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Cloaked in mist, far out at sea, lies an island of mystery. Here between the cliffs and sand, a mighty Titan rules the land. Fists like boulders, roar like thunder. All who see him gasp in wonder. He horrifies the bravest men. His name is Kong... he is my friend.
King Kong, more shortly known as Kong, and dubbed as Titanus Kong, is one of the main protagonists of the MonsterVerse franchise.
He is a species of intelligent and sentient primate-like Titan who is one of the few alpha Titans, and one of the most powerful creatures on Earth. He is one of the only survivors of his species, the Titanus Kongs, that have been almost wiped out completely by the war between the Titanus Gojiras and his kind and later on by the Skullcrawlers.
He is also the protector and guardian of both Skull Island and the Hollow Earth, defending them from creatures that attempted to conquer them. He is also Jia and Suko's adoptive father, Godzilla's former rival, best friend and partner and the leader and king of the Hollow Earth Great Ape tribe.
In Kong: Skull Island, he is portrayed by Terry Notary (who also played Rocket in the Planet of the Apes reboot franchise and Buck in The Call of the Wild) in motion-capture and Toby Kebbell (who also played Jack Chapman in the film and Durotan in Warcraft) in facial-capture.
In Godzilla vs. Kong, he is portrayed by Eric Petey in motion-capture.
In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, he is portrayed by Allan Henry in motion-capture, who also played the Skar King in the same film.
Personality[]
As the guardian and protector of Skull Island, Kong is responsible for maintaining the natural order and defending the island's wildlife from threats. While Kong appears to be highly territorial, he does demonstrate some degree of altruism, such as rescuing a trapped Sker Buffalo and saving Mason Weaver from drowning. Kong is not normally aggressive towards humans, and only attacks them when he is provoked. The native Iwi tribe reveres Kong and views him as their savior, as he and his family allegedly defended them from the Skullcrawlers in the past. Kong demonstrates an interest in Weaver, as he at one point allows her to touch his face, and later admires her in his hand after he rescues her from the Skull Devil.
In 1995, it fully reveals Kong's driving motivations for keeping the order of the island. After witnessing his parents' deaths as a mere infant, Kong chose to avenge them and honor their memory by keeping the island's Skullcrawler population under control and actively defending the island's least malicious and most vulnerable life, including the Iwi people. He actively rescues members of Monarch's second off-the-books expedition to the island from Death Jackals and a Sirenjaw, and immediately comes to the aid of the Iwi village once it is besieged by Mother Longlegs allowed into the village by the deranged Walter R. Riccio.
Kong recognizes humans and understands that they share his level of intelligence and is shown to distinguish between those he judges as friendly, and those, who are not. As such, he defends or genially regards most humans, but kills Preston Packard, Walter R. Riccio and even Maia Simmons. In Godzilla vs. Kong, Kong took the orphaned Iwi girl Jia under his wing after a storm around Skull Island reached the island interior, becoming her adoptive father in the process. This is further explored, which shows that Kong saved Jia after her family was killed by a Sirenjaw. When Maia ordered her guards to aim their weapons at the girl, Kong bellowed angrily at them to protect Jia. After some convincing from Jia, Kong realized that Godzilla is in fact an ally the whole time and helps him fight against Mechagodzilla. Kong puts the defense of Skull Island as his first priority, and his will is so strong which he is willing to stand up to Titans of equal status to his own if necessary. Kong's willpower renders him resistant to the alpha call of King Ghidorah, which awakens most other Titans around the globe and bends them to his will, including the Leafwings and 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. Despite his tough, violent and aggressive behavior, he is also a benevolent, kind-hearted, fearless, honorable, wise and tragic guardian who loves humanity and protecting them from other evil Titans for good.
In Skull Island, Kong is shown to have befriended a young Skull Island girl and seems to be able to understand her speech. He has a playful but reckless side to him that eventually leads to him nearly getting himself, the girl, and a giant red hawk, whom Kong has a symbiotic bond with, killed in a fight with a trio of monstrous chameleons. When confronted and berated by the Skull Islander afterwards, Kong becomes enraged after she hurts his feelings by calling him a "foolish boy" and a "giant idiot". That night, he came to regret losing his composure, whining as he sat on the mountain on which the pair would stargaze every night. The next morning, he tried to apologise by offering a fruit tree to the Skull Islander's village, though he ended up recklessly causing a bit of destruction and irritating his friend in the process, frustrating him further. He mourned her and her fellow islanders after the Kraken slaughtered them, burying her and keeping her necklace in his temple as a memento, while developing a hatred towards the aquatic Titan for killing his friend.
His attachment to his friend's necklace was such that Annie, Charlie, and Dog were able to lure him into the Kraken's territory, which he had previously avoided. Kong valued his late friend's necklace to the point that he nearly pummeled Annie and Dog when he had them cornered at the edge of the ocean. However, after Annie attempted to give it back, he seemed to forgive her and Dog afterwards, saving their lives during his battle against the Kraken. It's also shown that Kong has formed a strong bond with the Hawk, whom he orders to do whatever he desires and having the animal obey, such as commanding the bird to fetch food for him and have them brought to his temple for him to eat to satisfy his hunger.
