Dr. Who: Do you think you can change your ideals now? Are you ready for an answer right now? (takes Susan by the chin).
Jiro: Susan! Don't do it!.
Dr. Who: Shut up! (turns to Susan) Let's see how your hero likes you when you're disfigured a little bit. Let's see what the ice will do to your lovely skin. (presses Susan's face to the frozen wall)
Jiro: Susan! Don't do it!.
Dr. Who: Shut up! (turns to Susan) Let's see how your hero likes you when you're disfigured a little bit. Let's see what the ice will do to your lovely skin. (presses Susan's face to the frozen wall)
— Dr. Who to Jiro and Susan, King Kong Escapes
The Eighth Wonder of the World has been around since 1933, and when he is not climbing buildings with the love of his life, he has faced some vile foes.
Entries in each group are by release date.
All spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
Animated Works
- The King Kong Show: Dr. Who is the most dangerous and persistent enemy of King Kong and the Bond family. Obsessed with the idea of taking over the world, Who tries to capture Kong on several occasions to use him as a weapon at his command. Throughout the show, Dr. Who attempts to subjugate the Earth by using various machines to cause a large amount of destruction all across the planet, such as a rocket armed with a nuclear device; a radioactive machine capable of melting the ice of the North Pole and flooding the entirety of the Western Hemisphere; a solar mirror powerful enough to destroy all the cities of the West Coast; or even mechanical monsters such as a robotic Sphinx and Mechani-Kong that are capable of causing lots of havoc. Not only does he successfully destroy entire cities more than once, his crimes also include repeatedly trying to kill the Bond family, even the two children, and holding a benevolent scientist's family hostage to force him to help him in his plans at one point. Callous and remorseless, Dr. Who is much more of a monster than any of the creatures fought by King Kong.
- Kong: The Animated Series:
- Chiros the Destroyer was once an Atlantean shaman named Shikala who sought to perform a ritual to help him master all the powers of the universe. Transformed into a powerful entity by the ritual, he decided to use his new power to Kill All Humans and rule over what remained of the planet afterward. Having been imprisoned by the Primal Stones, Chiros has his minions try and retrieve the stones to free him. In the finale, Chiros is freed with the stones and drains Professor Ramone De La Porta's life force to restore his power. He plans to imprison Kong the same way he was imprisoned, and keep him trapped there forever, where Kong will be kept alive for thousands of years but unable to leave.
- King of Atlantis: Queen Reptilla is the tyrannical and power-hungry ruler of Atlantis. Formerly an Alchemist, Reptilla found a way to brainwash a large part of Atlantis's population into becoming her obedient slaves. After seizing the throne, she prepared an invasion of the whole planet, only to be stopped when the first Kong sunk Atlantis. During the following centuries, Reptilla ruled over her kingdom as a cruel and oppressive queen, and had most of her subjects forced into slavery. In the present day, Reptilla tries to take advantage of the Eclipse to make Atlantis rise from the ocean, which would ravage the entire world and make it easier for her army to conquer what's left. To prevent the new Kong from stopping her plan, she manipulates him into joining her as Atlantis's king, while secretly planning to brainwash him as well and make him her personal slave. When Kong eventually realizes the truth and turns against her, Reptilla sends her most powerful warriors to massacre him along with all those who rebel against her.
- Return to the Jungle: Hunter Stag III is a famous billionaire adventurer whose specialty is hunting animals of all kinds. Ever since he heard the story of his grandfather capturing the first Kong, Stag has become obsessed with the idea of surpassing him by capturing every creature of Kong's Island. Allying himself with the notorious criminal Professor Ramon(e) De La Porta, Hunter Stag finds the island and sends his army of Cyber-Hunters to brutally captures all the animals before bringing them to New York City. Once there, Stag deliberately lets the prehistoric creatures escape and attack the city, endangering countless civilians in the process, as he wants to capture them again before witnesses and be seen as the city's savior. Stag also cruelly betrays his partner De La Porta, putting the blame on him for the animals' rampage. When Kong, Jason, Tann and Lua attempt to oppose him, Stag uses a soundwave device to drive the Tyrannosaurus rex crazy, and sends it after Kong while he tries to kill the others himself. Devoid of any compassion for animals and humans alike, Hunter Stag proves to be so ruthless that even De La Porta himself is horrified by his actions.
