Template:Infobox Monster Death Jackals, also known as Spinae Mortem, are reptilian, dinosaur-like kaiju that first appeared in the MonsterVerse comic, Skull Island: The Birth of Kong.
Name
The origin of the Death Jackal's name is unknown.
Design
Appearance
Death Jackals resemble a cross between large Dromaeosaurids and hyenas, with long limbs and hair-like spikes. They have long-snouted reptilian faces and a spiky mane running down the back of their necks. It is unclear if they are primarily bipedal or quadrupedal as many individuals are seen missing some limbs.
Roar
The roars of the Death Jackals are written as "rouk".
Origins
With the agility of a leopard and the bite power of a great white shark, the Death Jackal is one of the most hyperenergetic creatures on the island.
The creature's spine is partly exoskeletal, sharpening into a mane of spike fibres that are as sharp as razor wires. Existing in a constant state of rabid ferocity, it will devour its own kind, and even itself if a kill is hard to come by, leading us to believe that the Death Jackal's appetites can only be sated by consuming its own species. Its atypical milky white blood is rich in calcium deposits, but given its vicious instinct to harm anything it encounters, it is hard to imagine that anything other than hatred pumps through their veins.
Self-predators that feed on their own kind, the Death Jackal is more of a threat to itself than it is to humanity.
History
Skull Island: The Birth of Kong
Almost immediately after a team of five Monarch operatives crash-land on Skull Island, a pack of Death Jackals attacks them, killing and dismembering Helen Karsten as the others retreat to a cave. The Death Jackals follow them but before they can finish off the rest of the team, Kong's fist comes crashing down just outside the cave. When Kong reaches into the cave, several Death Jackals are crushed in his hand. The rest run out of the cave, only to be crushed beneath Kong's foot.
After Kong kills the Sirenjaw that attacked Aaron's team, a pack of Death Jackals and a flock of Psychovultures arrive to feed on the carcass.
A pack of Death Jackals later come in to attack Aaron's team again, but Riccio manage to gun them all down.
Abilities
Jaw strength
The Death Jackal's jaws are powerful as great white shark.
Speed and agility
These creatures are described as hyper energetic, with the agility of a leopard, implying they have great speed coupled with their agility.
Gallery
Trivia
- The Death Jackals resemble the Deathrunners from the illustrated novel, Kong: King of Skull Island.
- Death Jackals are also similar to the Jagras from the Capcom game, "Monster Hunter World", in terms of both look and behavior.
- Being reptilian, dog-like creatures with spiky manes, pack-behavior, and ravenous, gluttonous appetites, the Death Jackals are also very similar to the Taotie from Legendary Pictures' 2017 film "The Great Wall".
- Many of the Death Jackals in the comic are shown missing limbs, and it's implied by the Monarch creature file for the Jackals, that they may have consumed their own limbs in fits of starvation.
List of appearances
- Skull Island: The Birth of Kong (First appearance)
