Kong's History
Kong is the last surviving member of the Titanus Kong species and resides on Skull Island as the dominant Titan.
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. As 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.
In 1973, the scientific organization Monarch organized an expedition to Skull Island, escorted by the Sky Devils helicopter squadron led by Lt. Colonel Preston Packard. One of the helicopters carrying the expedition members cleared the storm cell surrounding the island and began flying over land, they immediately began dropping seismic charges onto the ground below, allegedly to map the island. The explosions drew out Kong, who responded by throwing a tree through one of the choppers. The remaining choppers formed a perimeter around Kong and opened fire on him. The bullets did little more than irritate Kong, who proceeded to rip the helicopters out of the sky and smash them. After downing all of the choppers, Kong wandered back off into the jungle. Kong eventually reached a river, where he noticed the wounds he had sustained from the choppers' rotor blades. Kong winced in pain briefly before beginning to drink from the lake. Suddenly, Kong realized that a Mire Squid was in the water and grabbed one of the creature's tentacles. The Mire Squid then attacked Kong with all of its tentacles, trying to strangle him to death. Kong was able to crush the creature's head under his foot and kill it, then proceeded to eat several of its tentacles. Kong then grabbed the squid's carcass and dragged it away, presumably back to his lair.
After meeting Marlow, some of the surviving expedition members were brought back to the village of the island's indigenous tribe, the Iwis. There, Marlow explained that Kong was perceived as a god by the islanders, and generally acted as a guardian on the island that kept the most dangerous creatures there under control. He stated that the reason Kong attacked the helicopters was that the seismic charges they dropped had drawn creatures he called Skullcrawlers to the surface. According to Marlow, Skullcrawlers were the most vicious and dangerous animals on the island and were responsible for killing Kong's family. At this time, Kong was being attacked by two Skullcrawlers but was able to easily dispatch the two smaller creatures. One of the expedition members, Mason Weaver, found a Sker Buffalo pinned underneath a downed helicopter and tried to free it, only for Kong to arrive and free the buffalo himself. Kong gave Weaver an indifferent glance and simply wandered off.
After surviving an encounter with a Skullcrawler and several Leafwings, Weaver and James Conrad stood atop a cliff and looked out over the island, only to witness Kong approach them. To their surprise, Kong did not seem violent or aggressive at all and even allowed Weaver to place her hand on his face. Suddenly, explosions appeared over the distance, and Kong immediately raced toward them. Weaver and Conrad knew that Packard and his men were setting a trap for Kong, intending to kill him. The two of them, joined by Marlow, rushed to the scene to try and save Kong. When Kong arrived at the scene of the explosions, he saw Packard and his men in the distance. As Kong crossed a lake to reach them, Packard ignited the napalm he had dumped into the water, causing the entire lake to erupt into flames. Kong swung his arm angrily at the water, causing the flaming napalm to hit some of the soldiers, before collapsing onto the ground. Packard placed leftover seismic charges around Kong, preparing to finish him, but Weaver, Conrad, and Marlow arrived and aimed their guns at him, demanding for him to stop. Packard refused and was prepared to detonate the charges and blow them all sky-high when suddenly a gigantic Skullcrawler, known as the Skull Devil, erupted from the lake. Everyone except Packard fled, while Kong regained consciousness and promptly smashed Packard under his fist. The Skull Devil attacked Kong, and the humans were forced to leave the giant ape to his fate.
The following morning, as the surviving expedition members neared the extraction point on the north side of the island, they were confronted by the giant Skullcrawler. Fortunately, Kong arrived and smashed the monster in the face with a boulder. Kong engaged in battle with the Skull Devil, buying time for the humans to get to safety. The weakened Kong simply was not a match for the Skull Devil and was knocked into an old shipwreck and entangled in its anchor chain. Weaver had managed to reach a vantage point and fired a flare into the Skull Devil's eye, enraging it. Kong finally broke free of the chain and managed to create a makeshift flail when it became entangled with the ship's propeller. Kong swung the flail at the Skull Devil, embedding the propeller into its back. Kong pulled the propeller out and slammed the Skull Devil into the same hill Weaver is standing on, causing her to fall into the water below. He then sliced the creature across its throat, seemingly killing it. Kong then pulled Weaver out of the water and took a second to stare at her in his hand, only for the Skull Devil to get back up and clamp its jaws onto his arm. Kong battled the Skull Devil again, trying to keep Weaver away from its mouth, but the beast used its prehensile tongue to pull Kong's hand, with Weaver held in it, down its throat. Mustering all his strength, Kong pulled his hand free of the Skull Devil's gullet, ripping out the beast's innards and killing it instantly. Kong gently set Weaver down on the ground, while Conrad immediately ran to her to ensure she was okay. As Weaver regained consciousness and embraced Conrad, Kong looked back at the two of them before walking away. Once the survivors were finally rescued from the island, Kong stood triumphantly in his domain, beating his chest and letting out a mighty roar.
