Kumonga
- 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 later 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 the universe of Scott Ciencin's Godzilla novels, Kumonga's name is devised by Tomoyuki and Colonel Ben Tyler in Godzilla Invades America, combining kumo with "humongous", due to the monster's size.
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. Occasionally, Kumonga's eyes appear to look purple, but this is most likely due to lighting. 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 spread throughout its body, with the body itself being more angled toward the ground. The black on its body is also lighter, appearing more brown, with the texture of its body being smoother. Tufts of light brown fur can be seen emerging from the joints on Kumonga's legs, with its eyes also appearing to be a more vibrant blue.
In Godzilla Singular Point, Kumonga's design is hybridized with Megalon and is made up of two segments, the first being large and containing the head and legs, and the thorax ending with a with a stinger resembling Megalon's horn. The top of this exoskeleton is smooth green in color, with yellow stripes covering much of it, while the underside is red and segmented. The first segment consists of a large, bulbous body that tapers off rapidly and turns into a much smaller section where the legs connect to the body. This smaller section creates a neck-like structure as it moves further up the body into the head. The head noticeably protrudes from the rest of the body, with a cap-like carapace over the top, where blue eyes and antennae sit. The rest of the head sits on the main carapace of the exoskeleton of the body, consisting of yellow eyes and the mouth resembling Megalon's, which has multiple grey chelicerae surrounding the actual mouth. Surrounding the mouth and extending further down the body is a brown, segmented structure. The legs connect to the body with a similar structure before returning to the normal smooth green-with-yellow-stripes carapace that makes up the main body. The feet of the Kumonga connect at a red joint, are a metallic grey in color, and bumpy on the back. The front limbs are much larger than the back limbs, and the feet instead end in large structures that form a shape similar to Megalon's drill on their front half.
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 is also highly territorial, immediately attempting to web up Saeko and Goro after it had unearthed itself and attacking other monsters who enter or damage its domain. Upon encountering Minilla for the first time, Kumonga trapped the infant kaiju in webbing despite him presenting no threat, with Minilla even trying to run away. As he approached the ensnared Minilla, Kumonga tauntingly shot out his stinger several times. A second Kumonga in Destroy All Monsters was shown to be living peacefully with the other monsters on Monsterland, and assisted them in the final battle against King Ghidorah.
In the first mainstream Godzilla comic storyline published by IDW Publishing, Kumonga appeared to simply be a rampaging monster at first, but by the final story arc of Godzilla became a loyal ally to the other Earth monsters and Mechagodzilla against the invading space monsters. Kumonga even hitches a ride on Mechagodzilla's back from Monster Island to New York to help Mothra battle Monster X, attacking the alien kaiju on sight. In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Kumonga's eyes widened in fear after Gigan cut off one of his legs. He then hid inside a hole after the cyborg set his web system on fire. After being corralled onto Monster Island, Kumonga lived in relative peace with the other residents, although he had gotten into a fight with Sanda and Baragon at one point. Despite this, he attempted to assist his fellow kaiju when the Trilopods invaded the island, although he was among the first to be captured. After he was rescued by King Caesar from the Trilopod hive, he joined the other Earth monsters in a final battle against the invaders. After Godzilla had exhausted himself after utilizing an extremely powerful atomic pulse, Kumonga looked on in concern with the other Earth monsters as he laid motionless on the ground. Once Godzilla had recovered, Kumonga joined him and the rest of the kaiju out to sea.
In Godzilla vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Kumonga was portrayed as an uncontrollable monster, as stated by the Xiliens who summoned him. Although he was shown working with his allies well initially, he immediately turned on Scorpina after she smacked him with one of her claws.
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 the Valley of Kumonga.[16] 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 the Random House Scott Ciencin novels, Kumonga is created as a result of an accidental explosion at a Cryo Chemical test site in Nevada, where scientists were experimenting with changing the sizes of animals and objects; the explosion dramatically increased Kumonga's size.