- Kong: King of the Apes: Doctor Richard Remy is a nature-hating bionics expert, and the twin brother of conservationist Lukas Remy. Despising his brother's pet gorilla, Kong, from the moment that they first met, Richard blames Kong for the childhood accident that cost him an eye, even though he caused the accident himself, and only survived it thanks to Kong. Richard uses a painful Shock Collar to make Kong go on a rampage before framing him and Lukas for the destruction of a military warehouse, the contents of which Richard sells on the Black Market. Richard also sells weapons-grade uranium on the black market; uses a virus to turn people into rage zombies; tries to melt the arctic to get at the resources buried beneath it; attempts to kill Kong by blowing up an African volcano, not caring that this will destroy all of the surrounding villages; and convinces various governments to purchase his Bionobots, which were secretly programmed to turn on their buyers in a violent coup that would allow Richard to implement his "New World Order". Richard frequently abuses his android assistant, Botila, at one point uploading her consciousness into a Bionobot against her will while ensuring her continued obedience through the use of an Agony Beam. Eventually renouncing his humanity completely, Richard turns himself into a grotesque mutant cyborg before trying to murder all of his enemies all at once on Kong Island.
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) & Godzilla vs. Kong: King Ghidorah, The One Who is Many, is an invasive alien kaiju who fought the kaiju of Earth for control of the planet before being defeated and sealed away in ancient times. Released in the present day, Ghidorah cheerfully kills several humans before and during a fight with Godzilla, displaying a simplistic thirst for blood that clashes horribly with the natural animal instincts that motivate the terrestrial kaiju. After the apparent death of Godzilla, Ghidorah uses his powers to enslave the remaining kaiju of Earth, forcibly awakening them and commanding them to wipe out all life on the planet. When Madison Russell uses a device called the ORCA to disrupt his plans, Ghidorah attempts to kill her in cold blood simply because he can. After being converted into Mechagodzilla by Apex Cybernetics, Ghidorah promptly corrupts Mechagodzilla's AI, slaughters the ones who brought him back, and resumes his rampage, his sadistic tendencies shown in how he targets Godzilla and wipes out swathes of Hong Kong and laughing about it. A sinister analogue to the Devil opposite the benevolent God-like Godzilla, King Ghidorah is just as wicked here as he was at the start of his movie career.
- Godzilla vs. Kong: The Official Movie Novelization, by Greg Keyes: Walter Simmons, CEO of Apex Cybernetics, is notably worse than his film counterpart. When Godzilla was first revealed to the world, Simmons, aggravated that humanity wasn't the dominant species on Earth, sought to take that title back, with his corporate empire on top. It's revealed he was the one who created the Oxygen Destroyer in an attempt to kill Godzilla. Simmons bribed his way out of accountability for the resulting disaster, and when Sara Hayes tries to reveal Apex's involvement, Simmons had her assassinated. Simmons masterminds the creation of Mechagodzilla, intending to use it to kill and usurp Godzilla as Alpha, killing the Titans they can't enslave, testing it by having it slaughter Skullcrawlers that Apex are breeding. When the test for Mechagodzilla's signal results in Godzilla going on a rampage in Pensacola, Simmons sees this as a stepping stone to turn the world against Godzilla. Simmons then deliberately engineers Godzilla's rampage in Hong Kong, putting millions of innocents on Godzilla's warpath. During Godzilla's rampage, Simmons looks on in excitement, admitting he's counting on Godzilla destroying much of the city so that Apex can be "saviors" when they set Mechagodzilla loose.
- Skull Island (2023): The Kraken is an intelligent but vicious Titan, looking to usurp Skull Island from King Kong himself. It slaughters every living thing that crosses its path, unprovoked, preventing anyone from leaving the island. Previously, the Kraken attacked and wiped out a village of people Kong was protecting, including a young woman Kong had befriended, leaving their bodies for Kong to find. The Kraken toys with its victims, playing around with an attacking Mike after killing his father; and tossing its kills at Kong's home to taunt and goad him into fighting it on its territory.
- Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire has the Skar King:
- Film: The Skar King is an ancient Great Ape Titan warlord who, untold millennia ago, led his tribe in an attempt to conquer the Surface World, but was imprisoned in a lower layer of the Hollow Earth by Godzilla. Confining his tribe to a volcanic wasteland and ruling through pain and suffering for generations, the Skar King killed those who dared to defy him; gathered a harem of terrorized females to father his children; and enslaved the cryogenic reptilian Titan Shimo through torture with the intent of using her to cause another Ice Age. When he discovered humans from the surface had entered the Hollow Earth, the Skar King slaughtered Monarch's Outpost and led his army in an attempted conquest. Upon reaching the surface with Shimo, he nearly succeeded in accomplishing his goals but was killed by the combined efforts of Kong, Godzilla, the young ape Suko—implied to be the Skar King's own son—and a liberated Shimo.
- Greg Keyes's novelization: The Skar King is an ancient Great Ape warlord who corrupted his once-peaceful tribe and waged war against Godzilla and his allies in an attempt to conquer the Surface World. Defeated and imprisoned in a lower layer of the Hollow Earth—inspiring various myths of evil gods being imprisoned—the Skar King confined his tribe to a volcanic wasteland; ruled for generations through suffering and fear; took the tribe's females as his personal harem; imposed a mentality on his tribe where only the most cruel and vicious Great Apes were deemed fit for survival; and brutally killed any who dared to defy or fail him. Enslaving and torturing the prehistoric cryogenic Titan called Shimo, the Skar King plotted to use her to wipe out all life on the surface by causing a new Ice Age, while lying to his followers that they would rule together once his conquest was complete. When Suko—one of his sons—betrayed him to rescue Kong, the Skar King ordered his Red-Stripe enforcers to capture them to be executed; even attempting to kill Suko himself before being defeated by the combined efforts of Kong and Godzilla, frozen solid by a liberated Shimo, and smashed to pieces.
Others
- King Kong Escapes: Dr. Who is an egotistical Mad Scientist working for an unnamed country represented by Madame Piranha. Planning to help make her country a nuclear superpower, he creates the Mechani-Kong to mine for Element X, before deciding to use the real Kong. Attacking and capturing Kong on his island, Who guns down a innocent native for no particular reason, before taking Commander Carl Nelson and his lieutenants hostage, torturing Jiro and Susan by rapidly freezing them, and threatening to personally disfigure Susan's face. When Kong and the crew manage to escape, Who plans to force Kong to fight the Mechani-Kong in the city of Tokyo, not caring that he'd kill thousands of people; when this is protested by Madame Piranha, Who scoffs at her for being a moralist. In Kong and the Mechani-Kong's ensuing fight, Who has Susan taken hostage and threatens to drop her to her death, and when Piranha herself tries to stop his madness, Who shoots her to death in retaliation.
- Kong: King of Skull Island: Bar-Atu is the High Priest of the Atu tribe of Skull Island, and a charlatan claiming to communicate with the Gods, including the monstrous Gaw, using fear to engineer human sacrifices. Bar-Atu slathers the sacrifices with a scent that attracts Gaw, using this method to exterminate the rival Tagu tribe after having pitted the tribes against each other. When Europeans become shipwrecked on the island, Bar-Atu convinces their captain to help kill his rival, Kublai, in exchange for the island's treasure; Bar-Atu later abandons the expedition to be butchered by Gaw, who is then killed by Kong. Taking credit for summoning Kong, Bar-Atu has Kublai killed, along with the island's elderly Storyteller, and begins sacrificing people to Kong, plotting to exterminate loyalists to Kublai's widow, Ishara. When Carl Denham's crew arrives on Skull Island, Bar offers to sell five of his tribe's women in exchange for Ann Darrow; when Denham refuses the trade, Bar has Ann abducted to be a sacrifice to Kong.