When interacting with other Titan primates after decades of solitude in The New Empire, Kong demonstrates more of his compassion and sense of honor. He saves one of the Skar King's minions attacking him from falling into a ravine, only kicking him down to his death once he returns Kong's mercy by trying to stab him. When in the Skar King's lair, Kong becomes devastated when he witnesses the way the red tyrant and his enforcers enslave the weaker apes, standing up for one being brutalized and fighting the Skar King after he kills another out of sheer cruelty, eventually liberating the ape tribe and becoming its new leader after killing the Skar King towards the film's end. Kong also becomes a protector and father figure to Suko, looking after the young ape and not punishing him after Suko attacks him then tries to have him killed by a Drownviper soon after they first meet, and even adopts Shimo as a pet-like companion after freeing her from the Skar King's abusive control.
Physical Appearance[]
Kong's appearance is mostly similar to that of his previous incarnations, being an enormous, prehistoric, bipedal, muscular, fierce-looking primate-like creature with an appearance quite similar to that of gorillas. However, this version of the character is significantly altered as he is instead a new type of primate who falls more in line with a quasi-human line and perhaps has some distant lineage to cryptid apes such as a Yeti or a Sasquatch.
Standing 104 feet tall, Kong, similar to humans, walks upright in a bipedal manner and has incredibly long, muscular arms that are longer than his legs, giving him a distinctive silhouette. His fur is a light orange-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. He displays a muscular physique, broad shoulders, defined abs and large biceps as well as many ape-like features based on gorillas and chimpanzees, such as a rounded head with small ears on the sides, a huge brow, an exaggerated muzzle, a flat nose with rounded nostrils, razor-sharp fangs and a total of 32 teeth. Kong displays three large scars on his chest that ran diagonally from his left pectoral to the right side of his torso, implying that he got these scars from a fight with one of the Skullcrawlers or other creatures that he fought during his time on Skull Island. He is even shown to have several more scars on the palm of his right hand after grazing it when he attempted to grab the rotating blades of a helicopter.
In Godzilla vs. Kong, Kong now stands 337 feet tall, making him almost the same size as Godzilla. Although he is still growing, he is nearing his full growth. His fur now has a darker shade of brown or even black along with a few gray hairs while his head is 50 feet wide. Kong is shown to have grown beard-like facial hair which covers the lower part of his head and chin that represents his age while the scars on his chest are properly healed, but are still faintly visible. He also displays two scars on his nose as well as one on the right side of his belly. However, following his fight against Godzilla in Hong Kong after he ferociously slashed at Kong's chest four times, Kong now displays a diagonal grid line of scars based on the right pectoral area in addition to his original three scars. Additionally, he often stands in a hunched-over posture commonly seen in gorillas, chimpanzees and other apes. In Kingdom Kong, his legs have lengthened which gives him more human-like body proportions and has broader shoulders with much larger amounts of fur than before.
In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Kong's appearance is similar to the previous design from Godzilla vs. Kong, except his fur is slightly grayer and his beard is slightly longer while displaying a long scar running across his back. After eating Wart Dog meat, his right canine tooth is replaced with a silver steel tooth. Later, Kong is equipped with a yellow mechanical glove-like gauntlet on his right arm called the B.E.A.S.T. (Bio-Enhanced Anatomech Seismic Thunder) Glove.
In the animated television series Skull Island, Kong appears to be slightly taller than his initial design in Kong: Skull Island, but under his height in Skull Island: The Birth of Kong. His forearms are much larger while his fur is dark gray instead of brown, displays a smaller beard similar to the one that he had in Godzilla vs. Kong, has slightly longer legs, causing his overall silhouette to appear more human-based, lacks the small burns on his face and the three scars have shrunk in size as they have now positioned across the center of his chest.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
Titanus Kong Physiology: As a Titanus Kong, Kong is incredibly powerful, as he possesses several physical attributes that surpasses that of his kind and most other Titans. He is also the second most powerful Titan in existence, second only to Godzilla and the late Ghidorah.
Superhuman Strength: Kong has demonstrated incredibly powerful strength due to his enormous size and has immensely strong arms, making him far greater than that of his kind, therefore, he is the second strongest Titan in existence, second only to Godzilla. As an adolescent, Kong's strength allows him 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 smash helicopters as well as incapacitate 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. After reaching adulthood in 2024, Kong possesses the strength to almost overpower Godzilla. He was able to grab hold both of the Alpha Titan's arms and keep him still before unleashing a devastating headbutt that knocks Godzilla back, despite Godzilla's attempts to claw and bite his face. Kong's punches were shown to make Godzilla stagger and even fall to the ground, but while his strength can stun and make Godzilla stagger, it did little to slow him down at all. Kong was also able to subdue Godzilla several times, even managing to use his momentum to toss Godzilla away and have distance from one another. Kong even made Godzilla roar in pain after he punched the latter's wounded thigh. Kong could also throw a Warbat with ease before smashing it against another and ripping it's head clean off, without its spine intact. Furthermore, Kong was also able to pull and drag a damaged aircraft carrier with his chains as well as crushing a HEAV (Hollow Earth Aerial Vehicle) containing Maia Simmons and her henchmen inside with just one hand. During the final fight with Mechagodzilla, after Godzilla charged Kong's axe, Kong pushed back Mechagodzilla's tail before cutting it off, then stopped the mecha's punch using his left arm with ease, when beforehand he was struggling to hold Mechagodzilla's tail back. Later, he was able to rip the robot's head off, pulling the spinal cord out with it. In Skull Island, Kong effortlessly forced a handmade spear through a Skullcrawler's head and was easily capable of throwing around a trio of giant, monstrous chameleons during his fight against them. At one point, he slammed one into a canyon wall with enough force to cause the wall to crumble and collapse. He was even able to rip off four of the Kraken's tentacles when it was constricting him, pummel it relentlessly with his fists after forcing it on land, tear it in half with his bare hands and throw both halves of its corpse a considerable distance away. In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Kong is able to rip a Wart Dog in half with his bare hands and upon encountering the Skar King and his tribe, he was able to knock out a Great Ape guard with one punch. When fighting the Skar King himself, he was shown to be stronger than him, lifting and throwing him to the ground and forcing Skar King to call upon Shimo to beat Kong. In Rio de Janeiro, Kong has shown to be able to lift Skar 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 that was 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 repeatedly punch him mercilessly on the ground, knocking Godzilla out. However, when Godzilla wakes up, he needed to take him by surprise to pin Kong to the ground. After this, Kong was able to drag Godzilla a few meters with little difficulty. He also was able to break one of Skar 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, dragged and then threw him through buildings.