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, lead monster modeler Shinichi Wakasa stated that all of the returning monsters in the film have the "same elements" and "character as before," indicating Kumonga had appeared in the past within this continuity.[17]
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 carcass, 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. As Kumonga awakened, the arachnid slowly raised its legs out from the cavern ground where it was hibernating, before turning its attention to Saeko and Goro Maki after the two tried to run. Immediately after spotting them, Kumonga climbed up towards them and began firing webs, but they managed to escape after Maki burned them away with a lighter. Kumonga followed them to the cave they holed up in, and tried to break in, trapping them and the scientists there. Kumonga left and trapped the surviving 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, leaping away after impaling a trailer with the tip of one of his legs. Suddenly, Kumonga was instantly teleported away along with all of the other monsters rampaging across Earth by the Xiliens, who claimed to want to save the Earth and that they had destroyed the rampaging kaiju. 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 then unleashed Kumonga in New Guinea to battle Godzilla. Kumonga emerged from the trees and fired of one of its net webs at Godzilla, before using its jumping ability to leap behind Godzilla and fire off another net web, trapping him in it momentarily. Unfortunately for the spider, Godzilla grabbed one of Kumonga's web strands as the arachnid was still firing it from its mandibles, and proceeded to swing it around and around through the air before letting go, sending Kumonga soaring across 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"
After a Manda that had been killed by Godzilla washed ashore, Kumonga and their hive mates Kamanga, Hanenga, and Zenbunga fed on it. The colony then moved into a nearby marina and converting it into their nest while killing everyone inside. Three of the employees that had been absent during the incident enlisted the aid of Otaki Factory to investigate. As they approached the warehouse, they were attacked by a Kumonga. The creature was cut in half by the mech Jet Jaguar, but didn't stop moving until it was stabbed in the head. Six more then attacked the group, four being held off by Jet Jaguar while two chased the humans. One Kumonga managed to pin down Yun Arikawa after he tripped, but Jet Jaguar managed to dispatch the four on him and the one pinning Yun, whilst the sixth captured marina employee Kanda and slipped back to its nest. As the group sent Jet Jaguar to scan the nest for the man and remaining Kumonga, the pieces of the slain monsters reanimated and returned to attack the group, whilst the rest of the colony began to show themselves.
"Erumpent"
Jet Jaguar held off the Kumonga until his companions took shelter inside an office in the marina, and continued to fight them as his battery began to run low. The humans rescued Kanda and made a break for the boats outside whilst Jet Jaguar defended them, but a Kamanga joined the attack and held up the robot. Sparks from its blades clashing with Jet Jaguar's Spear of Anguirus ignited fuel spilled during the battle, setting the nest ablaze. Jet Jaguar battled his way to the roof as Hanenga and Zebunga joined the battle, and the robot was forced to drop his battery and and make a break for the boat, leaving the burning colony behind.
Abilities
Web
Kumonga can spit thick strands of incredibly strong webbing from his mouth. In Son of Godzilla, not only is this webbing effective at trapping human prey, but is equally capable of trapping other kaiju such as Minilla and Kamacuras rather quickly. When used against Godzilla, a larger amount was required to cause the reptilian to lose his footing. This webbing can only be completely destroyed by heat, allowing Goro Maki to free himself and Saeko Matsumiya by using a lighter, and both Godzilla and Minilla's atomic breath burning away streams of webbing. Kumonga's webbing is however, strong enough to drag Kamacuras out of the air and beam lock with both Godzilla and Minilla's atomic breath. Godzilla is physically strong enough to tear through the webbing, doing so to free Minilla, 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 so that he wouldn't fly away, and continued to spray webbing on the dragon's carcass.
In Godzilla Invades America, Kumonga's webbing was strong enough to keep Godzilla restrained, quickly hardening around him. He was only freed through the intervention of Sasori. Godzilla's thoughts also revealed the webbing to be extremely cold. He later used his webs to string together two large buildings in Las Vegas to make a nest, and blinded Godzilla by spraying it in his eyes. In Godzilla: Journey to Monster Island, Kumonga used his webs to pull Yellowback off a bridge he was constricting, and was able to fully restrain him. In Godzilla vs. the Space Monster, Kumonga used his webs to mark his territory, with Godzilla falling into them during King Ghidorah's assault on Monster Island. He later weaved a harness that was strong enough to hold Godzilla and carried by Rodan and Varan. During the Earth monsters' second encounter with King Ghidorah, Kumonga managed to cover one of the dragon's heads with his webbing, although he was then lifted off the ground before he could detach the webbing from his mouth, causing Kumonga to get stuck in his own webs. His webbing was, however, able to restrain Ghidorah to the ground briefly during their third encounter.
