- You come to judge me? I judge myself. I promised our father I would bring them home... I failed. Eagle Clan belongs to Proximus Caesar now. That is the law. ...But the law is wrong!
- Noa contemplates to his father’s eagle, and gains courage.[src]
Noa is an evolved chimpanzee and a member of the Eagle Clan. After his clan was attacked under the orders of Proximus Caesar, Noa set out to liberate them, and along the way, joined forces with the orangutan Raka and the human Mae. Following the liberation of the Eagle Clan, Noa became the clan's new leader and strived to rebuild their home.
Biography
Early Life
Noa was born into the Eagle Clan 300 years after Caesar's time as the son of the Eagle Clan leader Koro and honored teacher Dar. In his childhood, he became friends with fellow chimps Anaya and Soona, the latter of who he would form a romantic relationship with her.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
To prepare for their bonding ceremony, Noa travelled to the Top Nest (a tall decaying building with a few eagle nests) with Soona and Anaya, the latter showing off his climbing skills. The three found an eagle nest with three eggs; Anaya propose they take all of them, but Noa remind him of the clan's law: always leave one egg. After debating that Soona and Anaya take the two eggs, Noa spotted another nest and went to investigate, leaping over a chasm using a rusted pipe to assist in climbing. He was joyed to see the nest had four eggs and as he reached to the one singing to him, the eagle that made the nest returned and attacked, knocking Noa off the nest and onto a weak ledge, leading to Noa falling along a slope. Anaya and Soona follow as Noa fell off the slope but managed to grab onto a nearby ledge and show his friends his own egg.
Returning to their horses on ground level, Soona noticed they are frightened, and Noa realized his blanket was missing until he heard a noise in a nearby bush. Soona used a bolo to throw a rock at the bush, which struck a strange figure that made it run. The chimps pursue the figure to a tunnel, and Noa spotted his blood soaked blanket on a branch and the figure as it ran deep inside, realizing it was an outsider. Anaya moved closer to investigate and smelled the blood, realizing the figure was not an ape and proposed it was an "Echo" (mute human). Anaya grabbed the blanket and screamed in fear with Noa and Soona as all three returned to their horses to head back home, with Noa and Soona joking about how Anaya was scared.
Reaching their village, Noa and his friends were approached by a group of younger chimps, satisfying their questions about climbing the top nest and making them laugh at Anaya screaming like a child. Noa proceeded to his mother after placing the horses under the clan's aviary tower and reminded her that the clam must wait to see his egg at bonding day, even the "honored teacher". Dar then examined Noa's calloused hand and expressed her happiness in succeeding the climb. She then told Noa to show his father, but Noa was hesitant and attempted to change the subject by spotting a broken part of a nearby fish rack. Dar assured her son that his father will be proud, which Noa agreed and headed to the tower, with his bloodied blanket in hand to tell him of the Echo. Atop the tower, Noa greeted his approaching father before ducking as Sun flew over his head and landed on Koro's arm and calmed down by the Master of Bird's singing. Koro then greeted his son as Sun pecked Noa's brow to showcase his displease toward the ceremony as he placed the eagle on a small perch pole and asked Noa how his climb went, which he told his father he reached above the top nest while showing his calloused hand. Kor then changed the subject by picking up on the blood scent to which Noa gave him his blanket. As Koro realized the blood is Echo and demanded to know if the apes go to the valley beyond, Noa assured him they didn't even as Koro accused him of lying. Noa answered adamantly they did not go, convincing the clan leader his son was telling the truth. He then proclaimed Noa is a truthful ape with much potential before heading to the elders to tell them of the Echo.
After noticing Sun mocking him, Noa moved to the second floor and watched from afar as Koro sought the elders' council about the Echo near their home until the strong chimp Oda approached Noa, demanding if the young ape truly climbed the Top Nest, which Noa confirmed. Oda then acknowledged Noa's strength and bumped fists with the ape before leaving. In the evening, Noa watched his father and an elder prepared to send Oda to scare the Echo out of their territory, and both Soona and Anaya approached Noa, with the former asking if Noa saw his father. Noa assured her he did and pointed to the scratch left by Sun, which angered Soona and exclaimed why Koro's eagle would hurt Noa, to which Anaya joked the bird hates him. Noa then told her as she asked where his blanket was that Oda has it and saw him leave to find the Echo and scare it away. Soona then told the tale of how her mother came across an Echo with child during a dry season, which forces the Echoes to venture far for food. Noa then assured her they have good rain this season before watching his father and the elder leave, to which Noa express his yearning to live up to his father.
