Koba (Planet of the Apes)

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This Villain was Headlined on October, 2014.

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This villain was proposed but was rejected by the community for not being heinous enough or lacks what is necessary to be a Pure Evil villain. Therefore, this villain shall be added to our "Never Again List", where proposed villains rejected by the community shall be placed to prevent future proposals of the same evil-doer. They can be proposed again (with the permission of an administrator) if new elements appear in their series that can change their status as non-PE villains. Any act of adding this villain to the Pure Evil category without a proposal or creating a proposal for this villain without the permission of an administrator will result in a ban. Additional Notice: This template is meant for admin maintenance only. Users who misuse the template will be blocked for a week minimum.

Villain Overview Synopsis Gallery

Evil-doer
Full Name	Koba
Alias	One-Eye
Origin	Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Occupation	Advisor of Caesar (formerly) Illegitimate Monarch of the Apes Commander of the Ape Army
Powers / Skills	High-level intelligence Combat prowess Manipulation Intimidation Spearmanship Marksmanship Horsemanship Leadership Cunning Charisma Enhanced Ape Physiology: Enhanced strength Enhanced speed Enhanced agility Enhanced flexibility Enhanced reflexes Enhanced stamina Enhanced durability
Hobby	Hunting. Killing humans.
Goals	Kill his tormentor Steven Jacobs (succeeded). Kill his former friend Caesar (failed). Take over as the new leader of the ape colony to start a war with humanity (succeeded temporarily). Kill all of the "disloyal" apes in the world (partially succeeded). Initiate a genocide against humanity. Conquer the non-ape regions of the world to repopulate it (both failed). Get revenge on those who abused, mistreated and tortured him in the past (temporarily succeeded).
Crimes	Mass murder Attempted genocide Conspiracy Treason Arson Attempted regicide Terrorism Theft War crimes Torture Abuse of power Mutilation Crimes against humanity Hate crimes Usurpation Incrimination Unlawful imprisonment Endangerment
Type of Villain	Misanthropic Usurper

“	[In sign language] From humans...Koba learned hate (hatred)...but nothing else.	„
	~ Caesar describes the dreadful past Koba suffered.

“	Caesar gone... Apes follow Koba now!	„
	~ Koba after killing the defiant Ash for expressing remaining loyalty to the "dead" Caesar.

Koba is the main antagonist of the Planet of the Apes reboot film series.

He is a dangerous and brutally vengeful Bonobo ape who served as the right-hand advisor and the brother-in-arms-turned-arch-nemesis of Caesar after temporarily becoming leader of the ape colony.

While initially a compassionate friend towards Caesar and a loyal member of the ape colony, Koba also harbors a vendetta against humanity for abusing and torturing him in the past. When Caesar decides to work with a group of humans to secure peace between humans and apes, Koba starts to become disillusioned with his friend. Eventually, Koba's misanthropy corrupts him, leading him to betray Caesar and take over the ape colony. Desiring to eradicate mankind altogether, whether or not he has the support of his fellow apes, Koba goes as far as to endanger the ape colony altogether and keep control by instilling fear in them, becoming a ruthless and hypocritical tyrant as a result.

In Rise of the Planet of the Apes, he was portrayed by Christopher Gordon in motion capture. In Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes, he was portrayed by Toby Kebbell in motion capture, who also played Drake Stone in The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Doom in Fantastic Four, Messala Severus in Ben-Hur, and Martin Axe in Bloodshot.

Appearance

Koba is a large, muscular male Bonobo ape who has grizzled, greying black fur that had several small patches missing. He tends to walk with a hunched-back, even when walking upright.

Koba has several noticeable scars, the most notable of which is a long, jagged gash that runs from his left forehead, through his eye, which was left blind and milky white, and into his cheek. He has a second scar on his right forearm that runs from his wrist to his elbow, and a third scar that mars the left side of his neck. He also has two notches in his right ear; one in the upper part and one in the lower part.

Koba's one good eye was originally brown, but after being exposed to ALZ-113, it turned green.