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 dubbed the Strong-Binding Deathcross Net (強縛デスクロス・ネット Gōbaku Desukurosu Netto),[7] or Tenacious Binding Death Net in the PS3 Godzilla game's Kaiju Guide. He used them to try and trap Godzilla to some success. However, Godzilla eventually triumphed by catching one of Kumonga's web strands before it could detach from the spider, spinning him around repeatedly, and then letting go, sending him over the horizon.
In Godzilla: Legends, Kumonga fully encased Godzilla in his webbing, although it was destroyed after Godzilla unleashed his nuclear pulse. In Godzilla, Kumonga webbed up multiple humans after breaking into a cathedral in Mexico. He temporarily restrained Monster X with his webs, although they were torn apart by the alien's Destroyed Thunder. In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Kumonga yanked Gigan off a cliff and into his web system with a jet of webbing. He then encased the restrained cyborg with more webbing before Gigan used his buzzsaw to cut free. During the final battle against the Trilopods, Kumonga webbed up the Anguirus-Trilopod. In Godzilla: Rage Across Time, Kumonga quickly webbed up and incapacitated Rodan after Godzilla shot him out of the sky.
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.
In Godzilla vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Kumonga coated the Megazord with webbing, reducing its mobility, with even the mech's sword being unable to cut through it. However, Godzilla's atomic breath proved hot enough to burn it away. After turning on Scorpina, Kumonga trapped her in webbing, and she remained stuck in it until more monsters were summoned.
Godzilla ensnared in Kumonga's Strong-Binding Deathcross Net
Stinger
In Son of Godzilla, Kumonga possesses a silver venomous stinger which he can project from his mouth. The venom from this stinger was capable of killing a 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 while upside down, which temporarily blinded Godzilla's eye and caused him to stumble around, although it did not have any more lethal effects.
In the Godzilla, King of the Monsters Game Boy game, Kumonga could fire a stinger-like projectile from his mandibles, which would travel through the air until hitting Godzilla.
Although it was never used in Godzilla Final Wars, Godzilla Final Wars Super Complete Works states that the film's Kumonga has a "poisonous needle that instantly paralyzes the enemy".[18]
In Godzilla: Legends, Kumonga bit down and stabbed his stinger into Godzilla's shoulder, earning a roar of pain from the reptilian. In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Kumonga prepared to use his stinger on an encased Gigan, but the cyborg counterattacked before he could do so.
Kumonga killing the surviving Kamacuras
Kumonga's stinger projectile
Legs
Kumonga possesses eight extremely long multi-jointed legs, which are tipped with clawed talons. He uses his legs both for movement and to attack prey. Kumonga's legs allow for versatile movement, as he can scale valley walls, crawl across the ground, or, in Godzilla Final Wars and Godzilla Singular Point, leap across great distances.
In Son of Godzilla, Kumonga's thin legs allow him to fit them in narrow spots, using one of them in an attempt to skewer Saeko and Maki on one of his talons. He later attacked a group of humans in a cave and was able to grab one with one of his talons, although he was not successful in capturing any of them. Even while flipped on his back, Kumonga was shown being able to right himself multiple times. Kumonga can also 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, before stabbing into his sides.
In Godzilla on Monster Island, Kumonga tried and failed to break open Mothra's cocoon. Numerous times throughout the Random House Scott Ciencin novels, Kumonga is able to land gracefully from incredible heights after being dropped off by Kamacuras, and alternatively leap into the mantis's claws. In Godzilla Invades America, Kumonga leapt into the air and took a swipe at the falling plane carrying Tomoyuki and Hiro. While in combat, the tips of Kumonga's legs pierced deep into Godzilla's hide. During the Las Vegas fight, Kumonga leapt from building to building, dodging Godzilla's atomic breath each time. He also used struck a building in order to trick Godzilla into using his atomic breath after he was blinded by the spider's webs, before pouncing on top of him and piercing into his sides and legs. In Godzilla: Journey to Monster Island, Kumonga leapt from a mountain and used the tips of his legs to tear apart multiple tanks ambushing Godzilla. He later held tightly onto a defiant Yellowback, encased in his webbing, as Kamacuras carried the spider through the air. When arriving on Monster Island, Kumonga tore apart a ship after being put under mind control. In Godzilla vs. the Space Monster, Kumonga poked at Godzilla after he fell into his webbing, urging the reptilian to get out of his territory. During his third encounter with King Ghidorah, he used all of his legs to pierce through the dragon's right wing.
