- NOTE: This article is about the incarnation of Rodan from the MonsterVerse. The mainstream version can be found here: Rodan.
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| “ | Mark Russell: You got a catchy name for this one? Ilene Chen: Local legends call it Rodan, the Fire Demon. Mark Russell: Well, that's comforting. |
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| ~ Dr. Ilene Chen describing Rodan after his awakening. |
Rodan, also dubbed as Titanus Rodan or known as the Fire Demon, is one of the main characters of the MonsterVerse franchise. He is a destructive pterosaur-like Titan capable of mass destruction and sometimes being seen as a god of destruction. He is also one of Godzilla's minions and formerly of Ghidorah's.
He is portrayed by Jason Liles in motion-capture, who also played George in Rampage.
Biography[]
Kong: Skull Island[]
In 1973, after the discovery of Kong on Skull Island by James Conrad and Mason Weaver, Rodan appeared as a cameo on a cave painting during a brief slide show.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019 film)|Godzilla: King of the Monsters[]
Rodan first appears when the eco-terrorist Alan Jonah uses a device known as the ORCA to awaken Rodan from a volcano called El Nido del Domonio (meaning "The Demon's Nest") on the Mexican island of Isla de Mara, where he has been resting in a pyrostasis for thousands of years. Once Rodan is out of the volcano, he initially observes the modern town and doesn't attack anybody. However, Monarch's air pilots attack and lure Rodan so that he will come closer to Ghidorah, planning that they would kill each other. Rodan then flies off his volcano to destroy the Argo. Rodan chases after the Argo, destroying all of the jets in the process, only to be pulled back in fright when he notices Ghidorah ahead through the superstorm. Rodan enters the storm and battles Ghidorah. While Rodan manages to last about a minute gets a few hits in (such as tackling Ghidorah in mid-air), Ghidorah easily defeats Rodan by restraining his wings with two heads then blasting him with his middle head's gravity beam at point-blank, causing Rodan to fall in the ocean, and apparently avoiding the Oxygen Destroyer that nearly crippled Godzilla. Ghidorah flies to Rodan's volcano in order to absorb energy, in which Rodan flies to Ghidorah and becomes his minion, showing his loyalty by bowing to Ghidorah. Rodan and the rest of Ghidorah's minions go on a lengthy massacre throughout the world on Ghidorah's orders. Rodan specifically remains to Ghidorah's side, accompanying him to Washington D.C., and aiding Ghidorah in annihilating the military fleet's assault on Ghidorah in the city's freshly-scorched and flooded ruins.
In Boston, as Godzilla and Mothra fight Ghidorah, Rodan arrives and attacks Mothra out of interceptance and intervening on Godzilla's behalf and his fight against Ghidorah. The two battle each other, and Rodan gains the upper hand, as he pins Mothra against a building and is going to win, but before he can slaughter the benevolent moth, Mothra impales Rodan through the left shoulder with her stinger, incapacitating him and writhing in pain. However, Rodan somehow managed to get back, although severely wounded. He returns at the end of the film when Godzilla has been crowned "King of the Monsters" after killing Ghidorah, and although he seems as if he'll challenge Godzilla, he decides to become a minion to him now, showing his loyalty by bowing to Godzilla (being the first to bow in front of Godzilla) along with the other Titans.
News clips during the credits reveal Rodan made a nest in a volcano north of Fiji, attracting thousands of spectators. This implies that Rodan is no longer a threat to humans.
Godzilla Dominion and Godzilla vs. Kong[]
Between the five years after Godzilla becomes the new Alpha Titan, Rodan and all other Titans excluding Godzilla and Kong have stopped their activity, making Monarch label Rodan's status as "Defeated". The prequel comic later revealed that Godzilla has him and other Titans return into dormancy after the Alpha Titan senses Ghidorah is still alive.
Personality[]
Rodan is extremely aggressive when threatened, as he was seen destroying jets and other aircraft that fly near him as well as devouring a pilot that had ejected himself from his cockpits, after they attack him. He also seemingly smirks deviously when he observes a jet flying away from him before performing a barrel-roll that decimates the jets.
He also doesn't seem to care in the slightest as when he takes flight from his volcano after awakening, the shockwaves from his wings devastates the human-filled town that has formed on his island. All that having been said, it's worth noting that as vicious as Rodan is in combat, he only began acting aggressively towards humans after Monarch fired on him first, and before then he just looked at the town that had formed during his dormancy out of seeming curiosity.
