King Kong
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| First episode appearance | King Kong (1933) |
| Final episode appearance | Kong: Skull Island (2017) |
| Created by | Merian C. Cooper |
| Portrayed by | Shoichi Hirose, Haruo Nakajima, Rick Baker, Peter Cullen (Vocals), Peter Elliott, Andy Serkis |
| Background Information | |
| Species | King ape |
| Relatives | Kiko, Baby Kong (Sons), Lady Kong (Mate) |
| Friends | Ann Darrow, Lady Kong |
| Rivals | Tyrannosaurus rex, Cave Serpent, Pteranodon, Godzilla, Gorosaurus, Giant Octopus, Doctor Hu, Mechani-Kong, Giant Sea Serpent, Giant Boa, Vastatosaurus rex, Terapusmordax, U.S. Military, Skullcrawlers, Preston Packard, Mire Squid |
King Kong is a mighty, legendary ape who, in many ways a cultural icon and one of the first true giant monsters of cinema history, first debuting on the silver screen in the 1933 movie of the same name and later in subsequent sequels and remakes. He is arguably only rivaled by Godzilla in popularity and infamy though he is considerably smaller than most versions of Godzilla. Much like Godzilla, King Kong is not a true antagonist in most of his movies and can be seen as an early example of a tragic villain. King Kong was a member of a giant ape species called the Megaprimatus Kong and was the last of his kind, living on Skull Island, a place filled with murderous natives and dinosaurs. He reappeared in the 2017 reboot film Kong: Skull Island and in a future crossover sequel to the 2014 Godzilla reboot film currently titled Godzilla vs. Kong.
Appearance[]
RKO Pictures[]
King Kong (1933)[]
King Kong, for many years, was offered a woman from the natives from Skull Island to appease him. When the crew of Carl Denham arrive on Skull Island, the natives which look up to Kong see Ann Darrow, an unemployed actress, and they decide to sacrifice her (During their first encounter with Denham's crew, the natives kill Mike the sound technician with a spear). They kidnap her and tie her up and present her to the giant ape. Kong grabs Ann and carries her away into the forest, and the crew of Carl Denham follow to rescue her.
After Denham's crew and a pack of apatosaurus' are inadvertently being pursued by raptor-like dinosaurs, culminating in the deaths of many sailors and Herb the cameraman, King Kong arrives to their present location (which was a log serving as a bridge) and kills first mate Hayes, skipper Choy and many sailors while shaking the log, causing them to fall into a ravine, with only Denham, writer Jack Driscoll, Lumpy the Cook, and stowaway Jimmy. Lumpy dies while the other three are rescued by members of the crew fixing the damaged ship that brought them to Skull Island. Jack attempts to rescue Ann Darrow, but Kong tries to grab Jack, who stabs Kong's hand with a knife, and at that moment, Ann is approached by an Allosaurus, and Kong battles the dinosaur. After a long brawl, Kong manages to kill the beast by snapping it's jaws.
Kong takes Ann to his lair, where a snake suddenly attacks Kong and tries to strangle him, but Kong kills it. He then caresses Ann, tearing off her clothing. Jack knocks over a boulder and Kong leaves to investigate the noise, leaving Ann. But he returns to save her from a pterosaur. After Kong defeats it, Jack and Ann retreat, and are chased by Kong, who goes on a rampage and kills several of the natives. He is finally subdued by Denham's crew and is taken back to New York under the name of The Eighth Wonder of the World.
Kong is presented to a large crowd, bound so he can't escape, and reporters take photos of Ann and Jack. Thinking they are attacking Ann, Kong breaks free and goes on a rampage, killing several citizens and takes Ann and climbs the Empire State Building, where four biplanes are dispatched to kill him. Kong destroys one plane but is shot several times and finally falls from the building and crashes to the ground, dying of his wounds.
Son Of Kong[]
- Main article: Kiko.
Only a matter of months after King Kong's rampage and subsequent death in New York, Carl Denham returned to Skull Island with another crew, where he encountered Kong's albino son, Kiko. Kiko protected Denham and Hilda, a stowaway on the Venture, from various creatures on Skull Island, before drowning when an earthquake destroyed Skull Island.