Caesar

"Don't worry...Maurice. You are...ho-home now. Apes are strong...with...or without me."

- Caesar's final words before his death.

Caesar was the main protagonist of the Planet of the Apes reboot series. He was an evolved chimpanzee, the leader of the Ape Army, the king of the Ape Colony and the patriarch of the Royal Ape Family. He was also the biological son of Alpha and Bright Eyes, the adoptive son of Will Rodman and Caroline Aranha, the adoptive grandson of Charles Rodman, the husband of Cornelia, the father of Blue Eyes and Cornelius and the ape counterpart of Malcolm.

In Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Caesar was raised by Will and Caroline after the death of his mother, but he was banished to live in captivity at the San Bruno Primate Shelter after he violently attacked a neighbor for threatening his adoptive grandfather. However, he later leaded fellow apes in a rebellion against abusive handlers and the police resulting in the apes finding true freedom in the Muir Woods Park. For a decade, Caesar and his people lived in peace due to world pandemic caused by Gen-Sys Laboratories' releasing a deadly virus strain, which isn't lethal to primates, only the human population.

In Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Caesar struggled to maintain dominance over his community of intelligent apes while also having to deal with the threat of war after a group of human survivors suddenly re-emerge after it was believed that humanity had been pushed to extinction due to the Simian Flu Pandemic. Caesar was betrayed and briefly overthrown by one of his former closest friends who he later fought to regains his position. After a long and brutal fight, Caesar emerged victorious but has to prepare his people for all out war against the human race.

In War for the Planet of the Apes, Caesar was mortally wounded by Preacher a human soldier in the final Human-Ape War, after he threw a grenade into an oil tank destroying the human base as well as wiping out the entire Alpha-Omega military faction, effectively ending the war between humans and apes once-and-for all, before succumbing to his wounds, Caesar assures Maurice that the apes are strong with or without him, in return Maurice assures Caesar that Cornelius will know who his father was, and what he stood for, Caesar then dies peacefully, knowing that his son and his people are safe from human oppressors who wish them harm, Caesar also entrust the well-being of his people into the hands of his youngest son, Cornelius, who will one day become the next king of the ape colony.

Caesar will appear in the 2019 animated Planet of the Apes film, Havoc on the Planet of the Apes.

Birth
Dr. Will Rodman, under the employment of Gen-Sys Laboratories, had been working with apes using "ALZ-112" -ged cells through neurogenesis - in the hopes of curing Alzheimer's. A female chimpanzee named Bright Eyes was given the ALZ-112 drug which not only repaired brain cells, but increased her mental capabilities as well. Two months into her trial, while being forcibly removed from her cage, Bright Eyes went on a rampage through the facility before security was forced to kill her in front of board members. Believing the outburst to have been caused by the drug, head of Gen-Sys Laboratories Steven Jacobs ordered all remaining lab apes euthanized, destroying any chance of developing ALZ-112 further. It was discovered, however, that Bright Eyes' aggression was not due to the drug, but to her maternal instinct to protect her newborn baby, whom she had secretly given birth to a day or two earlier. Robert Franklin, the chimp handler responsible for carrying out the euthanasia order, couldn't bring himself to kill the chimpanzee baby, and instead gave it to Will, who managed to smuggle the infant out of the lab and take it home with him.

Childhood
At first Will intended that the baby chimp was just a "temporary house guest", but Charles Rodman's caretaker Irena wondered if having the "pet" might be good for him to take his mind off his Altzheimers. This idea proved true when Charles instantly started to get attached to him. The baby chimpanzee was given the name Caesar by Charles Rodman, Will's Alzheimer's-afflicted father, who, upon holding the infant, quoted Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, "But as for Caesar, Kneel down, kneel down, and wonder". Bearing the same white shooting star birthmark his father Alpha had, Caesar was incredibly intelligent for an ape of his age, immediately learning how to nurse from a bottle on his own at only two days old. This quick learning, and the flecks of green present in his irises, a side effect of ALZ-112 treatment, made Will decide to keep Caesar and raise him as his own, monitoring the ape and continuing to work on the ALZ-112 drug in secret. Right away Caesar displayed signs of heightened intelligence, learning up to twenty-four words in sign language by eighteen months of age, completing puzzles and models designed for human children eight years and up at age two, and able to play chess and complete a Lucas' Tower puzzle with a perfect score of fifteen moves at age three, continuing to show cognitive skills far exceeding that of ordinary Chimpanzees. Will hypothesized that Caesar's heightened intelligence was a result of the ALZ-112 virus being passed down genetically from Bright Eyes to Caesar in utero, as indicated by his eyes changing to a green color, and that in the absence of damaged brain cells that needed replacing, the drug instead radically boosted healthy brain functions.

When Caesar was three years old, he wanted to join the human children riding bicycles outside and escaped out a window while Will was busy assessing his father's improvement, having treated him with the ALZ-112. When Caesar was caught playing with a bicycle in his neighbour's garage, Alice Hunsiker alerted her father, irate neighbor Douglas Hunsiker, who tried to beat Caesar with a bat until Will and Charles arrived to defend him. Caesar's leg is injured in the scuffle, so Will snuck him into the San Francisco Zoo where he is treated by veterinarian and primatologist Caroline Aranha. Surprised that Caesar had been taught how to sign, Caroline checks up on Caesar at the Rodman House, impressed by the home Will has made for Caesar and his skills in language and acrobatics. She says that despite her love of chimpanzees, she is also appropriately afraid of them, noting that Caesar will soon grow into a large, powerful ape and should have some more space. This prompts will to take Caesar to the Muir Woods Park, and for the next five years Will and Caroline, now in a relationship, take Caesar here frequently, where he plays and spends time in a more natural habitat, climbing the towering redwood trees. On one such outing, Caesar, now eight years old, is being led on a leash by Will when he sees a family with their dog on a leash as well and begins to question his identity. To answer his questions, Will takes Caesar to see the Gen-Sys Laboratories where he works, and explains that it is where Caesar was born, where his mother was kept with other chimps, but that she is dead. He goes on to reveal to both Caesar and Caroline that Caesar's intelligence is the result of his mother having been treated with the ALZ-112 and passing it onto him. Caesar, agitated, doubts his identity now more than ever, unsure if he is human or ape.

