The Planet of the Apes franchise is one filled with a huge variety of characters. The different time periods seen over the course of ten films in the series mean that many different characters, both human and ape, have been highlighted over the years as the nature of the franchise continues to grow.

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The strength of various apes in the franchise can be hard to judge, but in the many battles fought between apes and humans, and even among apes themselves, there have been many figures who have emerged to showcase their strength as incredible warriors, and continue to do so in Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes.

9 Luca

The Chief Of Caesar’s Guards

• Played By Michael Adamthwaite
• Appears In Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes & War For The Planet Of The Apes

As the prequel trilogy progressed to a place where Caesar had his own tribe, he had to have loyal apes around him. Gorillas are known for their place in the various ape societies in the films as warriors and guards, strong but not usually leaders. Luca held a place of honour as one of Caesar’s most loyal warriors and leader of his guards in the prequel films.

Luca was a Western Lowland Gorilla, incredibly strong and capable, and able to survive the initial battles against humankind. However, in War For The Planet Of The Apes, Luca is killed by a human patrol when he and Caesar attempt to sneak towards the quarantine facility. Luca was one of many major losses on the apes' side in this war, but his strength as a warrior was undeniable.

8 General Aldo

The Original Caesar’s Foil

• Played By Claude Akins
• Appears In Battle For The Planet Of The Apes

There are often times throughout the franchise when another ape attempts to bring war against the humans. While Koba played this role in the more recent films, General Aldo had a similar position in Battle For The Planet Of The Apes. Another gorilla, this war-focused ape was responsible for the death of Caesar’s son.

He used this event to try and incite war with the remaining humans, but was later discovered by Caesar and stopped. It is unknown if Caesar could have even defeated Aldo, had all the apes not turned against him upon discovering his betrayal of their sacred law “Ape shall not kill ape.”

7 Rocket

Enemy Turned Loyal Lieutenant

• Played By Terry Notary
• Appears In Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, & War For The Planet Of The Apes

Another of the apes who remained loyal to Caesar throughout the prequels, Rocket actually began as his enemy. The alpha of the chimps at the animal sanctuary, Rocket taunted and bullied Caesar, who claimed the role of alpha from him, and his loyalty, as they escaped at the conclusion of the first prequel film.

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During the rest of the trilogy, Rocket is shown to be completely loyal to Caesar, unwavering in his support of him and his family as the Simian Flu gradually made them the dominant species. Rocket was a brave and strong warrior who sacrificed himself to save Nova in War For The Planet Of The Apes, taking a beating from the Colonel’s apes and nearly dying as a result, before helping Caesar escape and proving his strength and abilities once again.

6 General Ursus

Ignorant Warmonger

• Played By James Gregory
• Appears In Beneath The Planet Of The Apes

Ursus is yet another gorilla who is presented as a warmonger in the franchise. Appearing in Beneath The Planet Of The Apes, Ursus railed against the notion of humanity having survived independent of the slaves kept by the apes. He couldn’t accept this, and started a war with the mutated underground humans as a result.

The General was presented as a leader without much wisdom. He charged at anything he saw as a threat, and hated humans with a passion. The Earth was destroyed as a result of Ursus and Doctor Zaius refusing to listen to reason, showing that strength and force of arms is only a fraction of what it takes to be a leader.

5 Proximus Caesar

Twisted Tribe King

• Played By Kevin Durand
• Appears In Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes

The newest Planet of the Apes movie had a lot of fan theories floating around pre-release, particularly concerning the latest villain. Proximus Caesar is strong as a fighter, and he is also a devastatingly intelligent leader, able to twist the minds of his followers and the teachings of Caesar to his own needs.

Proximus is a fascinating villain for a new age, and certainly one of the strongest characters seen at any point in the series. While he didn’t manage to best Noa at the conclusion of the film, he managed to showcase how he attained so a high position through his strength and intelligence.

4 Caesar (Original)

The Messiah Warrior

• Played By Roddy McDowall
• Appears In Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes & Battle For The Planet Of The Apes

The original version of Caesar wasn’t the same as the Andy Serkis version in the prequel trilogy. He was a fighter and warrior who grew up in a world where apes were enslaved by humans. Caesar almost went too far in fighting humankind, nearly killing in cold blood when the apes had already won the battle.

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Caesar was a great warrior and leader, who became a Messiah-like figure to the apes in the future. Though he never proved himself on the level of some other warriors, he did manage to lead revolts and defeat General Aldo in single combat, showing his worth as a warrior as well as a leader.

3 Buck

The Ultimate Sacrifice

• Played By Richard Ridings
• Appears In Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

Buck was a heroic gorilla who, alongside Maurice the Orangutan, was one of the first friends who joined Caesar in Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. Despite this, he didn’t manage to live beyond that film, due to a sacrifice which needed to happen for the apes to escape across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Although the apes proved themselves equal to the police sent after them by the humans, they had no way to take on the helicopter that came for them. It was Buck who managed to leap at the helicopter and bring it crashing down, saving the other apes and allowing them to escape into the wilderness. Along the way, Buck proved he was at least equal in strength to many of the Generals seen in other films and timelines.

2 Koba

The Great Betrayer

• Played By Christopher Gordon/Toby Kebbell
• Appears In Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes & Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes

Koba, the most fascinating villain in the Planet of the Apes franchise, was a great character who betrayed Caesar and his ape society in favor of starting a war with the humans. Proven in battle on numerous occasions, Koba was smart and strong, and was able to ignite a tragic war which would see the deaths of many of his friends, and himself.

Koba set fire to the ape’s village, shot and nearly killed Caesar, and managed to lead the apes into battle against the humans. If not for Caesar’s return and unveiling of the truth, Koba would have gotten away without anyone realizing what he had done in starting the war, which continued even after his death. His strength as a warrior cannot be emphasized enough, and the strength of his beliefs was strong as well, but they were unfortunately rooted in an unshakable hatred of humans.

1 Caesar (Reboot)

The Strongest Of Them All

• Played By Andy Serkis
• Appears In Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, & War For The Planet Of The Apes

The greatest and strongest warrior ever seen in ape society is Caesar. Though there may be apes that could have beaten him in combat, Caesar was tougher than any of them. He managed to keep going through the deaths of many allies, friends, and family members, and through a great deal of physical pain, even returning to fight Koba shortly after being shot and nearly killed.

Caesar was the protagonist of the prequel trilogy, facing off against everything from individual humans to whole armies, and taking on apes on several occasions as well. His heightened intelligence and experience in combat helped make him the perfect ape to lead his kind through the dark days of the war against humans, and out the other side into paradise where they could be safe, although Caesar only got to see this momentarily before finally succumbing to his wounds.

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