Koba is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, who is portrayed by Christopher Gordon and Toby Kebbell. Following his brief introduction in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, where the character was portrayed by Christopher Gordon, Koba evolves into the antagonist of the sequel, and reappears posthumously as the overarching antagonist of War for the Planet of the Apes.
Koba's history of abuse and torment leading him to becoming the primary antagonist of the series has been cited as one of the best, most developed and sympathetic movie villains of the 2010s.
Fictional character biography
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
First appearing in Rise, Koba is a bonobo which led a life full of abuse and torment at the hands of humans. He is picked up by the company Gen-Sys to be part of a testing procedure for the ALZ-113 retrovirus developed by Will Rodman, in hopes of curing Alzheimer's. Koba impresses Rodman enough to undergo the procedure for the testing. He is mocked briefly by Rodman's superior, Steven Jacobs, by knocking on Koba's window as he is being strapped in for the procedure. Koba lies still long enough until he initiated a surprise attack that knocks handler Robert Franklin's mask off. While Koba is sedated, Franklin has breathed in enough of the 113 virus to become contaminated, which would begin the Simian Flu outbreak that caused humanity to die out. After the procedure, Koba shows off his newfound intelligence by writing Jacobs's name on a writing computer screen, taunting him while he plots his revenge. He is later freed from captivity by Caesar, and joins him in his attack on the Golden Gate Bridge. Koba is commanded by Caesar to lead an attack from above using the high-wire supports. He notices that Steven Jacobs's helicopter has been attacked, and has left him injured. With Caesar's permission, Koba goes over to the wreckage of the helicopter and pushes it over the edge of the bridge, killing Jacobs. Koba follows Caesar and the rest of the apes to Muir Woods Park, where he attacks Rodman, but is stopped by Caesar before he can kill him.
Firestorm
In this novel, set a few weeks after the first film, Koba works hard to prove his loyalty to Caesar, while also struggling with the painful memories of his past, which are now more vivid due to his enhanced intelligence.
Koba was born in an unnamed primate research facility, where he lived with his mother and their caregiver, Mary, who taught them Sign Language. When Koba was still young, his mother died defending him from an abusive, alcoholic handler named Roger. As a result of this incident, the facility's project funding was cut and Koba was sold to Tommy, an abusive TV producer. Tommy made Koba and his new chimpanzee friend, Milo, part of his TV show, Monkey of the House, and would electrocute or beat them whenever they displeased him. When Koba finally tried to defend himself from Tommy's abuse, Tommy punished the bonobo by scarring his face with a knife and blinding his eye with a lit cigarette. After Tommy committed suicide due to his show being cancelled, Koba and Milo attempted to escape, only to be captured and separated by animal control officers. Koba then became a laboratory test subject, and eventually met Steven Jacobs, whom he swore revenge on after the man repeatedly mocked him as an unintelligent animal.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)