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Kenny "Kong" McFarlane (also known as King Kong) is a fictional character appearing in
American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s published by
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
. Created by
Brian Michael Bendis Brian Michael Bendis (; born August 18, 1967) is an American comic book writer and artist. He has won five Eisner Awards for both his creator-owned work and his work on various Marvel Comics books.Bendis, Brian Michael and Oeming, Michael Avon, ' ...
and
Mark Bagley Mark Bagley (; born August 7, 1957) is an American comics artist. He has worked for Marvel Comics on such titles as ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', '' Thunderbolts'', ''New Warriors'', ''Venom'' and ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' and for DC Comics on ''Justic ...
, the character appears in the pages of ''
Ultimate Spider-Man ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate ...
''. Kenny McFarlane is one of the few characters not based on a counterpart from Marvel's main continuity, being an original Ultimate Marvel invention to the comics. However, his personality is based on
Flash Thompson Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 196 ...
of the main continuity during his high school years. A version of the character is later introduced in the main continuity. In ''Ultimate Spider-Man'', despite his apparent lack of intelligence based on being a stereotypical high school bully, Kenny is actually a perceptive teenager and able to deduce Spider-Man's secret identity but keeps this knowledge to himself; he respects the hero's wishes of secrecy and covertly helps him maintaining it. Knowing that Peter Parker is Spider-Man inspires Kenny to be a better person and occasionally helping others in needs.


Fictional character biography

Obese yet strong, Kenny McFarlane is the best friend of
Flash Thompson Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 196 ...
and
Liz Allan Elizabeth "Liz" Allan, also known as Elizabeth Allan-Osborn and commonly misspelled as "Liz Allen", is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and ...
. Kenny attends Midtown High School where he plays basketball for the school team. There, he can regularly be found cooperating with Flash bullying Peter Parker. However, without Flash in the vicinity, he shows a more likeable side and is often shown being friendly and open to Peter, even letting Peter stay at his house after Peter had a fight with
Uncle Ben Benjamin Franklin Parker, usually referred to as Uncle Ben, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually in association with the superhero Spider-Man. He is the husband of May Parker and the pa ...
. When Peter is bitten by the genetically enhanced spider that gave the spider powers, Kenny crushes the spider under his sneakers, killing it. Later, noticing changes in Peter's physical strength and abilities and recalling the spider bite, he deduces that Peter is
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
. Flash and Liz refuse to believe him and demand he prove it by kicking Peter from behind. Peter's spider sense warns that the kick is coming and he willingly takes the abuse rather than reveal himself, which appears to dissuade Kenny. This confrontation is observed by the new student
Gwen Stacy Gwendolyne Maxine Stacy is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in those featuring Spider-Man. A college student and the daughter of George Stacy and Helen Stacy, ...
sticking up for Peter by pulling a knife on Kong. Kong's attitude toward's Peter softens after the latter joins the basketball team and demonstrates deep loyalty to his new teammate. Kong maintains a fascination with Spider-Man even to the point of hero worship. Overtime, Kenny becomes a better person, ceased bullying, and tries to improve academically. Upon hearing about the upcoming ''Spider-Man'' movie, Kong enters a casting call for extras. His only line was "Look in the sky, it's Spider-Man!". With the film's success, he achieved some fame in his school. When Kenny and Peter share detention, Peter tells Kenny that Flash only hangs out with the latter solely out of a sense of superiority and treats him badly. Whether or not Kenny takes Peter's words to heart, he later has a particularly violent confrontation with Flash after the latter begins ridiculing the new student
Kitty Pryde Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. The character First appearance, first appeared in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #129 (January 1980) and was ...
for being a mutant; Kenny slams Flash into a locker and furiously forces his friend to apologize, claiming he is "sick of lash'sracist crap", ending their friendship in the process. Frightened, Flash leaves the scene and Peter and MJ introduce Kitty to Kenny, and the pair walk away in conversation. He is later seen at Kitty's house, and Kitty later tells Peter of dating Kenny. Later, when Liz's mutant abilities manifest at a party, Kenny tells Peter to go help her; he still knew that Peter was Spider-Man all along but had kept the knowledge to himself. When Kitty was singled out by federal troops for being a mutant after the events of ''Ultimatum'', Kenny was one of the few classmates to stick up for Kitty, physically assaulting an agent to buy her time to escape. Kitty phased herself and Kenny through the floor and into the sewers, and they resume their relationship. Later, Kitty tells Peter that Kenny's mother took him out of the state. Kong later shows up at an event hosted by
May Parker Maybelle "May" Parker-Jameson (née Reilly), commonly known as Aunt May, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. Making her first full appeara ...
to honor Peter and has a private conversation with Kitty. Following the ''
Secret Wars ''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'' for short, is a twelve-issue American comic book Fictional crossover, crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written ...
'' events that seemingly destroyed Kenny's universe, he is revealed to have joined the U.S. army after finishing high school in the restored world.


