Josh Valentine

**Joshua "Josh" Valentine** is a character in the 2021 Legendary Pictures *Godzilla* film, *Godzilla vs. Kong*.

A friend of Madison Russell, Josh set out with both her and Bernie Hayes to clear Godzilla's name and expose Apex Cybernetics after Godzilla began attacking the organization's facilities.

## Personality

Josh Valentine is something of an afficionado when it comes to lore regarding Godzilla. Nevertheless, he is a reluctant adventurer and finds it difficult to trust those outside the mainstream, taking to heart the assemblies he has heard in school. He is not afraid to express his doubts out loud and believes what he sees with his eyes. Nevertheless, there are times when he can prove surprisingly smart and street-wise, such as recognizing a shopkeeper who is motivated by money and knows more than he is telling.

## Relationships

### Bernie Hayes

At first, Josh does not think much of Bernie Hayes at all. Considering him to be a "secret weirdo off the Internet", he is at best dubious when it comes to Bernie and his conspiracy theories. He questions Madison Russell as to why they even need to go looking for him, but nevertheless reluctantly accompanies her on her journey. At first, Bernie is as wary of Josh as Josh is of him, recognizing him immediately as somebody who drinks tap water and therefore is not the one who does the thinking between the pair of himself and Madison. As they begin their journey together, Josh openly questions Madison as to whether Bernie is somebody they can trust, pointing out that Bernie says seemingly crazy things all the time and carries a bottle of dead whiskey as if it is a gun. As they continue to journey together, however, Josh comes to realize that even if some of Bernie's theories are out there, he is dead right when it comes to Apex Cybernetics and his theories regarding Godzilla. Eventually, he earns Bernie's respect by proving able to think on his feet by shorting out a console to briefly disable Mechagodzilla at a key moment.

### Madison Russell

Josh has a deep bond with Madison Russell. It is not clear exactly what their history is, but Josh is willing to put himself out by stealing his brother's van in order to go along with a mission on her. He also continues to stick by her despite his clear doubts about the man that she has chosen to ally with, Bernie Hayes.

## History

### MonsterVerse

#### *Godzilla vs. Kong*

Josh is first seen arriving at Madison Russell's house in his brother's van, somewhat reluctant in aiding her investigation on Godzilla's change of behavior. They manage to track down the conspiracy theorist Bernie Hayes through his numerous purchases of bleaches, and Bernie agrees to help them since he also believes that there is a connection between Godzilla and the Apex Cybernetics facilities he was attacking.

As the group begins their search, Josh is openly critical of Bernie, deriding him as a crazed conspiracy theorist. Nevertheless, he comes along for the ride as they penetrate Sublevel 33 of the Apex facility and discover Skullcrawler eggs, before ending up a transport vessel bound for Hong Kong. In the Hong Kong facility, they discover what Bernie calls a "robo-Godzilla," but which Josh calls "Mechagodzilla." The group is eventually caught and brought before Walter Simmons, the head of Apex. They then witness him being killed by his own creation, which goes out of control and then attacks Godzilla.

Madison suggests that they need to warn Monarch about what his happening, but Josh says that they could try it to stop it themselves. He accesses the computer terminal, saying that if he can figure out the password, he can shut it down. It soon transpires, however, that he is not very adept, as the system simply buzzes in error at his attempt. Bernie shouts at him, asking if it's a password, but he admits that he's just used to pirating movies online. "Okay, go to settings," suggests Bernie. As Josh continues to try and fail to access the system, Bernie shouts at him that he thought he was a hacker and he admits to simply having taken a course in HTML in summer camp. Bernie suggests trying "QWERTY," but this attempt only results in a security lockout.

Bernie then declares that it's bottoms-up, pulling out the flask he keeps as a memento of his lost wife, Sara Hayes. He comments that "If you've never had a drink before, now's the time..." and Josh seizes the flask, declaring "Drink. Drink!" He pours the contents of the flask on the control terminal, leading Bernie to shout at him about making him die sober. His idea, however, turns out to be a good one, as the control terminal briefly shorts out, shorting out Mechagodzilla with it. This temporary interruption allows Godzilla, and King Kong, who has joined the fight, to get the upper-hand and destroy Mechagodzilla. Afterwards, Josh watches in awe with the group as Godzilla and Kong acknowledge each other before Godzilla retreats back to the sea.