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Name: Shendu
Canon: Jackie Chan Adventures
Age: An ageless immortal several thousands of years old.
Appearance: A twenty foot tall bipedal dragon wearing a little skirt.
History: The basics.
-Origins unknown, but he and his seven siblings ruled the world between them until the Eight Immortals banished each one to the Demon Netherworld.
-Shendu somehow escaped that inescapable prison, betraying his brothers & sisters by leaving them there and ruling China for centuries.
-The good wizard Lo Pei lead a rebellion and turned Shendu into a statue, removing the 12 powers Shendu had by sealing them in the form of Talismans, which were scattered across the globe.
-Shendu spent 900 years as a statue until he was somehow brought to Valmont, the leader of a criminal organization 'The Dark Hand.' The Dark Hand failed to retrieve the talismans but Jackie Chan, the one who had foiled them at every turn was tricked into handing them over. Shendu returned to his true form, but was defeated before he could conquer the world and killed by Jade Chan, Jackie's niece.
-As a now dead spirit, Shendu was forced to the netherworld where his siblings planned to torture him for all eternity for betraying them. He managed a deal for mercy, to release them all by possessing a human host, since spirits could come and go from the Netherworld. To ensure he could not escape them, he was cursed to be stuck in the first body he took and instead of his intended target of Jackie, he ended up inside Valmont. In turn all seven of the Demon Sorcerers were released but banished again, this time their portals sealed permanently. Shendu was also banished, but had one last scheme. He would alter reality via the Book of Ages, a magic record of all events. This time successfully possessing Jackie, he rewrote time so that the Eight Immortals failed and the Demon Sorcerers still ruled the world. Jade, who escaped the effects of the alteration, foiled his plan and reverted reality.
-Shendu remained a spirit in the Netherworld for some time, until the evil wizard Daolon Wong contacted him. The 12 talismans had been destroyed and their powers had been sent to noble animals that matched the corresponding animal of the Chinese Zodiac, and the wizard had been seeking them out. As there were no remaining dragons on Earth the power of the Dragon Talisman had no outlet, therefore Daolon Wong offered a trade. In exchange for the Dragon Talisman's power, he would resurrect Shendu. Shendu immediately back stabbed the guy and stole back all of his talisman powers shortly before he was turned back into a statue again, the talismans recreated.
-Trapped in a maximum security secret vault for a while, Shendu was almost rescued by his son, Drago. Drago was successful enough with his plan that the only way to prevent the apocalypse was time travel. Drago followed the adult Jade to the past, but in doing so the dragon's teeth needed to revive Shendu were destroyed by Drago himself and the younger dragon was locked up in the past.
-Later when his son escaped, he chose not to rescue his father. When Jackie Chan's Uncle, the powerful wizard who had sealed him in his statue form again, appealed to Shendu for help when Drago became too powerful Shendu refused to aid the forces of good unless he released him. Whilst first the offer was rejected, Shendu was revived and fought his son at a disadvantage until his talismans were returned, at which point he overcame Drago, but spared him. Which was the point at which he was banished, again.
Personality:
In the simplest of terms, Shendu is pure evil. His redeeming features are so minor as to be negligible and his entire world view rotates around himself and how many people he can step on to improve his own life. Unlike a number of villains from the series that see the battle between good and evil as a team game, Shendu is always out for number one. This is perhaps why he is referred to as 'the ultimate evil' instead of just a 'force of evil' as is customary in the series. Whilst others wish to tip the balance of dark and light in some way, Shendu just wants to rule and destroy anyone who defies him. It's all about 'me, me, me' and it's telling he never does anything for anyone but his own son in the entire series. His evil nature was apparently enough that his mere presence on Earth, even sealed as a statue, created a balance between good and evil in the world that only came undone upon his death. His only concerns are what benefits him, on the large or small scale. He enjoys amassing huge riches, ruling empires and inflicting petty cruelties equally.
As one might expect for such a self centred individual, Shendu is extremely arrogant and confident. Therein lies his greatest weakness: he becomes too self assured of his own success. Whenever he is in a position of advantage, he ceases to use the same cunning and ambition that got him into that position in the first place. This usually results in him losing his control over a situation and it all collapsing around his ears, if that takes minutes, days or centuries. He often fails to execute a potential threat before it becomes a big problem and on one occasion was dumb enough to make them a threat himself (specifically, when he altered history he placed his enemies in positions around him so as to enjoy using them as slaves. He chose to make a powerful wizard in the original timeline his library boy for sixty years and was surprised when he learnt magic).
