Godzilla and King Kong are two of cinema's most iconic monsters.
King Kong came first, starring as the titular villain in the 1933 adventure film King Kong. It's a little primitive and old fashioned, yes, but it's an undeniable classic that shaped the form of modern escapist cinema. Godzilla actually came over twenty years later. Godzilla (or Gojira) was released in the fall of 1954 as a way to politicize and comment on the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
But who would defeat who? It would certainly be close, that's for sure. These are five reasons Godzilla could win, and five ways it could be King Kong.
Godzilla: Remorseless
In the original film, Godzilla is a remorseless monster who lays waste to Tokyo. This could be very much to his advantage against King Kong. Whereas Godzilla is a remorseless creature, King Kong has a heart and has the capability to form personal connections.
It was this very character "flaw" that resulted in his death in the original film. If Kong happens to fall for someone, or if Kong himself doesn't want to fight Godzilla for whatever reason, then that is something that Godzilla could easily take advantage of.
King Kong: Super Strength
Both King Kong and Kong: Skull Island are helpful in this debate, as both movies feature Kong fighting a giant dinosaur (and what is Godzilla if not a giant dinosaur?).
In both movies, Kong emerges victorious due to his sheer brute strength. Kong is a very capable fighter, and he often uses his strength to his advantage. This includes dazing his opponent with fierce punches and killing them by ripping their jaws open. Sorry Godzilla, but that jaw looks especially weak and vulnerable in the hands of Kong.
Godzilla: Atomic Breath
That said, sheer brute strength is nothing against a blast of pure radiation directly to the eyeballs. Kong's dinosaur opponents lacked this particular advantage.
Seeing as how he was born of atomic radiation, Godzilla has the capability to fire atomic blasts of radiation directly from his mouth. And seeing as how Kong is just another mammal, he is extremely vulnerable to direct blasts of radiation. As long as Godzilla keeps his distance, then he would have the fight in the bag.
King Kong: Speed
That said, Kong also has speed on his size. For such a big dude, Kong moves surprisingly fast. Whether it's simply stampeding through the street at a good click, climbing buildings with finesse, or swinging from skyscraper to skyscraper, Kong definitely knows how to get around.
He's certainly quicker and more limber than the hulking Godzilla, that's for sure. He could easily outmaneuver Godzilla's atomic breath and get the drop on him. That's probably easier said than done, but hey, it's possible.
Godzilla: Sound Wave
Of course, Godzilla has his own defense against Kong's speed and agility. That being his devastating sound wave. Godzilla's roar is incredibly loud - so loud, in fact, that it causes an enormous sound wave to ripple through an area and knock back his opponents.
This ability was seen in Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters. If Kong is hopping around, all Zilla needs to do is unleash a fierce roar and knock him back onto the street. From there, he can do with Kong what he will...
King Kong: Durability And Persistence
King Kong isn't an easy beast to take down. Throughout the movies, Kong survives an absolute onslaught of attacks. He survives deadly dinosaur bites. He survives tank rounds. And of course, he survives dozens of airplane rounds on top of the Empire State Building.
Yes, these shots do eventually kill him (well, the fall killed him, but the bullets caused him to fall), but he withstands a remarkable amount of rounds before going down. A mere tail whip or sonic blast probably isn't enough to keep ol' Kong down for long.
Godzilla: Atomic Tail
If the atomic breath doesn't get Kong, then it will be the atomic tail. In Godzilla: Resurgence, Godzilla redirects his atomic energy to his tail, allowing a beam of concentrated atomic energy to shoot from its tip. This beam of energy acted much like a lightsaber, as it was able to slice through opponents like butter.
We know that Kong is tough and resilient, and he is able to withstand tank shots and airplane rounds. But would he able to withstand a nuclear lightsaber? We don't really know, but we're going to go ahead and say...no. Probably not.
King Kong: Uses His Surroundings
King Kong is arguably the smartest of all the movie villains. Unlike many, he's not just a mindless killing machine that roves through the streets and destroys anything that stands in his way.
No, Kong uses his brain. He knows where to go, he knows what buildings to climb, he knows how to defend himself against various forms of attack, he utilizes his surroundings. In short, he uses his brain to his advantage. In a fight with Godzilla, Kong clearly has the edge when it comes to intelligence and creative control of the environment.
Godzilla: Nuclear Pulse
The thing with Godzilla is that you can't get too close to him. But therein lies the problem. Stand too far away, and Godzilla will snag you with his atomic breath or lightsaber tail.
Get too close and he may back you off with a sound wave blast or a nuclear pulse. During his nuclear pulse, Godzilla emits a fantastic amount of energy from his very body. It deals incredible damage, but it is also incredibly short-ranged. But if Kong manages to get Zilla's jaw in his hands, a nuclear pulse would be just the thing to back him off...
King Kong: Manipulation
As we touched on before, Kong is very intelligent, and he uses this intelligence to manipulate his surroundings. Of course, he may also use this intelligence to manipulate those around him as well.
In the 1998 remake of Godzilla, Zilla gets trapped within the cables of the Brooklyn Bridge after chasing the protagonists through the streets of Manhattan. All Kong would need to do is lure Godzilla into a similar predicament and then just pound the crap out of him until he dies. We think he's smart enough to do it. And Godzilla is dumb enough to fall for it.