Characters / MonsterVerse - Rodan

Main Character IndexKaijuGodzilla | King Ghidorah | King Kong | Mechagodzilla | Mothra | Rodan | MUTO | Skull Island Kaiju & Other Creatures
Humans Families (Russell Family) | Monarch (Dr. Ishirō Serizawa) | U.S. Government & Military | Skull Island Expeditions | Eco-Terrorists | Apex Cybernetics

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Rodan

"For the Beast that comes up out of the Abyss will make war with them, and overcome them… and kill them."

Portrayed By: Jason Liles (Motion Capture)

Appears In: Kong: Skull Island (cameo) | Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Species: Giant flying reptile | "Titanus Rodan"

A massive, aerial kaiju resembling a mix of a bird and a Pteranodon, found by Monarch hibernating inside the vent of the volcano El Nido del Demonio (translates to "The Demon's Nest") in the Mexican island of Isla de Mara. Local legends refer to him as a demon of fire, and his common name is recorded in the temples of volcanically active regions. He possesses a magma-based internal combustion system coupled with geothermal armor that enables him to survive the super-high temperatures of his magma-filled resting place, whilst his vast wingspan is enough to create sonic thunderclaps that could level entire cities if he ever takes flight.

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A-E

• Adaptational Badass: Unlike the clumsy Rodan of old who perished within the caldera of an active volcano, this incarnation of Rodan is not only larger and more powerful but is partially composed of magma. While he's lost some of his fantastic top speed, Rodan is far more agile and graceful in flight, easily destroying an entire squadron of jet fighters without suffering a scratch. This Rodan destroys a city by flying over it, turning buildings to rubble and flinging vehicles and people high into the air — previous versions, while capable of this same tactic, were never shown to have caused nearly so much devastation without aid from allied kaiju or another of his species. He also fares better in combat than the Heisei era Rodan ^note whom despite being far weaker, he was still able put up a strong resistance against the Heisei Era Godzilla and MechaGodzilla, who are considered to be the strongest versions of the characters at the time before going down and especially the Millennium Rodan by a large margin.
• Adaptational Jerkass: Zig-Zagged between this and Adaptational Villainy. While Rodan was the villain of his debut film, he was subject to a bit of Characterization Marches On thereafter. Some versions of the character were displayed as either Godzilla's next best friend after Anguirus or an adoptive brother, and thusly relatively harmless towards humans — Rodan also despised King Ghidorah's evil in the Showa films and actively helped to beat him numerous times. The MonsterVerse Rodan, by contrast, is shown to be excessively aggressive and territorial (actively slaughtering Monarch's Gold Squadron in retaliation for shooting at him directly atop his volcanic home, even though they couldn't do any harm to him); and whilst he initially opposes Ghidorah out of the same territorialism, once Ghidorah becomes the reigning Alpha, Rodan promptly becomes his figurative and literal wingman against Godzilla, Mothra and humanity (notably, Rodan continues sticking by and serving Ghidorah even after the ORCA signal disrupts his control of the other Titans, though it's ambiguous whether this is just malice, or if it's because Rodan is still under mind control due to being in much closer proximity to Ghidorah than the other Titans are). Although Rodan is the first Titan to bow to Godzilla upon the latter's victory over Ghidorah, he only does so after seemingly trying to challenge Godzilla himself and receiving a threatening snort in response. The Creative Closing Credits indicate Rodan, whose new nest north of Fiji has become a tourist attraction, is now a lot more benign with Godzilla in charge — that being said, in the Godzilla vs. Kong novelization he's remembered as one of the more malevolent Titans. MonsterVerse Rodan is also more pragmatic than he was in previous outings, and not the Determinator he used to be.
• Adaptation Amalgamation: He's scaled like the Heisei Rodan in overall size (though far, far heavier), along with the fire powers of Fire Rodan, though subbing out the far more powerful Uranium Heat Beam for the slightly weaker ability to burn opponents via simply touching them. Rodan also lives in a volcano just like the original Showa Rodans (unlike the Showa era Rodan who was easily killed via Mt Aso's forceful eruption from the JSDF, this one is immune and gains powers from volcanoes). Aso, and his face is modelled closer to the Final Wars (Millennium) Rodan, as are his clawed wing fingers.
• Adaptation Species Change: Previous incarnations always depicted Rodan as some variation of a Pteranodon. Here, he is hinted to predate not only the Pteranodon genus but the entire pterosaur order.
• Adaptational Wimp: Despite being the most powerful version of the character by far much like his Showa counterpart, this Rodan has one of the worst showings against other monsters (with only his Millennium counterpart coming close), barely lasting thirty seconds against Ghidorah and later getting one shot by Mothra, despite weakening her. For comparison, the first time the original versions encounter each other, Rodan slamming into Ghidorah knocks them both out of the sky.
• Age Lift: Judging by The Stinger of Kong: Skull Island, Rodan is a lot older than his Toho counterparts.
• Alien Blood: When Mothra stabs him with her stinger, magma can be seen oozing out of his sternum. Special features on the King of the Monsters Blu-Ray confirm that Rodan has literal magma for blood as one of the physical adaptations that allow him to survive while sleeping inside an active volcano.
