Godzilla Had Proven That He Could Beat Kong (Before His First Victory)

Godzilla didn't need to win to prove his dominance in Godzilla vs. Kong. He demonstrated that he could defeat Kong before winning their first fight.

Godzilla Had Proven That He Could Beat Kong (Before His First Victory)

Minutes before his first victory in Godzilla vs. Kong, the King of the Monsters proved that he could beat Kong. In the MonsterVerse’s take on the iconic giant monster rivalry, Godzilla and Kong battled it out a total of three times. In the end, Godzilla took home two decisive victories, one of which being their final battle.

The MonsterVerse was quick to highlight the ape’s underdog status in the movie. In addition to Dr. Andrews’ comments about how a fight with Godzilla would be a “death sentence” for Kong, there was the fact that Kong had barely survived their first fight. But since Godzilla had the advantage from the beginning with it taking place over water, Kong’s loss seemingly wasn’t enough to settle the debate. He fared much better when he had his atomic breath-powered axe, but was grossly outmatched in their third and final battle, where Godzilla ended the fight by stomping down on Kong’s chest and asserting his dominance with a triumphant roar.

In addition to Godzilla’s two big wins, it was actually demonstrated early on in the movie that he was the superior Titan. After making his way onto the aircraft carrier, Godzilla briefly exchanged punches with Kong. After being staggered by a blow from Kong, Godzilla laid the ape on his back with an attack of his own. After that, his face lit up with blue energy, which was an obvious sign that he was about to unleash a blast of atomic energy on his downed opponent. However, the military intervened and was able to distract him with a barrage of missiles. If that hadn’t happened, it’s likely that Godzilla vs. Kong’s story would have ended at that very moment.

Other scenes in the movie hint at what would have occurred if the military hadn’t stopped Godzilla from following through. Kong was dealt searing pain when he received a glancing hit from Godzilla’s atomic breath in their second fight and successfully managed to avoid all of Godzilla’s other attempts to hit him with the attack. The sheer power of this ability and what’s he able to do with it (including penetrating massive holes in the Earth’s crust), makes it doubtful that Kong would have survived a direct hit at point-blank range. Though the fight had only just begun, Godzilla was poised to finish him off right away, and presumably would have done so had it not been for the humans.

This provides further proof that Godzilla was always in control of their battle in Godzilla vs. Kong. Kong’s performance and the way in which he effectively challenged Godzilla cemented his place as one of Godzilla’s toughest rivals, but at no point in the movie was he in a position where he had a good chance of winning. In the director’s commentary for the home video release, Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Wingard revealed that even when Kong was giving him trouble with the axe, Godzilla was holding back and toying with his opponent. For all of Kong’s might and intelligence, it was always Godzilla who was going to prevail.