Personality

Koba is best described as a short-tempered, manipulative, treacherous, vindictive, dangerous, ruthless, violent, and self-serving ape who showed signs of cunning and great intelligence. Due to the effects of the ALZ-113 virus, Koba’s intelligence increased exponentially, showcasing his cleverness when he plots to fool the apes into believing that humans killed Caesar. When in power, he was a downright controlling tyrant, killing and imprisoning even his own kind just to show dominance. He was extremely aggressive and wrathful, resorting quickly to violence, screaming whilst massacring the human soldiers in battle, and roaring with rage whilst fighting Caesar.

Koba also showed extreme bravery, often charging head-first into a fight even if the odds were against him, being bold enough to attack a huge grizzly bear, and challenging Caesar throughout the film. He was also very arrogant and pretentious, scorning Caesar to his face, going so far as to label him as weak and unfit to rule as king because of his compassion and sympathy for humans. Koba also shows to be delusional when he claims that he fought to free the Apes, when he actually fought to enthrone himself. He was also overconfident and egotistical to the point of hypocrisy, in that when he had his life in Caesar's hands at the end of the film, he reminded Caesar of the "Ape not kill Ape" rule, completely ignoring and disregarding the fact that he had killed apes himself. Koba was kind of a social Darwinist, seeing compassion, pity and mercy towards humans as weakness, while regarding anger, hatred and violence as strength.

However, before turning on Caesar and becoming the main antagonist, Koba also showed redeemable qualities such as compassion, caring, and respect towards his fellow apes such as Caesar and Blue Eyes. Then, he acted as a brother to Caesar and a mentor to Blue Eyes, to a point when he was willing to put himself in harm's way for them. A prime example is when he stabbed a bear to save them. Another example is telling Blue Eyes that his scars make him strong. Along with this, even though he was willing to sacrifice other apes, he still did not sink low enough to sacrifice the women and children apes, only bringing along the males and having the young stay with the females in the woods. However, Koba's sheer hatred for humans ultimately proved too great, and whatever feelings of friendship and loyalty he had, died when he shot Caesar. This is stemmed from the fact that Koba was brutally abused by human 'caretakers' and cruelly experimented on by human scientists, to the point where he was against humans to the point of total monomania. Because of that, Koba was also paranoid, thinking humans wanted to harm the apes at the den and showed no guilt or remorse in wanting to hurt or kill them, no matter their actions, such as with his scenes with Will Rodman, Alexander, Malcolm, the two guards, and Carver. Koba sees all humans as nothing but pests and/or threats and desires for all of them to suffer just as he did.

During the course of Dawn, Koba begins to show an alarming lack of empathy, and it is not until the end that it becomes clear that Koba is a psychopathic warmonger who was desperate for war against the humans and would kill anybody in the way, ape or human. Psychopathy is evident in Koba via traits such as a lack of remorse or empathy, egomania, lack of inhibition, violent tendencies, etc. Koba also showed signs of sadism, such as smirking after killing the two guards he tricked, laughing manically when gunning down the humans protecting the colony home, and later enjoying seeing helpless humans imprisoned.

While Koba claims that he only fought for apes, he shows an increasing lack of concern for his fellow apes. This was shown when he betrayed and attempted to kill Caesar in order to take his place while also burning down the ape village and blaming it on the humans, manipulated Blue Eyes into believing that the humans killed Caesar, coldly killed Ash simply because he defied his orders to execute an unarmed man, moved a piece of debris trapping another ape who happened to be his top lieutenant, only to retrieve the gun and then fire wildly at Caesar and the other apes, which led to him killing another ape and injuring Maurice in the process. Koba was also willing to put other apes out of the way or use the tools other apes were using, such as when he knocked an ape off of his horse when Koba wanted it, and when he took the guns of fellow apes whenever he wanted more.

When Koba ended up hanging on the edge for his dear life, he resorted to begging as seen when he pleaded to Caesar to save him despite having only just attempted to kill him and killing many apes in the process. He tried to (ironically and unsuccessfully) use the "Ape not kill Ape law" to his advantage, but was surprised that his actions hardened Caesar enough to both disregard the law and disown him as an ape, looking around at all the injured and dead apes, knowing that Koba is nothing more than a cold blooded monster, not an ape. Koba's last act in life was to scream in defiant rage as Caesar dropped him to his death.

