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“ | Your walls and armies have fallen. And now it's your turn. Bow to me! | „ |
~ Shan Yu's most famous quote to the Emperor. |
Shan Yu (Chinese: 山於, Mongolian: Шан Ю) is the main antagonist of Disney's 36th full-length animated feature film, Mulan.
He is the ruthless chieftain of the Huns who is determined to invade and conquer China, believing that the emperor built the Great Wall as both an insult and a challenge. He is the arch-nemesis of Fa Mulan and Li Shang.
In the 1998 animated film, he was voiced by the late Miguel Ferrer, who also played Lloyd Henreid in the 1994 adaptation of The Stand, Silvermane in The Spectacular Spider-Man, Vice President Rodriguez in Iron Man 3, Big Boss in Rio 2, and Deathstroke in Teen Titans: The Judas Contract. In Kingdom Hearts II, he was voiced by Corey Burton, who also played Captain James Hook in the same game, Count Dooku in The Clone Wars, Onus in Treasure Planet, Malware in Ben 10: Omniverse, Jones in Tarzan, and Quint in the Disney animated series, Timon & Pumbaa.
Appearance[]
Like other characters in the film, Shan Yu has a Mongoloid-Asiatic texture, gray skin, glowing yellow eyes with black sclera, bared fangs, long black flowing hair, a long mustache, and he wears a ragged coat with multiple animal pelts. He is also the only Hun with yellow eyes and is sometimes seen with a hood.
Personality[]
Like his people, Shan Yu is too trained in living off the earth, possessing heightened senses and a saker falcon as his pet. Shan-Yu is a formidable army leader. Without any human feelings nor care for anything other than his ego, he leads men who seem just as cruel and vengeful as he is.
His strength is demonstrated many times during the course of the film, such as easily breaking down a barricaded door or effortlessly slicing through a massive pillar with his sword, making him easily one of the strongest characters in the film. But Shan-Yu is not just a thick brute. And his stature and power are not his only strengths. The villain has a formidable reputation. He is known, recognized and above all feared all over China. No one is ignorant, in the Middle Kingdom, of this enemy, who is attacking the country, who burns the villages, murders civilians, women and children, and annihilates whole garrisons. All the soldiers crossed on the invasion road confirm that Shan-Yu is formidable and feared. And the fate he holds for them only reinforces this threat. Shan-Yu is an assassin. Everyone knows it and he plays it perfectly. And if death is never shown in Mulan, it is strongly suggested. Smile to the lips, Shan-Yu believes himself to be indestructible, unbeatable and delights with death. One of the two soldiers sent to warn the emperor will inevitably be killed by one of his archers. And the village in the mountains, still smoking, shows the heroes and spectators that the villain does not make quarters. Without mercy, he spreads death wherever he goes.
Truly devilish, Shan Yu seems to be a man of wit. Every word is reflected, weighed, chiseled. Shan Yu does not speak to say nothing; his words are carefully chosen. He leads his conquest calmly and when he meets the Emperor's soldiers, he phlegmatically informs them of his motives and plans. He even makes humor by asking one of his comrades-in-arms how many men it takes to deliver a message. Preparing his bow, the latter replies "one" with slyness, announcing the death of one of the two poor soldiers released.
When he got his way, during his face-to-face encounter with the Emperor, Shan-Yu savored what he thought was his victory without ever ostensibly triumphing. But soon, the situation escapes him and his demeanor changes. He loses his temper and becomes this "animal" that he never ceased to be. Prisoner in the palace and encircled by a crowd determined to do battle, he cannot restrain his cries. And when he discovers the soldier at the origin of the destruction of his army, in the mountain, he totally loses control. He becomes brutal, acts quickly, violently, gesticulates, no longer controls himself. Knocking down doors and ceilings, he finds himself on the roof of the palace, trapped. He finally rushes himself to his own loss.
Shan Yu is a truly ruthless and destructive individual who kills without mercy, remorse and, on occasion, as a joke; for example, after freeing two captured Chinese scouts to carry a message to the Emperor, he then comments to an archer, "How many men does it take to deliver a message?" (the archer replies "one", cocking an arrow).
