Apex Cybernetics, formerly known as Applied Experimental Technologies or simply AET, is a multinational tech megacorporation that first appeared in Godzilla vs. Kong. It serves as a rival organization to Monarch.

History[]

Formation[]

It's unknown when Apex (Formerly Applied Experimental Technologies) was founded, but after its CEO Walter Simmons became inspired by the revelation of Godzilla's existence to the world in 2014, the company became the main vehicle of his corporate conspiracy to find a way to kill Godzilla and usurp him as the apex predator. Before 2015 the company operated under the name of Applied Experimental Technologies or AET and was publicly known as a company that specialised in innovation and cybernetic technology. The Company embarked on a rebranding campaign in order to improve their image and further cement the purpose of its CEO. With this new image and name, Apex Cybernetics was born.

Ostensibly operating this conspiracy under the aim of creating a more controlled and secure line of defence against Titan attacks, and enabling humanity to call itself the alpha species of Earth again; Simmons and Apex's true motivations were to satisfy their own ambitions and to ultimately usher in a new era of corporate world domination with themselves on top.^[2] To that end, Apex orchestrated the secret construction of Mechagodzilla, obtaining the skull of Ghidorah's leftover decapitated left head following the three-headed dragon's reign of terror and death in 2019, and converting the skull into a bio-mechanical telepathic piloting system for the Mecha. Apex also utilized captured Skullcrawlers as test subjects for the mecha to kill.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters[]

Following G-Day and the revelation that monsters exist, the company Applied Experimental Technologies operated out of a facility in Seattle, Washington, under the direct supervision of Brenda Holland. The company strived to recruit the best and brightest in the field, leading to the personal recruitment of Corah Mateo, a freelance coder. Upon induction into the company's local headquarters, Corah inquired into a project known as the Cybernetic Neural-Interface Unit which AET had been developing. Holland merely lamented it was below her pay grade but offered her a potential future higher up should she earn it. Later Corah's curiosity drove her to breach the network's firewalls and grant herself access to the research wing where the project was taking place. She discovered that AET had been experimenting on animals such as Chimpanzees with cybernetics. Horrified by what she saw, Corah uploaded a virus into the network which wiped out all the data on the project. She then went on the run, fearful of AET's wrath. During this time, the company was attempting to rebrand itself, in order to better fit with their CEO's ideology.

30 months later following a failed deal with Monarch, Corah returned to face the company. She had been operating in Tokyo, Japan, under the name of May Olowe-Hewitt. Having been roped into a conspiracy to find the missing scientist Hiroshi Randa, she had been traveling with the scientist's children, Cate and Kentaro. Holland chastised her on what she had done and what it had cost the company. Eventually she gave her the choice: act as the company's spy within Monarch in order to study Godzilla or face the legal system for corporate espionage. Cora refused and made her choice. However, Cate Randa refused to work with Monarch unless they had May with them. Forcing Deputy Director Natalia Verdugo to make a deal with AET. Following this, Corah was let go and Holland received a call from CEO Walter Simmons, discussing the lucrative new deal with Monarch. Holland then received the rebranding package. The name changing from AET to the new name: Apex Cybernetics.

Within two years after its rebranding, Apex Cybernetics has established a research station on Skull Island.

Godzilla vs. Kong[]

After Apex's Pensacola factory is attacked and annihilated by Godzilla, who was drawn in and aggravated by Mechagodzilla's signal emanating from the facility, the corporation takes advantage of the public's ensuing bewilderment to paint Godzilla as a menace to humanity, thereby justifying Mechagodzilla's future unveiling to the world and giving Apex a chance to be hailed as heroes for killing Godzilla instead of being blamed for the destruction they're causing. Simmons and Apex's chief technology officer Ren Serizawa subsequently approach Nathan Lind and convince Monarch, through Lind, to collaborate with Apex on accessing the Hollow Earth, so that Apex can harness the realm's unique energy source and use it to combat Godzilla. Unbeknownst to Monarch, Apex truly desire the energy source because no manmade power source can fully power Mechagodzilla, and Apex intend to use the Hollow Earth's energy instead. To access the Hollow Earth, Apex provide Monarch with their new Hollow Earth Aerial Vehicles, and Maia Simmons is assigned to represent Apex on the team and ensure that the energy source is harnessed. Meanwhile, Simmons and Ren complete Mechagodzilla at the corporation's headquarters in Hong Kong, intending to secretly lure Godzilla to the city and unleash the Mecha on him once it's fully charged.

