Koba

Koba
Occupation	Ape King Advisor (formerly) King of the Ape Colony (unofficial,formerly) Commander in the Ape Army (formerly) Member of the Ape Council (formerly)
Race	Bonobo
Gender	Male
Age	26
Status	Unknown
Family	Unnamed mother (mother; deceased)
Continuity	Movies (CE)

Humans attack your sons! You let them stay? Put apes in danger! Caesar love humans more than apes! More than your sons!

Koba berating Caesar over his love for humans

Koba was an altered bonobo with a strong hatred for humans, stemming from years of abuse and neglect. He had a scar over his blind left eye and looks more feral than the other apes held at Gen-Sys Laboratories. Koba eventually became a senior member of Caesar's colony of apes, as well as a member of the Ape Council, and one of the commanders in the Ape Army. He was initially a staunch ally of Caesar, but later became disillusioned with him after seeing his compassion and sympathy towards humans.

He was an antihero in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and the main antagonist of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Despite being killed by Caesar in Dawn, he might return in the upcoming sequel War of the Planet of the Apes.

History

Early Life

Koba was born and raised in a primate research facility. He was taught sign language and was very close to his handler Mary. Koba considered apes who didn't use sign language "big black caterpillars", and identified himself with humans. After his mother was beaten to death by their alcoholic caregiver Roger, funding for the program he was involved in was cut, and he was then sold to a TV studio under the care of Tommy. There, he lived with another ape who knew sign language named Milo. Tommy was the producer of a comedy show entitled Monkey of the House, and frequently made the two of them do tricks, electrocuting them if they failed. The show was cancelled due to poor ratings and litigation sparked by Milo biting an unruly child visiting the set. Turning to drink, Tommy began to take his anger out on the two apes. He slashed Koba's face with a knife after the bonobo attempted to defend himself, then blinded one of his eyes with a lit cigarette. Tommy eventually killed himself, and the two apes attempted to escape his home, only to be caught by animal control officers. Koba was subsequently separated from Milo and moved to various laboratories, where boredom and fear of physical abuse caused him to exhibit self-harming behaviors such as pulling his fur out and injuring his knuckles whilst trying to Sign with the walls and floors of his cage. He was eventually discovered by Gen-Sys neuroscientist Amol, who knew sign language and used Koba in various experiments. Although Koba formed a bond with Amol, the neuroscientist's superior, Steven Jacobs, fired him, and confronted Koba in his cage, deriding him as nothing more than an animal. This proved to be the breaking point for Koba, who repudiated all affection he had for humans and focused on Jacobs as the source of all his pain.

Rise of the Planet of Apes

Koba was subsequently sent to Gen-Sys Laboratories in order to test the new ALZ-113 retrovirus. chimp handler Robert Franklin guessed that Koba had been experimented on for years before he arrived, due to his docility on the operating table. This was however a ruse, as Koba wanted to get close enough to Jacobs to kill him. Upon seeing Jacobs, Koba shook off his breathing mask containing the retrovirus, accidentally releasing it onto Franklin. While the refined ALZ-113 drug was tested on him, the ape had a strong shake in his restraints and Franklin was kicked in the face by Koba's wandering hand and exposed him to the 113 by pulling the formula's feed tube out, and even though Franklin quickly put his mask back on properly, he was infected with the virus. Upon being subjected to various intelligence tests, Koba was quickly capable of scoring 15 on the Lucas' Tower test and spelling "Jacobs" on a chalkboard-screen with his finger showing his great contempt for the man who authorized his torment.

Liberation

Koba was later freed by Caesar during the early stages of the Ape Rebellion and immediately admired him for liberating him along with the other experimented apes. It would seem that he went off on his own as he walked in the opposite direction of the apes during his escape (most likely to find Jacobs) but he later met up with the other apes as they were causing mass chaos in the city. He and the other apes then set their sights on the Golden Gate Bridge as their next target before escaping to true freedom.

Ape Leader

At the Golden Gate Bridge, Koba was ordered by Caesar to lead the chimpanzees in an attack from above using the bridge's high-wire supports. Once, Caesar gave his army the order to attack a large battle ensued. During, the battle Koba is shown holding his own against several officers and joins his new comrades in the celebration of the battle after the surviving police flee. He is then force to take cover after the police helicopter with (Steven Jacobs on board) appeared and starting wiping out many of the apes. But this threat is resolved when the army fourth in command Buck sacrifices himself to take down the helicopter to save Caesar. Steven Jacobs who been wounded by Buck's attack and the crashing of his helicopter had begged Caesar for help as his damaged helicopter dangled precariously over the water below. Caesar, angered over his friend's demise refused to help him and left Koba to do whatever he pleased with the human. Jacobs, recognizing Koba from the Gen-Sys Laboratories, got scared as the bonobo began to approach the helicopter and gently nudge it off balance with his feet. In defiance against Koba, Jacobs called him a "stupid monkey". With an angry snarl Koba pushed the helicopter plummeting into the bay, sending a screaming Jacobs to his death.

