Kumonga

From Wikizilla, the kaiju encyclopedia
Revision as of 11:45, 29 June 2019 by Pedro (talk | contribs) (→‎Trivia)
Jump to navigationJump to search

Template:Ktab

Kumonga™ trademark icon
Kumonga
Kumonga in Godzilla: Final Wars
Kumonga in Son of Godzilla
Kumonga in Destroy All Monsters
Alternate names Spiga, Spiega, Smegor[1][2]
Subtitle(s) Giant Spider (巨大グモ,   Kyodai Gumo)
Giant Spider Monster
(大蜘蛛怪獣,   Ōkumo Kaijū)[3]
Venomous Spider Monster
(毒蜘蛛怪獣,   Doku Kumo Kaijū)G:TB
Species Giant spider
Height Showa: 45 meters[4][5]
Length Millennium: 60 meters[3][5]
Weight Showa: 8,000 metric tons[4][5]
Millennium: 30,000 metric tons[3][5]
Leg height Millennium: 40 meters[5]
Controlled by XiliensGFW
Allies GodzillaDAM, G:O, MinillaDAM, Gorosaurus, Rodan, Anguirus, Mothra, Manda, Baragon, Varan, KiryuG:O
Enemies Godzilla, Minilla, Kamacuras, King Ghidorah, Monster XG:O, GiganGRoE
Created by Tomoyuki Tanaka, Jun Fukuda, Shinichi Sekizawa, Kazue Kiba
Played by Puppet
First appearance Latest appearance
Son of Godzilla Godzilla: Final Wars
Roar(s)
ShowaMillenniumMore roars

Kumonga (クモンガ,   Kumonga) is a giant spider kaiju created by Toho that first appeared in the 1967 Godzilla film, Son of Godzilla.

In its first appearance in Son of Godzilla, Kumonga was a giant spider native to Sollgel Island which slept in a valley on the island. Awakened by a stray boulder kicked into his valley by Minilla, Kumonga began threatening a team of humans stranded on the island and eventually captured both Minilla and Kamacuras. Kumonga was killed by the combined might of Minilla and Godzilla, but a second Kumonga appeared in Destroy All Monsters, where it was one of the monsters contained on Monsterland at the end of the 20th century. Kumonga assisted Godzilla and the monsters of Earth in battle against King Ghidorah, trapping King Ghidorah under webbing alongside Mothra. Kumonga reappeared in the final film of the Millennium series, Godzilla: Final Wars, where it was under the control of the Xiliens and unleashed in Arizona. Kumonga battled Godzilla in New Guinea under the invaders' commands, but was defeated.

Name

Kumonga's name comes from kumo (クモ), which is the Japanese word for "spider." The Kumonga featured in Destroy All Monsters is sometimes referred to in books as Second Generation Kumonga (二代目クモンガ,   Nidaime Kumonga),[6][7] while the Kumonga from Godzilla: Final Wars is called Kumonga (3rd Generation) (クモンガ(3代目),   Kumonga Sandaime).[8]

Kumonga's name in the English dubs of Son of Godzilla and Destroy All Monsters is Spiga or Spiega, which comes from "spider."

Design

Kumonga is a gigantic spider, with a mostly black body covered in gold stripes. Kumonga's body has some tufts of black hair on it, most prominently on its legs. Kumonga's head possesses six eyes, which are either purple or blue in color, and chelicerae and fangs around its mouth. In the Showa series, Kumonga's mouth is filled with urticating bristles and can project a venomous stinger, while these features are not present in the Millennium incarnation. Kumonga has eight legs, each with three articulated joints. In Godzilla: Final Wars, Kumonga has brighter and more numerous gold stripes on its body, and its body is more angled toward the ground.

Personality

In Son of Godzilla, Kumonga is a vicious predator that attacks anything it sees. Kumonga is not averse to attacking humans, as it spends a good deal of time trying to capture Saeko and Goro and later attacking them and the team of scientists in a cave. The Kumonga in Destroy All Monsters is shown to live peacefully with the other monsters on Monsterland, and assists them in the final battle against King Ghidorah.

In the main Godzilla comics published by IDW Publishing, Kumonga appears to simply be a rampaging monster at first, but by the final arc of Godzilla: Ongoing becomes a loyal ally to the other Earth monsters and Kiryu against the invading space monsters. Kumonga even hitches a ride on Kiryu's back from Monster Island to New York to help Mothra battle Monster X. In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Kumonga takes part in the final battle in Los Angeles against the Trilopods alongside the other Earth monsters.

