For the term used for MonsterVerse kaiju, see Superspecies.

The Jinshin-Mushis (ムートー,   Mūtō^?), popularly known as MUTOs, are giant parasitic Titans in the MonsterVerse created by Legendary Pictures that first appeared in the 2014 film, Godzilla, where two individuals act as the primary antagonists.

A third individual appears in the sequel Godzilla: King of the Monsters, as a minor Titan that initially obeys Ghidorah, but later submits to Godzilla. The species later makes brief appearances in the form of stock footage in the MonsterVerse television series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and additionally makes appearances in several graphic novels.

A female individual at the final stage of its life cycle acts as the main antagonist of Godzilla: Aftershock.

Name

The MUTO's name is an acronym for "Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism."^[7] According to Godzilla: Awakening, this is a designation Monarch gives to all giant monsters as a sort of placeholder name until properly identified. In this comic, both Godzilla and Shinomura were initially known as MUTOs before being given their respective names.

While initially lacking an official Titanus designation, the opening of Godzilla vs. Kong designates them as "Titanus MUTO", albeit as an erroneous source, given the opening had many inconsistencies due to production delays.^[8] Officially, the MUTOs are classified as Titanus Jinshin-Mushi as a result of being the same species as their progenitor, Jinshin-Mushi according to Arvid Nelson.^[1]

In one of the original screenplays for Godzilla, the MUTOs were called "Hokmuto" and "Femuto," which were short for "Hokkaido MUTO" and "Female MUTO," respectively.^[9]

In the final film, the MUTOs are referred to as such but are also referred to numerically, with the male MUTO being designated as "MUTO 1" and the female as "MUTO 2" respectively on a monitor present near William Stenz. The third MUTO that was seen in Godzilla: King of the Monsters has been given the official title of "Queen MUTO", and also given the nickname "Barb" by the director and writer of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Michael Dougherty.^[10]

Design

Development

The two Jinshin-Mushis featured in Godzilla, MUTO 1 and 2, are known to have been developed from Rokmutul and Pterodactyl, two early monsters from the development of film. In the Comic-Con 2012 teaser trailer for the film, an unnamed, tardigrade-like, multi-legged monster was created to confirm that Godzilla would be fighting another monster in Legendary Pictures' Godzilla.

According to witnesses of the Godzilla trailer shown in Comic-Con 2013, the MUTOs were originally spider-like creatures with long, thin limbs and scythes. This changed in the actual film.

One of the original screenplays of Godzilla had MUTO 1 emerge from his chrysalis in Hokkaido, Japan, instead of the fictional city of Janjira. The female MUTO still appeared in Nevada, however.^[9]

The MUTOs went through several dozen concepts before Legendary settled on their final designs. Some concepts had MUTO 1 with four wings,^[11] and others had him with only six total appendages (including wings).^[12] Many of the early designs featured a rougher-looking, more 'organic' appearance, rather than the smooth and metallic-looking final design.

Appearance

Based on the three individuals seen in the films, adult stage Jinshin-Mushis share some general traits. Their bodies are covered in dense, iridescent, grayish-black hide. Their heads are flat and elongated, and are generally featureless aside from two red visor-like eyes. They have jaws filled with dagger-like teeth that are supported by exo-mandibles that form a sort of hooked beak, and possess long and slender hind limbs that are digitigrade in structure, with flat, broad feet ending in two hoof-like toes.

As a species, the Jinshin-Mushis are sexually dimorphic, as there are several notable differences between males and females. MUTO 2 has two main pairs of clawed forelimbs and a smaller manipulator pair on her abdomen, walks on six legs, and is much larger than MUTO 1, standing nearly twice the height of the male and being almost as tall as Godzilla. She also has a pouch-like structure on her lower abdomen, which, while gravid, visibly contains the glowing eggs. MUTO 1 is similar in appearance, except that he is much smaller with a more nimble build, and walks on four legs as his front-most forelimb pair has been naturally repurposed to form his wings, which are long, pointed, and membranous. The forelimbs on both males and females all end in two digits, a large main digit and a smaller vestigial one, and take on a pseudo claw form, being curved like a sickle. When walking, the MUTOs use the front "knuckle" of their claws, giving it a hook-like appearance.

Adult stage female Jinshin-Mushis, under certain circumstances, can morph into their final stage, further adding to the differences between males and females of the species. Part of this metamorphosis process involves females morphing into a slightly different "nymph" stage before fully molting into a Prime. One example of this in-between "nymph" stage is the Queen MUTO,^[13] who, while sharing the same build and shape, looks slightly different in appearance to the female Jinshin-Mushi from 2014. The Queen MUTO has numerous spike-like protrusions running down the back that indicate older age,^[14] as well as leg joints that all end in a noticeable point. Unlike her deceased kin, the Queen MUTO's hide is more of a gray color instead of black. Her body is covered in scars from what may have been battles or mating rituals in her past.^[14] The Queen MUTO's egg pouch is also noticeably empty.

