MUTO Prime's History
The MUTO Prime, also dubbed Titanus Jinshin-Mushi or simply Jinshin-Mushi, was a giant parasitic Titan that appears in the 2019 graphic novel, Godzilla: Aftershock.
History speaks of it as the "Earthquake Beetle", or the "Dragon Beetle", but one name etched into ancient stone tablets echoes through myth and legend, and we have come to know it as Jinshin-Mushi; an ancient adversary of Godzilla with a rivalry as old as the Earth itself.
The myth of Jinshin-Mushi has been largely erased from history. Records of the encounters between the legendary titan Godzilla have been difficult to find, limited to intricate paintings on ancient Phoenician stone tablets. But the more we learn about the mysterious superspecies, our knowledge about the MUTOs we have previously encountered increases.
Jinshin-Mushi is an imposing specimen with razor-sharp back spires towering atop a hardened outer shell, making it an unstoppable mountain of a tank as it erupts from the earth. Powerful legs strike the ground like a devastating seismic salvo of cannons heard for miles with each thunderous step, digging into the earth to take a battle-hardened stance on the surface against any Titan aggressor it faces.
Mythological studies suggest that Jinshin-Mushi is genetically programmed to find a suitable host to reproduce. Ovipositors guided by glands sensitive to the scent of uranium in Titan blood pierce the hide with the deadly speed and reflex of a scorpion tail, depositing eggs inside the stomach lining of its slain opponent. Once nested within the muscle tissue, the eggs begin the incubation process. They slowly feed on the nuclear-rich hemoglobin in the Titan host's blood, making the beast unable to replenish atomic energy and eventually killing it. The embryos continue to grow within the body in a gestation period spanning centuries, before finally emerging from the cracked ribcage of a fallen giant as a male and female sub-species with a biological imperative to reproduce, creating a breeding force to consume all life on Earth. We call them MUTOs.
We theorize that seismic activity is created by Jinshin-Mushi's underground travels, staying localized mostly in Pacific regions, causing supershear earthquakes that can rip through the planet's mantel at unstoppable supersonic speeds. And the fear struck with every major earthquake comes not from what will topple to the ground, but what will raise from beneath it.
― Monarch Creature Profile
Jinshin-Mushis, more often referred to as MUTO Primes, are matriarchs of the MUTO superspecies,[2] and are the final stage in a female MUTO's lifecycle as theorized by Dr. Emma Russell. The evolutionary purpose of a MUTO Prime is to infect other Titans with its parasitic eggs, which would eventually end up killing the Titan host and spawning the smaller, invasive MUTOs. Godzilla's species, in particular, was common prey for a MUTO Prime, which has driven them to the brink of extinction. Through millions of years of evolution, MUTO Primes evolved various traits to become the perfect matchup for Godzilla's species, becoming almost "custom-built" to counter attacks from the Gojira. MUTO Primes target Titanus Gojira due to them being the biggest, best hosts for their young.
In the year 1100 B.C.E, a MUTO Prime was seen by ancient humans attacking a member of Godzilla's species named Dagon and infecting him with her eggs. This same MUTO Prime resurfaced in the year 2014 shortly after the death of her offspring at the hands of Godzilla, leading to the events of Godzilla: Aftershock.
Godzilla: Aftershock
Around the year 1100 B.C.E., MUTO Prime encounters a member of Godzilla's species (referred to as Dagon by Monarch), and the two Titans engage in a ferocious battle. Almost immediately, she gains the upper hand, beating down Dagon, but not fully killing him. Using her ovipositors, she inserts two eggs into the stomach lining of the wounded Titan, leaving them to feed off of his nuclear-rich blood while he still lives.
In the year 2014, MUTO Prime resurfaces and attacks a naval base in Guam, attracted to the payloads of the nuclear submarines stationed there. She lifts a submarine with her mouth and crushes it in her mandibles before Godzilla rises from the ocean to stop her. The two have a brief fight before MUTO Prime retreats, burrowing deep underground. Later, Dr. Emma Russell and her associate, Tarkan, travel to Japan to investigate a massive crater that appeared near a temple. The two are lowered into the depths of the crater and barely escape with their lives after MUTO Prime burrows straight through the tunnel.
Shortly afterward, MUTO Prime attacks a Russian submarine in the Barents Sea, splitting it cleanly in half and killing the entire crew. Godzilla appears and rams her away from the sub, but she quickly retreats once again. Meanwhile, Emma Russell travels to Siberia with Tarkan and San Francisco Commission member, Miles Atherton, to investigate yet another crater, presumed to have been created by MUTO Prime. While there, they discover dozens of MUTO egg casings in the remains of a Godzilla.
MUTO Prime continues her rampage, this time attacking a nuclear power plant located in Creys-Malville, France. Godzilla arrives to fight her, and charges directly at her before she can escape. MUTO Prime fights back, swiping at Godzilla with her massive forelimbs, causing blood to be drawn. She manages to knock him down and attempts to stick him with her ovipositors, but Godzilla throws her off before she can do so. The two Titans roar at each other before MUTO Prime burrows into the Earth once more.
After gaining enough evidence from research, Emma Russell presents her findings to her team in the southern Philippines. First, she reveals that the MUTOs are a weaponized sub-species of MUTO Prime, specially evolved to destroy ecosystems and reshape them for their own needs. Emma also reveals that given enough time to grow and mature, a female MUTO can metamorphose into a MUTO Prime, if need be. Finally, she explains that MUTO Prime had killed multiple Godzillas in her lifetime, as evidenced by egg casings found in Siberia and the Philippines. The team begins to put together a plan to help Godzilla defeat MUTO Prime, and deduce that tricking Prime using sonic pulses would be the best option.
Emma and her team travel to Angra Do Heroismo, located in the Azores, to carry out their plan. Utilizing massive speakers, the team blasts sonic pulses to trick MUTO Prime into thinking her eggs have already been implanted in a Titan host. MUTO Prime arrives and realizes she is being tricked. In a rage, she smashes the speakers and causes the Monarch operatives to retreat. Emma realizes that MUTO Prime did not fall for the trick due to the sonic pulses not coming from inside the body of a Titan, as they naturally would. The plan is revised, this time with the pulses to be played from within the depths of a bunker holding nuclear material, located in the Beartooth Mountains, Montana.
MUTO Prime travels to the bunker to feed on the nuclear material stored there. As she approaches the bunker, Godzilla arrives and rams her to the ground. She quickly rises to her feet, and the two Titans proceed to violently pummel and wrestle with each other. While fighting, MUTO Prime releases a sonic roar so powerful that it shatters some of Godzilla's dorsal plates. Emma and Tarkan rush into the bunker and activate a device that blares the sonic pulses, which effectively distracts Prime. With the massive parasite distracted, Godzilla grabs and lifts her onto his back before releasing a massive nuclear pulse from his dorsal plates, sending her soaring into the air and causing limbs to break off. MUTO Prime falls from the sky and slams back onto the ground, heavily wounded. Before she can react, Godzilla crushes her head with a devastating stomp, killing her. With his ancient rival finally defeated, Godzilla makes his way back into the ocean, radiating a pure nuclear energy cloud from his back.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization
While walking through Monarch's Castle Bravo base in the Caribbean, Mark Russell spots the corpse of the MUTO Prime that Godzilla had killed being dissected and studied by Monarch scientists.
Godzilla Dominion
The fossilized skull of a MUTO Prime can be seen jutting out the side of an underwater cavern amongst other Titan remains as Godzilla swims towards his old lair.