Powers and Abilities

Koba was an exceptionally skilled and powerful fighter; this is shown during the battle on the Golden Gate Bridge, in which the scarred bonobo overpowered several police officers with ease, even throwing one clean off his feet with just one hand. He possessed immense brute strength, capable of using heavy objects as melee weapons. He was also quite cunning, deceptive, and intelligent, even before being exposed to the ALZ-113, silently plotting to kill Jacobs by acting docile with his handlers.

In the second film, set about a decade later, Koba seems to have become even more formidable despite his advanced age. He beats ape hater Carver to death and takes over a man-driven tank, both times with just his bare hands and without any difficulty. He could also ride a horse with incredible ease, even while he was carrying a spear or dual-wielding machine guns.

Koba was also able to hold his own against Caesar on two separate occasions, which is quite impressive considering that Caesar was not only younger than him, but also a chimpanzee, which are inherently stronger than bonobos like Koba. Despite being overpowered relatively easily in their brief brawl on the dam, he initially dominated their duel on the ruined human tower in San Francisco, putting up an extremely fierce fight against his former friend. Koba mainly relied on his own fury and brute strength to win him the fight, meaning he did not use strategy or cunning the way Caesar did; this being his downfall at the climax of their fight. In combat, Koba was extremely lethal but not flawless, especially since he could let his rage overwhelm him and an opponent with analytical or tactical skills could eventually beat him. As a result, he was ultimately defeated and thrown to his doom by Caesar.

Koba was highly proficient with spears and guns, and was also a skilled manipulator, being able to manipulate Blue Eyes, frame the humans for Caesar's death, and take over the ape tribe all in a matter of minutes only.

• Enhanced Strength: Koba was very powerful and strong; this was displayed when he threw a police officer clean off his feet, beat ape-hater Carver to death in the dead of night, and took over a man-driven infantry fighting vehicle, all three times with just his bare hands and without any difficulty. He also dragged Ash, an almost full-grown chimpanzee, up a flight of stairs and then threw off a balcony, with little effort. However, Koba's strength was ultimately inferior to Caesar's, but it was more a question of biology; chimpanzes are inherently stronger than bonobos.
• High-Level Intellect: Even before he was exposed to the ALZ-113, Koba had some level of intelligence, as he silently planned to kill Jacobs by acting docile with his handlers. After he was exposed to the ALZ-113 at Gen-Sys Laboratories by Will - and his team - who tested it on him, he became much more intelligent than before, though it was unknown how much his advanced intelligence and IQ had increased. Despite his intellect, he is very arrogant, making him irrational enough to blame all humans who never harmed him before, and foolish enough to think Ceaser would let him live after he tried to kill him and killing innocent humans and other apes after claiming he's fighting for apes when he's truly only doing this for himself, which led to his downfall and death.
• Expert Hand-To-Hand Combatant: Despite his advanced age, Koba was an exceptionally skilled hand-to-hand combatant; near the climax of the Battle on the Golden Gate Bridge, the scarred bonobo proved himself to be a capable close-range fighter, being able to grab and throw a police officer with great ease. He was also capable of holding his own against the much younger Caesar. While in their first brief, but brutal, brawl, Caesar defeated him easily, the second fight was a long, ferocious duel, which Koba initially dominated, putting up an extremely savage offensive against Caesar (who was still recovering from his wounds). However, despite being a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant in his own right, Koba's combat skills were ultimately inferior to Caesar's; the bonobo was forced to resort to using an iron bar as a weapon against his former friend when he found that hand-to-hand combat was not enough to overpower him. Even then, he ultimately was outmatched, Caesar wounding him with a cut on his abdomen that he exploited to force Koba onto the defensive.
• Skilled Marksmanship: Despite having never used a gun before, Koba was surprisingly proficient in the use of firearms. During the assault on the human settlement in San Francisco, he used both an M4A1 with an ACOG scope and an M249-SAW.
• Expert Horse Rider: Koba was able to ride a horse with incredible ease, even when carrying a spear or dual-wielding machine guns.
• Sign Language: Like Caesar, Koba knew American Sign Language and used it as a means of communication. Koba was taught sign language by his human caregiver Mary, though it is unknown how skilled he was before being exposed to the ALZ-113. What is known is that he exceeded his handlers' expectations, being recognized as one of the leading apes in the facility.
• Speech: After being exposed to the ALZ-113, Koba had gained the ability to speak, shown when he yelled at the humans in the woods and verbally berated Caesar for his tolerance of humans. His speech (like Caesar's) was near complete, as he was able to tell the humans that he had captured they would be exposed to the torment he had faced and also spoke out against Caesar on numerous occasions.
• Expert Leader: Like Caesar, Koba was a natural leader, as he was able to take control over the scared ape population in a matter of seconds and successfully lead them to victory; despite the many deaths of his army. He also rallied enough support that Apes (like Red) still followed his methods after his death.
• Expert Tactician: Like Caesar, Koba was a brilliant tactician; he was a brilliant orator and could rally whole hordes of delusional and angry apes in a crisis that he (ironically) started. Combining oratory skills, brutality, and propaganda, Koba was a deadly enemy on the battlefield. He used such to temporarily become the alpha of the San Francisco Ape Colony, though he ultimately lost such when Caesar challenged him.
• Pain tolerance: Presumably due to his torturous time as a lab ape, Koba has a fairly high tolerance for physical pain, being able to swiftly recover from falling off his horse and later falling head-first onto a metal floor, as well as managing continue to fight Caesar despite suffering a wound to the abdomen.

