King Kong (MonsterVerse)

The MonsterVerse King Kong キングコング (Kingu Kongu) is a giant ape dakaiju created by Legendary Pictures that first appeared in the 2017 MonsterVerse film Kong: Skull Island. He will also appear in the 2020 film Godzilla vs. Kong, where he'll clash with Godzilla.

Appearance
The director's confirmed and spoken about how the MonsterVerse Kong's design was inspired by, and acts as a throwback to the 1933 film's design, while being truly identifiable as the "2017 version of Kong". The overall design was created to be simple enough to be drawn by a third grader, yet iconic enough to be immediately recognized.

The concept of Kong walking upright like a human was a design choice intended to give off the impression that it was its own species, over that of a silverback gorilla like the 2005 film's incarnation, or a generic "big monkey". The designers took design cues from the 1933 variant with its exaggerated or cartoonish properties, and attempted to visually twist them to make it their own.

Another big part of the design was instilling a sense of divisiveness in the audience, where some see a threat, others an ally, and some a God. This can be seen with the wide range of facial animations provided by the movie's motion capture actor for Kong, Terry Notary. With that, it was decided that Kong's fur would be brown to honor the original's design.

In general, Kong has several scars, three of them running diagonal from his left pectoral to the right side of his torso, and short, brown fur as well a rounded head.

His stance, while upright unlike his 2005 counterpart, shows how his arms are longer than his legs, proportion wise, given him an unnatural appearance compared to a human, providing him with a distinctive silhouette.

It is also said by Marlow, who got his information from the natives, that Kong had not yet reached his full size.

Personality
In the movie, Kong is shown to be extremely fierce and brutal when angered, hurling trees at the oncoming helicopters and smashing them together. Despite this, he has a relatively kind and peaceful side, helping a Sker Buffalo to escape after it was trapped under the wreckage of a helicopter and befriending Mason Weaver and James Conrad. This was to the extent that he even went to save Weaver when she fell into the river during his battle with the big Skullcrawler.

Kong also demonstrates remarkable intelligence, such as when he attacked the alpha Skullcrawler Ramarak using a tree trunk as a staff and used the propeller off an abandoned ship as a melee weapon.

Kong is shown to be carnivorous, feeding on animals such as a Mire Squid that he killed and presumably a soldier that was falling into his mouth.

Kong: Skull Island
The year is 1973. Somewhere in our world, it is said that there exists a wondrous island unspoiled by man - a land shrouded in mystery, where myths run wild. Uncharted and undiscovered.

When the secretive organization known as Monarch identify this destination as the origin point for mysterious new super species, they mount an expedition to discover its secrets.

What they find on Skull Island is an adventure beyond any human experience. An exotic paradise of wonders and terrors, where flora and fauna have fused together into an Eden of otherworldly jungle creatures.

As one group fights to escape and the other declares war on Kong, we discover that the mighty primate is at the centre of a battle for dominion over the island, locked into a 'survival of the fittest' face-off with the terrifying apex predators responsible for wiping out his kin.

Driven by vengeance, Kong will become nature's fury, and fight to take his rightful place upon the throne of most powerful beast on the island, revealing the story of how Kong became King.

Godzilla vs. Kong
Kong will encounter and battle Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Kong.

Abilities
Kong is young for his kind but he proven to have great abilities for any creature that comes his away until he reach adulthood.

Intelligence
Kong is shown to be an intelligent being, for he can differentiate his allies from his enemies. He also takes advantage of his surroundings while fighting and is able to use tools as many primates do, which is shown when he uses boulders and trees as weapons. He even tore off the propeller off an unused ship and used it to grapple and hack Ramarak, the alpha Skullcrawler, during his battle.

Strength and Combat
Like his previous incarnations, Kong is extremely strong for not being fully grown and great at combat against the multiple smaller Skullcrawlers that tried to ambush him. He can easily overpower a Mire Squid by tearing off its tentacles. With his strength, his punches can incapacitate smaller Skullcrawlers and can wrestle and pin Ramarak to the ground by using his surroundings.

Speed and Agility
Kong is surprisingly quick for a creature his size, being able to quickly dodge Skullcrawlers that attack him from behind. He has great body for being quite flexible to swing his long arms to use for combat. He is able to leap very high, as he was able to leap at least shorter than a mile.

Endurance and Stamina
Kong was able to endure the bullets from military helicopters and attacks from the Skullcrawlers. With some injuries his stamina is still very high as he was able to still walk and continue long fights. Despite being temporarily knocked out from the a flaming explosion, Kong could still defend himself for short period of time and awaken moments later to continue the fight against Ramarak.

Climber
Kong is shown to be great climber, though mostly because of his large size that enables him to scale tall mountains.

Senses
Kong's hearing might be quite strong as he was able to hear a trapped Sker Buffalo struggling to break free from a helicopter wreckage.

Weaknesses
Kong only weakness his size as he not fully grown to have his full strength against larger size monsters.

Trivia

 * At 31.7 meters in height, MonsterVerse Kong is currently the second largest incarnation of the ape kaiju to date.
 * Kong is supposedly an adolescent, as the skeletons of much larger apes (implied to be his deceased parents) are seen strewn on the ground.
 * His upright stature is an intentional departure from the traditional, hunched-over posture of apes, as the producers said "it made him feel more like a god" as opposed to merely a big animal.
 * It also serves to pay homage to the original depictions of Kong as a person in a suit, given his more humanoid stance.
 * Kong shedding a tear as the humans touch his face is possibly due to the fact that ever since his parents' deaths, he has never felt a non-threatening touch. It is likely that Mason Weaver reminds him of his mother, which is why he defends and saves her at the end.
 * Kong ripping apart and devouring the Mire Squid is a rare instance showing a kaiju actively consuming another. In the case of Godzilla, he did not eat the slain MUTO despite them being stated as his "prey".
 * Kong seems to care for the local Sker Buffaloes, as he is enraged upon seeing one killed by a Skullcrawler and later helps another that got trapped under a helicopter wreckage.
 * Kong stripping off the branches of a tree and using it as a bat to hit Ramarak with is a possible reference to Pacific Rim and its "boat sword" scene where Gypsy Danger used a tanker as a weapon against Otachi.