Skullcrawler

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Skullcrawler
A Skullcrawler in Kong: Skull Island
The Skull Devil in Kong: Skull Island
Alternate names Skull Crawler, Dino MonsterLAN,
Skull Devil, Ramarak, The Big One
Species Cranium Reptant
Height 12-95 feet[1]
Weight 40-100 tons[1]
Controlled by King GhidorahGKotM: The Official Movie Novelization
Allies Other Skullcrawlers
Enemies Kong's mother, Kong's father, King Kong, Humans, Sker Buffalo
Conceived of by Jordan Vogt-Roberts
Written by Max Borenstein, John Gatins, Dan Gilroy, Derek Connolly
Designed by Zach Berger, Simon Lee
Played by CGI
First appearance Latest appearance
Kong: Skull Island Godzilla vs. Kong
Roar(s)
Kong's god on the island, but the devils live below us.
„ 

Hank Marlow (Kong: Skull Island)

Skullcrawlers are giant two-legged reptilian monsters that appeared in the 2017 Legendary Pictures film, Kong: Skull Island.

Insatiable carnivorous monsters that dwell deep beneath the surface of Skull Island, the Skullcrawlers were responsible for wiping out the majority of Kong's species long ago, and frequently menaced the other creatures living on the island as well. The orphaned Kong took it upon himself to keep the Skullcrawlers' population in check and defend the island's other residents from their savagery. In 1973, the Monarch expedition to Skull Island unwittingly drew numerous Skullcrawlers to the surface. Though Kong was able to handle most of them, he was eventually faced with a colossal 95-foot Skullcrawler known as the Skull Devil. Kong engaged in a brutal struggle with the Skull Devil, and with the aid of his newfound human allies was finally able to triumph over the horrific creature.

Development

According to designer Zach Berger, director Jordan Vogt-Roberts did not initially have any specific vision for the villain monster of Kong: Skull Island and simply told the designers to create "something distinct and different" and not use dinosaurs in any way so as not to compete with Peter Jackson's King Kong. One early concept for the villain monster was a giant amphibious sea serpent inspired by Vietnamese dragons. One idea that Berger pitched was a "sawtooth" monster with saw-shaped protrusions around its mouth. Vogt-Roberts expressed admiration for the design of the monster from the Korean film The Host, and the designers ultimately decided to incorporate the two-legged aspect of its design into their design process. Eventually, Jordan Vogt-Roberts' attention was brought to the Two-Legged Lizard that briefly appeared in the 1933 film, and the designers decided to attempt to update that creature's design. Some designs very heavily resembled the original creature, while others gave it a different, almost snake-like head. Berger gave credit to Simon Lee for taking the Two-Legged Lizard concept and creating something close to the final design of the Skullcrawlers.[2]

Name

Because the native Iwis would not say their name for this species out loud, Hank Marlow came up with the name "Skullcrawlers" to describe them, on the grounds that it "[sounded] neat." He refers to the largest Skullcrawler simply as "the big one" in the film itself, but in the novelization he calls it the "Skull Devil." It is also called "Skull Devil" in The Art and Making of Kong: Skull Island. Legendary copyrighted the name "Ramarak the Skullcrawler" and other variations of this name, which could possibly be a rejected name for the Skull Devil, in December 2015.[3] Ramarak has caught on as a popular name for the Skull Devil among fans, though it has yet to appear in any official media.

Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts initially wanted to call the Skullcrawlers "MacArthur", in the same way that a pet dog might have a human name.[4] John C. Reilly felt that "Skullcrawler" was ridiculous and didn't want to say it, leading to an improvised exchange between Marlow, Conrad, and Weaver about the name.

The spelling of the Skullcrawlers' name is not entirely consistent. While most official sources tend to spell the creatures' name as a single word, the official novelization and art book for the film spell it as two. In the comic Skull Island: The Birth of Kong, the creatures' name is spelled as two words when spoken by the characters, but is spelled as a single word in the Monarch superspecies profile included in the second issue. The Skull Devil's name is also sometimes spelled as "Skull-Devil".

Design

Skullcrawlers are large serpentine creatures with only two long forelimbs and no hind limbs. Several aspects of their appearance are noticeably skeletal, particularly their backs and their heads. Their heads closely resemble those of mosasaurs, particularly the mosasaur Tylosaurus. Additionally, the Skullcrawlers have four digits in total on each hand, with the thumb being the smallest digit and the rest of the digits being larger and of the same size.

