Fans are very excited for the release of Godzilla vs. Kong at the end of March, especially after its multiple release date pushbacks and the epic trailers that have come out. The title more or less tells viewers what to expect from the film: it's a creature feature where these epic monsters are going to have it out with each other and reveal who is the strongest. Even though the other MonsterVerse films haven't been massive successes with critics or audiences, the mashup just seems too good to pass up and this film is highly anticipated and many fans are throwing in their opinions as to who the victor will be. Kong, the charismatic giant ape, is generally viewed as the underdog for many reasons. However, there are some ways he could emerge as the King of the Monsters.
This isn't the first time that these beasts have come together. In 1962, Toho Studios released King Kong vs. Godzilla. It's the third film in the Godzilla franchise, and in that film, the monster is released from an iceberg after being trapped since 1955. Kong has been captured by the head of a pharmaceutical company who wants something to boost the ratings on the television shows that he's sponsoring. They both end up in Tokyo and are subdued and sedated, and a sleeping Kong is brought to a sleeping Godzilla at the foot of Mount Fuji with hopes that they will fight and kill each other. That is where their big battle takes place.
Newer fans who don't know the original franchise might be surprised to know that in their original mashup, King Kong actually emerges victorious (although the ending was also altered for Japanese audiences to have Godzilla winning). In their first interaction, he attempts to stop Godzilla by throwing rocks at him, but they do basically nothing because Godzilla has atomic heat blasts. Kong, however, had been tearing through Tokyo and absorbing the electricity through the power lines. This, in turn, makes him a lot stronger, and as they are fighting, Kong gains even more power after being struck by lightning. They fall off of a cliff and after fighting underwater, Kong is the only one who emerges.
While the trailer for the new film does show them fulfilling similar roles to the original film and it's a given that there will be many nods to its source material, the new MonsterVerse has not yet shown Kong as being able to absorb and wield electricity powers, and it's highly, highly unlikely that it'll go there. It's not entirely impossible because they haven't established anything that would contradict it, but it just doesn't seem plausible with the information viewers have been given. Looking at the trailer, however, there are some clues as to how Kong could come out on top.
Though the electricity absorbing powers are highly unlikely to return, the point of it was that all that he absorbed made him incredibly strong and led him to be able to overpower Godzilla. He's still going to be incredibly strong. That's already proven through what's been shown in both Kong: Skull Island, which was Kong's introductory film in this universe, as well as the trailer for Godzilla vs. Kong.
It's also important to note that Kong: Skull Island's depiction of Kong is him as essentially a child. In that film, he's already incredibly strong and incredibly crafty with how he fights. It's kind of unknown at this point how far they've decided to go with his strength and his abilities, and how much they've developed since Kong was shown last. The trailer shows Kong getting in most of the hits against Godzilla, even punching him in the face at one point, so it's going to be safe to assume that he's going to be pretty strong and a good hand-to-hand fighter. However, Godzilla isn't weak by any means and with powers such as his atomic breath, it'll take more than just brute strength to overcome him.
What is likely the biggest clue as to how Kong could emerge victorious is that the trailer actually shows him to be wielding a weapon. It seems to be some sort of giant axe, possibly made using pieces of Godzilla's spine, and what's really notable is that Kong uses it both offensively and defensively in the trailer. One clip shows Kong using his new weapon to defend himself against Godzilla's famously lethal atomic breath. The atomic breath is probably Godzilla's biggest strength, and one that Kong had a hard time overcoming in the original film. Defending himself against it is key to defeating the King of Monsters, and if he's found a way to do that, it seriously betters his odds. It also shows that Kong is smart. He's crafted a tool, and he has enough of a thought process to know how to best use it to his advantage. That means that even if he isn't as strong or as lethal as Godzilla, he might be able to fight intelligently and still come out the winner.
Because Godzilla is just so hard to beat, and King Kong is essentially just a very large and strong gorilla, it's not hard to place Kong in the underdog position. Despite all of these techniques he could use to his advantage, it's still going to be a very tough battle for him to emerge as the winner and it's unknown at this point what will actually happen. Fan theories and trailer analyses about who will win and how it'll all go down are all over social media right now, and luckily it's not much longer until fans get to actually watch the movie and see for themselves.
Godzilla vs. Kong will be in select theaters and streaming on HBO Max on March 31.