Superhuman Leaping: Kong's immeasurable strength extends to his legs, allowing him to leap great heights and distances. He was able to leap from a cargo ship onto a nearby destroyer and then an aircraft carrier in only two bounds in his first fight with Godzilla and can even leap from building to building during their second battle in Hong Kong.
Superhuman Durability: Kong has extremely thick and durable skin which makes him incredibly tough and resilient as he is capable of withstanding great physical damage, partly because of his titanic size. However, Titans of similar strength like Godzilla can harm him and, potentially, kill him. As an adolescent, he is capable of withstanding bullets from military helicopters, bites from the Skullcrawlers and even survive getting set ablaze in a lake filled with napalm caused by Preston Packard, despite being temporarily knocked out from oxygen depletion. During his battle with Godzilla in Hong Kong, despite being bitten, clawed, and tail whipped by the latter, Kong was able to withstand the majority of these attacks and the only things that actually affected him were his dislocated left arm and his heart slowing down from Godzilla stomping on his chest very hard which unluckily caused commotio cordis. Kong has also survived Godzilla's atomic breath, though he was visibly hurt by it. Kong, just like all Titans, can also survive Gravitational Inversion, a planet's worth of gravity reversed in a split second. In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Kong can shield himself from Shimo's ice beam for a time with the B.E.A.S.T. Glove, though he was slowly getting overpowered and needed Godzilla's help to force Shimo away.
Superhuman Dexterity: Like all apes, Kong has five fully opposable digits on each of his hands and feet, allowing him to grab objects and opponents firmly with ease.
Superhuman Speed: Regardless of his size, Kong's strong legs allow him to run incredibly fast, reaching speeds of up to 78 miles per hour (or approximately 126 kilometers per hour). At one point, he is also shown to knuckle-walk and run on fours in an almost ape-like fashion which increases to 104 mph (or ~167 kph) when entering the Hollow Earth.
Superhuman Agility: Despite his massive size and muscular physique, Kong is extremely agile and athletic as his muscles and skeleton are extraordinarily flexible, allowing him to quickly dodge bullets from military helicopters and Skullcrawlers that attack him from behind. He also can swing his long arms to make effective combat strikes. After the fleet was decimated by Godzilla and Kong was transported to Antarctica, he swung on the pipes inside of the entrance to the Hollow Earth with considerable speed. In their second fight in Hong Kong, Kong showcased his agility by climbing and swinging around buildings with ease despite his large size. With his agility, he was able to avoid Godzilla's atomic breath for a time, only being hit once in both of their fights. In Skull Island, Kong performs incredible feats of speed and agility when traversing Skull Island, covering distances within moments via leaping or running on all fours. He was even able to keep up with Dog, eventually cornering him and Annie at the edge of the ocean.
Superhuman Reflexes: Kong has impressive reflexes that are sharp enough to block Godzilla’s atomic breath, and catch Mechagodzilla’s spinning drill tail in mid air just seconds before it could hit him.
Superhuman Stamina: Kong's musculature is considerably efficient. His virtually inexhaustible stamina enables him to exert himself at peak capacity for an undefined period of time without tiring at all, allowing Kong to fight his enemies without getting exhausted or wearing out. This is proven in his fights against the Skullcrawlers, Mire Squids, the Skull Devil, three Killer Chameleons, the Kraken, Camazotz, Warbats, Godzilla, Mechagodzilla, Abaddon, Tiamat, Skar King and Shimo.
Superhuman Endurance: Kong's pain tolerance level is incredibly high. Even if he is injured from the fights he gets into, he'll barely feel a thing. This is proven in his fights against the Skullcrawlers, Mire Squids, the Skull Devil, a trio of Killer Chameleons, the Kraken, Camazotz, Warbats, Godzilla, Mechagodzilla, Abaddon, Tiamat, Skar King and Shimo.
Accelerated Healing Factor: Despite his body's resistance, Kong can sustain physical injury. If he is injured, his metabolism enables him to rapidly regenerate damaged bodily tissue much faster, depending on how serious his wounds are.
Superhuman Senses: Kong is granted with powerful senses, especially his sense of smell and hearing. He is able to hear the sounds of seismic explosives being dropped onto Skull Island, sense a Mire Squid lurking near him while drinking from a lake and can also hear the cries of a trapped Sker Buffalo struggling to break free from the wreckage of a helicopter. In Godzilla vs. Kong, Kong was able to sense that he is trapped inside a dome-shaped facility that Monarch had constructed to contain him while out on the ocean, and was able to sense Godzilla approaching before the radar systems could detect him.
Superhuman Vision: Kong is shown to possess amazing vision, aiding him in fighting off against his enemies and allowing him to locate things from far distances easily.
Night Vision: Kong's vision is powerfully acute to the point of allowing him to fully see clearly in darkness, enabling him to notice people standing on a cliff through the dead of night.
