King Kong

King Kong was first discovered on Skull Island by an American film crew led by Carl Denham. The natives on the island kidnapped Ann Darrow, the crew's leading lady, and sacrificed her to Kong, who carried Ann off into the jungles of the island. At one point, Kong left Ann on a tree and wandered off to deal with the rest of the film crew, who were pursuing him. As the crew attempted to cross a chasm on a crude log bridge, Kong lifted the log and twisted it, causing much of the crew to fall to their deaths in the abyss below. Jack Driscoll survived, and crossed the chasm to rescue Ann. Meanwhile, a carnivorous dinosaur discovered Ann on the tree and attempted to eat her. Kong arrived and battled the giant theropod, and killed it by breaking its jaw. Kong took Ann to his home in a cave on a mountain, where he was attacked by a giant cave serpent. Jack reached the cave and reunited with Ann, and the two managed to escape from Kong while he was distracted by a pterosaur. Enraged, Kong followed the two to the native's village, tearing down the wall and wreaking havoc. Using a store of smoke bombs he brought on the voyage, Carl Denham and his crew managed to knock Kong unconscious and subdue him.

* **Primal Rage:** After crash-landing on Skull Island in 1944, American fighter pilot Hank Marlow and Japanese pilot Gunpei Ikari engaged in a fight to the death. After Ikari gained the upper hand and prepared to fatally stab Marlow with a dagger, Kong appeared over a cliff, leading the two shocked men to end their struggle.
* **God is the Greatest:** Suddenly, they were attacked by a swarm of Terapusmordax, giant bats. As Kong fought the bats off, Jack and Ann began rappelling down a vine to escape but Kong noticed and tried to grab them. Jack then grabbed hold of an attacking Terapusmordax with Ann clinging to him as the bat lowered them down and they fell into the water below. Enraged, Kong stormed off from his lair and gave chase. Jack and Ann retreated to the village, where Carl and the remaining members of the expedition were waiting. Kong arrived and broke down the wall. The crew used chloroform bombs to subdue Kong, knocking him unconscious on the shore. Denham decided to bring Kong back to New York and display him as "The Eighth Wonder of the World."
	+ **Creature Features**
		- **Name:** Megaprimatus kong
		- **Body parts:** Ape-like body; 25 foot gorilla
		- **Where?** Various forests and jungles of Skull Island
		- **Legendary origin:** The 8th Wonder of the World

## The Legend of Kong

King Kong was discovered on a mysterious fog-blanketed island in the Indian Ocean by an expedition from the Petrox Oil Company. The head of the expedition, Fred Wilson, believed that the previously-uncharted island contained valuable oil reserves, but instead, the expedition found that the island was inhabited by a tribe of natives who lived in a village protected by a giant wall, which separated them from a fearsome god they called "Kong." The natives kidnapped Dawn, a castaway that had been picked up by the expedition team's ship, and attempted to sacrifice her to Kong. Kong emerged from the jungle and grabbed Dawn, then immediately carried her back off to the jungle. Kong took Dawn to a waterfall and washed her underneath it, then blew on her to dry her. Dawn was surprised at how gentle Kong actually was, and began to no longer fear him. Meanwhile, Jack Prescott, a primate paleontologist who had stowed away onto the expedition's ship earlier, joined with several members of the crew to look for Kong. En route, they reached a giant fallen log that acted as a bridge over a deep chasm. Kong spotted the men as they crossed the log bridge and grabbed the bridge, twisting it until all of the men except Prescott and another named Boan fell to their deaths. Prescott decided to continue pursuing Kong on his own and headed deeper into the jungle. Kong took Dawn to his lair and prepared to undress her, but found himself attacked by a gigantic boa constrictor. Kong set Dawn down and battled the snake, just as Prescott caught up and found Dawn. The two escaped and headed back to the village, while Kong tore the giant boa's jaws apart and killed it. Kong followed Dawn and Prescott back to the village and broke through the wall. However, Wilson and the crew had sprung a trap, which Kong fell into. Kong was then smothered with chloroform and knocked unconscious. With no oil to bring back to New York after the oil deposits on the island were found to be worthless, Wilson decided to bring Kong back instead and use him as a publicity stunt. Kong was loaded into the cargo bay of the ship and fed with tons and tons of fruit. When Kong began to go berserk and smash against the wall of the cargo bay, Dawn fell into it, only for Kong to catch her. Dawn's presence calmed Kong, and he set her down then fell asleep for the remainder of the voyage.

* King Kong was created by Merian C. Cooper, who licensed the character and story to RKO Radio Pictures. RKO released the original *King Kong* film in 1933. Later that same year, RKO released *Son of Kong* as a sequel to the film. Though a canceled film pitting Kong against a giant version of Frankenstein's monster entitled *King Kong vs. Godzilla* was reportedly considered, King Kong did appear in another film until 1967.
	+ **Gentle Giants:** Later, Kong arrived in Tokyo and easily passed the electrical barrier that had been used to repel Godzilla earlier, actually drawing strength from the electrical currents. Kong smashed several buildings in his path and grabbed a train, and while looking inside was smitten with Fumiko Sakurai. Kong grabbed Fumiko and dropped the train, then climbed to the top of the National Diet Building. The JSDF surrounded the building and loaded rockets with the Farolacton berry juice while playing a recording of the Faro Islanders' chant, hoping to lull Kong back to sleep. After a few minutes, Kong fell unconscious and slid off the building, allowing the JSDF to rescue Fumiko. The JSDF then formed a desperate plan: bring Kong to Mount Fuji so he can fight Godzilla and the two monsters will destroy each other. Kong was tied to several large balloons with indestructible metal wire and carried to Mt. Fuji. Kong was dropped onto Godzilla, and the two titans resumed their battle. Godzilla again claimed the upper hand, eventually battering Kong into unconsciousness and razing him with his atomic breath. Luckily for Kong, a lightning storm passed overhead and Kong was struck by lightning, re-energizing him and surging an electrical current through his body. Kong grabbed Godzilla's tail, electrocuting him with his touch, and the battle raged on, this time with both combatants on equal footing. The monsters fought across the Fuji wilderness until they reached Atami Castle, which they destroyed before tackling each other into the ocean below, causing an earthquake. After the tremors settled, Kong emerged from Sagami Bay, with Godzilla nowhere in sight, and began to swim back to his home on Faro Island.
	+ **The Beauty and the Beast:** Kong took Dawn to his lair and prepared to undress her, but found himself attacked by a gigantic snake. Kong set Dawn down and battled the snake, just as Prescott caught up and found Dawn. The two escaped and headed back to the village, while Kong tore the giant boa's jaws apart and killed it. Kong followed Dawn and Prescott back to the village and broke through the wall.
* **Did You Know?** After being shot off of the World Trade Center in 1976, King Kong was not actually killed, but placed into a coma. Kong was taken to the Atlantic Institute and kept alive but comatose for a decade.

## The Eighth Wonder of the World

Ben suggested they look into relocating the Titan, but Andrews believed this would be a death sentence. There could not be two alpha Titans, she said, and the moment Kong left the island, Godzilla would come for him.