On the other hand, when Shendu is not on the top he does everything to get there. He is cunning and ruthless, taking every possible opportunity to gain the upper hand. His quick thinking is often serious trouble for his enemies, sometimes more so than the brute power he relies on when he has it, but he rarely loses his overconfidence even when he has discarded all pride to beg and plead for mercy. He is so self aggrandising he considers such pitiful actions to be clever machinations, never fully admitting to himself that he is a coward willing to debase himself to any depths to ensure his own safety. When faced with those who he is threatened by, he exhibits the most sickly sycophantic behaviour. Though he is quite charming and fairly charismatic when he is calm, almost always eloquent and persuasive. Still he remains preoccupied by power and even when he could use charisma to great effect he prefers threats and force to get his way. When such options are not available, he instead uses bribery or trickery. Rarely does he offer an honest deal, and gleefully enjoys backstabbing his allies, either on technicalities or just because of his evil nature.
He has the nasty habit of focusing very squarely on one goal at a time and sticking to it, and one goal has the highest priority. Reclaiming what was once his and revenge against whomever took it from him. Attempts to restore himself to his full glory trump all other concerns, occasionally to the detriment of his overall schemes or even personal safety and make him quite predictable. He holds vendettas to the extreme, planning to destroy all of Asia for the uprising committed by his slaves. He also has something of a temper even at the best of times and acts against his best interests in anger occasionally.
Although Shendu is quite smart, he is much more knowledgeable than he is intelligent. He gathers facts facts and wisdom in huge amounts but doesn't apply it with the same fervour. Very rarely is he faced with a situation where he cannot relate some experience in the matter and even when turned into a statue he remains up to date with current events. Knowledge is power, after all.
Like most characters in Jackie Chan Adventures, Shendu has a penchant for making quips and puns even at the most inappropriate of times.
All in all, Shendu thinks and acts inhumanly, which is appropriate considering he is not a human at all. He embraces what he is like no other, not only a dragon but also a demon sorcerer, a force of evil with no motivation to do anything but indulge his own personal desires.
Abilities:
As a Demon Sorcerer, Shendu has great magical knowledge and expertise. His speciality seems to lay in transmutation, knowing spells and potions for altering human bodies with various qualities (tails, horns, gills, etc,) including restoring youth to the old as well as forming poisons that turn living things to stone. He does however show divining magic that allows him to see great distances and detect alterations in the fabric of time. He also shows some more generic magical ability and has a magical library of many spells. Spell casting in the series operates by preparing material ingredients or symbols to use as a focus. However, as a Demon Sorcerer it seems there are some magical effects that do not need either. He can always breath fire, no matter what physical form he takes (dragon, statue or human) and can throw around insanely huge men with a flick of a wrist when in a human form. All Demon Sorcerers can take on a human disguise, in which they retain their powers, but Shendu never shows his human form as he has no reason to.
Shendu is also in possession of twelve powers that were derived from the animals of the Chinese zodiac. These powers are, after being cursed, necessary for him to achieve his true form. When sealed into talismans, they can used by anyone in possession of them and can also exist as ethereal energy forms that naturally seek to inhabit noble animals of the species they represent, but can be absorbed by others. Shendu can absorb them without preparation when they are ethereal, draining them from the possessors through eye beams. When they are talismans, he physically draws them inside him and they can be removed through the right spell.
The powers are;
Rooster for levitation and telekinesis, Ox for super human strength, Snake for invisibility, Sheep for astral projection, Rabbit for superhuman speed, Dragon for control over combustion and pyrokinesis, Rat for the power of animation (granting life to inanimate objects), Horse for healing and repair of objects, Dog for youth and immortality, Pig for heat beam eyes, Monkey for animal transmutation and Tiger, the power of balance that is capable of splitting beings into their yin and yang halves, as well as allowing all twelve talismans to work together in unison.
Magic aside, Shendu's natural form of a twenty foot tall dragon is pretty scary as it is. Although the Ox talisman grants enormous physical strength, Shendu can still overpower a human that possesses it with brute strength alone and with his huge size he can fit a human in one hand.
Outside of his own powers, Shendu can use a mystical mask to summon Shadowkhan. They are living embodiments of darkness and shadow, created by Japanese demons called Oni. Shendu possess one of the masks the the Oni Generals were sealed into and through it he can conjure up as many ninjas as he likes, all of whom have the power to travel through shadows, become immaterial and are all very competent ninja. He also has a huge army of Dragon Minions, large quadrupedal dragons with wings, all of which can fly and breath fire. They are large and strong enough to be flying mounts for Shendu should he need to. These dragons are sealed in interdimensional void from which he must release them.
Finally, Shendu is a wicked good martial artist. He can do the Vulcan nerve pinch and is a match for Jackie Chan. And he can do that thing, where you jump up and kick a dude like fifty times in the head while sort of standing on their head.
