- "I don't... fear you. You... must fear. How long... you think woods can protect you? Humans destroy you. Their colonel has all power. For them, he more than just human. He everything."
- Red threatening Caesar and his tribe of Alpha-Omega's power[src]
Red was a resentful evolved gorilla who had previously been a loyal supporter of Koba, because he believed that Koba helped the apes. During the Human-Ape War, he chose to switch allegiances to Alpha-Omega, joining a group of about twelve other apes who collectively came to be known as the "Donkeys."
Biography
War for the Planet of the Apes: Revelations
Red was shown to be questioning Caesar's leadership, disliking the fact that Caesar spared the humans after killing Koba. He went on to convince Grey to leave Caesar's army to create a colony of their own, along with other apes that were loyal to Koba. Grey became their leader, though it was Red behind their schemes.
Red lured the humans to the building where Caesar had hidden the females and young, knowing that the attack would prompt Caesar to send the females and their children back to the safety of the forest. Some of the Gorilla Guard accompanied them to keep them safe, Red included. However, Grey and the others in their secret group slipped away to follow them without Caesar's knowledge.
With the help of their group, Red and Grey subdued the females and the Gorilla Guard, convincing them that Caesar and the ape army had all perished and that Grey was the new king. Cornelia had escaped, however, and they sent some of their loyal apes to find her with orders to kill her, so that the rest of the females, leaderless, would succumb to Grey's leadership.
When push came to shove, however, Grey stood against Red in his bid to kill Cornelia during the birth of one of the females. He stated that it was against custom and that they would wait until after the birth to seize the former queen. This enraged Red, who attacked Grey, and the two of them brawled until Red got hold of a gun and shot Grey point blank in the face, killing him. The gorilla was then descended upon by the females and retreated in humiliation to have lost to their mob.
Captured by the Colonel
Red and Koba's remaining followers wandered throughout Northern California, trying to avoid being found by Caesar's apes. However, Red and the other apes were ambushed by McCullough's forces, killing all but a wounded Red and a chimpanzee. Red was taken prisoner alongside other captured apes. McCullough was outraged that none of the ape prisoners were Caesar and mockingly suggested asking Red if he could take him to Caesar while pointing his gun at the gorilla, preparing to kill him. Red then said yes to McCullough, leaving the human surprised that the gorilla could understand him. McCullough asked Red if he could take him to Caesar, to which the gorilla agreed, saying that Caesar was not the leader of him. Impressed, McCullough decided to spare Red's life for now.
War for the Planet of the Apes
Fighting the Colony
Red was present with the platoon of soldiers who attacked one of Caesar's outposts in the forest, providing ammunition and grenades for the soldiers to use. He was later captured and branded a traitor by the apes. However, he spoke out against Caesar's claims he feared him, prompting one ape to strike him to the ground.
A Deal with Winter
Winter then forced him outside. However, Red managed to overpower the other gorilla, threatening to kill him if he didn't reveal where Caesar's main base was, resulting in Winter giving in in exchange for his induction as one of McCullough's Donkeys. Red agreed and returned to Alpha-Omega, informing them of Caesar's location. As promised, he allowed Winter entry into the Donkeys.
Red was later watched by Caesar, Luca and Maurice helping the soldiers pack their gear. A few days later, he encountered Caesar's apes, only with the soldiers, helping them capture nearly all the apes and string the near-dead ones on crosses to be made an example of.
Capturing Caesar
He found Caesar near one cross trying to help his dying ape, before proceeding to knock him out with the butt of his rifle. The next day, Red was ordered to whip a captive orangutan until Caesar, also a prisoner, suddenly yelled at him to stop. Red brought Caesar before the Colonel and then whipped Caesar in the orangutan's place. However, he was surprised Caesar did not yield no matter how much he suffered. Red watched as the Colonel shot the orangutan and turned to kill Caesar before witnessing the apes get back to work to protect their captive king.
During his captivity, Caesar reminded Red that he was an ape and he would always be thought of as inferior by the humans. Red responded by telling him the Colonel wanted to see him.
Red brought Caesar before the Colonel and witnessed the heated argument between the pair before taking the prisoner away. A day later, he brought food to the apes and approached Caesar, seemingly to give him water but poured it on him at the Colonel's orders. This left the ape at the mercy of the cold winds. That night, he cut Caesar down and put him in the cage. He listened to the Colonel about putting Caesar to work if he survived the night after starving and being dehydrated.
