Lord Shen

Lord Shen is the main antagonist of Kung Fu Panda 2. He was the son of the Peacock royal family and heir to the throne of Gongmen City. In his youth, Shen was obsessed with using the power of fireworks to create weapons. In his youth, Shen was obsessed with using the power of fireworks to create weapons. When he heard the Fortune Teller (his nanny) predict to his parents that he would be stopped by "a warrior in black and white," he ordered his troops to annihilate all the pandas in China. Upon his return, his parents banished him from the city forever. Shen plotted his revenge for years, eventually creating an invincible weapon: a cannon. Although his weapon and army temporarily brought him to power in Gongmen City, the Fortune Teller's prediction came true when Lord Shen was defeated by Po, the prophesied warrior in black and white.

Shen was born into the noble Peacock family, which had risen to power in the city of Gongmen and was admired by its people for its invention of fireworks. When Shen was young, his father allowed him to play near his throne, promising that he would one day inherit it. As Shen grew older, he showed an interest in making weapons from the gunpowder used for fireworks. Worried, his beloved parents asked the court fortune teller what the future held for him. She proclaimed that if Shen continued his dark activities, he would be defeated by "a warrior of black and white." When Shen heard this prophecy, he assumed that the "warrior of black and white" referred to a panda. Fearing any obstacles to his plans, Shen led his wolf followers to decimate a farming village populated by pandas, intending to leave none alive. Once the village had been burned to the ground, Shen returned home, expecting praise from his parents. However, his parents were horrified by their son's actions and exiled him from the city forever, and his throne was eventually handed over to Master Thunder Rhino and the Kung Fu Council. Betrayed and driven mad, Shen left Gongmen City with his crazed followers, feeling wronged by his parents, as he considered his actions a valiant defiance of fate to achieve his goals. He swore revenge, vowing that he would return and rule supreme over all of China one day.

Building the canyon Thirty years passed. Deep in the mountains, Shen's wolves worked tirelessly to complete their master's ultimate weapon: a cannon that would end the use of kung fu. When the Wolf Chief informed him that they had run out of metal to use as fuel, Shen ordered him to raid the outlying villages and steal all the metal they could find. As he and a pack of wolves prepared to do so, Shen decided it was time to move forward with his plans.

Facing the Kung Fu Council Shen returned to Gongmen City and boldly marched toward his former home, easily dispatching the guards who tried to subdue him at the gate. Once there, he confronted the Kung Fu Council and the Fortune Teller, telling them he had come to reclaim what was rightfully his. In the ensuing skirmish, Shen easily held his own against Masters Storm Ox and Crocodile, but was repulsed by Master Thunder Rhino, who shattered several of Shen's swords. However, Shen was prepared for this and revealed his new weapon from a box he had brought with him. Thunder Rhino stood his ground fearlessly, but he was no match for Shen's device and was killed by the cannon's blast. With Thunder Rhino down, Shen threatened to turn his cannon on the entire city unless Storm Ox and Crocodile surrendered, which they did. He had the two masters imprisoned in Gongmen Jail and planted Thunder Rhino's cloud hammer in his courtyard not as a tomb, but as a trophy.

Learning about the future With the Council out of the way, Shen began looting the tower, even throwing his father's throne out the window and replacing it with his cannon. He then asked the Fortune Teller about his future, but she informed him that nothing had changed; he would still be defeated by "a warrior in black and white." Shen declared this impossible.

Shen is portrayed as extremely intelligent, highly ambitious, and lethal. His past instilled in him the belief that he had been treated unfairly, and that the world owed him something, which he vowed to do everything in his power to repay. This included inventing a powerful weapon unlike anything anyone had ever seen. Shen attempted to use this weapon to destroy Kung Fu and seize control of China.

Lord Shen proved to be unspeakably cruel, willing to slaughter China's panda population to eliminate any possibility that a panda could ever defeat him, as foretold by a divination he had heard. Raised in royalty, Shen largely preferred to have his cannons and henchmen do his dirty work rather than deal with such obstacles himself. His ambition to leave his mark on the world led him to discover a dark and lethal potential in his family's celebrated invention: fireworks. When he was expelled by his parents for his panda massacre, he swore revenge, aiming to conquer all of China to prove himself. Shen had little to no regard for the lives or well-being of others, attacking a bridge without hesitation despite innocent people being on it, and was willing to sacrifice his own troops, which put him at odds with his most trusted subordinate, Wolf Chief. The wolf refused to kill his own warriors, and for this disobedience, Shen killed him without a second thought.

Proud and possibly deranged, Shen seemed to feel no remorse for his crimes, often boasting of his accomplishments. He also proved to be sadistic. When confronting the Council of Masters, he gleefully declared that his cannon would literally slice them apart, "splits here, splits there, and splits of you way down deep, staining the walls." He also took pleasure in telling Po that his parents didn't love him and exploiting the panda's pain.

Although Lord Shen is an expert in Kung Fu, he is more likely to rely on his cunning or his cannons rather than his physical prowess. He excels at swordsmanship and conceals an arsenal of blades in his robes, which he can unleash with lightning speed. Shen also possesses a deadly metal claw. In battle, his tail transforms into another limb, which he can shape for attack or defense. His "Cloud Funnel Attack" and "Feather Attack" are massive and deadly. Shen's fighting style is both elegant and lethal.

In keeping with his status as an albino peacock, Shen typically wears a white robe that matches his plumage. Beneath the robe is where he keeps his arsenal of swords and other weapons.

...elegant... and cruel