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Villain Overview

Hell isn’t where you go when you die, it’s what you become when everything you love has been taken away.
~ Sunny

Sunny, also known as Sanzō, is the main protagonist of the AMC series Into the Badlands.

Born in the lost city of Azra, Sunny possessed a supernatural ability called the Gift, which enabled him to use dark chi powers. After Azra was destroyed by the Black Lotus, Sunny barely managed to escape and lost his memories of his childhood. He was found by Baron Quinn and trained to be a "Clipper", becoming the most feared and dangerous in all of the Badlands.

He was portrayed by Daniel Wu, who also played Gul'Dan in Warcraft. As a child, he was portrayed by Frank Kauer and Howard Tsang.

Appearance[]

Sunnystattoos

Sunny's Tattoos representing 404 kills.

Sunny is a middle-aged man who keeps his hair short, as is custom for all Clippers under Baron Quinn. Sunny's back contained several tattoos, which symbolized a life taken for Baron Quinn. Sunny is stated to have 404 tattoos before he stops having them applied.

During his time as Baron Quinn's regent, Sunny's Clipper gear appeared to be a mix between dark red and crimson, likely in reference to the sheer brutality of Quinn's territory. Sunny wore this his entire life, until he became a prisoner of the Bordeaux Mines. He is even seen wearing a smaller version of it in a flashback where he is Waldo's Colt. During his brief time as Baron Chau's regent, Sunny's Clipper gear was white and eggshell, as Chau's color scheme was meant to be symbolic of purity, due them believing they were "Gods" above other human being such as Cogs.

Personality[]

Due to his status as Baron Quinn's regent, Sunny has killed countless people on Quinn's orders, many of whom likely were innocent. Sunny's reaction to killing is usually one of quiet reservation, he never shows any sort of sadistic pleasure in what he does, and expresses to Veil that he doesn't enjoy killing, but he has to in order to survive. As he puts it, if you want to make it in the Badlands, you have to be ruthless. It's even implied that Sunny has tortured people before on Quinn's orders, and is even willing to torture the 17-year-old Tilda, albeit he is extremely reluctant to do so. At one point, Ringo, the man who gives Sunny's his tattoos after every kill, claims Sunny was once happy and excited to get them prior the events of the series, meaning he once may have enjoyed killing. This sadistic side of Sunny is never seen directly and it is unclear if Ringo is correct. Throughout the series, Sunny never goes out of his way to kill someone when he does not have to, often trying to avoid conflict and violence.

Despite Quinn's Clippers being told to not have wives, and instead only see partners without getting attached to them, Sunny breaks this rule and sees his lover, Veil, in secret. When she reveals that she has become pregnant, Sunny decides he has to get her and their child out of the Badlands and away from Quinn, as he does not want this life for his child. Sunny is shown to have great affection for his family and his allies, as he wishes to take a boy named M.K., who possesses the Gift, with him when he and Veil escape the Badlands. After finally killing Quinn and being completely detached from life as a Clipper, Sunny is shown to have deep regret for his past, as he was never really a violent or sadistic person, but was raised in that role and stayed in it in order to survive in the Badlands. By the end of the series, Sunny believes that his son Henry is the only thing worth fighting for, as he wants the world to be safe so that Henry will be as he grows up. This is shown further when the Widow becomes pregnant, and Sunny is the only person to not suggest ending the pregnancy, but instead tell her that have a child may give her a purpose in the Badlands that goes beyond violence.

Relationships[]

Family[]

Allies[]

Enemies[]

Powers & Abilities[]

  • Martial Arts/Swordsmanship: Sunny is by far the most dangerous and skilled combatant in the series. The only individuals that are able to overpower him are those who possess the Gift. Sunny is the only character in the series to defeat Baron Quinn in a one-on-one duel. It is implied that Sunny having his Gift locked inside of him for so long may be responsible for his incredibly fighting abilities.
  • Pain Tolerance: Sunny is shown to have an extremely high amount of stamina in battle, to the point that during his fight with the Abbots, it took all three of them becoming Dark Ones and striking him simultaneously in order to knock him out. During the final battle with Pilgrim, it essentially took him being disemboweled in order for him to finally go down.
  • The Gift: Sunny's Gift was locked inside of him by his sister Kannin when they were children, but he is told by several characters that his Gift is perhaps the most powerful in existence, and the only one which could potentially overpower Pilgrim's.
    • Seeing Beyond: During his coma induced by the Hand of Five Poisons, Sunny was able to find out his son was named Henry despite never being told this information by anyone. The Master is stated to be able to see different parts of the world using her Gift, an ability Sunny appears to share under certain conditions.

