Nolan's Emergence

A brief but consequential chapter of Viltrumite history, this event covers the Empire's decision to send Nolan, one of its finest warriors, to test whether Earth's people are suitable for interbreeding with Viltrumites. His arrival marks the start of Nolan's Odyssey, the two-decade infiltration meant to quietly ready the planet for conquest. Also called Nolan's First Day, it plays out in flashback across several episodes.

In the wake of the Scourge Virus, and amid the Empire's sprawling expansion, the Viltrumites survey world after world searching for a species compatible enough to rescue their kind from extinction through breeding. Earth turns out to fit the requirement, and its inhabitants are confirmed as viable partners. The Empire then dispatches its trusted officers to subdue chosen planets alone, with the celebrated warrior known as the Great Nolan assigned to Earth. Landing on a beach in an unnamed country, Nolan is set upon by a kaiju. He fights the creature single-handedly, hammering it with blows, seizing its tongue, and flinging it into the sea; when it surges back, he finishes it by slicing clean through its body. Moments later a helicopter sets down and Cecil Stedman steps out to meet him for the first time.

Nolan tells Cecil that he hails from a planet called Viltrum and that his government has sent him to protect Earth, and Cecil offers his own name in return. This first meeting opens the long acclimation period during which Nolan embeds himself in human society, laying the groundwork for the decades-long mission that follows.