Freedom

Later, in Muir Woods Park, he attacked Dr. Will Rodman and was about to kill him before he was stopped by Caesar who pushed him away from Will. Although angered by this, he backed off and ran off into the woods but soon acknowledged Caesar's leadership with the other apes.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Firestorm

Koba's first days of freedom were problematic for him, as he had never seen the moon before, had difficulty sorting through his now more vivid memories, and integrating with the non-altered apes, whom he still considered beneath him. Nevertheless, he continued to look up to Caesar, and hoped to be given a greater role in maintaining the safety of the colony. When the colony was attacked by the forces of Anvil, Koba proved his trustworthiness by discovering tracking devices in fruit left as bait by Anvil mercenaries, then held off an assault amidst tear gas whilst Caesar and the other apes moved to a safer location. Upon returning to Caesar, Caesar embraced him and called him his brother.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Life of Peace

Ten years after being freed from captivity, Koba has risen to great prominence in the newly created Ape Colony which has taken to live in a village residing on the mountains, capable of holding a capacity of thousands. He has grown much closer in friendship with his leader Caesar to the point of serving as an honorary brother and advisor to Caesar, despite his opposition to Caesar's fondness for humans. Koba along with the other adult apes is now a mentor to the younger apes and is also idolized by Caesar's son, Blue Eyes who sees the bonobo as an uncle. At some point, he met and befriended two chimpanzees Stone and Grey who would often be found following Koba's orders seeing him as their leader.

Hunting Trip

One day, during a hunting trip in the woods Koba is with his fellow apes secretly observing a pack of deer awaiting Caesar's command which alerts the deer into a panic and have them flee in terror. As the deer run from Caesar's group they encounter Koba and his group who attempt to attack but are knocked aside despite their best efforts. Koba would then hear Caesar's call for help as he and his son hold off a bear finding them and quickly attacking the predator from the back with a spear that leads to the bear falling on top of the trio. The apes soon get from underneath the bear and Caesar thanks Koba for his assistance and they collect the body of the bear for food before heading back to their village. Arriving in the village, Koba talks to the wounded Blue Eyes and tells him to take pride in his scars as they show he's strong.

Hatred Reborn

The next day, Koba would hear the sound of a gunshot and followed the other apes to it's origin. Koba and the other came across a shocking and horrifying sight Rocket's son Ash wounded and a group of humans armed with loaded guns staring at them. After the humans put their weapons down Koba and the other apes scream at them (in English) to leave the forest which they do out of fear. Under Caesar's orders Koba, Stone, and Grey follow the humans in their van back to the human settlement where they discover just how many humans survived the simian flu a decade ago. After this Koba and his group head back to the colony for a council meeting on discussing what should be done about the rediscovery of humans. Koba suggests wiping them out for what they did to Ash but he is denied by Rocket who agreeing with Ash that it was an accident. Koba chastised Rocket for this but the latter states he follows Caesar. Their argument is broken up by Caesar who states the apes have done so much and can't afford to lose their homes because of war. Koba then speaks to Caesar talking about his past with humans and while saying he is devoted to him for freeing him states that something must be done about them to which Caesar says that he will do something about them.

March into the City

The Ape Army march into the city where Caesar addresses the humans (in English) telling them that they do not want war but will fight if they must. He tells them to stay out of Ape Territory while they will do the same with staying out of human territory with that the apes march out of the city. As they do so Koba (the last to leave) angrily glares at Malcolm and the other humans before leaving the city with his people.

Turning Against Caesar

Malcolm, the co-founder of a human settlement, enters the Ape Village where he attempts to make peace with the apes to gain access to a hydroelectric generator at a dam in their territory, which could provide long-term power to the city. Koba encourages Caesar to let him kill Malcolm and to wipe the other humans out while they are still desperate. However, seeing prospects for peace, Caesar allows Malcolm and his group access to the dam provided they work unarmed. This angers Koba who begins to show signs of rebelling against his leader for being merciful to the people that caused so much pain and grief in the past. Koba insisted that if the humans got more power they would become dangerous, but Caesar reasons that if the humans are left to do their work then they'll leave. Feeling betrayed, Koba points to select injuries and finished with his damaged eye as: "Human work!" His defiance started a sudden silence in the village as Caesar stands up above Koba, but Koba escaped the conflict by asking for his king for forgiveness before leaving his side forlorn and in disappointment.

Usurpation

The following day at the river dam, Caesar and several apes accompany the humans to keep an eye on them as they work, all except for Koba. Caesar asks Maurice where the bonobo has gone, which the orangutan tells him: "Still angry… Said he was going hunting".

Meanwhile at San Francisco, Koba with Grey and Stone spies on the human armory and sees they have enough weapons to wipe out all of his people with that he quickly heads back to the village to warn Caesar. But Koba is caught in the act by two human guards who threaten him, yet he manages to catch them off guard by playing dumb and walking away, rolling his eyes in frustration.

Upon reaching the village and searching for Caesar, he speaks with Blue Eyes who tells him that Caesar is at the dam with the humans. Arriving at the dam he attacks Malcolm and moves to strike Alexander only for Maurice and Malcolm to stand between them with this action he angrily shouts for Caesar to come out to which he does. Koba confronts Caesar about his tolerance of the humans saying that they threatened his sons but he still lets them work on the dam. Koba goes onto rant about his leader's tolerance to humans saying Caesar loves them more than apes and even more than his own sons. Caesar then angrily beats Koba to near death for his insolence but stops himself after remembering the "Ape Not Kill Ape" law and Koba begs Caesar to forgives him which he does. This would be the breaking point between their relationship as this would cause Koba to secretly make plans to usurp Caesar and deal with the humans. Grey asks Koba why he didn't tell Caesar about the large collection of guns in the city under human guard, but then responds that they would keep it a secret. Koba then returns to the armoury targeting range where he was caught before, managing to run into the same two humans again. Still playing dumb, Koba "plays" with the intoxicated men and steals an M4A1 assault rifle from them just before murdering them both.

