Godzilla vs King Kong – here’s who would really win

Godzilla and King Kong. Both pretty fearsome (Picture: Courtesy of Warner Bros Pictures)

It’s the age-old question that sci-fi writers and fans have been debating for decades – who would win in a fight? Godzilla or King Kong? 

This question was first tackled in 1962 by the film King King vs Godzilla, but the rise of the MonsterVerse has seen the question unfold again and again. 

This weekend, another rematch is set to take place with the release of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, but in the ‘real’ world, who would actually win?

Well for starters, not physics.

With each film, both appear to be getting progressively bigger.

King Kong, for examples, was around eight metres tall in the 2005 film King Kong. In 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, he had grown to more than 30m.

In the latest instalment, he is more than 100m tall and weighs over 50,000 tonnes.

Godzilla meanwhile is about 170 metres long and weighs more than 90,000 tonnes.

Both are physically impossible.

The biggest land animal ever known was around 100 tonnes – the sauropod dinosaurs of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. But if we’re looking at animals on two legs, the size limit is probably around 20 tonnes or less.

This is because land-living animals of such huge sizes would not be able to support their own weight, or even pump blood around the body, send signals along nerves at effective speed, or prevent a lethal build-up of temperature.

But when has fact ever got in the way of good fiction? We still want to know who’d win between the two.

Godzilla

This is one monster you don’t want to mess with (Picture: Courtesy of Warner Bros Pictures)

Godzilla is a prehistoric reptilian monster, forged through years of nuclear radiation. The large Komodo dragon was dubbed the King of Monsters when it first made its appearance on our screens in 1954. 

Like the Komodo dragon, Godzilla possesses an armour of sorts that helps prevent any penetration by teeth.

The King of Monsters also has spiky-edged dorsal plates, extending down to his 100m tail – which he uses to attack in a club-like manner and teeth.

Dr Darren Naish, writing for BBC Science Focus, said: ‘Godzilla’s tail could strike with an astronomical force of over 22 million Newtons, equivalent to over 2,000 tonnes of mass.’

But Godzilla’s ultimate attack is his radioactive breath, blasts of which exceed 500,000C – there’s no escaping that alive.

In the real world, the closest we have is a rather fierce beetle.

‘The closest analogue is perhaps the super-hot liquid spray made by bombardier beetles, released at temperatures of around 100°C,’ said Dr Naish, a vertebrate palaeontologist.

‘This is fatal to similar-sized animals.’

With excessive force from his teeth, his tail and the fact he is radioactive, Godzilla seems like a hard opponent to beat. 

King Kong

Kong has the smarts (Picture: Courtesy of Warner Bros Pictures)

King Kong, known as the King of Beasts, first came to our screens in 1933. 

A giant gorilla, it’s presumed he is phenomenally strong, seemingly able to hurl objects that are just as heavy as he is, and throw massive punches too.

With arms that extend more than 70 metres, he would be dangerous up close. Kong also can leap and run. 

Like Godzilla, Kong’s teeth – and therefore his bite – would be something to watch out for. 

But the one way that Kong really trumps Godzilla is his intelligence. As a primate, Kong can plan ahead, and modify his behaviour even in unfamiliar situations – more so than Godzilla. 

Dr Naish said: ‘Like real-world apes, he almost certainly possesses a “theory of mind”, an ability to work out the intentions and perspectives of others. 

‘This could prove crucial in anticipating Big G’s fight moves and even give Kong the upper hand.’

This might be more of a fair fight… (Picture: Rob Latour/Shutterstock)

So, who would win? 

There’s a huge debate out there on who would win – would it be Kong with his intelligence or the radioactive Godzilla? 

According to Dr Naish, there’s no way to outsmart a blast of nuclear radiation fired your way.

He said: ‘A nuclear-powered, armour-plated reptile with super-heated atomic breath and a hugely muscular, serrated tail over 100 metres long is just about an unbeatable opponent. No matter how strong or good at using tools you are, you’re in danger of being fried or tail-slapped to death even when at reasonable distance.

‘It just has to be Godzilla. Sorry, Kong.’