• All Flyers Are Birds: Subverted. Monarch has an ancient artistic impression of him◊ that depicts him with feathers and a distinctly birdlike tail; however, despite having some birdlike features (for instance, a very eagle-like head and raptorial talons, neither of which are features of any known pterosaur) and a distinctly bird-like call, he lacks any plumage and has some reptilian qualities, including leathery hide and teeth. The characters call him bird-like nicknames for simplicity's sake.
• All Myths Are True: Implied. Besides existing in Isla de Mara's local legends, Master Sergeant Nez thinks when she sees a video feed of Rodan that he's the Rock Monster Eagle, Tsé nináhálééh of Navajo lore.
• Always a Bigger Fish: After decimating Monarch's Air Force squadron, he gets quickly overwhelmed by Ghidorah. Notably, he runs (well, flies) into Ghidorah when he's seconds away from taking out the Argo and most of the film's human cast.
• Appease the Volcano God: Implied on the Monarch website; when traces of human blood are found in a cave painting of Rodan, Dr. Chen posits this as a possible reason for it.
• Armor Is Useless: Downplayed. His thick volcanic encrusted layer of armor that covers the entirety of his body gives him a major durability factor, as missiles from fighter jets leave behind no scratches on him, and even taking one of Ghidorah's Gravity Beams point-blank doesn't cause him any lasting damage. That being said, at the tail end of Rodan's clash with Mothra, he visibly staggers back a considerable distance when he's swiped by one of her bladed forelimbs, and a single well-placed, well-timed strike of Mothra's stinger (which is notably resilient enough to stand Rodan's internal magma) outright impales Rodan's shoulder.
• Badass Normal: Downplayed. Comparatively speaking, Rodan can at least put up a bit of a fight with King Ghidorah and nearly beat Mothra, but he's the only one of the four main kaiju in the film to not be an Alpha Titan or own any sort of kaiju superpower.
• Beak Attack: Rodan's serrated beak can crush fighter jets effortlessly, and he tries to snap Mothra's head off with it in Boston.
• Berserk Button: Firing a bunch of missiles at Rodan in his territory is more than enough to get him riled up, leading him to relentlessly massacre Monarch's Gold Squadron and pursue the Argo in retribution. He only stops once Ghidorah takes his notice.
• Big Entrance: When he awakens, his emergence from his volcano causes an eruption that is visible for miles and sends a shockwave over the island's surrounding waters.
• Bizarre Alien Biology: Downplayed in comparison with Ghidorah, but his biology is still weird for a native Titan. Due to his bio-volcanic nature, he is not as organic as other titans, having magma for blood and rock-like scales. In his Monarch cryptid profile, is theorized that his vulcanized appearance is actually the result of natural evolution, helping him to camouflage against mountains or large rock formations.
• Breath Weapon: Some of the cave paintings seem to depict him firing a beam from his mouth. In the film proper, he does not — although he appears to spit fireballs from his mouth in one camera shot in the Washington D.C. scene, Word of God confirmed that's just an optical illusion from seeing him and the flame plumes from afar.
• Brutal Bird of Prey: His design is mostly based on birds of prey, and he's shown to be one of the most aggressive and destructive kaiju.
• Composite Character: On top of being an Adaptation Amalgamation of previous Rodan incarnations, this version adapts and combines some traits from a couple other kaiju characters:
  • His role in his debut as Ghidorah's dragon (no pun intended) who battles Godzilla's own sidekick (Mothra) brings to mind Gigan, Ghidorah's old sidekick in the Toho movies Godzilla vs. Gigan and Godzilla: Final Wars.
  • Rodan's presence as a giant prehistoric flying fiery creature in Mexico brings to mind the animated version of Quetzacoatl that appeared in Godzilla: The Series, which was itself based on the original Rodan.
  • His rocky-skinned, bio-magmatic physiology, his origin story of having attained it via dwelling long-term underneath the Earth's crust, his hostile personality, and his emergence from a volcano all bring to mind Obsidius from Godzilla Unleashed. Even Rodan severely weakening Mothra via smothering her with his body calls to mind Obsidius' ability to drain enemy kaiju's life as he grapples them, although in Rodan's case it's a logical effect due to his magma-hot body burning his enemy alive rather than a literal life drain.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: To Hokmuto. Both are secondary aerial antagonists, but while Hokmuto was forming a Battle Couple with Femuto, Rodan was beaten into submission by Ghidorah and became its Dragon. Hokmuto is insectoid creature with mammalian characteristics, while Rodan is a Terror-dactyl resembling birds of prey more than pterosaurs. Hokmuto is never shown as sadistic and is merely following his natural instincts of continuing his species, while Rodan is a vicious Blood Knight who's clearly enjoying himself more than he needs to while defending his territory against Monarch's jets.
• Creepy High-Pitched Voice: He has a shrill, grating, scream-like roar, and he's one of the more hostile Titans who becomes Ghidorah's vanguard. Listen here.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: He ends up on both sides of one during his introductory scene as he has little trouble taking out the entire squadron of Monarch's fighter jet escort only to then be taken out just as easily himself by Ghidorah.
• Curb Stomp Cushion: While he loses fairly easily to Ghidorah, he still manages to last a couple of minutes in a one-on-one fight with the three-headed Alpha Titan, and he gets some good hits in from what little we see.