The night power is restored to the city, the humans rejoice and Malcolm's team celebrates with the apes while Koba beats Carver to death and has two of his henchmen set the apes' village alight. In hiding, Koba uses the assault rifle to shoot Caesar as the two lock eyes, presumably killing him as the latter's body falls off a ledge. The ape village is then set ablaze by Grey on Koba's orders as the ape colony enters a frenzy with the loss of their homes and Alpha Male, Koba takes advantage of the confusion to blame Malcolm's team and other humans for Caesar's death and the burning colony, brainwashing Blue Eyes and the apes. He then takes up the mantle of alpha and orders war with the humans as the only option to avenge Caesar.

Leading His People Into Madness

Assuming leadership, Koba orders the young and females into hiding and leads the remaining apes to war in San Francisco. The pack overwhelms the armoury and charge the gates of the highrise heavily armed. During the battle, Koba's horse is instantly killed at the beginning of the battle; along with several other apes. The apes become worried by so many casualties and consider retreating; but Koba does not give up. He picks up a dead apes gun, jumps onto another horse by pushing the ape on the horse of it and after grabbing a second gun, he begins shooting at the humans, killing several of them. Blue Eyes, Luca and several other apes watch in shock as Koba was showing colours and violence like no other ape had ever shown before. He was about to enter the human's main building, but a tank, supporting the humans appears and begins to frequently fire rockets and bullets at the apes; killing many of them, including Koba's close friend Stone. Koba attacks and takes control of the tank, using it to enter the human's main hideout. After heavy casulties, Koba and the remaining apes begin to capture all the surviving humans. Ash eventually has cornered a human (that was attempting to resist the apes). Koba tells him to kill him but the young ape refuses to kill the unarmed man, citing Caesar's teachings. Koba then drags Ash up some stairs and kills him by throwing him off a balcony and tells the terrified apes that Caesar is gone and they follow him now. After this he rounds up any human survivor in the city declaring they are the apes prisoners and will now know life inside a cage. He also places Caesar's remaining sympathizers as prisoners on a bus adjacent to the humans these apes include Maurice, Rocket, Luca and several others. With this act Koba essentially became the ruthless, power hungry monster that the other apes and humans feared the most.

Battle With Caesar

Blue Eyes later learns his father is alive, and by himself, manages to free the humans and the apes loyal to Caesar. The freed apes join Caesar and travel to the summit of the high rise to confront Koba who is surprised to see Caesar still alive. before jumping to confront him. At first, it establishes a frenzied argument between the two apes as Koba stated that the apes now follow him but Caesar remarks that they follow him to war with the humans. Though Koba proudly states they will win the war with him leading them. He mocks Caesar, saying "Apes together strong. Caesar weak". But Caesar, unhurt and defiant, retorts "Koba weaker". Koba then becomes angry and attacks his former friend and an intense fistfight breaks out. Both fighters use nearby debris as melee weapons and shields, and the other apes can do nothing but watch. As the fight goes the two apes trade words on what cause this with Caesar stating he had loved and trusted Koba like a brother while the latter remarked that Caesar was a brother to humans while Koba fights for apes to free them from tyranny. Caesar angrily rebuked Koba's claims stating "Koba kill ape", that he did this for himself and he belongs in a cage which leads the latter to attack him more angrily. While Caesar and Koba battle to establish supremacy, C-4 explosives detonate underneath the tower, injuring and killing several apes. As Caesar and others assist the injured and trapped from the falling debris, Koba picks up Grey's (who was trapped under debris) M4A1 and opens fire at Caesar, killing one of the apes Caesar rescued. Blue eyes throws some building debris at Koba, which he angrily retaliates to by firing at Blue Eyes, Rocket and Luca; accidentally injuring Maurice. After viewing what Koba had done to Blue Eyes, Rocket, Maurice, Luca, Grey and the other apes, Caesar furiously dives at Koba; knocking Koba off guard and resulting in the platform beneath them collapsing and sending the two falling. Caesar falls to safety while Koba is left hanging on a ledge clinging for his dear life.

Death

Koba, dangling from the ledge pleads to Caesar to save him, citing the "Ape not kill ape" law. Caesar grabs Koba's hand and starts to pull him up relieving Koba, until he looks into Caesar's eyes and hears him say in a dark tone; "You are not ape". Caesar then lets go of Koba's hand and lets the treacherous Bonobo fall from the tower to his death, thus putting an end to the rogue ape's reign. The apes, including Caesar, then mourn Koba's death, as he had previously been like a brother to Caesar.

Legacy

Despite his death, Koba's actions still had a great effect on the other apes, as his prejudice towards humans made it impossible for the apes to have peace with them, and it resulted in the impending war with humans to come. Therefore even though Koba didn't leave to see it, he got exactly what he wanted in death, war with humanity.