Death
When Alpha-Omega came under attack by the Northern Army, Red assisted the Alpha-Omega soldiers. During the fight, Red grew concerned with the opposing humans slaughtering each other until an Alpha-Omega soldier ordered Red to reload a machine gun. After reloading the weapon, Red and the soldier spotted Caesar's colony leaving the base, but Red watched in horror as Alpha-Omega opened fire on the fleeing apes. Red felt his allegiance wavering even more as the gorilla saw Rocket firing back until he ran out of bullets and a few apes getting killed while dragging their dead comrades. Horrified, Red was snapped out of his conflict as the soldier called him Donkey and demanded a grenade launcher, infuriating Red as he obeyed and rummaged through the bags behind them.
Pulling out the launcher, Red spots Caesar running through the gates as gunfire impacts the ground around him, realizing the ape leader has remained behind. Spotting Caesar pulling a grenade from the belt around him, Red surmised that Caesar intended to blow up the fuel tanks, causing a chain reaction that would destroy the base, until Red saw Caesar struck down by an arrow to his right side. Watching Caesar turn to see Preacher, the shooter, Red realized he joined the wrong side and sealed his fate (possibly also changing his opinion on Koba) as the soldier yelled at him to bring the launcher. Obliging at first, Red rose to hand it over until he aimed it at Preacher and pulled the trigger, killing the archer before he could finish off Caesar. As a dazed Caesar turned to him, Red stood firm and displayed his pride as an ape and accepted his fate when the soldier shot Red in the back of his head for his betrayal.
Legacy
Red's sacrifice allowed Caesar to gather enough strength to toss a grenade at the fuel tank, blowing up the Alpha-Omega facility, killing the majority of the Alpha-Omega soldiers and all the Donkeys on the wall, allowing the remaining apes to escape.
Caesar´s Story
During their journey to the Oasis through the desert, Caesar confided in Maurice that, just before Red was shot by the human, he saw a sense of peace in Red's expression—a glimpse of the ape he had been before Koba's rebellion and his servitude to the humans. After Caesar's passing, Maurice created a book chronicling Caesar's story to pass down to Cornelius and future generations. In the book, Maurice included Caesar's account of Red's redemption, ensuring that Red would be remembered as part of the larger tale.
Personality
War for the Planet of the Apes: Revelations
Red exhibited a rebellious nature, openly contesting Caesar's authority and expressing his discontent over Caesar's decision to spare the humans after Koba's demise, because he still saw Koba as leader to him. He demonstrated a high level of manipulation, particularly when he observed that Grey was treated with disdain by Caesar due to his involvement in Koba's war against humans. Seizing this opportunity, Red skillfully exploited Grey's emotions, persuading him to abandon Caesar and establish an independent colony alongside other apes loyal to Koba. While Red allowed Grey to assume the role of the figurehead, he remained the true architect of their plot. He even managed to sway the Gorilla Guard and the ape army into believing in Caesar's downfall, promoting the idea that Grey should ascend as the new king. Nevertheless, Red's scheme unraveled when Cornelia escaped, compelling him to dispatch some of their loyal apes to track her down with the lethal directive to eliminate her. This was intended to leave the remaining females without a leader, thereby ensuring their submission to Grey's authority.
Red's actions were devious, as he enticed humans to the building where Caesar had concealed the females and young, fully aware that this would provoke Caesar to send them back to the enemy, endangering the colony. Red was ruthless and showed no regret for his actions, forcefully subduing the female apes to make them obey. He even murdered Grey for not following through with his plan and attempted to carry it out himself. When his plan failed, Red opted to join Alpha-Omega out of necessity for survival and to seek vengeance against Caesar.
War for the Planet of the Apes
Red, having fulfilled the role of one of the Donkeys, exhibited unwavering loyalty to the Alpha-Omega, striving earnestly to be regarded as their equal. He frequently employed eloquent speech in an attempt to win their admiration, all the while disregarding their contempt for apes.
