Warning: Spoilers for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2, episode 10

Seven years after Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the King of the Skies has finally made his way back to Legendary’s Monsterverse. The final scene in the season 2 finale of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters brought back Rodan, and in doing so, set the stage for the fiery Titan to be the focal point of the show’s third season. Season 2 saw the Monarch team, Godzilla, and Kong deal with an aquatic creature known as Titan X, and with that threat now out of the way, it seems Rodan will be the subject of their next challenge.

As for where he fits into the equation, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2 ended with Isabel Simmons, the daughter of Godzilla vs. Kong’s Walter Simmons, failing to secure free access to Skull Island, which is the location of an entry point to Axis Mundi, one of the underground realms of the Hollow Earth world. Her plan was for Titan X to kill Kong, which would eliminate the island’s self-appointed protector. From the looks of things, Isabel has since shifted her attention to Rodan.

As the season 2 finale revealed, Rodan – as of 2017 – was living in a volcano somewhere in or near Thailand. Kurt Russell’s Lee Shaw has learned that Rodan is on Isabel’s radar, meaning that his current resting place could offer her a different way to reach Axis Mundi. Through this storyline, the Monsterverse has a lot of different ways to utilize Rodan. And hopefully, that represents just one chapter in the Monsterverse’s plan for the classic Godzilla ally.

Rodan’s Ancient History Is Finally Explained

The Monsterverse has done much to flesh out the backstories of Godzilla, Kong, Mothra, King Ghidorah, and most recently, Titan X. However, it’s offered limited information on Rodan, who is known largely as “the Fire Demon, ” a creature feared for generations by the locals at Isla de Mara, Mexico.

Rodan’s past connections to other Titans has thus far only been hinted at. A mural in Godzilla’s underwater city indicated that a member of Rodan’s species teamed up with Godzilla and Mothra against Ghidorah. Another teased the existence of two Rodans at the same time. In the case of King of the Monsters’ Rodan, his egg was seemingly laid inside the volcano where he was roosting in the modern era. What happened to his parents and other details about his past have yet to be fully explored onscreen.

With a full season at its disposal, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is in a much better position than even King of the Monsters was to delve deep into the lore surrounding Rodan. If Rodan really is the focus of the upcoming storyline, the show can spend multiple episodes unraveling mysteries related to the Titan, what its relationship with Godzilla is, where it fits into the world balance, and more.

Rodan’s First One-On-One Win

Although there was a lot to like about the Monsterverse’s depiction of Rodan in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, one thing that stood out as disappointing is that Rodan didn’t get to win a fight. He lost to Ghidorah, and was defeated by Mothra at the end of the movie (despite being responsible for the latter’s death afterward). Unfortunately, previous versions of Rodan haven’t fared well in monster battles either – or at least, not ones that were fair fights.

Rodan’s only victories in Toho’s Godzilla movies came in battles where he fought at Godzilla’s side. But in fairness to Rodan, the monster has enjoyed few opportunities to showcase his battle prowess in one-on-one showdowns. That could potentially change in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 3 if it finds room for Rodan to fight another Monsterverse Titan, whether it’s a brand-new creature or an existing monster from its lineup.

A Titan Rival For Rodan

The prospect of a win for Rodan goes hand-in-hand with another storytelling possibility for the monster. Ancient Titan rivalries have become a fixture of the Monsterverse. Godzilla and Kong’s species went to war, Godzilla and Ghidorah fought multiple times across several millennia, and Kong has a long history with the Skullcrawlers, the monsters who killed his parents. With Rodan likely to be vital to Monarch’s third season, he too has a chance to have his own Titan rival.

Rodan notably lacks his own rogues’ gallery in Godzilla’s universe, so heading in this direction would be a great way of building on his story. And it could serve the action too, as the Monsterverse could choose a rival whose abilities would create a compelling contrast with Rodan. For instance, Rodan’s enemy could be another flying monster, but with ice powers.

Rodan vs. Kong

Given the nature of the series and the expectations it’s set for Rodan’s role in season 3, some sort of monster battle involving the Titan feels all but guaranteed to happen. The specific matchups it may offer, however, are much less certain. One possible option is a Kong vs. Rodan fight, a scenario that’s long been debated by fans of the franchise. Kong seems like he would be the favorite here, but Rodan can make it interesting by flying around, especially since Kong doesn’t have any immediate way of shooting him down, whereas Godzilla has his atomic breath.

The Monsterverse already has a reason to arrange such a showdown. As the series explained in the season 2 finale, Skull Island is essentially “Grand Central Station” for Axis Mundi. That means if there is indeed a rift within Rodan’s volcano in Thialand, he could accidentally – or intentionally – wind up in Skull Island for a battle with Kong in season 3.

A Godzilla & Rodan Monsterverse Team-Up

Rodan bowing down to Godzilla in Godzilla: King of the Monsters’ ending laid the foundation for an exciting Monsterverse moment: a team-up between Godzilla and Rodan. Rodan is arguably Godzilla’s greatest ally, having been on his side in four different Godzilla films. For that reason, not pairing the two felt like a missed opportunity for King of the Monsters, but also something that could be easily rectified later since Rodan has accepted Godzilla as the alpha of the Titans.

Sadly for Rodan, the Titan didn’t appear in either Godzilla vs. Kong or Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. But a team-up can still happen, as it could be revealed in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters that Rodan joined forces with Godzilla to defeat a new Titan in 2017. It would mark their first onscreen team-up since Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II in 1993.

Rodan Joins The Fight Against SpaceGodzilla

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 3 doesn’t have to be the extent of Rodan’s future in the Monsterverse. Legendary has been gradually upping the stakes in recent Monsterverse movies, which could pave the way for a full-on Titan War to finally occur in Godzilla x Kong: Supernova. If that happens, the movie could bring back Rodan yet again.

All indications point to SpaceGodzilla being the villain of Godzilla x Kong: Supernova. Given he has a history of being one of Godzilla’s most formidable villains, it’s possible that Godzilla and Kong will need help to defeat him. And that could be especially true if he has help. This could lead to Godzilla calling up Monsterverse Titans who had previously acknowledged him as the alpha to join him in the final battle.

First Film

Godzilla

Cast

Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Vera Farmiga, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Corey Hawkins, Tom Hiddleston, Jason Mitchell, Toby Kebbell, Tian Jing, John C. Reilly, Millie Bobby Brown, Kyle Chandler, Zhang Ziyi, Charles Dance, Alexander Skarsgard, Brian Tyree Henry, Julian Dennison, Kaylee Hottle, Rebecca Hall, Kurt Russell, Wyatt Russell, Anna Sawai, Mari Yamamoto, Ren Watabe, Kiersey Clemons

Movie(s)

Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire