Godzilla vs King Kong
let's talk about some big ass monsters
On Wednesday, March 31st, in the year of our Lord 2021, two behemoths are going to come together. The King of The Monsters vs The King of The Jungle. Titan vs Titan. Godzilla vs Kong. I personally cannot wait. I hope there is zero dialogue in this movie. I hope they just start punching each other from minute one until minute 120. Perfect movie. No notes.
The first exposure I had to either King Kong or Godzilla was actually in Marvel Comics’ Godzilla #23. This issue was the first in a two-part series in which Godzilla breaks out of a glacier just outside Alaska and heads for mainland USA and it takes several members of The Avengers to defeat the King of The Monsters™️. This run was published in 1979 and I found this issue tucked in a box filled with old comics one day while at my friend Matt’s house in 3rd grade. I went and told my dad that I was into Godzilla and he considered it an afront that I had learned about the giant lizard via a comic at my friend’s house and not through the “correct” way of watching the old Godzilla films. I was promptly given a crash course.
I suspect some of you have similar education and I suspect others might have first seriously heard of Godzilla when the 1998 Roland Emmerich film premiered with one of the biggest marketing pushes I’ve ever seen. Maybe you remember the Taco Bell commercials or maybe you’ve seen the pictures from the premiere in NYC. It was a big deal!
If you’re unfamiliar with the incredible genre of movie that is big-ass monsters fighting each other, I’m going to give you a quick history lesson. I’ll give you a quick background on both Godzilla, King Kong, and their previous matchup and what to potentially expect out of their upcoming slugfest.
The Kaiju Of It All
Both Godzilla and King Kong are both known as Kaiju, a Japanese word that means “strange beast.” There are several different Kaiju. Some are referred to by their actual names like Godzilla, and some are just referred to just as Kaiju, like in the PACIFIC RIM film series. I’ll be using this term a few times throughout this newsletter, so defining it up top is important.
GODZILLA
Godzilla is widely known as the first kaiju ever and he appeared for the first time in 1954 in the eponymous film GODZILLA. The film was remade for American audiences, premiering in 1956 under the title GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS. The “King of The Monsters” stuck and Godzilla has been referred to by this nickname on multiple occasions (like earlier in this newsletter, for instance.) He ranges anywhere from 164 to 393 feet tall, depending on the film, although he has gotten progressively bigger in each iteration. (There have been 32 Japanese Godzilla movies made, along with 4 made in Hollywood)
A lot of kaiju are metaphorical in nature and Godzilla is no exception. In 1954, Japan was just 9 years removed from the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Godzilla is a physical manifestation of that fear and terrible force. While his origins vary, he is usually depicted as a violent, prehistoric monster awakened by nuclear radiation. His signature ability is his “atomic breath”, nuclear energy he can generate and expel inside his own body.
Finally worth noting, Godzilla is known for his roar. It’s very distinct from other large creature roars/sounds.
KING KONG
King Kong is one of only a few mammal-based Kaiju, known for his raw strength and, most notably, his intelligence. He is also known as The 8th Wonder of the World and is referred to as such in multiple movies. He made his first appearance in the 1933 RKO film KING KONG. Since his inception, his original home is Skull Island, found in the middle of the Indian Ocean. While not appearing in as many films as Godzilla, King Kong is just as well known and liked amongst kaiju enthusiasts and the image of him atop the Empire State Building is one of the most iconic in film history.
Like Godzilla, King Kong ranges in size from film to film, sometimes being as small as 18 feet tall to as tall as 304 feet tall (like in the upcoming GODZILLA VS KONG.)
GODZILLA VS KING KONG: ROUND 1
In the 1960s, both Godzilla and King Kong were popular figures amongst moviegoers in both America and Japan. King Kong stop motion animator Willis H. O’Brien had been working on a story where Kong was to fight a giant Frankenstein Monster. O'Brien gave the outline to producer John Beck for development. Behind O'Brien's back and without his knowledge, Beck gave the project to Toho (the Japanese production studio behind Godzilla) to produce the film, replacing the giant Frankenstein Monster with Godzilla and scrapping O'Brien's original story.
Here’s a super simple (and I mean SUPER SIMPLE) recap of the plot: Kong is transported from his home island (Faro Island instead of Skull Island in this version) to Japan as part of a publicity stunt to help boost ratings for television shows sponsored by a pharmaceutical company. While there, Godzilla is awakened and begins attacking the Japanese countryside. Initially confronted by Kong, Godzilla easily overpowers him and Kong realizes that he is not ready to fight Godzilla one-on-one. Godzilla enters Tokyo, as does Kong who seems to draw strength from the electric currents from the power lines that Godzilla has broken. Godzilla escapes and the Japanese military decides that they will transport Kong to Godzilla via balloons (it was the 60s) and hope that the two monsters will kill each other. Godzilla and Kong do battle on Mt. Fuji. Godzilla initially looks to be too much for Kong, utilizing his atomic breath, but Kong is struck by lightning, reviving and recharging him. He and Godzilla both continue their fight, heading towards a cliff before both falling into the Pacific Ocean. Kong is the only one to emerge, suggesting he is the victor.
The ending is a controversial one, as there is no direct evidence that Godzilla dies and it’s suggested that he survived. For a long time, a rumor circulated that the ending viewers got was dependent on if they saw the Japanese version of the film or the American version. That rumor has since been dispelled, but the debate still continues about who really won the fight.
Regardless of the outcome, the film was a box office smash and to this day it is still the most attended of all the Godzilla movies in Japanese history.
This was just a quick history of both Godzilla and King Kong. A primer to get ready for the GODZILLA VS KONG if you will. If you’re interested in the histories of kaiju, there are a lot of great books out there. I recommend Godzilla On My Mind by William Tsutsui.
I can’t wait to watch some monsters fight each other and blow some shit up. It should be awesome. I don’t really know how to end this one so here’s one of the funniest images on the internet, imo.
GODZILLA VS KONG premieres Wednesday, March 31st in theaters and on HBO MAX