- Not to be confused with the organization of the same name.
| "The Dark Hand" | |
| Season 1 Episode 1 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Setting | Bavaria, Germany San Francisco, California, United States |
| Aired on | September 9, 2000 |
| Production Number | 01 |
| Credits | |
| Written by | John Rogers |
| Directed by | Bryan Andrews |
| Produced by | Michael Goguen |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous episode N/A |
Next episode "The Power Within" |
"Courage without wisdom is foolishness." |
"The Dark Hand" is the first episode of Jackie Chan Adventures.
Synopsis[]
Jackie Chan is enlisted by Captain Black of Section 13 to stop the Dark Hand from obtaining the Rooster Talisman that is discovered to be embedded in a shield that he finds in a Bavarian castle. He must also deal with his niece, Jade, who has just flown in to live with him from Hong Kong.
Plot[]
In Bavaria, archeologist Jackie Chan leads a group into the castle of Mad King Lodwick to explore the ancient area and finds the King's lost treasure. Someone from the group makes the mistake of touching one of the pieces of treasure, causing a series of booby traps to activate. While Jackie gets the group out, he is trapped in the room and quickly dodges arrows. Grabbing a shield, Jackie manages to slide out of the castle and regroups with the expedition group he was leading. Unknown to Jackie, his actions are seen by two different groups: one led by a bald man in black, and another led by a guy in a green suit.
A few days later, Jackie is called down by his Uncle named Uncle, who owns a Antique Shop in San Francisco. After Uncle whacks Jackie over the head for not making coffee today, he tells his nephew that he is having problems researching the shield Jackie brought back from Bavaria and says he'll take it to the back room for research. Also, Uncle reveals that Jackie's niece Jade from China will be living with him for a year as her parents believe she needs a proper role model to look up to. Despite being taken aback by this last minute announcement, Jackie tries to bond with his niece, but Jade doesn't say anything. Just then, three men come into shop, asking Jackie if they can buy the shield from him for their boss. Having some weird vibes from the trio, Jackie claims that he donated the shield to the University he does work with. Even after the leader of the trio, Finn, tries to get Jackie to confess by dropping some of Uncle's antiques, Jackie manages to catch them without breaking a sweat. Still, Finn ominously tells Jackie that it would be in his family's best interest if he gives them the shield tomorrow.
As the trio leave, Jackie follows them out of curiosity, only to land on the hood of their car when the water spout he was climbing from breaks. Taking the fight to a park, Jackie outnumbered and out armed due to the trio having electric swords. Still, Jackie manages to get the upper hand on them and manages to intimidate them enough for them to retreat. Afterwards, Jackie is surprised to see Jade in the park, having followed him from the shop and seeing everything. Before Jackie can explain himself, the man in black knocks him out with gas.
When Jackie wakes up, he immediately recognizes the man in black as his old friend Augustus Black in a van. While Jackie is happy to see Black, he immediately gets angry when Black admits that he was the one who knocked him out. Before Black can explain himself, Jackie storms into a nearby phonebooth to call a cab. However, the phonebooth leads Jackie into an underground base and Black introduces his friend to Section 13. Section 13 is an elite special force group and Black asks Jackie about the shield he got from Bavaria. When Jackie complains how it is the second time he was asked that question, he explains to Black about the trio he met earlier that day. Black tells Jackie that the trio he met were enforcers to the Dark Hand, a crime syndicate led by Valmont.
At the Dark Hand's hideout, Finn and the two other Enforcers tell Valmont that they failed to get the shield from Jackie, causing Valmont to summon his muscles named Tohru, a giant Japanese man. After Tohru crushes the trio with a bear hug, Valmont sends the former to get the shield. However, a dragon statue behind Valmont named Shendu offers his services by summoning the Shadowkhan to help Tohru, ninjas that appear from the shadows per his commands.
Black explains that the Dark Hand has recently had a interest in collecting antiques and he wants Jackie's help due to his archeologist knowledge and the fact he trusts his old friend. Before Jackie can think about his answer, Jade bursts in on a moped so she can rescue Jackie. But after the chase, Jackie clears up the misunderstanding and Jade, who just got into America, finds all of this cool. However, Jackie lectures Jade that she can't act too foolishly when trying to help people. Then, Uncle calls Jackie, explaining that his research on the shield has led him to discover magic incantations, but adds on that the shield isn't important. This bewilders Jackie as everyone he met today has asked him about the shield. Before Uncle can explain himself, Tohru appears and kidnaps Uncle, telling Jackie to bring the shield to him.
Jackie returns to the Antique Shop to find the shield, only to see that Jade had followed him as she wants to help him. Jackie reluctantly allows Jade to find the shield, and she finds it buried under somethings on a stool. With the shield, Jackie goes to the meet up location to make the trade, only to see that Jade followed him again. Jackie orders Jade to stay put or else he will put her on the first flight back to Hong Kong, only to see her follow him to the roof. Instead of getting angry, Jackie uses this as an opportunity to save Uncle by tossing the shield towards Tohru in a boomerang fashion and allowing Jade to get Uncle. The Shadowkhan surround Jackie, leading to fight where the latter uses the shield offensively and defensively. The fight moves to the edge of the roof where Jackie drops the shield towards Jade and Uncle, only for Tohru to take it from them. Once the Shadowkhan disappear, Black arrives in a helicopter to pick up Jackie.
Once Jackie and Black are on the ground, Uncle once again tells them that the shield is not important. What was important though was the Talisman on the shield, which was where the magic lied. Fortunately, Jade managed to swipe the Talisman off the shield before handing it to Tohru, who faces an angry Valmont and Shendu for giving them the shield without the Talisman they wanted. Uncle explains that the Talisman has the markings of the rooster, one of the twelve animals from the Chinese Zodiac. That means there are eleven more that must be found and Black asks Jackie if he will help them collect them before the Dark Hand does. Jade answers for Jackie, saying he will help them. While reluctant, Jackie agrees as getting the Talismans before the Dark Hand is important.
Characters[]
Protagonists[]
Antagonists[]
Others[]
Objects[]
Voice Talent[]
- James Sie - Jackie Chan, Shendu, Chow
- Stacie Chan - Jade Chan
- Sab Shimono - Uncle
- Clancy Brown - Captain Black, Ratso
- Julian Sands - Valmont
- Adam Baldwin - Finn
- Noah Nelson - Tohru
Broadcast[]
- USA: The WB (Kids' WB) - Saturday, September 9, 2000
- UK: BBC One (CBBC) - Saturday, September 22, 2001
Transcript[]
- Main article: Transcript:The Dark Hand
Trivia[]
- This episode marks one of the few times in the series that Jackie himself actually speaks Chinese.
- This series premiere marked the fifth anniversary of the launch of Kids' WB!, the children's programming block on The WB Television Network.