The story of the tyrannical and genocidal peacock Lord Shen from the Kung Fu Panda franchise.
Background[]
| “ | Long ago, in ancient China, the Peacocks ruled over Gongmen city. They brought great joy and prosperity to the city for they have invented fireworks. But their son, Lord Shen, saw a darker power in the fireworks. What had brought color and joy could also bring darkness and destruction. Shen's troubled parents consulted a Soothsayer. She foretold that if Shen continued down this dark path, he would be defeated by a warrior of black and white. The young lord set out to change his fate. But what he did next only sealed it. Shen returned to his parents full of pride. But in their faces, he saw only horror. He was banished from the city forever. But Shen swore revenge. Someday, he would return, and all of China would bow at his feet. | „ |
| ~ Shen's backstory told by the Soothsayer at the opening of the film. |
Shen developing a disturbing interest for his parents' fireworks in the film's prologue.
Years before the events of the films, Lord Shen was born into the noble Peacock family, the rulers of Gongmen City and were deeply admired by its inhabitants due to inventing the fireworks. When Shen was little, he was allowed by his father to play near his throne, having been promised that he would one day inherit it. Growing up, Shen studied fireworks, but he also developed a dark interest on making weapons for warfare to take control of China. When Shen was ready to become the next peacock ruler of Gongmen City, a Soothsayer goat gave a prophecy to his parents that if Shen continued pursuing his path, he would eventually be defeated by a warrior of black and white.
After hearing about this while eavesdropping on them, Shen decided to avert the prophecy by any means necessary, but rather than reflecting on his goals and choosing another path in life like the Soothsayer hoped him to do, Shen instead resorted to target all pandas; the one species in China that greatly resembled the prophecy's warrior, and hunt them down into extinction so he could prevent the rise or birth of the prophesied warrior by leading his army of wolves & gorillas to massacre a nearby village of pandas. Leading his wolves, Shen ravaged the village and burned it to a crisp, killing most if not all of the pandas there and destroying their homes.
After assuming the massacre was complete, Shen returned back to his palace only to see that his family was horrified and disgusted by what he had done. Shen's father angrily considered him to be a disgrace to their family name and sentenced him and his wolf gang to exile as punishment for slaughtering the pandas. Believing that his parents hated him and feeling he did so as self-defense to further his goals, Shen angrily swore that he would return and reclaim what's rightfully his. Following Shen's exile, his family became very depressed during their rule and later died out of grief, giving their power to the Gongmen Kung Fu Council.
Kung Fu Panda 2[]
Out of Metal[]
| “ | Search the farthest villages. Find more metal. China will be mine. | „ |
| ~ Lord Shen's first line. |
Shen makes his first appearance in the Kung Fu Panda franchise as the main antagonist of it's second film Kung Fu Panda 2. During his 20 years in exile, deep in the mountains, Shen's wolves worked tirelessly to complete their master's ultimate weapon: a cannon that would bring an end to the use of Kung Fu. When Boss Wolf informed him that they had run out of metal to use as material, Shen ordered him to attack the farthest villages and steal all the metal they could find. While he and a group of wolves set out to do so, Shen decided that it was time to move forward with his plans.
Shen's Return and Takeover of Gongmen City[]
| “ | Lord Shen: Good afternoon, gentlemen. Now, that we've got the pleasantries out of the way, please leave my house. Master Ox: Your house? Lord Shen: Yes. Didn't you see the peacock on the front door? [spots the Soothsayer] Ah, there you are, Soothsayer. It seems your fortune-telling skills are not as good as you thought. Soothsayer: We shall see, Shen. Lord Shen: No, you shall see, old goat...Where were we? Thundering Rhino: What do you want, Shen? Lord Shen: What is rightfully mine... Gongmen City! Thundering Rhino: Gongmen is under the stewardship of the Masters' Council and we will protect it, even from you. Lord Shen: I'm so glad you feel that way. Otherwise, I'd have dragged that here for nothing. [indicating his wolf army dragging a rather large box on a cart] Master Ox: What's in the box, Shen? Lord Shen: You want to see? It's a gift. It's your parting gift, in that it'll part you; part of you here, part of you there, and part of you way over there... staining the wall! Master Ox: You insolent fool! [Ox attacks, but he gets quickly brought down; Croc moves in, deflecting Shen's fan of blades. Shen then quickly defeats the two masters with his sword and feathers. Then Shen threw his feathers are Thundering Rhino, who deflected his feathers with his Hammer and horn. Lastly, Rhino pushes Shen back with his hammer, knocking several of his fan blades away.] Lord Shen: Showoff. Thundering Rhino: That's a warning. You are no match for our kung fu. Lord Shen: I agree... But this is. [flips backwards onto the box, revealing a massive cannon. Rhino takes a defensive stance as Shen fires it, killing him.] |
„ |
| ~ Shen returns, unveiling his cannon and murdering Master Thundering Rhino with it. |
Shen attacks the Council.
