Rodan's History
Within a Monarch containment facility atop the active Isla de Mara volcano, a mysterious Titan lies in pyrostasis within the restless magma. The legends speak of it as the "Fire Demon" or "The One Born of Fire", but a simpler name echoes through the ancient temples of volcanically active regions: "Rodan".
A volcanic internal combustion system of magma flows throughout a body covered in rock-like scales that act as geothermal armor. While much larger in size, Rodan has a skeletal structure similar to that of a Pteranodon - one of the earliest vertebrates known to have developed the power of flight. Just as Kong is the king of the primates, Rodan may have once been the king of the skies.
Because of the extreme temperatures within this particular containment facility, current lab equipment can't function properly. As a result, thermal heat signatures on the creature are impossible to collect, and Monarch detection crews conducted cardiograms via aerial satellite for life sign detection and verification. Much like the volcano that incubates it, Rodan is alive but dormant.
Rodan's wings are wrapped around its body in stasis, but our cryptos estimate a wingspan big enough to create a sonic thunderclap capable of leveling entire cities as it flies overhead. RF-Capture scans reveal that Rodan's skin is not made of rock, but does have an outer dermis of sharp volcanic sediment collected from centuries of dormancy. Sci-ops theorizes the vulcanized appearance of its skin may be an evolutionary trait developed as a form of camouflage against mountains or large rock formations. Truly, a Titan forged in fire.
― Cryptid Profile
The MonsterVerse Rodan is a member of a prehistoric reptilian aerial superspecies that co-evolved alongside other giant monsters like Godzilla and the Titans, and were in contact with humans during ancient human times. Rodan's species heavily resembles pterosaurs, though they don't seem to be directly related to them. The species shared many similarities with birds of prey, such as a bird-like head armed with a massive, serrated beak, and talons capable of grasping. Their heads were adorned with a crest of two bony horns that grew backwards. Their wings were extensions of their forelimbs, and they could be folded when standing or walking. Master Sergeant Nez suspects upon seeing a video feed of Rodan that he influenced the Navajo's lore of Tsé nináhálééh, the Rock Monster Eagle.
One member of the species was born at the volcano of Isla de Mara, Mexico after his parents nested there.[8] His birthplace also became his home and resting place, entering a centuries-long period of hibernation inside the volcano, which led to the individual developing an outer-dermis of volcanic rock as a protective skin and possibly some of his other bio-volcanic characteristics, to adapt to the environment. The volcano became known among the locals as El Nido del Demonio (The Demon's Nest)
Kong: Skull Island
In 1973, Houston Brooks and San Lin briefed James Conrad and Mason Weaver on multiple other monsters who once ruled the world alongside Kong. This included Rodan, along with Godzilla, Mothra, and Ghidorah, who were all shown to the two via classified Monarch cave paintings.
1991
Under the guise of "environmental research", a Monarch team established a quarantine zone around the dormant volcano on Isla de Mara. Over the following years, the zone grew from a small scientific outpost into a full containment facility around the mouth of the volcano, which is then dubbed Monarch Outpost 56.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Rodan is lying dormant in a Monarch facility located in a volcano until Emma Russell and the rest of Alan Jonah's eco-terrorist group deactivate the containment grid and use the ORCA to awaken him, causing the volcano to erupt. Monarch fighter jets attack Rodan in an attempt to lure him to Monster Zero. Rodan gives chase and levels a nearby city with the sonic waves caused by the flapping of his wings.
Rodan destroys the majority of the squadron, save for the USS Argo, which leads him to Monster Zero. The two Titans briefly battle in the middle of the storm created by Monster Zero, with the three-headed dragon gaining the upper hand and sending Rodan plummeting into the sea. Rodan escapes the area before the Oxygen Destroyer is detonated and is seen bowing to Monster Zero (now dubbed Ghidorah by Monarch) while he is perched atop the Isla de Mara volcano, acknowledging the new Titan as the alpha.
Rodan accompanies Ghidorah as he builds a roost in Washington DC, where he engages with Monarch in another aerial dogfight. When Madison Russell activates the ORCA in Boston, attracting the attention of Ghidorah, Rodan follows his alpha.
In Boston, Rodan engages Mothra in battle, where she is pinned to a building. As Rodan attempts to kill Mothra, she stabs him through the left shoulder, incapacitating him for the duration of the battle between Godzilla and Ghidorah. After Godzilla kills Ghidorah, Rodan recovers from his injury and intends to challenge him before backing down. He and the other Titans acknowledge Godzilla as their new alpha by bowing down to him.
News clippings during the credits reveal that Rodan has flown to and made a nest in a volcano north of Fiji, and his presence has attracted thousands of spectators. This implies that he is no longer a threat to humans.
Godzilla Dominion
Though he doesn't appear in the graphic novel, Rodan, alongside other Titans, are sent into dormancy by Godzilla.
Godzilla vs. Kong
Rodan remains dormant during Godzilla's search for Ghidorah's remains that desecrated by Apex Cybernetics and fight against Kong and later, Mechagodzilla as per his alpha's instruction.