Jinshin-Mushi eggs are spherical in shape and have a bright orange bioluminescent hue. They are almost completely transparent, revealing the developing embryo inside, which is spider-like in appearance. The eggs appear to be encased in a ootheca-like structure when laid. The species' cocoons are formed from a hardened, rock-like substance and notably curve inward as it grows taller. Segments of the cocoon produce bright orange bioluminescent flashes, occasionally revealing the silhouette of the maturing adult within.

Portrayal

While Matt Cross and Lee Ross did perform motion-capture reference for MUTO 1 and 2, they are portrayed on screen entirely by CGI.

Roar

The roar first appeared as an MP3 file hidden in the official Godzilla site.^[15] It can be heard when the official site loads up, though it is faint due to Godzilla's roar being much louder than the MUTOs' roar.

The Jinshin-Mushis have very unique roars, many of which are deep and blaring with occasional clicks, crackles, and snapping noises. At a few points, they make trumpet-like cries and groans similar to creaking doors or Geiger counters. The male and female vocalizations are slightly different; the male emits shrill, higher-pitched calls and shrieks, while the female has deeper, more guttural roars. Both sexes emit distinctive chirps and clicks when they touch snouts as a courtship greeting. The Queen MUTO vocalizes similarly to MUTO 2.

To make the MUTOs' vocalizations, the filmmakers recorded sounds of a hand rubbing a balloon, a rubber shoe, drum skin, double bass strings, an ironing board, a hat stand, rolling squeaks, and baby donkeys to create the creature's vocal effects. Some of the MUTOs' vocals were even reused for Grimlock in the 2014 film Transformers: Age of Extinction and a giant crab in the 2020 film Love and Monsters.

Personality

As individuals, the Jinshin-Mushis aren't given much character development. Although they exhibit intelligence like the other Titans, their sole goals revolve around survival, radiation consumption, and reproduction, likely due to strict genetic programming.

The two Jinshin-Mushis that were awakened in 2014 are usually indifferent to humans and manmade structures around them, and they almost completely shrug off blasts and projectiles when the military attempts to engage them, similarly to Godzilla. However, they are even more apathetic to anything in their way than Godzilla is—where the latter is likely to navigate around larger manmade structures in his way and otherwise avoid causing significant damage if he can, the Jinshin-Mushis always go straight through such obstacles without any apparent notice or regard for the humans whose actions they affect. Some examples of this include the destruction MUTO 1 caused whilst arriving at the Janjira nuclear power plant and in San Francisco before mating, and MUTO 2 travelling straight through Las Vegas in a continued straight line—brushing through skyscrapers and other landmarks—instead of navigating around it. However, MUTO 1 displayed some curiosity at Honolulu when the lights on a train track reactivating drew its attention, and it bit down on a train passing along the track. He also appeared to deliberately utilize his EMP blast against a group of fighter jets approaching his position, unlike MUTO 2, who ignored such attacks at Las Vegas.

When the MUTO pair met up to mate, the male provided the female a nuclear warhead it had promptly seized as a sign of courtship, and they appeared to display affection by pressing their heads together once the female accepted the male's nuptial gift; this appears to be the species' method of mating and fertilizing. Afterwards, the male seemingly acted as a sentry, guarding the San Francisco area they claimed as their nest against Godzilla, whilst the female laid eggs, although the latter immediately afterward didn't hesitate to charge into a fight with Godzilla herself when he got past the male to their nest. The pair displayed teamwork in their fight against Godzilla, particularly when they gained the upper hand and began beating him down. The male also appears to display protectiveness of the female based on some of his strikes, such as using his legs and flight to drag Godzilla off of and away from the female. The male took advantage of his streamlined build and flight, favoring surprise strikes and evasion where possible when engaging Godzilla.

When the pair's nest was destroyed, the female immediately noticed and charged in a panic to the site, displaying strong maternal instinct; whilst the male seemed to only notice something was wrong when the female reacted, but he promptly abandoned his fight with Godzilla to follow his mate. The female immediately dug and salvaged through the explosion site for any of her eggs and notably mourned when she found they'd all perished. After her unborn offspring's death, she promptly went berserk with rage, abandoning the fight with Godzilla entirely and targeting the HALO team with active, murderous intent; she notably went out of her way to slaughter them with her jaws and arms, whilst partly focusing on the boat that currently held the nuclear warhead they'd stolen from her nest. Whether the female targeted the team because she knew they'd caused the explosion that destroyed her nest—Ford Brody had notably caught her attention right after her nest's destruction—, or because she was directing her rage at the first thing she saw after her young's death is unknown.

Despite the actions and hostility of the 2014 pair, the Queen MUTO that was awakened in 2019 apparently conforms to the Titans' hierarchy to some extent, and is consequently mutually tolerant of Godzilla upon bowing to him as the new Alpha Titan after he defeated Ghidorah; its also possible thaf without an acive of her species, her intelligence would hold precedence over instincts.