The Skullcrawlers range in size from 12 to 95 feet tall. The smaller Skullcrawlers are able to fit inside of the eye sockets of the skulls of Kong's species, while the largest Skullcrawler seen in the film, the Skull Devil, is almost as tall as Kong himself and possesses distinct spikes on its elbows. In the tie-in comic Skull Island: The Birth of Kong, several full-size Skullcrawlers are seen in flashbacks, and they too possess the distinct elbow spikes of the Skull Devil. The Skull Devil also possesses a fin like tail seen in some shots

Personality

The Skullcrawlers are violent and savage creatures that appear to attack and kill anything in sight. Monarch classifies them as "hypervores" due to their insatiable appetites. Though the Skullcrawlers seem to act primarily on instinct, the largest Skullcrawler demonstrates some intelligence when it swats Earl Cole away with its tail before his grenades can detonate. According to The Art and Making of Kong: Skull Island, Skullcrawlers are an invasive species to Skull Island, and live entirely underground, only surfacing to feed.

Origins

According to Hank Marlow, Skullcrawlers terrorized Skull Island for thousands of years, forcing the native Iwi tribe to build a huge wall outside of their village to keep them out. To the Iwis' surprise, the giant apes that they once feared began fighting the Skullcrawlers, eventually driving them all underground. The Skullcrawlers remained primarily underground ever since, until the seismic charges dropped by the Monarch expedition to the island in 1973 began drawing them back to the surface.

History

MonsterVerse

Kong: Skull Island

A Skullcrawler standing over the corpse of a freshly-killed Sker Buffalo in Kong: Skull Island

Voracious and violent creatures, the Skullcrawlers once terrorized Skull Island, forcing the native Iwi tribe to cower in fear behind a massive wall. Eventually, the giant apes of the island began fighting back against the Skullcrawlers, thinning their numbers and forcing the remaining ones to retreat underground. Before they were defeated, the Skullcrawlers were able to wipe out most of the giant apes, leaving only one surviving member, Kong, whose duty it became to prevent the Skullcrawlers from ever returning again.

In 1973, the Monarch-led expedition to Skull Island began dropping seismic charges onto the island's terrain, allegedly to map the island. These charges brought several Skullcrawlers back to the surface, much to the anger of Kong, who brought down all of the expedition's helicopters. Kong came upon the corpse of a Sker Buffalo, which had been freshly killed by a Skullcrawler. The Skullcrawler was joined by another member of its kind and attacked Kong, who was able to quickly dispatch the smaller creatures. The survivors of the Monarch expedition eventually regrouped and passed through a huge crater littered with skeletons. As they passed through the boneyard, they were attacked by a Skullcrawler, which was responsible for killing Chapman, the soldier they were all searching for. The Skullcrawler killed several of the humans, including William Randa, and was eventually killed when Mason Weaver used a lighter to ignite an explosive gas pocket as the creature passed by it, blowing it apart.

The largest Skullcrawler, identified as "the Big One," in Kong: Skull Island

Later that night, when Lt. Colonel Packard and his men ambushed Kong in the swamp, a gigantic 95-foot Skullcrawler, which Hank Marlow identified as "The Big One," emerged from the water. The beast attacked the wounded Kong, who had just killed Packard, but the humans were able to escape. By sunrise, the humans were attempting to rendezvous with Houston Brooks and Lin San, who were commanding the boat the Grey Fox. However, they were set upon by the giant Skullcrawler. One soldier, Earl Cole, attempted to sacrifice himself by detonating two grenades in front of the Skullcrawler, but the beast simply smacked him away with its tail. Kong soon arrived and smashed a boulder into the Skullcrawler's face, buying time for the humans to escape.