In Godzilla Final Wars, Kumonga used the tip of one of his legs to skewer a trailer while rampaging in Monument Valley before leaping away. During his fight with Godzilla, he leapt hundreds of meters into the air several times as he blanketed Godzilla with his Strong-Binding Deathcross Net.
In Godzilla, Kumonga destroyed a cathedral in Mexico by bursting into it with his legs. He later overturned numerous cars and skewered a person with them, before crashing through the US-Mexican border. In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Kumonga leapt away from Gigan after the latter tried swiping at him.
In Godzilla Singular Point, Kumonga's large forelimbs were used as stabbing weapons and were capable of creating holes in concrete when slammed down, although they weren't capable of doing more than scratching Jet Jaguar.
Burrowing
In Son of Godzilla, Kumonga was initially hibernating underground. However, Minilla accidentally knocked boulders into Kumonga's terrain, causing the spider to awaken, slowly unearthing itself from the ground. In Godzilla vs. the Space Monster, Kumonga and several other kaiju burrowed into the ground in order to reach the crystal commanding King Ghidorah. In Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters, Kumonga burst out from the ground moments after Steven Woods and Allie left the area. In Godzilla: Legends, Kumonga emerged from beneath the desert after Godzilla fell into his quicksand trap.
Regeneration
In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Kumonga grew back one of his legs after Gigan severed it.
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 so long as the breathing gills located on their eyes are unharmed.[19] This liquid quickly forms new limbs, allowing the dismembered arachnids to become mobile once again. It is seemingly immune to physical attacks, as shown when Goro Otaki hit it multiple times with a wrench without the substance showing damage.
Intelligence
When fighting Godzilla in Son of Godzilla, Kumonga played dead before surprising him with a stinger projectile to his eye as the Monster King got closer to him. In Destroy All Monsters, Kumonga coordinated with Mothra in using their webbing against King Ghidorah, preventing him from taking off. In Godzilla Invades America, Kumonga tricked Godzilla into firing his atomic breath at a building after blinding the reptilian with his webbing. In Godzilla vs. the Space Monster, Kumonga weaved a harness out of his webs so that Rodan and Varan could carry Godzilla in order to reach King Ghidorah more quickly. In Godzilla Final Wars, Kumonga used his leaping abilities to fire every Strong-Binding Deathcross Net at Godzilla from a different angle, to brief success. In Godzilla: Legends, Kumonga dug a mile-wide quicksand trap for Godzilla, successfully trapping him in it and ambushing him. In Godzilla, Kumonga was able to recognize Mechagodzilla as his ally and hitched a ride on his back in order to travel to Monster X's location. In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Kumonga hid inside a hole he dug out in the Grand Canyon after his webbing system was set ablaze by Gigan.
Durability
In Son of Godzilla, Gunfire is ineffective against Kumonga, though it did cause him to react and at one point release one of the humans he had grabbed. During his encounter with Godzilla, Kumonga was knocked over by a boulder thrown at his head by the reptilian, but he was able to flip himself back over rather fast. He was also extremely resistant to both Godzilla and Minilla's atomic breaths, only being halted by them momentarily. By the end of the fight, he was forced off of Godzilla after Minilla fired his atomic breath at his head, and was finally killed by a concentrated blast from both of them at the same time. In Godzilla on Monster Island, Kumonga retreated after being blasted by Godzilla's atomic breath twice. In Godzilla Invades America, Sasori's tail lightning caused Kumonga's legs to twitch uncontrollably, temporarily stunning the spider. He also endured being punched by Godzilla so hard, that he was sent spinning up and out of a ditch. During the Las Vegas fight, Kumonga was able to resist Godzilla's atomic breath and continue fighting. In Godzilla: Journey to Monster Island, Kumonga was punched in the head by Godzilla and continued to fight. In Godzilla vs. the Space Monster, Kumonga was thrown against wreckage of buildings while trapped in his webbing by King Ghidorah. He was also launched backwards by Ghidorah's gravity beams, although he was able to recover. In Godzilla: Legends, Kumonga endured having one of his legs bitten off by Godzilla, getting beaten with it, and tail-whipped hard enough to skid across the desert, before falling unconscious. In Godzilla, Kumonga was completely unaffected by a gas explosion set off in his face. He was also able to survive having his body and several of his legs broken by Monster X, and then being thrown into Mechagodzilla. In Godzilla vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Kumonga endured a blast of Godzilla's atomic breath, but was knocked unconscious when Godzilla slammed his tail into the spider's underside.