Quotes

“	For years, I was a prisoner in their labs. They cut me. Tortured me. You freed me, I would do anything you ask, but now we must show strength!	„
	~ In sign language, Koba urges Caesar to begin his war with the humans.

“	HUMANS KILL CAESAR! BURN APE HOME! GO, GET THEM! APES MUST ATTACK HUMAN CITY! FIGHT BACK! COME FIGHT FOR CAESAR!	„
	~ Koba takes over the Ape community and urges the apes to attack the human city.

“	Kill him.	„
	~ Koba orders Ash to kill an innocent human, before the latter refuses.

“	Koba: Caesar has no place here! Apes follow Koba now! Caesar: Follow Koba to war?! Koba: APES WIN WAR!! APES... TOGETHER... STRONG!!! Caesar... weak. Caesar: Koba... weaker.	„
	~ Koba harasses Caesar, before being insulted by the latter.

“	Caesar: Trust Koba like a brother! Koba: Caesar brother TO HUMAN! KOBA FIGHT FOR FREE APE! Caesar: KILL ape! Koba fight for Koba! Koba belong in cage!	„
	~ Caesar correctly points out Koba's true motivations.

“	Koba: Ape not kill ape. Caesar: (grabs Koba's hand and takes a long pause) You are... NOT ape! [Koba gets shocked with hearing it as Caesar releases his hand] Koba: NOOOOO!!!!	„
	~ Koba's last words before Caesar refused to save his life, dropping him to his death and making him crash into a crate.

