Hsi Wu | |
---|---|
Personal Info | |
Full Name | Hsi Wu the Sky Demon |
Japanese Name | 蜥蜴 (tokage, "small lizard") |
Alias | Seymour Jahoositz |
Race | Demon Sorcerer |
Age | Unspecified; 900+ years |
Nationality | Chinese |
Sign | ☰ (sky) |
Banisher | Han Xiangzi |
Weakness | Flute |
Family | Bai Tza (sister) Dai Gui (brother) Po Kong (sister) Shendu (brother) Tchang Zu (brother) Tso Lan (brother) Xiao Fung (brother) Drago (nephew) |
General Info | |
Base of Operations | Netherworld Hsi Wu's royal tower (formerly) |
Portal Location | Fenway Park, Boston |
Previous Affiliation | Middle School |
Previous Partner | Jade Chan |
Details | |
Debut | Season 2 Episode 5 |
Closing | Season 2 Episode 28 |
English | André Sogliuzzo |
"We are not going in, fool! Hsi Wu the Sky Demon is coming out!" |
Hsi Wu (Shē Wü) is a Demon Sorcerer - specifically the Sky Demon - and one of Shendu's seven siblings who were trapped in the Netherworld, making him one of the Demon Portals story arc antagonists of Season 2.
Appearance[]
Grey, impish bat/gremlin-like demon with a lizard-like tail, Hsi Wu is the smallest of the Demon Sorcerers. Though he is still relatively larger than a fully-grown human. His human form is that of a small boy the same age as Jade Chan, with hair matching his true form's skin color.
Personality[]
Hsi Wu can be best described as manipulative and crafty, making up for his smaller size and lack of physical prowess with intelligence and mischief. When up against multiple capable opponents (such as his siblings or multiple members of the Chan Clan), he prefers to avoid direct combat in favour of evasive tactics and more wily approaches (retreating to escape being banished and leaving the grunt work to Shendu, disguising himself to infiltrate Uncle's Rare Finds, and stunning his siblings from behind to reach Shendu's Demon Portal first). Hsi Wu made two exceptions to this elusiveness rule when facing Jade Chan one-on-one (both times he thought she was unarmed) - the Sky Demon seemingly bore a personal animosity towards the youngest Chan from the moment his cover as "Seymour" was blown, possibly due to her role in his predicament with his tail and later her direct role in his re-banishment.
Hsi Wu was patient in his goals when disguised as Seymour, putting on the facade of a curious and well-mannered little boy - only Uncle distrusted the disguise, commenting that Seymour was much too polite. However, after recovering his tail only to discover it had been hexed, Hsi Wu's patience wore thin and he resorted to anger and threats towards Uncle - it got to the point that he nearly threw Uncle from their high vantage point in a rage when the chi-wizard made up one too many in a line of excuses intended to delay aiding the Sky Demon. When patience and cunning weren't a combined necessity, as in the above case, Hsi Wu tended to dislike waiting. Hsi Wu's limited patience and his love of toying with humans are reflected in his own personal reason for loathing the Netherworld: utter, neverending boredom.
Regarding his relationships with his siblings; Hsi Wu seems to be bossed around and physically picked on by his sisters Bai Tza and Po Kong respectively, to his mild ire. Hsi Wu is in turn seemingly something of a nuisance to Po Kong at times, flying around her and perching on her shoulder until she shook him off at one point. Compared to most of his other siblings who were anxious to torture Shendu; Hsi Wu seemed to have a more cold and apathetic relationship with his Fire Demon brother - as a result, Hsi Wu seemed to get on with Shendu somewhat better than the rest of their brethren, albeit in curt interactions in which the Sky Demon still expresses some level of contempt for Shendu.
Hsi Wu can be sadistic, true to his family's tendencies; such as when he gleefully taunted Jade Chan and later Shendu with Jade's Moose World camera, and when his disguise's cover was blown and he took a moment to rub the upsetting revelation in Jade's face. Hsi Wu is implied to have avian tendencies, as his Demon Chi's effects influenced its human host to create a giant bird's-nest and made her want to fly south for the winter. Hsi Wu himself displayed a preference for high vantage points when he was free, and in his royal tower in the Book of Ages-made alternate timeline. He despises the sound of the flute greatly, covering his ears and cringing at it.