Symbiosis: In Skull Island, Kong is revealed to have a symbiotic relationship with a giant red hawk as the animal is loyal only to him due to their strong bond. Kong will likely order the Hawk to do whatever he desires and having the bird immediately obey, such as commanding the beast to fetch food for him and have them brought back to his temple for Kong to eat. They are even able to work together in battle when they team up to fight against a group of Killer Chamaleons.
Communication/Sign Language: By the time of Godzilla vs. Kong, Kong was taught sign language in order to communicate as Jia is currently the only person that, he trusts with this form of communication 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, simply by saying "Home". Given that Jia can communicate with him fluently and explain to him what is happening, it is very clear that Kong can understand sign language quite well.
Self-Sustenance: As a Titan, Kong does not need to eat or sleep, but despite this, he must perform either to quickly replenish his strength and boost his natural healing factor from battles, and other extreme activities. He is also shown to sleep each night out of habit shared, by other living beings.
Abilities[]
High-level Intellect/Master Tactician/Leadership Skills: Kong is incredibly intelligent compared to the other creatures on Skull Island, as he can differentiate his allies from his enemies while displaying the ability to learn and strategize to solve problems at hand. Most notably, he clearly recognizes Preston Packard and his men as threats, but does not attempt to harm any other humans he comes across, even going out of his way to save Mason Weaver from drowning. He also takes advantage of his surroundings while fighting and can use tools as many primates do, which he shows by using boulders, trees, and other objects he can grasp as weapons. Kong's intelligence also allows him to anticipate enemy attacks and formulate strategies to deal them accordingly, which explains how he easily defeated a pair of Warbats and quick to analyze Godzilla's combat style, and power in order to maintain his ground against the veteran Titan. In his fight against the latter, Kong not only keeps preventing him from using it effectively by closing the distance and re-directing his head away from him, but also moves from one building to another so as not to become a sitting duck all while exploiting his battle axe's ability to absorb the latter's atomic breath to either defend himself or turn the alpha Titan's atomic breath against him. This, coupled with quick mastery of his axe that turned out crucial in defeating Mechagodzilla arguably among aspects in Kong that Godzilla admires since they both know brute force alone at times not enough in combating formidable adversaries. In Skull Island, Kong has a long-running standoff with the Kraken, due to his unwillingness to engage it underwater, where it would have gained the upper hand, even when it sadistically taunts him by throwing a whale into his temple. Annie, Charlie, and Dog force the two Titans together by stealing a necklace from Kong that he kept in his temple after the death of a young Spanish tribeswoman that he had befriended and leading him to the shore to confront the Kraken. At the conclusion of the battle, Kong was able to throw the beast onto land, where he would take advantage of the terrain and kill it instantly. In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Kong learned to create snares and fixtures for entangling prey or dumbfounding enemies, such as pits and deadfalls, to either aid in his hunt or to protect his home ground, evident when he lead a pack of vicious Wart Dogs into a trap, and to later protect himself from the Skar King's minions after being injured by Shimo. In his first fight with the Skar King, Kong picked up on his opponent’s reliance on his respective weapon as well as his size disadvantage, flipping over his enemy before he could succumb to asphyxiation. In his fight with Godzilla, he attempts to reason with Godzilla to no avail before he was forced to fight where Kong utilized the surrounding sand to trick Godzilla, and would later pummel the latter's head with his fists before attempting to drag him into the Hollow Earth vortex. Throughout the extensive final battle, Kong effectively coordinated with Godzilla as the two of them fought Skar King and Shimo interchangeably. Kong would ultimately be the one to kill Skar King, smashing his frozen body to pieces after Godzilla and Shimo landed their respective attacks onto the tyrant. After killing Skar King, Kong would become the newfound leader and king of the ape clan, freeing the other apes from Skar King's enslavement while deciding to rule in a more benevolent way than the latter did in the past.
Climbing Skills: Kong is an excellent master of climbing as he is able to scale sheer cliffs and mountain faces with relative ease, mainly due to his size. He is also shown to climb buildings to avoid Godzilla's atomic breath during their battle in Hong Kong, all while carefully placing his own weight over them so as not to topple them by mistake.
Swimming Skills: Kong is known to be a decent swimmer as he is able to swim quite well, although he cannot hold his breath underwater for long periods of time.
Survival/Hunting Skills: Kong is a master survivor thanks to spending majorities of his life taming the wilderness in Skull Island, learning where to find food or water as well as overcoming dangerous situations. He is also shown to be brilliant at hunting as he is skilled in tracking and determining what sort of prey he is following such as Mire Squids, Grass Hedgehogs and Croc Monsters and how best to take it down.
Expert Falconry: In Skull Island, Kong is skilled in training the Hawk to hunt, help in battle or fetch food for him so it would be delivered to him for the Titan to eat.
Improvisation: Kong is able to make something useful out from any object he can find such as crafting a spear by shearing off a tree's leaves and branches.
Weapon Mastery: Like all apes and his species, Kong is capable of wielding objects that he can use as weapons for combat. When fighting Skull Devil, he used a stripped tree trunk as a club to swing it against her face, used 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, used a fighter jet as a dart to throw at Godzilla and later used a radio dish as a shield to block the latter's atomic breath during their battle in Hong Kong. He is also capable of using a battle axe in combat, seen during his fight against Godzilla and Mechagodzilla. In Skull Island, Kong used a sharpened tree stump as a spear to impale a Skullcrawler through the head in order to save a Skull Island girl that he had befriended and was able to use two bones as knives during his fight with a trio of Killer Chameleons. In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Kong used Suko as a blunt weapon to defend himself whilst fighting Skar King's minions. He later became proficient using the B.E.A.S.T. Glove as he was able to wield it like an extension, using it as a shield to block Shimo's ice breath while using his force-enhancing capabilities to strike his opponents more powerful than before.