Trivia

• For unknown reasons Christopher Gordon did not reprise his role as Koba in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Instead, Tobey Kebbell replaced him.
• "Koba" was a nickname for Joseph Stalin before the Russian Revolution. Koba is also based on Stalin as both used to be one of the trusted right hands during a revolution before betraying them for power by overthrowing their superiors, taking over their leadership and ruling with an iron fist. Ironically, Koba's racism and background as a former victim makes him more similar to Adolf Hitler.
• Ironically, Koba is killed in almost the same way that he killed Steven Jacobs in the first film.
• His relationship with Caesar is a direct mirror of the relationship between Caesar from the original movie series and his leading military commander, General Aldo and like General Aldo both are apes who betray their "Caesar" for leadership of the apes, both desire the use of guns, both plan to exterminate humans, both killed an ape and eventually both battled their "Caesar" until they fell to their deaths by the hands of their "Caesar".
• When Rupert Wyatt was asked that if Koba would be the main antagonist, he stated "There's so much we can do. Whereas the story of the first film plays out as a fairytale, the next film will play out as a Shakespearean sci-fi drama where you'll have Caesar as the leader of this revolution, but Koba would be the one leading his own troops wanting to wipe out humans in a genocide. But Caesar is more conflicted, and maybe Caesar needs Koba's assistance in terms of the conflict. And Maurice is his advisor and he's telling him to combine forces. Caesar needs the allegiance of the two, although he doesn't believe in what Koba believes in, which is complete genocide." Interestingly enough, Koba ended up being the main antagonist in the end.
• Perhaps coincidentally, the Niokolo Koba National Park is a Unesco World Heritage site and the only protected area in Senegal known to have wild chimpanzees.
• An earlier version of the script gave Koba's official Gen-Sys designation as "Nanotherapy, beta version: Male Test Subject #11". The same script emphasized Koba's sinister nature, with the lab assistants noting that "some are born rotten". Before their revolt, Caesar and Rocket escaped from their facility and broke into the lab in search of Caesar's mother. In return for a bracelet, Rocket freed Koba, who then killed Robert Franklin before returning to his cage, effectively framing Caesar. After the revolt, Koba lingered behind the ape army, infecting Steven Jacobs with the fatal virus and following across the bridge after the path had already been cleared. A deleted scene on the Blu-ray disc of Rise of the Planet of the Apes showed Jacobs being given the ALZ-113 by the devious and vengeful Koba.
  • In another deleted scene on the Blu-ray and DVD version of the film, Koba finds a shotgun in the woods at the film's climax and learns how to use it by aiming at the screen and firing; this foreshadows his habit of using guns in the sequel.
• Toby Kebbell stated interest in playing Koba again in War for the Planet of the Apes, greatly implying Koba had survived. If he did return, he will likely be a secondary antagonist, but producer Dylan Clark has confirmed that Koba was in fact dead. However, Koba does appear in War, where he only made two cameo appearances in Caesar's hallucinations.
• Koba is the third villain in the whole franchise, who appeared in two movies. First villain: Dr. Zaius: Planet of the Apes and Beneath the Planet of the Apes; second villain: Kolp: Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and Battle for the Planet of the Apes; third villain: Koba: Rise and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
• In the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - Official Movie Novelization, Koba wields a harpoon instead of a spear and is referred to as "One-Eye" in the humans' point of view. Also, his other two scars are on his head and back instead of on his arm and neck like in the movie.
• In the novelization of War, Koba is incorrectly described as a chimpanzee and his facial scar is on his right eye instead of his left.
• Koba is the first and only known bonobo to appear in a Planet of the Apes film.
  • Koba's aggressive and violent behavior is unusual for bonobos as they usually resolve conflicts with complex sexual behaviors rather than with violence and aggression like their chimpanzee cousins. In spite of this, Koba looks little like a typical bonobo. Bonobos have longer legs, a less stocky body, and a darker face than chimps. Koba, however, appears only to have a darker face. His legs and body seem to be the same as that of the other chimpanzees who appear in the film.
  • This also explains why he stands less than Caesar in term of raw strength. Bonobos are not built for fights because of their peaceful nature.
• Koba can be considered a foil to Caesar as both have a grudge against humanity for their cruelty toward apes. However, while Caesar was lovingly raised by humans before being forced to see how some humans are monstrous, but there are good ones, tries not to kill when he can, and cares for his kind. Koba was abusively raised by humans before being cruelly experimented on by them causing him to view all of them as scum has a desire to kill all of them without any regard for how it affects his kind. If Caesar was raised under Koba's way of viewing humanity and never was hooked to compassion, forgiveness, and care, he would've ended up like Koba.
• Despite Koba's insidious actions, he is considered tragic in the books, as in Revelations (set between Dawn and War) his past is still brought up and played for sympathy several times, and in Caesar's Story, Maurice states that the events that transpired in Dawn; the humans' return, Caesar's collaboration with them, and Koba's brutal beating and humiliation by Caesar in front of the ape colony and Malcom's group, shattered his long-damaged soul. Maurice believes that if none of that had happened, Koba's damaged soul might've stayed merely injured and thus he wouldn't have gone down the dark path he took, and he would have instead eventually died of old age as a loved and respected member of the ape colony.
• The way Koba asks to be forgiven by Caesar by extending his arm is accurate to the real world because this is how chimpanzees submit to others.

External Links

• Koba on the Planet of the Apes Wiki

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