King Kong (キングコング?), also dubbed Titanus Kong or simply Kong, is one of the two main protagonists (alongside Kingu KonguGodzilla) of the MonsterVerse, and a giant great ape Titan created by Legendary Pictures who first appeared in the 2017 film, Kong: Skull Island.
Kong faced off against Godzilla before teaming up to defend against Mechagodzilla in the 2021 film, Godzilla vs. Kong.
Kong recently returned in the animated Skull Island series, which takes place in the early 1990s during his life on Skull Island. He made a brief appearance in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. He returned in the sequel, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
Name[]
Kong was named by the Iwi inhabitants of Skull Island. In Japanese, the word "Kong" is a slang for "Gorilla". The name also corresponds to the Congo, an African country known for its gorilla population. The name also derived from "Sun Wukong", the legendary Monkey King of Chinese mythology.
Kong's species, and by extension Kong himself, are referred to as "The Great Apes" in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. In the Skull Island: The Birth of Kong comic, Walter R. Riccio refers to the species as simply "Kongs".
Design[]
Development[]
VFX designers spent eight months making Kong a powerful and sympathetic anti-hero with an element of humanity. Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts drew inspiration from the 1933 film's design while ensuring Kong was iconic enough to be immediately recognized. Famed creature designer Carlos Huante borrowed from the 1933 film, imbuing Kong with orange-brown fur, a small crown, a huge brow, an exaggerated muzzle, and a wide-eyed roar. VFX supervisor Jeff White designed Kong to be 104 feet tall so that "a human will look like a speck in the shadow of this colossus."[12] Kong's upright posture is an intentional departure from the hunched-over posture of the silverback gorilla, like in the 2005 film's incarnation, or of a generic "big monkey." Kong's arms are disproportionately longer than his legs, which gives him a distinctive silhouette. Kong was designed to instill divisiveness in the audience, who may view Kong as a threat, a savior, or a god.[13]
Appearance[]
2017[]
Kong has a rounded head and several scars (three of them running diagonally from his left pectoral to the right side of his torso, and several more on the palm of his right hand after attempting to grab the rotating blades of a helicopter). Kong has a muscular physique, with defined abs and large biceps. He also sports a notch on his left ear.
2021[]
Kong's height has more than tripled to 337 feet by the time of Godzilla vs. Kong. Sections of Kong's fur are a now a darker shade of brown along with a few gray hairs. He has also grown beard-like facial hair. By this time, Kong's head is 50 feet wide.[14] Additionally, Kong often stands in the hunched knuckle-walking posture commonly seen in gorillas and other apes. Following his fight against Godzilla in Hong Kong, the King of Monsters ferociously slashed at Kong's chest four times, leaving a diagonal grid lines of scars based on the right pectoral area in addition to his original three scars.
2023[]
In the animated television series Skull Island, set in 1993, Kong's design was completely made through animation, appearing slightly taller than his initial design in Kong: Skull Island but under his height in the comic series Skull Island: The Birth of Kong. Due to his animation, there are discrepancies and alterations on Kong from his live-action appearance; his forearms are much larger, his fur is dark gray; instead of brown, he displays a smaller beard compared to the one that he had in Godzilla vs. Kong, his legs are slightly longer, causing his overall silhouette to appear more human-based, he lacks the small burns on his face, and the three diagonal scars have shrunk in size and positioned across the center of Kong's chest.
Kong made a cameo in the season finale of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. His design is similar to the Kong design in Godzilla vs. Kong, minus the additional scars from the Hong Kong battle against Godzilla.
2024[]
While maintaining the same overall design from Godzilla vs Kong, Kong's beard has grown slightly longer and greyer, he retains the scars gained from Godzilla's mauling in Hong Kong, and now sports a diagonal scar on his back from Godzilla's Atomic breath. Notably, the fur around his shoulders and upper back has grown denser and more pronounced. He broke his left upper canine from attempting to eat a Wart Dog carcass and got it infected, resulting in having it removed and replaced with a metal implant with the same alloy used to make the H.E.A.V.. In the second half of the film, Kong is fitted with a yellow mechanized brace called the B.E.A.S.T. Glove on his right forearm when he sustained frostbite from Shimo's frost bite blast, resulting in nerve damage and tissue loss.
Portrayal[]
Kong is portrayed with CGI aided by Terry Notary's motion capture performance. Reference facial animation is provided by Toby Kebbell.[15] With the blessing of previous Kong actor, Andy Serkis, Notary completed the motion capture for Kong in only three days.[16]
Vogt-Roberts opted for keyframe animation, primarily due to Kong's size. This choice enabled Vogt-Roberts to work closely with the animators and get his desired performance.
For the film Godzilla vs. Kong, the filmmakers sought to create a more "human" Kong, one that was said to be recognizable as the same character from Kong: Skull Island, but older and wiser. They chose to go more minimalistic with the character's movements, and bringing him down to a level where he could interact with human characters such as Jia. Motion-capture for Kong was provided by Allan Henry during the ocean battle scene, using some of the same technology used for the film Planet of the Apes.[17] Eric Petey provided much of Kong's motion capture performance.
Roar[]
Supervising sound editor/designer Al Nelson oversaw the design of Kong's roar. Nelson visited Washington D.C.'s National Zoological Park and Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom to record lion roars as a starting point, since the original 1933 Kong's roar was produced by reversing the sounds of a tiger and lion. He then mixed and matched gorilla and monkey sounds to create additional layers to Kong's roar.[18]
To fully capture the desired "island-shaking" levels, the sound team set up speaker systems at Skywalker Sound and played Kong's bellows and roars through a 5.1 channel system.
In Godzilla vs. Kong, Kong's roar was created by Erik Aadahl, and was adapted from lions, tigers, leopards, gorillas, bears, boars, and elephants. It is also amplified to sound louder and more aggressive. There are some instances in the film where Kong emits very unique sounds, some of which are shrill, and high-pitched like his 1976 incarnation, but filtered to sound somewhat modernized. During his battle against Godzilla in Hong Kong, he also briefly made a sound similar to that of his Toho counterpart. When Kong lifted his axe to strike Godzilla on the head, he made a sound that was recycled from a video of an elephant roaring in pain while undergoing medical treatment, and he occasionally emits a shrill scream, which was from a video of a gorilla charging at a glass window in a zoo. Additionally, when he grabs one of the HEAVs, he produced a sound that was used for the werewolves in the MTV series Teen Wolf. One of these roars can be heard on Space Jam: A New Legacy and Jungle Cruise; in the latter, it was emitted by the jaguar Proxima. In the animated TV series Skull Island, Kong's roars from Godzilla vs. Kong and Kong: Skull Island can also be heard.
Personality[]
During his adolescence as seen in Kong: Skull Island, Kong is initially shown to be extremely territorial, reclusive, and defensive. As the guardian of Skull Island, he fiercely protected its wildlife from any threats, chiefly the invasive Skullcrawlers and the 1973 Monarch expedition team. Despite not yet fully grown, he was a capable combatant, and could effortlessly trample the majority of Skull Island's predatory fauna. Despite this reclusive and aggressive behavior, Kong was also shown as having a softer side and ultimately was a very lonely creature that strived for social contact. During the 1973 expedition, Kong notably doted upon Mason Weaver after the latter had affectionately touched his face while standing on a cliffside. This simple act visibly affected Kong, whose eyes welled up with tears. Kong would ultimately risk his life to protect Weaver and her company from the awakened Skull Devil, and ultimately disemboweled the creature after refusing to let it swallow the woman. The novelization of Godzilla vs. Kong reveals that, at some point during his adolescence, Kong had developed a habit of launching the trunks of tree towards the sun, with the goal of one day actually hitting it. Terry Notary played Kong as a lonely, burdened "14-year-old that's trapped in the life of an adult" who is growing into his protector role.
In the 1990's, Kong had formed bonds with a giant Hawk native to Skull Island, and a young Spanish woman that belonged to a shipwrecked community on the island, with the former acting as an aerial scout and hunting partner, and the latter being a close companion and friend. The death of this young woman at the hands of a Titan known as the "Kraken" drove Kong into a depressive state, and he would thereafter keep an amulet that the woman had frequently worn as a way to remember her. Kong's bond with this woman implied that his tolerance for humans had grown, but that he still remained distrustful of most others.
By the time of Kingdom Kong in 2021, continued his role as guardian of Skull Island. Kong frequently allowed Houston Brooks to observe him from a helicopter, and tolerated the presence of a Monarch base on the Island. At one point, Kong attempted to rescue a wounded Sker Buffalo from a flock of Psychovultures, and was visibly saddened after failing to do so. After his battle with the bat-Titan Camazotz, Kong rescued pilot Audrey Burns from her destroyed fighter jet and briefly acknowledged the pilot's efforts to help combat Camazotz.