Imprisonment
Worse, Charles' immune system developed antibodies that fight off the ALZ-112 virus and his dementia returns. In his state of dementia, Charles got into Hunsiker's car and turned it on, the key carelessly left in the ignition. He pressed the gas and hit the cars in front of and behind him, getting the attention of Hunsiker, who threatened and pushed Charles. Caesar was alerted to the situation and jumped out of a window, attacking and biting the neighbor's finger in Charles's defense. After the incident, Caesar was ordered by the courts to leave Will's house and to be sent to the San Bruno Primate Shelter run by John Landon, where the apes were held in cages with the exception of intermissions where they were released into a jungle-themed play area. The apes inside the facility were treated cruelly by Landon's son, Dodge, who worked as a guard there. At the San Bruno Primate Shelter, Caesar started out being treated poorly by both the staff and by most of his ape companions. In the exercise area, he was beaten down by the dominant chimpanzee, Rocket. Despite all this Caesar was able to form a friendship with Maurice, a friendly former circus orangutan who knows sign language as well. Later, Dodge brought his friends into the facility, who teased the apes. Without caution his male friend moved too close to Caesar's cage and was grabbed by Caesar, having his pocket knife unknowingly stolen. Caesar tied the pocket knife to a stick and used it to unlock the door and free himself. The first thing he did while free was break out Buck, the aggressive gorilla kept in solitary confinement, whom he took an interest in after seeing him trying to escape from his cage. After a small celebration of his freedom, Buck showed his respect and gratitude for Caesar becoming a second friend to the chimpanzee. Caesar, with Buck at his side, lured Rocket into the exercise area where he hit Rocket over the head with a metal gasoline canister (one of the toys given to the apes) but did no more harm, establishing his dominance over the ape and proving he was the new leader. During this encounter, Caesar gained the respect from the other sheltered apes.

Rebellion
Caesar then stole cookies that belong to Dodge and gave them to Rocket who while tempted to eat all the cookies he ultimately shared with the others which earned him the respect from Rocket. The next day, Maurice asked Caesar why he gave the cookie to Rocket and Caesar using sign language said that apes must stand together to be strong. As this was happening the pair noticed a pair of apes playing in the water and acting foolishly, prompted Maurice to say "Apes stupid". This statement had gave Caesar an idea and he decided to escape from the primate shelter in order to find a way to make the other apes smarter. That night, he traveled back to Will's house. Caesar entered the house through Will and Caroline's bedroom window where after looking upon his sleeping adoptive parents he went into the kitchen where he stole some canisters of "ALZ-113" and after inhaling some of the gas he gained more intelligence with his eyes turning more green in the process. Realizing this is what he needed to enhance the intelligence of the other apes he returned to the facility where he punctured the canisters and released the gas throughout the cage area which further enhanced the intelligence and mental capabilities of himself and his fellow apes. The next day, when all the apes were being sent to the play area Caesar examined the apes and saw that they now possess green eyes, a sign that they have gained intelligence and are now Evolved Apes like him. Caesar then organized the apes and told them of his plan of leading them to freedom in the Muir Woods Park. Dodge, the sadistic caretaker noticed Caesar in the play area when he was not supposed to be with the other apes watching this act. A brief scuffle ensued with Dodge hitting Caesar with the electrical cattle prod multiple times but soon ended with Caesar catching the prod. Dodge, angered and struggling stated "Take your stinking paw off me, you damn dirty ape!". Caesar then showed his first capability of human speech by shouting "NO"! at Dodge, leaving him, Rodney and Buck shocked, after which Caesar knocked the surprised human out by hitting him with the prod. He then took the incapacitated Dodge to the cages where he freed the other apes though the remaining watchman Rodney entered the scene but seeing he was outnumbered he tried to escape however, he was grabbed and the apes proceeded to beat him until Caesar stopped them. Knowing that Rodney was a more kinder human than Dodge, Caesar instead calmly locked the scared Rodney in a cage. As he did so Dodge regained consciousness and got out his cage this didn't go unnoticed by the apes who began moving in on him. Dodge then tried to get the water hose, Caesar pulled it back, making Dodge grabbed his electric cattle prod saying he will skin every one of them before running at Caesar, who sprayed him with the hose while his electric cattle prod was in his hand, electrocuting and killing him. Horrified, at his deed Caesar grieves before looking upon an ape tag and deciding to move ahead with his plans and liberate all the other captive apes in the city. He frees Buck from his cage and the apes at the facility then escaped into the night by breaking the windows above the play area and climbing through them. Arriving at the outskirts of the city, Caesar divided the ape forces into two groups with one faction led by Buck to invade the Zoo while the other with himself, Rocket and Maurice which headed to the Gen-Sys Laboratories, as he knew some of the sheltered apes - such as Cornelia and Lucky who had been there for experimentation. Caesar's group released all the apes there (including Koba) while Buck's group broke into the San Francisco Zoo not only liberating countless apes but the bars from the ape cage's at the Zoo gave the evolved apes new weapons to combat the humans. Caesar successfully led an army of hundreds of apes through the streets of San Francisco putting the city to a massive panic. The apes battled through multiple police and animal control threats of the city and using a trolley they headed to Golden Gate Bridge, as their next stop to freedom.

