Shendu

Shendu
Personal Info
Full Name	Shendu
Nickname	Shen-Dude (Finn)
Japanese Name	気竜 (kiryū, "spirit dragon")
Alias	The Ultimate Evil (Lo Pei)
Race	Demon
Age	900+
Nationality	Chinese
Sign	☲ (fire)
Banisher	Lü Dongbin
Weakness	Sword
Family	Demon Sorcerers (siblings) Drago (son)
General Info
Base of Operations	Netherworld
Portal Location	Hong Kong
Occupation	Demon Sorcerer
Previous Affiliation	Enforcers
Previous Partner	Valmont
Details
Debut	Season 1 Episode 1
Closing	Season 5 Episode 13
English	James Sie

"I am the keeper of the talismans. I am the apocalypse of which legend speaks. And I am once and for all... your executioner!" — Shendu to Jackie Chan

Shendu is the Demon Sorcerer of Fire in the form of a humanoid dragon who hailed from a family consisting of himself as well as seven siblings and his own son Drago. Although Jackie Chan Adventures has no sole underlying main villain for the whole series, Shendu is arguably the most prominent villain and best candidate for the role of a main antagonist, due to his role in the events of the first and second seasons, his revival at the end of the third and the rise of Drago in the fifth, and the occurrence of the events in the fourth season owed in part to the events of the previous seasons and his use of one of the tribes of the Shadowkhan (not to mention a brief cameo in the episode in which his son was introduced). He was only using one of the Oni Mask to summon the Shadowkhan.

Appearance

Shendu appears as a humanoid mix of a Chinese and European dragon. He is green and has red eyes.

Personality

Shendu's personality is deceitful. He had no honor or nobility, even though he was technically the Noble Dragon after the Talisman powers got loose. However, this was only because he was the only dragon on Earth at the time.

Shendu's deceptive and traitorous nature usually ends up backfiring. He promised treasure to Valmont for helping him recover the talismans but changes his mind due to a technicality, resulting in Valmont and the Enforcers robbing his palace treasures to make up for the Dark Hand's finances being lost finding the talismans. His desire to rule the earth for himself alone at the expense of his siblings remaining trapped in the void caused all seven of them to scorn him with Bai Tza even threatening to destroy him for not successfully ensuring every Demon Sorcerer's freedom. He later deceived them into thinking he would be able to free all of them and they quickly caught onto his lie with little convincing due to his past, subjecting him to torture when he failed them once again. He betrayed Daolon Wong by taking the talisman powers of the Dragon, Pig, and Rooster even though he promised the dragon power to the wizard for freeing him. This ended up becoming his undoing as Daolon Wong then gave Uncle the information to stop him again.

He is pretty hot headed and swore revenge to Jackie for defeating him many times. He dislikes his son Drago for betraying him but at the same time was proud of him for obtaining all the Demon Chi.

History

Background

Shendy becomes a statue and the Talismans are created

Shendu was one of the eight Demon Sorcerers who were each banished to the Netherworld by one of the The Eight Immortals, Lü Dongbin being the one who banished Shendu. Shendu somehow escaped from the Netherworld, but instead of working to free his siblings, he desired the earthly realm for himself and became the ruler of China. Shendu's subjects eventually rebelled with Lo Pei, who turned him into a statue, and then scattered his twelve powers in the form of twelve talismans. Shendu vowed revenge on his banisher's minions by destroying all of Asia, but was unable to do so for 900 years.

At some point, Shendu got into possession of one of the Oni Masks which gave him control of the Ninja Khan which he somehow was able to summon without wearing the mask.

Season 1

Shendu teamed up with the Dark Hand, promising them the lost treasure of Ching Xi Hung in exchange for having them search for and retrieve his talismans. He spent most of the first season stationed within Valmont's skyscraper in statue form, but did briefly enjoy some freedom when he acquired the Sheep Talisman and used it to take spirit form and possess Jade Chan, only to be exorcised before he could get to Section 13. Despite the Dark Hand's unsuccessful attempts at recovering the Talismans, Shendu eventually regained all of them by the Chinese New Year when Jackie's Yang-half took them from Section 13 and brought them to him. Shendu came to life, raising his palace after betraying the Dark Hand. However, Jackie extracted the talismans out of Shendu's body, turning him back into a statue. Shendu was then blasted into dust by Jade with the Dragon Talisman. However, this caused a cosmic imbalance which left a void to filled by a greater evil.

