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| “ | That's Kong. He's king around here. He's god to these people. | „ |
| ~ Hank Marlow describing Kong's origins to Conrad and Weaver. |
King Kong, simply known as Kong and dubbed Titanus Kong, is one of the main kaiju protagonists of the MonsterVerse franchise alongside Godzilla. He, as an adolescent, first appeared as the titular deuteragonist of the 2017 epic monster action-adventure film Kong: Skull Island, and a cameo character in the 2019 film Godzilla: King of the Monsters. He will reappear in the 2021 film Godzilla vs. Kong, in which he, as an adult, is set to battle against Godzilla.
The sole survivor of a race of ginormous ape Titans who reigned over Skull Island, Kong was born in the midst of a battle between his parents and a horde of vicious Skullcrawlers. Kong's mother sealed him safely before the Skullcrawlers slaughtered her along with Kong's father. The infant Kong witnessed the brutal demise of his parents from the cave and dedicated his life to avenging them by keeping the island's Skullcrawler population in check and defending the other creatures of the island. He was first witnessed by humans other than the island's Iwi tribe when fighter pilots Hank Marlow and Gunpei Ikari crashed on the island following a dogfight over the Pacific in 1944.
Nearly 30 years later in 1973, a survey expedition to the previously uncharted island organized by the scientific organization Monarch brought many more people to the island, who unintentionally drew more Skullcrawlers to the surface by dropping seismic charges to map the island. Kong destroyed the helicopter escort carrying the expedition members in a furious rage, causing Preston Packard to develop a vendetta against the Titan. Some of the survivors encountered Marlow and the Iwi and learned Kong's true nature as a protector and guardian of the island.
However, Packard and his surviving men salvaged heavy ordnance from a downed Sea Stallion and sprung a trap for Kong which succeeded in weakening him enough to the point that the alpha of the Skullcrawlers, Skull Devil, emerged. Kong killed Packard before the evil creature attacked him and Packard's men joined with the other survivors to escape the island. The Skull Devil chose to attack them, but Kong recovered and with the help of the survivors, killed the beast for good. The survivors were successfully extracted from the island, their experience kept a secret to everyone except Monarch.
Kong was portrayed and voiced by Terry Notary (who also played Groot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Rocket in the Planet of the Apes reboot franchise and Buck in The Call of the Wild) via motion capture, while his facial motions are provided by Toby Kebbell, who also played Durotan in Warcraft.
Contents
Biography
Kong: Skull Island
After crash-landing on Skull Island in 1944, American fighter pilot Hank Marlow and Japanese pilot Gunpei Ikari engaged in a fight to the death. After Ikari gained the upper hand and prepared to fatally stab Marlow with a dagger, Kong appeared over a cliff, leading the two shocked men to end their struggle.
In 1973, the scientific organization Monarch organized an expedition to Skull Island, escorted by the Sky Devils helicopter squadron led by Lt. Colonel Preston Packard. One the helicopters carrying the expedition members cleared the storm cell surrounding the island and began flying over land, they immediately began dropping seismic charges onto the ground below, allegedly to map the island. The explosions drew out Kong, who responded by throwing a tree through one of the choppers. The remaining choppers formed a perimeter around Kong and opened fire on him. The bullets did little more than irritate Kong, who proceeded to rip the helicopters out of the sky and smash them. After downing all of the choppers, Kong wandered back off into the jungle. Kong eventually reached a river, where he noticed his wounds he had sustained from the choppers' rotor blades. Kong winced in pain briefly before beginning to drink from the lake. However, Kong sensed that a Mire Squid was lurking in the water and grabbed one of the creature's tentacles. The Mire Squid then attacked Kong with all of its tentacles, trying to strangle him to death, but Kong was able to crush the creature's head under his foot and kill it, then proceeded to eat several of its tentacles. Kong then grabbed the squid's carcass and dragged it away, presumably back to his lair.
