Headscratchers / Kong: Skull Island

Skullcrawlers eating everything

• Given their numerous population and ravenous appetites, how have the Skullcrawlers not starved to death long ago? What do they eat to sustain such great numbers, if they feed on the buffaloes surely they'd have been eaten to extinction long ago.
  • Given how the bombings "wake" them, the Skullcrawlers are implied to spend a lot of time in a dormant state within the Hollow Earth, said dormant states allowing time for the animals on Skull Island to recover their numbers. And perhaps when Kong's kind were more plentiful they were easily a sufficient deterrent to keep the Skullcrawlers from being active too often or for too long.
  • There are other herbivores on the island, like the deer we see in several shots and the herd of regular-sized buffalo that the helicopters frightened into stampeding. The smaller 'crawlers probably subsist on such modest-for-Skull-Island prey when the Big One is awake, because it'd only steal their kills anyway if they took on something large enough to be worth its trouble.

Who is the Big One?

• What exactly is the "Big One"? A related subspecies of Skullcrawler that grows bigger than the typical variety? A sort of Hive Queen that gives birth to all the other small ones? Perhaps just a particularly big individual that attained its size from sheer age?
  • Given how Kong on his own was sufficient to keep the regular Skullcrawlers in check, perhaps the big one was a comparatively recent mutation? A Skullcrawler powerful enough to enable the rest of its kind to gain an edge over the Kong species and wipe most of them out. It would explain how the Kong species seemed to quite suddenly decline despite having lived on the island for so long.

Kong growing up alone

• If his parents were killed on the day he was born, according to the prequel comic, then how did Kong survive? A day-old ape in a jungle full of carnivorous two-legged lizards would not have survived very long, and even assuming that none surfaced during his youth, how did he learn to survive and look for food, without a parent to care for him (and being a mammal, without a mother to nurse him)?
  • 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.
  • 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 hunger, grief and despair were the last sounds Kong ever heard from one of his own kind.
  • Tbh I strongly like to believe that the Iwi natives found him and raised him until he got big enough to fend for himself.

Leafwings

• Why didn't anyone try to shoot the Leafwings carrying off Nieves? Shooting him by accident could've literally done nothing to make his situation worse.
  • It'd likely be a waste of bullets considering how fast and small they are, and nobody wants his death personally on their hands if they shoot him by accident. Plus, he's keeping them distracted, while saving him would just cause the Leafwings to resume pursuing or would attract other predators from the scent of his wounds.

Kong vs Godzilla

• Sure, Kong looks impressive in his own trailer, but this universe's Godzilla is still 3.5 times as big. Still doesn't sound like a very even fight.
  • This film takes place in the 70's. If we assume that Kong is not yet fully grown, he'll have nearly 50 years of growth behind him when the big showdown happens. I think it's reasonable to think he could get to at least 200, possibly 250 or even 300 feet by that time. And even if the above assumption isn't true, he's still about the size of the male MUTO, which was able to give the Big G a pretty good fight. Kong will doubtlessly be a lot more agile than the MUTO as well.
  • It's also possible they're planning a David Versus Goliath match of sorts. Since Kong is an ape, he might be more of a Genius Bruiser than Godzilla, and could do some rope-a-dope tactics. He's also more nimble, so it might turn into a Mighty Glacier Vs Fragile Speedster scenario.
  • The viral marketing reveals that indeed, Kong isn't fully grown, only being a teenager, so it is quite possible he'll grow considerably larger by the time he and Godzilla face off.
  • The film itself confirms that Kong is still growing, so he'll probably be much bigger in the present day.
  • There's also the age factor to consider. Godzilla is millions of years old so while a badass, 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
  • This Kong also seems to be the smartest iteration thus far, able to use a modicum of tactical thinking and improvise weapons from the environment. He might or might not be able to face Godzilla in a face-on fight... but he probably wouldn't try to in the first place.
  • I doubt that if the crossover movie is made, they will be fighting against each other. They are building both monsters to be sorta the good guys, with Kong being the benevolent god of the island and Godzilla the savior of San Franciso, so they probably will be facing a common enemy.
  • Imagery of present Kong has released which features him bulked up and primal in a manner that can take on Godzilla. See here.

Guns

• Where did the .50 cal machine gun come from? Even if the weapon was disassembled and carried by multiple people, the barrel alone is 45 inches long and the tripod it was mounted on is 48 inches long when collapsed. I never saw anyone carrying anything that long on their backs, or boxes or belts of .50 cal ammunition.
  • It was part of a crashed bomber Marlowe and Gunpei found while they were living on the island, and mounted on their boat.
    • 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.
  • Hammerspace.
  • It's a bit of a blink-and-you'll miss it kind of thing, but after the two groups meet up, you can briefly glimpse one of the soldiers carrying a different, larger backpack than the others, with some small metal bits sticking out of it (and it's not a radio). Furthermore, the soldier that gets impaled by the Mother Longlegs is carrying a couple of metal ammo boxes, quite possibly .50 cal ammo.

