History Headscratchers / KongSkullIsland

* Why were Packard's helicopters flying so low and so close to each other to the point of nearly flying into each other, instead of spacing out and staying above Kong's reach?

** Apes' hands are designed for knuckle-walking, so they're very good at locking their proximal phalanges into a half-extended position and keeping them there under heavy compression. Kong doesn't knuckle-walk, but presumably his non-giant ape ancestors would have, so he's probably just as good at striking with his knuckles as with his fully-closed fists. Hence, no need to squeeze Weaver against his palm while pounding on the Big One.

** Or maybe the baby ape that was hidden away in the cave was Kong's ''younger sibling'', who didn't survive for long without their mother's milk. The character who had the vision of their parents' death was simply mistaken to assume it was Kong himself, rather than a younger brother or sister whose cries of grief and despair were the last sounds Kong ever heard from one of his own kind.

** There's also the age factor to consider. Godzilla is millions of years old so while a BadassGrandpa, he's already out of his prime (notably he killed both mutos by attacking them when they were distracted rather than overpowering them). In comparison, Kong is still young, and by the time the two square off he will be a large young adult which should give somewhat of an edge against the older monster. Plus Kong's got plenty of experience from fighting monsters his whole life while Godzilla has been slumbering underground

** Or maybe the baby ape that was hidden away in the cave was Kong's ''younger brother'', who didn't survive for long without their mother's milk. The character who had the vision of their parents' death was simply mistaken to assume it was Kong himself, rather than a younger brother or sister whose cries of grief and despair were the last sounds Kong ever heard from one of his own kind.

** Possibly he was adopted by one of the giant buffalo who'd lost her own baby to the skullcrawlers and was compelled by instinct to nurse ''something''. Certainly Kong seems solicitous of the one that got trapped under the helicopter, so he may have cause to care about their kind. Either that, or Kong's parents weren't ''quite'' the last adult apes on the island, and a surviving female found and cared for the orphan long enough to wean him before the skullcrawlers killed her too.

** Apes' hands are designed for knuckle-walking, so they're very good at locking their proximal phalanges into a half-flexed position and keeping them there under heavy compression. Kong doesn't knuckle-walk, but presumably his non-giant ape ancestors would have, so he's probably just as good at striking with his knuckles as with his fully-closed fists. Hence, no need to squeeze Weaver against his palm while pounding on the Big One.

** Apes' hands are designed for knuckle-walking, so they're very good at locking their proximal phalanges into an extended position and keeping them there even under heavy compression. Kong doesn't knuckle-walk, but presumably his non-giant ape ancestors would have, so he's probably just as good at striking with his knuckles as with his fully-closed fists. Hence, no need to squeeze Weaver against his palm while pounding on the Big One.

** Presumably she was small enough to fit in the space that Kong could form between his fingers and palm while still keeping his fist fairly sturdy. It wouldn't have been easy for Kong but it could be doable (the Skullcrawler tried to swallow his hand, not crush it).

** Possibly he was adopted by one of the giant oxen who'd lost her own baby to the skullcrawlers and was compelled by instinct to nurse ''something''. Certainly Kong seems solicitous of the ox that got trapped under the helicopter, so he may have cause to care about their kind.

*** I mean the .50 cal they set up when they were ambushed by a skullcrawler in the boneyard. I didn't see anyone carrying a 45 inch machine gun barrel on their back, or a 48 inch long tripod.

* In TheStinger: [[spoiler:Conrad and Weaver are detained and interrogated by MONARCH. Why wasn't Marlow detained as well, considering he probably knew a LOT more about the monsters than either of them?]]

** MONARCH wasn't just interrogating [[spoiler:Conrad and Weaver]], it looked like they were trying to ''recruit'' them. Both have valuable skills to a (relatively) new monster-hunting organization like MONARCH, and recruiting them guarantees that they won't go around spreading panic by repeating their story. Marlow is older and doesn't have many useful skills (outside of knowledge of a specific place MONARCH is unlikely to soon return to), and nobody would believe a crazy man who was stranded for 30 years anyway, so they probably just debriefed him and let him go.