By the time of Godzilla vs. Kong in 2024, Kong had reached adulthood and had become significantly less aggressive towards humans, notably forming a bond with the young Iwi girl Jia. In secret, Jia taught Kong basic sign language, though he would only use it to communicate specifically with her. Despite his friendship with Jia, Kong's loneliness persisted into his adulthood. When removed from Skull Island and placed on a barge in the Tasman sea, Kong repeatedly signed to Jia that he was sad and wanted to go back home. After being transported to a Hollow Earth vortex in Antarctica, Kong was lured into the vortex after Jia explained that others of his kind could still be alive on the other side. The urge for contact with another of his species ultimately drove Kong throughout his journey in the Hollow Earth. During his final battle with Godzilla in Hong Kong, Kong refused to submit to the Alpha Titan even after being beaten physically, and instead roared in defiance.
Despite their feud, Kong assisted Godzilla in defeating the mechanized anti-Titan machine known as Mechagodzilla, and afterwards formed an uneasy peace with Godzilla despite not submitting to him, showing a capacity to overlook grudges while also preserving his own sense of pride. In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Kong displays apparent signs of loneliness when his search for more his kind within the Hollow Earth seemed futile. Upon finding more of his kind in the uncharted area of Hollow Earth, Kong is quick to bond with Suko, despite the latter's repeated attempts to trick him and leave him for dead--even going as far as to share with the juvenile ape a portion of flesh from the Drownviper he killed, showing fatherly-figure traits that he otherwise did not show previously. He also extends the same kind and caring nature towards Shimo, as Kong snuggles her on the chin after she is freed from the Skar King's control. Kong's kindness extended to other Great Apes as well, saving one of the Skar King's minions attacking him from falling into a chasm, only kicking him back down it when the ape in question returned Kong's mercy by trying to stab him, and standing up for the weaker apes being brutalized and enslaved within the Skar King's domain.
Kong is shown to be primarily carnivorous, as he is seen feeding on numerous animals that he has killed. While on Skull Island, he frequently hunted and creatures like Mire Squids, Grass Hedgehogs, and Croc Monsters. While on the barge in Tasman sea, he was fed hundreds of large fish. While in the Hollow Earth, Kong killed two Warbats and ate the innards of one's head. The Godzilla vs. Kong novelization reveals that, at one point, Kong had tried to eat a Skullcrawler he had killed, but was ultimately disgusted by the vile taste of its meat.
Most notably, Kong is shown to have near human-level intelligence. Aside from having complex emotions, Kong is shown to be readily able of crafting weapons, such as a flail-like weapon using the propeller from a shipwreck, and a club-like weapon using a tree trunk. He quickly mastered the use of his ancestral axe and discovered it could be charged using Hollow Earth energy. Aside from Mothra, Kong is shown to be the only other Titan that can directly communicate with humans via sign language, and frequently uses this skill to talk to Jia. Kong is also capable of being compassionate, which was shown in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire when he helped one of the Skar King's slaves that was being abused by one of the Red Stripes.
Due to his status as an Alpha Titan, Kong is shown to have the ability/willpower to resist the authority of other Alpha Titans. He notably rejected Ghidorah's alpha call during Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and further rejected Godzilla's authority afterwards. Even after being defeated in combat by Godzilla, Kong still refused to submit. This trait is reinforced further in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, where Kong not only rejected the Skar King's authority, but openly challenged the tyrant ape upon witnessing his acts of cruelty and abuse, showing that Kong despises tyranny. Following the Skar King's defeat, Kong becomes the new leader of the ape tribe in the Hollow Earth, intending to rule in a more benevolent way than the Skar King did.
Origins[]
While sharing a common ancestry with apes, Kong is an entirely new superspecies beyond any existent categorization of life on Earth. Worshipped as a god by the Iwi, Kong has inspired a culture of reverence among the indigenous peoples of Skull Island. Across the sweep of his natural domain, his history has been memorialized through a series of sacred monuments. Intricately painted petroglyphs and tomes chart Kong's god-like rise to power.
And that power has come at a terrible price.
The emergence of a new breed of apex predator - the Skullcrawlers - challenged Kong's kind, threatening extinction in an evolutionary war that has waged for millennia. The island is strewn with the bones of his fallen ancestors. His family.
How long can it have been since he last gazed upon another like himself?
Kong is a member of a prehistoric, great ape superspecies that evolved in the Hollow Earth, a lush ecosystem of gigantic creatures located beneath the surface of the Earth. While the species shares a common ancestry with modern-day apes, it is considered to be an entirely new categorization of life. Unusual in apes, the species walked upright instead of knuckle-walking, giving them a humanoid appearance. Based on the appearance of Kong's parents, the species exhibited some examples of sexual dimorphism. Males appeared to be slightly larger, leaner, and possessed a sagittal crest and beard-like growths along the face. Females, like Kong's mother, were more rotund in physique and often grew longer hair.
Ancient humans who later became the Iwi revered the great ape as gods and protectors, building large shrines and structures in their name. At some point before the last great Ice Age, the great apes were enslaved by a tyrannical great ape known as the Skar King, who wished to leave the Hollow Earth and conquer the Earth's surface. As a result, Godzilla and his species waged war against the Skar King and his enslaved great ape army to prevent them from reaching the surface. To combat the larger, more volatile Gojiras, the great apes crafted axes forged from the dorsal plates, hide, and bones of fallen Gojira members. After a costly protracted war, the Skar King and the great apes ultimately were unable to defeat their rivals, resulting in the Skar King and his army being locked away beneath a massive cavern in the Hollow Earth.
When Skull Island came into existence, living members of the species migrated there via an opening from the Hollow Earth. They ruled over the island peacefully until the Skullcrawlers, an invasive species from the Hollow Earth, infested the island. The feud between the two species lasted for centuries, with casualties on both sides. Eventually, the Iwi's descendants migrated to the island and witnessed the feud. Under constant attack from the Skullcrawlers, and unable to grow to their full potential due to resource limitations on the island, the remnants of the great apes of Skull Island soon died off until only two were left alive, the parents of Kong himself. The two would later perish after being overwhelmed by a horde Skullcrawlers, but not before the female gave birth to Kong. As the last known member of his species on Skull Island, Kong patrolled the island and hunted the creatures responsible for killing his family. Meanwhile, living members of the species continued to exist in the Hollow Earth, but under the rule of the Skar King.
History[]
Kong: Skull Island[]
In the 1944 prologue, Kong first appears rising over a ledge where Marlow and Gunpei Ikari are fighting.
In 1973, he makes his first proper appearance as Preston Packard and his crew drop seismic bomb charges on the land below to map it. 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. Following the conflict, Kong reappears at a lake, heavily wounded from the earlier fight. As he washes his wounds and drinks from the lake, a Mire Squid attacks Kong, but he manages to kill the creature by stomping on its head and proceeds to make a meal of the giant cephalopod.
Later, Kong is seen jumping from one mountain to another as he looks over the island. Kong finds a dead Sker Buffalo being eaten by a Skullcrawler near a large underground vent. As he is about to engage the creature, another one ambushes Kong from behind. He kills them by throwing one to the ground, breaking its neck, and stomping the other's head. Some time later, Weaver tries and fails to save a Sker Buffalo trapped under a downed helicopter outside the Iwi village. Kong appears and rescues the buffalo. He encounters Weaver for the first time and looks at her curiously before leaving her be. Later that night, he is seen sitting atop a mountain, somberly watching the aurora.
The following night, Kong sees both Weaver and Conrad on the top of a tall ledge through a blanket of fog and approaches them. While frightened at first, Weaver sees no signs of aggression. She touches his face, and he visibly weeps before retreating. Immediately afterwards, Kong is drawn to a distant explosion, which happens to be a napalm trap set by Packard. Kong is lured in and set on fire by Packard. Several of Packard's men get crushed in Kong's ensuing rampage, but the fire renders Kong unconscious, and Packard then prepares to kill Kong with explosive charges. However, Conrad, Weaver, and Marlow intervene, creating a standoff between them and Packard's men. In the midst of the standoff, the largest of the Skullcrawlers, the Skull Devil, emerges from the swamp. Everybody flees except for Packard, who is crushed by the awakened Kong moments before he can set off the charges. Kong attempts to fight the monster, but the Skull Devil manages to overpower him.
