2 Offscreen Monsterverse Battles Change The Way You See Godzilla's Fights In GxK

Warning: Spoilers for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Summary Godzilla's offscreen adventures in the Monsterverse reveal hidden depths to his character and motivations in Godzilla x Kong.

Godzilla's decision to kill Scylla and confront Tiamat highlights his role as the alpha Titan and his willingness to protect the world.

The rivalry between Godzilla and Tiamat, as well as their shared history, adds complexity to their dynamic in Godzilla x Kong.

Godzilla's offscreen activities in the Monsterverse offer a new perspective on his story in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. While Kong was busy exploring the Monsterverse's Hollow Earth world and getting acquainted with his fellow Great Apes, Godzilla had his own journey on the surface. Following separate fights with two of the Titans of the Monsterverse, Godzilla was able to unlock a powerful new upgrade, setting him up his role in the showdown against Shimo and Skar King in Godzilla x Kong's ending.

Though Godzilla was key to the final battle, his screen time in the movie (compared to Kong) has led to criticism of the film's handling of the King of the Monsters. In addition to being utilized as more of a supporting character than a co-star, there's the notion that only Kong was treated as a hero. Godzilla, on the other hand, was presented as a single-minded killing machine, ruthlessly hunting down and executing two Titans and making an immediate attack on Kong in Egypt and. But when viewed in the wider context of the Monsterverse, Godzilla's actions paint a different picture.

Godzilla Already Stopped Scylla From Destroying A City Once

Godzilla already put a stop to one of Scylla's rampages

Close

In his first scene, Godzilla is seen killing Scylla, one of his own minions in the Monsterverse. Godzilla appeared to earn Scylla's allegiance when he killed Ghidorah at the end of Godzilla: King of the Monsters. But as confirmed by Godzilla: Dominion, Godzilla and Scylla were hardly allies. In the graphic novel, Godzilla confronted Scylla in Georgia when the creature's hunger for a nuclear submarine put the surface in danger. Scylla reacted to Godzilla's presence by challenging him, resulting in Godzilla acquiring an easy win. But rather than kill Scylla, Godzilla allowed her to escape.

Serving as a graphic novel prequel to Godzilla vs Kong, Godzilla: Dominion took place three years before the movie and two years after King of the Monsters.

What happened between Godzilla and Scylla in Dominion sheds light on his decision to kill her in Godzilla x Kong. What Scylla's attack on Rome demonstrates is that she didn't respect Godzilla's rule as the alpha of the Titans. From the looks of things, Scylla continued to do as she pleased, regardless of Godzilla's opposition to her attacks on the surface. He tried to rein her in during the events of Dominion, and effectively gave her a second chance at the end of the fight by letting her leave. It would seem, though, that Godzilla had run out of patience with Scylla when she made a second attack on the surface in Godzilla x Kong.

Godzilla may not have wanted to kill one of his minions, but Scylla's inability to stay in line made decisive action against her necessary. His handling of the situation says a lot about Godzilla's approach to being the alpha. Based on the fate met by Scylla in Godzilla x Kong, it's safe to say that Godzilla will try to keep the Monsterverse's Titans from causing trouble, but is willing to kill them if they can't be controlled.

Tiamat Appears To Be Another Rival To Godzilla

As his relationship with Kong shows, Godzilla is always quick to attack his rivals

While it's certainly true that the threat Scylla posed to the people of Rome provoked an attack from Godzilla, the same can't be said of the other Titan pursued by the alpha in the movie. In stark contrast to Scylla, Tiamat was resting in her underwater lair in the Arctic Ocean, not bringing harm to anyone. That's indicative of Godzilla being the instigator in this case, but similar to the fight with Scylla, there's a hidden backstory behind this encounter as well. It's known from Dominion that Godzilla and Tiamat are enemies in the Monsterverse.

Godzilla and Tiamat's brief battle in Godzilla x Kong was a rematch of their fight in Dominion, which was also won by Godzilla. The difference between the two fights is that the battle in Dominion was surprisingly heated. Godzilla struggled with Tiamat in the water and only gained the edge when he was able to move the fight onto land. Judging by how formidable she was, it's likely that Godzilla considered Tiamat a rival for his alpha status. Reinforcing the idea is the presence of a Kong skull in Tiamat's lair. What this implies is that Tiamat once killed a member of Kong's species, further proving her threat level in the Monsterverse.

The Kong that Tiamat apparently killed in the Monsterverse's ancient history was revealed in the comic to be another old enemy of Godzilla's. Looking at these connections, not to mention the lifespans of the Titans, there's a good chance that Godzilla and Tiamat have a long and complicated history that could go well beyond Dominion. Needing Tiamat's power for his transformation may have his primary motivation for seeking out the creature in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, but their pre-existing enmity could also account for Godzilla's willingness to put an end to the Titan's life.