However, like the other Titans, Rodan has an honorable side to him, in which he follows the strongest among the Titans, believing that the one who is the most powerful is the alpha. This is seen when he unfortunately submits to Ghidorah when Godzilla is seemingly killed, but he bowed down to Godzilla after he had defeated Ghidorah, who had usurped the title from him.
It's ambiguous whether Rodan is a truly malevolent Titan who enjoys causing destruction, or is merely hot-blooded and acts out of territorialism and self-preservation when provoked and when Ghidorah becomes the reigning alpha. However, it's possible that Rodan was never truly evil in the first place, as he just looked the civilians out of curiosity when he was woken up, and he didn't attack or kill anyone until the aircrafts attacked him first, and him killing the civilians seemed to be unintentional. He did try to defeat Ghidorah and only served him, after he was defeated in fair combat and thought Godzilla was dead.
Appearance[]
Like Rodan's previous incarnations, he resembles a giant pterosaurian creature with a large razor-sharp beak, two horns protruding from the back of his head and huge wings with molten rock trailing off their edges. The lower-edges of Rodan's wing membranes appear to be lined with heated, red-glowing cracks, assuming if his wings are smoldering or are oozing lava when he is in flight. Each of his forelimbs has two fingers and an opposable thumb. He also has rows of spikes adorning his chest, and his tail is large, flat and fan-shaped.
His body is a burgundy red color, while his serrated beak is black lined with tooth-like spikes. Rodan has feet that are more like that of a tyrannosaurid or the talons of a bird of prey like an eagle or a hawk, having a vestigial claw and a spike on his ankle. The way he stands on his legs greatly resembles the stance of modern birds.
Rodan also possesses a texture similar to molten rock with bumps and ridges along his chest and back. His injury from Mothra's stinger indicates Rodan does not actually bleed and revealed that his body has a bright-yellow internalized light underneath the opaque skin.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Titanus Rodan Physiology: As a Titanus Rodan, Rodan is incredibly powerful, possessing several physical and supernatural attributes.
- Enhanced Strength: Although not necessarily strong compared to other Titans, Rodan is still strong enough to last a significant length of time grappling in the sky with Mothra and Ghidorah.
- Enhanced Durability: Rodan has an extreme tolerance to heat and magma, having hibernated inside a volcano for at least several decades. It is explained that this is an adaptation which the individual evolved to be able to live in his volcanic home. Rodan is also completely immune to conventional weaponry such as gunfire or missile strikes since a layer of volcanic rock acts as armor plating for his body. During his fight with Mothra in Boston, Rodan is capable of withstanding a slash from her raptorial forelimbs, and was also able to withstand being completely impaled by her stinger which incapacitated him before he recovered virtually unharmed, despite having a gaping wound in his chest.
- Enhanced Speed: Rodan can fly at supersonic speeds as he was fast enough to keep up with and outfly military fighter jets and the Argo. He is also quick enough to intercept Mothra when she was in the middle of a dive ready to deliver the killing blow on Ghidorah.
- Enhanced Agility: Rodan can outmaneuver fighter jets, and his comparatively smaller size when compared to Ghidorah seemingly helps make him a more agile flyer. When in the midst of several fighter jets, he was able to perform an aileron roll maneuver to smash them with his wings.
- Enhanced Stamina: Rodan's musculature is considerably efficient. His virtually inexhaustible stamina enables him to exert himself at peak capacity for an undefined period of time, allowing him to fight against Ghidorah and Mothra without tiring at all. Even when he is flying, Rodan does not even seem to have any obvious signs of fatigue.
- Enhanced Endurance: Rodan's endurance is shown to be high, capable of enduring attacks from Ghidorah and Mothra and able to fight with all his might while ignoring the pain.
- Self-Sustenance: As a Titan, Rodan does not need to either eat or even sleep.
- Accelerated Healing Factor: Despite his body's endurance, Rodan can sustain physical injury. If wounded, his metabolism quickly enables him to rapidly regenerate damaged bodily tissue much faster, depending on how serious his injuries are. He was able to heal from his wounds after his match with Mothra, though he still had an open wound in his chest after being impaled by her stinger.