Battle on the Golden Gate Bridge
Caesar and his army charged their way through the bridge terrifying all the humans there and rushed their way to the end of the bridge. The police setting up a blockade evacuated all the people as they prepared to end the ape threat. Caesar, anticipating this strategy launched a three pronged attack with most of the chimpanzees guided by Koba attacking from the high-wire supports using the fog as cover,the orangutans and some of the chimps being led by Maurice to attack from the bottom supports, and the gorillas and several other chimpanzees headed by Caesar, Buck, and Rocket leading the charge straight down the bridge. When the police shot one of the chimpanzees, he slipped and fell to his death, causing an angered Maurice to lead the orangutans to the center of the bridge faster. Caesar then had Buck and the gorillas push a bus in the range of the police bullets and riding a police horse, through the fog, he gave his army the order to attack. After a long battle, the apes finally defeated the police and were celebrating their victory. As this happened, Will called out to Caesar which shocked the ape leader but this was quickly subsided as Steven Jacobs (director of Gen-Sys Laboratories) and a few officers arrived in a helicopter and began gunning down a large group of the apes. Jacobs had identified Caesar as the leader and attempted to have him gunned down but Buck witnessing this pushed his friend to safety and leapt off the bridge towards the helicopter (while being shot multiple times) and landed inside. He caused the helicopter to crash onto the bridge, killing all the people inside except Jacobs. Caesar rushed to the wreckage and pulled a fatally wounded Buck out the debris and tried his best to help him survive, but failed in doing so. Buck then died but not before thanking Caesar for his friendship, this act deeply sadden Caesar who closed buck's eyes before mourning the loss of his good friend and comrade. Caesar then heard a voice calling for help and walked over to the helicopter and saw a bloodied Jacobs inside. Jacobs begged Caesar to help him out, but Caesar angered at humans like Jacobs (who abuse and hurt apes) and sadden over the lost of his friend walked away and gave Koba permission to kill Jacobs once and for all. Koba putting his foot on the helicopter, caused it to tip over the edge of the bridge plummeting into the waters below, killing Jacobs.

Freedom At Last
Caesar then led all of the apes to freedom in the Muir Woods Park. Will stealing a police car followed them and arrived at the forest calling for Caesar when he was suddenly attacked by Koba, who was prepared to kill him on the spot. However, Caesar appeared and stopped the angry bonobo before he could do any more harm, throwing Koba to the ground ordering him to back off. Angry, the latter ran off into the woods. Caesar then helped Will up, Will started to beg Caesar to come home with him and warned Caesar that he knew what humans are capable of doing to the ape population. He guaranteed Caesar that he would be protected if he would just came back home with him. Caesar looking upon his ape followers hugged Will, and now being capable of basic human speech, informed him "Caesar is home". Will, shocked and amazed that Caesar talked and seeing that he and the other apes are better off in the woods accepted this and allowed his adoptive son to be free with his own kind. Caesar then walked up to the tree he climbed when he was three, turned to see the apes rising to their hind legs like him, accepting him as their leader and moved out of his way as he climbed the up his favorite tree with Maurice and Rocket joining him on the adjacent trees. The trio then looked out upon the destruction they had caused in San Francisco, wondering what the future holds in store for ape kind, unaware the ALZ-113 pandemic that struck mankind.

A New Beginning For Apes
Caesar is first seen scouting the trees as helicopters fly over the canopy of trees and is joined by his friend, Rocket. Caesar suddenly finds himself remembering his childhood when Will brought him out into the forest. Shaking the memories off, Rocket alerts him to the helicopter coming straight at them.

Signalling to Rocket that he wants six apes to come to him, Caesar tells him to be quick and quiet. Caesar then takes off attempting to calm the apes down. He finds his orangutan friend, Maurice and tells him to get the apes to be quiet and to lead them away from the helicopters.

Moving down the trees, Caesar finds his new wife Cornelia, tending to the injured apes. She spots him and approaches him almost reluctantly before extending her hand out to him. He sees that she is agitated but remembers she's like this a lot. He tells her that they need to get moving before the humans find them. She defiantly tells him no, explaining that if the apes that are injured move it hurts too much and that they require rest. Caesar then threatens her before she finally steps aside and goes to help the injured to their feet.

Satisfied, Caesar returns to the trees and is rejoined by Rocket who has recruited three orangutans, two chimpanzees and the bonobo, Koba whom they rescued from Gen-Sys Laboratories. The eight apes climb up into the canopy and towards the sound of the helicopters but the machines have seemed to disappear. Caesar is fearful that they might be too late. Reaching the top of the canopy his worst fears are realised as he sees that a helicopter is already lined up and is heading straight for the troop. He finds a dead tree branch and launches it at the helicopter and screams at the top of his lungs with Rocket and the assembled apes joining in.

Caesar stops one of the younger apes from throwing themselves at the machine which doesn't seem to be affected by the branch's blow. Caesar hears the familiar hiss of a tranquillizer dart and sees a shooter in the aircraft getting ready to take another shot. Caesar calls the other apes down from the trees and tells them to wait for the helicopters to leave. When they don't, Rocket asks what they're going to do it and Caesar tells him that he doesn't know and they should keep waiting.

The new Alpha begins to realize that he hasn't thought his escape plan out far enough and that now he is relying on the troop's willingness to survive. He knows he doesn't want the humans to die out and just wants them to leave them alone. Suddenly, his thoughts are penetrated when he hears the sound of gunfire. He tells the apes to keep moving. He has them moving until dawn the next morning, fully aware that everyone is tired and sore. He hopes that they have evaded the humans for at least a day or so.