History[]
Backstory[]
In ancient times described by Tohru in Relics of Demon Past as being "thousands of years ago", Hsi Wu and his seven siblings terrorized the ancient world until they were defeated one-by-one by the Eight Immortals and banished to the Netherworld, where all remained trapped, except for Shendu (who apparently escaped back to Earth and left the others to their fate). Hsi Wu's Demon Portal was located on the site of what would centuries later become Fenway Park.
The locations of Hsi Wu and his brother Tchang Zu's respective Demon Portals, and the events in the alternate reality in Demon World (Part 2); imply that Hsi Wu and Tchang Zu both ruled over territory on the North American continent before they were banished. The visual montage in The J-Team depicted a female Immortal as the one who defeated Hsi Wu, although the Immortal symbol used to banish Hsi Wu (the flute) belongs to Han Xiangzi in Chinese mythology.
Season 2[]
When Shendu returned to the Netherworld as a spirit, his siblings are prepared to torture him for all eternity until Shendu proposes to unlock their portals. As a precaution to keep track of Shendu, his siblings place a spell on him to make sure he stays put in his host body. Hsi Wu is the smallest one of the group.
Hsi Wu's portal is located at the Fenway Park baseball stadium in Boston and is unlocked at a women's restroom door, but Jackie Chan tries to push him back in. Jade accidentally snaps off his tail, and the sound of Uncle chanting his completed spell forces Hsi Wu to flee. He intends to retrieve his tail, but he hears Uncle place a spell on the shop to prevent demons from entering unless they are invited. Seeing a plan, Hsi Wu disguises himself as a human boy named Seymour Jahoositz and quickly befriends Jade. He gets inside the shop and nearly to his tail only to be pushed out by Uncle. The next day, Jade invites him to the school dance and gives him a friendship necklace with one half a coin. When about to talk his way into the shop, he sees Uncle come out with the tail. Uncle has placed a spell on the tail to immobilize the demon and infuse him with the banishing spell. However, Hsi Wu senses the spell and catches his tail in a bag, revealing himself to everyone (much to the horror of Jade). He kidnaps Uncle, demanding that he undo the spell, which Uncle says cannot be done without casting another spell. Hsi Wu then gets Shendu and the Enforcers to fetch Uncle's spell books so he can do so, but the Dark Hand's efforts are hampered by Jackie and Tohru. Hsi Wu flies off with his tail, determined to find some other way. But Jade, empowered by the Rabbit and Rooster Talismans, seizes the bag, prompting the demon to chase her across the industrial district. She is able to release his tail on him, and Jackie plays the flute, sending him back to the Netherworld.
Later, after Bai Tza becomes the seventh demon to be banished, the demons hold a meeting to discuss Shendu's punishment. In desperation, Shendu claims that his portal can let them all out and that he had discovered a spell to keep it open until all of them were freed. While waiting for Shendu to open the portal, Hsi Wu is hit by a Moose camera. He followed its path to its source, Jade, who got caught in the banishing spell's beam and was pulled into the Netherworld after Bai Tza. He brings Jade to his siblings, which pleases Po Kong with the prospect of her first meal. But Jade reveals that, contrary to Shendu's story, only one being can go through Shendu's portal, causing debate amongst the Demons. When the portal opens via the banishment of Shendu's spirit, it becomes "every demon for himself." Hsi Wu is first off the bat, but he is stunned with lightning in the back from Tchang Zu. However, he pulls back ahead by knocking down Dai Gui and Tso Lan with boulders. Seeing all the other demons out of the running, he looks ahead only to see Jade jump through the portal, which closes in his face, leaving his last burst of speed to send him plowing into a rock.
