King Kong

King Kong (キングコング Kingu Kongu?), also dubbed Titanus Kong or simply Kong, is a giant gorilla like-ape daikaiju 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.

Name
Kong was named by the Iwi inhabitants of Skull Island. The name corresponds to the Congo, an African country known for its gorilla population.

2017 design
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 superviser Jeff White designed Kong to be 104 feet tall so that "a human will look like a speck in the shadow of this colossus." Kong's upright posture is an intentional departure from the hunched-over posture of the silverback gorrilla, 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 sillhouette. Kong was designed to instill divisiveness in the audience, who may view Kong as a threat, a savior, or a god.

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 phsyque, with defined abs and large biceps.

2021 design
Kong's height has tripled to 337 feet by the time of Godzilla vs. Kong. Sections of Kong's fur are a darker shade of brown, or even black. He has also grown beard-like facial hair. The scars on Kong's chest appear to have healed more properly, but are still faintly visible.

Portrayal
Kong is portrayed with CGI aided by Terry Notary's motion capture performance. Reference facial animation is provided by Toby Kebbell. With the blessing of previous Kong actor, Andy Serkis, Notary completed the motion capture for Kong in only three days.

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.

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 1993 Kong's roar was produced by a reversed tiger and lion roar. He then mixed and matched gorilla and monkey sounds to create additional layers to Kong's roar.

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 is made from mixes of lions, leopards, monkeys, gorillas, bears, and even elephants. When Kong enters a temple to get his axe, he emits a sound that is similar to the roar that Kong had in the 1976 film. During his battle against Godzilla in Hong Kong, he also briefly made a roar similar to that of his Toho counterpart.

Personality
Kong is naturally gentle and peaceful, but he is fierce and brutal when provoked. As the guardian of Skull Island, he protects its wildlife, and even befriends some of the invading humans. He is very protective of his allies, endangering himself to save Mason Weaver when she falls into the river during his battle with the Skull Devil. Kong also demonstrates remarkable intelligence, utilizing melee weapons and eventually learning sign language.

Kong is at least partly carnivorous, as he's shown feeding on animals he killed, such as the Mire Squid and the Warbat, but also at one point eating a whole handful of fish.

Kong is the last of his species, as his family was killed by Skullcrawlers at a young age. Kong is a lonely and emotional creature. His eyes well up with tears when Weaver gently touches him, and one of the cave paintings depicts him crouching and mourning over his deceased parents' remains. 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 Skull Island: The Birth of Kong, Kong is portrayed as the guardian of Skull Island's native population. However, he won't hesitate to kill people who threaten him or the island.

Origins
Kong is a member of a prehistoric, ape-like 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. Ancient humans who later became the Iwi revered them as gods and protectors, building large shrines and structures in their name. In the distant past, the creatures and the Iwi's ancestors waged war against Godzilla for dominance, but they are not able to defeat the Titan, resulting in Kong's species being driven to near-extinction.

When Skull Island came into existence, living members of the species migrated there and lived peacefully for thousands of years until the Skullcrawlers, an invasive species from the Hollow Earth, infested the island and slaughtered all except Kong.

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 aftwerwards, 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: The Birth for Kong
On August 7, 1995, 22 years later, 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.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Kong is mentioned in Godzilla: King of the Monsters and only fleetingly shown on monitors, as he ignored Ghidorah's call, wanting nothing to do with the Titans and the world beyond Skull Island and wanting them to have nothing to do with him. In the film's novelization, Kong makes a brief appearance on Skull Island before making sure no Skullcrawlers leave the island after they also hear Ghidorah's call.

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. Kong eventually comes face to face with the bat Titan Camazotz who intends 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 Camazotz. 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 with a simple snort thanks her for her assistance, 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 standing 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 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 along with military escorts 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 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 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 challenge Godzilla, who climbs aboard ready to do battle. Kong strikes Godzilla with a blow to the head only for Godzilla to knock 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 punch and 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 as the ape fights to get air only for Godzilla to drag him back down. 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 and defeated, Kong passes out 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. Landing at an outpost in Antarctica that holds the entrance to Hollow Earth, 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. Landing relatively safety 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 instinctually 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 when 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 and after peeking inside to make sure that Jia wasn't inside, he crushed it when the latter 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 attacks 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 of that initial battle.

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 in fear as Godzilla viciously crawls at him on all fours. After brutally clawing and stomping on Kong, Godzilla finally manages to subdue the ape Titan and roars at him in a show of dominance. Kong, defeated, but still unwilling to yield, roars back in defiance. Godzilla, as if impressed by Kong's resilience and prowess, shows mercy and spares him, leaving Kong alive but 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. 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 dismember the Mecha before tearing off his head 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 two 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.

Climbing
In Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla vs. Kong, Kong has extraordinary climbing abilities, as he is capable of scaling massive cliffs and mountain faces with relative ease. Kong utilizes this skill to great effect in his battle against Godzilla, where he scales buildings to avoid Godzilla's atomic breath.

