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This Inconsistently Heinous was Headlined on January 2025. | ||
| “ | Finally! A worthy opponent! Our battle will be legendary! | „ |
| ~ Tai Lung's most famous quote. |
| “ | ALL I EVER DID, I DID TO MAKE YOU PROUD! TELL ME HOW PROUD YOU ARE, Shifu! Tell me! TELL ME!!! | „ |
| ~ Tai Lung expressing desperate acceptance. |
| “ | See you on the other side, Dragon Warrior. | „ |
| ~ Tai Lung thanking Po while taking the Chameleon with him to the Spirit Realm. |
Tai Lung is the main antagonist of DreamWorks' 16th full-length animated feature film, Kung Fu Panda, and a minor character in its sequel, Kung Fu Panda 4.
He is the first student, former adoptive son, and arch-nemesis of Master Shifu, who acknowledged him of being the Dragon Warrior and eventually became evil when Master Oogway refused to give him the position, witnessing Shifu, not protesting against his denial; feeling abandoned and unworthy.
Eventually, Tai Lung was imprisoned in the Chorh-Gom prison, serving a life sentence there, but when Oogway finds an unlikely candidate for the Dragon Warrior role, Tai Lung escapes from his imprisonment to retrieve the dragon scroll and achieve his vengeance.
He was voiced by Ian McShane.
His Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Him Heinous?[]
Background/In General[]
- Upon not being selected as the Dragon Warrior, he furiously went on a rampage across the Valley of Peace (possibly killing some of the residents whom had absolutely no part in Oogway's decision), thus becoming greatly feared throughout the land.
- When he attempted to take the dragon scroll by force, he shattered Shifu's hip and grievously injured him without regret.
- His actions left a heavy negative impact on Shifu and his students for many years to come as his betrayal caused Shifu to become a much more strict and emotionally distant teacher towards the five to prevent any of them from turning down the same dark path as Tai Lung did.
- While Lord Shen and Kai are more heinous, they have more resources than him as Lord Shen has an army of wolves, gorillas, and several powerful cannons and Kai is a spirit warrior with supernatural powers, soul-draining abilities, and an army of jombies while Tai Lung only has himself and his Kung-Fu skills.
- Although he has a few comedic moments throughout, he's still taken seriously in-universe most of the time. While his final fight with Po is also very comedic, the comedy is centered more around Po than Tai Lung, meaning it doesn’t detract from his crimes.
Kung Fu Panda[]
- He murdered (or badly injured) many rhino guards while escaping from prison before throwing a bomb at them that blasted most of them off the ledge where the entrance was kept, with it being heavily implied it killed Commander Vachir and the rest of the rhinos as they're never seen again.
- When he encountered the Furious Five, he fought them before painfully paralyzing them all (sans Crane, whom he had fly the others back) with a nerve attack Shifu had taught him, only letting them live so they can send a message to Shifu and Po.
- He intended to exact his revenge on the Valley, with Crane saying that "he'll destroy everything and everyone", leading Shifu to evacuate the Valley to protect them from Tai Lung's rage.
- He fought Shifu to take the Dragon Scroll, brutally beating him, and when Shifu apologized for turning him into a monster and abandoning him, Tai Lung didn't accept his apology and instead strangled him and tried to kill him with his claws.
- During his rematch, he broke Oogway's staff and unlike Shifu who felt remorse for breaking it (indirectly), he showed none of it, thus showing how much he hated Oogway for not selecting him as the Dragon Warrior until Kung Fu Panda 4.
- When he found out that Po had the Dragon Scroll, he fought Po to take it, and when he found out that the Dragon Scroll is blank, he once again rejected his chance of redemption and attempted to use his nerve strike on Po, only failing due to Po's fat body preventing him from doing so.
Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness[]
- Despite his death, his legacy lived on, with everyone in the Valley of Peace remembering him both in fear and hatred, including how his nephew, Peng, realized Po killed his uncle and attempted to kill him as well to avenge Tai Lung.
- This makes Po regret ever sending Tai Lung to the Spirit Realm, despite having every good reason to do so.
- When Peng learns that Po was telling the truth about how evil Tai Lung was, he quits Kung Fu, thinking that Kung Fu turns people evil.
Kung Fu Panda 4[]
- He has become so feared that the Chameleon was able to terrify the miners seen in the film's beginning by simply shapeshifting as him.
- He refuses to help Po defeat the Chameleon (although to be fair, he lost his Kung Fu and was locked up in a cage) and instead points out how useless he is, stating that Oogway made a mistake by choosing him as the Dragon Warrior and just didn’t realize how big of a mistake it was until now, even mocking him as he gets beaten by the Chameleon.
What Makes Him Inconsistent?[]
- He is far too tragic and sympathetic to be Near Pure Evil for multiple reasons:
- He was abandoned as an infant cub by his family and was raised by Shifu, who influenced incredible expectations on him and inflicted harsh training until his bones cracked. Due to Shifu never humbling him or noticing he obtained darkness in his heart, this is what influenced Tai Lung to become determined to be the Dragon Warrior. Unfortunately, Oogway doesn't select him as such.
- He also developed insecurities, due to never believing in himself and feeling like the dragon scroll was the only way he can feel loved and worthy. When Shifu does nothing to support him against Oogway's denial, this infuriates him because of the harsh circumstances he went through, yet feels abandoned and useless.
