King Kong

King Kong, or specifically Titanus Kong, is a giant gorilla who fights multiple kaiju on his home island, Skull Island, located in the Indian Ocean. In Kong: Skull Island, he fought the SkullCrawler and disembowled him by pulling out his tongue. in the movie Fusion Universe, he helped Team Maxon along with his newfound allies, Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan.

Contents

 * 1 Name
 * 2 Design
 * 2.1 2017 design
 * 2.2 2021 design
 * 2.3 Portrayal
 * 2.4 Roar
 * 3 Personality
 * 4 Origins
 * 5 History
 * 5.1 Kong: Skull Island
 * 5.2 Skull Island: The Birth of Kong
 * 5.3 Godzilla: King of the Monsters
 * 5.4 Kingdom Kong
 * 5.5 Godzilla vs. Kong
 * 6 Abilities
 * 6.1 Climbing
 * 6.2 Communication
 * 6.3 Durability and stamina
 * 6.4 Intelligence
 * 6.5 Matter ingestion
 * 6.6 Senses
 * 6.7 Sharp teeth
 * 6.8 Speed and agility
 * 6.9 Strength and combat
 * 6.10 Swimming
 * 6.11 Weapon proficiency
 * 7 Weaknesses
 * 7.1 Lack of bodily armor/Oxygen deprivation
 * 8 Equipment
 * 8.1 Battle Axe
 * 9 Trivia
 * 10 List of appearances
 * 10.1 Films
 * 10.2 Comics
 * 10.3 Novels
 * 10.4 Video games
 * 11 References

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 supervisor Jeff White designed Kong to be 104 feet tall so that "a human will look like a speck in the shadow of this colossus." Kong's upright posture is an intentional departure from the hunched-over posture of the silverback gorilla, like in the 2005 film's incarnation, or of a generic "big monkey." Kong's arms are disproportionately longer than his legs, which gives him a distinctive silhouette. Kong was designed to instill divisiveness in the audience, who may view Kong as a threat, a savior, or a god.

Kong has a rounded head and several scars (three of them running diagonally from his left pectoral to the right side of his torso, and several more on the palm of his right hand after attempting to grab the rotating blades of a helicopter). Kong has a muscular physique, with defined abs and large biceps.

2021 design
Kong's height has more than tripled to 337 feet by the time of Godzilla vs. Kong and though he is still growing, he is nearing his full growth. Sections of Kong's fur are a darker shade of brown, or even black along with a few gray hairs. He has also grown beard-like facial hair. By this time, Kong's head is 50 feet wide.

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.

For the film Godzilla vs. Kong, the filmmakers sought to create a more "human" Kong, one that was said to be recognizable as the same character from Kong: Skull Island, but older and wiser. They chose to go more minimalistic with the character's movements, and bringing him down to a level where he could interact with human characters such as Jia. Motion-capture for Kong was provided by Allan Henry, using some of the same technology used for the film Planet of the Apes. Along with Allan Henry, Eric Petey who aided Kong's motion capture performance.

Roar
Supervising sound editor/designer Al Nelson oversaw the design of Kong's roar. Nelson visited Washington D.C.'s National Zoological Park and Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom to record lion roars as a starting point, since the original 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 adapted from the vocalizations of lions, tigers, leopards, monkeys, gorillas, bears, boars and elephants. It is also amplified to sound louder and more aggressive. There are some instances in the film where Kong emits shrill, high-pitched sounds that are similar to those of his 1976 film counterpart, and when Kong grabs one of the HEAVs, he bellows a stock roar similar to that of his 2005 film counterpart. During his battle against Godzilla in Hong Kong, he also briefly made a roar similar to that of his Toho counterpart. When Kong lifted his axe to strike Godzilla on the head, he made a sound that was recycled from a video of an elephant roar, and the shrill gorilla roars were from a video of a gorilla charging at a glass window in a zoo. Additionally, before leaving Hollow Earth to fight Godzilla, Kong briefly produced a roar that was used for the werewolves in the MTV series Teen Wolf. One of these roars can be heard on Space Jam: A New Legacy and Jungle Cruise; in the latter, it was emitted by the jaguar Proxima.

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.

In Godzilla vs. Kong Kong displays even more noble traits as he notably protects Jia and the others from numerous threats whether they be fellow Titans or humans. However, it is also shown that Kong can have a vengeful side, as shown when he engaged Godzilla in Hong Kong after the latter destroyed his ancestral home. But after being nearly killed by Godzilla, Kong still went to his rival's aid after Jia convinced him that Mechagodzilla was the true enemy.

