Aug 25, 2020 4:58 am
THE MONARCH OF MONSTERS
Daitatsu, the Great Dragon, first made landfall on Ogasawara in 1957. She's one of the last remaining "first generation" kaiju - the earliest and meanest monsters to rise in the mid 20th century. The prehistoric remnant is infamous for her repeated attacks on Japan, as well as her impressive atomic powers and appetite for radiation. Nuclear fires churn inside the monster's body like a reactor, giving her a pulsing glow that can be seen from miles away at night. Daitatsu's size and durability are only matched by her unbridled rage, which she takes out on anything unfortunate enough to be in her path. More than one city has been evacuated and leveled during her various rampages.
At one time or another, Daitatsu has challenged and battled most of the other kaiju on the planet, and she currently remains undefeated. As one of the largest kaiju on Earth, the Great Dragon doesn't hesitate to assert dominance over her fellow giants, earning her the title "Monarch of Monsters." The KTF only succeeded in getting Daitatsu to the sanctuary by luring her with a tasty nuclear submarine, and the monster's presence had an immediate impact in pacifying much of the infighting between the kaiju. Still, the immense creature was effectively able to come and go from Monster Island as she pleased, with the KTF being able to do little to stop her.
In recent years, Daitatsu has notably receded from conflicts with both humans and other kaiju, retreating to the depths of Monster Island. It was later discovered that the Monarch of Monsters had laid an egg and was in the process of nurturing it. Even more surprising, a number of surrounding kaiju in the sanctuary have become protective of Daitatsu's territory, as though helping to protect her spawn. This has proven to kaijuologists the pack-oriented nature of many kaiju superspecies. Until the egg has hatched and the hatchling is strong enough to defend itself, the Monarch of Monsters seems to be staying uninvolved in current events, including the Protostomion Invasion.
THE APE WONDER OF THE WORLD
When originally spotted in 1973, Emperor Wukong was assumed to be an unusually large gorilla. An expedition first discovered him in the Wu Mountains of China, and they named the elusive creature in honor of Sun Wukong, the famous Monkey King of the Chinese classic Journey to the West. Wukong was later reclassified as a living fossil of the newly discovered Gigantopithecus blacki genus of apes. Decades would pass before the Chinese government realized he was actually a juvenile superspecies kaiju. Finally captured in 1982, the near-adult Wukong was transported to Japan where he escaped and battled other kaiju such as Daitatsu and Senshuseki. Bested by the more powerful kaiju, Emperor Wukong was eventually seized and detained for the next seven years in a joint U.S.-Japanese holding facility. Given the primate's high intelligence and ability to use tools, he managed to escape from the facility several times, though he was always recaptured by the KTF.
The Japanese made attempts to train Emperor Wukong, and while these efforts were unsuccessful, the kaiju did manage to learn some sign language for communication. When Monster Island was finally established, the giant ape was one of the first kaiju relocated to the sanctuary.
THE FIRE THAT LIGHTS THE SKIES
Rising from the volcanic Mt. Semeru in Indonesia, the Living God called Suzaku is the first kaiju named after the Four Guardian Beasts of Asian astrology. Because the embers from her feathers both healed the sick and lit ground-clearing forest fires, Suzaku was inducted into the local Hindu shrines as an incarnation of the fire goddess Agneya, a manifestation of the beneficence and danger of nature.
Suzaku emerged from her volcano time and again to calm Daitatsu in her rages or battle malevolent kaiju. Despite the eruptions that accompanied her appearances, the citizens of the surrounding communities formally protested her relocation to the U.N. Kaiju Sanctuary. The kaiju went peacefully, however, somehow sensing what was best for all.
Whether literally a goddess or not, Suzaku nevertheless enjoys the respect of humanity. People trust the benevolent scarlet firebird more than any other kaiju. New Age religions embrace her as a symbol of peace and transformation — though some new religions see her flames as heralding the apocalypse.
THE ENGINE OF DESTRUCTION
Since the coming of the kaiju, disturbing archaeological discoveries indicate some of these creatures are the results of deliberate engineering by pre-human civilizations — and that they left behind the instructions to make more.
In 1987, a reptilian kaiju named Byakko rampaged across the Korean peninsula. The beast worked its way through South Korea and across the Demilitarized Zone into North Korea, where it was eventually vanquished by the joint efforts of the North Korean military, the Chinese military, and KTF mecha. The North Koreans claimed the corpse and transported it to a secluded military compound. After a decade of research and development, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was able to resurrect Byakko as the metal-skinned bioweapon renamed "Mecha-Byakko."
The world was shocked. Only a few nations had the knowledge and technology to build kaiju, and North Korea had never been one of them. It was suspected that China or Russia secretly assisted the NK regime to create its cyborg monster, helping them crack the code left behind by ancient archaeological relics. The idea of a rogue state having the capability to build its own kaiju was extremely concerning to the U.N. Security Council.
Fortunately, the North Koreans never had a chance to use their new weapon to further any military ambitions. The cyborg’s time was consumed fighting Daitatsu and a number of other kaiju during the 1990s. In fact, it was instrumental in keeping the Korean Peninsula free from further kaiju attacks. By the 2000s, however, the bioweapon's organic brain apparently repaired itself and began to resist its programming. The beast used its claws to dig out the subdermal control device implanted at the base of its neck, and then proceeded to go on a rampage. The kaiju's first stop was Pyongyang, and it left the capital city of North Korea a smoking ruin.
Since then, Mecha-Byakko's instincts and personality have fully returned, and the creature can no longer be controlled by humans. It is a cunning and predatory kaiju, armed with integrated weaponry powered by a fusion battery inside its chest. To repair its cybernetic components, the kaiju eats metal and other inorganic materials. After sustaining damage from a battle, it's not uncommon for the beast to seek out urban centers or industrial areas in order to feast. The KTF has been unable to capture the monster, since its technological enhancements render it incredibly durable and immune to most forms of incapacitation.
DEFENDER OF THE NATURAL WORLD
Released from the Siberian permafrost by Soviet nuclear testing in 1965, Rakkan attacked military and petroleum sites in and around the North Pacific for several months. After its initial assaults, it stopped and swam to Australia, making its home on a beach and taking little interest in the surrounding humans and their communities. Later on, the massive, four-legged kaiju surprised everyone by defending the City of Sydney from an attack by Kobaseijin. Since then, Rakkan has continued to defend other human cities from the attacks of various kaiju, as well as marking polluters for destruction.
Kaijuologists have theorized over what motivates the kaiju’s behavior. Is the creature actually trying to protect humans out of a sense of moral obligation, or does it just appear that way? Maybe he is simply worried that other kaiju will wreak environmental devastation if they continue to attack humanity?
Comparatively speaking, Rakkan is fairly unaggressive. He tends to leave humans alone, unless they are perpetrating an environmentally destructive activity. The giant seems hypersensitive to ecological damage, and immediately takes action to neutralize the source of the pollution. He doesn't go on a rampage, but rather, his attacks appear to be calculated and targeted. Rakkan's ability to consume contaminants leads many to believe that he was prehistorically engineered as some kind of environmental protector. Several New Age movements and eco-groups view the kaiju as an incarnation of Mother Nature.