As the morning comes, the Skull Devil turns its attention onto the humans and chases them into a marsh. Kong returns and saves them by smashing a giant boulder against the Skull Devil's head, giving the humans the chance to get to safety. The fight continues with Kong managing to get the upper hand by wielding a tree trunk as a bat at one point. However, the Skull Devil uses his tail to throw Kong into a shipwreck, where he becomes tangled in its chains. As the Skull Devil prepares to deliver the killing blow, the humans distract the giant monster long enough for Kong to free himself.
Using a ship's propeller attached to a chain like a flail, Kong manages to snag and pull the Skull Devil towards him. Kong throws the Skull Devil against the cliff Weaver is standing on, causing her to fall into the water. He fights and seemingly kills the Skull Devil when he slashes the giant reptile's throat with the propeller. However, as Kong rescues Weaver, the Skull Devil springs back to life and attacks. The Skull Devil wraps his tongue around Kong's arm where Weaver is enclosed and pulls it down his throat. Kong violently tears out his opponent's tongue, finally killing his enemy for good and avenging the deaths of his parents as well as his species.
Kong gently sets Weaver down. As Conrad reunites with Weaver, Kong looks back at them before wandering off. As the humans depart from the island in the rescue helicopters, Kong beats his chest and loudly roars, proclaiming himself the King of Skull Island.
Skull Island[]
In You're Not a King, You're Just a Stupid Animal, it is revealed that, at some point between 1973 and 1993, Kong befriended a young tribeswoman that inhabited near the sea. He first saves her life by slaying a Skullcrawler with a tree trunk fashioned into a spear before carrying her to a mountain where she tells him of machines that could do work in their stead. Later on, the duo, accompanied by the hawk, stumble upon a pack of monstrous chameleons, with Kong charging into battle despite the island woman telling him to wait until she warns her tribesmates. Though he gets wounded, the Titan ultimately emerges victorious from his fight but ends up being scolded by his human friend who calls him a stupid animal. Offended, Kong departs with a gigantic hawk and goes to the sea in order to wash the blood off his bitten shoulder, unknowingly awakening a large aquatic creature from its slumber. The next day, Kong attempts to make amends with the island woman by giving the village an entire tree with fruits, only for the woman to tell him she doesn't want to see him for the day, much to his frustration.
Later, after hearing the girl screaming, Kong rushes to the village, only to find out it has been destroyed and its inhabitants slaughtered before witnessing the aquatic titan waving its tentacles, almost as if taking credit for the attack. Among the wreckage, the ape finds the young woman, who's severely wounded, and rushes her to his temple, where she barely has enough time to call him her king before eventually succumbing to her injuries. The simian Titan then mourns his friend and takes her necklace as a reminder before holding a funeral for her atop the mountain where they used to hang out before vengefully roaring at the sea.
Years after the aforementioned events, Charlie and Mike, two survivors of the Once Upon a Maritime, are shipwrecked on Skull Island. Shortly after having trouble with crabs that attempted to eat them, Charlie and Mike hear Kong's roar in the distance, a roar that is also heard by Charlie's father and a woman seeking her daughter on the island.
Kong then later appears and uses his massive hand to snatch up a crocodilian and devour it, inadvertently saving the teenagers before patrolling around the island to ensure everything is in check. After being captured by the hawk, Charlie finds Dog and sees they have been brought to a temple in which Kong has taken residence. As they escape, they witness the titanic ape swinging around the area before the teenager notices him glancing at a necklace with a visibly saddened expression. The same night, Kong gets angry upon seeing a grown sperm whale being hurled into his temple, soon suspecting that his rival is trying to provoke him.
Annie and Charlie ride on Dog's back to the temple and steal the necklace, enraging Kong as they planned. As they escape the temple, they lure him to the seaside, though Charlie gets off Dog to allow his new friends to carry out the plan, with the angered Titan in pursuit, until Annie hands out the necklace to him. Before he can react, Kong is ambushed by the Kraken and proceeds to fight him. Though Kong initially holds his own by ripping some tentacles off, he is quickly subdued and dragged underwater by his aquatic nemesis who intends to drown and kill him, even pinning him to the bottom of the sea. Fortunately, the ape grabs the wreckage of Cap's ship and jams it into the Kraken's head, destroying two of its eyes and momentarily distracting it before surfacing, only for the sea monster to attack him again and slam him into some rocks. But before the beast could attack any further, the enraged ape proceeds to corner his opponent and brutally pummel it to the brink of death before rescuing Dog, who was being swept away by the riptides that were caused by the fight.
Just as he looks on at the Dog and Annie, Kong is attacked one more time by the Kraken, which survived its wounds. Having had enough, Kong lifts the weakened monster and rips it in half, finally killing it and avenging his fallen friend in the process before throwing its bisected corpse in the water, causing a tidal wave that sweeps both Dog and Annie further inland, with the latter having her leg broken as a result.
Skull Island: The Birth of Kong[]
On August 7, 1995, Aaron Brooks, the son of Houston Brooks and San Lin, leads a team of five Monarch operatives on a secret mission to Skull Island to uncover answers about Kong. Following an attack by Psychovultures, the operatives' pilot crash-lands on the west of the island in their V-22 Osprey while they parachute down to a cliff overlooking the island. Almost immediately, a pack of Death Jackals attacks them and kills survival expert, Helen Karsten. The Death Jackals pursue the remaining humans into a cave and corner them. Before the humans are finished off, Kong appears and saves them by crushing the Death Jackals in his hand and beneath his foot. Then Kong briefly stares at the cave entrance before walking away.
In July the following year, the remaining Monarch operatives, led by an Iwi boy named Ato, embark on a pilgrimage to uncover Kong's past and eventually meet with him. When a Sirenjaw by the wreckage of an old Dutch ship attacks the humans, they hear Kong's roar as he goes to fight it, and Aaron leads the others in Kong's direction. When Aaron and his team arrive at the scene, they see that Kong has already killed the Sirenjaw and left. The carcass eventually attracts Psychovultures and Death Jackals. The team then reaches the Boneyard and hides from a pack of Skullcrawlers in a cave. Riccio then experiences another vision and sees that the day of Kong's birth was when he lost his parents to the Skullcrawlers. Kong's mother hid her son in a cave by sealing its entrance with rocks while Kong's father fought off the Skullcrawlers. Kong then watched the Skullcrawlers kill his parents, creating the anger and hatred he had for the bipedal reptilians. When the Skullcrawlers left in the night, Kong walked towards his parents' bodies and cried in grief.
Kong makes his full appearance when a group of Mother Longlegs attack the Iwi settlement. Kong quickly kills all of the giant arachnids and crushes Riccio with his fist. Then he comes in contact with Aaron Brooks and spares his life. As Kong came and saved everyone when they needed him most, Aaron realizes that Kong has the instinct to protect human life.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters[]
Kong briefly appears in a stock footage recorded by William Randa that was rediscovered in 2015.
In 2017, Kong stumbles upon an Apex Cybernetics research facility on Skull Island after Cate Randa, Keiko Randa, and May Olowe-Hewitt returned to the surface from Axis Mundi. Kong proceeds to beat his chest and roar against the thunderstorm.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters[]
In 2019, 24 years later, Kong makes a brief appearance on Skull Island that is only fleetingly shown on monitors, as one of the few Titans who ignored Ghidorah's call. The film's novelization explains Kong ignored Ghidorah wanting nothing to do with the Titans and the world beyond Skull Island and wanting them to have nothing to do with him, before making sure no Skullcrawlers leave the island after they also hear Ghidorah's call.[19]
Kingdom Kong[]
In 2021, Kong shows up to rescue a team of Monarch soldiers that are being attacked by a Spirit Tiger, killing the beast after breaking its neck. One day during his walkabout amongst Skull Island, while being observed by Houston Brooks from an aircraft, Kong comes upon a pinned Sker Buffalo. As he attempts to free it, he is attacked by numerous Psycho Vultures. However, Kong manages to light a broken tree on fire and kill a majority of the swarm. Unfortunately, the Sker Buffalo was killed in the conflict, leaving Kong in a notable sadness. Later Kong explores a cave, which tells the Iwi prophecy of the Titan Camazotz. According to Iwi lore, Camazotz will trap Skull Island in a realm of eternal darkness. After he was awakened by the Monarch team trying to dig into Hollow Earth, he encounters Kong while trying to take over Skull Island with his swarm. During their battle, Camazotz proves to be a great challenge for Kong due to his sonic screech and aerial capabilities. Kong is slowly weakened after Camazotz lifted him up before dropping him hundreds of feet from the air several times. Before Camazotz can start feeding on Kong's blood, Audrey Burns flies her jet directly into the Titan's face, disorienting him. Kong uses the opportunity to put Camazotz in a chokehold and repeatedly punch him. The incapacitated Camazotz is unable to fight back, allowing Kong to drag and throw him into the hole where he crawled out from. As Audrey ejects from her jet, Kong catches her in his hand, assuring her safety and thanks her for her assistance with a simple snort, which Burns accepts. Later at night, Kong observes hieroglyphs of a battle between a member of his kind and Godzilla.
