Kumonga

Kumonga (クモンガ, Kumonga) is a giant spider created by Toho that first appeared in the 1967 Godzilla film, Son of Godzilla.

Name
Kumonga's name comes from kumo (クモ), which is the Japanese word for "spider."

Kumonga's name in the international dub of Son of Godzilla is "Spiga", which comes from "spider."

Appearance
Kumonga's designs are very consistent throughout its appearances. Its body is black with yellow patterns. It has cold-color eyes, an arachnid mouth, and eight legs.

Origins
According to the journal of Dr. Matsumia, Kumonga was a type of very large spider to dwell in the jungle of Sogell Island. However, exposure to the radioactive storm of 1967 created by the UN's failed weather experiment mutated Kumonga into a 45-meter tall.

Son of Godzilla
In the Showa series, Kumonga was a giant spider that lived in Sogell Island. It first appeared when it trapped and poisoned Kamacuras. Then it trapped Godzilla's son, Minilla in webbing and closed in for the kill. However, Godzilla arrived and defended his son. Kumonga attacked and nearly succeeded in killing Godzilla, but Minilla helped his father and using their atomic rays, they burned Kumonga's body, severely injuring it.

Destroy All Monsters
Kumonga returned in Destroy All Monsters and was living on Monsterland, along with many other monsters. In 1999, aliens known as Kilaaks captured and mind-controlled the monsters of the island. The were released in cities throughout the world. But in the end, the humans broke the mind-control and freed the monsters. The monsters were then sent to attack and destroy King Ghidorah. Kumonga took part in the fight by trapping King Ghidorah in the thick webbing. After King Ghidorah was defeated, Kumonga and the other monsters returned to Monsterland and lived peacefully to this day.

Godzilla: Final Wars
Kumonga was featured in Godzilla: Final Wars, not that different in appearance, as one of the many mind-controlled monsters of the Xiliens. It appears in a desert in Arizona where it destroys a trailer. Then suddenly, the Xiliens teleport the spider and the other monsters around the world. They tell the humans that they took the monsters away to save Earth. However, the humans find that the Xiliens were controlling the monsters and the Xiliens release all the monsters again to finish destroying the cities they were attacking. When Godzilla is freed from the south pole and fights the alien-controlled kaiju, defeating Gigan and Zilla. Through the alien leader's command, Kumonga is released in New Guinea to battle him. Godzilla approached the monstrous arachnid and let loose a roar to announce his presence. At first, Kumonga was able to trap Godzilla in thick webbing, but Godzilla managed to grab a strand of webbing that was still attached to Kumonga and swung it around in circles before letting go of the webbing. Kumonga soared over the horizon and was not seen again

Abilities
Kumonga can shoot a thick webbing and a stinger from his mandibles. Kumonga has prehensile pedipalps that can be used to grab small prey. The Showa version was able to survive multiple hits from Godzilla's atomic ray. The Millennium Kumonga's web was able to expand on contact with air from a single thread into a net for incapacitating foes. It also has long legs ending in sharp points which can be used to skewer opponents or crush through materials like in a scene in the movie Godzilla Final Wars. It also appears to have jumping abilities.

Filmography

 * Son of Godzilla
 * Destroy All Monsters
 * All Monsters Attack (Stock Footage)
 * Godzilla vs. Gigan (Stock Footage)
 * Godzilla: Final Wars

Rulers of Earth
Kumonga was first seen in his massive layer in the bottom of a canyon. He was present when the Alien monster, Gigan invaded Earth, and after a brief battle, in which Gigan severed one of the spider's legs, Kumonga retreated into it's burrow and has not surfaced since. Kumonga's image was seen on the massive cave painting on Infant Island, part of the Land section.

Video Game Appearances

 * Godzilla vs. 3 Major Monsters
 * Gojira-Kun
 * Godzilla Trading Battle

In Other Languages

 * German: Spiega

Trivia

 * According to the German release of Son of Godzilla, Kumonga was created by Dr. Frankenstein.
 * Kumonga and Kamacuras share many similarities.
 * Unlike many normal spiders, Kumonga can fire it's webbing from it's mandibles. It is unknown if it even has spinerettes.
 * Also unlike normal spiders, Kumonga can fire a dart of poison from it's mandibles as well.

Poll
Do you like Kumonga? Yes! No. Kind of.

Spiega