More coming soon!

Ape King
After ten years of living in peace and safety, Caesar still reigns strongly over the ape colony whose population have grown into thousands living in a large village in the Muir Woods Park. Through his rule, he has made his people more intelligent with them learning sign language, medicinal training and hunting as means of surviving the harsh woods. Caesar also assembled a group of his most closest friends which consist of Rocket, Maurice, Luca and Koba to be apart of the Ape Council that make the decisions for the village. He has married Cornelia and the two were soon given a son named Blue Eyes (due to his blue iris') who is the prince of their now growing colony. Caesar later inducted his son into his army and council in order for him to learn more about how to operate a growing empire that will one day be his own. At a later point in his life, he would learn that he and his wife will be expecting another child in the near future.

Hunting trip
Now middle-aged and raising a teenage son, Caesar leads his apes on a hunting expedition. He attempts to teach his son, Blue Eyes how to hunt without getting hurt but this doesn't go to plan. Blue Eyes, who continuously ignores his father's orders, wanders off and is attacked by a bear. Caesar, seeing his son in trouble rushes to help him but he too struggles with the bear. He calls for his friend Koba who spears the bear in the back of the head, killing it but causing it's body to collapse on Caesar and his son. Caesar emerges from under the bear's corpse, he thanks Koba for his help before attempting to check out Blue Eyes' injuries only to be brushed off by the teen. Caesar then has his group collect the dead bodies of the bear and the deer that were caught in the hunt. Afterwards he meets back up with the other apes and marches the horses back to the village with their food in tow.

A Second Son
Arriving back in the village, Caesar is summoned home by his wife Cornelia's midwives. Hurrying home, the Ape king joins his wife just as she gives birth to their second son Cornelius. Overjoyed by the reality of having a second son, Caesar summons the nearby Blue Eyes over, telling him, "Come meet your new brother." Together, the family celebrates the birth of a new addition to their family.

Later, Caesar sits looking out over the village with his long-time friend Maurice. Maurice congratulates Caesar over the birth of his new son. Caesar, taking his best friend's comments in stride, smiles. The conversation steers away from the boys and turns to the humans. Maurice asks if Caesar misses the humans in which Caesar replies that he does sometimes. Maurice then recounts everything that has happened in the last ten years as the human appearances have become less and less.

Finding Humans in the Woods
Caesar awakens early in the morning by the sound of gunfire. Hurrying outside, he sees that the entire colony has heard it. Rushing out into the forest with Rocket and Maurice and various others, Caesar sees that his honorary nephew, Ash, the son of Rocket has been shot by humans. Rocket begins to panic over his son's condition. Caesar tells Rocket to calm down and shouts (in English) at the humans to leave before ordering Koba to follow them to see how many humans there are now.

Back in the village, Caesar sits listening as his council argues over what is to be done about the humans. Koba and Blue Eyes argue with Ash and Rocket about Ash's shooting while Maurice sits silently, looking through the bag one of the humans dropped in the rush. Caesar shouts to make the council go silent. Caesar tells them that he will have a decision by morning. Afterwards, Koba approaches Caesar and tells him the apes need to make a show of strength to the humans to which Caesar agrees.

Apes' Warning
The next morning, the apes heavy in number march into the remnants of San Francisco, on horseback an armed with spears. It is there, to the shock of most of the humans present, that Caesar speaks (in English) and states that while the apes have no interest in a war, but they will fight to protect themselves and their home. He then warns the humans to not come back into the ape's territory and has Blue Eyes give Malcolm his son's satchel before personally telling Malcolm to not come back with that said and done, the ape army leaves back to their homes having given their message to the shocked humans.

A Truce
Later, Caesar is in the village at his home when his followers come with a captured Malcolm the human states he remembers Caesar's threat about not staying out of the ape's territory but he had a reason to and he just has to show it to Caesar. However, koba accuses Malcolm of lying and asks for permission to kill him on the spot as the other apes present roar in agreement. Caesar, neutral on Malcolm's presence calms his subjects down and tells Malcolm to show him what's important with that he and his followers journey to the dam at the edge of the woods. Once there Malcolm shows the apes the thing which the humans need help with restoring the power to the city in order to contact any remaining human survivors and bringing them to San Francisco. He then reveals that he has other humans with him to accomplish the task and says that if he's a threat to the ape's home they have the right to kill him. Caesar agrees to let the humans work on the dam but on the condition that they give up their guns as a way to avoid any danger on both sides. The humans proceed to work and while some of his followers are mistrusting of them Caesar remains at ease with their presence in the territory.

While Rocket is busy destroying the guns Koba goes to Caesar about why he is helping the humans, despite the possibility of them becoming more dangerous if they get power. Caesar sees how desperate they are and tells him that if they make them leave they will attack the Ape Village. Koba suggests the apes should let them attack them and that they can destroy the humans while they are weak, but Caesar points out how many apes could die. He says that the humans and apes have only one chance for peace, he tells Koba that he will let the humans do thier work then they will go. Koba chuckles and reminds Caesar of the work humans did to him in the labs to the point of yelling. Caesar stands up over Koba for talking back at him and Koba immediately backs down. Caesar forgives him and Koba leaves in shame and anger. His son Blue Eyes, talks to his father that Koba says apes should hate humans. Caesar orders him to be quiet and tells him that Koba learned nothing but hatred from the humans.