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 Final Wars, Kumonga's strength was inferior to that of Godzilla, who was able to throw him across the horizon after catching a strand of his webbing and swinging it around. In Godzilla, Kumonga was incapacitated by a combination of the Headache Beam and a rockslide triggered by explosives. 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 Singular Point, Kumonga were less durable than most kaiju, and were easily cut apart by Jet Jaguar using the Spear of Anguirus. Although this did not kill them, it left them incapacitated until they could reform their limbs.
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
- Minecraft: Bedrock Edition (2011; added in 2024) - Windows 10, Windows 11, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Fire OS/TV, Android, iOS, Windows Mobile, Samsung Gear VR
Godzilla (PlayStation 3 / PlayStation 4)
- Main article: Godzilla (2014 video game)/Kaiju Guide#Kumonga.
Kumonga in Godzilla vs. 3 Giant Monsters
Kumonga in Godzilla, King of the 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.[20]
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.[21]
Comics
- Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters #6 (2011)
- Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths #1, 4-5 (2011)
- Godzilla: Legends #5 (2012)
- 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) [flashback]
- Godzilla vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #3-4 (2022)
- Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons #5 (2023)
- Godzilla: Valentine's Day Special (2024) [mentioned]
- Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons II - Sons of Giants (2024) #2 [mask]
- Godzilla: Skate or Die #4 (2024) [vision]
- Godzilla vs. Hulk #1 (2025)
Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters
Following Steven Woods and Allie's discovery of numerous dead spiders, Kumonga emerged from the earth beneath a road after they left the area.
Kumonga emerging from the ground
Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths
Kumonga was among the many kaiju living on Monster Island, where the Elias served to maintain peace between the monsters and larger cosmic forces at work. This occasionally involved breaking up kaiju battles, such as one between Titanosaurus and Kumonga, with the assistance of Mothra. Following the kidnapping of the Elias, the cosmic balance fell into disarray, which caused the monsters, including Kumonga, to leave Monster Island and converge on Japan. Soon, all the kaiju closed in on Tokyo, wreaking great havoc and facing off against each other and G-Force. After Detective Makoto Sato returned the Elias to Mothra, the kaiju stopped fighting and returned to their island in peace.
Godzilla: Legends
While traversing rural Mongolia, Godzilla fell into a massive quicksand trap that Kumonga had set. Kumonga then proceeded to wrap Godzilla in webbing, intending to save his future meal for another day. However, Godzilla soon burst free from the webbing using his nuclear pulse and started fighting Kumonga. Kumonga bit Godzilla on the lower neck, which Godzilla countered by ripping off one of Kumonga's legs and beating him with it. At this point, Kumonga attempted to flee, but Godzilla batted him away with his tail, sending Kumonga bouncing across the desert where he finally collapsed.
Godzilla
During the wedding of Irving "Urv" Jassim in Mexico City, the cathedral that the wedding was being hosted in suddenly came under attack by Kumonga, who killed Urv's groom and many of his other family and friends. Urv immediately attempted to enact vengeance by blowing up a can of gas in Kumonga's face, but the effort did little to faze Kumonga, who simply left the cathedral and continued its rampage through the city. Kumonga would later cross the Mexico–United States border into Arizona, and eventually ended up in New Mexico. By then, Urv had joined Boxer's Monster Kill Crew, who set their sights on Kumonga next in the wake of successfully subduing Anguirus. After cornering Kumonga against the side of a mountain using Headache Beams, Urv detonated explosives placed at the top of the mountain, burying Kumonga in the resulting rockslide. The military later transported him to Hunt Atoll, also known as Monster Island, where the rest of the kaiju that the Monster Kill Crew took down - Anguirus, Battra, and Titanosaurus - were being contained. There, world powers intended on finding ways to control and weaponize the captive kaiju. Before their plans could come to fruition, however, the monsters became increasingly agitated over something, and while officials could not determine the reason behind this change of behavior, the cause was revealed soon enough - an invasion of space monsters, including SpaceGodzilla, Gigan, Hedorah, and Monster X. Realizing that Earth's monsters were needed to defend their planet, Boxer infiltrated Monster Island with the aid of Asuka Hikari and disabled the force fields to free the captive monsters. While the other three kaiju escaped, Kumonga, being unable to swim or fly, was stranded - until Harrison arrived with Mechagodzilla, at which point Kumonga hitched a ride on Mechagodzilla's back and accompanied him to New York City to fight Monster X. Upon arrival, Kumonga leapt from Mechagodzilla's back to confront the alien monster and began covering him with webbing. After a brief struggle, Monster X used his Gravity Beams to free himself from the webs before forcefully grabbing Kumonga and breaking several of the helpless spider's legs. With Kumonga dispatched, Monster X threw the spider's limp body at Mechagodzilla as he turned his attention on the mech.
