Skullcrawler

**Skullcrawlers** are giant two-legged reptilian monsters who first appeared in the 2017 Legendary Pictures films, *Kong: Skull Island*.

Insatiable carnivorous monsters that dwell deep beneath the surface of Skull Island, the Skullcrawlers were responsible for wiping out the majority of Kong's species long ago, and frequently menaced the other creatures living on the island as well. The orphaned Kong took it upon himself to keep the Skullcrawlers' population in check and defend the island's other residents from their savagery. In 1973, the Monarch expedition to Skull Island unwittingly drew numerous Skullcrawlers to the surface, which in turn drew the ire of Kong towards the humans who had inadvertently started the crisis. Though Kong was able to handle most of the subterranean creatures, he was eventually faced with a colossal 95-foot-tall Titan Skullcrawler, known as the **Skull Devil**. Kong engaged in a brutal struggle with the Skull Devil, and with the aid of his newfound human allies was finally able to triumph over the horrific creature.

In 2024, Apex Cybernetics used captured Skullcrawlers, including one even larger than the Skull Devil, to test Mechagodzilla's capabilities.

## Personality

The Skullcrawlers are violent and savage creatures that appear to attack and kill anything in sight. Monarch describes them as "hypervores," due to their insatiable appetites, and classifies them more broadly as "destroyers," along with King Ghidorah, Rodan, Scylla, Camazotz, MUTO Prime, and Mechagodzilla. Though the Skullcrawlers seem to act primarily on instinct, the largest Skullcrawler demonstrates some intelligence when it swats Earl Cole away with its tail before his grenades can detonate. According to *The Art and Making of Kong: Skull Island*, Skullcrawlers are an invasive species to Skull Island, and live entirely underground, only surfacing to feed.

## Origins

According to Hank Marlow, Skullcrawlers terrorized Skull Island for thousands of years, forcing the native Iwi tribe to build a huge wall outside of their village to keep them out. To the Iwis' surprise, the giant apes that they once feared began fighting the Skullcrawlers, eventually driving them all underground. The Skullcrawlers remained primarily underground until the seismic charges dropped by the Monarch expedition to the island in 1973 began drawing them back to the surface.

The novelization of *Godzilla vs. Kong* states that the Skullcrawlers evolved from a lineage of non-amniote basal reptilomorphs that possibly originated from the Hollow Earth.

## History

### MonsterVerse

#### *Kong: Skull Island*

Voracious and violent creatures, the Skullcrawlers once terrorized Skull Island, forcing the native Iwi tribe to cower in fear behind a massive wall. Eventually, the giant apes of the island began fighting back against the Skullcrawlers, thinning their numbers and forcing the remaining ones to retreat underground. Before they were defeated, the Skullcrawlers were able to wipe out most of the giant apes, leaving only one surviving member, Kong, whose duty it became to prevent the Skullcrawlers from ever returning.

In 1973, the Monarch-led expedition to Skull Island began dropping seismic charges onto the island's terrain, allegedly to map the island. These charges brought several Skullcrawlers back to the surface, much to the anger of Kong, who brought down all of the expedition's helicopters. Kong came upon the corpse of a Sker Buffalo, which had been freshly killed by a Skullcrawler. The Skullcrawler was joined by another member of its kind and attacked Kong, who was able to quickly dispatch the smaller creatures. The survivors of the Monarch expedition eventually regrouped and passed through a huge crater littered with skeletons. As they passed through the boneyard, they were attacked by a Skullcrawler, which was responsible for killing Chapman, the soldier they were all searching for. The Skullcrawler killed several of the humans, including William Randa, and was eventually killed when Mason Weaver used a lighter to ignite an explosive gas pocket as the creature passed by it, blowing it apart.

Later that night, when Lt. Colonel Packard and his men ambushed Kong in the swamp, a gigantic 95-foot Skullcrawler, which Hank Marlow identified as "the Big One," and referred to as the Skull Devil, emerged from the water. The beast attacked the wounded Kong, who had just killed Packard, but the humans were able to escape. By sunrise, the humans were attempting to rendezvous with Houston Brooks and Lin San, who were commanding the boat the *Grey Fox*. However, they were set upon by the giant Skullcrawler. One soldier, Earl Cole, attempted to sacrifice himself by detonating two grenades in front of the Skull Devil, but the beast simply smacked him away with its tail. Kong soon arrived and smashed a boulder into the Skull Devil’s face, buying time for the humans to escape.