Origins

The Jinshin-Mushis are ancient parasitic Titans that existed during the Permian period of Earth's history, and are primarily driven by reproduction. Like Godzilla, they feed off of the Earth's natural radiation, but can adapt and feed off of artificial sources as well, such as warheads and nuclear reactors. According to the art book Godzilla: The Art of Destruction, the species reproduces by killing members of Godzilla's species and laying eggs inside their prey's radioactive carcasses. This relationship was further elaborated in Godzilla: Aftershock with the introduction of a final stage Jinshin-Mushi, a matriarch-like individual that specializes in luring out and overpowering members of the Titanus Gojira species before implanting egg-like spores in their stomach linings via tendril-like ovipositors. The Prime Titanus Jinshin-Mushi needs the Titanus Gojira to remain alive as an incubator, and after the spores have been inserted, they slowly feed on the Titan's nuclear-rich hemoglobin, which eventually kills that host, with the spores continuing to gestate for a matter of centuries. Dr. Emma Russell theorized based on analysis of the species' reproductive organs that if a pair successfully reproduces and the brood matures, their matured spawn will destroy, dominate, and reshape entire ecosystems to their own needs. Once that has been accomplished, and all resources have been exhausted, she theorizes that the Jinshin-Mushis would then turn on each other, with only the strongest individuals surviving.

In the same comic, several males of the species could be seen terrorizing an ancient human civilization, showing that the species was active during the time of early humans. Emma Russell states that geological dating on two known Jinshin-Mushi egg chambers, one of which is the grave of Dagon who died in the 11th century BCE or later, corresponds with two "mass extinctions" in Earth's history that these parasitic Titans' reproduction likely caused. At some point, the majority of the individuals died off, save for two spores that had been injected by a final stage Jinshin-Mushi into the body of Dagon, a member of Godzilla's species, in a battle in the 11th century BCE. At around the same time, the ancient world experienced a global dark age where entire cultures between Cambodia and Egypt spontaneously disappeared, which Emma again attributes to these Titans' cycle of reproduction. The two spores fed off of Dagon's radiation-rich blood, eventually killing him. Afterwards, the spores remained alive, intact, and dormant inside Dagon's body for millennia.

History

Godzilla

1999

The Jinshin-Mushi spores in Dagon's skeleton were discovered at the Western Universal Mining Site in the Philippines on March 10, 1999^[1], after a mining operation unknowingly drilled into a cave containing the skeleton. By the time Monarch arrived to investigate, one of the spores had already hatched into a larval male Jinshin-Mushi, catalyzed by the mining disturbance, which in turn caused the radiation levels in the cave to spike, and the Titan escaped to sea at the nearby coastline.

After that day, the second spore, which contained a female, remained dormant and was removed by Monarch from the site.

Two weeks later^[16], the newly-hatched male specimen burrowed his way to the Janjira nuclear power plant in Japan, where he caused the plant to collapse from underneath, killing Sandra Brody and several other workers, and causing the entire area to be evacuated because of radiation leaking from the plant. Despite the destruction of the plant, the Titan attached himself to the reactor and entered a cocoon-like state, absorbing all the radiation from the surrounding area. For the next 15 years, Monarch maintained a research base in the ruins of the Janjira plant, where they observed and studied the Titan while it fed on the reactor.

The second pod containing the female individual was vivisected and studied for years by Monarch, and once Serizawa confirmed the female was inert, the egg was taken by the American government to the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Depository in Nevada.

2014

As the reactor was depleted and he matured, he began giving off electromagnetic pulses which interfered with Monarch's equipment. Ishiro Serizawa, who was in charge of the operation, regretfully gave the order to kill the Titan before it could destroy their base. The cocoon was destroyed with electrical currents released from cables surrounding it. A group of armed operatives approached the remains of the cocoon to confirm the monster was killed, but he was still alive and broke free from the cocoon. He laid waste to the power plant once again before sprouting his wings and taking off. The United States Navy, under the command of Admiral William Stenz, began to pursue him as it crossed the Pacific Ocean. Eventually, "MUTO 1" arrived in Hawaii, where he had dragged a Russian nuclear submarine ashore and was feeding on its torpedoes. A group of soldiers was sent to investigate, but they were attacked by him. Fighter jets were sent in to try and stop the Titan, but the MUTO released an EMP, causing the jets to fall out of the sky and crash. He proceeded to terrorize the Honolulu airport but was confronted by Godzilla, who had come ashore to hunt it. The two monsters exchanged threat displays and briefly battled until the MUTO retreated and flew out over the ocean, with Godzilla in pursuit.

Meanwhile, Serizawa and his assistant Vivienne Graham concluded that the male Jinshin-Mushi was using echolocation to signal to the female that he was mature and ready to mate. Serizawa worried that the spore containing the female was not dormant, and the military sent a team to the waste depository to investigate. When the soldiers arrived, the facility was destroyed, and the female Jinshin-Mushi had already broken out. "MUTO 2" terrorized the city of Las Vegas and began to head west to California. The military formed a plan to lure both Jinshin-Mushis and Godzilla out to sea with a nuclear warhead, then detonate it in an attempt to kill all three. Two warheads were transported by train, but MUTO 2 intercepted them in the California wilderness, killing all the personnel except for Ford Brody and eating one of the warheads. The other warhead was recovered and airlifted to San Francisco Bay, where it was armed on a battleship, but it was stolen by MUTO 1, who presented it to the female in downtown San Francisco as a nuptial gift. The two Jinshin-Mushis proceeded to mate.

