King Kong

Cooper, who licensed the character and story to RKO 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 cancelled film pitting Kong against a giant version
of Frankenstein's monster entitled *King Kong vs.*
Prometheus*was reportedly considered, King Kong did*
not appear in another film until 1962.

### *King Kong* (1933)

King Kong in *King Kong* (1933)

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, aTyrannosaurus rex discovered
Ann on the tree and attempted to eat her. Kong arrived and battled the T-Rex,
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 Pteranodon.
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.

Denham brought Kong back to New York on board the crew's ship, the *Venture*, intending to profit from showing Kong to the
public. Denham arranged a show at a theater in New York, where he publicly
showed the captured Kong to an audience, accompanied by Jack and Ann. When
photographers began taking pictures of Ann, Kong believed they were attacking
her and broke free from his chains, destroying the theater in a fit of rage.
Ann, Jack, and Denham escaped unharmed, but Kong broke free from the theater
into the streets, where he overturned cars, stomped on fleeing citizens, and
destroyed a train. Kong began to scale buildings looking for Ann. He eventually
found her in a hotel room that she fled to, and abducted her again. Finding
himself pursued and attacked by police, Kong climbed the Empire State Building
to escape. The military sent a fleet of biplanes armed with machine guns to
stop Kong and save Ann. Atop the Empire State Building,
Kong swatted down and destroyed several of the planes, but was mortally wounded
by machine gun fire. Kong set Ann down gently and fell off the building,
plummeting to the streets below. As crowds gathered around Kong's dead body, a
bystander remarked that the airplanes finally got Kong, to which Denham replied
that "It was beauty killed the beast."

### *Son Of Kong*

*Main*
article: Kiko.

Kiko in *Son Of Kong*

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.

### *King Kong III: The Lost Island*

A puppet film about King Kong. Kong was not actually dead, and disappeared back to Skull Island. Ann, Denham and Driscoll went after him, and Ann was captured again. The story from then on is the same as the original. Kong was played by Charles Gemmora.

### *King Kong Lives*

King Kong in *King Kong Lives*

After being shot off of the World Trade Center/Empire State Building 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. Dr, Amy
Franklin, the surgeon in charge of Kong, found a way to fully revive Kong by
giving him an artificial heart. However, Kong had lost so much blood that he
required a blood transfusion for the procedure to work. Thankfully, a female
member of Kong's species dubbed "Lady Kong" was
discovered in Borneo by Hank Mitchell and brought back to the Atlantic Institute
to provide blood for Kong. The transplant was a success, and Kong was revived.
However, Kong and Lady Kong mated while in captivity at the Institute, and
escaped together. The United States army relentlessly pursued both apes, and
tracked them down in the wilderness. Kong fell from a cliff and presumably died
in the resulting battle, and Lady Kong was captured and taken to a military
base. At the base, it was discovered that Lady Kong was pregnant with Kong's
child. Meanwhile, Kong survived the fall and rampaged through the countryside
in search of Lady Kong, although his artificial heart was slowly failing. As
Lady Kong went into labor, King Kong arrived near the military base and was
attacked by the military. Kong was gruesomely wounded in the battle, but
managed to destroy the military's forces and kill the insane army colonel who
tried to kill him and his mate. Kong entered the base and collapsed in front of
Lady Kong, who had just given birth to their son, Baby Kong.
Gravely injured and with his heart about to shut down, Kong smiled as he looked
at his newborn child before finally dying. Following Kong's death, Lady Kong
and Baby Kong were transported back to Borneo to live in peace together.

### Toho Films

In 1962, RKO licensed the character
of King Kong to Toho Company Ltd.,
who produced a crossover film featuring King Kong and Godzilla. Toho considered producing another King Kong
film in 1966, *Operation Robinson Crusoe: King Kong vs. Ebirah*,
but replaced Kong with Godzilla and produced *Ebirah, Horror*
of the Deep*. Toho then co-produced another King Kong*
movie, *King Kong*
Escapes*, with Rankin/Bass the very next year. Toho's*
rights to King Kong expired shortly afterward, but they still used the
character in their TV series *Go! Greenman* in 1974, under
the name "Gorilla."

### *Go! Greenman*

Gorilla in *Go! Greenman*

King Kong, now called Gorilla (ゴリラ *Gorira*?) due to the
rights of the character for use by Toho being lost, also appears in episode 38
of the series *Go! Greenman* titled *Greenman vs. Gorilla*.
The Devil's Assistant, Tonchiki, wanted to destroy Green Man, so he rebuilt
Kong. In the episode, Gorilla was created for the sole purpose of retrieving the
blood of children in order for Maoh to escape
the Underworld.
After being teleported to the overworld and attempting to kidnap a young
boy, Greenman was
signaled to Earth,
where he did battle with the monster. Eventually, Tonchiki cast a spell on
Gorilla, causing him to grow to giant size. Luckily, Greenman also grew and
Gorilla was eventually defeated. The King Kong suit used is from 1967's *King Kong Escapes*. In the series, he was the
thirty-ninth monster to battleGreenman.