Personality

Koba was the most dangerous enemy the apes and the humans had ever faced. He was brilliant, pitiless, callous, and psychopathicly vengeful. This is stemmed from the fact that Koba was cruelly experimented on by human scientists, to the point where he was against humans to the point of total monomania.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Koba, traumatized and disordered by the years of experimentation, abuse and neglect he had received, was psychologically unbalanced and extremely vengeful, with a bitter grudge against humans, most notably Steven Jacobs. Malakai Youmans noted that Koba's neutral expression was identical to those he'd seen on the faces of child soldiers he'd encountered in Central Africa. Highly intelligent and bitterly cynical, Koba enacted his vengeance against Jacobs at the climax of the Battle on the Golden Gate Bridge, by brutally killing him without saying a word and a mere, adamant and malevolent glare flashing in his eyes. He was also short-tempered, aggressive, ruthless, strong, vindictive, powerful and had a strong hatred for humans due to them treating him like a guinea pig and torturing him with their research. In fact, his hatred and vengeance was the cause of humanity's downfall due to him pulling off his gas mask and putting on the face of Robert Franklin and infecting him with the ALZ-113 that would later affect all of humanity.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Firestorm

When he was younger, Koba believed that apes who didn't use sign language are "big black caterpillars", and he did not always hate humans, he was very close to his mother, and his human handler/caregiver Mary.

Despite his past experiences, Koba did have a kinder side which was shown when he was under the care of human caretaker named Mary who was like a mother to him. Now after suffering under the foot of humans he only shows this side when he is in the company of his own kind who truly understand and can relate to what he went through. He served as a mentor to the younger generation of apes, especially his honorary nephews Blue Eyes and Ash, the sons of his close friends, Caesar and Rocket. He was also kind to the other adult apes, including Maurice of whom he offered fruit to during the early days before the Ape Village was established. His bad experiences at Gen-Sys Laboratories and with some of his cruel caregivers, has on the other hand blinded him (both literally and figuratively) to the point where he has forgotten, or disregarded the fact that not all humans are bad.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

However, Koba's hatred for humans was eventually reborn when humans were rediscovered 10 years after the Battle on the Golden Gate Bridge and Simian Flu. His actions of getting rid of them went too far as it resulted in the destruction of his people's newly built home in the Muir Woods Park and the impending war against humans that also harmed his ape brethren. He maintained his extreme respect towards Caesar's benevolence, but that didn't imply that he agreed with his leader. Despite Koba's tremendous respect for Caesar, this did not stop him from gunning down his old friend in the end.

Because of his hatred towards humans, he showed no remorse in wanting to hurt them or kill them whether they are good such as with his scenes with Will Rodman, Alexander and Malcolm. Koba sees all humans as nothing but pests of society and desires for all of them to suffer just as he did so underneath their whim. Koba also showed no mercy when killing his own kind when they fail to obey him as seen when he throws Ash to his death with Blue Eyes and other young apes watching on. During the course of Dawn, Koba begins to shows alarming signs of chronic mental disorder, the main traits of this being extreme violence, egomania and incapacity for remorse. This leads to Koba becoming a violent psychopath towards the end of the film.

Koba was also Machiavellian; He brainwashed Blue Eyes, Caesar's son, to fight by his side, and also staged Caesar's death and the destruction of the colony home, whilst blaming the humans who would have been the most obvious threat to the colony. Koba was highly intelligent and astute, sharing the same cerebrality as Caesar, even if his path of thought was far more erratic than Caesar. Koba was maniacal and deluded, his experiences in Gen-Sys Laboratories inspiring him into violence against humans, to the point of being megalomaniacal and egocentric, not to mention callous against his fellow apes: He was not at all above murdering his own people if they displeased him. Koba's concept of being incredibly manipulative was piqued when he successfully made two human soldiers think he was stupid, shown by his faked playfulness with guns. However, he showed his true colors to the soldiers when, during one encounter, after entertaining them with his feigned stupidity, he shot them both with their own guns without a second thought.

He shares the same charisma as Caesar, but he wastes his oratory and leadership talents by resorting to violence, oppression and tyranny. He preferred to use force rather than diplomacy to settle differences with an opponent. Koba was also a person of excellent intelligence and cunning, shown by him destroying the colony home, as well as attempting to kill Caesar, whilst simultaneously framing the humans in the process. Also, he was also a meticulously powerful tactician, shown by his proficiency in leading the human holocaust at the climax of the film. However, in his belief that physical power solved everything, he was powerless when Caesar used psychological warfare.

Koba was pyromaniacal, shown in his gleeful use of machine-guns during the final battle, and when he happily sets the ape colony home on fire.

Abilities

• Animal Strength: Koba was very powerful and strong. This is especially shown when he was able to beat ape hater Carver to death in the dead of night with his bare hands, and when he was able to kill numerous humans in a tank both times effortlessly. 
• Advanced Intelligence: Even before he was exposed to the ALZ-113, he had some level of intelligence, after Koba 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, it was unknown how much his advanced intelligence and IQ had increased.
• Expert Combatant: Koba was an exceptionally skilled combatant; near the climax of the Battle on the Golden Gate Bridge, Koba proved himself to be a capable close-range fighter being able to grab and throw a police officer with ease. He was also capable of holding his own against Caesar on two occasions. Though he was overpowered very quickly by Caesar the first time, he put up an extremely ferocious fight the second time, lasting much longer. However, despite being a combatant in his own right, Koba's fighting skills are ultimately inferior to Caesar's.
• Skilled marksman: Despite the fact that he has never used a gun in his life, Koba was very proficient in the use of firearms. During the assault on the human settlement in San Francisco, he primarily used an M4A1 with ACOG and an M249 SAW.
• Sign Language: Like Caesar, Koba knows American Sign Language.
• Speech: After being exposed to the ALZ-113, Koba has gained the ability of speech, and verbally berated Caesar for his tolerance of humans. It is shown that his speech like Caesar is near complete as he was able to tell the humans that he captured they would be exposed to the torment the apes had faced.
• 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.
• 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 debating table, and on the battlefield.