Quotes[]

Said by Sunny[]

Sunny: You wanna tell me how you ended up in that trunk, instead of dead like everyone else?

M.K.: Lucky, I guess.
Sunny: Lying to me is a bad idea.

~ Sunny and M.K. first meeting.
Every force has its equal. Fear, peace, dark, light… one can’t exist without the other.
~ Sunny helping M.K. control his Gift.
Maybe all I've known is killing, but I know that's not all there is.
~ Sunny speaking to Nathaniel Moon.
Vulnerability isn’t a weakness. It’s what gives me the strength to keep going. It gives me hope.
~ Sunny's abandonment of being a Clipper.
The best weapon is always the one you started with.
~ Sunny describing his proficiency with a bow.
Goodbye, brother.
~ Sunny's final words.

Said about Sunny[]

No clipper in the Badlands is more feared, or more loyal, than Sunny.
~ Quinn describing Sunny to a group of Colts.
You want me to get all riled up? Smack you in the face? Tell you what a bad man you really are? Well maybe you're not a good man... maybe there are no good men. But I've seen a lot of bad ones, trust me son, you ain't that bad.
~ Doc Cloud rebuffing Sunny for trying to blame himself.
Give me Henry, and you can have Veil, but you can't have both.
~ Quinn's final words to Sunny.
To think that I wanted to be you, that I looked up to you. You're a poison Sanzō, a snake in the garden.
~ Pilgrim after Sunny betrays him.
Thanks to you, your fathers dream was destroyed, along with your city and everyone you ever loved.
~ Magnus taunting Sunny.
I promise you, that I will take Henry out of the Badlands, mate. I will raise that little boy as my own son. I'll let him know that his father was a great man, and a great friend.
~ Bajie's final words to Sunny after his death.

Trivia[]

  • Sunny alludes to Tang Sānzàng from the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West, of which Into the Badlands is loosely based on.
    • Sunny's birth name, Sanzō, is the Japanese pronunciation of Sānzàng.
  • In a flashback in Season 1, Sunny is shown to have a brother who was killed by unknown assailant, but this is never referenced again, and was likely retconned once Sunny's past as the prince of Azra was revealed, evident by him having a blood sibling other than Kannin never being referenced by her or Pilgrim.
  • After killing the large group of nomad scavengers in the first episode, Sunny is only given one tattoo, this implies the tattoos are not representative of each individual kill, but rather every time Sunny had to kill any number of people. This would mean Sunny's actual kill count under Quinn is far greater than 404.
  • The only Clipper with a higher number of tattoos is Nathaniel Moon, with 999 registered tattoos. That being said, Sunny has the most on-screen kills out of any character in the series.
  • Sunny never loses a fight to a character without the Gift in the entire series, although he and the Widow fight to a standstill in Season 3 due to Sunny having been previously injured by Pilgrim.

External Links[]

Navigation[]

           IntotheBadlandslogo Villains

Armadillo Territory
Baron Quinn | Sunny | Ryder | Jade | Lydia | Declan | Gabriel | Jenkins | Bale | Ajax | Corro

Butterfly Territory
The Widow | Tilda | Nathaniel Moon | Waldo | Arthur | Wren | The Widow's Husband

Fox Territory
Juliet Chau | Otto | Alexander & Ophelia Chau | Horatio Chau | The Sniper

Pickaxe Territory
Baron Jacobee | Zypher

Other Territories
Baron Broadmore | Baron Hassan | Baron Rojas

Dark Ones
Pilgrim | M.K. | The Master | The Abbots | Ankara | Castor | Nix | Eli | Dante

The Black Lotus
Magnus | Kannin

Other
Cressida | The River King | Penrith | Blind Cannibal Assassins | The Engineer | Mouse | Nos | Hud | Tenko | Artemis

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