Godzilla vs. Kong[]
In 2024, three years after his battle with Camazotz, Kong wakes up and begins his morning routine. After showering underneath a waterfall, he finds a tree and yanks it out of the ground before shearing its leaves and branches off, fashioning it into a spear. Kong is then greeted by the Iwi orphan Jia, who presents him a doll that she made to resemble him. After checking on Jia, Kong throws the tree into the sky and watches as it shatters the biodome Monarch had built to contain him, prompting him to roar in anger.
Later, Monarch decides to move Kong, deciding that Skull Island is no longer stable enough to sustain him and allow him to survive. Chaining Kong to a massive barge, Kong, Jia, scientist Ilene Andrews, geologist Nathan Lind, and Apex Cybernetics Executive Maia Simmons depart to take Kong to Hollow Earth, where he will be able to thrive. One night, an upset Kong pulls on his chains and shackles. Jia arrives and the two touch fingers gently, calming the Titan. As Ilene communicates with Jia through sign language, telling her Kong does not understand they are trying to help take him to a new home, Kong shocks everyone and uses the sign for "home", revealing that he is capable of communication with humans.
On their way, they are attacked by Godzilla, who capsizes the carrier they are on, nearly drowning Kong as well as the others inside the carrier. Fortunately, Nathan manages to unlock Kong's shackles, allowing him to fight off Godzilla long enough to swim to the surface and flip the carrier back on its head, saving everyone inside from drowning. Kong then jumps to the next aircraft carrier to keep Godzilla from destroying the ship Jia is on and to challenge Godzilla, who climbs aboard ready to do battle. Kong strikes Godzilla with a blow to the head; unfortunately, this only staggers him. Godzilla retaliates by knocking him on his back with a swipe of his claws. Godzilla then prepares to fire his atomic breath at Kong, but the fighter jets distract Godzilla long enough for Kong to eventually push Godzilla back into the ocean.
Godzilla, however, fires his atomic breath from beneath the ocean at the carrier. Kong, realizing this, manages to jump off and evade the blast just in time. However, this puts Kong at a disadvantage as Godzilla begins to drown Kong. Fortunately, before Godzilla can drown him, the military fires depth charges that distract Godzilla enough for Kong to make it to the carrier again and catch his breath. Exhausted from the sedation and from nearly drowning, Kong lays still as Godzilla, convinced that he had won due to the convoy shutting down all of their weaponry, leaves. Realizing that Godzilla will return as soon as they move again, the group decides to airlift Kong with helicopters for the rest of the way. Although they successfully land at an outpost in Antarctica that holds the Hollow Earth's entrance, Kong is unwilling to go even with Jia's insistence. Realizing Kong can't survive the cold and that they can't return him to Skull Island, Nathan suggests telling Kong that the rest of his kind could possibly be down there.
With this, Kong charges ahead as Jia, Ilene, Nathan, and Maia follow him in aircrafts made to withstand the gravity of the Hollow Earth. After landing safely, Kong leads the group through the terrain where they encounter Warbats. Fortunately, Kong manages to kill the creatures before feasting on them. Continuing their journey, they make their way to a fortress that seemingly was the home of Kong's ancestors, as Kong discovers a handprint of one of his kind on the entrance. Inside the fortress, he finds an axe embedded in the corpse of an unknown Titan. Picking it up, Kong notices what appears to be a throne and sits on it, establishing and accepting the Hollow Earth as his new home and kingdom. Suddenly, the axe starts to glow and Kong instinctively lies it down on the ground, revealing powerful energy within the fortress. However, when Jia, Ilene, and Nathan find themselves threatened at gunpoint by Maia and her personnel, Kong angrily roars and prepares to defend them. However, Hellhawks begin to descend from the ceiling of the fortress and a hole is burnt into it by Godzilla sensing the energy spike. As the fortress starts to collapse, Kong notices Maia's aircraft and grabs it; after peeking inside to make sure Jia wasn't inside, he crushes it when the former attempts to shoot him to escape, killing her in the process. Kong hears Godzilla's roar, issuing the ape another challenge, which an angered Kong accepts and proceeds to make his way up to the surface of earth with his axe in hand. Arriving in Hong Kong and face to face with Godzilla, the two Titans prepare for their final battle.
Kong picks up his axe and leaps at Godzilla, who dodges the strike. While trying to take his axe out of the building it is stuck in, Godzilla lunges after Kong, biting the simian Titan and rag-dolling him into buildings. Kong wrestles himself free, landing several decisive blows on Godzilla before knocking him back and retrieving his axe. As Godzilla attempts to fire his atomic breath, Kong rams the handle of his axe down the Titan's throat, blocking it. Godzilla knocks Kong back and tries again, but this time Kong uses his axe to not only block the energy, but seemingly absorb it. Godzilla attacks again, knocking Kong down, who in turn slams the axe into Godzilla's thigh, leaving a deep wound. Godzilla removes the axe and throws it away and continues his attack. Separated from his weapon and vulnerable to Godzilla's atomic breath, Kong proceeds to evade the Titan's ranged attacks by using the buildings of Hong Kong and his superior agility to dodge. Using the environment, Kong fashions a makeshift shield to get close enough and retrieve his axe, before, leaping off a building and bringing down the now charged-up axe down on Godzilla's head, knocking the reptilian Titan out and incapacitating him, giving Kong the win in round 2.
As Godzilla recovers and gets up, Kong ambushes him from above, using a crane to distract him. Placing Godzilla in a chokehold, Kong proceeds to brutally pummel him from behind. Godzilla manages to clamp his jaws down on Kong's arm, yanking it out of its socket and throwing him off. Now on the defensive, Kong backs away as Godzilla viciously crawls at him on all fours. After clawing and stomping on Kong, Kong punches Godzilla's wounded thigh hard, causing Godzilla to roar in pain and stomp on him once more. Godzilla finally manages to subdue the ape Titan and roars at him in a show of dominance. Kong, defeated, but still showing no fear and unwilling to yield, roars back in defiance. Godzilla, as if impressed by Kong's resilience and prowess, shows mercy and spares him, thus rewarding Godzilla his victory. Godzilla leaves Kong alive after getting off his chest, but the huge ape is left close to death.
Later, as Godzilla is battling the unleashed Mechagodzilla, Nathan, Ilene, and Jia approach Kong's body. With his heartbeat growing weak, Nathan uses the Hollow Earth Aerial Vehicle to jumpstart Kong's heart, saving him. As Kong awakens, he reunites with Jia and is convinced by the girl to help Godzilla defeat Mechagodzilla. After resetting his dislocated arm against a skyscraper, Kong heads back into battle. As Mechagodzilla prepares to fire a fatal blast down Godzilla's throat, Kong intercepts by jumping on top of the Mecha and diverts the blast away from Godzilla, saving him. Now working together, Kong and Godzilla battle against the Mecha. However, Mechagodzilla proves to be stronger than their combined might, easily throwing Kong aside before overpowering Godzilla again. Seeing his axe among the wreckage, Kong retrieves it and lands several blows on Mechagodzilla, knocking him clear off his feet. However, the axe is ineffective against Mechagodzilla's armor, and the machine prepares to fatally stab the ape Titan with his tail. Godzilla then fires his atomic breath at Kong's axe, charging it up and allowing Kong to push the tail back enough to cut it, Kong then stops Mechagodzilla's punch with his left hand and cuts its right arm off, then he proceeds to finish dismembering the Mecha before tearing off his head, with the spine still attached, and roaring in triumph.
Exhausted and battered, Kong sits down, but his rest is interrupted by the roar of Godzilla, who approaches him. Kong retrieves his axe, and prepares to continue the fight, but Godzilla doesn't attack, and merely stares him down. Understanding that the true enemy has been defeated, Kong drops the axe, signaling an end to the feud between their species. The two then briefly regard each other as equals and allies before Godzilla returns to the ocean.
After having parted with Godzilla on good terms, Kong withdraws to the Hollow Earth, embracing it as his new home and kingdom. Nathan, Ilene, and Jia continue to watch over Kong in a newly established Monarch Hollow Earth outpost.