Godzilla: The Half-Century War
In the wake of Anguirus's appearance in 1967, more monsters, such as Kumonga, began appearing all across the globe. In response, the A.M.F. assembled more teams of kaiju experts, including a team dedicated to researching and combating Kumonga.[22]
In 1975, Kumonga was among the many kaiju drawn to Ghana by a Psionic Transmitter created and activated by Dr. Deverich. In the ensuing chaos, Kumonga engaged Megalon before Deverich activated a master control switch on the Psionic Transmitter that summoned all the monsters to attack the power station it was housed in. After the building was destroyed, the monsters departed.
Kumonga in Godzilla: The Half-Century War
Godzilla: Rulers of Earth
Kumonga was included among "land" monsters in a cave mural on Infant Island.
Sometime following his defeat in New York, Kumonga journeyed back to Arizona, where the spider created a massive web system within the Grand Canyon. When Gigan, still blinded from his previous battle with Anguirus and Rodan, stumbled across the nest, Kumonga was quick to attack him. After using his webbing to pull Gigan down into the nest, Kumonga began wrapping the cyborg within a cocoon, dodging Gigan's claws as he swiped at his abductor. Once Gigan was contained and fell motionless, Kumonga moved in closer to feed upon his captive - at which point Gigan activated his abdominal buzzsaw and severed one of Kumonga's legs, forcing him into retreat. Kumonga took shelter in a nearby cave as Gigan set the whole valley ablaze with his eye laser, destroying Kumonga's web system and allowing Gigan to escape.
At some point in the years that followed, Kumonga would be captured and transported to the Monster Islands where he lived among the other captured kaiju, even getting into a fight with Sanda and Baragon. When the Trilopods invaded the islands, Kumonga was one of the first to fall to them, having his DNA copied by one of the alien creatures which then took on his characteristics. Along with the rest of the island's monsters, Kumonga was captured and contained within the Trilopod hive until he was later set free by King Caesar. He then took part in the fight against the Trilopods after King Caesar led them into battle to aid Godzilla, attacking the Anguirus-Trilopod with his webbing. Afterwards, Kumonga also battled Magita with the other Earth monsters. After Godzilla finally killed Magita, Kumonga followed him out to the ocean alongside his allies.
Godzilla: Rage Across Time
During the Cretaceous Period, after Rodan had been knocked out of the sky by Godzilla, Kumonga seized the opportunity to wrap the fallen monster in his webbing. Before Kumonga could claim his meal, however, a meteor shower raining upon the Earth ravaged the land, sending both monsters tumbling down into a crevasse as the ground split apart beneath them.
Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors
While detailing the theory that Godzilla acted as the Earth's immune system, Cedric recalled one of Godzilla's past battles in which Godzilla appeared to stop a rampaging Kumonga.
Godzilla vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
After Godzilla and the Megazord destroyed Eye Guy and Rhinoblaster and forced Gigan to retreat, Rita Repulsa demanded that the Supreme Controller of Planet X summon more of the Xiliens' captured monsters. Kumonga was summoned alongside Kamacuras and Megaguirus, who were joined by Rita's servant Scorpina in her monstrous giant form. Kumonga initially covered the Megazord in webbing before Godzilla blasted all of his foes back with his atomic ray. Scorpina then ordered Kumonga to get back into the fight, at which point Kumonga attacked Scorpina instead - a harsh reminder for Rita that the Xiliens could not control their captured kaiju. Soon after, Kumonga was crushed under Godzilla's tail and defeated.
Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons
As a resident of Monster Island, Kumonga was one of several kaiju that had challenged Godzilla's position as the ruler of the island, to no avail.
Kumonga attempting to challenge Godzilla
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
Hebrew
Italian
Russian
Serbian
Latin American Spanish
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.[23] It is represented by a modified still of a giant spider from the 2013 film The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.[24] 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."[25]
- 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.
- In episode 2,442 of the Indian sitcom Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain , the spiders crawling on Vibuti's bathroom mirror use Kumonga's roars.
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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