King Kong

RKO Films
King Kong was created by Merian C. 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 SeriesEdit' === 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 calledMegaprimatus 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 ApesEdit' === 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.