• David Versus Goliath: As what King Ghidorah is to Godzilla by literally being his biggest enemy, Rodan becomes the Goliath to Mothra's David where they even have their own flight battle in Boston during the climax of Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019). While he was beginning to overpower Mothra outright by besting her in strength as well as scorching most of her wings, she was able to defeat the fiery pterosaur by jabbing her stinger into Rodan (without even killing him) where he plummets off the building where he previously had her pinned against.
• Death Glare: When one of the Gold Squadron jets flies away from beside his head, Rodan narrows his eyes almost mischievously, before he unleashes the devastating Spectacular Spinning.
• Demon/Devil Distinction: He's nicknamed the Fire Demon, whereas the three-headed, bio-electrical flying hydra who makes a thrall of him is explicitly compared to the Devil. Unlike Ghidorah, Rodan is a baseline Titan of terrestrial origin with a molten-looking appearance who emerges from the earth via a volcano. He has shifty allegiances, and despite his violent personality, he can still be pacified into helping instead of harming the environment if he falls under a more benevolent Alpha Titan's sway.
• Destroyer Deity: He was worshipped in the past as a god of death and destruction.
• Dirty Coward: Averted. Unlike Ghidorah's usual sidekick Gigan, Rodan is no chicken. After terrorizing Monarch's air forces, he initially pulls back upon sensing Ghidorah, but then he doesn't hesitate to charge the three-headed monster despite being outmatched. It's even implied in the movie's final scene that he tries to challenge Godzilla before the latter's stern glare makes him rethink himself and back down.
• The Dragon: No pun intended, with how his master is a literal dragon. After Rodan is defeated by Ghidorah in a fight and after the latter becomes the reigning King of the Monsters with Godzilla gone, whilst the other subordinate Titans do Ghidorah's bidding from afar around the world, Rodan becomes Ghidorah's vanguard. He accompanies Ghidorah to Washington D.C. and Boston, fighting on his behalf and continuing to do so even after the ORCA has disrupted Ghidorah's long-distance control of the other Titans.
• Dragons Are Demonic: Downplayed with Rodan, as he is more pterosaur-like in his appearance, but his name is inspired by Lodan, a dragon from Greek Mythology, and he is known as the Fire Demon. His two Horns of Villainy make him resemble Ghidorah' heads in shape and appearance. In the past, Rodan was known to provoke Volcanic eruptions.
• The Dreaded: Rodan is not called the "Fire Demon" for being a Gentle Giant. The islanders' reaction to the knowledge that the local Titan is about to awaken is completely natural, whilst the novelization notes he's something of a boogeyman among the islanders before his awakening.
• Drunken Boxing: Third Floor supervisor Andrew Honacker compared Rodan's combat style to a "drunk brawler". His aggressive behaviour in the film generally seems to be similar to a drunken fool who wants to start a fight in a bar. Michael Dougherty has furthermore stated in the audio commentary that Rodan will fight anyone big or small.
• Dynamic Entry: He makes his entry at the Boston battle when Mothra is dive-bombing towards Ghidorah, flying under the cover of Ghidorah's hurricane beside her and blindsiding her.
• Early-Bird Cameo: He appears in a cave painting in The Stinger of Kong: Skull Island, setting up his debut in King of the Monsters.
• Easily Forgiven: Rodan is quickly forgiven by Godzilla for joining Ghidorah and badly wounding Mothra which lead to her to pull a Heroic Sacrifice.
• Elemental Armor: Played With. According to Mike Dougherty, Rodan's rocky armor is the result of literally absorbing the volcano's rock and magma into his body as an adaptation.
• Elemental Eye Colors: He has distinct, orangish-yellow eyes, reflecting his elemental association with Fire as a part-magma Titan with a volatile temperament.
• Elemental Personalities: According to Michael Dougherty his representative element is Fire, and he is a Hot-Blooded Terror-dactyl that used to be worshiped as a god of destruction and fire.
• Emerging from the Shadows: His entrance at the Boston battle is marked by Ghidorah's stormclouds glowing red, followed by the fiery streaks from his wings outlining his silhouette a second before he blindsides Mothra and engages her in a duel.
• Evil Counterpart: To Mothra, who backs Godzilla up in the final battle. His Color Motif is red, whereas Mothra's is blue. His element is fire and carries monikers such as the Fire Demon and King of the Skies, while she is associated with Light Is Good and angelic symbolism, and is known as the Queen of the Monsters.
• Evil Is Angular: His head has triangular shape, has a sharp long beak enhancing his psychotic smirks, straight Horns of Villainy, and his wings have sharp edges in comparison to Mothra's rounded butterfly-like wings.
• Evil Is Bigger: He may not be as openly wicked as King Ghidorah, although he does become his personal dragon to provide backup for him. In comparison to the benevolent Mothra, she's visibly seen as the "smallest" of the winged Titans while Rodan, who's still diminutive in size, is way more physically larger and outweighs her by a margin with an even much bigger wingspan to boot.

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• Fearless Fool: Downplayed. He has an extreme reaction to Monarch firing on him above his home, but when he sees Ghidorah, he briefly pulls back, before unhesitatingly engaging the three-headed dragon despite being the underdog. In the aftermath of King Ghidorah's death, Rodan appears to briefly challenge Ghidorah's killer Godzilla, but is quick to back down and submit to his new Alpha after what Godzilla did to Ghidorah.