Aiding the Humans
Caesar, his sons and his most trusted followers would then visit the dam to monitor the humans progress as they arrive Caesar asks where Koba is after noticing his absence to which the other reply they do not know. When the humans were in danger after an explosion went off in the Dam the apes came to their aid and pulled them to safety which briefly put their past tense differences aside. As the humans were resting Caesar's son Cornelius crawled out of Blue Eyes' arms and go over to the humans having grown curious about them. Caesar was shown smiling as the humans and his son enjoyed the other's company and didn't seem to mind the fact that his son was being playful but this ended as soon as Cornelius scurried over to the human Carver's pack discovering a concealed shotgun. Carver quickly shooed Cornelius away from the gun causing Blue to leap into action and defend his brother but this led to Carver picking up his weapon pointing it at blue Eyes threatening to kill him. However, Caesar came to both his sons' aid and strikes carver with the gun attempting to kill the human with it though Malcolm quickly tells Caesar to not do it and calms him down. Caesar, looks at the gun intently deeply angered the humans broke his rules about no guns which they used to threaten the lives of both his children. He points the gun at the humans before throwing the weapon into the water. He picks up Cornelius, while holding him in a protective grip he orders the humans to leave the Ape Territory immediately.

He and his followers return home while the humans are begging for him to reconsider as they did not know about the weapon Carver had on him promising to get rid of him if necessary. Caesar ignores their pleas and is quickly called by his village doctors to tend to his wife who is shown to be really sick and the doctors tell him they do not know what is plaguing her. This news begins to worry Caesar as he can't believe he will lose his wife to an unknown disease. His worries are soon pushed to the side as Malcolm and Ellie who followed him to his home say they have medicine that might cure Cornelia but they will only administer it with his permission. Caesar weighing his options of either losing his wife or permitting the humans help ultimately relents and allows the humans to aid him and his family. Ellie gives Cornelia medicine and her condition starts to improve after taking the medicine. Seeing their generosity Caesar allows Malcolm's group to stay for one more day but Malcolm tells him they might need more than that, but Caesar is adamant about his decision and tells them the apes will help them as Blue Eyes bluntly refuses to do so.

Koba's Usurpation
Later on, Caesar is at the dam with the humans while having the other apes aid the humans to restore power to the city. As some time goes on the apes and humans begin to get along that is until an angry Koba arrives yelling for Caesar while attacking the humans at the dam before Caesar arrives. Koba angry that Caesar would let the humans work after they just threatened his sons and accuses him of loving humans more than apes and more than his own sons. This angers Caesar; he violently lashes out at Koba and begins to beat the bonobo for his insolence but after seeing him on the verge on death he stops. Citing the "Ape not kill Ape" law, he calms down and Koba begs for his forgiveness which Caesar allows and continues to aid the humans unaware of Koba's future plans. Through the combined efforts of the apes and humans they succeed in restoring power, giving San Francisco back it's power. Later at night, Caesar would invite the humans to the Ape Village where they could see the results of their hard work. Caesar would express happiness that his followers have managed to work with humans has his spirits lifted when out of nowhere Cornelia arrives and joins the celebration her illness cured due to the humans' kindness. This makes Caesar more happy and he and his family celebrate even more with their new human friends. Caesar is seen smiling while watching his wife and sons embrace before he notices a noise and goes to check it out where he spots Koba sitting on a branch awaiting him. The two apes lock eyes with one another as Koba pulls out an assault rifle and shoots Caesar in the shoulder causing him to fall from his home to the ground below with his family and followers reacting in horror as he falls presumably to his death. Koba would then have his followers set the village on fire forcing the apes to flee out their homes with their lives intact. Blue Eyes would show the apes a gun along with Carver's baseball hat as Koba appears and tells them it was humans that attack their home and killed their beloved leader. He takes mantle of Alpha for himself and using his new power convinces the apes to attack the city to get revenge on those responsible for their home's destruction and Caesar's "death".

Return to his Old Home
Malcolm and his family who narrowly managed to escape the Ape's rampage hide out in the forest where they find Caesar's body on the ground before realizing he is still alive (albeit barely). They quickly gather him up and place him in their truck where they ponder on how Carver got the gun in his supposed attack on the ape king but Caesar tells them it was Koba that shot him and he just framed humans for the incident. Malcolm's family then ponder on where to take Caesar only for him to say he knows a place: his old family home the Rodman's Residence which was a place for him to truly be at rest.

Reunion With His Son
As he rests his condition begins to take a turn for the worse which makes his new friends worry but because they have no medicine on them and the apes have taken control of the city they have no way to acquire it until Malcolm volunteers. Caesar would then await his friend's return and when he comes back bringing the medicine and a surprise with him it is Caesar's son Blue Eyes who is shocked to see his father still alive. Upon seeing his son, Caesar would ask him over the condition of Cornelia and Cornelius to which Blue Eyes says they are both okay for the time being relieving Caesar. Blue Eyes then examines his father's wound and becomes angry at the humans thinking they are responsible for the shooting but Caesar tells him it was Koba that shot him not humans. Ellie tells Caesar they have to operate as Caesar holds out his hand to Blue Eyes which his son takes as Ellie proceeds to operate on Caesar. Later on, Caesar rests from the surgery until he suddenly awakens and grunts in pain catching Blue Eyes' (who was looking a picture of Caesar and Will Rodman together) attention. The young ape apologizes to his father for his actions while his father says that everything that has happened is because of him confusing his son who states that Koba is the one who betrayed him. Caesar then says he chose to trust Koba because he is an ape. Caesar then tells Blue Eyes he always thought that apes were better than humans but after seeing Koba's actions he realizes how alike they truly are. He asks for Koba's location to which he is told that he's on the human tower with the loyal apes causing Caesar to ask about those that don't follow the rogue bonobo's orders to which Blue Eyes says they are prisoners among them are Maurice, Rocket and many others before telling Caesar that Koba has killed Ash and that fear has turned the apes into ruthless killing machines. Blue Eyes tries to reassure his father that once the apes see Caesar alive they will turn from Koba but Caesar says they won't if he is weak as ape always follow the strongest branch. Unable to contain his anger at koba's actions towards his people, Caesar attempts to get up while proclaiming he must stop Koba before its too late only to have his son stop him and beg (in broken English) to help though reluctant he allows the young ape to try. Blue Eyes would leave the house to gather a force of apes for his father to defeat Koba.