Enraged at Shendu's deception, the demons prepare to torture him for all eternity. In desperation, he suggests using the Book of Ages, which horrifies the others, for they would never tamper with that. But with their current situation, they reluctantly agree. Rewriting the book, Shendu makes it that he and his siblings were never banished, making them rulers of the world. Hsi Wu has his own tower high in the sky, with Viper as a caged slave meant to sing for him. While bathing for Tchang Zu's planned visit, he hears a flute, which he despises. It turns out to be played by Jackie, who was persuaded to turn against the demons, and Hsi Wu is once again banished.
Season 5[]
His chi was found in a flute in a carousel pipe organ in Australia. Drago followed Jade's class to a haunted house and fought Jade's teacher Miss Hartman after she absorbed the demon chi and acquired Hsi Wu's powers. The "double dose of demon chi" awakened angry ghosts in the house. In the end, Uncle managed to recover the Sky Demon Chi, and the spirits once again rested.
Drago managed to absorb Hsi Wu's chi (along with the other seven Demon Chis) in the final confrontation, sprouting a pair of wings, before being banished with Shendu to the Netherworld.
Powers and Abilities[]
Hsi Wu has the ability to fly at extreme speeds. He was able to keep up with Jade, who was using the Rabbit and Rooster Talismans at the same time. His wings are sharp enough to cut through concrete.
While small in his appearance, he is quite formidable with using flying kicks and his sharp claws to his advantage. He was also only momentarily stunned by Tchang Zu's lightning bolts and only took a few seconds to recover.
Just like real lizards, Hsi Wu's tail is also detachable, which means that he could escape from an opponent's grasp at the cost of his tail. His tail appears to possess some form of sentience and will attempt to reattach itself to His Wu when he is in reach.
Hsi Wu is an experienced spellcaster, and he is able to transform into a human. In human form, Hsi Wu can partially assume some of his demon body parts without fully transforming. Using this ability and his deceiving personality, he can fool almost anyone.
His physical strength has shown to be strong enough to carry a human, as proven when he lifts the weight of Uncle with no struggle and with one hand in a small child's form.
Appearances[]
TV SeriesSeason 2
Season 3
Season 4Season 5
Video Games
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Quotes[]
- "Bored out of our wits, all those centuries, each exactly like the one before it." The Stronger Evil
- "A shame you never learned to share, brother." The Stronger Evil
- "The crowd roars for me?" Tale of the Demon Tail
- "Still wanna go to the dance with me?" Tale of the Demon Tail
- "Time flies when you're waiting for a cell door to open." The Eighth Door
- "Oh Jade. Say 'Chi Spell'!" The Eighth Door
- "What? No music while I bathe? Sing for me my little caged songbird." Demon World (Part 2)
Trivia[]
- Despite Hsi Wu's Japanese name meaning "small lizard", he more closely resembles a bat.
- Possibly due to his small size, it seems his siblings tend to pick on him. First, Bai Tza orders him to scratch an itch on Po Kong's back, only for Po Kong to crush him with one hand and flick him away when it passes. Despite this, he seems to enjoy ordering Shendu like most of his siblings as well as having a good degree of control.
- This could suggest that the eight Demon Sorcerer's have a tendency to torment whichever one of them is currently most out of favor.
- Hsu Wu and Bai Tza are the only Demon Sorcerers to last more than one day on Earth before being banished again.
- Hsi Wu along with Xiao Fung are the two Demon Sorcerers to show the ability to take a human form.
- Hsi Wu's use of the ability also differed from Xiao Fung's in that instead of retaining his normal red eye color, he adjusted his eyes to be sangria-brown.
- When the Demon Sorcerers cast their binding spell on Shendu, the beam of the spell emits from Hsi Wu's wings instead of his hands (although his hands are raised in front of his wings directly before this).
- Like Po Kong, Hsi Wu never displays a magical elemental power beyond his physical capabilities.
- It seems that he (as Seymour) is Jade's first love interest, until he reveals his true identity.
- When Uncle is trying to banish Hsi Wu it was seen that bat wing dust, lotus oil, and hummingbird saliva was used in the spell.
Gallery[]
- Main article: Hsi Wu/Gallery