and confronted the group. She planned to put them all on planes back home. Cate proposed a solution to Verdguo's Shaw problem. They found their dad's map, their dad, and Godzilla, all without the help of Verdugo or Monarch. If Verdugo helped them get May back, they would assist her in finding Shaw. Verdugo made a call to A.E.T. and got May released. Once alone, Verdugo expressed displeasure over the agreement she made. She notified PR to handle Tim's alert. He wanted her to do the PR stunt instead. It was time to bring Monarch out of the shadows. Verdugo held a press conference from Monarch Headquarters about Monarch while Tim watched.[6]
Tim brought the kids to Monarch headquarters to fulfill their deal with Verdugo. She wanted answers about whether or not Hiroshi predicted the gamma-ray surges or followed them. Shaw exploded a rift in Alaska which dropped the gamma-rays to zero, though it spiked in a dozen different locations afterward. If Shaw set off another blast, it could push the rays over the top and cause another G-Day. She sent them off to figure out Shaw's next move. They returned knowing that Shaw was headed for Kazakhstan. Verdugo couldn't operate within those borders and would have to deploy a team. Cate volunteered to go since Shaw wanted the Randa's to finish this with him. Verdugo was reluctant, so Tim offered to go along. She finally agreed and sent them to Kazakhstan.[7]
Things went terribly wrong at the power plant in Kazakhstan. Shaw detonated his explosives which caused May, Shaw, and Cate to fall into the rift. Tim and Kentaro both had a broken leg. Tim and Verdugo visited Kentaro at the hospital in Japan where they told him about the loss of May and Cate. Kentaro wanted to look for them, but Verdugo lamented that all three of them died. She thanked him for his help, but his time in their world was over. Kentaro begged them to let him do something. Verdugo told him to live. Verdugo and Tim left Kentaro in the room with Emiko, who sobbed over her son.[8]
As time passed, Monarch detected a gamma-ray signal from within the rifts. Tim grew frustrated with Monarch's inaction and argued with Verdugo. She couldn't divert resources to save three people when the lives of billions were at stake. The gamma-rays on Earth had increased and another emergence was imminent. Tim though the three within the rift might know how to stop the emergence. Verdugo threatened to turn his medical leave into a permanent leave of absence if he didn't do his job. Tim quit Monarch and left Verdugo to run Monarch.[9]
List of appearances[]
Television[]
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
- "Aftermath" (Mentioned)
- "Secrets and Lies" (First appearance)
- "Parallels and Interiors"
- "The Way Out"
- "Terrifying Miracles"
- "Will the Real May Please Stand Up?"
- "Birthright"
- "Axis Mundi"
- "Beyond Logic"
Trivia[]
References[]
- ↑ Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 1, "Aftermath".
- ↑ Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 3, "Secrets and Lies"
- ↑ Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 4, "Parallels and Interiors"
- ↑ Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 5, "The Way Out"
- ↑ Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 6, "Terrifying Miracles"
- ↑ Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 7, "Will the Real May Please Stand Up?"
- ↑ Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 8, "Birthright"
- ↑ Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 9, "Axis Mundi (episode)"
- ↑ Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 10, "Beyond Logic"