Communication
By the time of Godzilla vs. Kong, Kong has learned sign language from Jia. Jia is currently the only human 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 out loud: "Home." Given that Jia can communicate with him fluently and explain to him what is happening, it is very clear that he can understand sign language quite well.

Decelerated aging
Kong's aging process is slower. As he gets older, his aging process will exponentially slow down further, eventually he'll stop aging. Kong can even potentially live for thousands of years and will still be in his physical prime.

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 a juvenile, 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. 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 his heart slowing down from Godzilla stomping on his chest which unluckily knocked his heart off rhythm.

Improvisation
Kong can make something useful out from any object he can find and use them as melee and ranged weapons on opponents.

Intelligence
Kong is an intelligent being who can differentiate his allies from his enemies. He takes advantage of his surroundings while fighting, using tools such as boulders and trees as weapons. He even turns a chain and propellor into an improvised flail in his battle against the Skull Devil. In Godzilla vs. Kong, Kong is seen using the corpse of a Warbat as a weapon by slamming it into another attacking Warbat. Kong particularly adept with his battle axe, using it to great effect in his battle against Godzilla and Mechagodzilla.

Longevity
Kong has lived for a very long time, aging very slowly and never weakening.

Matter ingestion
Despite resembling a gorilla, Kong regularly consumes animals (such as Mire Squids and Warbats) that he killed as a form of sustenance. At one point, he is shown eating a whole handful of fish while on route to Antarctica.

Senses
Kong's senses and hearing are powerful. At one point, he sensed a Mire Squid lurking near him while drinking 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.

Sharp teeth
Like all apes and his species, 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.

Speed and agility
Kong is surprisingly quick for a creature of his size. He has a body built for flexibility and can swing his long arms to make effective combat strikes. He is also able to leap very high. In Godzilla vs. Kong, Kong could leap from building to building in Hong Kong and skillfully avoid Godzilla's atomic breath.

Strength and combat
Kong is enormously strong, despite not being fully grown. 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. By 2024, he possesses the strength to take on Titans as powerful as Godzilla. His punches are strong enough to make Godzilla stagger and even fall to the ground despite the balance Godzilla's tail and thick legs afforded him. In their battle, Kong was able to subdue Godzilla several times, utilizing his momentum to throw Godzilla away and at one point pushed Godzilla nearly up off the ground with one arm with only Godzilla's tail remaining grounded. Later, Kong made Godzilla roar in pain when he punched the latter's wounded thigh. During the water battle scene when Godzilla tries to drown Kong before the depth charges detonate, Kong manages to strangle Godzilla, and his incredible strength combined with the sudden explosions of the depth charges forces Godzilla to let go of him. Kong could also throw a Warbat with ease before smashing it against another one, as well as pulling and dragging a damaged aircraft carrier with his chains. During the final fight with Mechagodzilla, after Godzilla charged Kong's axe Kong flew into a rage and pushed back Mechagodzilla's tail before cutting it off, then stopped Mechagodzilla'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.

Kong can effectively utilize melee and ranged weapons. 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 an energy burst 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.

Survivalist
Kong is known to be a good survivalist since he knows how to survive on Skull Island and knows how and where to find food or water.

Swimming
Kong is known to be a good swimmer as he is able to swim quite well, although he cannot hold his breath underwater for long periods of time. However, he will eventually drown if not able to surface for air.

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 used a radio dish 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.

Lack of bodily armor/Oxygen deprivation
Kong has no bodily armor as opposed to Godzilla, whose incredibly thick scales protect him from most attacks. This makes Kong susceptible to injury from munitions and sharp objects, as seen when a helicopter's rotor blades grazed and wounded his palm, 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 scorched him in places. In Godzilla vs. Kong, his back was burned when hit by Godzilla's atomic breath, creating a scorch mark though it quickly fizzled out and didn't seem to affect Kong shortly afterward.

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, and even before it is charged it is shown to be able to slash into Godzilla's thick hide. Godzilla voluntarily charges the axe again when he and Kong battle Mechagodzilla, allowing Kong to quickly dismantle the machine.

Trivia

 * This is the largest incarnation of King Kong to appear in an American film.
 * 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 MonsterVerse Kong is currently the largest incarnation of the ape kaiju to date.
 * 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 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 is the first American King Kong film where Kong does not die at the end: in the 1933 and 2005 movies, he is 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, but was put into a comatose state. In King Kong Lives, his artificial heart fails, and he dies, and he is already deceased in Son of Kong.
 * In contrast to the 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 lives on, Monarch Outpost 33, homages 1933, the year King Kong was released.

Films

 * Kong: Skull Island (First appearance)
 * Godzilla: King of the Monsters (Stock footage and cave painting)
 * Godzilla vs. Kong

Comics

 * Skull Island: The Birth of Kong
 * Kingdom Kong

Novels

 * Kong: Skull Island - The Official Movie Novelization
 * Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization
 * Godzilla vs. Kong - The Official Movie Novelization