Godzilla’s Terrifying New Rival Officially Has a Name, Debunking Every Monsterverse Theory At Once

We’ve officially gotten our best look yet at the Monsterverse’s new Titan in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode 3. The Monsterverse continues to expand, dominating streaming charts with two hits at a time when other franchises are stumbling. The focus lies on Godzilla’s new Monsterverse rival, a mysterious amphibian creature that’s been unleashed on Earth and is making its way across the Earth’s oceans. Monarch and Apex are (sort of) working together to track the creature, but it’s unclear what they plan to do if they manage to lead it into the open sea.

Known as Titan X, the creature is largely a mystery right now. That said, more has been revealed through a series of flashbacks all the way back to 1957, in which Keiko and Lee somehow managed to survive an encounter with Titan X. Along the way, though, they’ve also learned something else; Titan X’s true name.

Titan X is Officially Called Co’cai

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2, episode 3 reveals that the Chilean natives who worshiped Titan X called it “Co’cai.” The name doesn’t really appear to have any linguistic roots, whether in Spanish or any other language used in South America. It’s possible there’s a link to the word “coco,” used in colloquial speech to refer to the human head or skull, which would be fitting for a creature unleashed on Skull Island that has a massive skull-shape. There’s actually a real-world legend of a creature called the Coco, a ghost-like monster that’s basically a version of the bogeyman.

What’s most significant about this name, though, is the fact that it dismisses pretty much every Monsterverse theory about Titan X. There’s been intense speculation that it could be linked to Biollante, a kaiju hailing from the 1989 movie Godzilla vs. Biollante, and there are indeed some visual elements that are reminiscent of this lesser-known monster; but those are likely just ways the established designs have influenced the modern Monsterverse. The name Co’cai has absolutely no history in Godzilla or Kong lore, meaning we’re dealing with a brand new creature.

That’s actually quite a smart move from Monarch‘s creative team. The Monsterverse’s Titans have often been creatures with deep history and lore attached, meaning old-school fans have something of an advantage when it comes to understanding what’s going on. Monarch has abandoned that approach, instead giving us a story in which viewers learn about the new Titan at pretty much the same rate as the heroes (although Keiko and Lee have an edge, having encountered Co’cai back in 1957). That makes Monarch Season 2 even more exciting.

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