Relationships

Family

Koba's Mother

An unnamed bonobo was Koba's mother. Koba was very close to his mother growing up and often found comfort with her whenever he was frightened. He would often ask her to tickle him which she would and it would always make him feel better. One day, when they received a new caretaker named Roger, he wasn't nice like the previous caretaker and would act abusive towards them. One day, Roger began to beat Koba. His mother stepped in to protect and was beaten with a bag of Oranges. Later, his mother died from her injuries which greatly devastated Koba. He would often ask for her, while their kind human caretaker, Mary would tell him gently that his mother was gone.

Friends and Allies

Mary

Mary was the kind caregiver of Koba and his mother. Koba bonded with Mary, who disapproved of the rough way in which Roger handled Koba. She is later seen to be extremely upset when she realizes that Koba's mother had died (after being beaten to death by a drunk Roger) and is later forced to give up Koba after the funding for her ape language project is cut. She however promises Koba that he will be going to a nice home, which later turns out to be false, with Koba being sent to the abusive Tommy.

Milo

Milo was Koba's friend. They met when Koba was sent to a new home after his first home was shut down due to lack of funding. They quickly became close. When they were forced to live with vile television producer, Tommy. They constantly looked out for each other and were each other's confidante. They would often escape their cages at night and play and steal Tommy's food. After Tommy killed himself, the pair were forced to separate.

Kuo

Kuo was one of Koba's kind caregiver.

More to Come...

Stone

Stone, Koba's friend and follower.

Stone is another one of Koba's friends and one of his loyal followers along with Grey. Like Grey, he is mainly seen by Koba's side throughout the movie and is seen questioning Koba over telling Caesar about the humans having guns. As a follower of Koba he is nothing but loyal as seen when he was instructed by Koba to help plant evidence that humans were responsible for burning the Ape Village and Caesar's death. During the Battle in San Francisco, Stone followed Koba and the other apes in their battle against humans and though fighting valiantly he was blown up and killed by a tank. Enraged at the human assistance, Koba races towards the tank, jumps on the tank, pummels the human on top, kills the driver and takes control of the tank, thus avenging Stone's death. This shows that he valued his camaraderie with Stone and was genuinely sadden over his untimely and agonizing death.

Enemies

Caesar

Caesar, Koba's king, former honorary brother now enemy.

Caesar is Koba's close friend turned enemy. Caesar is Koba's opposite; while Koba hates humans for all the abuse he's suffered from them, Caesar still holds sympathy and compassion for humans. Caesar initially trusted Koba enough to task him with leading the assault on the Golden Gate Bridge, though he grew wary of him when the latter attacked Will, viewing him as too "impulsive". Nevertheless, Koba greatly admired Caesar for freeing the other apes and sought to gain his approval from the beginning. He gained Caesar's respect upon discovering tracking devices in fruit left as bait by Anvil forces, and was later adopted as Caesar's brother after he risked his life holding off an attack whilst Caesar led the rest of the troop to safety.

During the 10 year time jump, Koba is now an advisor to Caesar and has a close association with him and his eldest son, Blue-Eyes, the pair are now friends and are like brothers. Upon the rediscovery of humans, Koba surmise that Caesar favors them more than the apes, thus Koba began to rebel. Koba shot Caesar while hiding and set the village on fire, pinning the blame on the humans. He then lead the ape's to war and captured most of the humans in San Francisco. Koba imprisoned the apes loyal to Caesar and killed Ash for not killing a human. When Caesar reveals himself to be alive, Koba stated that Caesar had no place among the apes as they follow him now but Caesar remarked they follow him to war. Koba stated the apes will win the war with him leading them before calling Caesar weak however, this did not faze Caesar who stated "Koba weaker" causing the latter to lash out at his former friend. As the two fought Caesar express his contempt for koba's actions stating he loved Koba as a brother but Koba tried to justify his actions saying Caesar was a brother to humans and he was fighting for apes, but Caesar stated Koba's actions were not for the welfare of the apes, only himself.

This statement was proven in a way as when Dreyfus detonated the C4 Koba spotted a gun and he used it to open fire on all the other apes while trying to shoot Caesar who avoided the barrage of bullets as the other apes ran for cover but there were some that had either been killed or gravely wounded. This act was stopped by Caesar who quickly tackled Koba to the ground causing both to nearly fall over a pit though Caesar fell to safety, Koba was left dangling for dear life. Koba cowardly begged Caesar to save him using the "Ape not kill ape" law which caused Caesar to pick him up relieving Koba until he saw the dark look in Caesar's eyes. Caesar stated to Koba "You are not ape" and dropped the screaming Koba to his death. This act was shown to have been done with reluctance as Caesar would later mourn Koba's death showing that despite the latter's actions the previous bond of the brotherhood still meant something to him.

Rocket

Rocket, Koba's former close friend now enemy.

