"As such, the Talisman magic will be drawn to Noble Animals, those most worthy of their regal ancestors. Twelve living creatures; each about to receive an extraordinary gift." |
The Noble Animals (also referred to as The Zodiac Gang by Jade) were descendants of the original twelve animals who held the powers that would eventually be encased in the Twelve Talismans of Shendu; (with Shendu himself being the twelfth, having received the power of the Dragon Talisman by default since he was considered the last dragon on Earth, not including his son Drago). These animals - being the most noble and worthy of these powers - after, in a three-sided fight between the Chans, the Enforcers, and the Dark Chi Wizard Daolon Wong, the Talismans were destroyed by Jackie Chan in an effort to keep them from falling into enemy hands. This single action brought about a new Talisman hunt.
The Noble Animals and their powers serve as the primary focus of Season 3.
History[]
In ancient China, there were twelve different animals in the Chinese zodiac, each animal hosted an aspect of Shendu's powers, protecting earth from natural and chaotic disasters. It all began when Lo Pei cast a magical spell on Shendu, separating his powers in the form of twelve talismans, each talisman had a chi symbol drawn on its surface which represented one of the twelve animals, When the talismans are destroyed the twelve powers of Shendu will find a host in one of the twelve animals, prevented from roaming free around the Earth.
Each animal required a specific locator spell to find them that involved enchanting an object related to the animal (such as a carrot for the rabbit or a cat's whisker for the rat because cats hunt rats). This object would glow and be drawn to the location of the animal.
When the Chans located any of the animals, they transported them to Section 13 to be kept under magical and technological protection. The search for the animals was hampered by the appearances of Daolon Wong, who would simply absorb the powers out from the animals and into himself, and by the fact that the animals tended to activate their own abilities when frightened or angered. For some of the hunts, Uncle used enchanted cages that would prevent the animal within from activating its magic.)
Over the course of the journey, Wong managed to acquire a total of two Talisman powers (Rooster and Pig) whilst the Chans rescued a total of 9 Noble Animals. They attempted to transfer and store the powers into a new set of talismans, but the original spell was long gone. Jade befriended each animal and (using their powers) once snuck them out of Section 13 to show them off at her school's fair. The animals were startled by a falling puck from a strength game which caused them to scatter in fear and use their powers on the way. Even though the Chans prevented the Dark Chi Warriors from capturing any of the animals, they only managed to find the rat, rabbit, tiger and sheep. The yak, horse, snake and monkey were herded to Section 13 by the dog.
The final remaining power, the Dragon power of Combustion. Daolon Wong resolved to make a deal with Shendu, a dragon who resided in the netherworld. Shendu agreed to let Wong have the Combustion power in return for resurrecting him in a new body on Earth, but ended up betraying him when he absorbed the power for himself as well as absorbing the Rooster and Pig powers from Wong.
Shendu then hunted down the other nine animals and absorbed all of his remaining powers. With the help of Daolon Wong, Uncle cast the original spell used centuries ago by Lo Pei to transform Shendu into a statue and recreated the Twelve Talismans. The Noble Animals were then returned to their original homes, except for Scruffy who remained in Section 13 with Jade.
Eggbert and Mordecai, the rooster and pig whose powers had been stolen by Wong, were reunited with their powers on two occasions when Jade equipped them with the new Talismans for the T-Troop.
List[]
Animal | Talisman | Power | Locator Object | Discovered | First Appearance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dog | Immortality | None | At a dog show in San Francisco, California | The Powers Unleashed | |
Tiger | Spiritual Balance | Sock | At a stage performance in Las Vegas, Nevada | Viva Las Jackies | |
Rat | Animation | Cat's Whisker | Within Quetzalcoatl's Shrine outside Nueva Plata, Mexico | Aztec Rat Race | |
Monkey | Shapeshifting | Banana | At a coastal resort overlooking Kīlauea, Hawaii | Monkey a Go-Go | |
Rooster | Levitation Telekinesis |
Unknown | At the top of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | When Pigs Fly | |
Pig | Thermal Vision | Unknown | At MacDonald's Farm in Arline, Kansas | When Pigs Fly | |
|
Rabbit | Speed | Carrot | At Warren Oaks High School in Douglas, Wyoming | Rabbit Run |
Sheep | Astral Projection Dream Possession |
Moth | In the Scottish Highlands along the edge of the Loch Ness | Sheep In, Sheep Out | |
Snake | Invisibility | Rattle with Enchanted Mongoose Teeth | Within a marketplace in Agra[citation needed], India | The Invisible Mom | |
Horse | Healing and Regeneration | Horseshoe | At Kempton Park Racecourse in Surrey, England | Little Valmont, Big Jade | |
Ox | Strength | Cowbell | On the side of a mountain near the Ben-Shui Temple in Bhutan | The Ox-Head Incident | |
Dragon | Combustion | Dragon Statue | Netherworld (as a spirit; resurrected somewhere in San Francisco, California) | The Dark Hand |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- When most of the Noble Animals would use their powers, the camera would often zoom in on the animal's eyes where an image of their respective Talisman would shine for dramatic effect. This was also shown when Uncle transferred the power of the Ox Talisman into himself and used the power when it was in his body.
- In the case of when Daolon Wong used the powers of levitation/telekinesis (the Rooster Talisman) and heat vision (the Pig Talisman), and also when Shendu obtained the power of combustion (the Dragon Talisman) after Wong resurrected him to access the power of that Talisman, only the picture of the animal that appears on the front of the respective talisman is shown in their eyes, rather than images of the talismans themselves.
- When Mordecai and Eggbert first appear on-screen in "When Pigs Fly", the talismans are shown in their eyes even though they weren't using their respective powers at the time. This was likely done to signify that they were the Noble Animals, as no locator had been shown being used on-screen to find them.