After meeting Marlow, some of the surviving expedition members were brought back to the village of the island's indigenous tribe, the Iwis. There, Marlow explained that Kong was perceived as a god by the islanders, and generally acted as a guardian on the island that kept the most dangerous creatures there under control. He stated that the reason Kong attacked the helicopters was because the seismic charges they dropped had drawn creatures he called "Skullcrawlers" to the surface. According to Marlow, the Skullcrawlers were the most vicious and dangerous animals on the island, and were responsible for killing Kong's family. At this time, Kong was being attacked by two Skullcrawlers, but was able to easily dispatch the two smaller creatures. One of the expedition members, Mason Weaver, found a Sker Buffalo pinned underneath a downed helicopter and tried to free it, only for Kong to arrive and free the animal himself. Kong gave Weaver an indifferent glance and simply wandered off.
After surviving an encounter with another Skullcrawler and several Leafwings, Weaver and James Conrad stood atop a cliff and looked out over the island, only to witness Kong approaching them. To their surprise, Kong didn't act violent or aggressive to them at all, and allowed Weaver to gently touch his face. Suddenly, explosions appeared over the distance, and Kong immediately raced toward them. Weaver and Conrad knew that Packard and his men were setting a trap for Kong, intending to kill him. The two of them, joined by Marlow, rushed to the scene to try and save Kong from danger. When Kong arrived at the scene of the explosions, he encountered Packard and his men in the distance. As Kong crossed a lake to attack them, Packard ignited the napalm he had dumped into the water, causing the entire lake to erupt into flames. Kong swung his arm angrily at the water, causing the flaming napalm to hit some of the soldiers, before collapsing onto the ground unconscious. Packard placed leftover seismic charges around Kong, preparing to finish him, but Weaver, Conrad and Marlow arrived and confronted him, demanding for Packard to stop. Packard refused, and was prepared to detonate the charges and blow them all sky high, when suddenly a gigantic Skullcrawler, Skull Devil, erupted from the lake. The group except Packard fled, while Kong regained consciousness and promptly smashed Packard under his fist. Skull Devil attacked Kong, and the humans were forced to leave the giant ape to his fate.
The following morning, as the surviving expedition members neared the extraction point on the north side of the island, they were confronted by Skull Devil. One of the expedition members, Earl Cole, stays to sacrifice himself by blowing himself and Skull Devil up with grenades strapped to him. However, Skull Devil sees this and whips Cole away with his tail into the side of a mountain which causes the grenades to explode, killing him. Before Skull Devil can proceed to kill the survivors, it was revealed that Cole's sacrifice had given enough time for Kong to appear and smashed the monster in the face with a boulder. Kong engaged in battle with Skull Devil, buying time for the humans to get to safety. The weakened Kong simply was no match for Skull Devil, and was knocked into an old shipwreck, causing him to get entangled in its anchor chain. Before Skull Devil can kill his prey, he is distracted by Houston Brooks and Lin San with gunfire from Marlow's boat armed with mounted guns.
Distracted, Skull Devil turns his attention to the boat until the guns cut off, leaving them defenseless to the Skullcrawler. Weaver had managed to reach a vantage point and fired a flare into Skull Devil's eye, blinding him and allowing Conrad to lure him away from Brooks and San on the boat. This distraction gives Kong enough time to free himself and uses a propeller attached to a chain like a flail to land a vicious blow on Skull Devil's back. He then uses the chain to drag the Skullcrawler toward him, pulls the propeller out and uses it as a shuriken to slice Skull Devil's throat open, apparently killing him. However, Weaver was knocked off the cliff during the battle and had caused her to fall into the water below, but Kong pulled her out of the water and took a second to inspect her in his hand, only for Skull Devil to get back up and clamp his jaws onto his arm. Kong battled Skull Devil again, trying to keep Weaver away from his mouth, but the beast used his prehensile tongue to pull Kong's hand, with Weaver held in it, down his throat. Mustering all his strength, Kong pulled his hand free of the Skullcrawler's gullet, ripping out Skull Devil's innards and killing him instantly, thus finally avenging Kong's family. Kong gently set Weaver down on the ground, while Conrad immediately ran to her to check if she was okay. As Weaver regained consciousness and embraced Conrad, Kong briefly looked back at the two of them and thanks them for supporting him before walking away. Once the survivors were finally rescued from the island, Kong stood triumphantly in his domain. As he watches the survivors leave, Kong beats his chest and lets out a mighty roar of victory, declaring himself as the king of Skull Island.