Kong: Survivor Instinct[]
The use of the ORCA Σ has drawn Kong to the eastern United States, prompting him to search the area and attacking Alan Jonah's men. He initially saw David Martin as an enemy before viewing him as an ally. Kong eventually battles both Abaddon and Tiamat before returning to the Hollow Earth.
Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted[]
Kong is drinking from a river in the Hollow Earth when a Spineprowler ambushes him from behind a waterfall. After a battle, Kong manages to force the Spineprowler into retreating. Not long after, Kong enters a cave littered with bones before he comes across a painting depicting Godzilla battling Shimo.
In the following day, Kong is eating when he is alerted to the sound of Raymond Martin slaughtering various Hollow Earth creatures with his Titan Hunter Mech. Kong massacres Martin's subordinates and confronts Martin himself after he killed the mother of two Spineprowler cubs. Kong battles and defeats Martin after he throws the Titan Hunter into a cliff. But instead of killing Martin himself, Kong allows the Spineprowler cubs to avenge their mother before walking away.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire[]
Three years after concluding his feud with Godzilla, Kong is first seen being chased by a pack of Wart Dogs, and leads them into traps of his own making. At least one of the Wart Dogs falls in a pit with spikes at the bottom and many others are buried in another trap. The Great Ape then scares off the three surviving pack members by grabbing one of the Wart Dog corpses, tearing it in half and showering in its blood. Soon after showering under a waterfall after the hunt, Kong drags the two Wart Dog carcasses and tries to eat one, but discovers that he broke a tooth, and then he briefly engages in a tug-of-war with a giant lizard that was trying to steal his kill.
Kong suddenly relents upon hearing what he believes to be the roar of another of his kind, so he rushes to the source of the roar. But when he arrives at the source of the sound, it is revealed to be a Parrot Frog mimicking the roar, much to his disappointment. Dr Ilene Andrews, now working at Monarch's Head of Kong Research, states that while he enjoys his new home, the Great Ape is futilely looking for a family he will probably never see, and that as long as he doesn't come to the surface, now established to be Godzilla's territory, there is no reason to worry about any more confrontation between the two.
Later, driven by the pain from his now infected tooth, Kong reaches the surface in Barbados, causing both Ilene and Jia to worry about the newly-reawakened Godzilla taking notice of the primate's presence. However, Titan veterinarian, Trapper Beasley, manages to remove the infected canine out of Kong's upper jaw, and replace it with a metallic one. Upon waking up, Kong jumps back into Hollow Earth, closely followed by a HEAV with Jia, Ilene, Trapper, and Bernie Hayes aboard.
When Kong returns to his lair, he retrieves his battle axe, and goes to explore the sinkhole that opened under the trap he used earlier to bury the Wart Dogs. He finds a cave with the remains of other long-deceased Great Apes, but a strange sound draws his attention to a cave exit that leads to a previously-unexplored layer of Hollow Earth. As he continues to explore the new area, he is met with a large simian silhouette, and prepares for a challenge. But when the silhouette is revealed to be a young ape with orange fur, Kong attempts to befriend him, but the young ape bit Kong's finger, and then lures him into being ambushed by One-Eye and two other adult apes that briefly restrain him before a fight breaks out. Kong eventually gains the upper hand, even using Suko as a weapon against the three apes, and manages to kill two of them, but lets One-Eye, only survivor run, and then throws a rock at him as he runs away. Kong then confronts Suko, and forces him to guide him back to the young ape's home.
While stopping by at a lake to drink, Kong is suddenly attacked by a Drownviper. Suko tries to run away, but Kong threw his axe at his direction, causing Suko to trip over it, and revealing that Kong successfully killed the eel-like monster. Taking a break, Kong feasts on the Drownviper, and then shares some of the meat with Suko. When they arrive in the Ape's lair, Kong is aghast by how his kind were treated as slaves. As they walk among the slaves, Kong takes notice of one ape named Boots being abused by a guard, and despite Suko's protests, extends a hand to help Boots up. Boots was initially confused by the stranger's kindness, but accepts Kong's hand. But when the guard attempted to tell Kong off, Kong punches him in the face, knocking them out.
The commotion attracts the attention of the Great Ape's leader, the Skar King, and he comes out of his throne room to see what was the disturbance about. As the Skar King inspects the unfamiliar ape, he notices Kong's metal tooth, and mockingly laughs at him as the other apes join him. But seeing Suko is only half-heartedly mocking Kong, the Skar King attempts to attack the infant only to be stopped by an elderly ape named Gnarled Finger. He then turns back to Kong and gives him a devilish grin before cruelly kicking Gnarled Finger into the lava behind him, causing Suko to cry out in sorrow. Seeing that the Skar King was nothing short of a heartless tyrant, Kong angrily roars and challenges him, intending to overthrow the Skar King and free his kind. The tyrant gladly accepts, and they fight, with the Skar King wrapping his bone whip around Kong's neck, intending to choke him. However, Kong breaks free and wrestles the Skar King onto the ground. The Skar King then recovers and prevents his subordinates from joining the fight.
Kong thumps his chest, furiously roaring at the Skar King as he recovers. However, the tyrant ape simply laughs, summoning the ice Titan Shimo, to attack the King of Skull Island. Using a crystal tipped on his bone whip, the Skar King forces Shimo to fire her frost bite blast at Kong, causing him to lose his axe and deliver a devastating frostbite on his right arm. With the help of Suko, Kong barely escapes with his life as the Skar King claims his axe in victory while sending One-Eye and several Red Stripes to finish Kong. Kong uses his traps to escape and is later saved once again by Suko who crushes the ape minions under a rockslide. Upon discovering Kong is injured, the juvenile ape quickly comes to his aid, helping him to walk. However, One-Eye survives the rockslide and follows the two from a distance.
Kong and Suko later arrive at the Iwi city of Malenka, where Jia, Ilene, Trapper and Bernie awaits. Jia worriedly asked Kong about his condition using sign language, with Bernie also asked whether Suko is a Mini Kong. After diagnosing the frostbite injury sustained to his arm, Trapper decides to deploy Project Powerhouse located in the ruins of Outpost 1, to help the giant ape. Upon receiving the glove, Kong struggles to use it at first, but soon gets the hang of it and smashes the ground with newfound strength, much to the humans' delight.
Just then, Suko arrives and desperately warns Kong of the Skar King's incoming army. Realizing they needed help, Kong decides to go to the surface to call Godzilla. Using one of the portals, Kong emerges into Cairo, Egypt tearing through the crust and frightening the local population. Godzilla, who was in Gibraltar, climbs a rock and stands on the edge of it. Kong roars to get the attention of giant lizard, who, upon noticing the primate, wastes no time and jumps into the sea below, swimming to Egypt and charges at Kong, who tries to signal him to enter through the portal. However, Godzilla was interested in finishing off Kong, viewing the ape's presence a threat to the natural order.
Kong tries to protest by raising his arms, but Godzilla runs over him, breaking a pyramid in the process. Kong falls and throws sand in Godzilla's eye, briefly depriving him of his vision. Advancing against the ape again, Kong is thrown against the pyramid and thrown over his head, resembling a suplex. Though briefly dizzied by the attack, Kong is able to move swiftly out of the way before Godzilla could crush his head under his foot. Having run out of patience, Kong proceeded to deliver a powerful uppercut to Godzilla's jaw, knocking him down before unleashing a nasty barrage of punches to Godzilla's head, dizzying him. Finally, he delivers a charged blow to Godzilla's head, briefly knocking him dizzy and begins dragging the lizard Titan towards the portal.
Unfortunately, Godzilla soon recovers and charges his amped up atomic breath, forcing Kong to lose his grip and avoid his atomic breath, destroying multiple pyramids in the process. With a huge dust cloud kicked up in front of him, Kong is unable to spot Godzilla until the lizard Titan emerges and pins the giant ape to the ground, stomping on his chest like he did in Hong Kong. Kong futilely and desperately tries to free himself. and he could do nothing but watch Godzilla charge his atomic breath for a killing blow, only to be saved at the last moment by Mothra. The latter managed to convince them that they both need to join forces against a common enemy, with both roaring to signal an alliance.