Master Combatant: Kong is a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant, being able to perform a variety of punches, kicks and grapples during his fights with Skullcrawlers, Skull Devil, Mire Squids, the Kraken, Killer Chameleons, Camazotz, Warbats, Godzilla, Mechagodzilla, Abaddon, Tiamat, Skar King and Shimo. His combat skills extends to the usage of objects or weapons, most notably his battle axe and the B.E.A.S.T. Glove which he both uses to fight against Godzilla, Mechagodzilla, Skar King and Shimo.
Battle Axe Mastery: Kong can offensively and defensively use his battle axe in his fights, as shown when he battled Godzilla, Mechagodzilla, Skar King and Shimo.
B.E.A.S.T. Glove Mastery: Kong can offensively and defensively use the B.E.A.S.T. Glove in his fights, as shown when he battled Godzilla in Egypt and later Skar King and Shimo.
Master Rider: Kong was briefly shown to ride on Godzilla when the two are charging at Skar King and Shimo and was even shown to ride on Shimo while returning to the Hollow Earth with her and Suko after defeating Skar King in Rio de Janeiro.
Indomitable Will: Kong possesses an enormous amount of willpower and determination that cannot be weakened as he does not need to back down nor surrender, no matter any opponent he pushes forward, refusing to give up regardless of what happened. Even despite being overpowered by other Titans such as Godzilla that are much more stronger and powerful than him, he does not slow down at all. Also, his determination to stop and kill other creatures that attempt to conquer or destroy both Skull Island and the Hollow Earth and protect them at all costs has remained with him constantly for years.
Stealth: Despite his gargantuan size, Kong is shown to be stealthy, as he was able to sneak away from Godzilla and hide on the top of a building during their second battle in Hong Kong.
Sharp Teeth: Like all apes and his species, Kong is equipped with razor-sharp teeth which he could use to bite and tear, capable of ripping off the tentacles of a Mire Squid after killing it. At some point, he is briefly shown biting Godzilla's neck during their underwater fight, showing that he did hurt Godzilla quite a bit. He also made Skar King roar in pain when he bit his arm.
Weaknesses[]
Limited Strength: Although Kong is incredibly strong, he is unable to match Godzilla in terms of "physical strength".
Limited Durability: Although Kong is incredibly durable, objects, weapons or other Titans with enough force can injure him, which was seen when the blades of a helicopter he fought grazed his hand very badly and when artillery rounds severely wounded his arm. Kong also has a poor resistance to fire, due to his thick fur, collapsing unconscious from the napalm and fire he was hit with after a few minutes. As an adult, Kong was nearly drowned by Godzilla when the latter pulled him into the depths of the ocean, taking advantage of his own water-breathing capabilities. While he holds his own in their Hong Kong battle, Kong is badly burned when he is hit by a blast of Godzilla's atomic breath, creating a burn mark on his back, though it quickly fizzled out and didn't seem to affect Kong shortly afterward. Kong is also rendered helpless and nearly killed once Godzilla unleashes his full fury against him in the Hong Kong battle, dislocating Kong's left arm, slashing him with his claws and even stomping on his chest to slow his heart rate, causing him to suffer commotio cordis and rendering him unconscious.
Limited Stamina: Although Kong's stamina is incredibly high, he can still be worn out from extreme activities, such as recurring fights against Godzilla and Mechagodzilla. After Godzilla stomped on his chest very hard which caused Kong to suffer commotio cordis, he eventually lost consciousness and passed out before regaining consciousness after Nathan Lind revived him by using a HEAV as a defibrillator. After defeating Mechagodzilla, Kong slumped down to rest and catch his breath, only to be interrupted by the roar of Godzilla.
Limited Healing Factor: Kong's healing factor is inferior to Godzilla's, which provided him a high longevity. Kong needs greater amounts of time to fully recover from injuries, thus, said injuries must be treated so as not to impair him. 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.
Aquatic Oxygen: Unlike Godzilla, Kong cannot breathe underwater, due to the fact that his physical structure was that of a terrestrial creature since he was not entirely suited for water. If Kong remains underwater for too long, he will lose consciousness and eventually drown if not able to surface for air in time.
Former weaknesses[]
Limitations: Because Kong was still an adolescent (at the time), he had yet to fully develop the physical attributes of adult ape Titans as he had difficulty overpowering opponents, who are much larger Kong himself. But after reaching adulthood in 2024, this is no longer a weakness for Kong.
Equipment[]
Weapons[]
Kong wielding his battle axe.
Battle Axe: Kong's first weapon of choice is an ancient battle axe made with a Titan bone as the handle and a dorsal fin from a member of Godzilla's species as the blade. He first found this weapon embedded in the skull of an unidentified Titan inside his ancestors' stronghold while exploring the Hollow Earth.
Energy Absorption and Redirection: Kong can use his battle axe to absorb and even store energy radiating from the Earth's core as well as Godzilla's atomic breath to augment its strength. In their final battle, the axe is able to release its stored energy when striking a target with sufficient force as the fully-charged weapon was shown to be powerful enough to produce a tremendous blast that knocks both Kong and Godzilla back. Even before it is charged, it is shown to be able to slash into Godzilla's armored scales. Godzilla voluntarily charges up the axe again when he and Kong battle Mechagodzilla, allowing the ape Titan to quickly dismantle the machine. Kong can also swing the axe at a top speed of 62 miles per hour. The weapon can even be thrown to inflict damage and its side can shield against focused attacks.