Origins
Kong is a member of a prehistoric, simian superspecies that evolved in the Hollow Earth, a lush ecosystem of gigantic creatures located beneath the surface of the Earth. While the species shares a common ancestry with modern-day apes, it is considered to be an entirely new categorization of life. Unusual in apes, the species walked upright instead of knuckle-walking, giving them a humanoid appearance. Based on the appearance of Kong's parents, the species exhibited some examples of sexual dimorphism. Males appeared to be slightly larger, leaner, and possessed a sagittal crest and beard-like growths along the face.

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's kind for dominance after the Titanus Gojira species became capable of using their Atomic Breath. Due to the Gojira species having this advantage, the Titanus Kong species crafted axe like weapons forged from the dorsal plates of fallen Gojira members to battle against them better. However, the war costed both sides greatly and they are were unable to defeat them, resulting in Kong's species to dwindle in number.

When Skull Island came into existence, living members of the species migrated there via an opening from the Hollow Earth. They ruled over the island peacefully until the Skullcrawlers, an invasive species from the Hollow Earth, infested the island. The feud between the two species lasted for centuries, with casualties on both sides. Eventually, the Iwi migrated to the island and witnessed the feud. However, the apes on Skull Island soon died off from the conflict until only two were left alive. The two of them perished after being overwhelmed by Skullcrawlers but not before the female gave birth to Kong. As the last known member of his species, Kong patrolled the island and hunted the creatures responsible for the extinction of his species.

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 of 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
In 2019, 24 years later, Kong makes a brief appearance on Skull Island that is only fleetingly shown on monitors, as one of the few Titans who ignored Ghidorah's call. The film's novelization explains Kong ignored Ghidorah wanting nothing to do with the Titans and the world beyond Skull Island and wanting them to have nothing to do with him, before making sure no Skullcrawlers leave the island after they also hear Ghidorah's call.

Kingdom Kong
In 2021, Kong shows up to rescue a team of Monarch soldiers that are being attacked by a Spirit Tiger, killing the beast after breaking its neck. One day while on his walkabout amongst Skull Island while being observed by Houston Brooks from an aircraft Kong comes upon a pinned Sker Buffalo as he attempts to free it he is attacked by numerous Psycho Vultures however using a broken tree Kong manages to get one to light it on fire and kill a majority of the swarm while causing the remaining ones to flee. Unfortunately the Sker Buffalo was killed in the conflict leaving Kong in a notable sadness. Later Kong explores a cave which tells the Iwi prophecy of the Titan Camazotz who according to Iwi lore will trap Skull Island in a realm of eternal darkness. Kong eventually comes face to face with the Camazotz when he intends to take over Skull Island with his swarm when the latter is awakened by the Monarch team trying to dig into Hollow Earth. During their battle, Camazotz proves to be a great challenge for Kong due to his sonic screech and aerial capabilities. Kong is slowly weakened after Camazotz lifted him up before dropping him hundreds of feet from the air several times. Before Camazotz can start feeding on Kong's blood, Audrey Burns flies her jet directly into the Titan's face, disorienting him. Kong uses the opportunity to put Camazotz in a chokehold and repeatedly punch him. The incapacitated Camazotz is unable to fight back, allowing Kong to drag and throw him into the hole where he crawled out from. As Audrey ejects from her jet, Kong catches her in his hand, assuring her safety and 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 the biodome Monarch had built to contain him, prompting him to roar in anger.

Later Monarch decides to move Kong, deciding that Skull Island is no longer stable enough to sustain him and allow him to survive. Chaining Kong to a massive barge, Kong, Jia, scientist Ilene Andrews, geologist Nathan Lind, and Apex Cybernetics Executive Maia Simmons depart 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 keep Godzilla from destoying the ship Jia is on and to challenge Godzilla, who climbs aboard ready to do battle. Kong strikes Godzilla with a blow to the head staggering him, only for Godzilla to knock him on his back with a swipe of his claws as Kong is busy standing up, overbalancing him. Godzilla then prepares to fire his atomic breath at Kong but the fighter jets distract Godzilla long enough for Kong to punch Godzilla hard enough to stagger him back even further, and then 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 from the sedation and from nearly drowning, Kong lays still as Godzilla, convinced that he had won due to the convoy shutting down all of their weaponry, leaves. Realizing that Godzilla will return as soon as they move again, the group decides to airlift Kong with helicopters for the rest of the way. 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 in round 2.