• Feathered Fiend: A downplayed Monster Bird, and featherless. He's modelled visually after birds of prey as well as pterosaurs, with a lethal, jagged beak, deadly talons and a ferociously territorial temperament.
• Fire Is Masculine: In contrast with the gentle Lady of War Mothra, Rodan is one of the most violent and sadistic Titans out there, being associated by his worshippers with destruction, fire and death.
• Fire Is Red: He stands out in King of the Monsters for his distinct burgundy color and his Hot Wings trailing red lava, and also for his volcanism-based biology and abilities comparative to the other three main Kaiju.
• Fisher King: The island he inhabits has a reddish-orange sky, and his forced awakening triggers a volcanic eruption, hinting at his Hot-Blooded temperament and that he's one of the more destructive and less benevolent Titans.
• Fragile Speedster: Implied. He's quite fast and ferocious, but he notably relies on a limited hit-and-run when he fights Ghidorah, and when fighting Mothra, all it takes is a single impalement from Mothra's stinger to take Rodan out of the fight.
• Furry Reminder: Rodan, who looks partially like a bird, seems to be trying to eat Mothra, who is a giant insect, at the tail end of their fight.
• Giant Flyer: Leathery Winged Avian type. A monstrous-looking Brutal Bird of Prey Kaiju, Rodan is antagonistic throughout his screen time. He attacks and slaughters Monarch's aerial forces with ferocious aggression (albeit only after they've provoked him), and he later becomes King Ghidorah's vanguard.
• Giant Foot of Stomping: He crashes mid-air several fighter jets with his giant talons while chasing after the Raptor squadron.
• Good Wings, Evil Wings: He has pterosaur-like Hot Wings that look shredded at the edges due to his Volcanic Veins: a malevolent and non-comforting image compared to Mothra's wings, but still not as outright evil-looking as Ghidorah's bat-like wings, fitting with Rodan's moral alignment.
• Handy Feet: Appropriate for a humongous avian-like beast to carry objects, such as when he swooped through the air to quickly grapple 2 fighter jets with both of them being caught and squeezed within the grasp of his talons and effortlessly disposes them by flinging them away into the ocean below him.
• Heel–Face Revolving Door: When Rodan first meets Ghidorah, he attacks. After Ghidorah defeats him and (with an unwitting indirect assist from the US military) becomes the new King of the Monsters, Rodan becomes his vanguard, following him even after the ORCA disrupts Ghidorah's more long-distance control over the other Titans. In the end, when Godzilla overthrows the three-headed dragon, Rodan bows to Godzilla as the new Alpha.
• Heel–Face Turn: Slightly downplayed. He's an aggressively territorial Titan who massacres Monarch's aerial forces just after awakening (albeit only after he's been directly provoked atop his home), then goes on to become King Ghidorah's mass-murdering Dragon (no pun intended). When Godzilla kills Ghidorah and becomes the new reigning Alpha, Rodan is the first Titan to bow down to the new King, albeit only after he appears to make an intimidation display which earns him a Death Glare from the Big G.
• Hell Is That Noise: Rodan's cry as he wakes up from his long sleep terrifies the inhabitants of Isla de Mara so much that most of them just froze on the spot.
• Hellfire: A metaphorical case. This bloodred turkey is called the Fire Demon for a reason. His volcanic biology renders him searing-hot and enables his body to produce magma for blood, he emerges from an erupting volcano like a demon emerging from the subterranean mouth of Hell, and he's the Devil's minion during the movie. Rodan's fire is enough to severely cripple the Queen of the Monsters herself, fitting the analogy that Mothra is an angel whereas Rodan is a demon in this movie.
• Horns of Villainy: He has two horn-like spurs curving out of the back of his head. Fewer horns than his master Ghidorah, signifying that Rodan isn't as outright evil as the three-headed dragon but he's still malevolent and antagonistic during the movie.
• Horrifying the Horror: He's a ferocious, territorial Kaiju who is anything but afraid of a fight, yet he has an "Oh, Crap!" moment upon sensing Ghidorah is just ahead of him, implying that even he's afraid of the three-headed dragon. Still, this doesn't stop Rodan from challenging the hydra which is trespassing on his turf.
• Hot-Blooded: Figuratively and literally. He's a Titan with blood comparable to liquid magma, and he's an aggressively territorial and combatively merciless entity. He's easily provoked into attacking you relentlessly, and he won't back down from fighting the likes of Ghidorah if his territory is threatened.
• Hot Wings: With the Hot-Blooded personality to match. His wings are constantly smouldering with molten embers. Furthermore, surrounding a foe with his wings to immolate them is one of his strongest attacks.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: In the climax, he's suddenly stabbed straight through the shoulder and out his back by Mothra's stinger. It's enough to severely injure him and take him out of the battle, although he survives.
• Inertial Impalement: He suffers a non-fatal version when mid-lunge while he's trying to kill Mothra, he ends up impaling his shoulder on her stinger. The wound causes Rodan to freeze up and then collapse, instantly bringing their fight to an end.