Rocket is Koba's close friend turned enemy. Despite their limited interactions during and after the Battle on the Golden Gate Bridge, Koba and Rocket became friends. When Caesar asks Rocket to summon a group of apes to him in the early days in their quest to survive, Rocket finds Koba and takes him to Caesar with the other apes. Rocket was later injured after falling from a tree branch when a human named Corbin fired his gun. Koba then tackled Corbin to the ground and carried the injured Rocket up to a tree, thus saving Rocket's life. As the years go on, Rocket and Koba remain on good terms until Rocket's son, Ash is shot by accident by Carver. Koba argues with Rocket saying that he does not love his son enough to want justice for his shooting. Rocket argues back saying that he will do whatever Caesar wants to do and that he doesn't follow Koba's orders. After Koba attempts to kill Caesar, Rocket is locked up with Maurice and other apes who are loyal to the supposedly dead Ape king for not being loyal to Koba. Also, Koba dishonors Rocket by murdering his son for his disloyalty.

Will Rodman

Will Rodman was the scientist who experimenting on Koba with the ALZ-113. Despite not having much direct interaction with Will, Koba despised him because he was human.

Will, the scientist who experimented on Koba.

 When Will was searching for Caesar in the forest after the Battle on the Golden Gate Bridge, Koba came across him and pushed him to the ground, wanting to kill him due to his race. Koba was stopped by Caesar, who pushed him out of the way and threatened him not hurt his adoptive father. It was during this confrontation that Koba realized that Caesar has compassion for the humans.

Blue Eyes

Blue Eyes, one of Koba's students, honorary nephew now enemy.

Blue Eyes is one of Koba's students and honorary nephew turned enemy. From a very young age, Blue Eyes has looked up to Koba and Koba took it in his stride to turn the young prince's beliefs against Caesar. By the time Blue Eyes became old enough to have his own opinion, Koba had influenced him enough that Blue Eyes' beliefs had driven a wedge between Blue Eyes and his father. After the hunting trip that saw Blue Eyes scarred by a bear, Koba told Blue Eyes to be proud of his scars and that they were a sign of strength. After Ash is shot by Carver in the forest, Blue Eyes agrees with Koba that something has to be done to avenge Ash's shooting. After Blue Eyes has a disagreement with Caesar, Koba comforts him. When Caesar is helping Malcolm with the dam, Koba approaches Blue Eyes who is sharpening his spear and demands to know where Caesar is. Blue Eyes tells him his father is with the humans and follows him to Caesar. Blue Eyes watches conflicted as Koba fights his father. After Caesar is shot by Koba and the humans are blamed, Blue Eyes, more than willing to avenge his father, accompanies Koba with Ash in tow into the city. After witnessing Koba throw Ash to his death, Blue Eyes slowly turns from Koba. Later on, Blue Eyes completely turns against Koba after learning of his father's survival and Koba's treachery which causes him to feel shame of worshipping Koba. Blue Eyes releases all the apes Koba imprisoned and has them join his father in overthrowing Koba. During, Caesar and Koba's battle Blue Eyes threw pipes at Koba who getting angered at his former nephew's deed fired a round of bullets at him without hesitation. Blue Eyes would pay witness to Koba's death and mourn his passing as he had previously been like an uncle to him.

Ash

Ash, one Koba's student, honorary nephew and first ape victim.

Ash was one of Koba's students and honorary nephews. Koba's hold over Ash wasn't nearly as strong as his hold over Blue Eyes was. During the attack on the humans they fight the humans in a building, Koba prompts the younger apes to kill humans, Ash bluntly refuses, citing Caesar's teachings, which causes the bonobo to grab the young chimpanzee, dragging him up the stairs and throwing him to his death with Blue Eyes watching in horror.

Maurice

Maurice is Koba's good friend turned enemy. Their first interaction is when Koba offers Maurice some fruit. They sit and talk while they eat and Maurice notices that when Koba eats he shakes. Koba notices the same thing with Maurice, and Maurice explains about Caesar's "mist" making them more intelligent.

Maurice, Koba's former friend, now enemy.

Nevertheless, the two apes have had their differences, with Maurice having once rebuked Koba for dismissing the non-altered apes in the colony as "big black caterpillars". Koba also notices that Maurice is somewhat wary of him.

As the years go on, Koba and Maurice have more interaction as they both serve as teachers to the younger generation. Maurice stands against Koba when he advances towards Alexander and Malcolm and later, Koba has Maurice, along with Rocket locked up because of their continued loyalty to Caesar. During his final confrontation with Caesar, Koba accidentally wounds Maurice when opening fire on Caesar. This fatal mistake leads to Koba's downfall.

Luca

Luca, Koba's former friend, now enemy.

Luca is Koba's good friend turned enemy. Not much is known about their relationship due to the little to no interaction between the two apes, but the two seem to have had a good friendship before Koba overthrew Caesar. In the beginning of Dawn, after the humans reappear and Koba is charged with following them Luca tries to join him but is halted by Caesar before he could. When Koba overthrows Caesar, Luca seems to follow his orders without question as he took part in the attack on the city after thinking Caesar was killed by humans. However, at some point Koba may have found out about Luca's loyalty still belonging to Caesar and had Luca imprisoned along with Caesar's other loyalties. Luca may have grown to despise Koba for this as he later joined Blue Eyes and the other apes in overthrowing Koba and restoring Caesar back to power. It is unknown how Luca reacted to Koba's death but he may have mourned the latter's fall as they were former comrades.

Steven Jacobs

Jacobs, a human that Koba hated the most.