Despite interference from Madison Russell's team in their own headquarters, and from Ilene Andrews and Kong within the Hollow Earth, Apex succeed in analyzing the Hollow Earth energy source and synthesizing a duplicate (although Maia is killed in the process), and Simmons has the synthesized energy infused into Mechagodzilla immediately despite Ren's cautioning. At this point, Apex pay for their hubris and their operation becomes a disaster, with Ghidorah's subconsciousness in the skull taking over Mechagodzilla's system and merging with the artificial Titan's programming: the Mecha immediately turns against its creators, and Simmons and Ren are both killed, whilst the Mecha breaks out of Apex headquarters and goes on a murderous rampage in Hong Kong, before being swiftly destroyed by the combined efforts of Godzilla and Kong.

Notable members[]

• Walter Simmons (deceased)
• Maia Simmons (deceased)
• Ren Serizawa (deceased)
• Bernie Hayes (formerly)
• Sara Hayes (formerly; deceased)
• Brenda Holland
• Corah Mateo (formerly)
• Tim

Vehicles[]

• Hollow Earth Aerial Vehicle (destroyed)

Mechs[]

• Mechagodzilla (destroyed)

Targets[]

• Godzilla (Main Target)
• Skullcrawlers

Trivia[]

• "Apex" served as Godzilla vs. Kong's working title during production.
• Godzilla vs. Kong - The Official Movie Novelization reveals multiple details about Apex not present in the final cut of the film:
  • It's confirmed that current CEO Walter Simmons founded the company as an entrepeneur.
  • It's revealed that Apex obtained Ghidorah's remains via an underground dealing between Walter Simmons and a globally-wanted criminal who was heavily implied to be Alan Jonah, which occurred two-four years before the events of the film or one-three years after the events of Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
  • When Mechagodzilla's Ghidorah-derived bio-acoustic signal instigated Godzilla's first attack on Apex's Pensacola facility, it was a genuine accident on Apex's part which they weren't expecting. Afterwards, Apex intentionally sought to repeat this incident once Mechagodzilla was completed in Hong Kong, in order to further vilify Godzilla by driving him to attack a city with eight million people.
  • Apex have been establishing a facility of their own in each location where Monarch have an established outpost with a military presence.
  • Apex, and apparently Monarch, were clandestinely involved in the U.S. military's creation of the Oxygen Destroyer before the events of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, with Apex having provided one of the bomb's components. In the aftermath of King Ghidorah's apocalyptic reign of terror which ensued as a disastrous direct result of the weapon prototype's usage at Isla de Mara, Simmons bribed the corporation out of accountability, and the U.S. government's wish to cover up their own part in the catastrophe further helped Apex to avoid legal reparations. Although Apex and Monarch's past involvement was swept under the rug, many people in Monarch who remember it regard Apex unfavorably over the disaster.
    • It's also implied that the car collision which killed Bernie Hayes' wife Sara was arranged by Apex after she stumbled across their secret part in the Oxygen Destroyer's development.
  • More than half of Apex's income comes from the military-industrial complex, and the corporation also has a history of doing contract work for Monarch.
  • It remains ambiguous what precisely Apex's plans for the other Titans around the world were after usurping Godzilla and Kong as the reigning apex species: even Ren Serizawa appears to be uncertain. However, both Ren and Bernie Hayes speculate that the other Titans will be either enslaved and "repurposed for human ends", or, if Apex find they can't control them, they'll be killed instead. The former interpretation ties into the film and novelization's motifs surrounding Kong being in chains on the naval warship and surrounding the novelization's expansion on the idea of humans locking up and claiming ownership of Titans.
  • Apex have several moles loyal to them placed within Monarch and feeding them intel.
• It is unknown what happened to Apex Cybernetics after the events of Godzilla vs. Kong. It's likely that they were filed lawsuits by the local populace of Hong Kong for the destruction Mechagodzilla brought to the city, as well as getting under legal scrutiny for harboring Skullcrawlers and the remains of Ghidorah, and that their name and reputation has been permanently tarnished; to say nothing of Bernie Hayes and Monarch likely attempting to expose the extent of Apex's secret operation and their crimes.
  • Additionally, they could have been forcefully shut down or nationalized by the Chinese or local authorities.
  • It is possible that Apex has been absorbed into Monarch given the latter managed to acquire the former's Mechagodzilla and HEAV technology.
  • Godzilla x Kong: Titan Chasers states that Apex Cybernetics personnel have been organizing in various humanitarian missions across the Siren Isles to restore the company's reputation.

List of appearances[]

Films[]

• Godzilla vs. Kong
• Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (Mentioned)

Television[]

• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
  • 7. "Will the Real May Please Stand Up?"
  • 8. "Beyond Logic"

Novels[]

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

Video games[]

• Godzilla x Kong: Titan Chasers

References[]