Tso Lan | |
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Personal Info | |
Full Name | Tso Lan the Moon Demon |
Japanese Name | 吸血鬼 (kyūketsuki, "vampire") |
Race | Demon Sorcerer |
Age | Unspecified; 900+ years |
Nationality | Chinese |
Sign | ☵ (moon) |
Banisher | He Xiangu |
Weakness | Lotus |
Family | Bai Tza (sister) Dai Gui (brother) Hsi Wu (brother) Po Kong (sister) Shendu (brother) Tchang Zu (brother) Xiao Fung (brother) Drago (nephew) |
General Info | |
Base of Operations | Netherworld |
Portal Location | Between Earth and the Moon |
Details | |
Debut | Season 2 Episode 5 |
Closing | Season 2 Episode 28 |
English | Glenn Shadix |
"Behold my mastery of gravity!" |
Tso Lan (Sō Län) is a Demon Sorcerer - specifically the Moon 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[]
Tso Lan's appearance seems to be based on an insect, as he is four-armed and has pincers on the lower arms. He has light grey skin and the front of his face is dark grey. He has dark purple hair tied in a long ponytail and a long tongue that is always sticking out.
Tso Lan, along with Tchang Zu, is one of the only two demon sorcerers that are fully clothed. He wears a red and purple outfit reminiscent of a Chinese nobleman.
Personality[]
Tso Lan is intelligent, regal and sophisticated, seemingly the most so of the Demon Sorcerer family. Compared to his siblings, he has a calm, cold and cruel-edged disposition - when berating or criticising others such as Shendu, he often does so in a collected and neutral-sounding manner (i.e. "You chose to spend your time ruling China"; "And things were going so well..."). Tso Lan's cool demeanor rarely cracks, though his shows of emotion when it does can be shocking; as happened when he was outraged by Jackie Chan interrupting his takeover of the Moon's gravity, and when he learned Jade Chan had escaped the Book of Ages' timeline alteration, with his collected demeanour outright shattering (much like with the rest of his siblings) both times he realised he was about to be re-banished to the Netherworld.
Tso Lan often keeps an eye and ear on his surroundings (humming contemplatively when he notices something out of order). Despite this, he at times appears to be slow on the uptake; such as when he initially assumed on the space station Niagara that Cosmo was the infamous Jackie Chan whom Shendu was referring to. He was likewise slow to act physically; notably, he stood by long enough for Jackie and Jade to equip a torpedo with the Rabbit Talisman and hurl it at him (although this only enabled Tso Lan to escape the space station and reach the Moon). He likewise didn't move when Jackie broke free of his grip on the Moon (albeit directly after Tso Lan had calculated Jackie couldn't pose a threat in their current environment). Like Shendu and several other Demon Sorcerers, Tso Lan initially made the mistake of dismissing the threat the Chan Clan posed when they weren't directly engaging him, which led to him being re-banished - during the Book of Ages crisis, he took the threat of the Chans much more seriously after learning Jade had retained her memories from the unaltered timeline and was responsible for the Chans banishing half his brethren.
Tso Lan is apparently hard to impress, and has never once been known to give a direct compliment. He apparently found the state of the Earth distasteful, feeling its landscape would only be to his liking once he'd wrecked all the planet's ecosystems by pulling the Moon from orbit; he likewise commented upon seeing the Moon's landscape up-close that it "could use a facelift". Tso Lan displayed a sarcastic side at times when interacting with his siblings, such as when he sardonically shot down Xiao Fung's plea for a civil resolution, and when he lamented Jackie Chan's interference in the Book of Ages-altered reality. Like most of his siblings, Tso Lan held some antagonism towards Shendu for leaving them imprisoned, making it clear to Shendu upon being freed that he had no interest in hearing the latter's "pleasantries". In the Netherworld, Tso Lan seems to be one of the more authoritative voices among his siblings, like Bai Tza and Xiao Fung.
While he normally speaks in a detached, cold, clinical voice, he can become excited and angry when the occasion arises.
He displays a sardonic and dry wit occasionally; for example, as when presented with the problem of only one Demon being able to use Shendu’s portal to travel to earth, after his brother Xiao Fung protests that there must be a fair way to decide, he quips “Like what? Alphabetical order?”. Similarly, when the rush to the portal begins, he calmly blasts his sister Po Kong aside and dryly mutters “Age before beauty!”.
History[]
Background[]
Tso Lan indicated he's older than his sister Po Kong, and possibly the oldest of the Demon Sorcerer siblings - quipping, "Age before beauty" towards Po Kong, before taking lead in the race in The Eighth Door.
Tso Lan and his seven siblings terrorised the world in ancient times (described by Tohru in Relics of Demon Past as "thousands of years ago"), but were defeated one-by-one by the Eight Immortals and banished to the Netherworld. Tso Lan and six of his siblings remained trapped there, whilst Shendu apparently escaped back to Earth and left them to their fate so he could rule unopposed. Tso Lan's Demon Portal was located in high orbit above the Earth, roughly halfway between the Earth and the Moon.