King Kong holding the Skull Devil's carcass in Kong: Skull Island

Kong grappled with the Skullcrawler, but the beast overpowered him and nearly clamped its jaws upon his throat. Kong kept up the fight, even breaking a tree across the Skullcrawler's face, but the monster was too powerful and knocked Kong into an old shipwreck, where he became entangled in its anchor chain. Weaver got to a vantage point and fired a flare into the Skullcrawler's eye, enraging it and leading it to knock Weaver off the cliff into the water below. Kong broke free of the chain and converted it into a makeshift flail, with the boat's propeller at the end, and attacked the Skullcrawler again. This time, Kong gained the upper hand, cutting into the Skullcrawler's flesh with the propeller. Kong seemingly finished the beast when he slashed the Skull Crawler's throat with the propeller, causing it to fall limp to the ground. Kong took the moment to pull Weaver from the water, but as soon as he had her in hand the Skullcrawler rose back to its feet and bit down on Kong's free arm. Kong fought back and tried to keep Weaver away from the Skullcrawler's mouth, but the creature used its prehensile tongue to pull Kong's hand, with Weaver held in it, down its throat. Kong desperately pulled his hand free of the beast's gullet, tearing out its innards and killing it instantly.


Filmography

Abilities

A Skullcrawler uses its prehensile tongue to eat its prey.

Prehensile tongue

Skullcrawlers possess prehensile triple-forked tongues which can dart from their mouths to grab prey. Their aim is precise enough to grab a falling soldier in mid-air.

Prehensile tail

The Skull Devil, the largest of the Skullcrawlers, used its prehensile tail to constrict itself around Kong. He was also able to throw Kong with ease by using its tail. The smaller Skullcrawlers were able to use their tails as clubs, as demonstrated when one attacked by slamming its tail onto the ground when it confronted the soldiers who were trying to pass through the boneyard.

Durability

The juvenile Skullcrawler that confronted the Monarch expedition was unfazed to small arms fire, even a short burst from a .50 caliber Browning M2HB. A sustained blast from a M9-7 Flamethrower caused it pain, but did not leave any visible injuries. It was only killed when Mason Weaver used James Conrad's lighter to ignite the gas coming from a vent directly beneath it.

The Skull Devil was more than a physical match for Kong himself, and was stated by Hank Marlow to have killed his parents. The twin .50 caliber Browning M2 Aircraft machine guns mounted on the Grey Fox were able to make it bleed, but mostly succeeded in getting its attention.

Books

Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization

The Skullcrawlers were awakened along with the Titans roused by King Ghidorah’s call to "hunt together." Kong, who rejected the call, prepared to battle the creatures once more.

Comics

Skull Island: The Birth of Kong

Skullcrawlers battling members of Kong's species in Skull Island: The Birth of Kong

Millions of years ago, the Skullcrawlers arrived on Skull Island, where they engaged in a protracted war with the indigenous tribe of giant apes, eventually leaving only two survivors, Kong's parents. When the Iwi tribe arrived on the island, they found Kong's parents continuing to wage war with the Skullcrawlers. Kong's mother became pregnant with Kong, and when she went into labor she was attacked by a pack of huge Skullcrawlers, intent on wiping out Kong's species once and for all. Kong's father tried fighting the creatures off while his mate gave birth, after which she hid her newborn son inside a cave. The Skullcrawlers then brutally slaughtered both of Kong's parents while the horrified infant watched from inside the cave.

By 1996, Skullcrawlers still inhabited Skull Island, but preferred to remain underground or near the Bone Yard, the location where Kong's parents were killed. Since Kong had killed the Skull Devil, seemingly the last remaining full-size Skullcrawler, the Skullcrawlers that did still live on the island were small and immature, their numbers and growth kept under control by Kong.

Gallery

Main article: Skullcrawler/Gallery.

In other languages

Language Name Meaning
Flagicon Serbia.png Serbian Лобањопузач / Lobanjopuzač,
Ђаво Лобање / Đavo Lobanje
Skull Crawler,
Devil of Skull

Roar

Skullcrawler roars

Trivia

  • The Skullcrawlers' design was inspired by the Two-Legged Lizard from the original King Kong. Other influences included Sachiel from Neon Genesis Evangelion, No Face from Spirited Away, and Cubone from Pokémon.[5]
  • The Skullcrawlers' roar was influenced by sea lions, squirrels, and dying rabbits.[6]
  • The Skullcrawlers, at least in their role in the film's story, is reminiscent of the Deathrunners and Gaw from the novel Kong: King of Skull Island. Like the Deathrunners, the Skullcrawlers are insatiable carnivores that force the natives of Skull Island to hide behind a wall and are responsible for killing Kong's parents. Just like in the novel, Kong earns his status as the island's god by killing the Skullcrawlers and saving the island from their reign of terror.

References

This is a list of references for Skullcrawler. 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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