Skull Island: The Birth of Kong
In 1995, Aaron Brooks, the son of Houston Brooks and Lin San, learned that Monarch had chosen to leave the massive MUTO ecosystem on Skull Island under the sole protection of Kong. Aaron was outraged at the concept of trusting a Titan to keep the island's volatile ecosystem under control and organized a covert mission to the island with other team members of Monarch, under the guise of traveling to study a MUTO fossil bed in Antarctica. When the Osprey carrying the team was attacked and struck down by a flock of Psychovultures almost immediately upon entering the island's airspace, Aaron and the others found themselves stranded on the island. They were set upon by a pack of vicious Death Jackals and retreated into a cave, only for Kong to reappear and crush the smaller beasts under his gigantic fist. The party was then greeted by Ato, a member of the native Iwi tribe, who welcomed them and stated that their arrival was foreseen.
In the Iwi village, Ato explained the significance of Kong for his people to Aaron and his comrades. He maintained that Kong was a benevolent god as his goal was to defend the Iwi and other vulnerable creatures on the island from more violent predators. Many of the party were skeptical, but mythographer Walter R. Riccio claimed to witness visions of the island's past after consuming large amounts of an Iwi shamic beverage. He saw members of Kong's species at war with the Skullcrawlers on the island millions of years ago, as well as the arrival of the Iwi on the island, where they encountered the last two surviving members of the species. Ato showed the Monarch team members some of the Iwi holy sites related to Kong, promising to ultimately grant them communion with Kong himself. However, they were attacked by a Sirenjaw, though the beast's attention was subsequently captured by a distant roar from Kong.
After salvaging weapons left behind by the Monarch expedition to the island in 1973, Aaron's party followed the Sirenjaw to Kong's location, only to discover the Sirenjaw's corpse. As the smaller predators of the island descended to feed on the dead body, Ato expressed the urgency of getting away now. Aaron and his team wanted to reach the downed Osprey located on the other side of the huge boneyard containing the skeletons of Kong's deceased parents. Ato referred to this location as the "Valley of the Fallen Gods," and warned that the immature Skullcrawlers still dwelt under the thermal vents in this area. The group traveled through a cave system to evade the Skullcrawlers, where Riccio experienced a powerful vision of Kong's birth. He saw Kong's parents locked in battle with the Skullcrawlers as his mother went into labor. Kong's father tried to fend off the Skullcrawlers long enough for his mate to give birth to their newborn son. Knowing she and her mate were doomed, Kong's mother placed Kong within a cave, where the infant was subjected to the brutal slaughter of his parents by the Skullcrawlers. When the young Kong finally emerged from the cave, he found the lifeless dead bodies of his parents lying together, their hands held together in death. Kong knelt before and wept for his parents he had never known, vowing to avenge them for the rest of his life. When Riccio's vision ceased, he understood that this same cave in which they were hiding was Kong's "womb," the cave his mother had sealed him in many years ago. With the Skullcrawlers apparently gone, Aaron, Ato, and all the others exited the cave and encountered their pilot Cejudo with the Osprey, which was still airworthy. However, Riccio's overconsumption of the Iwi's "Monkey Juice" and repeated hallucinations had driven him insane, and he proceeded to destroy the Osprey with a rocket launcher, also killing Cejudo in the process. He then held the others at gunpoint, promising to test their worthiness of Kong's protection. When Evelyn Matemavi tried to stop Riccio, he responded by shooting her dead in cold blood.