- When Shifu apologized for his actions, Tai Lung hesitated to finish him off (momentarily touched by his words) and expressed sadness before he hardened his heart again.
- Even Po and the Furious Five showed sympathy for him when the former had his tragic backstory explained to him by Tigress.
- He's also implied to still be broken and traumatized from his past in Kung Fu Panda 4, as when Po assures him he will restore his kung fu and return him to the Spirit Realm, he doesn't believe Po and sees it as a broken promise, likely reminded of how Shifu always believed he was the Dragon Warrior until Oogway said otherwise.
- He is ultimately a scapegoat for the following reasons:
- He was imprisoned in Chorh-Gom Prison for over two decades, sentenced there for life, while being completely immobilized and being taunted and abused by Vachir for no reason at all other than pure sadism on Vachir's end which is far too harsh even for him (which really puts into perspective why being in prison didn't help or change him whilst his afterlife in the Spirit Realm did) and he is subjected to many brutal slapstick comedy moments during his battle with Po that reduce him to a scrambling mess to the point where his death comes off as very pitiable along with being a damned soul.
- Even being in the Spirit Realm didn't keep him from being a scapegoat. In Kung Fu Panda 3, as shown from Kai's jade amulets on him, he was one of the masters that had their chi captured by Kai. This turned him into one of the latter’s jade amulets, subjecting him to a fate worse than death until Po defeated Kai and freed him.
- Even in Kung Fu Panda 4, him having his chi and kung fu stolen by the Chameleon in a painful way and suffering physical agony still qualifies him as a scapegoat as Tai Lung showed practically no interest in doing anything neither vindictive nor malicious when he was brought back to the mortal realm.
- He is able to show respect:
- Before immobilizing the Furious Five, he admits how good they are at kung fu, stating that Shifu taught them well, although not everything.
- Upon meeting Shifu, he also honorably declares himself to him as "master" before Shifu says he is no longer his master, and there is no indication that Tai Lung was saying this sarcastically.
- By the time of the fourth movie, it is shown that his time in the Spirit Realm had apparently conditioned him and made him more honorable:
- When summoned to the Mortal Realm by The Chameleon with the Staff of Wisdom, he correctly disbelieved that Po (despite still regarding him as an idiot) actually gave it to her willingly. Refusing to teach her his kung fu, he chose to go back to the Spirit Realm (showing no interest in finding and getting revenge on Po, Shifu, and the Furious Five and rather just wanting to go back to be left alone in peace) and would have if The Chameleon hadn't closed the portal. He also openly admitted he misjudged The Chameleon in a mildly impressed tone.
- His acknowledgement that Po would never willingly hand over the Staff of Wisdom to the likes of her which he states in a disgusted tone and him attempting to simply leave and go back to the Spirit Realm after he realized that The Chameleon just wanted to use him for his kung fu abilities also could mean he has genuine standards against the treachery and laziness of others such as The Chameleon; especially considering how hard he had to work to earn and hone his own kung fu skills.
- While he did express disappointment in Oogway's decision to choose Po as the Dragon Warrior (after learning that he had lost the Staff of Wisdom to The Chameleon), there is no indication that he still believes he should have had the title. He also shows respect towards Oogway's memory and legacy.
- Other than remarking The Chameleon rejecting Po's offer of redemption was unsurprising, he was relatively neutral while spectating their fight, remarking to Scott he wasn’t sure whose side he was rooting for.
- After Po defeats The Chameleon and restores his own kung fu, as well as that of the other masters, Tai Lung chooses not to attack him. Instead, he acknowledges Po as the true Dragon Warrior, admitting that Master Oogway was right about him. Tai Lung offers Po a respectful bow and leads the other villains into doing the same, demonstrating his newfound respect for his former enemy and his decision to move on from his past desire to become the Dragon Warrior. Requesting to be returned to the Spirit Realm, which he now considers his home, Tai Lung takes The Chameleon with him, thereby saving China from the threat she posed; therefore making her face the consequences of her actions. He also genuinely promises Po that he will see him on the other side.
Trivia[]
- It's possible that Tai Lung was less heinous in the original Kung Fu Panda screenplay than in the finished product, as his rampage over the Valley of Peace was only added once the crew realized that the test audiences related and sympathised too much with him, leading them to add the rampage into the story to make him more villainous. Therefore, originally he may not have even qualified.
- Tai Lung is the only Kung Fu Panda character to be Inconsistently Heinous.
- Adding on to that, he's the only main villain in the movie series to not be NPE, as compared to Shen, Kai, and The Chameleon, he has a much more tragic backstory and, in Kung Fu Panda 4 In particular, shows several more redeeming factors.
- Originally, Tai Lung was meant to have an army called the Lang Shadow Army that was comprised of wolves, gorillas, and ox allies. If the army appeared in the first film, Tai Lung would have had the same (to some extent) resources as Lord Shen, General Kai, and The Chameleon and since we don't know what they were going to do under his command, it is unknown how this would have effected his Inconsistently Heinous status.
External Links[]
- Tai Lung on the Villains Wiki
- Tai Lung on the DreamWorks Wiki
- Tai Lung on the Kung Fu Panda Wiki
- Tai Lung on the VS Battles Wiki
- Tai Lung on the Main Light Horse Wiki
[]
 Inconsistently Heinous
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