Kumonga
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- Tsunezo Kusumi: “Saeko, what is a Kumonga?”
- Saeko Matsumiya: “It's a giant spider.”
- Goro Maki: “Godzilla, Kamacuras, and now Kumonga...This is a monster island!”
- ― Saeko Matsumiya explains what Kumonga is to Professor Tsunezo Kusumi, Fujisaki, and Goro Maki (Son of Godzilla)
Kumonga (クモンガ Kumonga) is a giant spider kaiju who first appeared in the 1967 Toho Godzilla film Son of Godzilla.
In its first appearance in Son of Godzilla, Kumonga was a giant spider native to Sollgel Island which hibernated under a valley on the island when it was not active and hunting for food. 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 the 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 he was under the control of the Xiliens and unleashed in Arizona. Kumonga battled Godzilla in New Guinea under the invaders' commands, but was defeated. In the 2021 anime series Godzilla Singular Point, Kumonga was a species of smaller monsters who attacked Jet Jaguar and the employees of the Otaki Factory when they investigated their nest. The Kumonga were accompanied by three other monsters in the same genus: Kamanga, Hanenga, and Zenbunga.
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),[8][9] while the Kumonga from Godzilla Final Wars is called Kumonga (3rd Generation) (クモンガ（３代目） Kumonga Sandaime).[10] Its name in the English dubs of Son of Godzilla and Destroy All Monsters is Spiga or Spiega, which both come from the word "spider."
In 2020, arachnologists Alireza Zamani and Yuri M. Marusik named a new species of spitting spider from southern Iran Scytodes kumonga after this monster.[11] In return, Kumonga's scientific name in Godzilla Singular Point, Kumonga scytodes, pays homage to the actual spider.[4] The Japanese audio description of episode 13 of Godzilla Singular Point refers to Meganulon as Kumonga as well, though this is contradicted on page 74 of the Godzilla Singular Point Fan Book and an advertisement for a 2023 ornament set by Cast.[12]
Development
Kumonga was designed by Yasuyuki Inoue and modeled by Teizo Toshimitsu and Yasuei Yagi. The original Kumonga prop was approximately five meters long.[13] Much like the Mothra larva's silk, Kumonga's webbing was created using rubber dissolved with thinner and sprayed through a mechanism in the prop's mouth. A full-scale model of Kumonga's leg was constructed for scenes of the kaiju attacking the human characters.[14] Along with that for Kamacuras, the wirework and puppetry used to bring Kumonga to life has been widely praised and recognized.[14][15] Nearly 20 people were required to operate the piano wires controlling the Kumonga prop from a beam above the set, where they were exposed to the intense heat of the studio lights which reportedly caused their sweat to pour down onto the set like rain.[13] This required virtually all of the filmmaking crew to be involved with the wirework, except for the directors and actors.[15] Two days were required to shoot the film's climactic monster battle, with director of special effects Sadamasa Arikawa remarking that the filmmakers struggled greatly with the wirework for Kumonga and encountered many difficulties. However, Arikawa was impressed by the end result on film, and pleased that audiences were impressed by the puppetry of Kumonga.[13]
Storyboard of Godzilla confronting Kumonga by Yasuyuki Inoue
Crew members with the Kumonga prop on the set of Son of Godzilla
The Kumonga prop was used again for the monster's role in Destroy All Monsters the following year, along with stock footage of the monster from Son of Godzilla. The only difference with the Kumonga prop in this film was that its eyes were permanently red, while in the prior film they shifted between blue and red based on the monster's mood. Stock footage of Kumonga from Son of Godzilla was utilized for the monster's role in the following film, All Monsters Attack.
The Kumonga prop alongside other monster suits and props used in Destroy All Monsters
A publicity still of Kumonga for All Monsters Attack altered from an existing publicity still from Son of Godzilla
Kumonga was among the many kaiju not seen since the Showa series to be brought back for Godzilla's 50th anniversary film, Godzilla Final Wars, in 2004. Shinji Nishikawa redesigned Kumonga for this film, along with most of the other returning monsters. He kept the monster's design more or less intact, but removed one of the moving joints from each of his legs. The new Kumonga prop was modeled by Shinichi Wakasa's company MONSTERS. The scene where Godzilla swings Kumonga through the air was filmed with the assistance of a crane truck on an open set.[15]
The new Kumonga prop in a group photo with other monster suits and props used in Godzilla Final Wars
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 usually blue but in Son of Godzilla shift to red when the monster is agitated and are then permanently red in Destroy All Monsters. Kumonga possesses 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 the Showa series and only two in the Millennium series.
