Godzilla and Kong had a controversial first fight in Toho's 1962 crossover movie - here's why the outcome of their battle is still being contested. The upcoming fourth installment in the MonsterVerse, Godzilla vs. Kong, is preceded by Toho’s King Kong vs. Godzilla by almost 60 years. As of now, the 1962 film marks the only time the two have met on the big screen.
Made at a time when the King of the Monsters was still regarded as a villain, King Kong vs. Godzilla put Kong – who has always had a reputation as a sympathetic figure – in the role of the hero. In the movie, the people of Japan were being terrorized by Godzilla, who was back on another rampage. Also on hand was Kong, who had two clashes with Godzilla that didn’t go his way. In their second meeting (which was forced by the humans), Godzilla scored a decisive victory with a ruthless assault and several blasts of his greatest weapon, the atomic breath. Their final fight, however, had a much different conclusion. After getting powered-up by a bolt of lightning, Kong gained the advantage. As a result of their fighting, both were knocked into the ocean.
The implication left by King Kong vs. Godzilla’s ending was that Kong won. That’s because only Kong was seen emerging from the water before the credits rolled. Many assumed this meant that Godzilla was beaten while they were struggling in the water. Toho later reinforced this idea by releasing a synopsis that declared Kong the winner. However, this information was never widely known, and a single line in a brief description failed to convince everyone [via Imgur].
A large number of Godzilla fans have long contested the outcome, and that’s still true even today. The main argument for a tie (as opposed to a Kong victory) is that Godzilla was seen living in the ocean at the beginning of the film. With that in mind, it did seem sensible that Godzilla and Kong simply went their separate ways after the fight. A common theory is that when Kong returned to the land, Godzilla remained submerged in the ocean and swam home. This is quite similar to the ending of Invasion of Astro-Monster. Godzilla and Rodan dominated in their battle against Ghidorah, but when all three fell into the ocean, only Ghidorah was actually seen leaving. But unlike what happened with King Kong vs. Godzilla, this ambiguous ending didn’t cause him to be treated as the loser.
What added to the controversy among fans was the sudden addition of electrical powers for Kong. It was the lightning bolt and his electrically-charged punches that made it possible for him to turn the tide. The abrupt shift in the fight was considered by many to be a big problem, largely due to the fact that Kong never demonstrated this ability before, nor was it set up in any way. There was a feeling from some that it was thrown into the film so that Godzilla’s loss would make sense. For all these reasons, there’s still disagreements over what actually transpired, as well as a lingering claim that Godzilla should have been the real winner.