B.E.A.S.T. Glove: Kong's second weapon of choice is a yellow mechanized gauntlet built by Monarch named the B.E.A.S.T. (Bio Enhanced Anatomech Seismic Thunder) Glove that fits over his right hand and lower arm after it is badly frostbitten and disabled by Shimo's ice breath while proving to be a valuable asset in Kong's coming battles, temporarily replacing his axe as the ape's primary weapon after its theft by the Skar King.
Force Augmentation: The B.E.A.S.T Glove has the capability to enhance Kong's strength, so powerful that his punches can knock out Godzilla and the Skar King with a single blow. It is even capable of shattering the Earth's crust under Egypt as well as smash a building thrown by the Skar King.
Resistance: The B.E.A.S.T Glove is able to withstand bites from both Godzilla and Shimo as well as withstand Shimo's freezing beam for an extended period of time with no ill effect save for some harmless ice build up across the surface.
Healing Properties: When Kong first wields the B.E.A.S.T Glove, a healing serum is injected into his frostbitten arm, allowing Kong to use his healed arm properly not long after.
Electrogenesis: The B.E.A.S.T Glove allows Kong to generate electricity for even more powerful strikes.
Kong has a deep hatred for Skullcrawlers as not only they are responsible for the deaths of his brethren, his parents included, but also for their presence there would be disruptive to the island's ecosystems. After avenging his parents' deaths, he dedicated himself to ensure those creatures won't cause further damage and is understandably angry upon noticing a survey expedition between Monarch and Preston Packard dangerously attracting surviving Skullcrawlers. Despite this, he remains persistent in his mission in protecting his home from the invading Skullcrawlers culminating in him defeating their Alpha, Skull Devil, and keep the latter's pack from reaching Ghidorah.
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 sole survivor. Skull Devil established herself as Kong's personal archenemy as she revealed herself as soon as Kong was left weakened by the conflict against the vengeful Packard's forces and later attempted to exploit the ape Titan's soft spot with humanity against him during their final battle. But in the end, Kong eventually slayed Skull Devil in combat, finally avenging his parents and left the remaining Skullcrawlers completely helpless and hopeless without their alpha.
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.
Unnamed Parents[]
As a newborn, Kong witnessed their deaths and still missed them greatly since he occasionally looked on their wall paintings sadly. Shortly after his birth, his mother hid him in a cave while his father tried hold off the Skullcrawlers. Nevertheless, their deaths motivated Kong in preventing more Skullcrawlers from causing more death, toppling Skull Island's ecosystem due to their hunger.
Unidentified Titanus Kong individual[]
The unidentified individual was Kong's presumed ancestor and a member of his species that once battled Godzilla centuries ago before he was killed when Tiamat fought him to take his lair.
Despite Kong and Godzilla being protectors of the Earth, they are also ancient rivals, due to their ancestors battling in an ancient war.
Unlike Godzilla, Kong seems to be unaware with the extent of such rivalry, due to spending much of his life in Skull Island as its guardian, let alone the fact of Apex Cybernetics manipulated him and his allies to go into the Hollow Earth to seek for something to defeat Godzilla before he does more harm (in reality, Godzilla was only attacking Apex because he senses the presence of Ghidorah), whose remains were desecrated for their shady project. As such, during their first confrontation at the sea, Kong mistakenly believed that, Godzilla attacked him for no reason at all.
After Kong and Godzilla's first fight, and the subsequent betrayal of Apex Cybernetics' team once they found what they are looking for, Kong discovered a ruined throne room along, with an ancient axe with a dorsal fin of Godzilla's ancestor as the blade, thus he fully understood about the ancient rivalry between his kind and Godzilla's, wasting no time to answer the latter's challenge upon being challenged by the Alpha Titan for another rematch in Hong Kong.
Although Kong briefly gained the upper hand, due to his battle axe, Godzilla defeats Kong by matching the weapon with his own animal instincts, as seen by him walking on all fours in a crocodilian-like fashion, culminating to the Alpha Titan angrily roaring in Kong's face to submit and the ape Titan responded with a roar of his own, showing he won't submit to Godzilla, thus earning his respect.
When Godzilla is brutally battered and outmatched by Apex Cybernetics' possessed masterpiece, Mechagodzilla and Jia persuaded him to help his former rival, Kong decides to help the Alpha Titan, where in the said epic battle, he realized they have one thing in common all along: they both want to stop Apex from wiping out the Titans. After they team up, Godzilla used his atomic breath to supercharge the axe and allowed Kong to defeat Mechagodzilla.
After that, Kong drops his axe to the ground as a sign of peace despite his initial distrust, ending the feud between him and Godzilla, who roars at Kong in acknowledgment and returns to the sea, while Kong returns to the Hollow Earth to make it his new home.
In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, it is revealed that Godzilla still harbored misgivings toward Kong and that the great ape Titan had a hard time to enlist his aid against Skar King. Kong's forceful approach, dragging Godzilla straight to Hollow Earth, only made it worse that it took Mothra's interference for Godzilla to finally relent and hear Kong's side of the story about the current crisis.
Throughout their fight with the Skar King and Shimo, Kong and Godzilla displayed a good amount of teamwork while working together, such as when the latter allowed the ape to ride him into battle. Godzilla would also keep Shimo busy so Kong could destroy the crystal keeping her enslaved to Skar and used a tag team attack to restrain the latter so Shimo could freeze him after she'd been freed. Following the tyrannical ape's death, Kong and Godzilla share a smile together, a good indication that the two are now on far better terms than they were beforehand.