After acquiring the warhead, the female Jinshin-Mushi created a nest and attached her eggs to the warhead, nourishing them with the radiation. The male, meanwhile, attempted to distract Godzilla, who had broken through the Golden Gate Bridge and come ashore. Eventually, Godzilla reached the nest and took on both Jinshin-Mushis at once, while an extraction team led by Ford Brody arrived to recover the armed warhead. The bomb was removed from the nest, and Ford ignited a gas explosion to destroy the eggs. The explosion attracted the attention of the parental pair, who had overpowered Godzilla, and the female went to investigate, promptly followed by the male. MUTO 2 was stricken with grief after seeing her young killed, but became enraged when she saw Ford, the man responsible. Before the Titan could kill the human, Godzilla emerged from behind her and pummeled her mercilessly with his atomic breath. MUTO 1 attacked Godzilla from behind, allowing the female to recover and pursue Ford and his team as they attempt to take the bomb out to sea. After another brief yet brutal battle, Godzilla managed to strike the male MUTO with his tail, impaling the Titan on a building and killing him.

Ford's team arrived at the docks with the bomb but were soon all slaughtered by the enraged MUTO 2, leaving Ford as the only one survivor, again. Ford grabbed the bomb and placed it on a boat. Unable to defuse it, he started the boat in an attempt to take it out over the bay before it could detonate. However, MUTO 2's EMP field disabled the boat, leaving her face-to-face with Ford. The man drew his pistol and defiantly aimed it at the MUTO, intending to die fighting. Suddenly, Titan was pulled back by Godzilla, who pried open her jaws and fired his atomic breath down her throat, severing her head from her body and killing her instantly.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

In 2014, before the showdown in San Francisco, footage of the battle between MUTO 1 and Godzilla at Honolulu became viral across the internet. A group of students in school teacher Cate Randa's class watched footage of the battle on a cellphone, with one of the children mentioning how his father speculated that the footage was a calculated hoax in order to burst the real estate market.

Godzilla: Aftershock

For the individual featured in this comic, see Jinshin-Mushi.

In a flashback, both the male and female Jinshin-Mushis can be seen as spores after being injected by a Jinshin-Mushi into the stomach lining of Dagon. The parasitic infection eventually kills him, while the two spores continue to gestate.

Dr. Emma Russell discusses the Jinshin-Mushis during a meeting with her colleagues at Outpost 14, which was built over Dagon's skeleton, theorizing about their life cycle and effect on the world. After studying the geological dates of known egg chambers and Phoenician tablets, she discovers that the parasitic Titans were likely responsible for a "global dark age" that wiped out countless civilizations and cultures, and she believes that they caused "mass extinctions" at the times of both egg chambers' hatchings.

Another flashback shows several male Jinshin-Mushis terrorizing an unknown ancient civilization, reducing said civilization's habitations to desolate ruins, which they claim for themselves.

Using the bioacoustics of the Jinshin-Mushis, known as the "Drums of Raijin" to the ancients, Emma recreates the effect with her ORCA prototype to distract the Prime Jinshin-Mushi long enough for Godzilla to defeat her.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Following the battle of San Francisco, the severed head of MUTO 2 was recovered and stored at Castle Bravo, the outpost where Monarch studies Godzilla, along with MUTO 1 and Jinshin-Mushi's corpses.

A third adult stage, female, Jinshin-Mushi, nicknamed "Queen MUTO" due to her unique dorsal spikes resembling a crown, was among the Titans around the world awakened by King Ghidorah's call, having been slumbering deep beneath a strip mall in Hoboken, New Jersey.^[17] Following her new alpha's orders, the Queen MUTO begins to hunt on Earth with her new pack by attacking the city of Hoboken.

The Queen MUTO later becomes docile alongside the other Titans when Madison Russell broadcasts the ORCA's signal around the world from Boston. Once the ORCA stops transmitting due to Ghidorah's attack on its position, she and the other Titans immediately start converging straight towards Boston,^[18] but they only arrive in time to see the immediate aftermath of Ghidorah's death by Godzilla. After Rodan bows to Godzilla, the Queen MUTO does as well, followed by Scylla, Behemoth, and Methuselah, acknowledging Godzilla as their Alpha.

Kingdom Kong

As fighter pilot Audrey Burns' squadmates attempt to comfort her over her guilt in not stopping Camazotz when he first awakened, several bring up losing friends and family to Titans as a way to relate to her. One mentions losing his mother when the Jinshin-Mushi pair rampaged through San Francisco back in 2014.

Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted

Head of the company "RM Construction" Raymond Martin recalls how his parents, wife, and son were killed by MUTO 2 when she had arrived in San Francisco back in 2014, leaving him scarred and fostering an extreme hatred of Titans. This hatred would culminate in Martin sanctioning the creation of an anti-superspecies mech known as the "Titan Hunter".