While Shan Yu is clearly heartless and abusive to his foes, he is proud of his army, as shown at the beginning when he thought it was "perfect" that all of China knew that he and his army were there after the signal fire was lighted, and when he flatly blew off one of his men's suggestion to avoid the Imperial troops and instead opt to take them head on, despite knowing that they are the elite of China's armies. His main goal seems to have the sole purpose of showing that the Great Wall, a superb military edifice, is incapable of arresting any person whom he thinks is unbeatable.
However, despite displaying pride towards his men, he does not care about them beyond a professional level, aside from their use for him as pawns. He shows little regard for their safety and only cares about them for pragmatic reasons. When the archer proposes they avoid the Imperial army, Shan Yu refuses and prefers challenge the Emperor directly, proving he is only concerned for his personal glory above all. Overall, Shan Yu is a heartless warlord who took joy in the suffering of others. Even him respecting Mulan despite her gender never detracts from his actions as it was merely a sign of respect towards her for being a worthy opponent.
Shan Yu also demonstrated infrequent hypocrisy, abrasively telling the Emperor that he grew weary of his arrogance.
Abilities[]
- Master combatant: Shan Yu is a hardened fighter and a lethal combatant, with or without his iconic sword. This was shown where he, with effort, overpowered Li Shang in a fight.
- Superhuman strength: He possesses massive, possibly even superhuman strength. He can break down a barricaded door with minimal effort, climb and smash through a rooftop with ease, and simply slice three massive pillars to shreds with his sword. It is unclear if his strength is surpassed by Chien Po.
- Superhuman endurance: Besides his strength, he also possessed a superhuman amount of endurance, having survived being buried in an avalanche for what is implied to have been hours with no apparent ill effects, something that only five other Huns managed to survive.
- Expert tracker and survivalist: He is a skilled tracker and survivalist, being able to deduce a doll delivered to him by his falcon came from a village in a nearby mountain pass where Imperial armies waited for him using only a few subtle clues found on the doll (white horse hair from imperial stallions, black pine which grows in the mountains, and the smell of sulfur from a cannon).
- Enhanced senses: Shan Yu's senses are honed above an ordinary human. When he was riding with his army, he was able to detect the presence of nearby Imperial Scouts and stopped immediately, ordering his men to root them out.
- Expert infiltrator: Although he prefers to directly confront the enemy head-on, he is nevertheless perfectly capable of utilizing stealth if necessary. This was implied by his infiltrating the Imperial City and presumably avoiding contact with anyone until revealing himself on the palace rooftop via Hayabusa retrieving his sword, and eventually confirmed when he burst through the roof behind Mulan and catching her slightly off-guard.
- Genius intellect: Shan Yu's fearsome martial prowess and impressive leadership are matched by his cunning intellect. Every word is reflected, weighed, chiseled. Shan Yu does not speak to say nothing; his words are carefully chosen. His sentences are pungent and terrifying. He speaks calmly, does not hurry.
- Master tactician: In addition to having the idea to scale the seemingly-impenetrable Great Wall with grappling hooks, he was able to infiltrate the Imperial Palace and kidnap the Emperor of China with only five remaining Huns. However, he is not without equal, as his strategic skills and cunning are rivaled by Mulan's.
- Pathological indomitable will: Shan Yu possesses an obliviousness to danger that makes him invulnerable to fear and intimidation, with nothing capable of controlling him. Hence, Shan Yu does not fear death and will even threaten his own life to achieve his goal or make a point. He allowed someone to light the forges and let China know he was there, razed a city, battled the entire Chinese army and possibly murdered General Li, sent his entire army after Li Shang, and infiltrated the Palace, all without any fear of failing or dying in his attempts. Even when disarmed of his sword by Mulan and learning that Mushu not only has a massive rocket aimed at him, but had just lit it, he nonetheless makes a final attempt at killing Mulan bare-handed without any trace of fear holding him back, even yelling a warlord yell just before rushing at her. Madam Mim and possibly Maleficent are the only Disney Villains to potentially out-rival his pathological indomitable will.
