Skullcrawler
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Kong's god on the island, but the devils live below us.
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Skullcrawlers are giant two-legged reptilian monsters who first 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, which in turn drew the ire of Kong toward the humans who had inadvertently started the crisis. Though Kong was able to handle most of the subterranean creatures, he was eventually faced with a colossal 95-foot-tall Titan 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. In 2024, Apex Cybernetics used captured Skullcrawlers, including one even larger than the Skull Devil, to test Mechagodzilla's capabilities.
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. Other influences included Sachiel from Neon Genesis Evangelion, No-Face from Spirited Away, and Cubone from Pokémon.[7] 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.[8]
Name
In the official novelization of Godzilla vs. Kong, the true name of the Skullcrawlers is the Halakrah or “persistent enemy” in the Iwi language. 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 and the opening credits of Godzilla vs. Kong. Legendary copyrighted the name "Ramarak the Skullcrawler" and other variations of this name, which could be a rejected name for the Skull Devil, in December 2015.[9] Ramarak has caught on as a popular name for the Skull Devil among fans, though it has yet to appear in any official media. The opening credits of Godzilla vs. Kong show that Monarch gave the Skull Devil the Titan designation Titanus Cranium Reptant. The gigantic Skullcrawler who appears in Godzilla vs. Kong is simply called Number 10 by Apex Cybernetics CEO Walter Simmons. The Skullcrawlers' scientific name, Cranium reptant, comes from cranium, meaning "skull," and the Latin word reptant, meaning "crawl."
Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts initially wanted to call the Skullcrawlers "MacArthur", in the same way that a pet dog might have a human name.[10] Hank Marlow would explain the name by saying, "He's like General MacArthur - you can't stop him." Other names considered were "the Mac" and "the Dweller." 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.[11]
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 spells 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 HBO Max subtitles for Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla vs. Kong spell the creatures' names with a hyphen. 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 head of the Skullcrawler is predominantly grey and white in coloration, with the monster's eyes being situated behind two round eye socket-like depressions on the sides of their head. Number 10, the gigantic Skullcrawler featured in Godzilla vs. Kong, bears a resemblance to the Skull Devil while having a unique yellow outer "skull" with a blotch of red on top and additional yellow and red highlights on its elbows and back.
The Skullcrawlers in Kong: Skull Island range in size from 12 to 95 feet tall, though Number 10 is much larger. The smaller Skullcrawlers can 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 and a more pronounced, sand-colored ridge running down its spine, along with a crest-like structure at the back of its forehead and a more rounded crocodilian shaped shaped snout in contrast to the smaller Skullcrawlers pointed Tylosaurus shaped snout. 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. Along with Number 10, the Skull Devil also possesses a thorny tail seen in some shots.
In Kong: Skull Island - The Official Movie Novelization, the Skullcrawlers have gills, with the Skull Devil also possessing a "cruel ivory barb" on the tip of its tail.[12]
Personality
The Skullcrawlers are violent and savage creatures that appear to attack and kill anything in sight. Monarch describes them as "hypervores," due to their insatiable appetites, and classifies them more broadly as "destroyers,"[6][13] along with King Ghidorah, Rodan, Scylla, Camazotz, MUTO Prime, and Mechagodzilla. 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 until the seismic charges dropped by the Monarch expedition to the island in 1973 began drawing them back to the surface.
The novelization of Godzilla vs. Kong states that the Skullcrawlers evolved from a lineage of non-amniote basal reptilomorphs that possibly originated from the Hollow Earth.
History
- Kong: Skull Island (2017)
- Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
MonsterVerse
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.
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.
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," and referred to as the Skull Devil, 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 Skull Devil, but the beast simply smacked him away with its tail. Kong soon arrived and smashed a boulder into the Skull Devil’s face, buying time for the humans to escape.
Kong grappled with the Skull Devil, but the beast overpowered him and nearly clamped its jaws upon his throat. Kong kept up the fight, even breaking a tree across the Skull Devil’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 Skull Devil’s eye, enraging it. Kong broke free of the chain and converted it into a makeshift flail, with the boat's propeller at the end, and attacked the Skull Devil again. This time, Kong gained the upper hand and slammed it into the same hill Weaver was standing on, causing her to fall into the water below. He then cut through the Skull Devil’s flesh with the propeller. Kong seemingly finished the beast when he slashed the Skull Devil’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 Skull Devil rose back to its feet and bit down on Kong's free arm. Kong fought back and tried to keep Weaver away from the Skull Devil’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.