Abilities

Bio-atomic nature

Monarch classifies adult stage Jinshin-Mushis as "bio-atomic" in nature,^[3] as they can feed on nuclear energy to harness its power and to strengthen themselves.

Claws

Both male and female Jinshin-Mushis are armed with hook-like claws on the ends of their numerous legs that are used to hack at and stab any Titan aggressors. MUTOs 1 and 2 used their claws to stab Godzilla during the battle in San Francisco, with these attacks being strong enough to draw his blood.

Durability

Both male and female Jinshin-Mushis were durable enough to take barrages of both small and large arms fire without any damage. The female was able to survive being blasted by Godzilla's atomic breath with no visible damage.

Echolocation

Both male and female Jinshin-Mushis use echolocation to communicate over long distances and locate each other, and to find sources of radiation.

Electromagnetic pulse

Male Jinshin-Mushis can unleash electromagnetic pulses from their claws, which can disable electrical appliances in a five-mile-wide radius—though it is also implied they do not necessarily have to rely on their claws to unleash an EMP, as when he gets the warhead, he unleashes it from within mid-air. Females can instead surround themselves with an EMP field (labeled the "Sphere of Influence" by the news), which performs the same function but is generated constantly. There doesn't appear to be any limits to how often either sex can use their EMP abilities.

In the official novelization, it's explained that their EMP ability evolved as a defense mechanism, used to prevent Godzilla's species from using their atomic breath; the novel states that Godzilla triggers his atomic breath via a bio-electric spark, igniting vapors in his neck. It's never explicitly confirmed if this is canon in the film, and the novel's details of how Godzilla's breath works appear to be slightly retconned by Godzilla vs. Kong—which reveals his atomic energy is based directly on the Hollow Earth's potent mineral—, but Godzilla's atomic breath does appear weaker when fighting the Jinshin-Mushis in the 2014 film than it is when he fights other opponents in later installments.

Flight

Male Jinshin-Mushis possesses wings that allow full-powered flight, as demonstrated by MUTO 1—his top speed is undetermined. Naturally, these wings aided him in seeking out radiation to offer to the female. The wings also gave MUTO 1 a massive combat advantage against Godzilla, being able to ambush him from the skies with a series of strafing and grappling attacks. He would usually be able to escape back into the skies before Godzilla could retaliate.

Intelligence

The Jinshin-Mushi pair was intelligent enough to work together as a team, with the male dragging Godzilla away from the female and using his aerial agility and build to perform hit-and-run tactics, whilst the female uses raw strength to batter Godzilla when he's distracted by the male. The female was also able to quickly determine Ford's involvement in destroying her nest. The male MUTO could be seen deliberately using his EMP attack to disable fighter jets that were attacking him.

Upon witnessing Godzilla’s victory over Ghidorah, the Queen MUTO was intelligent enough not to risk getting on the wrong foot with the former and decided to yield to Godzilla as her new alpha.

Metamorphosis

Female MUTOs can molt into a "Prime stage" Jinshin-Mushi, granting them increased mass and strength, along with seismic concussive powers and other abilities. Dr. Emma Russell theorizes two possible explanations for how a female reaches this stage: either a female Jinshin-Mushi metamorphoses after killing and consuming her mate or after killing off her broodmates and emerging as the strongest individual, thus being able to molt into a "MUTO Prime". Emma is unsure which theory is true, but she comments that the latter theory seems more likely based on analysis of the Jinshin-Mushis' reproductive organs.

Arvid Nelson claims that if a female finds herself in isolation from other members of the species, the transformation can occur,^[19] though at the same time the reasons are complex and variable.^[20] Male Jinshin-Mushis cannot molt into a MUTO Prime, nor have any special growth stages beyond the standard adult stage. Instead, males serve as "drones" and providers to the larger and more dominant females.^[21]

Reforestation

Despite their destructive nature, the MUTOs passively produce life-giving radiation that exponentially increases plant growth and other forms of life, a trait that many Titans are known to have. Las Vegas is seen to have transformed into a lush jungle after the female MUTO passed through it in 2014, and San Francisco has shared a similar fate after the Jinshin-Mushi pair and Godzilla battled there.

Reproduction

The will to reproduce for MUTOs is their main driving force and is so rapid that it is described as a "breeding force" that can very quickly destroy the global ecosystem. As parasites, the Jinshin-Mushis are born from spores implanted by a Prime stage Jinshin-Mushi inside a live Titanus Gojira specimen, and from eggs laid by a standard adult female inside a Titan carcass^[22] or around other radioactive sources. Adult stage females reproduce sexually, and unlike the Prime stage, which implants a seemingly small handful of large, opaque spores inside a live Titanus Gojira host, MUTO 2 was instead observed laying hundreds of smaller, translucent eggs at once; doing so in mere minutes to hours after her eggs were fertilized by contact with her mate, creating an improvised nest by smashing a large crater into the earth and laying the eggs around a secondary source of radiation. While the carcass of a Titan is preferred, other radioactive sources can be used to gestate the eggs, as seen with the breeding pair from 2014 using a warhead to do so.