Canon: Jackie Chan Adventures
Age: An ageless immortal several thousands of years old.
Appearance: A twenty foot tall bipedal dragon wearing a little skirt.
History: The basics.
-Origins unknown, but he and his seven siblings ruled the world between them until the Eight Immortals banished each one to the Demon Netherworld.
-Shendu somehow escaped that inescapable prison, betraying his brothers & sisters by leaving them there and ruling China for centuries.
-The good wizard Lo Pei lead a rebellion and turned Shendu into a statue, removing the 12 powers Shendu had by sealing them in the form of Talismans, which were scattered across the globe.
-Shendu spent 900 years as a statue until he was somehow brought to Valmont, the leader of a criminal organization 'The Dark Hand.' The Dark Hand failed to retrieve the talismans but Jackie Chan, the one who had foiled them at every turn was tricked into handing them over. Shendu returned to his true form, but was defeated before he could conquer the world and killed by Jade Chan, Jackie's niece.
-As a now dead spirit, Shendu was forced to the netherworld where his siblings planned to torture him for all eternity for betraying them. He managed a deal for mercy, to release them all by possessing a human host, since spirits could come and go from the Netherworld. To ensure he could not escape them, he was cursed to be stuck in the first body he took and instead of his intended target of Jackie, he ended up inside Valmont. In turn all seven of the Demon Sorcerers were released but banished again, this time their portals sealed permanently. Shendu was also banished, but had one last scheme. He would alter reality via the Book of Ages, a magic record of all events. This time successfully possessing Jackie, he rewrote time so that the Eight Immortals failed and the Demon Sorcerers still ruled the world. Jade, who escaped the effects of the alteration, foiled his plan and reverted reality.
-Shendu remained a spirit in the Netherworld for some time, until the evil wizard Daolon Wong contacted him. The 12 talismans had been destroyed and their powers had been sent to noble animals that matched the corresponding animal of the Chinese Zodiac, and the wizard had been seeking them out. As there were no remaining dragons on Earth the power of the Dragon Talisman had no outlet, therefore Daolon Wong offered a trade. In exchange for the Dragon Talisman's power, he would resurrect Shendu. Shendu immediately back stabbed the guy and stole back all of his talisman powers shortly before he was turned back into a statue again, the talismans recreated.
-Trapped in a maximum security secret vault for a while, Shendu was almost rescued by his son, Drago. Drago was successful enough with his plan that the only way to prevent the apocalypse was time travel. Drago followed the adult Jade to the past, but in doing so the dragon's teeth needed to revive Shendu were destroyed by Drago himself and the younger dragon was locked up in the past.
-Later when his son escaped, he chose not to rescue his father. When Jackie Chan's Uncle, the powerful wizard who had sealed him in his statue form again, appealed to Shendu for help when Drago became too powerful Shendu refused to aid the forces of good unless he released him. Whilst first the offer was rejected, Shendu was revived and fought his son at a disadvantage until his talismans were returned, at which point he overcame Drago, but spared him. Which was the point at which he was banished, again.
Personality:
In the simplest of terms, Shendu is pure evil. His redeeming features are so minor as to be negligible and his entire world view rotates around himself and how many people he can step on to improve his own life. Unlike a number of villains from the series that see the battle between good and evil as a team game, Shendu is always out for number one. This is perhaps why he is referred to as 'the ultimate evil' instead of just a 'force of evil' as is customary in the series. Whilst others wish to tip the balance of dark and light in some way, Shendu just wants to rule and destroy anyone who defies him. It's all about 'me, me, me' and it's telling he never does anything for anyone but his own son in the entire series. His evil nature was apparently enough that his mere presence on Earth, even sealed as a statue, created a balance between good and evil in the world that only came undone upon his death. His only concerns are what benefits him, on the large or small scale. He enjoys amassing huge riches, ruling empires and inflicting petty cruelties equally.
As one might expect for such a self centred individual, Shendu is extremely arrogant and confident. Therein lies his greatest weakness: he becomes too self assured of his own success. Whenever he is in a position of advantage, he ceases to use the same cunning and ambition that got him into that position in the first place. This usually results in him losing his control over a situation and it all collapsing around his ears, if that takes minutes, days or centuries. He often fails to execute a potential threat before it becomes a big problem and on one occasion was dumb enough to make them a threat himself (specifically, when he altered history he placed his enemies in positions around him so as to enjoy using them as slaves. He chose to make a powerful wizard in the original timeline his library boy for sixty years and was surprised when he learnt magic).