=== *King Kong vs.*
Godzilla ===
King Kong in *King Kong vs. Godzilla*

King Kong was discovered by an expedition to Farou Island,
which was sent there by Mr. Tako,
marketing executive for Pacific Pharmaceuticals, in order to find a legendary
monster worshiped by the natives. The expedition only heard Kong's roar from
the mountains, but saw the beast himself when he battled a Giant Octopus that
attacked a village on the island. After chasing the octopus off, Kong began to
drink jugs of the Somaberry
juice that the natives had prepared, and fell asleep. The expedition members
had Kong tied to a raft and taken back to Japan to be used as
publicity for the company, but their boat was stopped by the Japanese Coast
Guard, who informed Tako that he would be liable for any damage caused by King
Kong in Japan. Suddenly, Kong began to stir and try to break free of the raft.
The crew members opened fire on the dynamite attached to the raft, causing it
to explode. Kong emerged from the water unharmed, and swam to the Japanese
mainland. Kong rampaged along the coastline until he encountered Godzilla in
the wilderness. Kong tossed a boulder at Godzilla, who responded with a blast
of his thermonuclear breath, which singed Kong's fur and set much of the forest
ablaze. Kong scratched his head and walked away in defeat.

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 J.S.D.F. surrounded the building and loaded
rockets with the Soma berry juice while playing a recording of the Farou
Islanders' chant, hoping to lull Kong back to sleep. After a few minutes, Kong
fell unconscious and slid off the building, allowing the J.S.D.F. to rescue
Fumiko. The J.S.D.F. 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 over head 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 a
cliff, where they tackled each other into the ocean below, causing an
earthquake. After the tremors settled, Kong emerged from the water, victorious,
and began to swim back to his home on Farou Island.

=== *King Kong*
Escapes ===
King Kong in *King Kong Escapes*

King Kong was discovered on Mondo Island by
a joint expedition of American and Japanese scientists, led by Carl Nelson.
When Susan Watson, a member of the expedition, was attacked by Gorosaurus,
Kong saved her and defeated Gorosaurus. Later, when the crew tried to leave
Mondo in their submarine, they were attacked by aGiant Sea Serpent.
Kong swam out to sea and fought off the snake, allowing the sub to escape
safely. New of Kong's discovery alerted the evil Dr. Hu, who kidnapped Kong and
placed him under mind control, forcing him to mine a radioactive element called
Element X so that Hu could sell it to the mysterious Madam Piranha. Nelson,
Susan, and their other crew member Jiro Nomura arrived at Hu's base in the
North Pole and managed to free Kong, leading him back to Tokyo.
Enraged, Hu sent his robot version of Kong,Mechani-Kong,
to Tokyo to kill Kong. Mechani-Kong kidnapped Susan and climbed theTokyo Tower,
and Kong pursued them. Kong rescued Susan and battled Mechani-Kong, and
eventually managed to cause Mechani-Kong to fall from the tower and onto the
street, destroying it. Kong then attacked Dr. Hu's submarine in Tokyo Bay and
destroyed it, killing Hu and ending his evil plans. Kong then returned to Mondo
Island to live in peace.

### *The King Kong Show*

King Kong in *The King Kong Show*

In 1966, Rankin-Bass acquired the rights to King
Kong and co-produced an anime series with Toei Animation called *The King Kong Show*.
This series featured Kong befriending a human family and protecting them from
various monsters and villains. The success of the series led Rankin-Bass to
approach Toho,
who produced *King Kong vs.*
Godzilla*in 1962, and offer to co-produce a new King*
Kong movie with them. The resulting film, *King Kong*
Escapes*, borrowed several elements from*The King Kong Show*, including the monsterMechani-Kong,*
Kong's island home Mondo Island,
and the recurring human villain Doctor Hu.

=== Paramount/De Laurentiis
Films ===
In the early 1970's, Universal Pictures,
who owned King Kong's copyright in the United States, planned to produce a
remake of the 1933 film entitled *The Legend of King*
Kong*. However, Dino De Laurentiis and Paramount Picturespurchased*
the film rights to King Kong from RKO and produced a remake instead.
Paramount's 1976 remake was
a modest success, and ten years later De Laurentiis Entertainment Group
produced a sequel entitled *King Kong Lives*,
which received very negative reviews.