Red displayed no mercy towards his former colony, assisting his new human allies in their torture. Despite this, he was open to striking a deal with Winter to spare himself from death by serving as a Donkey. Red remained unfazed when labeled a traitor and even insulted Caesar, showing no remorse for leading his people to their demise. He took delight in tormenting Caesar while in captivity and attempted to aid the Colonel in breaking his spirit, only to be surprised by Caesar's resilience.
When Caesar cautioned Red about the Colonel's intentions to eliminate him after dealing with the apes, Red seemed unconvinced and held onto the belief that he could protect himself. However, Red's allegiance started to falter during the conflict between Alpha Omega and the Northern Army. Witnessing Caesar's tribe under attack by a soldier from Alpha-Omega, Red was shocked and appalled as he witnessed the massacre of many apes, he also began to regret his alliance with Koba. It was only after witnessing Preacher shoot Caesar that Red finally acknowledged Caesar's foresight, and he redeemed himself by taking down Preacher. In his final moments, Red exchanged a proud glance with Caesar, signifying his renewed loyalty to him.
Physical Appearance
Red was an extraordinary western lowland gorilla, distinguished by his striking reddish-brown hair that adorned the upper sections of his otherwise black-grey body, extending from his head to his shoulders, back, and upper torso. His arms and lower body were covered in black hair, while the area from his back down to the back of his legs featured light-grey hair, a clear indication of his silverback status. Another remarkable characteristic of Red was his slightly toned abdomen, complemented by a small bald patch on his forehead. Exposure to the ALZ-113 shared with the other apes, resulted in a transformation of his irises to a vivid green and his sclera to a stark white. As a Donkey for Alpha-Omega, Red bore the letter "A" and the omega symbol branded onto his right temple, along with the word "Donkey" inked in white across his back. Throughout the film, Red also endured several injuries, including an arrow wound on his left shoulder and minor cuts on his face and right shoulder, inflicted by Rocket.
Abilities
- Advanced Strength: Like all gorillas, Red was extremely powerful and strong, he was able to carry grenade launchers for the humans and easily drag Caesar around; but; with chains.
- High-Level Intellect: Red had been given the ALZ-113, through unknown methods, giving him increased intelligence. Despite such, he preferred to keep such secondary when with the soldiers, favoring to act as one of their "Donkeys".
- Expert Hand-To-Hand Combatant: Due to Red being a former member of the San Francisco Ape Army, he was a capable combatant, he managed to overpower Winter, another gorilla with ease (off-screen) despite being restrained; he beat him to the point that he made the ape tell him where Caesar's hideout was so Red would spare his life. He also managed to gain the upper hand against the second-in-command of Ape Army, Rocket in their first and only brawl; but it should be noted that; Rocket's goal was not to defeat Red; but to simply cause a distraction long enough for Nova to escape detection, so it is very likely that; the chimpanzee was intentionally holding back at the time.
- Speech: Having been given the ALZ-113, through unknown methods, Red gained the ability of speech. He was taught how to speak by humans though his speech is broken mostly because he rarely used it. It also made him arrogant, using it to defy Caesar's status as alpha by speaking against him, much like Koba had once done. He rarely used it around the soldiers though, ultimately being subordinate to them.
- Expert Marksman: Red was capable of firing a grenade launcher over a distance; with enough accuracy to kill Preacher, saving Caesar's life.
Relationships
- See Red/Relationships.
Notes
- Red was the main antagonist of the Revelations novel, the tertiary antagonist of the War comic books, and the secondary antagonist turned anti-hero of War for the Planet of the Apes.
- He is the first gorilla to speak.
Trivia
- Unlike the other gorillas from the Ape Colony, he had red-colored hair from his head extending to his shoulders and upper back. This may be the reason why he is named Red.
- He is portrayed by Ty Olsson, who previously played John Hamil in Rise.
- The name given to him before, "Donkey", is a reference to the name of the Nintendo character Donkey Kong. Coincidentally, both Red and DK are gorillas with brownish-red hair.
- The prequel novel Revelations confirmed this character's name to be Red, not Rex, as stated IMDB, perhaps mistakenly.
- It was Red who started the rebellion of Koba's followers against Caesar in Revelations.
Gallery
- See Red/Gallery.
Appearances
- War for the Planet of the Apes: Revelations
- War for the Planet of the Apes (novelization)
- War for the Planet of the Apes (BOOM! Studios)
- Caesar's Story (mentioned)