• It Can Think: Rodan's expressionism is not far behind that of Ghidorah's heads. Upon waking up, Rodan simply studies the town that has developed next to his volcano while he was asleep in seeming confusion — he only attacks outright when Monarch's Gold Squadron fires on him and his home, and even then he callously ignores the town while emphatically targeting the Gold Squadron and the Argo as his enemies. He clearly and notably makes a smug, devious facial expression just before he performs the aileron roll which devastates his airborne human targets, he has an Oh, Crap! face when he realizes he's just flown into Ghidorah, and he bows to Godzilla as the King of the Monsters only after taking a hint from the larger Titan.
• Jagged Mouth: Type 2 with a hint of Type 1. The "teeth" within his beak look like spiked protrusions jutting out of his jaws, while the previous incarnations were toothy birds, and he's an extremely territorial Titan who's vicious in combat, though he's still more animalistic than the unnaturally- and consciously-malevolent Ghidorah.
• Jerkass: While not evil like Ghidorah, he's not very pleasant to anyone or anything in the film. Whilst he has a legitimate provocation for attacking Monarch's aerial forces at Isla de Mara, he's revelling in slaughtering them when he retaliates. Positioned directly opposite Mothra as Ghidorah's Dragon, Rodan viciously burns Mothra and tries to crush her with his jaws while he's answering to Ghidorah, and the first thing Rodan does after his three-headed master's death is to try challenging Godzilla himself before promptly backing down.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: In the aftermath of Ghidorah's death, he seemingly tries to threaten Godzilla, based on the way he screeches at the latter and spreads his wings as if in an intimidation display. After a very pointed glare from the Big G, Rodan backs down, becoming the first to bow to the reinstated King of the Monsters. A very wise decision on Rodan's part, considering what the giant saurian in front of him just did to Ghidorah and the whole of Boston just a few moments ago.
• Leitmotif: Rodan's theme is a bombastic and heart-pounding song with tribal drums and discordant trumpets, highlighting the chaotic and destructive nature of the Titan.
• Lightning Bruiser: He's been described as an A-bomb with wings, as his flight speed is practically supersonic, eradicating towns from the force of his wings that'll stir up a tidal wave of wind behind him. He also makes a sport out of slaughtering the fighter jets that provoke him into giving pursuit. He's no stranger to physical battles either, lasting roughly two minutes in a one-on-one against the otherworldly powerhouse that is Ghidorah, and single-handedly having Mothra on the ropes to the point of severely injuring her before she takes him down with a well-placed strike.
• Magma Man: In this incarnation, Rodan is a "bio-volcanic" creature. His body can radiate up to 1200°C (as noted in his Monarch Sciences profile), his wings appear to be constantly smoldering magma, and Word of God says that his skin is augmented by an outer layer of volcanic sediment as an adaptation to spending most of his life inside a volcano, acting as armor.
• Milking the Monster: The King of the Monsters Creative Closing Credits state that after he's calmed down under Godzilla's kingship and taken up residence in a new volcano, tourists are flocking to Rodan's new home to see him.
• Mix-and-Match Critters: Just as Mothra is primarily based on a moth but also incorporates some traits from other insects, Rodan is primarily based on a Pteranodon (his wings, in particular, are shaped like those of the traditional depiction of pterosaurs), but his design also incorporates traits from some other animals. He incorporates traits from modern-day birds of prey (such as the shorter, sharper beak and the taloned feet of a modern-day eagle or hawk), he has a semi-detached hand on each wing similar to the detached thumb on a bat's wing, and he has a vestigial-looking toe similar to tyrannosaurids.
• Mirror Character: Unsurprisingly, to his boss, King Ghidorah. Both are reptilian Giant Flyers associated with the Satanic Archetype, Rodan being known as the Fire Demon and Ghidorah as the Devil. They are both sadistic and known to enjoy killing humans. They both were laying dormant in their place of hibernation before getting awoken by Emma Russell and her ORCA dispositive. Rodan is also set up to be the Evil Counterpart to an Alpha Titan associated with Blue Is Heroic; Mothra in his case.
• Mugging the Monster: Monarch provokes him into chasing them with missile fire to draw him away from Isla de Mara after realizing Ghidorah plans to fight him. While it works, Rodan makes them pay dearly for it, fighting off and killing the entire squadron of fighter pilots accompanying the Argo.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Ancient local legends in Mexico call him the "Fire Demon", which Mark sneeringly if accurately notes is not a comforting sign. It turns out Rodan is a highly-aggressive and territorial Magma Man Titan, who destroys an entire town without even trying and slaughters Monarch's Gold Squadron with extreme prejudice once provoked. The "Demon" part becomes all the more appropriate once he becomes the vanguard to Ghidorah (the Devil).
• Near-Villain Victory: During his fight with Mothra, Rodan appears to be winning, evident by Mothra's more apparent injuries. He manages to severely burn Mothra (which leaves her seriously weakened when she confronts Ghidorah again) and pin her to a building and is trying to snap his jaws around Mothra's head before Mothra's stinger takes him down. He probably would have won if Mothra hadn't struck when she did.
• Noble Bird of Prey: Rodan becomes this upon acknowledging Godzilla as the rightful Alpha Titan, and he later tolerates the presence of human tourists while making a volcano north of Fiji, his new home.