- Longevity/Semi-Immortality: Rodan's exceptional healing factor coupled with self-sustenance provide him with an incredibly long lifespan as he is capable of living for practically long periods of time seemingly without aging or weakening, thus he still retains the appearance of a pterosaur in his prime.
- Shockwaves: Rodan is capable of producing destructive shockwaves, described by Monarch as "cyclonic drift streams", while flying at his top speeds which can flatten buildings he passes over and launch debris such as vehicles and people into the air. Monarch scientists speculate the Titan's wingspan is vast enough to level cities with this technique.
- Flight: Rodan is able to use his huge wings to fly through the air at high speeds and at high altitudes due to having a skeletal structure similar to that of a Pteranodon.
- Magma System: Rodan has an internal combustion system of magma that flows throughout his body. His hot temperatures allow him to survive the temperature of his volcano and at one point in his feud with Mothra, he sets her and the building on fire.
- Volcano-agrikinesis: According to the Godzilla: King of the Monsters novelization, Rodan is able to cause volcanos to erupt when he flies over them, and he does this when he's under Ghidorah's command.
Abilities[]
- Master Combatant: Rodan mainly uses his beak and talons in combat against other Titans, such as Ghidorah and Mothra. Despite resembling a pterosaur, his combat style is very similar to that of birds of prey, which use their beaks and talons in combat.
- Sharp Talons: Like all pterosaurs and birds, Rodan possesses razor-sharp talons that are capable of slashing through materials.
- Sharp Beak: Like all pterosaurs and birds, Rodan possesses a razor-sharp beak that can be used as a formidable weapon and capable of inflicting cutting, impaling or crushing damage to other Titans.
Weaknesses[]
- Limited Durability: Although Rodan is incredibly durable, he does have his limits; for example, Mothra's stinger is able to penetrate through his incredibly durable body and inflict him a considerable amount of pain, which incapacitated Rodan, long enough for Godzilla to take down Ghidorah.
Relationships[]
Ghidorah[]
Rodan and Ghidorah were initally enemies. When Rodan woke up from his volcano and encountered Ghidorah, the two engaged in battle. Ghidorah won and blasted Rodan into the ocean, though he didn't kill Rodan beyond that and spared him. After Ghidorah seemingly killed Godzilla and became the Alpha Titan, Rodan bowed to Ghidorah and became his right-hand man, seeing Ghidorah as the Alpha Titan. Rodan and Ghidorah teamed up to cause destruction in Washington D.C. Rodan even saved Ghidorah fom Mothra during the final battle in Boston as Mothra was attacking Ghidorah.
Godzilla[]
Despite Rodan served Ghidorah in the final battle, Rodan and Godzilla never directly attack each other. After Godzilla killed Ghidorah, Rodan arrives and was going to fight Godzilla. However, Godzilla glares at Rodan in which he was forced to bow down to Godzilla, now seeing him as the new Alpha Titan. Godzilla forgives Rodan in which Rodan now serves as Godzilla's loyal subordinate.
Mothra[]
Rodan and Mothra are hostile towards each other. Rodan attacks Mothra during the final battle and the two engage in a fight. Rodan severely injures Mothra and nearly kills her, but Mothra incapacitates him with her stinger. It's unknown if Mothra simply stabbed him in the chest, just to try and kill him or if she stabbed him right in the shoulder and not the heart because she didn't want to kill him. Regardless, Mothra stinging Rodan does not kill him even though Mothra does not try to kill Rodan after he falls on the ground while she goes over to Godzilla to support him.
Trivia[]
- This is the first incarnation of Rodan to appear in an American-made film.
- The MonsterVerse Rodan is somewhat smaller than his previous incarnations. However, the height of this incarnation may be a matter of posture whether or not to be forward‐bent.
- This Rodan is the first of his incarnations with a wider wingspan than that of Mothra within the same continuity.
- Rodan is the second villain in MonsterVerse to be redeemed, followed by Emma Russell.
- Much like the MonsterVerse King Ghidorah, the MonsterVerse Rodan is the first incarnation of the character capable of taking on a quadrupedal stance by using his wings as forelimbs.
- Originally, Rodan was going to team up with Godzilla and Mothra to defeat King Ghidorah.
External Links[]
- Rodan on the Villains Wiki
- Rodan on the Godzilla Wiki
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