Image via Warner Bros.
We all love a classic battle between storied rivals. Batman vs. Superman, Iron Man vs. Captain America, Godzilla vs. King Kong. We knew this was coming, and with a trailer for Godzilla vs. King Kong (which is now set to be released on March 31, 2021 domestically) finally touching down, we get our first look at what Legendary Studios' MonsterVerse has been leading up to since the first Godzilla dropped back in 2014.
The main topic of discussion is the obvious one: Who's going to win this epic battle, Godzilla or King Kong? Some might be quick to choose 'Zilla because of all the screentime he's gotten over his last two movies and the feats we've seen from him already. The big lizard has nuclear fire breath, can go full supernova with the right prep, and was able to beat the three-headed monster King Ghidorah in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, asserting his dominance over all the other Kaiju. Don't sleep on Kong, though. The colossal primate has superior speed and agility, more battle experience from living on an island full of other monsters, and we don't know what news tricks he might have learned since we last saw him in Kong: Skull Island, which took place in 1973 when he wasn't even fully matured.
Regardless of what side you fall under now, we've decided to break down which monster leads in some key categories that will play a major role in their fight to help inform your decision going into the brawl. The stats we pulled are based on the current canon iterations of both Kong and Godzilla from the Legendary MonsterVerse.
Height
Advantage: Godzilla
Traditionally, Godzilla has always had a considerable size advantage over most other monsters he's fought. In his 2014 film, Godzilla is shown to be roughly 393 feet tall, whereas King Kong in Kong: Skull Island just barely cracked the 100-foot mark. However, as seen in the first trailer for Godzilla vs. King Kong, the two behemoths look to be around similar size now.
As pointed out by IGN, this could be the result of a growth spurt the Kong had since we last saw him on Skull Island. Remember, that film was set in 1973 and it was heavily implied throughout that Kong hadn't even reached full maturation at that point. Kong: Skull Island co-producer Mary Parent said that Kong was only "an adolescent when we meet him in the film," so it's very likely that he grew up in the 47 years since we last saw him. Regardless, Godzilla still looks to have the height advantage, despite Kong growing larger.
Weight
Advantage: Godzilla
Pound-for-pound, Godzilla is in an entirely different weight class compared to King Kong. As of Godzilla in 2014, the king of monsters weighed a whopping 90,000 metric tons. To put that in perspective, that is equivalent to 9,000 blue whales. Kong, on the other hand, was measured to be roughly 158 tons during the events of Kong: Skull Island. While we can see Kong has grown in height based on the trailer for Godzilla vs. King Kong, there is no way of telling how much heavier he's gotten, if that would even make a difference.
What Godzilla lacks in speed and agility, he makes up for in sheer weight and impact. One solid hit from the giant reptile would be enough to do some serious damage to Kong, so if Godzilla were able to pin him the fight might be all but over. Zilla's weight advantage is sure to play a key role in the battle especially considering it goes hand-in-hand with his high durability. Kong will definitely be able to get his hits in, but they might just bounce off Godzilla's 90,000-ton frame.
Strength
Advantage: King Kong
This is might be a hot take, but I think Kong has Godzilla beat when it comes to overall strength. Yes, we've seen Godzilla wrestle with a three-headed dragon, but something key that The Tale of the Tape pointed out was that as a primate, Kong should be twice as strong as a human relative to his size. Couple that with a bite 400 times stronger than that of the Nile Crocodiles and the fact that he's grown even larger since the events of Kong: Skull Island and I think Kong has a pivotal fighting strength advantage going against Godzilla who is heavier and slower than him.
Despite his size, Godzilla still needed a powerup from Mothra in order to beat King Ghidorah. He definitely has much better endurance than Kong, being impervious to missiles and nuclear warheads, but I think Kong knows how to use his strength smarter as well. Zilla has natural advantages like fire breath that he can tap into, but Kong has proven that he can learn while he fights, making him a difficult opponent to best from just smashing into him.
Monster Kills
Advantage: King Kong
When it comes to monsters-on-monster violence, Kong has 'Zilla beat by one. In Kong: Skull Island, Kong made a living taking out the pre-historic creatures that traversed the island including a squid, two Skullcrawlers, and the big bad Skull Devil of the film. Meanwhile, Godzilla only killed the two MUTO monsters and King Ghidorah in his respective films (even though beating the three-headed dragon is a feat in itself).
Despite Godzilla defeating arguably more impressive foes, Kong still has more battle experience under his belt which is sure to play a role in his fight against Godzilla. This tally is also only counting on-screen fights, not considering the battles Kong was sure to have gotten into between the events of Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla vs. King Kong.
Estimated Human Casualties
Advantage: Godzilla
Legendary's MonsterVerse kicked off in 2014 with Godzilla literally causing a tsunami in Honolulu, so the big lizard had tallied a substantial amount of civilian casualties early on. With both Godzilla andGodzilla: King of the Monsters being marked by their larger-than-life, city-flattening battle sequences, Godzilla's human causality count is largely collateral damage.
Despite Kong killing many of the soldiers who invaded Skull Island, Godzilla still has him beat by a considerable margin. From scanning the first Godzilla, it can be estimated that the monster killed roughly 60 civilians compared to Kong's 35 in Kong: Skull Island, and that's not even counting the second Godzilla film. For what it's worth, the number of civilians Godzilla has taken out might work to King Kong's advantage since the military will be working to stop his rampage, thus inadvertently assisting Kong in his fight.
Attitude
Advantage: King Kong
Rebecca Hall said it herself in the Godzilla vs. Kong trailer: Kong bows to no one. The giant primate is very territorial, very aggressive, and knows how to stand his ground; just refer to the scene of him hurling trees at Samuel L. Jackson and company as they arrived on his land as proof. To that same degree, Zilla is no slouch either, just being crowned the king of all monsters at the end of his last movie.
Both monsters will be coming into the fight with no intentions of backing down, but when it comes time for one of them to yield, because this is definitely not a deathmatch, then it will be Godzilla. Kong was able to protect his home, by himself, when he needed to; you can't say the same for Godzilla.
Overall Favorite
Winner: King Kong
When it's all said and done, on paper, King Kong appears to be the victor at the end of this colossal battle. The two may not be fighting to death, because they'll likely have to team up to fight whatever big bad the movie has in store—Mecha-Godzilla, perhaps?—but during the battle that they do have, Kong is coming out on top. With his height now nearly matching Godzilla's and with the assumption that most of their fighting will be done on land (based on the trailer), Kong's battle experience, along with his sheer strength, quick wit, and dominating demeanor, will be too much for Godzilla despite his size and durability advantage.
Godzilla can try to use his nuclear fission breath to his advantage, but it doesn't look like simple linear attacks will be enough to take down King Kong and his advanced speed and agility. Ignoring outside variables like Godzilla absorbing nuclear energy to go supernova again or the military stepping in, then King Kong's got this in the bag.
Godzilla is bigger, but King Kong is badder. Long live the king.