The pair arrive in Malenka through the portal, and charge towards the Skar King. Seeing that the tyrant is riding Shimo, Kong jumps on Godzilla's back, when Kong was about to collide with the Skar King, the anti-gravity was activated and everyone present began to float. Kong has a certain difficulty fighting the Skar King, only managing to land a few hits while also regaining his axe. He is ambushed from behind by One-Eye who is dispatched by Suko who in turn was thanked by Kong. With gravity restored and everyone falling, Skar struggles to get to one of the portals, which Kong tries to stop. The four Titans enter the portal emerging in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
When gravity is restored, the four Titans fall into a portal, with Kong trying to hold on to the edge with his axe, but ends up falling and loses it again. They crash in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with then the Skar King ordering Shimo to start a new ice age. Kong arrives and punches him in the face, knocking him down and making him spit out a tooth, which he mocks. Both continue the fight and use the buildings as support. Kong uses a building to kick the Skar King down, which forces Shimo to hit him with his tail, knocking him backwards and colliding against the Petrobras Headquarters Building. Kong briefly looks inside the building before noticing Shimo charging towards him. He is narrowly saved by Godzilla who is quickly subdued. The Skar King picks up a building and throws it at Kong, who destroys it with his glove.
But taking advantage of this, he is instantly dominated by the Skar King and Shimo when the former kicks him towards the ice Titan who grabs him by the arm and drags him, throwing him into the same building now breaking him. She uses her frost bite blast and Kong defends herself with the B.E.A.S.T. Glove that slowly freezes her arms. Godzilla, after destroying the Skar King's Whipslash and consequently releasing the crystal, saves him again by fighting Shimo again. Kong gets involved in a fight for possession of the crystal against the tyrant, and is almost hanged. He bites the Skar king's arm making him roar in pain, while Suko arrives with the axe and destroys the crystal sending everyone flying.
Upon seeing the Skar King strangling Suko for destroying his main source of power, Kong knocks him down with a punch to the face and throws him at Godzilla, who tail whips the Skar King back to Kong. Kong holds the Skar King high while the powerless tyrant roars at Shimo to try and command her. Shimo responds by freezing the Skar King instead, leaving only a single moving eye before Kong gives the red ape a brief look of anger before slamming him against the ground, shattering him into millions of pieces. Kong retrieves his axe and smiles at Godzilla, who smiles back before he uses his atomic breath to disperse Shimo's blizzard. While Godzilla returns to Rome, Kong, Suko, and Shimo return to the Skar King's stronghold. Upon arriving, Kong pets Shimo affectionately before roaring while holding Suko's hand up, proclaiming victory over the Skar King and the freedom for the Great Apes.
Other appearances[]
Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong[]
Kong first appears in the first issue, where he attacks and fights a large Skullcrawler while most of the Legion of Doom take cover in a Monarch Outpost on Skull Island, except for Gorilla Grodd who worships Kong as a deity. He is then transported to the DC Universe due to a wish made by Toyman using the Dreamstone. In the third issue, Kong battles and kills a Warbat on Skull Island before he turns his attention to Green Arrow. However, Supergirl arrives and starts to punch Kong in the face to protect her friend. Kong is about to fight back when a strange noise starts to irritate him. In the fourth issue, Kong and Supergirl begin to stare at each other's eyes before they realize that they do not wish to harm one another. Kong watches as Supergirl flies away before he notices the League of Assassins is watching him and Green Arrow. Kong makes short work on the assassins as Green Arrow stows away on the League's ship. In the fifth issue, Kong finds Gorilla Grodd and the inhabitants of Gorilla City worshipping him as Supergirl tries to intervene. Gorilla Grodd then uses his mind control to command Supergirl to incapacitate Kong with a single punch. In the sixth issue, Gorilla Grodd commands the mind-controlled Kong and Supergirl in battling the Justice League. Kong destroys the giant robot that the Green Lantern Corps created before attacking the Bat-Mech. However, Beast Boy transforms into Kong's species to knock Kong down with a single punch. Robin and Red Hood are able to free Kong and Supergirl after shooting Gorilla Grodd's Kryptonite crown, only for the League of Assassins and a pack of Skullcrawlers to interrupt the battle. In the seventh issue, Kong and Beast Boy join forces in taking out the Skullcrawlers. When the mutated Skull Devil starts to constrict Kong, Guy Gardner's Green Lantern Ring flies toward and chooses him. Kong then conjures a battle axe before he uses it to help Godzilla and Superman in killing the mutated Skull Devil. Kong is then sent back to the MonsterVerse.
Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong 2[]
Abilities[]
Agility[]
In Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla vs. Kong, Kong has extraordinary agility and climbing abilities, as he is capable of scaling massive cliffs and mountain faces with relative ease. In combination with his strength, Kong is capable of leaping long distances despite his height, as demonstrated when he avoided two Sky Devils helicopters from two directions in 1973, and to allow Kong to move to a destroyer during his fight against Godzilla in the Tasman Sea. Kong utilizes these skills to great effect in his battle against Godzilla in Hong Kong, using the surrounding buildings to avoid Godzilla's atomic breath and maneuver around him. In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Kong displays the same agility, maneuvering around the Hollow Earth's terrain by swinging and climbing rocks, and also deploying traps he had set up on the terrain near his home to evade the Skar King's minions.
Carnivorous Diet[]
Kong regularly preys on and consumes meat from creatures such as Mire Squids and Warbats. While on route to Monarch's Antarctica base, he is shown eating fish caught for him by the handful. In the animated series, Kong's Hawk companion was shown to capture prey like Grass Hedgehogs for the ape to consume. Kong is further seen devouring a crocodilian monster in the show, and later a Drownviper, whose flesh he shares with Suko.
Durability and stamina[]
Kong is tough and resilient and has shown great recuperative powers. His stamina remains high even in an injured state, able to remain in full-fledged battles with other Titans lasting several minutes. As an adolescent, Kong was able to withstand bullets from attack helicopters and wounds from Skullcrawlers, though he was still injured by these attacks. Despite being temporarily knocked out from oxygen depletion from a napalm explosion, Kong could still briefly defend himself and awaken moments later to continue fighting against the Skull Devil. Kong showed no signs of exhaustion after his arduous battle with the Skull Devil. In Kingdom Kong, Kong can survive a fall from thousands of feet twice after being airlifted by Camazotz and later in Godzilla vs Kong he survives another fall from possibly thousands of feet when he enters the Hollow Earth from the Vile Vortex. During his battle with Godzilla in Hong Kong, despite being bitten, clawed, and tail whipped by the Alpha Titan, Kong was able to withstand these attacks and the only injuries that actually affected him were his dislocated shoulder and bodily shock following the battle. Kong has also survived Godzilla's atomic breath though he was visibly hurt by it. Kong can also survive Gravitational Inversion, a planet's worth of gravity reversed in a split second. With the B.E.A.S.T. Glove, Kong can shield himself from Shimo's Frost Blast for a time, though he was slowly getting overpowered and needed Godzilla's help to force Shimo away.
Intelligence[]
Kong's most distinctive feature is his near human level of intelligence. More so than any other Titan, Kong has shown an ability to learn and adapt to changes in battle; utilizing the environment to his advantage and being able to improvise and craft weaponry from his environment. In Godzilla vs. Kong, Kong is seen using the corpse of a Warbat as a weapon by slamming it into another attacking Warbat. Kong is particularly adept with his battle axe, using it to great effect in his battle against Godzilla and Mechagodzilla. His intelligence is also demonstrated when he uses a waterfall as a shower during his morning routine. In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, his signs of intelligence is demonstrated even more, as he is able to build and design traps to ensnare or ward off attackers (more on that below), and is able to use both his axe and the newly acquired B.E.A.S.T. Glove with great proficiency in battle against Godzilla and the Skar King.
Trapping mastery[]
In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Kong learned to create snares and fixtures for entangling pry or dumbfounding enemies, such as pits, logs and deadfalls, to either aid in his hunt or to protect his home ground, evident when he lead a pack of Wart Dogs in a trap, and to protect himself from the Skar King's followers after being injured by Shimo.
Communication[]
By the time of Godzilla vs. Kong, Kong has learned sign language from Jia, making him the first and to date only Titan capable of actively communicating with humans. Jia is currently the only human he trusts with this knowledge to the point he avoided using it when anyone else was around to see him do so. Kong is even able to speak a single word out loud: "Home." He was also able to communicate with the rest of his fellow apes through grunts and roars, being able to demand Suko lead him to where the juvenile resided and even sharing a portion of food with Suko, who was initially hesitant to accept. Upon meeting Jia again, he signs that he "lost home", showing that his communication skills have improved.
Senses[]
Kong's senses are keen and powerful. At one point, he sensed a Mire Squid lurking near him while drinking water from a lake and even heard the cries of a trapped Sker Buffalo struggling to break free from the wreckage of a helicopter. His vision is also strong enough to notice people standing on a cliff through the dead of night. While on route to Antarctica, he was able to sense Godzilla approaching well before the radar systems could detect Godzilla.
In Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong, Kong was able to detect the League of Assassins' presence despite their proficiency in stealth and being adept to ninjutsu, before Green Arrow notices them.[20]
Jaw strength[]
Like all apes, Kong has sharp canine teeth that grant him a lethal bite. This was seen when he bites and tears off the tentacles of a Mire Squid after killing it. In Godzilla vs. Kong, Kong is briefly shown piercing Godzilla's neck very hard with his teeth during their underwater fight, showing that his bite did hurt Godzilla quite a bit. He also made Scar King roar in pain when he bit his arm.
Strength and combat[]
Kong is enormously strong and has tremendously powerful arms, possessing sheer feral strength.[21][22] As an adolescent, he was able to throw a boulder around half his own size, uproot large trees and throw them a great distance at flying targets with accuracy, fight off a Mire Squid and kill it using his own muscles and also able to rip off Skull Devil's powerful tongue when it latched onto him, killing the alpha Skullcrawler. His punches can incapacitate smaller Skullcrawlers and can wrestle and pin the alpha to the ground by using sheer force. He was also capable of casually lifting a crashed helicopter off of a trapped Sker Buffalo with just one hand. Kong was even strong enough to break free from the anchor chains of a wrecked ship. In the 1960s and while still not fully grown yet he possesses the strength to take on and defeat The Kraken, though he was almost killed. He also was shown to be able to rip a Wart Dog in half with his bare hands.
By 2024, he possesses the strength to take on Titans as powerful as Godzilla.
Kong's punches are strong enough to make Godzilla stagger, and have been stated to be comparable to 4.2 magnitude earthquakes. Despite waking up from 100% sedation due to being laid on his back in a very cold environment, Kong was able to fight and kill two Warbats (with some human assistance) before running over a thousand miles to reach his ancestral home shortly after. In their battle, Kong subdued Godzilla several times, utilizing his momentum to grapple and throw Godzilla around. Later, Kong made Godzilla visibly roar in pain when he punched the latter's thigh near the axe wound. Furthermore, Kong was also able to rip the head of a Warbat clean off (without its spine intact). During the final fight with Mechagodzilla, after Godzilla charged Kong's axe, Kong was able to easily stop an incoming punch directed at him from the mech with a single arm, when beforehand he was struggling to hold Mechagodzilla's tail back. After slicing off MechaGodzilla's limbs, Kong proceeded to rip the robot's head off, pulling the entire spinal cord out with it.
Kong can effectively utilize melee and ranged weapons in and out of combat. Kong's most valuable weapon is the massive dorsal fin axe he discovered in the Hollow Earth. In their final battle, Kong's fully-charged axe had been overcharged and made a nuclear pulse which was powerful enough to knock both him and Godzilla back. Godzilla voluntarily charged the axe later when he and Kong battled Mechagodzilla, enabling the ape to quickly dismantle the machine.
According to the film's novelization, Kong can enter a berserk rage once he has finally had enough, increasing his strength.[23]
In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, upon encountering the Skar King and his tribe Kong was able to knock out a Great Ape with one punch and when he later fought the Skar King himself, Kong was shown to be stronger than the other Primate, lifting the primate and throwing him to the ground and forcing Scar King to call upon Shimo to beat Kong. In Rio de Janeiro Kong has shown to be able to lift Scar King with one arm.
Kong also seems to be stronger than many members of his species, as he was able to defeat entire groups of Great Apes and Suko when they tried to kill him. An example of his strength compared to many other members of his species, Kong was also shown to possibly be one of the few Great Apes able to almost match Godzilla in a fight, as Godzilla singlehandedly killed dozens of Great Apes by himself.
Kong has also acquired the B.E.A.S.T. Glove, given to him by Monarch, which he uses to great effect, being able to send Godzilla flying to the ground with one punch and then punch him mercilessly on the ground, briefly stunning him and when Godzilla woke up he needed to take him by surprise to pin Kong to the ground. After this, Kong was able to drag him a few meters with little difficulty. He also was able to break one of Scar King's teeth when he punched him. However, Kong was shown not to be able to match Shimo and had much difficulty even defending himself from her, as the Ice Titan grabbed him by his arm before dragging and throwing him through buildings.
Weapon proficiency[]
Kong has the capacity to wield any type of object which he can use as tools or weapons on opponents. In Kong: Skull Island, he was able to use a stripped tree trunk as a baseball bat to swing it against Skull Devil's face, use a ship's propeller attached to a chain as a flail to wound and pull the creature back toward him and even used the propeller as a saw blade to slice Skull Devil's throat open. In Godzilla vs. Kong, Kong used a stripped tree as a spear to destroy a biodome Monarch had built to contain him and even removed part of a building as a shield to block Godzilla's atomic breath during his fight with him in Hong Kong. Kong is also capable of using a battle axe in combat, seen during his fight against Godzilla and Mechagodzilla.
In GxK: New Empire, Kong immediately became proficient using the B.E.A.S.T. glove, as he was able to wield it like an extension of his own hand, using as shield to block Shimo's breath, while using his force-enhancing capabilities to strike his opponents more powerful than before.
Weaknesses[]
Freezing Temperatures[]
Kong is unable to survive in colder climates like the Arctic, as he would eventually freeze to death. When airlifted to Antarctica by Apex Cybernetics, Kong was visibly uncomfortable, with Nathan Lind postulating that he would not survive long.
Lack of bodily armor/Oxygen deprivation[]
Kong has very durable and resilient skin, though his skin seems to be not as tough as Godzilla's scales, as they are incredibly thick and protect him from most attacks. This makes Kong susceptible to injury from heavy munitions and fast moving sharp objects, as seen when a helicopter's rotor blades grazed and wounded his palm, and when artillery rounds severely wounded his arm. Kong was also knocked out by the napalm fire as it ate away the oxygen around Kong and burned him in a few places. He is not a strong swimmer and was nearly drowned by Godzilla when the amphibious Titan pulled him into the depths of the ocean, taking advantage of his own water-breathing capabilities. In Godzilla vs. Kong, Kong's back was burned when hit by Godzilla's atomic breath, creating a burn mark though it quickly fizzled out and didn't seem to affect the ape Titan shortly afterward.
Poor Swimmer[]
Kong is not a strong swimmer, though he is able to swim well enough to make it back to the ships each time he goes under. Neither can he hold his breath underwater for very long periods of time. He will eventually drown if not able to surface for air.
Equipment[]
Battle Axe[]
Kong's primary weapon is an enormous battle axe with its blade made from what appears to be a dorsal plate from another one of Godzilla's kind. When wielding his axe, Kong is capable of using it to absorb energy from the Hollow Earth, as well as Godzilla's atomic breath. In their final battle, the fully-charged axe was overcharged and made an energy burst powerful enough to knock both Kong and Godzilla back. Godzilla voluntarily charges the axe again when he and Kong battle Mechagodzilla, allowing Kong to quickly dismantle the machine. Kong can swing the axe at a top speed of 62 miles per hour.
B.E.A.S.T. Glove[]
The B.E.A.S.T. Glove is a colossal mechanical brace that Monarch built for Kong. Monarch gave the device to him when he obtained an frostbite to his right arm.
- Force Augmentation: The glove has the capability to enforce Kong's punches, so powerful that it can knock out Godzilla and the Skar King into a single blow (With latter spits out his tooth) , even demonstrated to shatter the earth's crust under Egypt, and shatter a building thrown by the Skar King.
- Cold Resistance: The glove is resilient to extreme frost of Shimo's breath, as Kong only remove the ice, but not being injured like their first encounter.
- Healing Properties: As Trapper mentioned, upon Kong first usage of the B.E.A.S.T Glove, a healing serum is injected onto the frostbitten part, allowing Kong to use his right arm properly not long after.
Video games[]
Godzilla Battle Line[]
Kong appears as a selectable unit in Godzilla Battle Line. He is a 4 star melee unit who can hit multiple enemies at once with his fist. His special attack as a leader allows him to slam his axe down onto opponents while buffing his allies attack.
Trivia[]
- This is the largest incarnation of King Kong to appear in an American film, and the largest incarnation overall to date.
- Kong is referred to merely as "Kong" and not the usual moniker of "King Kong" (the official bio references this, stating the 'story of how Kong became king').
- The skeletons of Kong's species (his deceased parents) are strewn along the ground of the Bone Graveyard (also known as the "Valley of Fallen Gods").
- 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 the wreckage of a helicopter.
- Some of Kong's animation was portrayed by Terry Notary, who previously played the chimpanzee Rocket in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Fellow Dawn of the Planet of the Apes actor Toby Kebbell, who played the bonobo Koba, provided some reference facial animation for Kong.
