Why Kong MUST Win in Godzilla Vs Kong

Godzilla has atomic breath. Godzilla has armoured skin. Godzilla can swim. Godzilla is actually quite intelligent. These are most of the arguments made against Kong’s potential victory in the upcoming Godzilla Vs Kong and, to be honest, they’re all right. Realistically Kong could never beat Godzilla. It’s like expecting a gorilla to take out a crocodile.

So why put them against each other? In fact, why were they back in 1962? Apart from being well known movie monsters, they couldn’t be more different. Kong is a character in a film that’s become so famous it’s transcended from a classic to a modern myth. Godzilla on the other hand is a brand, a reoccurring character in a franchise of mostly half-decent but popular media.

They shouldn’t fight but they did and are about to again.

Considering all the installments in the Monsterverse so far, it can be argued that while the reality is impossible, the story, at its very best, should depict Kong as victorious. Here’re three of the strongest arguments as to why.

His Sequel Potential

The Kong introduced in 2017’s Skull Island is the most unique and interesting interpretation yet. He wasn’t anchored to the one-off Beauty and the Beast plot we’re all familiar with. Unlike previous interpretations he was designed for longevity. He and Skull Island have history, history that can be explored in future films.

We know that he’s an adolescent who isn’t fully grown yet. We know that the natives have founded their entire culture on him and the Skull Crawlers. We know that Skull Island is huge and has plenty of unexplored territory.

Kong may lose against Godzilla but he can’t die, that would be a terrible waste of material.

His Character

Kong and Godzilla are quite similar in that they both respect and protect humanity. However, they do so for different reasons. Godzilla’s reasons are ambiguous. It is suggested in the films that he defends humanity because he has to. He’s a territorial animal that’s trying to protect and maintain his habitat. To him we’re just one of the millions of other species that share the world with him. He’ll protect us but out of strategy, not out of actual care. That’s the theory, so far we have little to no idea about Godzilla’s real attitude to humanity.

Kong’s reasons are clearer. It appears that he protects us because of mutual respect. In Skull Island, he seems to demonstrate emotional intelligence through how he treats humans. He treats them based on how they treat him. If they’re peaceful and compassionate, like Brie Larson’s photographer, he’ll be peaceful and compassionate in return. If however they’re hostile and aggressive, like Samuel L. Jackson’s Colonel Packard, he’ll retaliate.

Out of the two titans Kong is the most empathetic. Having him lose, or worse die before Godzilla, would result in a dissatisfying climax. Godzilla inspires awe and wonder, Kong inspires connection and understanding. Seeing Godzilla win would be boring, we’d just be reminded of his indestructible god-like quality, something we’ve been aware of since his 2014 debut. Seeing Kong win however would be like seeing a human character win. It would be a lot more satisfying, speaking of which…

The Satisfaction

Kong is clearly an underdog compared to Godzilla and while him defeating the King of the Monsters may seem far fetched to some, it would be quite emotionally engaging story wise. Michael Dougherty, director of King of the Monsters and one of the writers for Godzilla Vs Kong, has compared the upcoming battle to the story of David and Goliath, saying “it’s like watching Rocky go up against Ivan Drago. It seems like it’s unfair but clearly, this means the underdog might have a few surprises.”

Having Kong win without a good and believable plot leading up to it is not enough. He should struggle, Godzilla should be victorious in their initial conflicts but as the film progresses, Kong should learn from his defeats and in an epic confrontation with his mighty opponent, win. If Kong is to be the victor, then portraying him as an underdog is probably the best strategy to adopt when telling the story.

Yes, Kong should get obliterated by Godzilla but if that were to happen, surely it would take less than a feature film to show it. Since a whole film is being dedicated to their fight however, that can only indicate that the Eighth Wonder of the World isn’t going to go down easily. Here’s to hoping the big ape can pull through.