In Godzilla Final Wars, Kumonga has brighter and more numerous gold stripes on its body, and its body is more angled toward the ground. The black on its body is also somewhat lighter and the texture of its body is smoother.
In Godzilla Singular Point, Kumonga is hybridized with Megalon, with metallic spurs resembling Megalon's drill hands being attached to its legs, a stinger on the thorax resembling Megalon's horn, and a face resembling Megalon's with the addition of four spider eyes on the forehead. The front legs of Kumonga are also longer then the rest, serving a mantis-claw like function reminiscent of Kamacuras.
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. Kumonga also appears to be highly territorial, and will attack other monsters who enter or damage its domain. 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 mainstream Godzilla comics storyline published by IDW Publishing, Kumonga appears to simply be a rampaging monster at first, but by the final story arc of Godzilla 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
In the Showa era, Dr. Matsumiya learned that Kumonga is a gigantic spider native to Sollgel Island which, when not active and hunting for food, hibernated 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. Kumonga was actually one of the earliest kaiju to be discovered, as Dr. Matsumiya discovered it sometime prior to 1955; however, the creature was confined to the island and only known to Matsumiya and his daughter Saeko until 1967. By the end of the 20th century, humanity had rounded up a second Kumonga and confined it to Monsterland.
In Godzilla Final Wars, Kumonga is under the control of the Xiliens and sent to attack Arizona. While no details about the monster's past are given in the film, the tie-in reference book Godzilla Final Wars Super Complete Works indicates that either this Kumonga or another member of the species appeared in 1967 and battled Godzilla and Minilla. A Kumonga also participated in a battle alongside the other monsters of Earth against King Ghidorah at Mount Fuji the following year.[7]
In Godzilla Singular Point, a multitude of Kumonga, along with its congeners Kamanga, Hanenga, and Zenbunga, appear to be parasitic organisms that emerged from a beached Manda corpse, establishing a nest in a nearby port.
History
- Son of Godzilla (1967)
- Destroy All Monsters (1968)
- All Monsters Attack (1969) [stock footage]
- Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) [stock footage]
- Godzilla Final Wars (2004)
- Godziban (web 2019-) [episodes 21 and 54-55; special episodes 10-11]
- Godzilla Singular Point (TV 2021) [episodes 8-9]
Showa era
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. 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 and silk, respectively. Kumonga was then returned to the island along with the other monsters to live in peace.
All Monsters Attack
While visiting Monster Island within his dreams, Ichiro Miki and Minilla watched Godzilla battle Kumonga. Some of Kumonga's webbing was sprayed above them, forcing them to head to safer ground.
Godzilla vs. Gigan
By 1972, Kumonga was one of many monsters coexisting peacefully on Monster Island. However, the evil M Space Hunter Nebula Aliens intended to exterminate all of the monsters on the island before they could interfere with their conquest of Earth. Fortunately, Godzilla and Anguirus learned of the invaders' nefarious plan and defeated them along with their pawns Gigan and King Ghidorah, securing the safety of their fellow inhabitants of Monster Island.
Millennium era
Godzilla Final Wars
In 20XX, Kumonga appeared in Arizona and destroyed a trailer park in Monument Valley before being suddenly teleported away along with all of the other monsters rampaging across Earth by the Xiliens, who claimed to want to save the 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 around and around through the air before letting go, sending Kumonga soaring over the horizon.
Reiwa era
Godziban
Kumonga appeared in the background along with Varan and Manda when Godzilla-kun led the charge against King Ghidorah in episode 12.
Godzilla Singular Point
"Graftage"
"Erumpent"
As Jet Jaguar continued to fight the Kumonga, they were joined by Kamanga, Hanenga, and finally Zenbunga. A fierce battle began, which eventually led to the warehouse exploding. Jet Jaguar's battery began to run low, causing the robot to abandon the spiders and escape on a boat with the Otaki crew and the men they rescued. The remaining arachnids' fate is unknown.