• Noble Male, Roguish Male: Even though he only interacted with Godzilla near the end of the film, their personalities are heavily contrasted almost in a Red Oni, Blue Oni dynamic significantly. He has an insanely bombastic approach to battling other Titans and will even go into confrontation such as when he flew towards King Ghidorah without even thinking and became utterly careless during his fight with Mothra to the point where his recklessness cost him the fight, and lastly, he was even going to challenge Godzilla in a brash and foolish manner, only for the far more dignified and immensely solemn Godzilla to have him change his decision very quickly by delivering a prominent Death Glare to the former, and begins to regret his rash mistake by bowing to him.
• Not Quite Dead: After getting impaled by Mothra's stinger, the last that's seen of him for the rest of the Final Battle is him falling to the ground and writhing helplessly in pain — in the novelization, the humans outright assume he's dead. After Godzilla disposes of his sworn enemy, Rodan reappears with an open hole going all the way through his shoulder where he was stabbed, but otherwise none worse for wear — fortunately, at this point, Rodan is willing to consider changing his allegiance.

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• Oh, Crap!: When he looks up from pursuing the Argo and senses Ghidorah is straight ahead through the intense storm, Rodan shrieks in alarm and immediately pulls back. However, it still doesn't stop him from trying to fight Ghidorah off by himself once he's gotten his bearings.
• Orange/Blue Contrast: His scorching Hot Wings, bio-volcanic powers, Fire Is Red motifs, and even his literal fiery personality are visibly seen a deep blazing orange who's also been compared to that of a "demon" by many ancient civilizations which largely contrasts Mothra's aqua coloured benign wings that appear smooth in appearance, which highly displays her elegant mind and benevolence.
• Our Demons Are Different: Ancient denizens outright called Rodan the Fire Demon. This gigantic, dark, leathery-winged Magma Man is positioned opposite the angelic Mothra as Ghidorah's (MonsterVerse Satan's) second instead of Godzilla's, and when Ghidorah becomes the dominant Alpha and he creates a worldwide apocalypse, Rodan ferociously assists his new three-headed Alpha in turning the world into hell (in the novelization, Rodan outright instigates volcanic eruptions, adding more to the "demon" theme). Although this physical Animalistic Abomination is avian rather than humanoid, he has the red(ish) skin and horns (the crest on his head) to match the demon image; he emerges into the world from a fiery vent set inside a mountain; and he continues fighting for Ghidorah even when the other Titans have instead begun reacting to the ORCA, only ceasing and becoming peaceful after Ghidorah is killed. From a meta-perspective, the way Rodan is supposed to be one of Godzilla's closest allies but here he becomes Ghidorah's thrall who ends up opposing Godzilla and Mothra almost makes him out to be a Fallen Angel who's been seduced over to Evil.
• Our Dragons Are Different: Rodan is a bio-Volcanic pterosaur-like Animalistic Abomination with Horns of Villainy, yet his name is the Japanese pronunciation of the Lodan, a mythical dragon from the Classical Mythology. In an original art concept where he was teaming up with Godzilla and Mothra to take down Ghidorah, he is shown breathing fire.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: Rodan passively devastates an entire town in seconds, something even the MUTOs couldn't do, he rapidly and viciously demolishes Monarch's aerial forces and would've likely destroyed the Argo if not for Ghidorah's appearance, and he severely weakens Mothra and comes close to killing her in Boston; plus in the King of the Monsters novelization, he gives Lauren Griffin quite an aerial challenge at Washington D.C.. However, Rodan is all but dwarfed by the sheer power and malevolence of Ghidorah, who manages to curb-stomp Rodan in under two minutes where Monarch's aerial forces could barely fight for their lives against the bird; and Rodan doesn't even try to fight Godzilla at the end (wisely, mind you). It's implied Rodan is one of the more powerful non-Alpha Titans and would make a powerful foe if he was acting solo, but he has the misfortune of going up against multiple Alpha Titans and of being overshadowed by said Alphas' apocalyptic feud for the fate of the world.
• Person of Mass Destruction: Word of God describes him as an 'A-bomb with wings', and viral marketing describes him as being able to level a city with sonic thunderclaps — in the movie proper, he ravages Isla de Mara's village and sends people and buses flying like leaves in fall just by flying over, and the village wasn't even the centre of his attention. In the novelization, this is expanded upon even further, as Rodan can somehow cause volcanoes to erupt just by flying over them.
• Physical God: Promotional material indicates this ancient, bio-volcanic bird was worshipped as a god of destruction and fire, showing a mural of him using blood as a pigment, with Dr. Graham speculating that it was meant as an offering to ensure his benevolence.
• Power Glows: The underside of his mighty wings are perpetually blazing and sizzling, which also radiates a deep red and orange fiery glow that's accompanied by the intensity of lethal volcanic heat.
• Psychotic Smirk: Because of the shape of his beak, Rodan looks like he is constantly smirking. He is indeed quite a sadistic and violent Titan.
• Readings Are Off the Scale: While researching Rodan's layer, the scientists from Monarch noticed that the temperatures in the volcano are so high because of Rodan that their lab equipment cannot collect at all his thermal heat signatures.