- Kong combines features of early hominids, the mythical Bigfoot, and perhaps some aspects of the Gargantuas instead of 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 a massive ape (similar to the 2005 Kong) attacks them and is immediately gunned down. However, the real Kong then emerges, many times more massive and threatening. Unfortunately, the studio nixed the idea, telling Vogt-Roberts, "You can't do that!"(Citation needed)
- This iteration of King Kong is the first live-action American iteration to not die at the end: in King Kong (1933) and the 2005 remake, he was shot by aircraft and falls to his death from a skyscraper, specifically the Empire State Building. In the 1976 film, he fell from a skyscraper, specifically the World Trade Center twin towers and was originally portrayed as dead. King Kong Lives retcons the 1976 film and says he survived, but his artificial heart fails, and he dies at the end of that film. He survives in both Japanese films and the 1998 animated remake The Mighty Kong.
- In contrast to the 1933 and 2005 incarnations who met their ends trying to fight off attacking airplanes, this incarnation of Kong makes his first significant appearance by successfully defeating a group of military aircraft.
- Kong is similar to Godzilla in several ways: both are the last of their kind, both have a vendetta against their natural enemies (the Skullcrawlers, the MUTOs, and Ghidorah) who have killed the rest of their species, and both are portrayed as morally-neutral apex predators who maintain order and have no personal quarrel with humans.
- Another similarity between both Titans is that they had directly confronted humans in a bid to stop them from bringing back the great threat they vanquished; whereas Kong attacked Preston Packard and his crew to prevent them from further using seismic bomb charges knowing it will attract Skullcrawlers back to Skull Island, Godzilla laid waste upon Apex Cybernetics' facilities because the company defiled Ghidorah's surviving remains for a shady purpose.
- Like the 2005 incarnation, this Kong has numerous scars on his body, giving him a somewhat "battle-hardened" look.
- Like the traditional backstories for Kong, this incarnation is the last of his kind.
- In the novelization, Kong's injuries from Packard's napalm trap are more severe as his fur is left smoldering in places with some patches wholly burnt off, exposing the skin underneath. More instances of Kong's intelligence are shown, such as using dirt to put out the fires made by the helicopter battle and Packard seeing Kong trigger a rockslide to bury a Skullcrawler.
- The outpost Kong was discovered in, Monarch Outpost 33, homages 1933, the year King Kong was released.
- According to Warner Brothers, in 2019, Kong was 270 feet tall. They provided his height for this height chart to Conan's Studio for an unaired Skit, and it should be noted Conan's team made an error and counted Godzilla's dorsal fins towards his height of 355 feet, making him seem shorter than he actually is.[7]
- S.H.MonsterArts has released scale models for Godzilla, Kong, and MechaGodzilla. Godzilla is scaled down from 393 feet and his height is official and unchanged. Using the same scaling method, it is found that according to S.H.MonsterArts, Kong is approximately 356 feet tall.
- When asked about Kong's larger size compared to the other Titanus Kong members of Skull Island, Arvid Nelson, the author of Godzilla: Aftershock and Skull Island: The Birth of Kong, stated that species is able to grow to adapt according to the size of its available predatory range[24], and that they grow sort of similar to how goldfish will grow to the size of their environment.[25] Arvid also posited that the radiation from Hollow Earth would affect Kong's growth, and he could rival other titans in size in the biome by the aforementioned principle.[26]
- Arvid Nelson has postulated that Kong is a "bad match-up" for MUTO Prime, as Kong's raw power and blunt force would be critically effective against her armor.[27] Arvid had also said to ask Drew Edward Johnson, who has suggested that MUTO Prime's strength, sonic, and seismic attacks would be too much for Kong to handle, and that he would need armor and weapons to even survive an encounter with her. [28]
List of appearances[]
Films[]
- Kong: Skull Island (First appearance)
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters (Stock footage and cave painting)
- Godzilla vs. Kong
- Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Television[]
- Skull Island
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
- 1. "Aftermath" (Stock footage)
- 10. "Beyond Logic"
Comics[]
- Skull Island: The Birth of Kong
- Kingdom Kong
- Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong
- Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted
- Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong 2
Novels[]
- Kong: Skull Island - The Official Movie Novelization
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization
- Kong and Me
- Godzilla vs. Kong - The Official Movie Novelization
- Godzilla vs. Kong: Sometimes Friends Fight (But They Always Make Up)
- Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire - The Official Movie Novelization
Video games[]
- MonsterVerse
- Roblox
- PUBG Mobile
- Magic Domain
- LifeAfter/Day After Tomorrow
- World of Warships
- Godzilla Battle Line
- Call of Duty: Warzone
- Call of Duty: Vanguard
- Evony: The King's Return
- Godzilla x Kong: Titan Chasers
- Kong: Survivor Instinct
References[]
- ↑ Playmets Toys (5 April 2021). Godzilla vs. Kong Basic Monsters TV Commercial. Youtube.
- ↑ World of Warships Official Channel. Godzilla vs. Kong: Titans Clash in World of Warships.
- ↑ Godzilla vs. Kong. He is the ultimate alpha.
- ↑ Playmates Toys (5 April 2021). Godzilla vs. Kong Battle Roar Monsters TV Commercial. YouTube.
- ↑ Playmates Toys (5 April 2021). Godzilla vs. Kong Mega Monsters TV Commercial. YouTube.
- ↑ Kong-Sized. kongskullislandmovie.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2017.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Size Chart from Warner Brothers for Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
- ↑ Marie Anello on Twitter. “I'd say whatever Legendary has confirmed to be his size is the correct one! In both those cases (Brooks in the script and me in the interview) those sizes are estimates meant to illustrate how huge his growth is, not necessarily be exact measurements.”
- ↑ warnerbroshk (20 March 2021). 距離開戰倒數四日,先睇一睇數據 👀 究竟邊面贏面大啲呢?3月24日 世紀震撼大銀幕 2D / 3D / 4DX / D-BOX / IMAX / MX4D 同步獻映 購票即去 🔗 Link in bio #TeamKong #TeamGodzilla #GodzillaVsKong #哥斯拉大戰金剛. Instagram.
Monarch designation for Kong - ↑ Kong's 2021 statistics
- ↑ Keyes, Greg. Godzilla vs. Kong - The Official Movie Novelization. Titan Books. p. 210. April 6, 2021. ISBN: 1789097355.
- ↑ Kong: Skull Island Production and High-Res Photos. SciFi Japan. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved on January 7, 2018.
- ↑ Smith, C. Molly (November 10, 2016). Kong: Skull Island gives first look at movie monster. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 27, 2017
- ↑ Creating a More Human Kong in 'Godzilla vs. Kong'. Animation World Network (May 12, 2021).
- ↑ Schaefer, Sandy (May 11, 2016). Kong: Skull Island – Toby Kebbell Provided Kong Facial References. Screenrant. Retrieved January 12, 2018
- ↑ Shanley, Patrick (March 10, 2017). 'Skull Island': Kong Motion-Capture Actor on Sequel Plans and Seeking Andy Serkis' Blessing. Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 27, 2017
- ↑ Hogg, Trevor (May 12, 2021). 1Creating a More Human Kong in ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’. Animation World Network. Retrieved on May 14, 2021.
- ↑ KONG: SKULL ISLAND Production Notes and High-Res Photos
- ↑ Keyes, Greg. Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization. Titan Books. May 28, 2019. ISBN: 178909092X.
- ↑ Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong (2024) Issue #4
- ↑ Wallace, Daniel. Godzilla vs. Kong: One Will Fall: The Art of the Ultimate Battle Royale. Insight Editions. p. 139. May 21, 2021.
- ↑ HBO Max. Who has the brains, brawn, and experience? Take a look at these stats to see who will come out alive in the epic matchup of Godzilla vs. Kong, in theaters now and streaming exclusively on HBO Max. (Tweet).
- ↑ Keyes, Greg. Godzilla vs. Kong - The Official Movie Novelization (pp. 260-261). Titan. Kindle Edition.
- ↑ Nelson, Arvid (October 9, 2020). Arvid Nelson on Kong species (Tweet). Twitter.
- ↑ Nelson, Arvid (October 9, 2020). Arvid Nelson on Kong's growth (Tweet). Twitter.
- ↑ Nelson, Arvid (October 9, 2020). Arvid Nelson on Hollow Earth (Tweet). Twitter.
- ↑ Nelson, Arvid (June 15, 2021). Kong against Jinshin-Mushi (Tweet). Twitter.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/Drew_E_Johnson/status/1438588867729260546?s=20&t=JpW9xcpLyco-isHHDbh08w