Rodan Is Still Alive In The MonsterVerse: Where Was He In Godzilla vs Kong?

The Godzilla vs. Kong opening credits may have given the impression that Rodan is dead, but the King of the Skies is still alive in Legendary’s MonsterVerse. Despite surviving Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Rodan, Methuselah, Behemoth, Scylla, and the third MUTO, were lumped in with the MonsterVerse’s deceased Titans in the intro, as all of the creatures were labeled as “Defeated”.

Rodan, one of the three Toho kaiju to become a MonsterVerse Titan in King of the Monsters, was the only member of the trio to live through the big fight in Boston. The scene of Rodan bowing down to Godzilla opened the door for him to return as a minion to the new alpha, but Godzilla vs. Kong passed on an opportunity to bring him back. Though King of the Monsters ended with over a dozen Titans awake and active on Earth, Rodan and the others played no role in Godzilla’s battle with Kong, nor were they mentioned at any point in the story.

Outside of the credits, Rodan wasn’t referenced, but he was namedropped a few times in the Godzilla vs. Kong novelization. As noted in the graphic novel prequel to the movie, Godzilla: Dominion, Godzilla was patrolling the planet and checking on the Titans during the five-year gap between the two MonsterVerse installments. According to the novelization, Godzilla paid a visit to Rodan at Fiji, the place where the Titan is said to have eventually “ended up”. Based on this line, it appears that Fiji is Rodan’s current location in the MonsterVerse.

Rodan taking roost in a volcano at Fiji was already revealed by the newspaper clippings in the King of the Monsters credits, but this confirms that his stay wasn’t a short-lived one. Apparently, he’s still there. That makes sense, especially when considering how Dominion ended. After checking up on all the Titans, Godzilla called all the Titans back into hibernation because too much chaos had been caused from them all being awake at once, plus the time had come for him to take a rest. So even if Rodan wasn’t already asleep in the volcano, he would have been by the time Godzilla’s fight with Kong rolled around.

It’s likely thatGodzilla vs. Kong listed Rodan as “Defeated” because the word is being used as a blanket term for all Titans who have been removed from contention for the title of alpha. Rodan didn’t die, but he did submit to Godzilla, which is why he falls under that distinction. But while the Titan isn’t regarded as a threat to Godzilla’s alpha status, he can still be relevant to the MonsterVerse’s future. If another movie ever happens, Godzilla can wake up Rodan and call on his aid. Such a move would allow the MonsterVerse to do  its own version of Toho’s popular kaiju team-up from the Showa series.

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