General Tsao



General Tsao is an anthropomorphic rooster and the chief antagonist from Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves. Tsao was the self-appointed leader of a village in the Kunlun Mountains in China, and came from a long line of vile members of the family Tsao. He was the main villain while the Cooper Gang was in China in Sly 3.

Wedding in China
When the gang arrived in China to recruit the Panda King to their cause, they were tasked with rescuing his daughter from an unwanted forced marriage to Tsao in order to gain his loyalty. The gang realized that the wedding date was only on the next Saturday, and they didn't have much time.

After attempting to fool Tsao as part of their operation, he caught them off-guard and entered the safe house, stealing the ThiefNet computer in the process. Tsao then lured Sly into a sacred battle ground where his ancestors had fought off many opponents in the past and the power that was released from them remained in the area (which allowed the combatants the ability of flight). The two fought one another with Sly emerging victorious, but Tsao managed to escape, giving the laptop back in the process.

Despite seeming all knowledgeable over the gang's plans, Tsao seemed completely oblivious about the gang's operation and had no idea that Jing King had escaped whilst a certain cop (a.k.a. Carmelita) had taken her place to arrest him shortly after, who had mistaken him for Sly thanks to a set up by the gang.

He is currently serving a prison sentence for letting undead praying mantis vampires run through the streets of the village. From what Sly heard, the locals were happy to see him go.

Personality
Tsao is obsessed with his family line, believing it superior to all others. This leads him to seek a wife from a bloodline he considers worthy. He apparently respected the Panda King during his criminal years, and thus wanted to marry the King's daughter so that his children would have the lineage of both himself and the Panda King.

General Tsao is also known for being incredibly cruel, caring for nothing but himself (Bentley even quoted that Tsao had kicked a puppy, twice! Even Sly told Tsao that he's met some bad men in his life, but Tsao was considered the worst in his opinion.) He is also a sexist, believing that as a woman, Jing King doesn't know up from down (During Feudal China it was a common belief that women were ignorant creatures). This implies that he has no respect for her, other than the prestige that his bloodline will gain by merging with the Panda King's.

Powers and Abilities
Tsao is a powerful combatant, easily as strong and agile as Sly himself. In addition, he is a master of black magic. In battle, he used this to unleash streams of fireballs, send waves of zombie hands across the ground, and summon dragon spirits. He later used this magic to unleash an army of Jiang Shi vampires, and also to bring the dragon statue in his treasure temple to life, using it to attack the Cooper Gang. It is possible that Tsao's Black Magic may be part voodoo, making him similar to Mz Ruby and the Contessa in this regard.

General Tsao's main weapon is a shield marked with a yin-yang symbol. In battle, a spinning array of blades emerges from the rim of the shield, essentially turning it into a large buzzsaw. The shield is also the model for Tsao's master computer avatar, a computer program he set to guard his personal files.

Notably, Tsao is the only villain who Sly and the gang never brought down on their own, due to his resourcefulness and ability to plan ahead. While every other adversary they faced was eventually brought down or destroyed, then hauled off to jail by Carmelita, the gang was forced to flee and instead leave Tsao's capture up to Carmelita's trickery.