Other versions


Marvel Universe

Kenneth "Kenny Kong" McFarlane made his debut in the mainstream Marvel Universe in ''Starbrand & Nightmask'' #1 (February 2016). He is a student at Empire State University and meets Kevin Connor and Adam Blackveil. He discovers that they are actually Starbrand and
Nightmask Nightmask is a name and identity used by several fictional characters who appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first character to bear the name, Keith Remsen, was created by writer Archie Goodwin, and first appeared in ''Nightma ...
, but he keeps this information to himself.


Character's name

Writer
Brian Michael Bendis Brian Michael Bendis (; born August 18, 1967) is an American comic book writer and artist. He has won five Eisner Awards for both his creator-owned work and his work on various Marvel Comics books.Bendis, Brian Michael and Oeming, Michael Avon, ' ...
did not name Kenny McFarlane consistently during his run on ''Ultimate Spider-Man''. In the first scenes, he is called by his nickname King Kong or simply Kong or even his real name. His last name was hinted to be Harlan in the first issue and his mother called him Clifford in issue #15. While in Ultimate Marvel Team-Up around the same time, in a story also written by Brian Michael Bendis, a teacher calls him Kenny. As a result of this information, in the "Official Handbook of the Ultimate Marvel Universe", he was referred to as "Kong Harlan, aka Clifford Kenneth Harlan". However, in issue ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' #82, his name is finally revealed to be "Kenny McFarlane". He now refers to himself as Kenny McFarlane, and in an interview with Bendis, it is confirmed that this is his real name.


In other media


Television

* Kenny McFarlane appears in ''
The Spectacular Spider-Man ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' is a comic book and magazine series starring Spider-Man and published by Marvel Comics. Following the success of Spider-Man's original series, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', Marvel felt the character could support ...
'', voiced by
Andrew Kishino Andrew Kishino (born March 20, 1970) also known as Big Kish (formerly Kish), is a Canadian voice actor. Life and career Kishino is best known for his 1991 single "I Rhyme the World in 80 Days". The song was featured on his debut album, ''Orde ...
.Comics Continuum by Rob Allstetter: Monday, October 8, 2007
/ref> This version (where his name is changed to Kenny Kong) is more fat than muscular, and his ethnic background is changed to Samoan/Chinese American. He is on the Midtown High football team with
Flash Thompson Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 196 ...
and
Randy Robertson Randy Robertson is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a supporting character in Marvel's Spider-Man series and is depicted as the son of Robbie Robertson. Publication history Randy first appe ...
. There, he is the former's closest friend on the team and can regularly be found cooperating with him bullying Peter Parker and other lesser students. He dated
Glory Grant Gloriana Grant, more commonly known as Glory Grant, is a Marvel Comics supporting character of Spider-Man. She is introduced in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #140 (January 1975) as a neighbor of Peter Parker. Peter then helps her secure a position as ...
until Glory broke up with him for being too childish. Glory later forgives him and they get back together though Glory does still get annoyed by his childishness.


Video games

* Kenny McFarlane has a cameo appearance in the ''
Ultimate Spider-Man ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate ...
'' video game. His character can be seen in the models section of the special features.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcfarlane, Kenny Fictional characters from parallel universes Fictional characters from New York City Ultimate Marvel characters Comics characters introduced in 2001 Characters created by Brian Michael Bendis Characters created by Mark Bagley Fictional actors Fictional basketball players Fictional bullies Fictional United States Army personnel Male characters in comics Spider-Man characters