On the other hand, when Shendu is not on the top he does everything to get there. He is cunning and ruthless, taking every possible opportunity to gain the upper hand. His quick thinking is often serious trouble for his enemies, sometimes more so than the brute power he relies on when he has it, but he rarely loses his overconfidence even when he has discarded all pride to beg and plead for mercy. He is so self aggrandising he considers such pitiful actions to be clever machinations, never fully admitting to himself that he is a coward willing to debase himself to any depths to ensure his own safety. When faced with those who he is threatened by, he exhibits the most sickly sycophantic behaviour. Though he is quite charming and fairly charismatic when he is calm, almost always eloquent and persuasive. Still he remains preoccupied by power and even when he could use charisma to great effect he prefers threats and force to get his way. When such options are not available, he instead uses bribery or trickery. Rarely does he offer an honest deal, and gleefully enjoys backstabbing his allies, either on technicalities or just because of his evil nature.
He has the nasty habit of focusing very squarely on one goal at a time and sticking to it, and one goal has the highest priority. Reclaiming what was once his and revenge against whomever took it from him. Attempts to restore himself to his full glory trump all other concerns, occasionally to the detriment of his overall schemes or even personal safety and make him quite predictable. He holds vendettas to the extreme, planning to destroy all of Asia for the uprising committed by his slaves. He also has something of a temper even at the best of times and acts against his best interests in anger occasionally.
Although Shendu is quite smart, he is much more knowledgeable than he is intelligent. He gathers facts facts and wisdom in huge amounts but doesn't apply it with the same fervour. Very rarely is he faced with a situation where he cannot relate some experience in the matter and even when turned into a statue he remains up to date with current events. Knowledge is power, after all.
Like most characters in Jackie Chan Adventures, Shendu has a penchant for making quips and puns even at the most inappropriate of times.
All in all, Shendu thinks and acts inhumanly, which is appropriate considering he is not a human at all. He embraces what he is like no other, not only a dragon but also a demon sorcerer, a force of evil with no motivation to do anything but indulge his own personal desires.
Abilities:
As a Demon Sorcerer, Shendu has great magical knowledge and expertise. His speciality seems to lay in transmutation, knowing spells and potions for altering human bodies with various qualities (tails, horns, gills, etc,) including restoring youth to the old as well as forming poisons that turn living things to stone. He does however show divining magic that allows him to see great distances and detect alterations in the fabric of time. He also shows some more generic magical ability and has a magical library of many spells. Spell casting in the series operates by preparing material ingredients or symbols to use as a focus. However, as a Demon Sorcerer it seems there are some magical effects that do not need either. He can always breath fire, no matter what physical form he takes (dragon, statue or human) and can throw around insanely huge men with a flick of a wrist when in a human form. All Demon Sorcerers can take on a human disguise, in which they retain their powers, but Shendu never shows his human form as he has no reason to.
Shendu is also in possession of twelve powers that were derived from the animals of the Chinese zodiac. These powers are, after being cursed, necessary for him to achieve his true form. When sealed into talismans, they can used by anyone in possession of them and can also exist as ethereal energy forms that naturally seek to inhabit noble animals of the species they represent, but can be absorbed by others. Shendu can absorb them without preparation when they are ethereal, draining them from the possessors through eye beams. When they are talismans, he physically draws them inside him and they can be removed through the right spell.
The powers are;
Rooster for levitation and telekinesis, Ox for super human strength, Snake for invisibility, Sheep for astral projection, Rabbit for superhuman speed, Dragon for control over combustion and pyrokinesis, Rat for the power of animation (granting life to inanimate objects), Horse for healing and repair of objects, Dog for youth and immortality, Pig for heat beam eyes, Monkey for animal transmutation and Tiger, the power of balance that is capable of splitting beings into their yin and yang halves, as well as allowing all twelve talismans to work together in unison.
Magic aside, Shendu's natural form of a twenty foot tall dragon is pretty scary as it is. Although the Ox talisman grants enormous physical strength, Shendu can still overpower a human that possesses it with brute strength alone and with his huge size he can fit a human in one hand.
Outside of his own powers, Shendu can use a mystical mask to summon Shadowkhan. They are living embodiments of darkness and shadow, created by Japanese demons called Oni. Shendu possess one of the masks the the Oni Generals were sealed into and through it he can conjure up as many ninjas as he likes, all of whom have the power to travel through shadows, become immaterial and are all very competent ninja. He also has a huge army of Dragon Minions, large quadrupedal dragons with wings, all of which can fly and breath fire. They are large and strong enough to be flying mounts for Shendu should he need to. These dragons are sealed in interdimensional void from which he must release them.
Finally, Shendu is a wicked good martial artist. He can do the Vulcan nerve pinch and is a match for Jackie Chan. And he can do that thing, where you jump up and kick a dude like fifty times in the head while sort of standing on their head.