Luca

"At least this time...I was able to protect you."

- Luca's final words to Caesar before his death in War for the Planet of the Apes.

Luca was an altered gorilla that appears in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Luca was the leader of the gorillas guarding the Ape Gate, and a member of both the Ape Council and was the new fourth-in-command of the Ape Army. He later appeared in War for the Planet of the Apes, helping Caesar in his quest to find Colonel McCullough.

Early Life
Ten years ago, Luca was liberated from captivity by the forces of Caesar during the infamous Ape Rebellion where he joined his new comrades in the Battle on the Golden Gate Bridge. He would survive the battle and find true freedom in the safety of the Muir Woods Park where he and his people would later build a large Ape Colony. Overtime, Luca's strength stood out from the rest of the gorillas in the colony and he would be promoted as the new fourth-in-command of the Ape Army. Luca's new rank allowed him to become the leader of the Gorilla Guardians whose sole purpose was to protect the village gate from any possible intruders. This also earn him a spot on Caesar's Council of Apes where he would become close friends with the village alpha and his top lieutenants.

Hunting Trip
Luca took part in the deer hunt, carrying bolas and spears on his back for Caesar. His efforts came in handy as the apes were able to catch one of the fleeing deer but were force to fight and take back to the village a dead bear which had tried to take the deer for itself.

Rediscovery of Humans
When the apes heard a gunshot in the woods they quickly ran to its origin, where they discover to their great shock Blue Eyes with a wounded Ash confronting humans, armed with guns. After the humans put their guns away, the apes scare them off by talking and ordering them out of the woods. Caesar then tells Koba, Stone and Grey to follow Malcolm's Group in their van to make sure they leave the forest and find out just how many more humans are left. Luca tries to follow Koba's group but he is immediately halted by Caesar so he wouldn't make the humans aware they were following them.

Council Meeting
He then appears with the other apes in the village as they host a council meeting over what to do with the humans. He takes part in the discussion by pointing out the apes don't know why the humans had come to the forest and what they're planning. When Koba says they should just take action against the humans, Luca makes a joking remark about this to the others. The meeting ends with Caesar saying he has come up with a way to deal with the humans peacefully.

March into the City
The next morning, the ape army march on horseback into the ruins San Francisco where the come face to face with the remaining humans. Luca, stays silent as Caesar gives his warning to the people about staying away from the Muir Woods Park to the humans or else there will be a war. He then watches as Caesar personally tells Malcolm to never come back into the village, before leaving with his army as the humans express fear at the sight of a large army consisting of talking apes.

Human Intruder
When Malcolm entered the village gazing at the ape's skills and capabilities, Luca emerged from his hut and confronted the human, alerting the other gorillas to the area before capturing the intruder who quickly surrenders after seeing what he's up against. Luca and the others gorillas easily overpowered him, then dragged Malcolm through the village bringing him before the Ape King, Caesar. During the interrogation Luca continuously knocks down Malcolm to the ground in front of Caesar, most likely to prevent him from making an attempt on his king. He then sits with the other apes as they watch Caesar pass his judgment onto their human captive.

Koba's Command
When Koba usurps Caesar, Luca joins him and the other apes as they launch an attack on the human armory in San Francisco before heading for the colony shelter. Arriving at the city, Luca and the army engage in a fierce battle with humans; during the battle he is seen carrying two injured Apes while suffering many injuries himself only for Blue Eyes to help him get the wounded behind the back of old truck. Later on, he throws a flaming oil canister at humans and attempts to break open the gates of the human camp with the other gorillas using a ram before Koba uses the tank (which he hijacked) to blast open the gate allowing the army to enter the city and plunge it into chaos. It is unknown if he participated in the rest of the attack.

Imprisonment
The next day, Luca is shown imprisoned on a bus along with Rocket, Maurice, and other apes by Koba for still being loyal to Caesar. Two days later Blue Eyes appears to tell the prisoners they will soon be freed which encourages all the captured apes to tip the bus where they then break out and flee the area.

Restoring Caesar to Power
He joins his comrades on the journey to the Rodman House where they are shocked and happy to see their leader Caesar alive and well waiting for them. Hours later, he appears with his fellow ape brothers watching Caesar fight Koba. Later in the battle, he helps Rocket and Blue Eyes tend to a wounded Maurice, who had been shot on the edge of his cheek by Koba, to safety. He then finally appears when the apes are bowing down to Caesar as they prepare for the impending war with humans.

Havoc on the Planet of the Apes
Coming soon!

Personality
Luca, like most gorillas, acts very tough but can also be very humorous when he was joking with the Ape Council. It is shown he is very dedicated to his role of being placed in charge of guarding the village entrance from any possible intruders as shown when he quickly alerted the other gorillas of Malcolm's presence in the village. He also displays a fierce loyalty to his fellow apes which was best shown during Koba's attack on the San Francisco Human Colony where he was willing to risk his life to save as many wounded apes while being wounded himself in the process. This side was shown again when in aftermath of the human tower's destruction he saved or freed many wounded apes from debris.

Trivia

 * Luca, Maurice, Rocket, and other apes who are loyal to Caesar and refuse to kill unarmed humans were caged and held prisoner by Koba.
 * Despite it being said that Luca did not kill any humans; during the attack on the city he is seen throwing a flaming oil canister at a pillar, causing an explosion which probably killed or seriously injured nearby humans in the process.
 * In the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - Official Movie Novelization, it is noted that Luca forms a close bond with Malcolm after himself, Caesar, Blue Eyes, Rocket and Maurice helped save Malcolm, Ellie, Alexander and their men from the dam. it is unknown whether the scenes only existed in the script that was used to write the book or whether the scenes were shot but ended up on the cutting room floor.
 * Luca and his predecessor Buck are the only known gorillas to have been given the ALZ-113, as all the other gorillas in the ape colony were not given this drug on-screen.
 * In the recent War for the Planet of the Apes trailer, it hints the possibility of Luca dying.