William Stenz

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Gentlemen, you are being sent in via halo-jump. Now, I realize that not all of you have had hands-on experience... And frankly, none of us have ever faced such a situation quite like this one before. But I would not be asking any one of you to take this leap if I did not have complete faith in your ability to succeed. Your courage will never be more needed than it is today.

― Admiral Stenz (Godzilla)

Template:Infobox Characters Admiral William Stenz (ステンズ提督^?, Sutenzu Teitoku, lit. Admiral Stenz) is a navy commander character that first appeared in the 2014 MonsterVerse film, Godzilla. He returned in the 2019 sequel, Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

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Personality

Stenz has a sort of no-nonsense demeanor about him, coming off as very serious. He cares greatly for civilian lives, as he wishes to eliminate Godzilla and the MUTOs with minimal casualties.

His most notable trait, however, is that he's not the stereotypical depiction of military commanders/government agents. Rather than aggressively refusing Dr. Serizawa's suggestion of letting Godzilla fight and having him thrown out, Stenz politely refuses his suggestion and shows he respects him to a degree; additionally, he is willing to compromise, as when his initial plan of using a nuclear warhead to wipe out Godzilla and the MUTOs backfires, he agrees to Serizawa's idea and lets Godzilla fight the MUTOs.

Stenz also displays a softer side, as when Dr. Serizawa tells him the story behind his father's pocket watch, he somberly realizes Serizawa survived the bombing of Hiroshima.

Relationships

Ishiro Serizawa

Despite not knowing him long, Stentz appears to have great respect for Dr. Serizawa. Initially, though, when Ishiro tells him to let Godzilla fight against the MUTOs, he politely refuses his suggestion and prioritizes rescuing the civilians. Later, when the male MUTO steals the nuclear warhead intended to kill Godzilla and the MUTOs, Stenz finally relents and allows Godzilla to fight.

Vivienne Graham

Though Stenz respects Dr. Graham's scientific expertise, he considers her naïve for her religious-like views towards Godzilla.

History

Godzilla

Admiral Stenz is the commander of an elite navy squadron that includes Ford Brody, which is sent into the ruins of San Francisco, California, where a battle between Godzilla and the MUTOs is taking place. He was adamant on destroying both the MUTOs and Godzilla using a nuclear bomb, even though Dr. Serizawa told them to stand down and let Godzilla fight, believing he was here to kill the MUTOs and restore balance to nature.

This plan went south after the male MUTO stole the nuclear bomb and took it to San Francisco to build a nest with its mate, endangering thousands of civilians. After this, Stenz finally agreed to leave the MUTOs in Godzilla's hands and focus all military personnel to extract the bomb for it to detonate safely elsewhere.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Stenz is first seen attending a debate between Monarch and the U.S. Senate on whether or not the Titans should be exterminated due to the events in San Francisco. He sits silently but watches intently as Dr. Serizawa and his associates try to convince the politicians that the Titans are essential to Earth's ecosystem.

Several days later, while the Monarch team aboard the Argo watches as Godzilla nearly kills Ghidorah after pulling him into the ocean, Stenz reveals that the military has developed a specialized missile, dubbed the Oxygen Destroyer, which eliminates all oxygen and kills all life within its blast radius. Before anyone can protest, the missile is fired and detonates right on top of Godzilla and Ghidorah. While Godzilla is seemingly killed by the blast, Ghidorah emerges from the water unscathed, albeit missing a head that had been torn off by Godzilla during their fight. This leads the team to believe that Ghidorah is an alien, as any normal organism on Earth, including Titans, would be destroyed by the blast.

Shortly afterward, Stenz arrives at Castle Bravo to brief Monarch and military personnel on their current situation. He reveals that Titans all over the world have awoken from their dormancy, and were proceeding to attack cities whilst triggering natural disasters at the same time. He further reveals that all attempts to lure the creatures using nuclear material, as done with the MUTOs several years earlier, was not working this time around. Mark Russell steps in and explains to Stenz that the Titans must be acting on orders from Ghidorah, who had just usurped the position of Alpha from Godzilla. Mark deduces that if they stop Ghidorah, the Titans will cease their aggressive behavior.

While the Monarch team sets off to locate and revive Godzilla, Stenz takes his fleet to Washington D.C., where Ghidorah is roosting, to distract the Titan and buy time for Monarch. While the movie does not show Stenz's fate in this battle, the novelization further expands on it. In the novelization, Ghidorah and Rodan annihilate Stenz's fleet. The Monarch team receives a video feed of Stenz inside a submarine, the room quickly filling with water and smoke before the signal cuts out. At this, it can be assumed that Stenz perished during the battle. This scene was cut in the theatrical release and was insinuated by Mike Dougherty that he survived the battle.

List of appearances

• Godzilla (First appearance)
• Godzilla: King of the Monsters