** The Big One may have had help from the other skull crawlers, and regardless Kong killed it thanks to opportunities and skills his parents did not have. The film makes a point of showing that Kong was not strong enough to do Ramarak any real damage, he needed the ship propeller to injure it, and had to take advantage of it trying to swallow a human in order to finally kill it. Overall Kong is likely also meant to be just a better fighter than his parents were.
** It's possible that the Skullcrawlers could have dogpiled on Kong's parents and finished them off while they were incapacitated (they are stated to be clever, and two are shown cooperating earlier in the film to ambush Kong). Even in a one on one fight, the Big One was still able to overpower Kong. The only reason it didn't finish Kong off was due to the human characters' intervention.
* When one of the skullcrawlers was chasing Weaver to eat her, why didn't it use its tongue to snatch her running in a straight line? Just before that chase, it demonstrated the tongue by eating another soldier.
** Keep in mind that the soldier was airborne with nothing around him that could hurt the skullcrawler's tongue if it somehow missed. If the skullcrawler missed Weaver, it could have damaged its tongue on the rocks, dirt/sand and bones scattered everywhere.
** Many RealLife lizards can't breathe and run at the same time, due to how they draw air into their lungs: they have to sprint in short bursts, hide or freeze while they catch a few breaths, then run some more. Skullcrawlers may have a similar difficulty projecting their tongues full-length when they're running.
* How was Weaver not crushed to death by Kong's hand when he was fighting The Big One? She literally should've be a gooey pile in his hand when he was done fighting.
** Presumably she was small enough to fit in the space that Kong could form between his fingers and palm while still keeping his fist fairly sturdy. It wouldn't have been easy for Kong but it could be doable (the skull-crawler tried to swallow his hand, not crush it).

** Many RealLife lizards can't breathe and run at the same time, due to how they draw air into their lungs. Skullcrawlers may have a similar difficulty projecting their tongues full-length when they're running.

*** Or they ''tried'' to recruit them, and the instant he guessed that intention, he gave them the finger and walked out.

** The buffalo's own struggles were probably making the ground tremble already.

** Presumably she was small enough to fit in the space that a hand can be formed between the fingers and palm while still being fairly sturdy.

* How was Weaver not crushed to death by Kong's hand when he was fighting The Big One? She literally should've be a gooey pile in his hand when he was done fighting.

** There's also the age factor to consider. Godzilla is millions of years old so while a BadassGrandpa, he's already out of his prime (notably he killed both mutos by attacking them when they were distracted rather than overpowering them). In comparison, Kong is still young and by the time, the two square off will be a large, young adult which should give somewhat of an edge against the older monster. Plus Kong's got plenty of experience from fighting monsters his whole life while Godzilla has been slumbering underground

** It's possible that the Skullcrawlers could have dogpiled on Kong's parents and finished them off while they were incapacitated (they are stated to be clever, and two are shown cooperating earlier in the film to ambush Kong). Even in a one on one fight, the Big One was still able to overpower Kong, The only reason it didn't finish Kong off was due to the human characters' intervention

** Keep in mind that the soldier was airborne with nothing around him that could hurt the skullcrawler's tongue if it somehow missed. If the skullcrawler missed Weaver, it could have damaged its tongue on the rocks, dirt/sand and bones scattered everywhere.

* When one of the skullcrawlers was chasing Weaver to eat her, why didn't it use its tongue to snatch her running in a straight line? Just before that chase, it demonstrated the tongue by eating another soldier.

** Kong's parents didn't have Mary S-, I mean, Weaver to help them!
* When one of the skullcrawlers was chasing Weaver to eat her, why didn't it use its tongue to snatch her running in a straight line? Just before that chase, it demonstrated the tongue by eating another soldier.
** Because the writers like Weaver.