Kong's own alpha status renders him resistant to the alpha call of Ghidorah, who awakens most other Titans around the globe and bends them to his will, including the Skullcrawlers on Skull 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. Despite this, Kong hasn't interacted with Ghidorah until he was reincarnated into Mechagodzilla with help of Apex (who had manipulated Kong into leading them into the Hollow Earth) later after a fight of three kings between himself, Mechagodzilla/Ghidorah and Godzilla (who later helped Kong defeat his revived archenemy).
Despite Kong was unaware what Apex's true priorities were, his mistake was leading them into the Hollow Earth to extract samples in order to create Mechagodzilla. After his battle with Godzilla, he realized that Godzilla is not the reason why he is creating chaos as it turned out he was trying to stop Apex from reincarnating Ghidorah. Soon, Kong decided to undo his mistake by aiding Godzilla to face Mechagodzilla, after a painful and yet struggling fight. In the end, Kong managed to destroy Mechagodzilla with assistance from Godzilla, who powered up Kong's battle axe with his atomic breath.
The Hawk is a giant red avian-like Titan and a companion of Kong who formed a strong bond with him as it is only loyal to the Titan since he orders it to do whatever he desires and having the Hawk immediately obey. At some point, Kong likely commands the Hawk to fetch food for him and bring them back to his temple for him to eat. It even helps Kong in battle, coming to his assistance when he is fighting off a group of Killer Chameleons.
In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Kong meets Mothra for the first time during which she stopped the fight between him and Godzilla. While it's admittedly his first time meeting the Queen of the Titans, Kong came to respect Mothra as the voice of reason in their group, more so with her assistance in the fight against Skar King where she dealt with his enslaved kin with non-lethal manner.
When Kong first meets Suko, he tries to give him a friendly touch as this was the first time he has not seen another ape since his parents were killed by the Skullcrawlers. Suko only bit him because he tries to stay on the Skar King's commands, especially when he ambushed him twice with his manipulation. Kong does not wish to get back on the young ape for nearly killing him, but rather reform him to show his sense of honor by offering Suko some food. Suko then finally bounds with Kong since nobody has ever blessed him before and later leads Kong on the volcanic fortress of the Skar King, where he reveals all the apes he grew up with have been enslaved while others have worshipped Skar as his enforcers. After Kong witnesses Suko's caretaker drown in lava as punishment, he immediately reacts to avenge him. After Kong loses his second fight with Shimo, Suko realizes Kong was his only hope to free his people by helping him escape while setting up the traps. After they meet Jia at the Iwi tribe, Suko left Kong as he mistakenly thinks he's going to die or not, but came back to deliver grave news that Skar King and his army are arriving to exit the Hollow Earth and invade the surface world. Suko joins the battle along with Mothra to help Kong and Godzilla fight Skar, Shimo and Skar King's ape army. Suko then retrieves the axe for Kong and destroys the crystal controlling Shimo, causing Skar to nearly kill him for his betrayal, but Kong protects him while he, Godzilla and Shimo defeat the Skar King. After the war is finally over, Suko acknowledges Kong as the new king of the ape tribe while becoming his adoptive son and companion.
It's unknown to Kong if his parents ever told him stories about the Skar King before their deaths at the jaws of the Skullcrawlers. When they first met, Kong sees Skar as the worst side of Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla when he witnesses all the apes who are forced into slavery while others are his loyal enforcers. After punching an ape officer, Kong demands Skar to show himself. Upon seeing Kong, Skar at first thinks of him as a newcomer while mocking him but realizes he's a threat. After Kong defeats Skar when he had the upper hand, Skar refuses to give up his throne and summons Shimo before forcing her to freeze Kong under his orders. Despite Kong surviving and escaping with the help of Suko, Skar reclaims Kong's axe so he will feel more powerful to kill him along with Godzilla. Later, Kong has returned for a rematch with his nemesis, but this time with the aid of Godzilla, a reborn Mothra and Suko. After the Hollow Earth anti-gravity wears off, Skar, Kong, Godzilla and Shimo fall into the portal leading to Brazil. While Skar still intends to take over the surface world by wiping out the human race, Kong battles Skar again while he and Godzilla tag each other to face different opponents. Kong tries to get the crystal to free Shimo, but Skar reveals to be a coward to him, knowing that without the crystal, Shimo will betray and kill him. After Suko destroys the crystal, Skar tries to order Shimo to destroy Kong, but Shimo no longer wishes to be mistreated for slavery. After this, Skar is frozen into a statue and smashed by Kong to pieces, thus ending Skar's tyranny for good.
When Kong first saw Shimo, he thought she was loyal to the Skar King, but realizes she was also a slave just like his "people" and almost felt sorry for her. Shimo was forced to freeze Kong under Skar's orders, but he escapes with the help of Suko. Later, during the battle of Brazil, Kong tries to convince Shimo to abandon Skar's cruelty, but only to claim as long as Skar has the crystal, he will still abuse her. After the crystal is destroyed, Kong and Godzilla now order or convince Shimo to end the Skar King's wrath, so she aided them and froze Skar. After this, Shimo gives Kong and Suko a ride back to the Hollow Earth after she recognizes Kong's true side of honor and submits him as the new king of the ape tribe while becoming Kong's newfound sidekick.