Weaver unable to hear Kong

• When Weaver was trying to free the buffalo trapped under the wrecked helicopter, how did she not feel or hear Kong's footsteps?
  • The intended explanation was probably that her own yelling exertions and the creaking of the helicopter drowned Kong's movements out, whether that is realistic or not is another thing.
  • The buffalo's own struggles were probably making the ground tremble already, at least in its immediate vicinity where Weaver was standing.

Guns don't work, let's use grenades

• Why did neither Cole or Slivko try to use their grenade launchers on the Skullcrawler, even after it was obvious that bullets were ineffective?
  • The explosions could cause a potential chain reaction with the gasses coming up from the vents.
    • But that doesn't answer the question of why Packard let one of his soldiers use a flamethrower on the Skullcrawler.
    • 40mm high explosive grenades don't arm until traveling about thirty meters. At the distances they were engaging Skullcrawlers, the grenades would just bounce off.

Marlow let off alone

• In The Stinger: 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?
  • Seems like they took pity on him and let him go back to his family.
  • Alternatively they did interrogate him and let him go later. Its doubtful they would keep any of the group forever.
  • Monarch wasn't just interrogating 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 28 years anyway, so they probably just debriefed him and let him go.
    • Or they tried to recruit him, and the instant he guessed that intention, he gave them the finger and walked out.

How did Kong's parents die?

• How the hell did The Big One manage to kill Kong's parents? Kong killed it himself, and his parents are supposed to have been way larger and stronger than he is in the film.
  • The Big One may have had help from the other Skullcrawlers, 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. Plus the fact that Kong had help from human allies.
  • 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, partially due to Kong recently falling victim to Packard's napalm trap and being weakened by it. The only reason the Big One didn't finish Kong off was due to the human characters' intervention.
  • In the follow-up comic series Skull Island: The Birth of Kong, it's revealed Kong's parents were killed because they were outnumbered by giant Skullcrawlers, and it happened not long after Kong was born on that very day.

Dumbass Skullcrawler

• When the Skullcrawler in the Boneyard 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 Real Life 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 while running.

Kong squeezing Weaver to death

• How was Weaver not crushed to death by Kong's hand when he was fighting The Big One? She literally should've been 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 Skullcrawler tried to swallow his hand, not crush it).
  • 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.
  • Come Godzilla vs. Kong, and it’s shown that Kong does knuckle-walk on occasion.

Copters

• 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?
  • Panic and shock at seeing a giant ape attacking them? Even though these guys survived the Vietnam War and thus saw some messed up shit, seeing an ape the size of a building suddenly attacking them likely caught them off guard.
• Where did all the helicopters come from? In the takeoff scene we see six helicopters lift off: a Chinook from the ship's bow, a Sea Stallion from the stern, and four Hueys from the main deck - as much as there's room for. A few minutes later we see the whole force approaching the island, and now the Chinook and Sea Stallion are accompanied by ten Hueys. Where did the rest of the Hueys come from?

3-D art

• How did the Iwi tribesmen manage to create 3-dimensional complex art from a set of planks/rocks that require a specific perspective/position to see the image?
  • Are you suggesting perspective is an invention of the modern world? Nothing about those artworks looks to be beyond their technology or knowledge.
  • Isn't perspective a modern concept? Or did the Iwi paint on a set of planks and then set them apart, which would be simple but distinct style?
  • Most likely, they just had someone stand at a specified distance from the array of planks and make a sketch on very thin-scraped and oiled animal hide, which is semi-transparent, then had each individual plank or rock painted in match. All it would take to get the proportions right is one person pointing at where they think the top and bottom of that plank/rock's painting belongs, and another to say "No, extend the top a little more and move the lower end up..."

Closure for Gunpei's family

• The ending shows Marlow making it back home for the first time in thirty years, but what about his late friend Gunpei? Did anyone think to return his sword to his family and grant them closure about his ultimate fate?
  • They most likely did. Theres just no point in hiring actors and filming such a trivial scene when viewers can just assume it occurred offscreen.

Respawning Soldiers?

• Around the hour-15 mark, after the two groups link up with each other, we see a wide shot of the whole group walking across the horizon. out of the group, there are ten soldiers, these being five named characters, and five Red Shirts. Aside from the fact that none of them seem to be carrying the .50 calibre machine gun that is used later, the casualties sustained during the battle in the boneyard don't add up.
  • The guy with the flamethrower is swatted away and blown up.
  • The machine gunner and one other soldier gets swallowed by the Skullcrawler.
  • Three soldiers are seen being attacked, and most likely killed, by the Leafwings.
  • There's also the dead guy that Conrad takes the gas mask off of.
  • Lastly, near the end of the battle, another one is swatted by the Skullcrawler's tail. That makes eight dead out of a group of five. Yet there are four extra soldiers in the foreground of the same shot, at least three of whom are clearly not any of the named characters.
• And despite this, there's only one Red Shirt in subsequent scenes, killed off by Kong splashing him in napalm water. Writers Cannot Do Math, anyone? Or am I missing something?