Biography[]
Mulan[]
In the film's opening scene, Shan Yu scales the Great Wall of China and leads the Huns in an invasion of China, setting the tone for the rest of the film. When one of the Chinese guards of the Great Wall reveals that he lit the torches and that the Emperor will soon know of Shan Yu's presence in an attempt to intimidate him, Shan Yu's only response is to burn one of the Imperial flags on the torch in front of him before giving a satisfied "perfect" and presumably murdering the guard, revealing that the Emperor receiving the message of Shan Yu and the Huns' invasion was precisely what he had intended to accomplish.
Later on, Shan Yu destroys yet another village, leaving it burning behind, and exposes two spies sent by the Emperor. He orders them to pass a message to the Emperor telling to send his best men for battle. Before the two are able to leave, he has his head archer, one of his five main men, murder one due to just one man being necessary to deliver the message.
Later, while waiting for the Emperor's armies, Shan Yu's pet falcon named Hayabusa acquires a doll from a village in the Tung Shao Pass. After close examination of the doll and traces on it by his five main men, Shan Yu deduces that the Imperial Army is waiting for them. Though his elite archer suggests that they simply avoid the soldiers and continue heading towards the Imperial City, Shan Yu insists on confronting the Imperial army, as the quickest way to the Emperor was through the pass, before adding "And besides, the little girl will be missing her doll. We should return it to her" with an extremely manipulative and murderous grin.
Shan Yu and the Huns ambush General Li's army, so they fight against the Emperor's best troops, including the General, and ultimately win the battle, setting the village on fire on the process. The Huns only suffer minimal casualties, leaving hundreds of troops intact. Only the aftermath was seen in the film. None of the known survivors are discovered by Li Shang's troops. As they head for the Imperial City, the Hun army notices them and sneaks up a mountain in the Tung Shao Pass, preparing their fiery arrows. When Mushu accidentally fires a cannon, causing their position to be given away to him and his army, the Huns attacked, casting flaming arrows from the mountains to disintegrate their ammunition.
Shan-Yu then leads his entire army to wipe out Li Shang's small battalion, who in turn decides to die with dignity by killing Shan Yu first with their last cannon. Mulan, however, takes control of the last cannon before Yao can light it, running towards Shan Yu while aiming it for a nearby mountain, lighting it with Mushu's fire after Hayabusa disarmed her of her match and flint. This surprises Shan Yu, who non-fatally slashes Mulan in response before she is able to run away.
This maneuver triggers an avalanche that wipes out almost all of Shan-Yu's army and encases Shan Yu, his men, and their horses in a thick blanket of snow. At first, it seems like a complete victory, thanks to Mulan. However, it is not so. Following the avalanche and the departure of Li Shang's troops after finding out Mulan's gender, Hayabusa screeches the all-clear and Shan Yu rises from the snow, shaken and infuriated at the loss of his army. A loud yell of anger is all it takes for Mulan to realize that there is still a chance for the Huns; Shan Yu's falcon and his five main men have survived the assault. Since the Imperial army are unaware that Shan Yu is alive at this point, he and his troops are able to infiltrate the Imperial City, though Mulan chooses to pursue them to warn Shang.
While his troops hid within a Chinese lion at the Imperial celebration, Shan Yu lies in wait on top of the roof of the Emperor's palace. At the right moment, Shan Yu's falcon retrieves his sword and his troops sprung into action, locking up the palace and kidnapping the Emperor. As Shan Yu threatens the Emperor to bow to him, taunting him that he defeated all his forces, Mulan, Li Shang, Yao, Chien-Po and Ling infiltrate the palace in an attempt to rescue the Emperor, the latter three being in drag (as a disguise). Mulan, Yao, Chien-Po and Ling defeat Shan Yu's men and his pet falcon is fried by Mushu.