Godzilla vs. Kong
Apex Cybernetics bred Skullcrawlers to serve as test subjects for the machine they hoped would dethrone Godzilla: Mechagodzilla. Bernie Hayes, Madison Russell, and Josh Valentine, a trio of infiltrators hoping to expose Apex, found themselves on a transport to Hong Kong with several of the beasts' eggs. Inside Apex's headquarters, they found a test chamber where CEO Walter Simmons released one gigantic Skullcrawler, codenamed "Number 10," as the mecha awaited it. The Skullcrawler immediately set its sights on the trio. It lunged at Madison as she dropped prone, but never reached her. Mechagodzilla seized it, held it by its arms, and sliced it in half with its Proton Scream before powering down.
Abilities
Prehensile tongue
Skullcrawlers possess prehensile triple-forked tongues that 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 used its prehensile tail to constrict itself around Kong. It was also able to throw Kong with ease 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 by small arms fire, even a short burst from a .50 caliber Browning M2HB. A sustained blast from an M9-7 Flamethrower caused it pain but did not leave any visible injuries.
The Skull Devil was more than a physical match for Kong, and it was stated by Hank Marlow to be the beast who killed his parents. The twin .50 caliber Browning M2 Aircraft machine guns mounted on the Grey Fox were able to make it bleed, though they did not significantly injure it.
Weaknesses
The smaller Skullcrawlers posed little threat to Kong, as two of them were taken out swiftly when they attempted to attack him. Sharp melee weapons, such as Hank Marlow's katana, can slice through the skin of the creatures. Mason Weaver killed one by using James Conrad's lighter to ignite the gas coming from a vent directly beneath it.
The Skull Devil was blinded in one eye after Mason Weaver fired a flare gun at it. Kong's makeshift flail embedded the Skull Devil's back when it was thrown, and it was used to slit the beast's throat, causing it to fall limp to the ground momentarily. When the beast used its prehensile tongue to pull Kong's hand, with Weaver held in it, down its throat, Kong mustered all of his strength to pull his hand free of the Skull Devil's gullet, disemboweling it.
Mechagodzilla killed Number 10, a giant Skullcrawler, before it could land a hit, grabbing the beast by its arms and splitting it in half with the Proton Scream at 40% power.
Video games
- MonsterVerse (2020) - Empire DCX slot machine
- PUBG Mobile (2021) - Android and iOS
- Go Big! (2021) - Android, iOS, Google Play
- Call of Duty: Warzone (2022) - PlayStation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S [skeleton, cave painting, environmental asset]
- Call of Duty: Vanguard (2022) - PlayStation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S [skeleton, cave painting, environmental asset]
PUBG Mobile
Players can battle Skullcrawlers in the game's Titan Strikes mode. Godzilla and Kong will attack and kill them if their paths cross.
Books
- Kong: Skull Island - The Official Movie Novelization (2017)
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters - The Official Movie Novelization (2019)
- Godzilla vs. Kong: The Official Movie Novelization (2021)
Kong: Skull Island - The Official Movie Novelization
This telling removes Kong's battle with the two smaller Skullcrawlers and adds a scene where Packard watches him trigger a rock slide to seal a Skullcrawler burrow. During the humans' battle with a Skullcrawler in the boneyard, Lin San notices that the monster has gills, suggesting they could get off the island and terrorize the rest of the world without Kong to contain them. The largest of the monsters is identified as a Skull Devil. Capt. Earl Cole's sacrificial grenade attack against it is successful, although it is only briefly stunned. In its final battle against Kong, it nearly kills him with a "cruel ivory barb" on the tip of its tail.[12] For his finishing blow, he throws a punch so far into its throat that it crushes its innards.
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.
Godzilla vs. Kong: The Official Movie Novelization
While traveling inside an Apex Cybernetics tram car surrounding by Skullcrawler eggs, Bernie Hayes theorizes that the company is planning to build a remote-control army of the monsters.
Comics
- Skull Island: The Birth of Kong #2-3 (2017)
- Kingdom Kong (2021)
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
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Japanese
Brazilian Portuguese
Serbian
Roar
The Skullcrawlers' roar was influenced by sea lions, squirrels, and dying rabbits.[14]
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Videos
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Trivia
- The Skullcrawlers and Skull Devil, at least in their role in Kong: Skull Island, are 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.
- The opening credits of Godzilla vs. Kong plagiarize a piece of Skullcrawler fanart by DeviantArt user Ramul.[15][16] A Chinese MonsterVerse celebration poster also plagiarized Skullcrawler fanart by Twitter user @endorosu [17][18]
Notes
- ↑ Although a majority of sources state that the Skullcrawlers are 12-95 feet tall, ILM visual effects supervisor Jeff White described them as 40 to 80 feet tall in the Kong: Skull Island home video featurette "Summoning a God".
- ↑ Although the Skullcrawlers' Creature Profile states that they are 35 to 194 feet long, ILM visual effects supervisor Jeff White described them as 100 to 200 feet long in the Kong: Skull Island home video featurette "Summoning a God".
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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