At night as Soona and Anaya slept, Noa created a new extension for the broken fish rack and placed it in to fix it. He was proud until he heard a noise from the hut behind him. Going inside, Noa went inside to investigate, and was shocked to find the same Echo that attempted to take his blanket after the climb. The Echo tackled into Noa and managed to escape by closing the hut's door on Noa, who pushed it off him and saw the Echo leave before noticing his egg being broken by the gushing yolk, realizing it was broken by the Echo. Noa then woke Soona and Anaya to tell them about his lost egg, which lead to them arguing whether Koro will force Noa to wait for the next season's bonding or not before Soona and Anaya proposed to wait with Noa. Noa thought his father would expect much from him, which lead to him declining his friends' offer to wait with him and deciding to head back to the top nest to retrieve another egg before sunrise.
Along the way to the Top Nest through the ruins, Noa heard a strange wailing noise and spotted flashes illuminating fighting shadows. He investigated and was shocked to find dead apes in masks before a dying Oda approached Noa from behind, warning him there's more as he died from a knife wound. Noa then heard more apes approaching, forcing him to hide and watch on as the troop investigated the scene, of which one named Lightning informed their commander Sylva that their scouts were killed by Oda before noticing Noa's blanket drenched in human blood. Sylva ordered his troops to search the ruins for Noa's clan until Noa heard his horse walking by, catching Sylva's attention, who realized the clan is very close. The gorilla then shocked the steed with his staff to make it return home with the masked apes in pursuit. Noa frantically chased after the masked apes on foot, unable to keep up on his own.
He managed to reach his home in time to see the outsiders burning the village and capturing the Eagle Clan members. A horrified Noa spotted his mother and Anaya tied up and attempted to free them until a masked chimp shocked him with his staff. The chimp advanced with the staff until Anaya grabbed him and Dar told Noa to help Koro, who remained in the tower freeing the birds. Noa made it to the tower from the outside and spotted his father, attempting to apologize for the outsiders invading their home, but Koro told him to free the eagles. Noa abided and helped his father release the birds from the tower until Sylva, who saw Noa climbing, stood in front of Koro and demanded the Master of Birds to bow. Noa watched as the gorilla overpowered Koro, forcing Noa to throw a nest at Sylva's head, who then turned to Noa and attacked, destroying the floor with his strength as Noa climbed on the ceiling to avoid the invader until he electrocuted the metal railing Noa was hanging from, causing him to fall in front of the gorilla who pinned him with his foot in an attempted to suffocate him. Koro rose to tackle Sylva to the lower floor and attempted to strangle him with wood, but the gorilla broke it and proceeded to beat Koro, enraging Noa to make him jump on the gorilla and punch him. Sylva, however, pulled Noa off his back and threw him out of the tower, forcing the chimp to grab a metal cable and watched a beaten Koro tossed out on the ledge. Noa could only watch his beaten father reach out to him before Sylva used his staff to shock the cable, forcing Noa to lose his grip and fall down the tower, bouncing off each protruding balcony along the way.
At noon, Noa, who survived, came to and fell to the ground from a ledge. He slowly rose and surveyed the ashy ruins of his village, spotting a horse and one of the raiders' broken staff. Noa then spotted Sun and walked to him, horrified to see his father's body lying lifeless on the ground. He crouched over and broke down mourning his father. Noa then buried his father, vowing to rescue his clan and bring them home. After rounding up anything of use to him, including the horse and broken staff, Noa departed from his home and followed the masked apes by their tracks, realizing it leads to the tunnel to the Valley Beyond. Noa hesitated before mustering the courage to enter the tunnel at full speed, emerging from the other end to a valley of larger ruins. Venturing through the ruins, Noa spotted his mother's robe on dirt and retrieved it before noticing a storm approaching, forcing him to make camp until it passes, unaware that the female human was following him from afar.