• Reconstruction: Whereas his previous incarnations have suffered from Badass Decay throughout the years, this Rodan takes the concept of his original 1956 incarnation and makes various design changes to make him more believable. He has much larger wings that can carry his weight in the air, a bio-volcanic physiology with magma blood and darkened, charred skin, eagle-like talons that he can use for attacking in mid-flight, and high spatial awareness that would be expected of a vicious flying monster. Also, he's A Lighter Shade of Black to Ghidorah, being unpleasant and extremely territorial but not an Omnicidal Maniac, fitting his place as a secondary antagonist in the film.
• Red Baron: Rodan is referred to in myths as the "Fire Demon" and the "One Born of Fire." His other titles include "The King of the Skies" and "A Titan of Winged Fury."
• Red Is Violent: He's depicted as red-tinted (certain shots suggest his body is red, but the lighting can make him appear darker in complexion). He's also a violently-territorial beast who inflicts ferocious destruction without mercy when he's provoked, and he functions as a secondary antagonist for most of the movie, though he submits to Godzilla and becomes more docile toward humans at the end.
• Red Sky, Take Warning: Shortly before and during Rodan's awakening, the sky of Isla de Mara is an ominous reddish-orange. When Rodan emerges, he quickly demonstrates his extreme power as a force of nature and also his wrathful personality; triggering a volcanic eruption, and levelling the island's village whilst chasing after Monarch's aerial forces.
• Roar Before Beating: After Monarch's aerial forces have effectively issued a challenge by firing missiles at Rodan and his home, Rodan shrieks at them directly before taking flight to pursue them. Rodan also roars when flying towards Ghidorah to engage him in combat. In the immediate aftermath of Ghidorah's death, Rodan appears to be issuing a challenge to Godzilla when he shrieks at him and unfurls his wings.
• Rock Monster: Rodan's rock-like appearance is a result of natural evolution that helps him camouflage.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Although he's not at all an Alpha Titan, Rodan is called the King of the Skies as one of his Red Barons, and he doesn't mind getting his beak and talons dirty in defence of his territory or service to his Alpha.
• Satanic Archetype: Downplayed with Rodan only because of Ghidorah's existence, but he still qualifies in several aspects. His nest is inside a volcano, adding a hellish motif when he emerges out of El Nido del Demonio and provokes an eruption. Rodan has two Horns of Villainy, and from hibernating in a volcano for eons, his outer dermis evolved to look like molten rock with visible reddish veins, giving Rodan a Big Red Devil imagery. He is an aggressive and territorial titan referred through the history of humanity as a demon and god of destruction. There is a Luciferian subtext in the way Rodan becomes Ghidorah's second in command after being beaten into submission by the latter, and gleefully provokes volcanic activities all around the world at the orders of Ghidorah. He even serves as the Evil Counterpart to a Messianic Archetype kaiju such as Mothra— herself inspiring stories about angelic beings all around the world— and battles her quite viciously.
• Sealed Badass in a Can: Rodan has been lying dormant in the magma chamber of the Isla de Mara volcano for millennia, prompting Monarch to build a containment site atop him in 1991. When he's awakened and breaks free, Rodan swiftly decimates Monarch's Gold Squadron deployed to slow him down like he's nothing more than a knife cutting through butter, and although Godzilla and Ghidorah both overshadow him in terms of power levels and presence, Rodan does severely weaken and come to killing Mothra, all on his own during the Final Battle.
• Sequel Adaptation Iconic Villain: Whereas the first two MonsterVerse movies featured Canon Foreigners as the antagonists, King of the Monsters features King Ghidorah and a Ghidorah-serving Rodan as the Big Bad and The Dragon respectively.
• The Silent Bob: He may not be able to use human tongues, but Rodan's body language and actions speak for him: he's a creature who is easily provoked into fighting when riled up, and he very much enjoys what happens next, but he has a decent degree of tact in that bird head of his.
• Spin Attack: At the end of his aerial battle with Monarch's Gold Squadron, Rodan performs an aileron roll, swatting all the remaining jets out of the sky using his wings and body.
• Spin-Offspring: More in spirit than anything, but Word of God has it that Rodan's depiction here was inspired by seeing the two original Rodans from the character's 1956 debut film perish in a volcano together, suggesting the possibility that maybe the original Rodan and his mate laid an egg in a volcano somewhere before they died.
  Mike Dougherty: The idea was, what if those two Rodans actually did successfully lay an egg in some volcano and over thousands of years, the creature hatched and somehow adapted to living in a volcano.
• Stock Sound Effects: Some of Rodan's lower-pitched vocalizations are notably the same as the female MUTOs'.
• Stronger Than They Look: Rodan is a lot smaller than most of the other Titans, especially Godzilla and Ghidorah (but larger than Mothra). Yet during his aerial scuffle with Ghidorah, he manages to tackle/shove the colossal hydra downward despite the difference in mass, and their scuffle lasts for about 70 seconds before Ghidorah takes him down.
• Super-Speed: No doubt a significantly mobile and highly agile flyer who can move and propel himself through the skies at utmost supersonic speeds. He also makes a sport out of the F-35 Lightning II and F/A-18 Hornet jets (that can fly at 1,200 and 1,190 MPH respectively), by zooming and swerving around them with no effort whilst easily destroying them one by one, in quick succession.