As Godzilla recovers and gets up, Kong ambushes him from above, using a crane to distract him. Placing Godzilla in a chokehold, Kong proceeds to brutally pummel him from behind. Godzilla manages to clamp his jaws down on Kong's arm, yanking it out of its socket and throwing him off. Now on the defensive, Kong backs away as Godzilla viciously crawls at him on all fours. After clawing and stomping on Kong which causes Kong to suffer a Comottio Cordis, Kong punches Godzilla's wounded thigh hard causing Godzilla to roar in pain and stomp on him once more. Godzilla finally manages to subdue the ape Titan and roars at him in a show of dominance. Kong, defeated, but still showing no fear and unwilling to yield, roars back in defiance. Godzilla, as if impressed by Kong's resilience and prowess, shows mercy and spares him, thus winning Godzilla round 3, as well as the entire fight against Kong. Godzilla leaves Kong alive after getting off his chest, but the huge ape is left close to death.

Later, as Godzilla is battling the unleashed Mechagodzilla, Nathan, Ilene, and Jia approach Kong's body. With his heartbeat growing weak, Nathan uses the Hollow Earth Aerial Vehicle to jumpstart Kong's heart, saving him. As Kong awakens, he reunites with Jia and is convinced by the girl to help Godzilla defeat Mechagodzilla. After resetting his dislocated arm against a skyscraper, Kong heads back into battle. As Mechagodzilla prepares to fire a fatal blast down Godzilla's throat, Kong intercepts by jumping on top of the Mecha and diverts the blast away from Godzilla, saving him. Now working together, Kong and Godzilla battle against the Mecha. However, Mechagodzilla proves to be stronger than their combined might, easily throwing Kong aside before overpowering Godzilla again. Seeing his axe among the wreckage, Kong retrieves it and lands several blows on Mechagodzilla moving him around and even knocking him clear off his feet. However, the axe is ineffective against Mechagodzilla's armor, and the machine prepares to fatally stab the ape Titan with his tail as Kong grabs the tail and is holding it off. Godzilla then fires his atomic breath at Kong's axe, charging it up and allowing Kong to push the tail back enough to cut it, Kong then stops Mechagodzilla's punch with his left hand and cuts its right arm off, then he proceeds to finish dismembering the Mecha before tearing off his head pulling the spine out with it and roaring in triumph.

Exhausted and battered, Kong sits down, but his rest is interrupted by the roar of Godzilla, who approaches him. Kong retrieves his axe, and prepares to continue the fight, but Godzilla doesn't attack, and merely stares him down. Understanding that the true enemy has been defeated, Kong drops the axe, signaling an end to the feud between their species. The two then briefly regard each other as equals and allies before Godzilla returns to the ocean.

After having parted with Godzilla on good terms, Kong withdraws to the Hollow Earth, embracing it as his new home and kingdom. Nathan, Ilene, and Jia continue to watch over Kong in a newly established Monarch Hollow Earth outpost.

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.

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 caused commotio cordis.

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 is particularly adept with his battle axe, using it to great effect in his battle against Godzilla and Mechagodzilla.

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 are keen and 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 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. Kong can run up to 400mph.

Strength and combat
Kong is enormously strong and has tremendously powerful arms, posessing sheer feral strength. As an adolescent, he was able to throw a boulder around half his own size, uproot large trees and throw them a great distance at flying targets with accuracy, fight off a Mire Squid and kill it using his own muscles and also able to rip off Skull Devil's powerful tongue when it latched onto him, killing the alpha Skullcrawler. His punches can incapacitate smaller Skullcrawlers and can wrestle and pin the alpha to the ground by using sheer force. He was also capable of casually lifting a crashed helicopter off of a trapped Sker Buffalo with just one hand. Kong was even strong enough to break free from the anchor chains of a wrecked ship. By 2024, he possesses the strength to take on Titans as powerful as Godzilla.

Kong was able to grab hold of both of Godzilla's arms and keep them and Godzilla still, despite Godzilla's attempts to claw and bite his face long enough to unleash a devastating headbutt that knocks Godzilla back causing Godzilla to retreat, allowing Kong to swim back up to the ship. His punches are strong enough to make Godzilla stagger and wince in pain. Despite waking up from 100% sedation due to being laid on his back in a frosty environment, Kong was able to fight and kill two Warbats before running over a thousand miles to reach his ancestral home shortly after. In their battle, Kong subdued Godzilla several times, utilizing his momentum to throw Godzilla away. Later, Kong made Godzilla roar in pain when he punched the latter's thigh so hard it made a very loud crunch sound. 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. Furthermore, Kong was also able to rip the head of a Warbat clean off without its spine intact. During the final fight with Mechagodzilla, after Godzilla charged Kong's axe, Kong 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. After slicing off MechaGodzilla's limbs, Kong proceeded 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 a nuclear pulse which was powerful enough to knock both him and Godzilla back. Godzilla voluntarily charged the axe later when he and Kong battled Mechagodzilla, enabling the ape to quickly dismantle the machine.