By morning, Noa attempted to bond with Sun Eagle but failed before resuming his journey until the raiders' tracks vanished. He continued forward to a wooded area and stopped at the sight of smoke. Noa ventured toward the smoke with the broken staff in hand for defense. He could not find the source of the smoke on top of a grassy hill until he realized he was standing on something fragile that broke from his weight, sending him plummeting down in vines over a pyre. Noa managed to free himself and catch his breath on the floor before he noticed an orangutan holding the broken staff at him, demanding Noa to speak. Realizing the orangutan believed he is a member of the masked raiders, Noa cleared the confusion and told the orangutan of their attack on Noa's home, abduction of his clan and his father's murder. The orangutan then revealed the pyre is a funeral for the last member of his own clan and introduced himself as Raka, changing his demeanor to kindness and helped Noa to his feet, chuckling to the idea of apes falling from the sky. Raka revealed he was hiding when the masked raiders passed by and killed his friend while Noa noticed the strange objects (books) Raka was retrieving. He told Noa they were an old way of storing ideas in the time of Caesar, which Noa stated the apes who took his clan said that name, infuriating Raka that they were perverting Caesar's legacy as he gathered his effects and walked away. Noa followed him and asked who Caesar was, which Raka revealed he was the Apes' leader and lawgiver from long ago and that his clan, the Order of Caesar, were tasked to spread Caesar's teachings until he realized he is the last and pressed on. Noa then asked what the ruins they were walking through was, which Raka theorized it could have been a form of housing for humans and apes could have taught them until Noa spotted a painting of two humans on a wall.
Noa pointed to them and called them Echo, which Raka told him they were human and wondered if Noa saw one, which he confirmed and cursed them for being scavengers. Noa then became concerned for Raka as he stated a possibility in Caesar's time that apes and humans lived side by side and revealed that humans are important to him as they were to Caesar. Unnerved by Raka's words, Noa told him he must get back to his horse, which the orangutan agreed and led him outside, proposing to Noa to stay so he can learn more of who Caesar was until they spotted the female human rummaging Noa's belongings on his horse and scared her away, but Raka attempted to console to her not to leave. Noa examined his belongings and stated to Raka that the female is the one who followed him to his village, which intrigued the orangutan and decided to travel with Noa before leaving to fetch his own horse. Resuming his journey, Noa begrudgingly denied Raka's request to slow down and told him the human will follow him for reasons he doesn't know.
Personality
Noa is a friendly, brave, and self-sacrificing ape who is loyal to his friends and bravely opposes the tyrannical Proximus. Although he's initially wary of Mae, he ultimately comes around to seeing her as a friend until her true colors are revealed. Just don't piss him off.
He blames himself for leading Sylva and his apes to the village, which results in his father's death and the village being burned.
Physical appearance
Being a descendant of the evolved apes, Noa sports the same features of an adolescent chimpanzee, having coarse black fur and tan skin, and grey eyes with white sclera. His height is even greater than that of average chimpanzees from three centuries ago, even taller than humans. The right side of his pectoral region has a spot that has less fur. His attire consists of a diagonal pouch belt with eagle feathers, a belt with a dagger sheathe, white falconry wrapping around his left hand, and an arm band on his right arm; after becoming the leader of the Eagle Clan and Master of Birds, the arm band now sports three blue feathers.
Throughout the course of the film, Noa sustained several injuries: a scratch on his brow from Koro's eagle Sun, cuts on his lip and right temple area from the Coastal Ape hunters' raid on the Eagle Clan, a nose bleed from Rust's beating, and cuts on the left side of his face and nose bleeds from Proximus' beating; all of which are healing at the end of the film.
Abilities
- Genius-Level Intellect: As a descendant of evolved apes, Noa has a high level of intelligence. Noa is very quick-thinking and resourceful, using the environment to his advantage during combat. Now is also clever enough to repair a broken taser staff himself with no prior exposure to the technology.
- Speech: Noa is capable of speaking fluently.
- Sign Language: Noa is also capable of using sign language.
- Animal Strength: Due to his physiology, Noa possesses the same level of strength as any chimpanzee, evident when he was climbing a shore cliff with Mae on his back.
- Animal Speed: Chimpanzees can typically run at up to 25 miles per hour when using all four legs, faster than human on 2 legs running at a maximum of 18 miles per hour.
- Animal Reflexes
- Animal Stamina
- Animal Endurance
- Expert Horse Rider: Noa is a very skilled horse rider.
- Expert Falconry: Noa is skilled in training birds of prey to hunt or explore new regions.
- Hand-To-Hand Combat: Noa is physically capable of engaging other apes in combat despite his adolescent age, which leaves him to be overpowered by prime adult apes like Sylva and Proximus; he can, however, compensate his lack of strength in combat with his intellect of using the environment to his advantage.
Relationships
- See Noa/Relationships.
Notes
Trivia
Gallery
- See Noa/Gallery.