Kumonga (クモンガ Kumonga?) is a giant spider kaiju created by Toho that first appeared in the 1967 Godzilla film, Son of Godzilla.
Name
Kumonga's name comes from kumo (クモ?), which is the Japanese word for "spider."
Kumonga's name in the international English dub and American television dubs of Son of Godzilla is "Spiga" or "Spiega," which comes from "spider."
Design
Appearance
Kumonga's body is primarily black with yellow stripes. It has purple eyes, an arachnid mouth, and eight legs. . Its eight striped legs have three points of articulation. The puppet is also known as "SoshingekiKumo" in Destroy All Monsters.
Portrayal
Kumonga is portrayed with puppets.
Roar
In both of its appearances, Kumonga makes a variety of chirping noises.
Personality
In Son of Godzilla, Kumonga is a vicious predator that attacks anything it sees. Kumonga is not averse to attacking humans, as it spends a good deal of time trying to capture Saeko and Goro and later attacking them and the team of scientists in a cave. By Destroy All Monsters, Kumonga is shown to live peacefully with the other monsters on Monsterland, and assists them in the final battle against King Ghidorah.
Origins
According to the research of Dr. Matsumiya, Kumonga is a gigantic spider native to Solgell Island, which while not active and hunting hibernates for years at a time under a valley. It is unknown if Kumonga was affected at all by the radiation storms on the island that mutated the native giant praying mantises into Kamacuras, or if it was simply always 45 meters tall.
History
Son of Godzilla
Kumonga in Son of Godzilla
While protecting Saeko Matsumiya from a Kamacuras, Minilla accidentally knocked a boulder into Kumonga's valley, awakening the giant spider from its sleep. Kumonga attacked Saeko and Goro Maki when they tried to escape to Saeko's cave, but they escaped. Kumonga followed them to the cave and tried to break in, trapping them and the scientists there.
Eventually Kumonga left and trapped the Kamacuras and Minilla in its web. Kumonga killed the Kamacuras with its poison, but Godzilla arrived before it could do the same to Minilla. Kumonga and Godzilla battled, with Kumonga damaging Godzilla's eye and trapping him in webbing. Minilla came to his father's aid, and eventually Godzilla and his son were able to defeat Kumonga by blasting it at the same time with their atomic breath, setting the giant spider ablaze.
Destroy All Monsters
Kumonga in Destroy All Monsters
In 1999, Kumonga was living on Monsterland alongside the other monsters of Earth. One day, the Kilaaks attacked the island and took control of the monsters, sending them to attack various cities across the world.
After the humans severed the Kilaaks' control over the monsters, Kumonga and the other monsters prepared to assault the aliens' base under Mount Fuji. The Kilaaks responded by sending King Ghidorah to attack the Earth monsters. Kumonga and Mothra assisted in the battle by encasing King Ghidorah in webbing.
Abilities
Durability
Kumonga was able to survive multiple hits from Godzilla's atomic ray.
Legs
It also has long legs ending in sharp points which can be used to skewer opponents. It also appears to have jumping abilities.
Pedipalps
Kumonga has prehensile pedipalps that can be used to grab small prey.
Stinger
The Showa version also had a venomous stinger that instantly killed Kamacuras.
Webbing
Kumonga can shoot a thick webbing and a stinger from his mandibles.
Video games
Godzilla vs. 3 Giant Monsters
Kumonga appeared within the game Godzilla vs. 3 Giant Monsters.
Godzilla (2014 video game)
Kumonga rests underground in a place called "the Valley of Kumonga", so named by its discoverer, the archeologist Dr. Tadashi Matsumiya. When feeding, it weaves a trap by using sturdy threads it spews from its mouth, and captures its prey by shooting a venomous needle from its jaws.
Godzilla: Kaiju Collection
Kumonga appeared within the mobile game Godzilla: Kaiju Collection.
Comics
Godzilla: Legends
Kumonga appears in Godzilla: Legends #5. While Godzilla is moving across rural Mongolia, he falls into a quicksand trap that Kumonga set for him. Kumonga then proceeds to wrap Godzilla in webbing, saving his meal for another day. However, Godzilla bursts from the webbing using his radioactive pulse and starts fighting Kumonga. Kumonga bites Godzilla on the lower neck, and Godzilla counters by ripping off one of Kumonga's legs and beating him with it. As Kumonga tries to run away, Godzilla bats him away with his tail, sending Kumonga bouncing across the ground and knocking him unconscious.
Godzilla: The Half-Century War
Kumonga is one of the many monsters seen battling in Ghana in 1975 in The Half-Century War #3.
In other languages
- German: Spiega
- Russian: Кумонга
- Chinese: 库蒙加 (Kù méng jiā)
Trivia
- According to the German release of Son of Godzilla, Kumonga was possibly created by Dr. Frankenstein.
- Unlike many spiders, Kumonga can fire its webbing from its mandibles similar to the Spitting spider.
List of appearances
Films
- Son of Godzilla (First appearance)
- Destroy All Monsters
- All Monsters Attack (Stock Footage)
- Godzilla vs. Gigan (Stock Footage)
Video games
- Godzilla vs. 3 Giant Monsters
- Gojira-kun
- Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!!
- Godzilla Movie Studio Tour
- Godzilla: Trading Battle
- Godzilla Generations
- Godzilla (2014 video game) (Kaiju Guide)
- Godzilla: Kaiju Collection
Comics
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Official Godzilla Compendium. Profiles of the Monsters; Page 134.