Riccio's insane tirade toward his hostages was interrupted by the arrival of another pack of Death Jackals, buying time for Aaron and the others to escape. By the time they reached the Iwi village, they discovered that Riccio had arrived first and blown open the protective wall with explosives he had salvaged. This caused a trio of Mother Longlegs to pour into the village and terrorize the innocent populace. Riccio, clad in a makeshift ceremonial robe, called forth to Kong, asking him to come and save his people if they were actually worthy of his protection. Kong soon arrived and easily slaughtered the Mother Longlegs, prompting Riccio to approach the giant ape and rejoice at his mercifulness. Realizing Riccio was the one responsible for the attack, Kong smashed him under his fist. Kong approached Aaron, the last survivor of the Monarch expedition, and the two shared a brief moment of communion between man and beast. At this moment, Aaron truly understood that Kong's intentions were noble and that he had taken it upon himself to defend this island and those who inhabit it. Content knowing Kong was capable of keeping the island under control as his father had believed, Aaron chose to stay on the island and live among the Iwi, helping them rebuild the damage to their village. Aaron recorded a record of the events that had transpired and set it adrift on the off chance his father would find it one day. It was recovered by Monarch in 2012 and given to Houston, who was on the eve of retirement.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
In 2019, Kong was on Skull Island, now the site of Monarch Outpost 33, when Ghidorah emitted an alpha call which awakened the planet's dormant Titans and bent them to his will. While Kong, along with Mothra and Godzilla, is the only one not to respond to Ghidorah's call, he was shown to be leaving Skull Island on one of Monarch's computer monitors. After Godzilla defeated Ghidorah, humanity began uncovering many secrets from the ancient world regarding the Titans, including a cave painting of what appeared to be another member of Kong's species fighting Godzilla.
Godzilla vs. Kong
Personality
Kong is a charming and benevolent creature who truly cares about the lives of others, he even went so far as to sacrificing his life by surprising his arch-nemesis, the alpha Skullcrawler, Skull Devil, throwing a large boulder at him, thus; saving his human allies. He also cares for other animals, as seen when he saved an injured Sker Buffalo trapped underneath a fallen helicopter.
However, Kong still displays ferocious anger towards those who attack him, as seen when he brutally destroys several helicopters when they try to shoot at him, and when he kills Packard and several people who allied with him.
Physical appearance
Kong is a gigantic primate who stands upright like a human, with his incredibly long muscular arms held at his sides. His fur is a light brown color and covers the majority of his body except for his face, chest, hands, and feet while his skin is a dark gray color. Kong's most distinguishing features are three large scars running diagonally from his left pectoral to the right side of his torso. He has a rounded head with small rounded ears on the sides and possesses many ape-like features such as a flat nose with rounded nostrils and large canine teeth whenever he opens his mouth or roars. In Godzilla vs. Kong, it shows that Kong now possesses a human-like beard which covers the lower part of his head and chin. The graphic novel prequel of Godzilla vs. Kong also shows that Kong's legs have lengthened, giving him more human-like body proportions.
Kong stands approximately 104 feet tall, making him the tallest American incarnation of the character, and the second tallest overall behind only his 1962 incarnation.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Ape Titan Physiology: As an ape titan, Kong is incredibly powerful; as he possesses several physical attributes that surpasses that of most other titans.
- Advanced Strength: Kong is much stronger than humans and most other titans; for example, he was able to throw a boulder around half his own size and still manage to jump at least 250 ft into the air, and was able to fight off a Mire Squid and kill it using his own muscles; he was also able to rip off Skull Devil's powerful tongue when it latched onto him, killing the alpha skullcrawler.
- Advanced Durability: Kong is far more durable than most other titans; for example, he can withstand conventional weaponry and attacks from the Skullcrawlers.
- Advanced Speed: Kong is much faster than humans and most other titans.
- Advanced Agility: Kong is far more agile than humans and most other titans; for example, he was able to quickly dodge Skullcrawlers that attack him from behind.
- Advanced Stamina: Kong possesses far more stamina than humans and most other titans; allowing him to remain physically active for long periods of time.
- Advanced Senses: Kong's senses are far more greatly developed than humans and most other titans; for example, he was able to hear a trapped Sker Buffalo struggling to break free from the wreckage of a helicopter.
- Night Vision: Kong can see clearly in the dark.