Koba developed a strong hatred for Steven Jacobs after the latter fired Amol, the only person to communicate with him in sign language in years. He also resented Jacob's callous dismissal of his intelligence, and plotted to kill him by acting docile with his handlers. During the climax of the Battle on the Golden Gate Bridge, Caesar gives Koba the order to do whatever he wants to Jacobs and pushes the ruined helicopter over the edge of the bridge with Jacobs still inside, screaming, "Stupid Monkey!" as he plunges to his death.

Amol

Amol was Koba's human friend, and one of his few human friends.

More to Come...

Grey

Grey, Koba's former friend, former follower and enemy.

Grey was Koba's friend and one his followers turned enemy. Grey accompanies Koba throughout most of the movie and is later seen asking if they should warn Caesar about the humans having guns. Grey took part in koba's plan to overthrow Caesar as the latter told Grey to light the Ape Village on fire which he did obediently without any second thoughts about his deed. Grey would later march with his fellow apes and his leader in the Battle in San Francisco, he would become Koba's right hand ape after the successful occupation of the San Francisco's Human Hideout Shelter, and be content with their progress. However, he was forced to step aside when Caesar (who was really alive) and his loyal followers appear and battles Koba for supremacy. When an explosion caused by Dreyfus occurs and does severe damage to the tower the apes are on, Caesar stops his fight with Koba to help his people. Koba, however, spotted Grey pinned under debris and lifted it up, only to pull out the gun Grey had and dropped the debris back on him. Koba then opened fire on the apes. This caused Grey to turn against Koba and become a loyal follower to Caesar.

Roger

Roger was one of Koba's abusive caregivers, He was also the human who killed Koba's mother.

More to Come...

Tommy

Tommy was one of Koba's abusive "caregiver", who forced Koba and his friend Milo to do tricks for a TV entertainment show "Monkey of the House", electrocuting them if they failed. After his TV show was cancelled, Tommy takes it out on Koba, cutting him and burning his eye with a cigarette as he pleaded for him to stop. Tommy later points a gun at Koba, before turning it on himself and committing suicide.

Quotes

• "Don't feel bad Blue Eyes. Scars make you strong."(Signed) - Koba to Blue Eyes.

• "Must attack them now! Before they attack us!" - (Signed) Koba during the Ape Council meeting.

• "For years I was a prisoner in their lab. They cut me...Tortured me. You freed me, I would do anything you ask. But we must show strength!" - (Signed) Koba to Caesar.

• "If they get power, they'll be more dangerous! Why help them?!" - (Signed) Koba to Caesar.

• "(Chuckle) Human work? (Points to scar behind ear) Human work. (Points to scar on forearm) Human work. (Points to scar running down face) HUMAN WORK!" - Koba reacting angrily to Caesar's willingness to let humans work within the Ape Village (Spoken).

• "Enough guns here to kill every ape. Must warn Caesar." - (Signed) Koba after discovering the humans' armory.

• "Humans attack your sons, you let them stay?! Put apes in danger! Caesar love humans more than apes! More than your sons!" - Koba berating Caesar for his love towards humans (Spoken).

• "Forgive me." - Koba submitting after being beaten by Caesar (Spoken).

• "Humans kill Caesar, burn ape homes! Go get them! Apes must attack human city! Fight back! Come! Fight for Caesar!" - Koba rallying the apes after Caesar's alleged assassination at the hands of the humans (Spoken).

• "We will avenge your father's death!" (Signed) - Koba to Blue Eyes.

• (Grey) "Followed the humans here. Hiding everywhere!" (Signed) (Koba) "We must capture them all!" (Signed) - Koba orders Grey to capture all the humans.
• "Go ahead Ash...Make humans pay". - Koba encouraging Ash to murder unarmed humans (Signed).

• "Caesar gone. Apes follow Koba now." - Koba after murdering Ash for insubordination (Spoken).

• "Humans, you ape prisoner! Now you will know life in cage! More humans out there! Go! Find them!" - Koba to human prisoners (Spoken).

• (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." - Exchange between Koba and Caesar prior to battle (Spoken).

• "Caesar brother to human! Koba fight for ape! Free ape!" (Caesar)"Kill Ape ! Koba fight for Koba! Koba... belong in cage" - Koba during battle with Caesar (Spoken).

• (Koba) "Ape...not...kill...ape." (Caesar) "You...are...not ape." - Koba and Caesar prior to Koba's death (Spoken).

• "No!" - Koba's last words as he plummets to his death (Spoken).

Notes

• Koba was named after Joseph Stalin, who used 'Koba' as a nickname before the Russian Revolution.

• 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.

• Koba is a bonobo, a species of ape found to the south of the Congo River in Africa. Once thought to be chimpanzees, they have been classified as a separate species.

• Koba is responsible for the ALZ-113 pandemic because he pulled Franklin's breathing mask off while the 113's feed tube was loose. This make's Carver's statement somewhat true about apes having already "killed off half the planet".

• Koba may be based on two real life apes: Kanzi, a bonobo who mastered keyboard communication at Georgia State University (and whose name also starts with the letter "K"); and a wild, aggressive chimpanzee named Saddam, who was known to have murdered a number of children near the Kibale National Park in Uganda before he was hunted down by an angry mob.

• Asked about sequels, director Rupert Wyatt suggested one possible scenario in which Koba would take on the role as the main antagonist: "There's so much we can do. Whereas the story of the first film plays out as a fairy tale, 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." This portrayal of Koba might suggest similarities to Aldo, or to Stalin (also a significant influence on Animal Farm, a novel which Wyatt and Andy Serkis plan to film).