Abilities
Web
Kumonga can spit thick strands of incredibly strong webbing from his mouth. Not only is this webbing effective at trapping human prey, but is equally capable of trapping other kaiju such as Minilla and Kamacuras. This webbing can only be destroyed by heat, allowing Goro Maki to free himself and Saeko Matsumiya and both Godzilla and Minilla to block a stream of webbing with their atomic breath. Godzilla is physically strong enough to tear through the webbing, though it is still capable of temporarily ensnaring him and dragging him to the ground. In Destroy All Monsters, Kumonga used his webbing in conjunction with Mothra's silk to restrain King Ghidorah's carcass.
In Godzilla Final Wars, Kumonga is capable of not only spitting strands of webbing, but also firing jets of webbing that expand in midair into massive nets. He used them to try and trap Godzilla to some success, though Godzilla eventually triumphed by catching one of Kumonga's web strands and spinning it around and around, then letting go and throwing the spider over the horizon.
Godzilla is ensnared in Kumonga's webbing net
While not directly seen, the Kumonga nest in Godzilla Singular Point implies that Kumonga is capable of producing a purple colored webbing capable of encasing human prey however it doesn't utilize this offensively in combat.
Stinger
In the Showa series, Kumonga possesses a venomous stinger which he can project from his mouth. The venom from this stinger was capable of killing Kamacuras instantly. Kumonga attempted to inject this venom into Minilla, but was stopped by the arrival of Godzilla. Kumonga landed a hit on Godzilla's eye with his stinger, which only temporarily blinded Godzilla's eye and did not have any more lethal effects.
Legs
Kumonga possesses eight extremely long multi-jointed legs which he uses both for movement and to attack prey. Kumonga's legs are tipped with clawed talons which allowed him to grab humans, though he was not successful in capturing any of them. Kumonga can extend his legs to raise himself further off the ground, shown when he extended himself to Godzilla's height and tackled him to the ground in Son of Godzilla. Kumonga's legs allow for versatile movement, as he can scale valley walls, crawl across the ground, or, in Godzilla Final Wars, leap across great distances.
Reanimation
In Godzilla Singular Point, Kumonga and its congeners possess the ability to reanimate themselves via a blue gelatinous substance contained inside of their body. This liquid also forms new limbs, allowing the dismembered arachnids to become mobile once again. Kumonga is immune to physical attacks, as shown when Goro Otaki hit it multiple times with a wrench.
Durability
Kumonga is able to withstand multiple hits from Godzilla and Minilla's atomic breath, though a concentrated blast from both of them at the same time succeeded in killing him. Gunfire is ineffective against Kumonga, though it did cause him to react and at one point release one of the humans he had grabbed. In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Kumonga survives having his web system in the Grand Canyon set ablaze by Gigan, and later appears to have regenerated one of his legs which Gigan had severed earlier.
Weaknesses
Kumonga is vulnerable to heat. His otherwise-indestructible webbing can be cut with simple flame, and sustained blasts from Godzilla and Minilla's atomic breath set him on fire and killed him. In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Kumonga was defeated, but not killed, when Gigan set his web system at the bottom of the Grand Canyon on fire. In Godzilla Final Wars, Kumonga's strength was inferior to that of Godzilla, who was able to throw him over the horizon after catching a strand of his webbing and swinging it around.
Video games
- Godzilla vs. 3 Giant Monsters (1984) - Microsoft MSX
- Godzilla-kun (1985) - Microsoft MSX
- Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!! (1995) - Sega Pico
- Godzilla Movie Studio Tour (1996) - PC and Mac
- Godzilla Generations (1998) - Sega Dreamcast
- Godzilla: Trading Battle (1998) - Sony PlayStation
- Collect Godzilla: Giant Monster Assembly (1998) - Sega Dreamcast VMU
- Godzilla (2014) - PlayStation 3 and 4 [Kaiju Guide]
- Godzilla Kaiju Collection (2015) - Android and iOS
- Godzilla Defense Force (2019) - Android and iOS
- Godzilla Singular Point: Escape!! Radio Wave Monster Rodan! (2021) - PC, iOS, Android
- Godzilla (2021) - Pinball
Godzilla (PlayStation 3 / PlayStation 4)
- Main article: Godzilla (2014 video game)/Kaiju Guide#Kumonga.