Speed and agility

MUTO 1 was able to outmaneuver Godzilla due to his wings and smaller size, while MUTO 2 possessed enough speed to outrun humans and traverse cityscapes within moments. The male's smaller size allowed him to climb and perch atop buildings with ease.

Stamina

The Jinshin-Mushi pair was shown to have excellent stamina and resilience. The male spent most of his time after hatching flying around in a constant hunt for radiation, and most importantly, a potential mate. In his final confrontation in San Francisco, the male fought Godzilla for several hours by himself, from afternoon to well into the night, while the female built a nest for their eggs. The female also displays excellent stamina, traveling from Nevada to San Francisco in the span of a couple of days, tearing through any obstacles between her with her massive size. She fought alongside the male in San Francisco, even after being singed by Godzilla's atomic breath at close range.

Strength and combat

Both the male and female Jinshin-Mushis possess immense physical strength. The 2014 pair were powerful enough to drag, ram, and bowl over Godzilla despite his immense size and weight. MUTO 1 was strong enough to drag Godzilla away from MUTO 2 without difficulty, and he also dredged up a Russian Akula submarine from the depths of the ocean and pulled it dozens of miles inland. The female was able to claw her way through a mountain from the inside after she hatched and pupated inside the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Depository, as well as tear through cityscapes.

Swimming

MUTO 1 demonstrated remarkable swimming capabilities despite being a Titan evolved for flight. Upon hatching from his spore inside of Dagon's fossilized remains, the larval MUTO 1 immediately burrowed out to sea, swimming from the Philippines to Janjira, Japan in two weeks. As an adult, the male dredged a Russian nuclear submarine from the depths of the Pacific Ocean and would later dive into San Francisco Bay to retrieve a nuclear warhead from a battleship. These feats and the male's lack of a fear of water imply that swimming is a natural ability of the species.

Weaknesses

Parental instincts

The Jinshin-Mushis are excellent parents, and NUTO 2 in particular was shown to be fiercely protective of her eggs. The sight of an explosion at the pair's nest immediately causes her to abandon the fight with Godzilla and charge full-speed back to the nest in a blind panic instead of finishing their natural enemy off, and MUTO 1 also abandons killing Godzilla to follow the female the moment he sees she's no longer by his side. This gave Godzilla enough time to recover and charge up his atomic breath.

Extreme blunt force

MUTO 1, despite being able to evade all of Godzilla's attacks with his speed and agility, was killed after Godzilla's tail slammed him onto a building, with the sheer force behind this blow being powerful enough to impale the macilent male into the building's rubble.

Inner mouth

While the Jinshin-Mushis' exoskeletons are durable enough to withstand a point-blank atomic breath blast, the insides of their mouths and throats are not armored as such, and a blast of Godzilla's atomic breath into MUTO 2's mouth easily decapitated her.

Video games

Godzilla: Smash3

The 2014 Jinshin-Mushi pair appears in Godzilla: Smash3 as an enemy that Godzilla fights against.

Trivia

• The outpost built at the site MUTO 1 and 2 was discovered in, Monarch Outpost 14, homages 2014, the year Godzilla was released.
• The Jinshin-Mushis are the first American-made kaiju to be specifically created for a Godzilla film, not counting the Gryphon from the unmade 1994 American Godzilla film and the TriStar Godzilla from the 1998 American film.
• Despite their resemblances to arthropods, Jinshin-Mushis possess vertebrate biology.
• The behavior of Jinshin-Mushis combines aspects from various real-life insects:
  • The male remains dormant for 15 years before emerging as a winged adult, similar to a periodical cicada.
  • The female is twice the size of the male but lacks the wings, like fireflies and certain wasps.
  • They use long-distance mating calls, similar to crickets.
  • They grow and mature inside living hosts as endoparasitoid wasps do.
  • The female lays her eggs on a readily prepared food source, as flies and beetles do.
  • The courtship is somewhat like that of some spiders and mantises, where the male presents the female with a nuptial gift.
• The production crew was readjusting MUTO 1 and 2's design in the 2014 film until the very last minute.^[23]
• According to Godzilla: The Official Movie Novelization:
  • The Jinshin-Mushis' EMP renders guidance systems unable to lock onto them from afar.
  • It's only implicit in the film, but Ford Brody inwardly speculates that their electromagnetic emission is influencing the weather and has caused the thunderstorm that rolls over San Francisco after they set up nest.
• In Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, in Saw Gerrera's cave, paintings of the Jinshin-Mushis can be spotted. Gareth Edwards directed both Godzilla and Rogue One, leading to the cameo.
• Some aspects of the Jinshin-Mushis' life cycle are unclear:
  • The male was said to have emerged from the spore as a larva, yet the developing young seen inside the eggs already resembled the full-grown adults.
  • While the female remained dormant the whole time, the male emerged as a larva and pupated before emerging as an adult: in contrast, the female emerges from the spore already fully grown, seemingly having skipped the larva and pupa stages. She likely hatched and then pupated while in Yucca Mountain via feeding on the nuclear waste stored around her.
  • In Godzilla: Aftershock, Dr. Emma Russell admits that she's uncertain how the standard Jinshin-Mushi female metamorphoses into the Prime stage, setting forth two theories and admitting she's uncertain which of them is the correct one.
• Though MUTO 2 simply crouches into the nest when she lays her eggs, the eggs are neatly arranged in rows when Ford and his team enter the nest. She may possess an ovipositor that allows her to adjust her eggs to the source of energy. This is further implied by the fact that Jinshin-Mushi (Prime) possesses several.
• Michael Dougherty added a Jinshin-Mushi to Godzilla: King of the Monsters because he liked the design of the species and loved the idea that there are still other living individuals in the world.^[24]
• In Godzilla: Aftershock, Emma Russell claims that the timing of Dagon's death after his battle with Jinshin-Mushi in the 11th century BCE corresponds to a "mass extinction". In reality, the last mass extinction (which is defined as the extinction of at least 50% of all multicellular species on Earth at the time) occurred 65 million years ago at the famous Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, and even the last minor global extinction event (which saw large species of mammals decline) occurred at least 7000 years before Dagon and Jinshin-Mushi clashed.
• Jinshin-Mushis have directly appeared or have at least been referenced in three films, four comics, three novelizations, and one television series, making them one of the most recurring Titans across MonsterVerse media.
• In the comic Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted, a flashback sequence to the events of San Francisco in 2014 shows MUTO 2 attacking the city. Erroneously, however, the Queen MUTO has been drawn in her place, likely due to a miscommunication between the comic's writer and illustrator.