• An earlier version of the script gave Koba's official Gen-Sys designation as "Nanotherapy, beta version: Male Test Subject #11". The same script emphasised 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 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.

• Bonobos appear similar to chimps, except they are darker, smaller and tend to have longer limbs and longer hair on the tops of their heads. While Koba acts aggressively in the film, in reality bonobos never share this trait with chimpanzees. Bonobos solve conflicts through complex sexual behaviors while chimpanzees tend to solve conflicts with violence and aggression.

• In one scene of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Koba may have spoke in which it sounded like he said "Amon".

• Of all the apes that play active parts in Rise, Koba is the only one that didn't inhale the ALZ-113 when Caesar released it on the other apes. He received the ALZ-113 at Gen-Sys Laboratories when Will and his team administered it to him.

• At age 26, Koba is so far the oldest known ape to appear in the reboot films, it is unknown if any of the other apes surpass him in age.

• When Koba is left hanging from the ledge after being knocked down by Caesar, he attempted to use the "Ape not kill Ape" law to have the latter save him. Ironically, Koba himself has broken that rule on many occasions by killing Ash and countless other apes during his attack on Caesar both of which led to his deserved end, this is most likely why Caesar said he was no ape.

• Koba did not know it at the time, but the manner in which he killed Steven Jacobs was a reflection of his own future. This is further supported by the circumstances of their deaths as both were hanging from a ledge pleading for help from Caesar who let them fall to a deserved end.

• Despite Koba's hatred for humanity, his actions during Dawn of the Planet of the Apes have him appear more human-like than any of his fellow apes, even Caesar. He speaks English the most fluently and coherently from exercising his vocal chords more often, he is the first of the Ape Colony to use a man-made weapon such as a gun when attempting to assassinate Caesar and going to war with the human survivors and, like the humans that once dominated the continents of the world, he is willing to kill members of his own kind in the pursuit of revenge and power.

Trivia

• Koba's relationship with Caesar, in Dawn, is a direct mirror of the relationship between "Caesar" from the original movie series and his leading military commander, General Aldo. In the fifth film, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, soon after the collapse of human civilization (through nuclear war) Caesar and Aldo become divided over how to treat surviving humans. Caesar wants to coexist with them, while Aldo wants to exterminate them. Coincidently, both Aldo and Koba fell to their deaths after their confrontations with their Caesars.
• Toby Kebbell replaced Christopher Gordon as Koba in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes for unknown reasons.
• Koba makes two appearances in the first TV spot for Dawn. The first is him sitting on his horse at Caesar's side and the second is him on his horse, riding through the forest.
• In the article by Collider, Toby Kebbell revealed a huge chunk of Koba's backstory revealing how Koba has come to despise humans and how he became blinded in one eye.
• Koba is the first and only known bonobo to appear in a Planet of the Apes film. His first appearance was in Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
• Normally bonobos are peaceful that never resort to violence however, Koba is the most violent bonobo in Caesar's kingdom.
  • This may be due to his many years of abuse and neglect.
• Though Koba is supposedly killed when Caesar drops him, sounds of moving rubble and an ape breathing hard suggest that Koba is alive and breathing. It can be possible that Koba might return in the upcoming third film in the Planet of the Apes - Chernin Entertainment series.
• Koba is the first and only known ape to be killed by Caesar.
• In the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - Official Movie Novelization, Koba is referred to as "One-Eye" in the humans' point of view.

Image Gallery

Concept Art.

Concept Art.

Koba writes.

Christopher Gordon as Koba.

trailer shot.

Eye test.

You know the drill. Play Dead.

Concept art.

Koba, Rocket and Lucky art.

Koba will Rebel.

Koba Poster for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

Koba Action Figure.

Behind the Scenes: Toby Kebbell during a night time scene with Nick Thurston and Lee Ross.

Koba on horseback with a gun in his hand.

Human playtime.

Koba and Caesar.

Koba in the Forest.

Koba with Caesar and Malcolm.

Koba looking ruthless.

Koba snarls at humans.

Koba stumbles upon the humans' armory.

Koba and 2 chimpanzees.

Koba sad.

Toby Kebbell as Koba.

Koba looking Fierce.

Koba and Blue Eyes in the burning Ape Village.

Koba kills humans.

Koba opens fire.

Playing Dumb

Relaxing

Convincing Actor

Snarling at Caesar

Koba accuses Caesar of loving humans more then apes.

Koba advances on Alexander and Malcolm.

Koba during Caesar's speech to the humans.

Koba on the prowl.

Koba as the new Alpha

Koba vs. Humans

Koba and Blue Eyes ride into battle.

Koba and apes hunting deer

Koba confronts Caesar

Koba questioning Maurice

Koba's new headquarters

Questioning Rocket

Attacking the human armory

Declaration of war on humans

Koba turns to see Caesar lunge at him

Koba climbing up

Koba looks up at Caesar

Koba seeks forgivness

Koba surprised by Caesar's new resolve

Koba falls to his death

Turning on the humans

Snarling at his former friend

Koba about to kill the ape hater Carver

Planning madness

Bloodied and Beaten

Koba hears Caesar

Notes on Koba's time as a lab pet.

Koba's ambition

Koba begging to kill the humans

"Apes win war!"

"Humans, you ape prisoner now!"

Koba holding a devastated Blue Eyes

Pissed off Koba

Koba gives Malcolm a menacing look

Koba throwing raspberries at humans