Mechani-Kong

Mechani-Kong (Japanese: メカニコング, Hepburn: Mekanikongu) is a remote-controlled robot double of King Kong introduced in the 1966 animated television series The King Kong Show and featured again in the 1967 film King Kong Escapes. The robot was created by Dr. Who (who is not to be confused with the British television series or its main character) to try to replicate the giant ape King Kong. It would reappear in Godzilla, King of the Monsters manga, rebuilt by Dr. Mad Oniyama to fight Godzilla.

Mechani-Kong
Godzilla film series character
Mechani-Kong as featured in King Kong Escapes (1967).
First appearanceThe King Kong Show (1966-1969)
Last appearanceKing Kong Escapes (1967)
Created byArthur Rankin Jr.
Portrayed byHiroshi Sekita
In-universe information
SpeciesRobot Gorilla
RelationsKing Kong (blueprint)
Dr. Who (creator)
Dr. Mad Oniyama (creator; in the Godzilla, King of the Monsters manga)

Overview

In the Toho movie King Kong Escapes, Mechani-Kong was built by Dr. Who to dig for Element X, a large core containing a natural abundance of nuclear power. However, Mechani-Kong was not resistant enough to dig out the element, as the robot's circuits were destroyed by its magnetic waves. Dr. Who then kidnaps the real Kong to dig for the element, placing him in a hypnotic trance. Kong eventually breaks out of his trance and swims to Tokyo, where he and Mechani-Kong fight atop the Tokyo Tower. After a long battle in which both of them nearly fall off the tower, Dr. Who's associate Madame X rips out the robot's control cords, causing Mechani-Kong to malfunction. Mechani-Kong falls to its destruction from the top of the tower, mirroring Kong's demise in the original film.

Mechani-Kong first appeared in the tenth episode of The King Kong Show (in the segment titled "MechaniKong") as one of several monsters in the series used by Dr. Who to fight Kong. King Kong defeated the robot by knocking it into the ocean, which caused it to short circuit.

Mechani-Kong was 20 meters (65 feet) tall and weighed 15,000 metric tons (16,534 short tons). In Godzilla, King of the Monsters manga Mechani-Kong was scaled up to 100 meters in order to fight the more larger Heisei Godzilla.

Abilities

In the film, aside from its great strength, Mechani-Kong has high-intensity lights in its eyes which can be used to blind opponents. Although not as agile as the real Kong, Mechani-Kong possesses greater endurance. It is later modified with attachments on its waist which it uses to carry multiple grenade-like explosives and still later with a dome on the top of its head which features a flashing light that can hypnotize its foes.

In the Godzilla, King of the Monsters manga Mechani-Kong was strong enough to restrain Godzilla himself until the ASTOL-MB93 aircraft shot at it and made it lose its grip on Godzilla.

Appearances

After abandoning a remake of King Kong vs. Godzilla in 1991, Toho attempted to produce a film called Godzilla vs. Mechani-Kong. Though Toho had created the live-action Mechani-Kong, Turner demanded payment for using King Kong's image. The film was dropped in favor of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.

Mechani-Kong did appear in Godzilla, King of the Monsters manga where the main villain of the series Dr. Mad Oniyama rebuilt the robot ape as Mechani-Kong II and scaled it up to 100 meters in size to assist Mechagodzilla III in fighting Godzilla but both robots would be destroyed by Godzilla in combat later on.

Film

Television

Cultural references
  • Mechani-Kong inspired the creation of Mechagodzilla for Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla.
  • Mechani-Kong also inspired the creation of an enemy character named 'Mecha Pong' from Capcom's 1989 arcade game Strider.
  • Akira Ifukube utilized a reworked version of Mechani-Kong's theme for Mechagodzilla in the Heisei Godzilla film Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II.
  • In Godzilla: The Series, an animated series sequel to the 1998 remake/reboot film Godzilla, the Robo-Yeti from the episode "Competition" is a homage to Mechani-Kong except for its Yeti-like costume, chest missiles and whip-like cables filled with electricity, and was used by the Japanese military led by Dr. Ifukube.
  • In The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy episode "Giant Billy and Mandy All Out Attack" Mandy gets a robot named Mecha-Gorillasaur in order to stop a parody of King Ghidorah called "Kittyra".
  • The head of the Mechani-Kong costume was used as a prop "Gorilla Detector" in a Muppet Labs segment in the first season of The Muppet Show.
  • A reference to Mechani-Kong, the Skull Islander girl that Kong befriends in Skull Island (TV_series) speculates that the humans that live beyond Skull Island might be able to build a "machine Kong."

References
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