Monster Discussion #22: Kumonga (Showa)

[Destroyer]

The one where Rodan drops Godzilla on a tower crotch first, dubbed the "dick drop" by James? Yeah that needs to be one of his throw attacks for a future game.

Yeah, that's the one. I wouldn't mind watching that whole fight again, of course Netflix took it off Instantly...

[RedZillaKing]

Love Kumonga. She hails from one of the best Showa Godzilla films, and she's definitely one of Goji's creepier foes.

[Destroyer]

Is Kumonga a she or a he? I was pretty sure it was referred to as 'he' in the film.

[Berzerkgodzilla]

Eh I stated somewhere above why I thought Kumonga was a she, just my opinion on it though. (And even if they say Kumonga as a he, isn't he generally given to something when the gender is questionable?)

[Shadow]

Kumonga sounds more of a male name, but Spiega sounds more femine to me that is. That's what I named my tarantulas. (Don't think I speeled that right.)

[TokyoVigilante]

I've probably mentioned this before, but I love the build up throughout Son of Godzilla that Kumonga gets; it's almost on par with King Ghidorah from Ghidrah. It's a horrible beast that rules over its own domain on Solgell Island, Riko knows to be wary of it and her fathers journal mentions the creature by name several times. The entrance to Riko's cave home is covered in old spider-webs and Kumonga, as soon as it woke up went to Riko's cave basically immediately.

I normally don't much care for fan extrapolation, but the idea that Kumonga isn't just a big monster but a creature intelligent enough to hold a grudge a single man is to skreeonk cool. It knew where he lived, had been there before to assault the cave entrance and goes back when he wakes up 'cause skreeonk Riko's Father.

Honestly, there's some cool fan-fic potential for a prequel story here.

[edgaguirus]

Elephants remember paths to food and water, so Kumonga remembering where to find prey isn't a stretch. Kumonga lives on an island, so the menu is somewhat limited. Memory would prove a useful hunting aid in that situation.

[Shazam14]

I like Kumonga. The thing I don't like is when I see "If it wasn't for Minya, Kumonga would have beaten Godzilla." When Godzilla had him on the ropes. Then Minya tried to help, Godzilla tried to get him out of the way, and Kumonga took advantage with webs.

[GodzillaSpawn]

Elephants remember paths to food and water, so Kumonga remembering where to find prey isn't a stretch. Kumonga lives on an island, so the menu is somewhat limited. Memory would prove a useful hunting aid in that situation.

Elephants do have great memory though. Not sure if the comparison is accurate here.

As for myself, as I've stated in other threads, I don't like Kamunga all that much. I did like it as a villain for the human characters, but his fight with Godzilla and Minya bored me after being spoiled by Ghidorah, Mothra and Rodan. I simply felt other opponents in the series were on some conquer the world shit if they ever beat Godzilla, but Kamunga would just stay on her little island, not really affecting anybody else in general.

Visually speaking, I feel like there are already so many giant spider or tarantula movies that another one was always the last thing I wanted to see. Kamacuras could have been cooler though. Would have been cool if they blended in and attacked like real praying mantids do. Of course, being a giant red bug in a green jungle hinders that. They did it in Final Wars but it was cheap ass looking CGI. As a puppet in the Showa series it could have been freaky!

[Legion1979]

As for myself, as I've stated in other threads, I don't like Kamunga all that much. I did like it as a villain for the human characters, but his fight with Godzilla and Minya bored me after being spoiled by Ghidorah, Mothra and Rodan. I simply felt other opponents in the series were on some conquer the world shit if they ever beat Godzilla, but Kamunga would just stay on her little island, not really affecting anybody else in general.

This again...?

[GodzillaSpawn]

As for myself, as I've stated in other threads, I don't like Kamunga all that much. I did like it as a villain for the human characters, but his fight with Godzilla and Minya bored me after being spoiled by Ghidorah, Mothra and Rodan. I simply felt other opponents in the series were on some conquer the world shit if they ever beat Godzilla, but Kamunga would just stay on her little island, not really affecting anybody else in general.

This again...?

Deal with it.

[Legion1979]

Still not seeing why it's so difficult to take Son of Godzilla as the solitary entity it's supposed to be and not hate on a monster like Kumonga for not being of the same caliber as King Ghidora or Rodan or over think this nonsense about giving Kumonga some greater purpose outside of being the villain outside of the one movie it was designed to be in. I mean seriously, you hate Kumonga because it can't go on and conquer the world like some other monsters? Wow.

You tell me to deal with it, so I'll tell you to open your mind a little bit.

[Mincecraft]

Just let it die guys. No point starting it again.

[SuperSaiyan4Godzilla]

Spam. Don't do it again.

Back on topic.

[GodzillaSpawn]

Yes master.

[Gailah 1966]

Kumonga is a great kaiju. She was the king of the island before even Dr. Myajima came to it. I would love to see the background story of that island.
A godzillasaurus egg lies there under the rocks, a giant spider which can´t leave her prison. (Kumonga is female in the german version of the movie)

Imagine Kumonga in Tokyo... It´s good to see that kaiju only on the "small" island. Not overpowered as mentioned in some posts before but strong because of using her natural born tactics (like playing dead, using the "web and the sting" tactics, sneaking around and hiding between the trees)

Even the big Kamacuras was no match for her where Godzilla failed even by using his heatray.
The battle between big G and Kumonga was good. Not too long but pretty exiting. Maybe a triple thread between Kumonga, Godzilla and (big) Kamacuras would have been more exiting but it´s ok as it is.

Good kaiju, good movie (pretty much underrated imo), good story.

Kumonga rating: 8 / 10

[ebirahsmeg1]

Kumonga is a great kaiju. She was the king of the island before even Dr. Myajima came to it.

Since when is Kumonga a "she"? That's news to me. Seriously, where do some you come up with this stuff?

[Gailah 1966]

Kumonga is a great kaiju. She was the king of the island before even Dr. Myajima came to it.

Since when is Kumonga a "she"? That's news to me. Seriously, where do some you come up with this stuff?

I think it´s a translation-error. In Japan Kumonga is a male. In the USA I think it´s not really clear what gender Kumonga is. In Germany it´s a female. It´s hard to explain but in german the article for spiders is always female. So they did in the dubbing.

[SpiderKing389]

I remember when I first saw "Son of Godzilla" and thinking how awesome Kumonga was. Now, as my friends can tell you, I'm definitely a fan of spiders. Been so since I was four and have been fascinated with the creatures ever since, so to see one in a Godzilla movie was well, a big plus for me.

However, at the time, (I was a lot younger) I felt sorry for Kumonga when Godzilla finished him off.

Thinking back on it now, I'm more in awe at the actual marrionette (I'm sorry if I spelt that wrong) they built for Kumonga. And what also amazes me is the size of it. I've seen pictures of the Kumonga they used and it seems smaller than I imagined, however in the film, the cinematography makes the gigantic spider look enourmous. Kudos Toho effects team!

[Rody]

Since when is Kumonga a "she"? That's news to me. Seriously, where do some you come up with this stuff?

To be fair, has Kumonga's gender ever been officially stated? IMO, Kumonga would be a good choice for a female kaiju.