Jia is one of very few humans Kong trusts. When the storm that hit Skull Island nearly wiped out the entire Iwi's, Kong saved Jia from nearly dying. From then on Kong would trust Jia with his life, even getting angry when an Apex Cybernetics soldier pointed a gun at Jia. Jia is the only reason Mechagodzilla does not exist, due to her convincing Kong that Godzilla is not his enemy.
Ilene Andrews is a scientist who studied Kong for 10 years on Skull Island. She knows everything he does and how he does it.
Unnamed Skull Island girl[]
To be added
David Martin[]
To be added
In Other Media[]
Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong[]
Kong appears in the crossover comic book series Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong.
Audio Samples[]
Trivia[]
This is the largest version of King Kong to date, surpassing his Showa incarnation by roughly 190 feet or 58 meters.
Unlike most other previous incarnations, this version of King Kong has reached adulthood while most of his other previous incarnations died before reaching adulthood.
Kong is shown to be carnivorous in the MonsterVerse, as he was seen eating a Mire Squid and even a Warbat, although gorillas in real-life are actually vegetarians, since their usual diet is likely consisted of fruits and plants.
Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts wanted Kong's design to have a closer resemblance to his 1933 incarnation designed, by Marcel Delgado. Thus, Kong combines features of early hominids, such as the mythical Bigfoot and perhaps some aspects of the Gargantuas, instead of being a more "realistic" gorilla.
Kong is the third monster that Monarch discovered, the first 2 being Godzilla and Shinomura. However, due to Monarch: Legacy of Monsters retconning Godzilla: Awakening, the existence of the Shinomura is debatable, and could’ve thought to be the Ion Dragon instead.
Kong killing Preston Packard by crushing him with his fist is similar to Lt. Col. Archie Nevitt's death from King Kong Lives.
To make Kong's vocalizations in Kong: Skull Island, the filmmakers recorded sounds of lions, tigers, monkeys and gorillas at Washington D.C.'s National Zoological Park and Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom to create Kong's vocal effects. They would even record sounds of lions, leopards, monkeys, gorillas, grizzly bears, wild boars and African elephants to make Kong's vocalizations in Godzilla vs. Kong to make it sound louder and more aggressive. Kong's roars were also reused for Optimus Primal in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts while he often uses a grunt that was used by Hatchet in Transformers: Dark of the Moon and later can be heard by Hakuja in Pacific Rim Uprising, Unikitty in The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, King Kong again in Space Jam: A New Legacy, Proxima the jaguar in Jungle Cruise and the Cocaine Bear in the 2023 film of the same name.
Kong has similarities to Godzilla in several ways;
Both are lasts of their kind (Godzilla being the last of Titan of his type while Kong the last surviving Skull Island's Great Ape tribe).
Both have a vendetta against their natural enemies, Skullcrawlers, M.U.T.O.s and Ghidorah, who have wiped out their species.
Both are portrayed as morally-neutral apex predators who maintain order and have no personal quarrel with humans.
Both had directly confronted humans in a bid to stop them from bringing back the great threat they vanquished. Whereas Kong attacked Packard and his crew, to prevent them from using seismic bomb charges as it will attract Skullcrawlers back to the surface of Skull Island, Godzilla laid waste upon Apex Cybernetics' facilities because he sensed the company defiled Ghidorah's surviving remains to construct Mechagodzilla.
Both are known to be kings in their own right, with Godzilla being the king of the Titans and Kong being the king of Skull Island and later, the Hollow Earth.
Like Kong's Universal incarnation, he has numerous scars on his body, giving him a somewhat "battle-hardened" look.
Kong's fate and circumstances surrounding relocation from Skull Island contrasted to those of his original 1933 incarnation and 2005 remake. Here, he was moved by Monarch to the Hollow Earth at his own volition due to the fact that his home was already doomed, saving a human city instead of ravaging it, his fight against Godzilla and their subsequent team up, with the latter turning against Mechagodzilla did caused notable property damage, and survived the events of the film instead of dying.
Unlike other Titans in the MonsterVerse, Kong does not absorb or feed on radiation.
Up until Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Kong was presumed to be the last of his kind — a statement which proven half-right considering his status as the sole survivor of Skull Island's Great Ape tribe. Upon his relocation to Hollow Earth, Kong would find himself liberating another Great Ape tribe from its tyrannical leader Skar King.
The image used for the blueprint of Kong's B.E.A.S.T. Glove is the arm of the Pacific Rim Jaeger, Gipsy Danger.
Kong's symbiotic relationship with the Hawk in Skull Island bears a similar reminiscence to Godzilla's symbiotic relationship with Mothra.
Unlike most other previous incarnations, this is the first incarnation of King Kong to meet Mothra for the first time in the MonsterVerse.
Many people have compared Kong to Kratos from the God of War franchise as they both started off as wrathful berserkers, but later mellowed out to do things strategically and calmly. They also grow a beard, wield an axe, and become fathers/father-figures to a child with red hair.
TV Shows The King Kong Show - King Kong | Professor Bond | Susan Bond | Bobby Bond | Captain Englehorn Kong: The Animated Series - King Kong | Jason Jenkins | Lua | Eric "Tann" Tanenbaum | Dr. Lorna Jenkins Kong: King of the Apes - King Kong | Lucas Remy | Doug "Jonesy" Jones | Amy Quon | Danny Quon | Anita | Franciska | Chatter | Dr. Leo Remy | Lucky Liger | Lady Liger | Decker | Zippi | Apex | Mummo Skull Island - King Kong | Charlie | Mike | Annie | Cap | Irene | Sam | Island Girl | Dog | Hawk
Heroes
Heroes