In other languages

• Russian: ГННУС (Гигантское Неопознанное Наземное Уникальное Существо)

List of appearances

Films

• Godzilla (First appearance) (MUTO 1 and MUTO 2)
• Godzilla: King of the Monsters (Stock footage) (Queen MUTO)
• Godzilla vs. Kong (Stock footage)

Television

• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
  • 5. "The Way Out" (Stock footage)
  • 9. "Axis Mundi" (Stock footage)

Comics

• Godzilla: Aftershock (MUTO Prime, MUTO 1 and 2 eggs, other individuals)
• Kingdom Kong (Mentioned)
• Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted (MUTO 2)
• Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong 2 (Cover)
• Monarch: The Lost Adventures

Novels

• Godzilla: The Official Movie Novelization
• Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization
• Godzilla vs. Kong - The Official Movie Novelization (Mentioned)
• Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire - The Official Movie Novelization (Mentioned)

Video games

• Godzilla: Smash3
• Godzilla x Kong: Titan Chasers (Mentioned)

References

v • e Godzilla
Film	Godzilla
Marketing	Godzilla - Comic-Con 2012 Trailer • Godzilla - Official Teaser Trailer • Godzilla - Official Main Trailer • Godzilla - International Trailer • Godzilla - Asia Trailer • It Can't Be Stopped • I Can't Believe This Is Happening • Whatever It Takes • Courage • Extended Look • Nature Has An Order • You're Hiding Something
Kaiju	Godzilla • MUTO
Cast and characters	Joseph Brody Gallery (Bryan Cranston) • Sandra Brody Gallery • Ford Brody Gallery (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) • Elle Brody Gallery (Elizabeth Olsen) • Sam Brody Gallery (Carson Bolde) • Ishiro Serizawa Gallery (Ken Watanabe) • Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins) • William Stenz (David Strathairn)
Staff	Gareth Edwards • Thomas Tull • Jon Jashni • Mary Parent • Brian Rogers • Max Borenstein • David Callaham • Patricia Whitcher • Alex Garcia • Yoshimitsu Banno • Kenji Okuhira • Seamus McGarvey • Owen Paterson • Bob Ducsay • Sharen Davis • Jim Rygiel • Alexandre Desplat
Godzilla: Awakening	Godzilla: Awakening • Godzilla • Shinomura
Books	Godzilla: Awakening • Godzilla: The Official Novelization • Godzilla: The Art of Destruction • Godzilla: With Light and Sound!
Websites	Godzillaencounter.com • Godzilla Encounter App • Godzilla Encounter • MUTOResearch.net • Godzillamovie.com • Godzilla-Movie.jp • Godzilla.jp
Toys and games	Bandai Creation's Godzilla 2014 Toy Line • Jakks Pacific's Godzilla • NECA's Godzilla • Godzilla: With Light and Sound! • Godzilla: Smash3 • Godzilla: Strike Zone • Godzilla: Crisis Defense • S.H. MonsterArts • Godzilla Eggs • Battle Spirits • Godzilla (2014 video game)
Sweepstakes	Sweepstakes
Scrapped content	Rokmutul • Pterodactyl • Unnamed multi-legged monster • June 2012 screenplay

