Warning: Spoilers for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

Summary

• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters reveals the military's secret attack on Godzilla in the 1950s, providing clarity on his origins and the government's knowledge of his existence.
• The military discovered Godzilla's presence through the detection of anomalous radiation trails and used a large mass of plutonium as bait to lure him into a trap.
• The military believed Godzilla had been killed by a nuclear explosion, leading to the assumption that he returned to the ocean peacefully. However, Godzilla's eventual resurfacing and Monarch's involvement in tracking and studying Titans remains unexplored.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has provided some long-awaited clarity on what really transpired during the nuclear tests used against Godzilla in 1954. In the 2014 Godzilla movie that launched Legendary's Monsterverse, it was established that the military had been secretly aware of Godzilla's existence for several decades. The American government made an attempt on Godzilla's life in 1954, 60 years before the rest of humanity even knew he existed.

In a sense, the big reveal that Godzilla was attacked by the military in the 1950s was a homage to his origins. Godzilla's first movie released in theaters in 1954. As a result, several Godzilla adaptations have made 1954 the starting point of his story. The Monsterverse stayed true to this idea by discussing the military's history with him and making 1954 the year when modern civilization had their first encounter with him. For the most part, though, this event had just been something that was known to have happened, rather than an event that took place onscreen. That changed when Apple TV+'s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters series decided to offer a story set on the day of the nuclear tests in question.

The Miltary's Discovery Of Godzilla Explained

2014's Godzilla briefly touched on what set the miltary's attack on Godzilla in motion. According to Dr. Serizawa, Godzilla was woken up by a nuclear submarine patrolling the depths of the ocean. It would seem that the radiation given off by the submarine is what got Godzilla's attention. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters elaborated on what came next by showing exactly how Godzilla wound up on their radar. In 1952, scientist Dr. Keiko Miura, Army colonel Lee Shaw, and William Randa came across a dragon Titan in the Philippines. Acting as an early incarnation of Monarch, the three continued hunting monsters together, which set the stage for them to come across traces of Godzilla two years later.

The opening scene in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode 3 revealed that in 1954, Godzilla traveled to Indonesia. His presence there was revealed by the discovery of an impression of his foot in the mud. It was found and photographed by the three aforementioned characters, who recreated it for a presentation to a group of military officials, led by General Puckett. Thanks to the evidence they had uncovered, they were able to get the of the American government in exposing the creature. General Puckett reached out to his superiors and received the go-ahead on a plan to handle Godzilla.

The Military Lured Godzilla Into A Trap In 1954

In addition to shedding light on how the military discovered Godzilla, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters also answered another question from the 2014 movie. The backstory given to the 1954 incident didn't for how the military was able to target him in the first place. In the episode, Keiko said that she had detected "anomalous radiation trails in the atmosphere." It was deduced that these radiation trails were linked to the movement of the monsters. This is what led to the realization that Titans feed on radiation. The scientists claimed that a large mass of plutonium could be used to lure Godzilla out, and in turn, gave the military a working method of getting Godzilla to fall into their trap.

As it turns out, Monarch and the military weren't on the same page in of their intentions towards Godzilla. Whereas the Monarch scientists wanted to lay eyes on Godzilla for scientific purposes, the military was more interested in eliminating him. Although he had yet to do anything to provoke them, the government elected to kill him as a preemptive measure and chose to use their plutonium as bait.

The Military Used Multiple Nuclear "Tests" Against Godzilla

The 2014 Godzilla reboot notably applied a real-life event to explain the military's efforts to kill Godzilla. In 1954, the military conducted a nuclear test now known as Castle Bravo at Bikini Atoll. It was part of a series of tests. But in the world of the Monsterverse, the perception that it was a "test" was a lie designed to conceal its true purpose: killing Godzilla. The execution of the Castle Bravo operation occurred in episode 3, which showed a nuclear bomb go off in Godzilla's face. The scene ended with the humans still on the beach, leaving what happened next open to speculation.

It's worth noting that in the 2014 movie, Vivienne Graham specifically mentioned "all those nuclear tests," implying that multiple bombs were dropped on Godzilla. What this implies is that Monarch: Legacy of Monsters only showed a fraction of the attack against Godzilla. It could be that in the immediate aftermath of the Castle Bravo operation, Godzilla was shown to still be standing, which prompted the military to launch several bombs in succession. Alternatively, it's possible that the Monsterverse has retconned the 1954 incident into just one nuclear test, as opposed to a series of them.

The Military Assumed Godzilla Died In The Nuclear Explosion

The idea that the military tried to kill Godzilla raised questions about the consequences of their actions. The 2014 movie didn't address this, but judging by the events that took place in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode 3 there were no direct repercussions. A follow-up scene with Keiko, Randa, and Shaw confirmed that Godzilla was presumed dead after the encounter. In spite of their hostile response to his arrival, Godzilla didn't retaliate against the humans. Since the military and Monarch were under the impression that Godzilla died at Bikini Atoll, it stands to reason that he submerged back into the ocean and swam away peacefully.

Godzilla leaving without striking out against his attackers would explain why no further attacks against him are known to have happened after 1954. How and when the military and Monarch figured out they were wrong about his death remains unclear for now. Clearly, much of Godzillla and Monarch's history has yet to be fully explored in the Monsterverse. Perhaps the only silver lining related to the Castle Bravo test in 1954 is that it paved the way for the government to fund Monarch, helping them to discover more Monsterverse Titans in the years that followed.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters releases new episodes on Fridays on Apple TV+.