Godzilla will likely be the heavy favorite going into Godzilla vs. Kong, but a way exists for the MonsterVerse to avoid Kong being the underdog. When they fought for the first and only time thus far in 1962, Godzilla appeared to hold every advantage, but in the end, Kong managed to overcome the odds and give Godzilla a thrashing.
Though decades have passed, perceptions of Godzilla and Kong and how they compare to each other haven’t changed that much. A common opinion about the two Titans is that even if Legendary boosts Kong’s size to make it a fair fight, his agility and intelligence won’t be enough for him to take down the King of the Monsters, a creature with a reputation for toppling his opponents. There’s also the idea that Kong doesn’t have the raw power to beat Godzilla. For all these reasons, Kong is expected to be an underdog contender when he goes up against Godzilla, but this doesn’t necessarily have to be the case in the movie.
In the story itself, the MonsterVerse can take away Godzilla’s perceived advantage by setting a precedent for Kong to win. The Godzilla: King of the Monsters credits revealed an ancient cave painting that depicted the two Titans coming to blows. It could have been a prophecy of things to come, or it may have been a recording of history. Godzilla never fought Kong, but he or one of his ancestors could have fought one of Kong’s over a thousand years ago. If more of these paintings are discovered by Monarch when they explore Hollow Earth in Godzilla vs. Kong, they could learn that a member of Kong’s species won the original fight.
As the King of the Monsters, Godzilla will naturally be expected to triumph over Kong, but history dictating that Kong will win could change the way the characters in the film and how audiences will view the fight. The MonsterVerse proving early on that Kong possesses the physical capabilities to beat Godzilla will be huge for the movie. The movie can further strengthen this notion by making the outcome of their first fight in the movie more favorable toward Kong. It could be that he’ll severely wound Godzilla with his axe (a weapon that was revealed by Godzilla vs. Kong action figures).
Stopping Kong from being looked at as the underdog could be a good direction for the movie to take, depending of course on who the winner will ultimately be (and it’s important to note that a definitive winner has been confirmed). It’s become a bit of stereotype in movies for the character least likely to win the fight to be the one who emerges victorious. This is often done to make sure the film’s final battle doesn’t have a predictable ending. If the MonsterVerse’s plan is for Godzilla to win, it would make sense for Godzilla vs. Kong to make his eventual victory less obvious by creating the expectation that Kong will be the winner.