Film-based kaiju
Godzilla
Showa era	Godzilla (1954) Gallery • Second Godzilla Gallery • Anguirus Gallery • Giant Lizard • Giant Octopus Gallery • King Kong Gallery • Mothra Gallery • Mystery Bones of Infant Island • Rodan Gallery • King Ghidorah Gallery • Ebirah Gallery • Giant Condor Gallery • Kamacuras Gallery • Minilla Gallery • Kumonga Gallery • Manda Gallery • Gorosaurus Gallery • Baragon Gallery • Varan Gallery • Gabara Gallery • Maneater • Hedorah Gallery • Gigan Gallery • Jet Jaguar Gallery • Megalon Gallery • Mechagodzilla/Fake Godzilla Gallery • King Caesar Gallery • Titanosaurus Gallery
Heisei era	Godzillasaurus Gallery • Godzilla Gallery • Shockirus Gallery • Biollante Gallery • Dorat Gallery • King Ghidorah Gallery • Mecha-King Ghidorah Gallery • Battra Gallery • Mothra Gallery • Mechagodzilla Gallery • Rodan Gallery • Godzilla Junior Gallery • Fairy Mothra Gallery • SpaceGodzilla Gallery • M.O.G.U.E.R.A. Gallery • Destoroyah Gallery
Millennium series	Godzilla (G2K • GXM • GMK • GXMG • FW) • Millennian Gallery • Orga Gallery • Meganulon Gallery • Megaguirus Gallery • Baragon Gallery • Mothra (GMK • GXMG • FW) • King Ghidorah Gallery • Mechagodzilla Gallery • Kamoebas • Manda Gallery • Rodan Gallery • Zilla Gallery • Anguirus Gallery • King Caesar Gallery • Kamacuras Gallery • Kumonga Gallery • Minilla Gallery • Ebirah Gallery • Hedorah Gallery • Gigan Gallery • Monster X Gallery
TriStar series	Godzilla Gallery • Juvenile Godzilla Gallery • Second Godzilla Gallery
MonsterVerse	Godzilla Gallery • MUTO Gallery • Rodan Gallery • Mothra Gallery • King Ghidorah Gallery • Kong Gallery • Methuselah Gallery • Scylla Gallery • Behemoth Gallery • Mechagodzilla Gallery • Dagon • Shinomura • MUTO Prime • Mokele-Mbembe Gallery • Yamato no Orochi Gallery • Sekhmet Gallery • Leviathan • Abaddon Gallery • Baphomet Gallery • Tiamat Gallery • Typhon Gallery • Bunyip Gallery • Quetzacoatl Gallery • Amhuluk • Unidentified giant spider • Mechagodzilla Gallery • Warbat Gallery • Hellhawk Gallery • Shimo Gallery
Reiwa era	Godzilla (Shin Godzilla) Gallery • Godzilla Earth Gallery • Godzilla Filius Gallery • Servum Gallery • Mechagodzilla Gallery • Vulture Gallery • King Ghidorah Gallery • Godzilla (Minus One)
King Kong
Showa era	King Kong Gallery • Mechani-Kong • Giant Sea Serpent
MonsterVerse	Kong Gallery • Mire Squid • Mother Longlegs • Psychovulture • Sker Buffalo • Skullcrawler Gallery • Sirenjaw • Magma Turtle • Spore Mantis • Death Jackal • Vinestrangler • Snarehunter Ant • Skull Island Deer • Unidentified snake • Unidentified turtle • Swamp Locust • Spirit Tiger • Camazotz • Kong's father • Kong's mother • Skar King Gallery • Suko Gallery
Mothra
Showa era	Mothra Gallery
Heisei era	Mothra Gallery • Mothra Leo Gallery • Fairy Mothra Gallery • Primitive Mothra Gallery • Desghidorah Gallery • Garu Garu Gallery • Dagahra Gallery • Barem Gallery • Ghogo Gallery • King Ghidorah Gallery • Tyrannosaurus rex • Triceratops
Other
Showa era	Snowman • Meganulon • Moguera • Varan • Orochi • Human Vapor • Vampire Plant • Maguma • Matango • Dogora • Frankenstein • Gaira • Sanda • Mechani-Kong • Giant Sea Serpent • Griffon • Giant Rats • Bat People • Daigoro's Mother • Daigoro • Goliath • Gezora • Ganimes • Kamoebas
Heisei era	Gunhed 507 • Amano Shiratori Gallery • Kumasogami Gallery • Kaishin Muba Gallery • Utsuno Ikusagami Gallery • Orochi • Desghidorah
Scrapped kaiju
Showa era	Robot Daughter • Giant Chameleon • Giant Archaeopteryx • Redmoon • Erabus • Hafun • Mogu • Majin Tuol • Garugan • Asuka Fortress • Gamoni
Heisei era	Deutalios • Archaeopteryx • Sasori Monster • Bagan • Gigamoth • MechaMothra • Berserk • Transforming Mechagodzilla • AstroGodzilla • Giant Dragonfly • Super-Nuked Godzilla • Ghost Godzilla • Aurora Godzilla • Crystal Godzilla • Anguirus Hound • Barubaroi • G-END
Millennium series	Miba • Liopleurodon
American films	Godzilla 3D to the MAX: Deathla Godzilla 2: Gryphon • Probe Bat • Queen Bitch
MonsterVerse	Unnamed multi-legged monster • Rokmutul • Pterodactyl