Has the Monsterverse Just Introduced a Titan More Powerful than Godzilla & Kong?

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2 has already unleashed a terrifying new Titan on the world. Monarch‘s first season centered on its own cast, exploring the history of the organization and the complicated relationships between the Monsterverse show’s stars. But the second season is clearly very different, because now the emphasis lies on the Titans themselves. We’re three years out from G-Day, two years after Monarch stepped out of the shadows, and the whole world now knows how high the stakes are.

The end of Monarch Season 2’s premiere saw the show’s heroes accidentally release a monstrous new Titan from the Axis Mundi. Flashbacks to 1957 revealed this Titan had on Earth before, worshiped as the “God of the Sea” by tribes in Chile, but it seems to have left Earth roughly 200 years ago. It’s immediately clear that we’re dealing with some sort of alpha predator, a monster that will wreak havoc now it’s swum away Kong’s home of Skull Island. It’s known as “Titan X” – but how does its power compare to Godzilla and Kong?

What Exactly Is Titan X?

Monarch Season 2’s Titan X is something of a gamble for the show, and the cast have stressed that they’re introducing a new rival for Godzilla and Kong. As Joe Tippett (who plays Tim) told ScreenRant:

“We’re introducing a new monster. For something like this, that’s a gamble. Either people are gonna love it, or they’re gonna kill us. But I think people are gonna love this monster, and I’m excited for everyone to get to see it. And then maybe we’ll be talking about, “Is it Kong, is it Godzilla, or is there a new King or Queen [Titan]?”

We don’t know much about Titan X. The creature is a massive one; it’s generally being described as aquatic, but it’s actually clearly amphibious, capable of existing on both the land and in the sea. That said, the sea is its chosen domain, and the Monarch Season 2 trailers have shown it using its massive tentacles to tear ships apart and drag them beneath the waves. We don’t really get a good look at Titan X in the first episode, which does make sense given it will surely be revealed going forward. We see a lot more of the mysterious “Scarabs,” dangerous Face-Hugger-like creatures that seem to be associated with it.

Titan X largely corresponds with legends of the Kraken, the mythical sea creature that dragged ships down to a watery grave using its sweeping tentacles. Those legends were particularly common from the 1600s through to the 1700s, exactly when Titan X apparently left. The Kraken was often associated with shoals of fish, perhaps inspired by the remora (“suckerfish”) that hitchhike to some species of shark. In some legends, the Kraken would settle in place long enough to be mistaken for an island, only to suddenly submerge; Monarch‘s title sequence includes a newspaper clipping referencing a disappearing island in the Pacific.

Perhaps the most interesting detail about the Kraken, though, is that it often submerged in a powerful and destructive whirlpool. This could easily correspond with the tunnels the Titans create to travel to the Axis Mundi, powerful vortices that would be particularly devastating if a ship were caught in one. We don’t know for sure whether Titan X is the Monsterverse’s version of the Kraken, but it certainly seems plausible.

How Powerful Is Titan X Compared To Godzilla & Kong?

Joe Tippett’s quote tells us we’re supposed to consider Titan X as a potential rival to Godzilla and Kong, meaning we’re dealing with one of the most powerful creatures in the Monsterverse. As an amphibian, Titan X has an immediate advantage over Godzilla in that it can make the most of the sea; we already saw that Godzilla has the same edge when he fought Kong on an aircraft carrier. The Kraken would have taken a different strategy to Godzilla, dragging said aircraft carrier underwater and then trying to drown Kong – a strategy that may well have worked.

It’s less clear how a fight between Titan X and Godzilla would go. Both are able to survive in water, removing Titan X’s greatest advantage, but it would still be a terrible challenge because of those tentacles; it could easily throttle Godzilla, keeping his atomic fire directed away from itself. Monarch Season 2’s title sequence teases that Godzilla and Kong will actually need to team up against it, which suggests it will indeed be able to outfight Godzilla.

We also have to factor in those disturbing Scarabs. It’s true that they add a human dimension to this story, because they can threaten the human stars in thrilling Alien-esque action scenes. But it’s entirely possible they have a symbiotic relationship with Titan X, giving it more advantages in battle against fellow kaiju. We’ll have to wait and see, but for now, it really does look as though Monarch Season 2 has introduced something that could actually take on both Godzilla and Kong.

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