Skullcrawler

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.

* **Ramarak, the Skull Devil:** According to designer Zach Berger, director Jordan Vogt-Roberts did not initially have any specific vision for the villain monster of *Kong: Skull Island* and simply told the designers to create "something distinct and different" and not use dinosaurs in any way so as not to compete with Peter Jackson's *King Kong*. One early concept for the villain monster was a giant amphibious sea serpent inspired by Vietnamese dragons. One idea that Berger pitched was a "saw-tooth" monster with saw-shaped protrusions around its mouth. Vogt-Roberts expressed admiration for the design of the monster from the Korean film *The Host*, and the designers ultimately decided to incorporate the two-legged aspect of its design into their design process. Eventually, Jordan Vogt-Roberts' attention was brought to the Two-Legged Lizard that briefly appeared in the 1933 film, and the designers decided to attempt to update that creature's design. Some designs very heavily resembled the original creature, while others gave it a different, almost snake-like head. Berger gave credit to Simon Lee for taking the Two-Legged Lizard concept and creating something close to the final design of the Skullcrawlers.
* **Halakrah, the Persistent Enemy:** Skullcrawlers are large serpentine creatures with only two long forelimbs and no hind limbs. Several aspects of their appearance are noticeably skeletal, particularly their backs and their heads. Their heads closely resemble those of mosasaurs, particularly the mosasaur *Hainosaurus*. Additionally, the Skullcrawlers have four digits in total on each hand, with the thumb being the smallest digit and the rest of the digits being larger and of the same size. The head of the Skullcrawler is predominantly grey and white in coloration, with the monster's eyes being situated behind two round eye socket-like depressions on the sides of their head. Number 10, the gigantic Skullcrawler featured in *Godzilla vs. Kong*, bears a resemblance to the Skull Devil while having a unique yellow outer "skull" with a blotch of red on top and additional yellow and red highlights on its elbows and back.
	+ **Creature Features**
		- **Name:** Cranium reptant
		- **Body parts:** Mosasaur-like body with carnosaur-like legs
		- **Where?** Skull Island graveyard
		- **Legendary origin:** Kong's enemy

## Monsters of the Past

The Skullcrawlers in *Kong: Skull Island* range in size from 12 to 95 feet tall, though Number 10 is much larger. The smaller Skullcrawlers can fit inside of the eye sockets of the skulls of Kong's species, while the largest Skullcrawler seen in the film, the Skull Devil, is almost as tall as Kong himself and possesses distinct spikes on its elbows and a more pronounced, sand-colored ridge running down its spine, along with a crest-like feature at the back of its forehead. In the tie-in comic *Skull Island: The Birth of Kong*, several full-size Skullcrawlers are seen in flashbacks, and they too possess the distinct elbow spikes of the Skull Devil. The Skull Devil also possesses a fin-like tail seen in some shots.

* **Giant Prehistoric Monster:** The Skullcrawlers are violent and savage creatures that appear to attack and kill anything in sight. Monarch classifies them as "hypervores" due to their insatiable appetites. 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.
* **The Final Destination:** 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.
	+ **Did You Know?** Skullcrawler is stronger than Kong.

## Battle of the Monsters

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.

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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Millions of years in the future, the Skullcrawlers arrived on Skull Island, where they engaged in a protracted war with the indigenous tribe of giant apes, eventually leaving only two survivors, Kong's parents. When the Iwi tribe arrived on the island, they found Kong's parents continuing to wage war with the Skullcrawlers. Kong's mother became pregnant with Kong, and when she went into labor she was attacked by a pack of huge Skullcrawlers, intent on wiping out Kong's species once and for all. Kong's father tried fighting the creatures off while his mate gave birth, after which she hid her newborn son inside a cave. The Skullcrawlers then brutally slaughtered both of Kong's parents while the horrified infant watched from inside the cave.