Kong grappled with the Skull Devil, but the beast overpowered him and nearly clamped its jaws upon his throat. Kong kept up the fight, even breaking a tree across the Skull Devil’s face, but the monster was too powerful and knocked Kong into an old shipwreck, where he became entangled in its anchor chain. Weaver got to a vantage point and fired a flare into the Skull Devil’s eye, enraging it. Kong broke free of the chain and converted it into a makeshift flail, with the boat's propeller at the end, and attacked the Skull Devil again. This time, Kong gained the upper hand and slammed it into the same hill Weaver was standing on, causing her to fall into the water below. He then cut through the Skull Devil’s flesh with the propeller. Kong seemingly finished the beast when he slashed the Skull Devil’s throat with the propeller, causing it to fall limp to the ground. Kong took the moment to pull Weaver from the water, but as soon as he had her in hand the Skull Devil rose back to its feet and bit down on Kong's free arm. Kong fought back and tried to keep Weaver away from the Skull Devil’s mouth, but the creature used its prehensile tongue to pull Kong's hand, with Weaver held in it, down its throat. Kong desperately pulled his hand free of the beast's gullet, tearing out its innards and killing it instantly.

#### *Godzilla vs. Kong*

Apex Cybernetics bred Skullcrawlers to serve as test subjects for the machine they hoped would dethrone Godzilla: Mechagodzilla. Bernie Hayes, Madison Russell, and Josh Valentine, a trio of infiltrators hoping to expose Apex, found themselves on a transport to Hong Kong with several of the beasts' eggs. Inside Apex's headquarters, they found a test chamber where CEO Walter Simmons released one gigantic Skullcrawler, codenamed "Number 10," as the mecha awaited it. The Skullcrawler immediately set its sights on the trio. It lunged at Madison as she dropped prone, but never reached her. Mechagodzilla seized it, held it by its arms, and sliced it in half with its proton scream before powering down.

## Abilities

### Prehensile tongue

Skullcrawlers possess prehensile triple-forked tongues that can dart from their mouths to grab prey. Their aim is precise enough to grab a falling soldier in mid-air.

### Prehensile tail

The Skull Devil used its prehensile tail to constrict itself around Kong. It was also able to throw Kong with ease using its tail. The smaller Skullcrawlers were able to use their tails as clubs, as demonstrated when one attacked by slamming its tail onto the ground when it confronted the soldiers who were trying to pass through the boneyard.

### Durability

The juvenile Skullcrawler that confronted the Monarch expedition was unfazed by small arms fire, even a short burst from a .50 caliber Browning M2HB. A sustained blast from an M9-7 Flamethrower caused it pain but did not leave any visible injuries.

The Skull Devil was more than a physical match for Kong, and it was stated by Hank Marlow to be the beast who killed his parents. The twin .50 caliber Browning M2 Aircraft machine guns mounted on the *Grey Fox* were able to make it bleed, though they did not significantly injure it.

### Weaknesses

The smaller Skullcrawlers posed little threat to Kong, as two of them were taken out swiftly when they attempted to attack him. Sharp melee weapons, such as Hank Marlow's katana, can slice through the skin of the creatures. Mason Weaver killed one by using James Conrad's lighter to ignite the gas coming from a vent directly beneath it.

Kong's makeshift flail embedded the Skull Devil's back when it was thrown, and it was used to slit the beast's throat, causing it to fall limp to the ground momentarily. When the beast used its prehensile tongue to pull Kong's hand, with Weaver held in it, down its throat, Kong mustered all of his strength to pull his hand free of the Skull Devil's gullet, disemboweling it.
Mechagodzilla killed Number 10, a giant Skullcrawler, before it could land a hit, grabbing the beast by its arms and splitting it in half with the proton scream at 40% power.