In 1995, Aaron Brooks, the son of Houston Brooks and Lin San, learned that Monarch had chosen to leave the huge MUTO ecosystem on Skull Island under the sole protection of Kong. Aaron was outraged at the concept of trusting a Titan to keep the island's volatile ecosystem under control and organized a covert mission to the island with other members of Monarch, under the guise of traveling to study a MUTO fossil bed in Antarctica. When the Osprey carrying the team was struck down by a flock of Psychovultures almost immediately upon entering the island's airspace, Aaron and the others found themselves stranded on the island. They were set upon by a pack of Death Jackals and retreated into a cave, only for Kong to emerge and crush the smaller beasts under his massive fist. The party was then greeted by Ato of the native Iwi tribe, who welcomed them and stated that their arrival was foreseen.
In the Iwi village, Ato explained the significance of Kong for his people to Aaron and his comrades. He maintained that Kong was a benevolent god whose goal was to defend the Iwi and the other vulnerable creatures on the island from more violent predators. Many of the party were skeptical, but mythographer Walter R. Riccio claimed to witness visions of the island's past after consuming large amounts of an Iwi shamic beverage. He saw members of Kong's species at war with Skullcrawlers on the island millions of years ago, as well as the arrival of the Iwi on the island where they encountered the last two surviving members of the species. Ato showed the Monarch team members some of the Iwi holy sites related to Kong, promising to ultimately grant them communion with Kong himself. However, they were attacked by a Sirenjaw, though the beast's attention was subsequently captured by a distant roar from Kong.
After salvaging weapons left behind by the Monarch 1973 expedition to the island, Aaron's party followed the Sirenjaw to Kong's location, only to discover the Sirenjaw's carcass. As the smaller predators of the island descended to feed on the body, Ato expressed the urgency of getting away now. Aaron and his team wanted to reach the downed Osprey located on the other side of the huge boneyard containing the skeletons of Kong's parents. Ato referred to this location as the "Valley of the Fallen Gods," and warned that immature Skullcrawlers still dwelt under the thermal vents in this area. The group traveled through a cave system to evade the Skullcrawlers, where Riccio experienced a powerful vision of Kong's birth. He saw Kong's parents locked in battle with Skullcrawlers as his mother went into labor. Kong's father tried to fend off the Skullcrawlers long enough for his mate to give birth to their son. Knowing she and her mate were doomed, Kong's mother placed Kong within a cave, where the infant was subjected to the brutal slaughter of his parents by the Skullcrawlers. When the young Kong finally emerged from the cave, he found the lifeless bodies of his parents lying together, their hands held together in death. Kong knelt before and wept for the parents he had never known, vowing to avenge their memory for the rest of his life. When Riccio's vision ceased, he understood that this same cave in which they were hiding was Kong's "womb," the cave his mother had sealed him in. With the Skullcrawlers apparently gone, Aaron, Ato, and all the others exited the cave and encountered their pilot Cejudo with the Osprey, which was still airworthy. However, Riccio's overconsumption of the Iwi's "Monkey Juice" and repeated hallucinations had driven him insane, and he proceeded to destroy the Osprey with a rocket launcher, also killing Cejudo in the process. He then held the others at gunpoint, promising to test their worthiness of Kong's protection. When Evelyn Matemavi tried to stop Riccio, he responded by shooting her dead in cold blood.
Riccio's insane tirade toward his hostages was interrupted by the arrival of a pack of Death Jackals, buying time for Aaron and the others to escape. By the time they reached the Iwi village, they discovered that Riccio had arrived first and blown open the protective wall with explosives he had salvaged. This caused a trio of Mother Longlegs to storm into the village and terrorize the innocent populace. Riccio, clad in a makeshift ceremonial robe called forth to Kong, asking him to come and save his people if they were actually worthy of his protection. Kong soon arrived and easily killed the Mother Longlegs, prompting Riccio to approach Kong and rejoice at his mercifulness. Realizing Riccio was responsible for the attack, Kong crushed him under his fist. Kong approached Aaron, the last survivor of the Monarch expedition, and the two shared a brief moment of communion between man and god. At this moment, Aaron truly understood that Kong's intentions were noble and that he had taken it upon himself to defend this island and those who inhabit it. Content knowing Kong was capable of keeping the island under control as his father had believed, Aaron chose to remain on the island and live among the Iwi, helping them rebuild the damage to their village. Aaron recorded a record of the events that had transpired and set it adrift on the off chance his father would find it one day. It was recovered by Monarch in 2012 and given to Houston, who was on the eve of retirement.