According to the film's novelization, Kong can enter a berserk rage once he has finally had enough, increasing his strength.

Swimming
Kong is not a strong swimmer, though he is able to swim well enough to make it back to the ships each time he goes under, and he cannot hold his breath underwater for very long periods of time. 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 very durable and resilient skin, though his skin seems to be not as tough as Godzilla's scales, as they are incredibly thick and protect him from most attacks. This makes Kong susceptible to injury from heavy munitions and fast moving sharp objects, as seen when a helicopter's rotor blades grazed and wounded his palm, and when artillery rounds severely wounded his arm. Kong was also knocked out by the napalm fire as it ate away the oxygen around Kong and burned him in a few places. He is not a strong swimmer and was nearly drowned by Godzilla when the amphibious Titan pulled him into the depths of the ocean, taking advantage of his own water-breathing capabilities. In Godzilla vs. Kong, Kong's back was burned when hit by Godzilla's atomic breath, creating a burn mark though it quickly fizzled out and didn't seem to affect the ape Titan shortly afterward. His emotions can also get the best of him.

Battle Axe
Kong's primary weapon is an enormous battle axe with its blade made from what appears to be a dorsal plate from another one of Godzilla's kind. When wielding his axe, Kong is capable of using it to absorb energy from the Hollow Earth, as well as Godzilla's atomic breath. In their final battle, the fully-charged axe was overcharged and made an energy burst powerful enough to knock both Kong and Godzilla back. Godzilla voluntarily charges the axe again when he and Kong battle Mechagodzilla, allowing Kong to quickly dismantle the machine. Kong can swing the axe at a top speed of 62 miles per hour.

Trivia

 * This is the largest incarnation of King Kong to appear in an American film, and the largest incarnation overall to date.
 * Kong is referred to merely as "Kong" and not the usual moniker of "King Kong" (the official bio references this, stating the 'story of how Kong became king').
 * The skeletons of Kong's species (his deceased parents) are strewn along the ground of the Bone Graveyard (also known as the "Valley of Fallen Gods").
 * Kong seems to care for the native Sker Buffaloes, as he is enraged upon seeing one killed by a Skullcrawler and later helps another that got trapped under the wreckage of a helicopter.
 * Some of Kong's animation was portrayed by Terry Notary, who previously played the chimpanzee Rocket in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Fellow Dawn of the Planet of the Apes​ actor Toby Kebbell, who played 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.
 * According to Warner Brothers, in 2019, Kong was 270 feet tall. They provided his height for this height chart to Conan's Studio for an unaired Skit, and it should be noted Conan's team made an error and counted Godzilla's dorsal fins towards his height of 355 feet, making him seem shorter than he actually is.
 * S.H.MonsterArts has released scale models for Godzilla, Kong, and MechaGodzilla. Godzilla is scaled down from 393 feet and his height is official and unchanged. Using the same scaling method, it is found that according to S.H.MonsterArts, Kong is approximately 356 feet tall.
 * When asked about Kong's larger size compared to the other Titanus Kong members of Skull Island, Arvid Nelson, the author of Godzilla: Aftershock and Skull Island: The Birth of Kong, stated that species is able to grow to adapt according to the size of its available predatory range, and that they grow sort of similar to how goldfish will grow to the size of their environment. Arvid also posited that the radiation from Hollow Earth would affect Kong's growth, and he could rival other titans in size in the biome by the aforementioned principle.
 * According to Arvid Nelson, Kong is a "bad match-up" for MUTO Prime and can beat her in a fight, as Kong's raw power and blunt force would be critically effective against her armor.

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
 * Kong and Me
 * Godzilla vs. Kong - The Official Movie Novelization
 * Godzilla vs. Kong: Sometimes Friends Fight (But They Always Make Up)

Video games

 * MonsterVerse
 * Roblox
 * PUBG Mobile
 * Magic Domain
 * LifeAfter/Day After Tomorrow
 * World of Warships
 * Godzilla Battle Line