Season 2

The destruction of Shendu in the earthly realm banished him to the Netherworld where the other seven Demon Sorcerers resided for centuries. His brothers and sisters grew spiteful of Shendu for neglecting them in pursuit of his own interests, and threatened him with eternal torture for his betrayal. Fearing his sibling's wrath, Shendu promised to free them by opening their respective portals, using his spirit form to reach the human world and acquire a human host. The Demon Sorcerers remained distrustful and placed a chi spell on Shendu that limited him to the first host body he could possess to keep tabs on him until all Demon Sorcerers were released. Shendu agreed with their terms and desired Jackie Chan's body to make his quest easier, but ended up trapped in Valmont's body by mistake.

Shendu managed to release all seven Demon Sorcerers before every last one of them was eventually banished again by the Chans. His siblings contacted him from the Netherworld and demanded he somehow release them. Shendu then decided to lend his own portal for their disposal and deceptively claimed he was able to let all seven demons pass through the one portal. The Chans managed to banish Shendu's spirit back into the Netherworld. Shendu's sibling were able to see through his lie and then raced for the portal as his spirit rushed into the demon realm, though none of them managed to pass through as Jade (who had been accidentally stowed away into the Netherworld when Bai Tza was banished) got to it before they could.

The Demon Sorcerers granted Shendu a second chance by letting him escape and possess Jackie Chan to rewrite the Book of Ages and change history to make the Demon Sorcerers the rulers of Earth. Shendu made the Dark Hand and the Chan family into his slaves, but Jade escaped the time alteration and assembled the J-Team against him, fighting again. They banish him and his siblings to the Netherworld before reversing his changes, ensuring he would never possess Jackie.

Season 3

Following the second defeat of Shendu, the twelve talismans became the conquest of the Dark Chi Wizard Daolon Wong. Jackie resolved to destroy the talismans after noticing the trouble caused to get them which only resulted in the powers scattering around the globe and becoming stored in animal host bodies representing the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Since there were no living dragons in the earthly realm, the Dragon Talisman power remained unobtainable.

Shendu was contacted by Daolon Wong in hopes of acquiring the Dragon Talisman's power as he is the only dragon in reach. Wong used his magical knowledge and power to resurrect Shendu in a new body. Shendu then double-crossed him, taking the Dragon power as well as both the Pig and Rooster powers that he had acquired previously. Shendu managed to reclaim all his powers, but unknown to him Uncle had already discovered the ancient spell that turned Shendu into a statue. Uncle also suspected that Daolon Wong had knowledge of the ancient spell. In the end Uncle, Tohru and Section 13 used the spell to turn Shendu back into his statue form and at the same time recreated the Talismans.

Season 4

Shendu was later revealed to have a son, a junior fire demon by the name of Drago. Coming from an alternate future, Drago attempted to use the magical Dragon's Teeth to free the future Shendu from the Section 13 vault. However, Drago accidentally destroyed the teeth, preventing the spell from working properly.

Season 5

Drago was later captured, but escaped only to abandon his father in favor of the Chi of the Demon Sorcerers (his aunts and uncles). When Drago held Jackie, Uncle, and Captain Black captive, Jade removed a piece of Shendu's skin to use in a spell against his son, due to needing a DNA sample identical to Drago's.

Later, Uncle went to Shendu seeking a way to strip Drago of the eight demon powers. Shendu told Uncle that it was impossible, and asked Uncle to free him so he could defeat Drago. When Drago grew close to turning Earth into Demon World, Uncle gave in and used a spell to free Shendu from his statue imprisonment. Freed, Shendu battled Drago, but was outmatched by his offspring. To give Shendu a fighting chance, the J-Team gave him the Talismans. Tohru and Uncle then used a spell to send both Demons plummeting into the Netherworld, ending their threat and sealing both Talismans and Demons. As a result, the future seen in J2: Rise of the Dragons presumably no longer comes to pass.

Powers and Abilities

Shendu's twelve powers were the twelve talismans. He had the power of super strength, levitation and telekinesis, super speed, combustion and pyrokinesis, animal shapeshifting, heat beam vision, invisibility, healing and regeneration, astral projection, spiritual balance, immortality, and the rat talisman maintains his reanimated form. Though he can be reanimated by other means, it is only through the talismans that he can be resurrected to his full potential.

Even without the powers of the talismans, Shendu is impervious to non-magical weapons, even modern ones like high-powered laser cannons and rocket launchers. Because of his great size, he also has immense strength. In Day of the Dragon, Shendu commented to an Ox talisman-holding Jackie that he is just a very strong mouse compared to him. In the same episode, he has displayed the ability to create a portal to release his dragon minions. As the Demon Sorcerer of Fire and a dragon, Shendu also has the power to breathe destructive fire blasts, even in statue form.

