Clips from Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2 have been trickling in during the build-up to the new season’s debut on February 27th. One glimpse at the mysterious Titan X was even hidden on a secret website, while others have been released straight from Apple TV itself. The latest shows a creature that’s new to the Monsterverse’s live-action properties, but is well-known in the companion media that exists.

In addition to the movies and the first season of Monarch, the main narrative of the Monsterverse has continued across other mediums, expanding upon the backstories of certain Titans and filling in some of the timeline before and between the movies. Perhaps the most significant are the six comics and graphic novels that are considered canon by Legendary, each of which provides details about Kong or Godzilla’s solo adventures that tie in to the movies.

The latest clip released in anticipation of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2 reveals a brand-new monster never before seen in either the show or the main movies. However, it is a well-recognized character from the comics that are canon, and its inclusion in season 2 opens the door for other monsters to make their way from the pages of the comics into Monarch.

The Psychovulture Is From Legendary’s Kong Comics

A new clip from Apple TV shows the main cast of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters on Skull Island, quickly hiding from a deadly leafwing, the pterodactyl-like forest creatures that populate the island. They’re stunned when the leafwing is set upon by an even larger, more intimidating creature, which strikes it with a beam of electricity from its mouth before snapping its neck: the psychovulture.

While we’ve seen leafwings in the Monsterverse movies (specifically in Kong: Skull Island), their more lethal cousins, the psychovultures, have mostly remained in the pages of the comics. Kong is memorably attacked by a flock of psychovultures, including a particularly nasty alpha male, in the graphic novel Kingdom Kong, and they’re considered a mainstay species both on Skull Island and in the Hollow Earth.

The appearance of a true psychovulture, complete with the ability to shoot a bolt of electricity out of its mouth, is an exciting notion, because it means there is the possibility for more lesser Titans, and perhaps even some of the primary Titans, to appear in the show. Given that the events of the show have, so far, taken place before Ghidorah’s mass awakening in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, chances are good that it’ll only be minor monsters for now.

Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters Is The Perfect Spot For More Comic Crossovers

For years, Monsterverse fans have remained disappointed by the lack of more Legendary Titans in the Monsterverse, particularly some of those that have been named and identified in the movies, but never shown. While it’s true we’ve seen Titans like Tiamat, Behemoth, and Scylla in action, others like Leviathan, Bunyip, and Sekhmet have never occurred as more than blips on a screen.

From a box office perspective, it’s not that surprising that the two heavy hitters are the focus of the movies, with only occasional appearances from the other “big” Titans. However, Monarch is the perfect place to bring in some of the other Titans in the world that are far lesser known but very interesting.

The fungoid Titan Yuggoth, the terrifying spider Titan Abaddon, or even the plant-bodied swamp creature Amhuluk would not necessarily provide challenges for a full-strength Godzilla, but could certainly act as antagonists for the human characters at the heart of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. The clip of the psychovulture is proof that seeing some of the creativity of the comics brought to life can only enhance Monarch as it moves forward.

Release Date

November 16, 2023

Network

Apple TV

Showrunner

Chris Black, Matt Fraction

Directors

Julian Holmes, Matt Shakman, Mairzee Almas, Andy Goddard, Hiromi Kamata

Writers

Al Letson, Karl Taro Greenfeld, Chris Black, Mariko Tamaki, Amanda Overton, Andrew Colville, Matt Fraction, Milla Bell-Hart

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  Kiersey Clemons

  May Hewitt