### *King Kong* (1976)

King Kong in *King Kong* (1976)

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 Dwan, 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 Dwan, then immediately
carried her back off to the jungle. Kong took Dwan to a waterfall and washed
her underneath it, then blew on her to dry her. Dwan 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 Dwan to his lair and prepared to
undress her, but found himself attacked by a gigantic boa
constrictor. Kong set Dwan down and battled the snake, just as
Prescott caught up and found Dwan. The two escaped and headed back to the
village, while Kong tore the giant boa's jaws apart and killed it. Kong
followed Dwan 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, Dwan fell into it, only for Kong to catch her. Dwan's presence calmed
Kong, and he set her down then fell asleep for the remainder of the voyage.

When the expedition returned to New
York, Wilson arranged a grand exposition for Kong to promote his company. He
imprisoned Kong in a giant metal cage, and placed a giant crown on his head.
When Kong was mobbed by hordes of media reporters taking pictures, he became
enraged and tore through the metal bars restraining him. Wilson tried to run
away but was stepped on and killed by Kong. Kong rampaged through the city,
destroying cars, stomping on fleeing citizens, and even destroying a train.
Prescott and Dwan escaped over the Queensboro Bridge, expecting that Kong would
not be able to swim across the East River. However, Kong merely waded across
the river in pursuit of Dwan. Kong found Dwan in an abandoned bar and carried
her off. Kong noticed the World Trade Center in
the distance, and it reminded him of his lair back on his island. Kong climbed
the South Tower with Dwan, while the military pursued him. When Kong reached
the top of the tower, he was attacked by a group of soldiers wielding
flamethrowers. Kong jumped across the two towers and landed on the North Tower.
Out of options, the military sent helicopters armed with machine guns to take
Kong down. Kong set Dwan down and swatted at the helicopters, but was
mercilessly blasted by machine gun bullets, causing him to bleed profusely.
After destroying two choppers, Kong succumbed to his injuries and fell from the
tower, plummeting onto the World Trade Center plaza. As crowds of reporters and
spectators gathered around Kong, Dwan approached him and looked at him
tearfully just as his heart stopped beating.

=== *Kong: The*
Animated Series*Edit'* ===
King Kong in *Kong: The Animated*
Series

While Universal decided to postpone production on
their King Kong film in the late 1990's, BKN International produced an animated
series starring Kong to capitalize on the success of TriStar
Pictures's *Godzilla: The Series* in 2000. *Kong: The*
Animated Series*was moderately successful, featuring*
40 episodes and two spin-off direct-to-DVD films released after its
cancellation. The series features a clone of the original King Kong, made from
his DNA after he fell to his death from the Empire State Building in 1933. In
the present day, Kong resides on Kong Island,
where he is cared for by the scientist who cloned him, Dr. Lorna Jenkins. When
a mad scientist, Professor Ramone De La Porta, attempts to use the magical
Primal Stones located on the island to unleash the demon Chiros, Kong must join
forces with Dr. Jenkins' grandson Jason, his friend Eric, and the native
girl Lua to
reclaim the Primal Stones and battle Chiros' forces.

### Universal FilmsEdit

In 1976, a federal judge ruled that
the character and film rights to King Kong (aside from the 1933 film, which
belonged to RKO, and the 1976 film and its sequel, which belonged to De
Laurentiis and Paramount) belonged to Merian C. Cooper's estate, and the
majority of the rights to King Kong reverted to Cooper's son, Richard. Cooper
almost immediately sold all of his rights to Universal Pictures, who retains
them to this day. Universal considered producing their own remake of the 1933
film in the late 1990's, but the releases of a remake of *Mighty Joe Young* and *GODZILLA* in
1998 caused them to postpone it. Universal finally produced a remake in
2005, which was financially and critically successful. In 2014, Universal
entered a legal partnership with Legendary Pictures,
and the two companies began production a new film,*Kong: Skull Island*,
set for a 2017 release, however in 2015 Legendary moved the production from
Universal to its previous partner, Warner Bros.

### *King Kong* (2005)Edit

King Kong in *King Kong* (2005)

