King Kong (MonsterVerse)

The MonsterVerse King Kong キングコング (Kingu Kongu) is a giant ape daikaiju 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 will have his long-awaited rematch with Godzilla.

Name
Kong was named by the Iwi natives of Skull Island.

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 giant Skullcrawler.

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

Kong is shown to be at least partly carnivorous, feeding on animals such as a Mire Squid that he killed and presumably a soldier that was falling into his mouth (though he likely just bit him to death but did not 'eat' him per se).

Kong seems to show a great deal of loneliness, as a result to him losing his parents to the Skullcrawlers at a young age. He visibly sheds tears when Weaver gently touches him, and one of the cave paintings depicts him crouching and mourning over the remains of his deceased parents.

Kong shows great hatred against the Skullcrawlers. He was determined to eradicate them in order to get to avenge his parents and the rest of his kind.

History
"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."

- Official synopsis

Kong: Skull Island
Kong first appears in the prologue, rising over a ledge where Marlow and Gunpei are fighting.

He makes his first proper appearance as Packard and his crew drop bombs on the land below. Enraged, Kong attacks the helicopters, swatting them out of the air and killing many of Packard's men, to which Packard swears vengeance against Kong.

He reappears later on, heavily wounded from the earlier fight. As he washes his wounds and drinks from the lake he is attacked by a Mire Squid, but he manages to kill the creature by stomping its head, and proceeds to make a meal of the giant cephalopod.

Later, he is seen fighting a pair of small Skullcrawlers. He kills one, smahing its skull, but the other one escapes. He then rescues a trapped Sker Buffalo, and encounters Weaver for the first time.

That evening Kong sees both Weaver and Conrad on the top of a tall ledge. While hostile at first, he warms up to them as Weaver touches his face, and visibly weeps before retreating.

Suddenly fires begin to blaze in the night as Packard has set a trap to kill Kong. Kong is lured in and several of Packard's men are crushed in his rampage, but Kong is knocked unconscious and Packard prepares to blow him up with explosive charges.

Conrad and Weaver intervene, however, and the remainder of Packard's men defect against killing Kong. However, nearby from the swamp emerges the largest of the Skullcrawlers. After crushing Packard with his fist, Kong attempts to fight the monster, but the Skullcrawler manages to overpower him.

Their battle continues until morning, where the Skullcrawler turns his attention onto the humans. Kong however, continues to fight him, wielding weapons such as boulders and a tree trunk as a bat, managing to get the upper hand. Kong however gets tossed into a shipwreck where he is tangled in its chains, but the humans distract the giant Skullcrawler long enough to let Kong escape.

Using a boat propeller attached to a chain, Kong manages to severely wound his foe and seemingly kills him by slashing his throat. However as Kong tries to rescue Weaver, who has fallen into the water, the Skullcrawler springs back to life and attacks, trying to eat the human clasped in his hand. As the Skullcrawler's tongue refuses to let go, Kong violently yanks out his opponent's tongue, ripping out his internal organs, finally killing him for good. Once Kong ensures Weaver is finally safe, he wanders off and disappears.

He appears one last time as the humans depart from the island in the rescue helicopters. Kong watches them leave as he beats his chest and loudly roars, proclaiming himself the King of Skull Island.

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

Climbing
Kong is shown to be great climber, being able to scale sheer cliff and mountain faces.

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 through with long engagements. 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 the largest Skullcrawler. After he defeated the largest of the Skullcrawlers, he walked off, showing no sign of being exhausted.

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 the alpha Skullcrawler, during his battle.

Senses
Kong's hearing is quite strong as he was able to hear a trapped Sker Buffalo struggling to break free from a helicopter wreckage. His vision is also strong enough to notice people standing on a cliff through fog in the dead of night.

Speed and Agility
Kong is surprisingly quick for a creature of his size, being able to quickly dodge Skullcrawlers that attack him from behind. He has a body built for flexibility, and is able to swing his long arms to make effective strikes in combat. He is also able to leap very high.

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 the largest of them to the ground by using sheer strength. He can also able to stand on his feet while the largest of the Skullcrawler's tail is constricting his torso.

Lack of bodily armor
Kong's species are naturally born without armor, unlike Godzilla whose has incredibly thick scales that make him resist attacks from enemies. Kong can get injured more easily, which is shown when the rotor blades of a helicopter grazed his palm.

Lackluster size
Kong's weakness is his size, as he is not fully grown yet to have his full strength against larger monsters. He can also be easily wounded, as shown when he washes a freshly bleeding wound inflicted by Skullcrawlers and helicopter propellers.

Poor Healing Factors
Kong doesn't possess any healing factors, unlike Godzilla who heals very fast. He needs a long time and sustenance to heal, as shown when he washes his arm that was scratched during the fight with the helicopters. The scars on his chest have also not completely faded.

Trivia

 * At 31.6992 meters in height, the 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 ripping apart and devouring the Mire Squid is a rare instance showing a kaiju actively consuming another.
 * Kong seems to care for the native 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 combines features of early hominids, the mythical Bigfoot, and perhaps some aspects of the Gargantuas, as opposed to being a more "realistic" gorilla as seen in the 2005 film.
 * According to director Vogt-Roberts, an alternate opening would have taken place in WWII with soldiers fighting on a beach, when they are attacked by a large ape (similar to the 2005 Kong) which is immediately gunned down. However, the real Kong then emerges, many times larger and more threatening. Unfortunately, the studio nixed the idea, telling Vogt-Roberts "You can't do that!"
 * This is the first American King Kong film where Kong does not die at the end: in the 1933 and 2005 films he is shot by aircraft and falls to his death from a skyscraper. In the 1976 film, he fell from a skyscraper but was put into a comatose state. In "King Kong Lives", his artificial heart fails and he dies, and he is already deceased in "Son of Kong".
 * In contrast to the 1993 and 2005 versions who met their ends trying to fight off attacking airplanes, this incarnation of Kong makes his first major appearance by successfully defeating a group of military aircrafts.

List of appearances

 * Kong: Skull Island
 * Godzilla vs. Kong