Once two decades have passed, Shen took back the control of the Gongmen City by force while using his new, powerful weapon: A firework cannon. With it, he killed the senior Master Thundering Rhino for standing up to him, imprisoned the other Kung Fu Masters, Ox and Croc, by threatening to use the cannon against the city and took back his palace, plotting to spread his power. It was then that Po, Shifu and the Furious Five learned of Lord Shen's treachery and the threat of his weapon, realizing it could bring about a new style of warfare, which could mean the end of Kung Fu.
With the Council out of the way, Shen began to ransack the tower, even tossing his father's throne out the window and replacing it with his cannon (despite stating his fond memories of the throne). He then questioned the Soothsayer about his future, but she informed him that nothing had changed; he would still be defeated by "a warrior of black and white". Shen declared this to be impossible, but was quickly proven wrong when Boss Wolf returned, informing him that he had battled a panda whom, he commented, "fought like a demon". Shen, furious at this news yet determined to keep his cool, ordered Boss Wolf to bring the panda to him so he could kill Po himself and prove the Soothsayer wrong.
Meeting Po[]
| “ | Look at him. A lifetime to plot his revenge and he comes to me on his knees! | „ |
| ~ Lord Shen taunting Po. |
Po sees the demonic symbol of when he lost his biological parents depicted on Shen's tailfeathers and realizes Shen was there, to which the wicked peacock confirms with sadistic satisfaction.
Later, when the panda, Po, was brought before him alongside the Furious Five in handcuffs, Shen was taken aback by Po's casual behavior of not being intimidated by him or the situation. Much to the Soothsayer's surprise and Shen's amusement, it soon became clear that Po was unaware of the massacre of the pandas, and of Lord Shen's role in it. He laughed and taunted him about his ignorance, and then ordered the Wolf Boss to fire the cannon at Po and the Five. However, Mantis quickly extinguished the fuse and knocked Boss Wolf out, which bought Viper enough time to pick the lock on Tigress' cuffs. Once they were free, the Five attacked, and Tigress and Mantis destroyed Shen's cannon.
Po lunged at Shen, but upon seeing the marks on Shen's tail feathers, was struck with a memory of his past, and realized that Shen was there the night he lost his biological parents. Shen only confirmed this with satisfaction and made use of the opportunity to escape to the Fireworks Factory, where he had several more cannons waiting. He ordered his warriors to open fire and bring the tower down with Po and the Five inside. Despite this, they managed to escape as the building collapsed.
After the following battle, Shen escapes to his cannon factory, out of the palace, and Po and the Furious Five barely manage to escape. Shen then proceeds with his plan to begin his assault on China using his cannons and expanding his empire, declaring the beginning of "the Year of the Peacock". Boss Wolf interrupts and jokingly tells him that he only got half of the Year of the Peacock due to the middle of the year, in which Shen responded by brandishing one of his knives, forcing the wolf to change his mind and wishing his master a happy new year. Shen then angrily orders Boss Wolf to get the other wolves ready as they are loading the ships, in which the wolf does so.
Final Moments with Soothsayer[]
| “ | The dead exist in the past, and I must tend to the future. | „ |
| ~ Lord Shen accepting his identity, ignoring the Soothsayer's pleads. |
The Soothsayer trying to reason with Shen to stop his evil madness, to no avail.
Shen later gloated to the Soothsayer that she was wrong about Po since the panda had failed to defeat him. But she only criticized Shen for destroying his ancestral home. She asked Shen if conquering China would finally satisfy him. Shen is clearly shocked, having never considered what he'll do after he succeeds in conquering China, but is quick to brush off his doubt, snarly replying "It's a start. I might also convert the basement into a dungeon." When arguing with him failed to change his mind, the Soothsayer tried to reason with Shen, stating that his destruction will never bring him satisfaction and begged him to stop so his parents could rest in peace. Shen insisted that his parents had hated and wronged him, but she said that they had loved him so much that they died of grief. His cold response to this news made it very clear to the Soothsayer that he was determined to follow the path of destruction. Shen then ordered his guards to set her free. Deeply saddened, the Soothsayer told him goodbye and wished him happiness as she left. Shen does not watch her leave, only by saying that happiness must be won, and that he will win his happiness.
Fireworks Factory[]
| “ | You want to know so badly? You think knowing will heal you, huh? Fill some crater in your soul? Well, here's your answer: Your parents didn't love you. But here, let me heal you. | „ |
| ~ Lord Shen hypocritically lies to Po. |
Shen confronting Po in the factory.
Meanwhile, the Furious Five tried to blow up the factory with the explosives while keeping Po back at the Gongmen city prison, along with Croc and Storming Ox (who was starting to show weakness from discovering the truth of his family). However, Po sneaks into the factory to confront Shen and learn more about his past, inadvertently interfering with the Five's plan. Shen, taking Po's weakness by lying that Po's parents hated him and abandoned him, manages to shoot the panda with his cannon; sending Po out of the factory and into the river. Confident that the Panda was dead, the wicked peacock then orders his wolves to capture the Five and prepare his armada.
Battle at Gongmen Harbor[]
| “ | How many times do I have to kill the same stinking panda?! | „ |
| ~ Shen enraged upon seeing Po survive from his cannon standing boldly before his armada. |
Shen smirks wickedly as his armada sails through the harbor.