While awaiting his son's return, Caesar having fully recovered walks around his family home becoming nostalgic over his past and though sadden at what has happened to it in the ten years that he's been gone he feels great to be back. He would then spot a charging Camcorder and after turning it on he find out it is an old video of him as an infant being taught sign by his adoptive human father Will Rodman. He would then tell the observing Malcolm who asks about who the man in the video was that he was a good man like him.

When blue eyes returns with Caesar's remaining loyal followers Maurice, Rocket, Luca and many others who are overjoyed to see their true leader and close friend still alive. Malcolm then tells Caesar he knows of a place to enter the city without being detected and the apes follow him down the subway where they are forced to separate due to hostile humans being there. Caesar is then told by Blue Eyes that Koba is staring to move the female apes and their infants from the woods into the city (including Cornelia and Cornelius). With this new knowledge, he urges Malcolm and the others to move immediately.

Battle With an Old Friend
Caesar and his followers would then head to the Human Hideout Tower where they personally confront Koba who along with the other apes is deeply surprised to see Caesar still alive. Koba tells Caesar he has no place there as the apes follow him now but Caesar replies they follow him to war, koba boasts the apes are strong and will win the war with him as leader. He then calls Caesar weak but unhurt and defiant Caesar replies "Koba... Weaker" which angers Koba who then attacks Caesar, resulting in a huge battle. The two apes would use their fists and melee weapons to aid them in their fight while the other apes can only watch as the battle for supremacy commences. As they fight, Caesar express contempt for Koba's actions against him, saying he trusted Koba like a brother only to be told by Koba that he is a brother to humans while he (Koba) fights to free apes from human tyranny. Caesar states Koba killed ape, that he only fights for himself and that he belongs in cage, causing the bonobo to attack him more viciously. Caesar quickly takes advantage of the frenzy by punching Koba in the ribs before knocking him back and continuing their battle which ends up going all around the tower. The battle would then be interrupted as an explosion caused by Dreyfus detonating C4 causes them to lose their balance and nearly destroys the tower. Caesar, seeing many of his people dead or injured has his followers help him get the other apes to safety before it is too late. As they helped their people a gunshot is heard and an ape helped by Caesar is shot dead, the apes turn and see Koba holding a gun shooting the other apes forcing many apes to run for cover. Caesar watched as Blue Eyes throws debris at Koba causing him to open fire him leading to one stray bullet hitting and scarring a nearby Maurice who is pulled to safety by Blue Eyes and Rocket. Enraged by Koba's actions, Caesar angrily dives at Koba and tackles him, causing both of them to tumble down a platform. Caesar lands to safety while Koba is left dangling from a ledge holding on for dear life. Koba barely manages to pull himself up and begs for Caesar to save him citing the "Ape not kill Ape" law. Caesar then grabs Koba's hand and slowly starts to pull him up, which relieves Koba until he sees the dark look in Caesar's eyes and hears him say firmly, "You are not ape". Caesar then lets go of Koba's hand, sending him falling from the tower, presumably to his death. The apes then celebrate Caesar's victory, as the latter mourns Koba's death as he had previously been like a brother to them, but felt it was for the best to end the chaos he began.

Restoration to Power
The apes then leave the tower to regroup with the females and the young and tend to their wounded as they do Caesar hears the sound of growling apes is heard Caesar turns and sees Malcolm being threatened by Grey and other apes with guns he tells them to leave him alone. Malcolm then informs him that Dreyfus had made contact with humans up at military base and they're on the way to battle against the apes, with that he begs Caesar to leave while he still can. Caesar, on the other hand asks where would he go as this is his home and says the apes started the war and humans will not forgive them for what has transpired. Caesar apologizes to Malcolm and tells him to take his family somewhere safe before the fighting begins and the two sadly embrace as friends. Both he and Malcolm lament the fact that peace between their races could have been achieved if there were not any prejudice or animosity existing on each side. Malcolm then slips into the shadows as Caesar is reunited his wife and infant son who are overjoyed to see him alive and healthy. Caesar embraces his wife and both his sons after having been away from them too long in the chaos that followed.

Impending War
Caesar approaches the remaining apes who proceed to bow down signifying they once again accept him as their leader and await his guidance for the fighting to come. Caesar then looks onto the horizon knowing that things will never be the same after the upcoming war started by Koba.

War for the Planet of the Apes
Coming soon!

Havoc on the Planet of the Apes
Coming soon!

Legacy
Caesar made the apes believe that they are strong with or without him. Maurice was even going to tell Cornelius about his father and what he did.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Caesar was an immensely intelligent chimpanzee who commands respect and loyalty from all those that encounter him. From his various ages, Caesar's personality changes.

As an infant, Caesar was very curious, his curiosity grows as he gets older and sometimes gets him into trouble.

As a young chimpanzee, Caesar was very playful, adventurous and carefree.