• Terror-dactyl: Gargantuan size aside, Rodan more closely resembles a plucked eagle than an actual pterosaur, from the bipedality to the erroneous, leathery-looking wing membranes, although it's probable that he isn't taxonomically an actual pterosaur at all. Regardless, the above still fits into the misconception that pterosaurs are closely related to birds^note In Real Life, only true dinosaurs are the ancestors of modern-day birds. Rodan's other trope characteristics include the head crest (two of them for him), the use of his feet for grabbing similarly to a bird of prey, primarily being airborne throughout his action-packed screentime, a dull (burgundy) colour, and excessive and unrealistic aggression. And as a Titan, Rodan is many times bigger than any Real Life pterosaur (or any airborne creature for that matter) in the fossil record. Although he doesn't have teeth inside his beak, his jaws do have a jagged shape on the outside. Rodan's bio-volcanic nature also means he's likely (and justifiably in this case) not a fan of water, although he recovers from being blasted by Ghidorah and plunged into the Pacific Ocean largely unhurt.
• Tiny-Headed Behemoth: When Rodan spreads his wings wide, his head looks nearly nub-sized in proportion to the rest of him. Regardless, he's a fiercely territorial and aggressive Titan with a dark reputation. Ironically, real pterosaurs had disproportionately large heads.
• To Serve Man: During the Isla de Mara aerial battle, he tries to eat a fighter jet, and he devours the unfortunate pilot when they eject.
• Token Evil Teammate: By far the least concerned with human life. While Godzilla does his best to avoid unnecessary loss and Mothra is a Gentle Giant, Rodan destroys a city just by soaring over it, crushes fighter jets in his claws, and rips through a few more by swiping its wings. He was also considered a god of destruction and even a demon by ancient humans.
• Took a Level in Kindness: He starts as one of the most destructive Titans and has no explicit loyalties, he eats a pilot trying to escape him, and he has to receive a Death Glare from Godzilla before bowing to him. That said, the Creative Closing Credits reveal that in the time since Godzilla's victory, many spectators are travelling to see Rodan at his new nesting site north of Fiji, implying that he's calmed down and is no longer so hostile to humans since Godzilla became the reigning King of the Monsters.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Right after Godzilla frees him from Ghidorah's dictatorship, Rodan's body language indicates he's looking to pick another fight, this time with Godzilla. An angry snarl from Godzilla prompts Rodan to reconsider how little chance he would have in such a fight, and he promptly bows to the new King of the Monsters.
• Unskilled, but Strong: Rodan's physical fighting style resembles Drunken Boxing and he's always on the offence, but he's a pretty damn good fighter even if he's Overshadowed by Awesome. He dispatches jets as if they're nothing but fragile toys, he manages to outmaneuver and dive-bomb Ghidorah in mid-flight, and he almost wins his battle against Mothra thanks to his bio-volcanic abilities, leaving her badly weakened. On top of that, the supersonic winds from Rodan's wings can create cyclonic drift streams, which can reduce an entire town to rubble without him putting in any conscious effort.
• Volcanic Veins: He's a bio-volcanic Titan with magma for blood, and his Hot Wings look like they have glowing orange veins running through them which leak out magma when he takes flight. Considering his aforementioned biology, those vein-like cracks in Rodan's wings probably really are his veins.
• Volumetric Mouth: If you look closely, you can see Rodan stretch his mouth open to almost 90 degrees a couple of times.
• Walking Wasteland: He levels cities just by flying above them at supersonic speeds, even if they're not his target; causing a massive sonic wind to pass underneath him, powerful enough to fling people and buses into the air like they're pieces of paper. The novelization also reveals that Rodan causes volcanoes he flies over to erupt when he's under King Ghidorah's control.
• Wild Card: He switches allegiances at least twice in the film: fighting against Ghidorah, then serving under him as his Dragon after being beaten, and eventually submitting to Godzilla after the latter defeats Ghidorah. In the Godzilla vs. Kong novelization, it's clearly stated that people like Madison consider Rodan one of the worst Titans and are wary of him coming back after the events of the previous story. Interpretation varies whether Rodan's fluid loyalties are due to him being a cowardly starscream bootlicking whoever is the "Alpha" Titan, a minion who's Loyal to the Position, or an ally of Godzilla's who was brainwashed/enslaved by Ghidorah when the latter usurped the position from Godzilla. The director himself described Rodan's loyalties as "vague".
• Wind from Beneath My Wings: A big case, like his previous incarnations. When he takes flight after awakening, he causes supersonic winds beneath his 871-foot wingspan which level an entire town that he glides over, instantly hurling people and buses into the air like autumn leaves.
• The Worf Effect: Inverted. He's established as a living cataclysm in his Big Entrance, levelling cities just by flying and easily demolishing Monarch's air force like they're nothing. Then Ghidorah, who made his own Big Entrance in an earlier scene in the movie, shows up.
• Wreathed in Flames: He's a Magma Man and his wings appear to be smouldering constantly, leaving a trail of embers wherever he flies.
• Yellow Eyes of Sneakiness: He has yellow eyes, which are a huge contrast to his charred volcanic skin, and they highlight his mischievously vile expressions when more of his Hot-Blooded attitude comes out.