Po is found and healed by the Soothsayer, who helps him attain inner peace and return to face Lord Shen again as he begins his assault. It was then Po realized his father defended him against the wolves from killing him, and his mother sacrificed herself to save him from Shen's wrath.
Shen has the Furious Five chained up and suspended above his ships as they sailed out of the city. But much to his shock and rage, Master Po comes back and tries to rescue his friends and defeat Shen once and for all. Shen orders his gunners to blast him, but Po nimbly moves along the rooftops, preventing them from getting a clear shot, and then jumps onto the ships to engage Shen's army, now that they couldn't fire without hitting their own men. Lord Shen could do nothing but watch as Po freed the Furious Five and joined forces with Masters Storming Ox, Croc and Shifu and a tremendous battle ensued and the canal was eventually blocked just before the harbor, preventing the armada from progressing.
Losing his patience (as well as a huge amount of his sanity), Shen orders Boss Wolf to to fire the cannon at the blockage, not even caring their own soldiers would be killed in the blast. When Boss Wolf refused to do the deed out of fear of losing their men, the wicked peacock coldly strikes him with one of his throwing knives and fires the cannon himself, knocking all the kung fu warriors away and clearing away the blockage, leaving all but Po too injured and weak to continue fighting.
However, Po, having attained his inner peace by letting his memory of his parents flow through him rather than fighting it, manages to redirect all of the cannonballs back at Lord Shen's fleet, much to the other kung fu masters' surprise. After the ships were all destroyed and the rest of Shen's army defeated, Po confronts the exhausted Shen on his ruined flagship, revealing to the peacock that he has prevented his own past from taking over his present and urges Shen to do the same thing, stating that what matters most is choosing his own future.
Final Battle and Death[]
| “ | Shen: H-how did you... How did you do it? Po: You know, you just gotta keep your elbows up and keep the shoulders loose. Shen: Not that. How did you find peace? I took away your parents. Everything. I--I scarred you for life. Po: See, that's the thing, Shen... scars heal. Shen: No, they don't. Wounds heal. Po: Oh yeah. What do scars do? They fade, I guess? Shen: I don't care what scars do. Po: You should, Shen. You gotta let go of that stuff from the past 'cause it just doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is what you choose to be now. Shen: You're right. Then I choose... THIS! (attacks Po in a blind fury) |
„ |
| ~ Lord Shen's last words. |
(Po: The only thing that matters is who you choose to be now.) "You're right. Then I choose... THIS!" - Lord Shen's last words before his death.
Though Shen agrees with Po of choosing his own future, he refuses to let go of his pain. Losing what very little remains of his sanity, Shen attacks Po with his lance and knives, quickly gaining the upper hand. However, as they fight, Shen, in his blind fury, accidentally slashes through the ropes holding up the remains of his last cannon. Shen notices this too late as the heavy weapon topples over and falls towards him. While Po leaps to safety, Shen, seeing that he has finally lost, makes no attempt to get out of the way and instead accepts his fate and closes his eyes as he gets crushed to death by his own cannon and obliterated by the resulting explosion. Po narrowly escapes just as the ship blows up into splinters and sinks into the waters. Thus, the prophecy had become fulfilled.
Throughout his campaign to conquer China, Shen had been troubled by his fear of Po stopping, even killing him. He was also troubled by the memory of how his family had banished him, refusing to accept the fact that his actions against the pandas have made them mad at him in the first place and instead believe that they never loved him. The Soothsayer and Po both implored him to stop his actions and find peace of mind and happiness. Tragically, in his final moments, Shen did find peace of mind and happiness. With Lord Shen's death, Po's mother, the innocent pandas he slaughtered and Master Thundering Rhino along with Shen's parents are avenged and they can finally rest in peace.
Kung Fu Panda 3[]
In Kung Fu Panda 3, Shen makes a cameo appearance in a flashback when Po's father, Li Shan, tells how he lost Po's mother to Shen. The film further reveals that despite the death of Po's mother and many other pandas, several pandas, including Li, managed to survive Shen's slaughter on them and fled to a very distant village in the mountains. That said, as no more panda villages are confirmed to exist, it's possible that they are the last batch of pandas in the Earth, effectively proving how near Shen was of driving all pandas to extinction just to avoid a prophecy which had a far more easier solution.
Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness[]
Shen doesn't appear in the series as he is already dead, but he is mentioned by a villager in the 2-part episode, Enter the Dragon, when the villagers talk about Po's accomplishments.
Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight[]
At the beginning of the episode "A Cause for the Paws", Lord Shen appeared in a flashback of Po while he was talking about himself.
Kung Fu Panda 4[]
Shen was summoned from the Spirit Realm by The Chameleon like the rest of Po's adversaries, and he was stripped of his kung fu and locked in a cage until Po defeated the Chameleon, after which he bowed to Po with the rest of the masters, displaying his respect and acceptance of his previous defeat. Shen then returned to the Spirit Realm along with all of the other summoned kung fu masters. According to the movie's novel adaptation, Shen, Tai Lung, Kai the Collector and the other kung fu villains then torture the Chameleon in the Spirit Realm by using her tongue as a skipping rope to give the latter the proper punishment that she deserves.