Kumonga

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Kumonga™ Singular Point1st Generation2nd GenerationMillennium Alternate names Spiga, Spiega, Smegor Subtitle(s) Giant Spider (巨大グモ,   Kyodai Gumo) Giant Spider Monster (大蜘蛛怪獣,   Ōkumo Kaijū) Venomous Spider Monster (毒蜘蛛怪獣,   Doku Kumo Kaijū)G:TB Species Giant spider; giant extradimensional parasite (Kumonga scytodes)GSP Height Showa: 45 meters Millennium: 35 meters Length Millennium: 60 meters Weight Showa: 8,000 metric tons Millennium: 30,000 metric tons Leg height Millennium: 40 meters Controlled by XiliensGFW, GvMMPR Relations Manda (host)GSP, Kamanga, Hanenga, Zenbunga (congeners)GSP Allies Godzilla,DAM, GvG, G:O, GRoE Minilla,DAM Gorosaurus, Rodan, Anguirus, Mothra, Manda, Baragon, Varan, Kamacuras, GoMI, GRoE, GvMMPR Kiryu, G:O, GRoE King Caesar, GRoE Zilla, GRoE, Jet Jaguar, GRoE, Kamoebas, GRoE Titanosaurus, GRoE Sanda, GRoE Gaira, GRoE MOGUERA, GRoE Kamanga, Hanenga, Zenbunga, other Kumonga,GSP Enemies Godzilla, Minilla, Kamacuras, King Ghidorah, Titanosaurus, GG&G Monster X, G:O Megalon HCW Gigan, GRoE Trilopods, Magita, Rodan, GRAT Jet Jaguar, GSP Yun Arikawa, Haberu Kato, Goro Otaki, Scorpina, GvMMPR Megazord GvMMPR Designed by Yasuyuki InoueSoG; Shinji NishikawaGFW; Eiji Yamamori, Yuji KanekoGSP Modeled by Teizo ToshimitsuSoG, Yasuei YagiSoG, Shinichi WakasaGFW First appearance Latest appearance Son of Godzilla Godziban Roar(s) Showa: Millenium: Godzilla Singular Point: More roars

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), while the Kumonga from Godzilla Final Wars is called Kumonga (3rd Generation) (クモンガ（３代目）,   Kumonga Sandaime). 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. In return, Kumonga's scientific name in Godzilla Singular Point, Kumonga scytodes, pays homage to the actual spider. 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.

Development

A concept maquette of Kumonga

Kumonga was designed by Yasuyuki Inoue and modeled by Teizo Toshimitsu and Yasuei Yagi. The original Kumonga prop was approximately five meters long. 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. Along with that for Kamacuras, the wirework and puppetry used to bring Kumonga to life has been widely praised and recognized. 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. This required virtually all of the filmmaking crew to be involved with the wirework, except for the directors and actors. 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.

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  Storyboard of Godzilla confronting Kumonga by Yasuyuki Inoue

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  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.

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  The Kumonga prop alongside other monster suits and props used in Destroy All Monsters

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  A publicity still of Kumonga for All Monsters Attack altered from an existing publicity still from Son of Godzilla

Kumonga concept art by Shinji Nishikawa

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.

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  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'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 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 the Valley of Kumonga. 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, 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.

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

Kumonga in 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

Kumonga in 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

Kumonga in 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"

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 spitting webbing

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 dubbed the Strong-Binding Deathcross Net (強縛デスクロス・ネット,   Gōbaku Desukurosu Netto), 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.

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  Godzilla is ensnared in Kumonga's webbing net

A worker caught in Kumonga's string

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 while upside down, which only temporarily blinded Godzilla's eye and did not have any more lethal effects.

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".

Legs

Kumonga attacking a group of humans with his leg

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 and Godzilla Singular Point, leap across great distances. 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.

Intelligence

When fighting Godzilla in Son of Godzilla, Kumonga played dead before surprising the King of the Monsters with a stinger projectile.

Reanimation

A Kumonga moving after being cut in half

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. 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.

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

Jet Jaguar using the Spear of Anguirus to cut a Kumonga in half

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. 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.

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  Kumonga in Godzilla vs. 3 Giant Monsters

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  Kumonga's sprite in Collect Godzilla: Giant Monster Assembly

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  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.

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.

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)
• 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: 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.

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  Kumonga emerging from the ground

Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths

Kumonga battles Titanosaurus on Monster Island in 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

Kumonga catches Godzilla by surprise in Godzilla: Legends #5

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

Kumonga in 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

Kumonga fights Megalon in 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.

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.

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  Kumonga in Godzilla: The Half-Century War

Godzilla: Rulers of Earth

Kumonga in 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. When Godzilla finally killed Magita, Kumonga followed him out to the ocean alongside his allies.

Godzilla: Rage Across Time

Kumonga captures Rodan in 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

Kumonga, Megaguirus, Kamacuras, and Scorpina in 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.

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  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.

Kumonga's roars in the Showa era Kumonga's roars in Godzilla Final Wars

In other languages

Language Name Meaning Chinese Cantonese 库蒙加 Transcription of Japanese name Mandarin 库蒙加 Kù méng jiā Transcription of Japanese name German Spiega Spiega Hebrew קומונגה Transliteration of English name Italian Smegor Smegor Russian Кумонга Transliteration of English name Serbian Кумонга

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.
• 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. It is represented by a modified still of a giant spider from the 2013 film The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. 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."
• 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.

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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