However, as a teenager, Caesar was much more mature, displaying human emotions, such as happiness, anger and independence. He also displays a resentment for most humans after he learns the truth about his origins and his mother's death. At the beginning, Caesar had a good relationship with humans due to being raised by Will and Caroline, but by the end, Caesar had grown to despise most humans mainly because of their behavior towards his fellow apes. His relationship with his people is much better. He is devoted and protective of his fellow apes. Caesar had proven on several occasions to be a great leader, displaying charisma during the battle on the Golden Gate Bridge, and willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of his army.

Caesar was also compassionate, these emotions, however, can cause him to attack anyone who dares to try and harm the people he loves, this was proven on several occasions usually involving humans and apes, on the first occasion, he viciously attacks Hunsiker who assaults a confused Charles, during the incident, Caesar bites off of Hunsiker's right index finger by accident, a trait that all apes share when it comes to humans, but becomes horrified by his actions and is consoled by Charles. On the second occasion, Caesar refuses to return to his cage and is confronted by Dodge, growing more and more furious at the man's insults, he shocks everyone by speaking for the first time and by unintentionally killing Dodge. Although Caesar hated the man, he did not intend to cause his death. His death causes Caesar to experience survivor's guilt, but it also leads him to vow to kill only the humans that did wrong to him and his people, not those that did no wrong. He also begins to teach his people to do the same.

Although he loves and adores his adoptive father, Will. Their relationship eventually becomes strained to the point where Caesar starts to feel abandoned by Will and when Will attempts to reclaim him, Caesar refuses to go home with him, no longer wishing to be treated as a pet and preferring to stay with his fellow apes. During the battle on the Golden Gate Bridge, Caesar witnesses the deaths of many of his fellow apes, including his loyal friend, Buck, who sacrifices himself in order to protect Caesar. Caesar experiences sorrow and pain over Buck's death and also displays ruthlessness and cruelty when he refuses to save Jacobs who was, although indirectly, responsible for Buck's death. Instead of killing the man himself, Caesar chooses to allow Koba to kill Jacobs, which also displays that Caesar can be merciless but also vengeful. Although Caesar could have returned to the only home he has ever known, he ultimately chooses to live in the redwood forest with his fellow apes, choosing a life of freedom over a life of solitude.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Firestorm
During the early days of the Ape Colony, initially, Caesar became slightly arrogant, impulsive and a control freak, however, by the time of the events of Dawn, he had become mature to the point where he was no longer the arrogant, impulsive and control freak chimpanzee he once was.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
As a middle-age chimpanzee, Caesar was wise and well-respected by his people who see him as more of the all-father than the king. He was the ultimate leader. He combines intellect and ability, confidence and humility, strength and compassion. It's this unique mix of rare qualities that inspires others to follow. At the same time though, he was not afraid to assert dominance if another ape defies him, seeing it as a challenge to his authority (such as when he nearly strangled Koba after the latter accused Caesar of caring for humans more than apes and his own family, in front of his fellow apes including his son, Blue Eyes).

As a husband, he loved his wife, Cornelia, and shares an affectionate relationship with her. As a father, he loved both of his sons, Blue Eyes and Cornelius, sharing a strong bond with and sometimes having problems with his eldest son, but also becoming a counterbalance to Blue Eyes' recklessness. Caesar was fiercely protective of his family and will never hesitate to protect them when they are threatened, he will even go as far as to attempt to kill to protect his loved ones. This was proven when he almost kills Carver who threatened the lives of both of his sons.

As the king of a growing empire, Caesar had many responsibilities that can be very stressful since he had to try and juggle between being a husband, a father and a king. However, he had Cornelia's constant support; her presence also helps keep him grounded and calm in important situations. He had since developed a strong moral code and principle, apes do not kill apes. He was fiercely loyal to the moral code, proven when he almost kills Koba after the latter accuses him of loving humans more than his people and his family, but ultimately spares his life. Caesar was also very forgiving even if he had been deceived or disrespected, proven when he forgives Koba twice for his indolence. Despite his resentment for most humans, Caesar still possesses compassion and sympathy for the humans, proven by his friendship with Malcolm, but also because he was raised by the Rodman family who showered him with nothing but love and kindness.

Caesar was once naïve, believing that apes were better than humans, but after Koba's betrayal, Caesar realizes that there is no difference between the two species. Caesar still possesses some of the personality traits when he was a teenager, such as violent mood swings, although he had learned to control himself. He was a terrifying spectacle when he was enraged. In the end, Caesar still displays a dark side when he chooses to let Koba fall to his death, after declaring that he was no longer an ape and because he has destroyed any chance for peace between the apes and the humans, forcing Caesar to have to prepare his people for war.

War for the Planet of the Apes: Revelations
More to come...

War for the Planet of the Apes
Over the next two years throughout the final human-ape war, Caesar preferred to use speech to communicate, and struggles to maintain his compassion and sympathy for humans as his fellow apes suffer. When his peace offer was met with the assassination of his own son, Caesar became full of vengeance, going on a vendetta to kill McCullough, even abandoning his apes to do so. He (apparently) became uncaring towards humans, killing one without a second thought and would have left Nova to die had Maurice not convinced him otherwise. Caesar eventually warmed towards Nova, but his hatred of McCullough kept him from getting closer to her. When his group found a dying soldier, Caesar showed some of his former compassion and sympathy, and upon learning the soldier wouldn't live, mercifully killed him. Still, Caesar admitted to Maurice and Rocket that he had grown to be like Koba, struggling to escape the darkness in his heart. This elevated further when Luca died protecting him, Caesar ordering Maurice and Rocket away to finish the mission alone. However, when it came down to it, he was unable to shoot McCullough, displaying he hadn't truly been consumed by utter hatred.