Origins

According to the research of Dr. Matsumiya, Kumonga is a gigantic spider native to Sollgel Island, which while not active and hunting hibernates for years at a time under a valley. It is unknown if Kumonga was affected at all by the radiation storms on the island that mutated the native giant praying mantises into Kamacuras, or if it was simply always 45 meters tall.

History

Showa Series

Son of Godzilla

Kumonga in Son of Godzilla

While protecting Saeko Matsumiya from a Kamacuras, Minilla accidentally knocked a boulder into Kumonga's valley, awakening the giant spider from its sleep. Kumonga attacked Saeko and Goro Maki when they tried to reach Saeko's cave, but they escaped. Kumonga followed them to the cave and tried to break in, trapping them and the scientists there. Eventually Kumonga left and trapped the Kamacuras and Minilla in its web. Kumonga killed the Kamacuras with its venom, but Godzilla arrived before it could do the same to Minilla. Kumonga and Godzilla battled, with Kumonga damaging Godzilla's eye and trapping him in webbing. Minilla came to his father's aid, and eventually Godzilla and his son were able to defeat Kumonga by blasting it at the same time with their atomic breath, setting the giant spider ablaze.

Destroy All Monsters

By the end of the 20th century, a second Kumonga was living on Monsterland alongside the other monsters of Earth. One day, the Kilaaks attacked the island and took control of the monsters, sending them to attack various cities across the world. After the humans severed the Kilaaks' control over the monsters, Kumonga and the other monsters prepared to assault the aliens' base under Mount Fuji. The Kilaaks responded by sending King Ghidorah to attack the Earth monsters. Kumonga and Mothra assisted in the battle by encasing King Ghidorah in webbing. Kumonga was then returned to the island along with the other monsters to live in peace.


Millennium Series

Godzilla: Final Wars

In 20XX, Kumonga appeared in Arizona and destroyed a trailer park before being suddenly teleported away along with all of the other monsters rampaging across Earth by the Xiliens, who claimed to want to save Earth. However, the Xiliens' true motives were revealed, and the Controller of Planet X unleashed all of the monsters to resume their destruction of the planet's major cities. In response, the Earth Defense Force freed Godzilla from Area G and had him defeat the Xiliens' monsters. The Controller unleashed Kumonga in New Guinea to battle Godzilla. Kumonga was able to use its jumping ability to avoid Godzilla's attacks while trapping him in webbing, but Godzilla grabbed one of Kumonga's web strands and swung it through the air before letting go, sending Kumonga soaring over the horizon.


Abilities

Kumonga can shoot a thick webbing and a stinger from his mandibles. Kumonga has prehensile pedipalps that can be used to grab small prey. The Showa version was able to survive multiple hits from Godzilla's atomic ray. The Millennium Kumonga's web was able to expand on contact with air from a single thread into a net for incapacitating foes. It also has long legs ending in sharp points which can be used to skewer opponents or crush through materials like in a scene in the movie Godzilla: Final Wars. It also appears to have jumping abilities. The Showa version also had a venomous stinger that instantly killed Kamacuras. In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Kumonga appeared to regenerate a severed leg it had suffered in a battle with Gigan.

Filmography

Video Games

Godzilla (PlayStation 3 / PlayStation 4)

Main article: Godzilla (2014 video game)/Kaiju Guide#Kumonga.

Books

Godzilla on Monster Island

Kumonga, alongside Kamacuras, tried to devour Mothra's egg, only to be chased away by Godzilla.

GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse

Kumonga lived in the United States in the 2030's alongside several Kamacuras following Godzilla's rampage through the nation.[9]

GODZILLA: Project Mechagodzilla

Smaller variants of both Kumonga and Kamacuras were found in North Africa, while a subspecies of Kumonga existed in Brazil in South America.[10]

Comics

Godzilla: Legends

Kumonga appears in Godzilla: Legends #5. While Godzilla is moving across rural Mongolia, he falls into a quicksand trap that Kumonga set for him. Kumonga then proceeds to wrap Godzilla in webbing, saving his meal for another day. However, Godzilla bursts from the webbing using his radioactive pulse and starts fighting Kumonga. Kumonga bites Godzilla on the lower neck, and Godzilla counters by ripping off one of Kumonga's legs and beating him with it. As Kumonga tries to run away, Godzilla bats him away with his tail, sending Kumonga bouncing across the ground and knocking him unconscious.

