Mason Weaver

"We don't belong here..."

- Mason

Mason Weaver is a character created by who made her first appearance within the 2017 MonsterVerse film Kong: Skull Island.

Description
"A street-smart investigative photojournalist and self-described “anti-war photographer,” Weaver has seen the monster of humanity at war. Her suspicions sparked, Weaver’s curiosity about the mission’s true purpose drives her to maneuver her way onboard as team photographer. But once they cross over onto Skull Island, she is plunged into the biggest story of her life – one that will confront all her journalistic instincts and ethics."

- Warner Brothers website description

Personality
"The world is bigger than this."

- Weaver to Packard, saying there is more to life than just war

Mason was a confident and compassionate young woman who had a strong connection with nature resulting from her rural upbringing, believing that peace can't be achieved through aggression. Mason also had a strong sense of intuition that helped expose many institutional lies, earning Mason her "anti-war" rep. Her strong intuition is what led her to worming her way onto the Skull Island expedition, correctly suspecting it of having an ulterior motive. After meeting Colonel Packard, she had a low opinion of him after he blamed "people like her" for the American troops losing support during the war against Vietnam. Mason showed a considerate side to her as she befriended James Conrad, with the two becoming close enough for him to confide in her about his father.

She was noted for being a talented photographer as her work was impressive enough to be up for the cover of Time Magazine. Being a pacifist, Mason was armed with a knife but she never used it nor did she ever wield a gun. However, despite her anti-war stance, she never shied away from dangerous places whenever there's a story that must be told, and as part of her job, Mason showed considerable bravery for accompanying soldiers on missions. She was also brave enough to not flinch and stare down an assualt rifle pointed at her face at point-blank range.

History
Mason picked up her first camera at the age of 6. Her father was a demanding but well-meaning man who loved her despite being unintentionally emotionally abusive to her. He died when she was 16 and according to Mason, her father ran their home in a style similar to a "benevolent dictatorship".

Kong: Skull Island
While she is in a darkroom developing photos, Mason is called by her contact Jerry, who tells her she got the job to join the expedition to Skull Island. After hearing three different sources tell her the same thing about it word for word, she believes the "expedition" to be a shady military operation and plans to expose it. Arriving at the location of the ship in Bangkok, Mason meets Packard, who says journalists like her are responsible for the Vietnam War's outcome, and she disputes him for blaming people without guns for losing the war. Though Packard says a camera is more dangerous than a gun and that America abandoned the war instead of losing it, Mason simply scoffs at him and boards the ship.

After attending the mission briefing, Mason finds James Conrad in the cargo hold checking out the seismic charges for the expedition. She asks him why a "geological mapping mission" would need explosives, and if he really believes to be a geological survey. Then she tells him about meeting Packard and believing him to being wound tight. Conrad says that is to be expected with a decorated war hero and asks Mason why she's part of the mission. She says people's opinions can be influenced with the right photo, though Conrad says it can also win her a Pulitzer. Mason gets caught up in the action when she is stranded on the island along with Conrad and his group.

She is the first human to interact with Kong peacefully, and realizes his true benevolent nature. As such, she, along with Conrad and Marlow, try to save Kong from, and later aid him in the battle with the biggest Skullcrawler by firing a flare into its eye and blinding it. During the fight, she is knocked into the marsh and  nearly drowns, but is saved by Kong who scoops her from the swamp, kills the Skullcrawler trying to eat her, and gently laying her on the bank. She is later rescued by helicopters along with the other survivors.

In a post-credits scene, she and Conrad are taken to Monarch headquarters, where she is briefed on the existence of Godzilla and three other monsters.

​Trivia

 * In the film, Weaver makes it off Skull Island with her film intact, while in the novelization, her film is ruined when she falls into the marsh. The book also explains that Weaver's camera acts as a barrier between her and the events going on around her.
 * Weaver is the only person to ever touch Kong in the film.
 * In an interview with Collider, writer Dan Gilroy revealed that Weaver was originally meant to be "a war-weary photographer who had been taking pictures for too long and didn't believe in anything, but would experience an awakening during her first encounter with Kong."