Kumonga in Godzilla vs. 3 Giant Monsters
Kumonga's sprite in Collect Godzilla: Giant Monster Assembly
Kumonga in Godzilla Kaiju Collection
Books
- Godzilla on Monster Island (1996)
- Godzilla Invades America (1997)
- Godzilla: Journey to Monster Island (1998)
- Godzilla vs. the Space Monster (1998)
- GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse (2017)
- GODZILLA: Project Mechagodzilla (2018)
- Godzilla Singular Point (2022)
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 2030s alongside several Kamacuras following Godzilla's rampage through the nation.[16]
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.[17]
Comics
- Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters #6 (2011)
- Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths #1, 4-5 (2011)
- Godzilla #1-7, 9-11 (2012-2013)
- Godzilla: The Half-Century War #3 (2012)
- Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #1, 9, 13, 20, 25 (2013-2015)
- Godzilla: Rage Across Time #5 (2016)
- Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors #1 (2021)
- Godzilla vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #3-4 (2022)
Godzilla: Legends
While Godzilla was moving across rural Mongolia, he fell into a quicksand trap that Kumonga had set for him. Kumonga then proceeded to wrap Godzilla in webbing, saving his future meal for another day. However, Godzilla burst free from the webbing using his nuclear pulse and started fighting Kumonga. Kumonga bit Godzilla on the lower neck and Godzilla countered by ripping off one of Kumonga's legs and beating him with it. As Kumonga tried to run away, Godzilla batted him away with his tail, sending Kumonga bouncing across the ground and knocking him unconscious.
Godzilla
Kumonga appeared in Mexico during the wedding of Urv, an old friend of Boxer, killing Urv's groom and his other family and friends. Boxer's "Kaiju Kill Crew" eventually subdued Kumonga and took him to the Monster Island facility. Later, Kiryu freed the captured monsters from the island so that they could fight off the space monsters. Kumonga hitched a ride on Kiryu's back and accompanied him to New York City to fight Monster X. Monster X defeated both monsters, but Godzilla arrived before he could destroy them.
Godzilla: The Half-Century War
Kumonga was one of the many monsters seen battling in Ghana in 1975.
Kumonga in Godzilla: The Half-Century War #3
Godzilla: Rulers of Earth
Kumonga had created a web system 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 being severed and its web system being set ablaze, after which Gigan escaped. After his 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 his DNA copied by the alien creatures. Kumonga was contained within the Trilopod hive while the Trilopod that copied him attacked Godzilla. Kumonga was later freed from the hive by a rampaging King Caesar. He 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 on the massive cave painting on Infant Island as part of the land section.
Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors
In the first issue, Cedric cited Godzilla's battle with Kumonga as an example of the King of the Monsters acting as the Earth's immune system.
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 makes a series of bird-like calls.
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In other languages
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Cantonese
Mandarin
German
Italian
Russian
Serbian
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 spiders, a family of spiders which hunt by spitting an adhesive mixture of silk and venom at prey. In 2020, a new species of Iranian spitting spider was even given the scientific name of Scytodes kumonga as a tribute to the kaiju.[11]
- A "what-if" illustrated scenario in the 2004 book Godzilla: Tokyo SOS Super Complete Works showed the JXSDF creating an army of mecha-kaiju with the help of DNA extracted from their organic counterparts, including Kumonga.
- Kumonga is the only Xilien-controlled monster in Godzilla Final Wars who they never deploy to a heavily populated area.
- Kumonga appears to be featured in concept art included in The Art of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, along with other established kaiju such as Anguirus and Gamera.[18] It is represented by a modified still of a giant spider from the 2013 film The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.[19] In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, director Michael Dougherty said, "We had thought about using some additional Toho creatures to give them some cameos but every Toho creature comes with a price tag. It was a choice to either shell out more money simply for the rights for these creatures to show up on-screen for a few seconds, or embrace the opportunity and the challenge to create new creatures."[20]
- Despite not being in the game, Kumonga's roar can be heard in Godzilla Unleashed, when Jet Jaguar does a series of moves.
- In episode 8 of Godzilla Singular Point, one of the reanimated Kumonga has a head which bears a striking resemblance to Hedorah, differing only in coloration.
Notes
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]
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