We’ve always known Godzilla is the “King of the Monsters,” owing to, well, him being absolutely royal. But with so many other Titans in the Monsterverse, it’s somewhat difficult to parse out which of them are the, pardon the term, Apex of the Monarchs. This is especially true now that the Hollow Earth has so many other creatures within it. Where do they all fit in the greater hierarchy? While not everything is set in stone, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire solidifies the roles for at least three of the biggest Titans. Somewhat ironically, that news did come from a stone.
The audience has known for a bit that Godzilla is in some fashion the defender of the Earth. However, he clearly has little interest in humans or their structures. Kong is the one who cares about people! But who else is involved in this? Is it just a two-horse race? No! Y’all didn’t realize this was a trifecta this whole time, did you?
We learn, via cave drawings in the Iwi people’s temple, that the third prong of the Hero Titan trident is Mothra. She’s not only alive, she has a very important job to do. The breakdown is thus:
- Godzilla – Guardian of Nature
- Kong – Guardian of Humanity
- Mothra – Guardian of the Hollow Earth
How this ultimately shakes out in the movie is that Godzilla’s main focus is to keep the planet and its flora and fauna safe from harm. That harm can come from people, so we need to watch it. Kong—after the fight in Godzilla vs. Kong—needs to live in the Hollow Earth, but his calling is to defend humanity against various threats. Sometimes that threat might be Godzilla; again, very complicated. The G-Man does not cotton to Kong up on the surface.
Mothra, therefore, effectively acts as the Godzilla for the Hollow Earth. She defends the creatures living down there. This also means she defends breaches between the realms of the Hollow Earth and the outside world. In the movie, she keeps the Skar King’s hordes from traversing the breach. She also breaks up the squabbling between Kong and Godzilla.
So look out, other Titans! These three are the Monsterverse’s toughest, and they’ll kick your butt if you get out of line.
Editor’s Note: Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.