Unaware of the infiltration, Shan Yu demands for the Emperor to bow to him again, but the Emperor coolly mocks him, leading Shan Yu to lose his patience and try to make the Emperor "kneel" in pieces, but Shang blocks him in time as the Emperor safely walks away. Mulan and her friends then come while Shang beats Shan Yu up to take the Emperor away. After securing the Emperor, in an attempt to distract Shan Yu from Shang (whom he was about to slaughter), Mulan reveals that it was she who destroyed his army and not Shang. Losing interest in Shang now that he is aware that Mulan was the one who destroyed his army, Shan Yu pursues her throughout the palace and onto the roof, reaching it by breaking a hole open with his brute strength. Shan Yu's attempts to kill Mulan backfire when Mulan initiates a plan of her own, with her disarming him with a fan when he thinks she has ran out of ideas, giving Mushu the order to light a large firework rocket strapped to himself and knocking him off.
With Mulan immobilizing the Hun leader by pinning his cape to the roof with his own sword, Mushu lights the rocket. Shan Yu futilely tries to escape but releases too late he can't. Released from the rocket, Mushu, Mulan and Crik-ee escape from the roof as it hits Shan Yu at great speed and propels him through the air into a fireworks tower, resulting in a huge colorful explosion that (albeit off-screen) blows him to smithereens, avenging General Li, along with his army and the countless people that he and his Huns slaughtered. Mulan is then awarded Shan Yu's sword for her success of ridding China of the Huns forever.
House of Mouse[]
Shan Yu appeared as minor guest character in the House of Mouse, he made cameos in several episodes of the series. He also makes a possible cameo appearance in Mickey's House of Villains, but he does not take part in the takeover.
Kingdom Hearts II[]
Shan Yu appears in Kingdom Hearts II as one of the first Disney Villains that Sora and company can fight in the game. He appears in the Land of Dragons, a world based on Mulan. The game follows much of the film's storyline, except for the fact that instead of having an army of Huns, he could summon an army of Heartless. He traps Sora and Mulan in a cave full of Heartless, while he destroys the Imperial Army's village.
When Sora, Mulan, Donald and Goofy, along with the Imperial army, appear at the summit, the scene plays like a similar mountain scene in the film. He then makes his way into the Emperor's castle, but is stopped by Sora, Mulan and the others. He fights them, using dark energy to enhance his abilities and working alongside his attack falcon, Hayabusa, and a swarm of Heartless. He tends to favor the Rapid Thruster Heartless, creating an army of them to attack Sora and friends on the mountain pass (in the movie it was his Hun army that attacked the heroes on the pass).
During the boss battle, he will send three Nightwalker Heartless to try and take down the palace door. This swarm of Heartless is resurrected when Sora fights a mysterious cloaked man that is later revealed as Riku on the same pass. He is ultimately slain by Sora. Shan Yu was unassociated with Maleficent or Organization XIII, making his role in the game equivalent to that of Clayton from the first game.
In the manga version, he is approached by Xigbar, whom gives him the Heartless and assaults the palace with Storm Rider. Defeated, Shan Yu is taken out by Xigabr.
The Kingdom Keepers[]
Shan Yu also appears as "Shan-Yu" in The Kingdom Keepers, where he challenges Finn Whitman and finding that Finn can turn from human to pure light tries to kill him as well as his friend Charlene. He is not affiliated with Chernabog's faction; since doesn't work for "The Green One" (Maleficent).
Reflection: A Twisted Tale[]
To be added...