Abilities
- High-Level Intellect: Kong is highly intelligent, he used this trait to survive in Skull Island and defeat many of his enemies, seeing that Preston Packard was going to kill him with a detonator, and thus smashed him right then and there, shortly before fighting Skull Devil. In the final battle, while fighting the Skull Devil, Kong utilised several tools to fight the creature, examples including him hitting the Skull Devil with a stripped tree like a baseball bat and using a chain attached to a boat propeller like a flail to yank him, restrain him and slice his throat with the propeller like a shuriken, which seemingly killed him. Not long after that, when Skull Devil wrapped his tongue around the giant ape's arm, Kong used this advantage against him, pulling out his tongue and ripping out his innards.
- Weaponizing: Kong can make something useful out from any object he can find and use them as melee and ranged weapons like trees, boulders, a boat propeller and even chains on the Skullcrawlers.
Weaknesses
- Limited Durability: Although Kong is incredibly durable, he does have his limits; for example, he can get wounded very easily, which was seen when the blades of a helicopter he fought grazed his palm very badly. Kong also has a poor resistance to fire; due to his fur, collapsing from the napalm and fire he was hit with after a few minutes.
- Limited Healing Factor: Unlike Godzilla, who can heal quickly from his wounds, Kong has a relatively slow healing factor comparable to that of humans, as needs a much longer time to do so. This was seen when he washed his arm to heal his wounds from a skirmish with several helicopters. Kong's wounds on his chest have also not healed yet.
Former weaknesses
- Limitations: Because Kong was still a teenager (at the time) he had yet to fully develop the the physical attributes of adult giant apes; as he had difficulty defeating much larger opponent(s). However, since reaching adulthood; this is no longer a weakness for Kong.
Relationships
Mason Weaver
Due to Mason's interest in and respect for nature and her desire for peace, she is able to connect with Kong.
James Conrad
Hank Marlow
Preston Packard
Skullcrawlers
Skull Devil
Skull Devil was the alpha of the Skullcrawlers on Skull Island and Kong's primary adversary who was said to be responsible for slaughtering the giant apes on the island, leaving Kong as the only survivor.
Sker Buffaloes
Kong appears to care for the Sker Buffaloes living within his territory, as seen when he saved one trapped under a fallen helicopter, as well as fending off the Skullcrawlers that killed one of them.
Godzilla
Although Kong has never directly encountered Godzilla, he does not seem to recognise him as the alpha titan, a cave painting of Godzilla fighting against a member of Kong's species can be seen; implying that his species has a rivalry or an negative relationship with the giant amphibious reptilian.
Ghidorah
Kong's own alpha status renders him resistant to the alpha call of Ghidorah, which awakens most other titans around the globe and bends them to his will, including the Skullcrawlers on the island. Kong actively chooses to remain on his island and ignore Ghidorah's call to "hunt together" with him, and his attention is immediately grabbed by the Skullcrawlers responding to Ghidorah. Only Godzilla and Mothra also dared to oppose Ghidorah's call.
Trivia
- Unlike most previous incarnations; this version of King Kong is portrayed as a protagonist/anti-hero, instead of as an antagonist.
- This is the most heroic incarnation of King Kong so far.
- Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts wanted this Kong's design to have a closer resemblance to the original 1933 creature designed by Marcel Delgado.
- It is unknown why Kong and Godzilla would fight each other in Godzilla vs. Kong, since they are both heroic monsters; this would classify the both of them in the category Good Vs. Good, the first being Captain America vs Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War and Batman vs Superman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
- However, it is safe to assume that they believe each other are a threat, Kong believing Godzilla is a threat to Skull Island and Godzilla believing Kong is a threat to the balance of nature or that Kong refuses to accept Godzilla as his king and so he is challenging the giant lizard for the title of the new "King of the Titans". The ending credits imply that Kong's species have been rivals with Godzilla's species since ancient times according to cave drawings. It is also speculated that they will possibly team up to face a bigger threat, possibly Mechagodzilla.
- He is the third monster that Monarch discovered, the first four being Godzilla, Shinomura and the two M.U.T.O.s.
External Links
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