Caesar also maintained his love for his apes, defying Red's treatment of one, standing against him and McCullough, enough to inspire his group to do likewise. Caesar was also disturbed by McCullough's murder of his own fellow humans, believing the man was cruel and disturbed. Ultimately, Ceaser still maintained his compassion and sympathy for humans while leading his apes to freedom.

Trivia

 * Caesar is a similar character to Taylor in the original films, because of his situation and because the birthmark on his shoulder may be inspired by the burns Taylor got on his shoulder after fighting another human.
 * It can also be seen that this version of Caesar is similar to Roddy McDowall's Caesar in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and Battle for the Planet of the Apes as both become leaders of ape colonies, marry and have sons.
 * Similar to Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Caesar was named after the Roman dictator Julius Caesar. Unlike Julius Caesar, he stands for leadership through kindness.
 * The screenwriters believed that apes sexually mature at 8 years old and that Caesar could thus potentially attack Hunsiker at that age. Although chimps can become unpredictable at age 8, they don't become adults until at or past the age of 13.
 * Caesar was actually to be played by three people, Andy Serkis mostly played him from infancy to adulthood, Devyn Dalton played him in some scenes when he was a toddler, and Terry Notary played Caesar in the Golden Gate Bridge battle scene.
 * At Comic Con 2013, Andy Serkis mentioned in an interview that in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Caesar would have a teenage son and wife. It was confirmed by the film's producer Dylan Clark that Caesar's wife will in fact be Cornelia while the son was only mentioned a couple of times by Jason Clarke and by Andy Serkis himself. Actor Nick Thurston announced on his Facebook page that he was playing the role of Caesar's son and that the character's name was River before the name was changed to Blue Eyes during post-production. In a press conference at Comic Con, Andy Serkis mentioned that Caesar will also have an infant child meaning he would have more then one child in the film.
 * It has been suspected that Caesar actually witnessed the deaths of his surrogate parents Will and Caroline.
 * The words Caesar speaks in Rise are: 'NO!' and 'Caesar is Home' which he says clearly while according to the film's DVD subtitles he says "Wait!", "Go Up" and "Get Under" which are incoherent during the Battle on the Golden Gate Bridge. He also seems to say "NOW!" when he emerges out of the fog on the back of a police horse.
 * In the first official still from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, his shooting star birthmark wasn't visible.
 * When Caesar bites Hunsiker while attempting to protect Charles, it's a reference to Andy Serkis' earlier role in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings Trilogy when Gollum (Andy Serkis) bites Frodo's finger off in their final confrontation.
 * Judy Greer revealed in an interview that Caesar is still grounded in terms of personality because of the presence of his wife.
 * Matt Reeves has said in the recent USA Today sneak peek article that the other apes who value Caesar's leadership see him as their king and as their father.
 * According to a recent article, Caesar is not a big fan of guns.
 * Caesar will share some emotional scenes with both Ellie and Malcolm.
 * Caesar will be in a dilemma in this movie as he has very difficult choices to make regarding his apes and the surviving humans led by Malcolm.
 * There is a difference in the two trailers recently released in the shot of the baby's birth. In the domestic trailer, Caesar isn't wearing war paint but in the international trailer its the same shot only Caesar is wearing war-paint.
 * In the first official featurette for Dawn, there is a never before seen shot where Caesar hugs Koba but the reason is currently unknown. The scene does return in a deleted scene where Caesar thanks Koba for saving his life from the bear and declares to the entire Ape Village in speech, "Apes together strong!"
 * According to an interview Caesar has only one scene with Dreyfus.
 * Andy Serkis has mentioned in an interview that he has based Caesar's relationship with Blue Eyes on the relationship he has with his own teenage son.
 * Andy Serkis stated that he took great inspiration from revolutionary and former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela when he said "Really what Caesar is all about, he is empathy". and "It was really important to base the character on a leader who is capable of empathy and there aren't that many out there, however Nelson Mandela came to mind".
 * As two years have passed since the events of Dawn, it appears (according to the first trailer for War) that Caesar is now capable of forming complete sentences when it comes to speaking. However, it is unknown at the moment as to whether both of his sons and Cornelia can do the same.
 * It can be presumed that Caesar always had a knowledge of proper English grammar given that he was raised by humans, and is able to understand complex sentences, his grammar improves drastically over the course of the films without any form of instruction, the reason why he couldn't speak fluently from the start could possibly be because, he has never actually spoken  for most of his life so he would have no prior practice speaking despite having a theroetical knowledge of the language, and that his vocal cords had not mutated enough to allow him to speak until he was an adult.
 * It is unknown how Caesar knew green eyes was a sign on intelligence when inspecting the evolved apes in Rise.
 * Casear has become more human like biologically over the franchise, in rise he was still mostly ape like despite his enhanced intelligence, in Dawn he has a more straight posture when he stands, and walks, and walks upright more, his screams are far more human like than a chimp in Dawn, he fights in a far more human like way, like when he fought koba in the factory, he was shown to punch koba with one fist at a time, and hit him directly with his knuckles. in dawn. It is shown that casear is even more human like than ever before, in the trailer for war  Casear was shown being capable of running on his hind legs.
 * It is unknown if Casear knew the simian outbreak had anything to due with the ALZ drug that made himself and the apes intelligent.
 * Casear knows as much about human society as a normal human being raised in a mostly normal setting.
 * It is unknown why Casear only began to realize he was different than humans until he was 8 or 9, or why he was considered a pet.
 * it can presumed that Casear only became completely sentient when he was 8 or 9, or never really thought of it considering his extremely sheltered upbringing and the fact that Will never completely treated Casear as a fully intelligent sentient being no different from any person to begin with.