Rival

The Rival Class- ification Apus Giganticus (species) Species Giant ape Place(s) of emergence Hollow Earth Enemies Godzilla, Tiamat, several deceased Titans Written by Greg Keyes Designed by Greg Keyes, Drew Edward Johnson First appearance Godzilla Dominion

“	This was his old lair but something is not right. His rival was not the same. Before the serpent was here, there was another. This one.	„
	— Narrator (Godzilla Dominion)

The Rival is a member of Kong's species who made his debut in the 2021 Legendary Comics graphic novel Godzilla Dominion. An ancient individual that Godzilla remembered from his youth, the Rival was responsible for kicking Godzilla out of one of his old lairs, which he claimed as his own. The Rival took residence in Godzilla’s former lair for so long that he killed various Titans who attempted to claim it for themselves, including a MUTO Prime individual. However, that ended at some point after the events of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, when the serpentine Titan Tiamat awoke and made her presence in his home. The Rival was seemingly killed in the ensuing confrontation with Tiamat, who may have devoured his remains, as inferred by Godzilla coming upon his skull after reclaiming the lair from her.

Name

The narration in Godzilla Dominion merely refers to this monster as "The Rival," which was also its name in the script.

Design

The Rival bears a strong resemblance to the adult form of Kong, with some distinct differences. His fur appears much shorter in length and covers slightly more of his abdomen. The same areas of his being are exposed, though they are much more naked than that of Kong’s, showcasing a greater amount of the dark grey skin underneath. Along with bearing many battle scars across his arms and torso, the Rival possesses a patch of exposed skin on his upper right arm. His face and mouth are wider than that of Kong’s, and his eyes appear incredibly bloodshot in all depictons of them.

Behavior

Known to have been a highly aggressive individual, the Rival killed numerous Titans who encroached upon the lair he had driven a young Godzilla out of. He may have gone so far as to kill the humans living atop the King of the Monsters' former lair, given the narration for Godzilla's recollection of the scene. With his death at the hands of Tiamat, it can be inferred the Rival was unwilling to back away from a challenge, even when losing.

Origins

It is unknown to what extent the Rival was involved in the conflict between his species and Godzilla's, if at all, though he is known to have existed during Godzilla's youth.

History

• Godzilla Dominion (2021)

Monsterverse

Godzilla Dominion

Godzilla is forced out of his old lair by the Rival

At some point in Godzilla's distant past, the Rival made an appearance before the King of the Monsters with the intent of claiming the other Titan's lair as his own. Through unknown means, the Rival triumphed in their territorial dispute, forcing Godzilla to search for a new residence. During his time living in Godzilla’s former lair, the Rival protected his claim from other Titans, killing all that attempted to challenge him. His existence came to an unfortunate end sometime after the events of Godzilla: King of the Monsters when the serpentine Titan, Tiamat, appeared. The unseen battle ended with the Rival’s death and Tiamat's claim of the lair, after which she appeared to have devoured his corpse. Sometime later in 2021, Godzilla himself came to an unknown location on the planet’s surface far above his former lair. He let out a roar in hopes of challenging the Rival and reclaiming the lair as his own once more, but was instead greeted by Tiamat, with him ultimately prevailing over her. Godzilla had sensed something off about the Rival from the moment he arrived, his suspicions confirmed upon finding the skull of his ancient foe was all that remained.

Abilities

Physical abilities

Up until Tiamat challenged him for occupancy of the lair, the Rival had slain every Titan that had challenged him, discarding their bodies into the ocean around his lair. One of these Titans was, in fact, a MUTO Prime individual, further showcasing the Rival‘s strength and combat prowess. His most impressive feat, however, comes in the form of defeating Godzilla himself in his younger years, with the King of the Monsters bitterly recalling this defeat as recently as 2021.

Weaknesses

Though the exact details of their encounter are unknown, the Rival was ultimately defeated and killed by Tiamat. It could be reasoned that his triumph over Godzilla came down to the latter’s immaturity or state of being at the time of their encounter, though Godzilla would seemingly refrain from rechallenging the Rival until the loss of his current lair in 2019 forced him to seek a new one.

• 

  The Rival's remains in Godzilla's old lair

Trivia

• The Rival is the first known member of Kong's species to have fought Godzilla, followed by Kong himself.
• When compared to other Titans he's fought, Godzilla's particularly brutal treatment of Kong could be reasoned to be a result of his fight with the Rival in the past. Godzilla had returned to his former lair to rechallenge the Rival for occupation of the lair 3 years prior to the events of Godzilla vs. Kong, but was too late to face him as Tiamat had taken that liberty already.

References

This is a list of references for Rival. 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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