The visual montage in The J-Team depicted Tso Lan being banished by a male Immortal, although the lotus pod is associated with the female Immortal He Xiangu in actual Chinese mythology.
Season 2[]
Using a shuttle to reach a space station in orbit, the Dark Hand was able to open Tso Lan's portal. He then began covering the moon with his dark magic, planning to pull it out of its orbit; in this way, he could wreck Earth's landscapes and adapt them to his liking. Despite his power over gravity, he was defeated, and banished with a lotus pod.
In Demon World (Part 1), Tso Lan and the other Demon Sorcerers were able to resume their rule of the world by having their original defeat erased from the Book of Ages. When Jade (who had retained her memories) led a counterattack in Demon World (Part 2), Tso Lan was one of the final four demons left to challenge the J-Team when they traveled to Australia in search of the Book. He fought and defeated El Toro Fuerte, despite the latter's use of the Rooster Talisman, only to be banished with the rest of his siblings by Uncle.
Season 5[]
Tso Lan's Demon Chi was located in a lotus pod in a zoo habitat, where it was briefly absorbed by a Panda bear named Yin Yang. Drago got hold of it after Uncle attempted to draw it out, and engaged an Earth Chi-carrying Jackie, who held off Drago long enough for Uncle to remove the Chi from Drago.
It was reabsorbed by Drago during the final confrontation with him.
Powers and Abilities[]
Like his siblings, Tso Lan is a very powerful sorcerer, and being a Moon Demon, he has the ability to alter gravity. He uses this to lower the gravity in a single location which causes everything in it to float, and also manifests this power in the form of purple smoky beams that he projects from his hands and can use it to carry himself by aiming it to the ground. At one point, he uses one of these beams to toss Po Kong like a feather. In the demon world, Tso Lan is able to clear a group of boulders out of his way by simply gliding through them. He is also often seen levitating above the ground without any support, an example of his gravity-bending powers. He used his powers to transverse the demon world without having to board one of the floating rocks.
He is powerful enough to cover the moon with his magic and pull it out of orbit, making one of if not the most powerful Demon Sorcerer out of his siblings. While fighting Jackie and El Toro, Tso Lan is shown shooting powerful bolts made up of dark energy.
Tso Lan is telepathic, as his long tongue is always out of his mouth and his mouth never seems to move, but he speaks very clearly. He has also been seen teleporting. He can also survive in the vacuum of space and use his hair to grab Shendu as a spirit.
Appearances[]
TV SeriesSeason 2
Season 5
Video Games
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Quotes[]
- "To punish your betrayal, Shendu. You chose to spend your time ruling China." The Stronger Evil
- "Skip the pleasantries, Shendu. I'm interested only in seizing control of the Moon's gravity, so that I may pull the ball from its orbit." Shanghai Moon
- "The child is correct, and only then will Earth's landscape be to my liking." (confirming his intention to destroy Earth's every ecosystem) Shanghai Moon
- "It appears the pleasure of destroying you shall be mine alone." Shanghai Moon
- "Hiding only delays the inevitable." Shanghai Moon
- "And for you things look very grave." Shanghai Moon
- (surveys the Moon’s landscape) "Hmm… Could use a facelift." (begins cowering the Moon with dark magic) Shanghai Moon
- "Behind you." (catches Jackie when he wonders out loud where on the Moon he'd find the Moon Demon from) Shanghai Moon
- "You dare interrupt me in my moment of triumph?!" Shanghai Moon
- (hears Uncle chanting through Jackie’s radio) "An incantation? (sees a lotus pod inside Jackie’s helmet) The lotus pod. In order for it to hex me, you must remove your helmet, which you cannot do." Shanghai Moon
- "And things were going so well..." (to Shendu, upon learning Jackie Chan in the altered timeline has been banishing the Demon Sorcerers) Demon World (Part 2)
Trivia[]
- Tso Lan's name may be intended to be a transliteration, referencing one of the show's producers, Solon So.
- Tso Lan is the only Demon Sorcerer whose element correlates to a celestial body rather than a natural force on Earth.
- Although one could argue this is not the case, as he maintains control over gravity, which does in fact exist on Earth.
- In all of his appearances, Tso Lan was seen physically walking only one time; when he, Dai Gui, Shendu and Bai Tza entered the Book of Ages' chamber with the hostage J-Team in Demon World (Part 2). In the Netherworld, he always stood atop a rock which he guided with his gravitokinesis, and in Shanghai Moon, he always moved by gliding slightly above the floor.
- A glimpse in Demon World (Part 2) when Tso Lan and El Toro were physically fighting confirmed Tso Lan has humanoid-seeming legs under his robe; boots were briefly glimpsed when El Toro slammed him into a wall.
- Though Tso Lan is the Moon Demon, his trigram (☵) means "water" in bagua. The trigram of his sister Bai Tza the Water Demon (☱) means "lake" or "marsh".
Gallery[]
- Main article: Tso Lan/Gallery