King Kong, possibly the last living member of a
species of gigantic apes called*Megaprimatus kong*,
was living on Skull Island in
1933, when a film crew led by Carl Denham arrived on a
ship called the *Venture* to shoot a film. The
natives of the island did not take kindly to the film crew's presence, and
attacked them when they set foot on the island, killing a member of the
expedition. The crew returned to the *Venture* and
remained on board, debating whether or not to return to the island and continue
shooting. At night, the natives used small boats to get onto the *Venture* and kidnapped Ann Darrow,
the leading lady. They brought her back to their village on the island and
attempted to sacrifice her to their god, Kong. Kong soon emerged from the
jungle and grabbed the terrified Ann, then took her away into the jungle. The
film crew ran onto the island to rescue Ann, and followed Kong into the jungle.
Kong took Ann to his lair, where she saw the remains of several of Kong's
previous sacrifices. Ann tried to get free, but to no avail. Ann tried to
distract Kong by dancing, which caused Kong to laugh. When Ann became tired and
refused to perform anymore, Kong stormed off angrily. Kong then encountered the
search party crossing a log bridge spanning a ravine. Kong grabbed the bridge
and twisted it, sending the party falling into the chasm below, where most of
them were killed by gigantic insects. Jack Driscoll managed
to escape from the pit and climb to the other side of the ravine, then continued
pursuing Kong.

While Kong was
gone, Ann tried to run away but found herself being pursued by a Foetodon, a
giant crocodile. Ann ran from it, only to witness the Foetodon being eaten by a
Vastatosaurus Rex, the modern descendant of the tyrannosaurus. The V-Rex then
chased Ann and was joined by another member of its kind. Kong arrived just in
time and tried to fight the V-Rexes off. A third V-Rex entered the battle and
the odds were turned against Kong. Kong incapacitated one of the V-Rexes, but
the other two continued relentlessly attacking him and Ann. Eventually, Kong
and the two remaining V-Rexes fell over a cliff and into a thick layer of
vines. Kong grappled with the V-Rexes, causing one to become entangled and
trapped in the vines. Kong grabbed Ann and fell from the vines to the ground.
One of the V-Rexes followed them and continued its attack. Kong fought with the
V-Rex once again, and this time gained the upper hand. Kong restrained the
V-Rex and pried its jaws apart until they snapped, killing it. Ann, grateful
for Kong saving her life, allowed herself to be taken by Kong back to his
mountain lair. Kong set Ann down in his lair and sat on a ledge overlooking the
sunset. Ann approached Kong and tried to communicate with him using sign
language. Suddenly, they were attacked by a swarm of Terapusmordax, giant bats.
As Kong fought the bats off, Jack arrived in Kong's lair and found Ann. The two
of them began rappelling down a vine to escape, but Kong noticed and tried to
grab them. Ann and Jack jumped from the vine into the water below. Enraged,
Kong stormed off from his lair and tried to reach the water below. 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."

Kong was taken back to New York on
board the *Venture*, and was placed in chrome
steel chains and put on display inside a Broadway theater. As the crowds were
stunned by Kong and photographers aggressively took pictures of him, Kong
became agitated. He broke free from his chains and grabbed the actress
pretending to be Ann. Realizing she was a fake, he tossed her aside and tore
through the theater, eventually emerging out into the streets of New York. Kong
overturned cars and smashed lampposts in rage, searching for Ann. Witnessing
the destruction Kong was causing because of her, Ann walked into the open near
Kong and allowed him to pick her up again. Kong calmed down and took Ann to
Central Park, where he slid on a frozen lake. As Kong began to regain his
footing, he was thrown forward when a tank shell blasted the ice. With the military
pursuing him, Kong fled to the Empire State Building and climbed it. After
reaching the top of the building, Kong sat and looked out over the sunrise. He
looked at Ann and made the sign for "beautiful," showing that he
understood and remembered the sign she showed him earlier. The peace was
interrupted when a group of biplanes armed with machine guns flew near the
building and opened fire on Kong. Kong set Ann down and roared defiantly at the
planes. He swatted at them and managed to destroy some of them. Unfortunately
for Kong, the gunfire was too much and he began to succumb to his wounds. Kong
slumped over the top of the tower and looked at Ann sorrowfully, then slid off
of the building and plummeted to his death in the streets below. As crowds gathered
around Kong's colossal corpse, someone remarked that the airplanes got Kong.
Carl Denham sorrowfully said that it wasn't the airplanes, as "It was
beauty killed the beast."

=== *Kong: King Of The*
Apes*Edit'* ===
In 2014,
Netflix announced an exclusive animated series starring King Kong to be
released in 2016. The series will revolve around Kong battling a
mad scientist's army of robotic dinosaurs in the year 2050.

### Legendary Films

In 2014, Legendary Pictures entered
a partnership with Universal and acquired the film rights to King Kong,
beginning production on a new film, *Kong: Skull Island*,
set for a 2016 release, later pushed back to 2017. The film was originally a
co-production between Legendary and Universal, but Legendary ultimately moved
the production to its previous partner, Warner Bros., instead in order to allow
for the production of a remake of *King Kong vs.*
Godzilla*. Legendary's*Godzilla vs. Kong*was*
announced for a 2020 release, after *Kong: Skull Island* and the sequel to Legendary's *Godzilla*.