Godzilla: Ongoing

Kumonga appears in the first issue of Godzilla: Ongoing, where he attacks during a wedding and kills the friends and family of a man named Urv, an old friend of Boxer. Boxer's "Kaiju Kill Crew" eventually subdues Kumonga and takes him to the Monster Island facility. Later, Kiryu frees the captured monsters from the island so that they can fight off the space monsters. Kumonga hitches a ride on Kiryu's back and accompanies him to New York to fight Monster X. Monster X defeats both monsters, but Godzilla arrives before he can destroy them.

Godzilla: The Half-Century War

Kumonga is one of the many monsters seen battling in Ghana in 1975 in The Half-Century War #3.

Godzilla: Rulers of Earth

Kumonga first appeared in Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #1 in a spiderweb system it created at the bottom of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. When Gigan, blinded from his earlier battle with Anguirus and Rodan, wandered into Kumonga's web, Kumonga attacked him. The fight ended with one of Kumonga's legs severed and its web system being set ablaze, after which Gigan escaped. After its fight with Gigan, Kumonga was transported to the Monster Islands, where it lived among the other captured kaiju. When the Trilopods invaded, Kumonga was one of the first to fall to them, having its DNA copied by the alien arthropod. Kumonga was contained within the Trilopod hive while the Trilopod that copied it attacked Godzilla. Kumonga was later freed from the hive by a rampaging King Caesar. It took part in the fight against the Trilopods and Magita alongside the other Earth monsters. After Godzilla beat the massive alien beast, Kumonga followed him into the ocean.

Kumonga's image was also seen in Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #9 on the massive cave painting on Infant Island as part of the land section.

Gallery

Main article: Kumonga/Gallery.

Roar

In all of its appearances, Kumonga makes a variety of chirping noises. However, in Godzilla: Final Wars, it also make a series of bird-like calls.

Kumonga's roars in the Showa era
Kumonga's roars in Godzilla: Final Wars

In Other Languages

Language Name Meaning
Chinese Flagicon Hong Kong.png Cantonese 库蒙加 Transcription of Japanese name
China and Taiwan Flags.png Mandarin 库蒙加 Kù méng jiā Transcription of Japanese name
Flagicon Germany.png German Spiega Spiega
Flagicon Italy.png Italian Smegor Smegor
Flagicon Russia.png Russian Кумонга Transliteration of English name
Flagicon Serbia.png Serbian Кумонга

Trivia

  • Unlike most real spiders, Kumonga does not have spinnerets, firing silk from its mouth instead. This ability may have been inspired by the spitting spider.
  • Kumonga is the only Xilien-controlled monster in Godzilla: Final Wars who they never deploy to a heavily populated area.
  • Kumonga is featured in concept art included in The Art of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, along with other established kaiju such as Anguirus and Gamera.[11] It is unclear if Kamacuras was ever in consideration for the film or merely served as a placeholder for the film's new Titans.

References

This is a list of references for Kumonga. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. What's in a Name?
  2. "Che cos'è uno Smegor?"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Toho Special Effects All Monster Encyclopedia. Shogakukan. 23 July 2014. p. 117. ISBN 4-096-82090-3. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. 4.0 4.1 J.D. Lees, Marc Cerasini (24 March 1998). The Official Godzilla Compendium. Random House. p. 134. ISBN 0279888225 Check |isbn= value: checksum (help). Check date values in: |date= (help)
    Compendium19.png
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Godzilla Completely Deciphered. Takarajimasha. 26 June 2014. pp. 103, 114. ISBN 4800228964.
  6. Iwata, Toshiaka and Koichiro Ono (December 5, 1991). Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah Monster Complete Works (ゴジラvsキングギドラ 怪獣大全集). Kodansha. p. 75. ISBN 4-06-177720-3.
  7. Nomura, Kōhei (December 5, 2004). Godzilla Dictionary (ゴジラ大辞典). Kasakura Publishing. p. 85. ISBN 4773002921.
  8. Nomura, Kōhei (August 7, 2014). Godzilla Dictionary [New Edition] (ゴジラ大辞典【新装版】). Kasakura Publishing. p. 380. ISBN 978-4-7730-8725-3.
  9. Oki, Renji (25 October 2017). GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse. Kadokawa. pp. 151–185. ISBN 9784041061817.
  10. Oki, Renji (25 April 2018). GODZILLA: Project Mechagodzilla. Kadokawa. pp. 53–85, 164–180. ISBN 9784041063453.
  11. G2019KG.jpg

Comments

Showing 198 comments. When commenting, please remain respectful of other users, stay on topic, and avoid role-playing and excessive punctuation. Comments which violate these guidelines may be removed by administrators.

<comments voting="Plus" />

Era Icon - Toho.png
Era Icon - Showa.png
Era Icon - Millennium.png
Kaiju
Era Icon - Kumonga.png