Godzilla and Kong certainly make for incredibly compelling rivals in the Monsterverse, but the reasons behind their enduring feud may not be obvious without a little digging. The Monsterverse has continued the tradition of the Japanese Kaiju stories for a Western audience with spectacular battles between powerful titans. Since 2014, the world of these incredible monsters has produced incredible films, with compelling stories and imaginative monsters. However, the core of the franchise is two of the most popular creatures in the genre, Kong and Godzilla.

While these titans appear to have fairly similar skills in battle, and they have even teamed up to battle and defeat other monsters, their alliance is always tenuous. More often, Kong and Godzilla are on opposite sides, choosing to fight and cause massive devastation in the wake of their war. While their feud could look like typical animalistic behavior, there are several deeper reasons behind their rivalry extending far back before the franchise ever began.

Godzilla Has A Historic Feud With Apes

Their Rivalry Goes Way Back

Godzilla and his kind has a long history with the great apes, the species of Titan that Kong appears to descend from. In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, the history of fighting between Godzilla and the Skar King was briefly alluded to, which explains why Godzilla has a natural distrust towards Kong and his kind. However, it seems that Godzilla’s ancestors have a history of fighting plenty of the great apes, which further provides a reason for him to feel that they are a threat he needs to exterminate and send back to the Hollow World.

While Kong is evidently different to the more violent and power-hungry of his species, he is no pushover. When encountering Godzilla, he didn’t back down from a fight, and despite Godzilla’s aggressive attacks, Godzilla held his own. In addition, Kong had made a home on the surface world with Skull Island, where he lived alongside humans in peace, protecting them from other monsters and proving he was very different to the rest of his kind.

Kong Is Not Meant To Be On The Surface World

Kong Belonged In Hollow Earth

However, Kong living on Skull Island was never the natural home for the great ape. The surface world is home to Godzilla, and for a long time, he has ruled over the surface, fighting off any kind of threat. While Godzilla rules over the domain on the Earth’s surface, the Titans that hail from Earth originate from the Hollow Earth, and Godzilla prefers to keep them away from his territory, and safely contained in the difficult-to-access Hollow Earth beneath the Earth’s surface.

Kong was born on the surface world on Skull Island, and he never knew life in the Hollow Earth. Of course, it’s not his fault that he was born there, and separated from his ancestors, but likewise, Godzilla did not know or understand that Kong could be from anywhere but the Hollow Earth, and his presence on the surface could have appeared like an invasion as was attempted previously by others of Kong’s species. As a result, there was an immediate distrust, and a sense that Kong presented a threat that would change the natural order of things.

Kong Is A Challenger To Godzilla’s Rule

Kong Is A Good Match For Godzilla’s Power

On top of all of this, Kong is one of the most powerful and tactical Titans to ever live. Despite Godzilla possessing several powers that make him an immensely powerful being, capable of destroying other Titans with relative ease on most occasions, Kong proved too challenging to defeat. Godzilla is the King of the Monsters, and the self-appointed protector of his realm on the surface. Kong coming into that space, and further proving to be an extremely capable and dangerous threat, puts Godzilla on the back foot, defending his position and his domain.

Kong wasn’t necessarily looking to take more power, or more territory from Godzilla, but his power and strength made him a threat nonetheless. As a consequence, through their battles, it only appeared more likely that Kong was attempting to destroy Godzilla and lay claim to the title of King of the Monsters. Whether or not they intended to get into a battle for territory, it became a battle of survival, and one that could have resulted in either ones demise, opening up a vacuum for power that would have been claimed by whoever won.

Kong’s Axe Is A Reminder Of Godzilla’s Previous Battles

A Weapon Used By His Ancestors

In Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla gained the upper hand in the pair’s first battle with Kong under sedation. Monarch then brings Kong to the Hollow Earth. While in his ancestral home, Kong uncovers the history of his kind and their connection to Godzilla’s species. He also discovers a special weapon, buried in the skull of a mysterious Titan, which he retrieves. Upon investigation, the weapon is revealed to be an axe made from the remains of different Godzilla creatures, potentially ancestors of the Godzilla which just engaged Kong in battle.

In their next encounter, Kong wields the axe against Godzilla, and uses the weapon to gain the upper hand, absorbing Godzilla’s energy attacks and repelling him with skill and power. Not only would Kong’s sudden advantage cause frustration for Godzilla, but the fact that he is wielding a weapon that is literally taken from the remains of his people, and potentially contains a piece of himself, would be a major issue for Godzilla. Godzilla is unlikely to take the weapon as anything but an insult, and a threat.

Does Godzilla Still Hate Kong After The New Empire?

They May Finally Have An Uneasy Alliance

In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, the movie sees Kong living in the Hollow Earth on a permanent basis, while Godzilla resumes his rightful place as the King of Monsters on the surface. It is true that both are brought back together when the Hollow Earth threatens the peace of the surface, and Kong and Godzilla lock heads in battle once more, but they quickly determine that, together, they can keep their two worlds in check, and separate. This leads to the pair forming an uneasy alliance in order to repel the forces of the Skar King and the captive Shimo.

While the pair are unlikely to ever be friends, Kong and Godzilla have a mutual understanding and respect for their roles. Godzilla rules the Earth, with his domain covering all the Surface World. Kong rules the Hollow Earth as the King of that domain. Neither has any real interest in fighting for more territory, but they do want to have peace in their own realms. As a result, it is likely that the pair will remain distanced from each other, and allow each other to exist in peace, ruling their own kingdoms in the Monsterverse.