As a demon sorcerer, he possesses knowledge of powerful magic, by the use of incantations or magic potions. He has also been seen casting spells or creating magical artifacts by himself (like a magic lasso or small sceptre to find his talismans), even when he was trapped in the form of a statue.

In a possessed human body, Shendu has magically enhanced strength and endurance, can leap great heights, and breathe fire.

It is hinted throughout the series that he could be one of the most powerful among his brethren because even after Drago absorbed all of the Demon Chi, Shendu was still able to fight him effectively after his full power was restored.

Appearances

Season 1

• The Dark Hand
• The Power Within
• Enter the Viper
• Shell Game
• Project A, for Astral
• Bullies
• Tough Break
• The Rock
• The Dog and Piggy Show
• The Tiger and the Pussycat
• Day of the Dragon

Season 2

• Through the Rabbit Hole
• The Warrior Incarnate
• The Stronger Evil
• The J-Team
• Jade Times Jade
• Rumble in the Big House
• And He Does His Own Stunts
• Showdown in the Old West
• Queen of the Shadowkhan
• Shanghai Moon
• Armor of the Gods
• Tale of the Demon Tail
• The New Atlantis
• The Eighth Door
• Demon World (Part 1)
• Demon World (Part 2)

Season 3

• Re-Enter the Dragon

Season 4

• Deja Vu
• J2: Rise of the Dragons

Season 5

• The Powers That Be (Part 1)
• The Powers That Be (Part 2)

Quotes

• "Man is much the wiser, when he looks within." _{The Power Within}
• "Valmont, your men are supposed to find Talismans, not sell pets." _{Shell Game}
• "At long last, my powers, restored! Speed, invisibility, astral projection! And my personal favourite: combustion!" _{Day of the Dragon}
• "Regrettably Valmont, you did not provide me with the Talismans. Jackie Chan did. Read my lips: no treasure for you." _{Day of the Dragon}
• "Pity you will not live to witness my reign over your world, but you shall be the first to visit theirs." _{Day of the Dragon}
• "Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated, Chan." _{The Stronger Evil}
• "You seem to forget, Valmont, that in the event of a stalemate, I win." _{Rumble in the Big House}
• "Forgive me, Your Highness. I could easily translate this entire volume for you, but... true power does not reside in textbooks. I could teach you, dark queen." (flattering corrupted Jade) _{Queen of the Shadowkhan}
• "Hear this, my Queen. Your first and most valuable lesson: Always destroy your enemies." (manipulating corrupted Jade to kill Jackie) _{Queen of the Shadowkhan}
• "Never seeing any of you ever again would make me a very happy dragon." (allowing the Enforcers to leave his service) _{The New Atlantis}
• "So it is written, so it shall be." _{Demon World (Part 1)}
• "Keeping one's enemies close is not just wise, it is gratifying." _{Demon World (Part 1)}
• "Centuries of history altered, your very memory erased, and STILL, somehow, you defy me?! I shall find you Chan and I promise you, I shall erase more than your memory." _{Demon World (Part 2)}
• "I may be a Noble Dragon, but I'm also a Demon Sorcerer. And not known for keeping promises." _{Re-Enter the Dragon}
• "One cannot begin anew without burning a few bridges!" _{Re-Enter the Dragon}

Trivia

• In his first appearance he possesses a raspy, hissing voice, once he is reanimated for the first time he has a deeper, more menacing voice. Once he is turned back into a statue he retains his hissing, raspy voice from then on (even when he was reanimated once again). His roars also sound like that of the a dinosaur.
• Shendu is the only main antagonist to appear in every season and have a role in the plot of each season.
• Despite being defeated by one of the Eight Immortals and having a portal to the Demon Netherworld, Shendu appears to have either escaped imprisonment or avoided being banished altogether. Furthermore, he is the only Demon Sorcerer not to have an Immortal Artifact carrying traces of his Demon Chi be discovered during Season 5.
• Shendu is also the only Sorcerer known to have offspring in the form of Drago. Curiously, the present-day Shendu was also aware of Drago despite him coming from a possible future.
• According to the book Jackie reads in Showdown in the Old West, Shendu worked with a corrupt mayor to gain his freedom in similar fashion to his collaboration with Valmont a hundred years later. The details of the book are dubious however.