Mulan (2020)[]
- Main article: Bori Khan
Quotes[]
“ | Soldier: Now all of China knows your here! Shan Yu: [takes China's flag and burns it] ...Perfect. |
„ |
~ Shan Yu's first line after he and his army successfully bypassed the Great Wall and burning a flag. |
“ | Hun: Imperial scouts. [Shan Yu gets off his horse and walks to the soldiers] Soldier 1: Shan Yu. Shan Yu: Nice work, gentlemen. You found the Hun army. Soldier 2: The Emperor will stop you! Shan Yu: Stop me? He invited me. [grabs soldier and lifts him up] By building his wall, he challenged my strength. Well, I'm here to play his game. Go! Tell your emperor to send his strongest armies! I'm ready. |
„ |
~ Shan Yu to Imperial soldiers. |
“ | Shan Yu: How many men does it take to deliver a message? Archer: [readies bow] ...One. |
„ |
~ Shan Yu before having his archer kill an imperial soldier. |
“ | Shan Yu: What do you see? Hun 1: Black pine... from the high mountains! Hun 2: White horse hair... imperial stallions! Hun 3: *sniff* Sulfur... from cannons. Shan Yu: This doll came from a village in the Tung Shao pass, where the imperial army is waiting for us. Archer: We can avoid them easily. Shan Yu: No. The quickest way to the emperor is through that pass. Besides... the little girl will be missing her doll. We should return it to her. |
„ |
~ Shan Yu ordering his men to attack the imperial army and the village they are protecting. |
“ | Boo! [hangs down to railing] Guard the door. | „ |
~ Shan Yu trying to scare the Emperor and then orders his men to guard the door |
“ | Shan Yu: I tire of your arrogance, old man. BOW TO ME! Emperor: No matter how the wind howls, the mountain cannot bow to it. Shan Yu: ...Then you will kneel in pieces! |
„ |
~ Shan Yu to the Emperor of China as the latter defiantly refuses to capitulate. |
“ | NO! | „ |
~ Shan Yu seeing the emperor escape. |
“ | Shan Yu: You! [knocks away dagger, punches Shang and grabs him] You took away my victory! Mulan: [throws shoe at Shan Yu's head] No. I did. [rolls up hair] Shan Yu: ...The soldier from the mountains. |
„ |
~ Shan Yu preparing to kill Shang for interfering in his plans, only to be stopped by Mulan, who reveals herself to be the one who destroyed his army. |
“ | Shan Yu: It looks like you're out of ideas. [Shan Yu attempts to stab Mulan with his sword, but she uses her fan to take it from him] Mulan: Not quite. Ready, Mushu? Mushu: I am ready, baby! Light me! [the rocket launches at Shan-Yu, knocking him back to the big pile of fireworks] Mulan: Get off the roof, get off the roof, get off the roof. [the rocket defeats Shan-Yu, making the fireworks explode] |
„ |
~ Shan Yu to Mulan just before his demise, also his last words. Mushu prepares to launch a rocket at Shan-Yu. |
Deleted Scene
“ | Shan Yu: Have you left anything alive? Hun Army: NO! (Shan Yu grows suspicious of one of his men and walks up to him) Shan Yu: Are you... sure? Soldier: Yes. (Shan Yu reaches into soldier's coat pocket and grabs a bird he was protecting) Shan Yu: Ah, it seems you found a little friend. All creatures should be given a chance to live free. [lets bird go] But freedom has its price. And the weak... will PAY! (Shan Yu stabs soldier while Hayabusa kills the bird, then cleans sword) Shan Yu: This will be the fate of the Chinese Emperor. For we are strong, and nothing can stop us! |
„ |
~ Shan Yu to the Huns after pillaging a village, and killing one of them for showing compassion. |
“ | My friend. Show me what stands between us and the imperial city. | „ |
~ Shan Yu ordering Hayabusa to show him China's defenses. |
Trivia[]
- Shan Yu is ranked #18 in the Top 30 Disney Villains.
- Surprisingly enough, unlike most of the other characters, Shan Yu never underestimated Mulan, even when he found out that she was a woman. This makes some historical sense, as in Hun tribes, women could hold equal rank to men, and some of the Huns' most brilliant military commanders were women.
- In a deleted scene, Shan Yu and his men attack a village and burn it to the ground, killing all of its inhabitants, then asking his men if they left anything alive. When all of his men say "no", Shan Yu approaches one who had hidden a canary inside of his coat, taking the bird and letting it go free, only to have it eaten by Hayabusa instead. Shan Yu then stabs the man in the stomach for his weakness, killing him instantly, and tells his men that they are going to do the same to the Emperor. This scene was deleted for being too graphic for a younger audience. It also shows that despite him treating them well in the actual film, Shan Yu has no regard for any of his men.
- In that same deleted scene, it's revealed that he was originally going to have a spiritual connection with Hayabusa.
- Shan Yu is one of the few Disney villains that are confirmed to have murdered children, as suggested by the doll left behind from the destroyed village and what he said to his men before carrying out the deed. The other four are:
- Professor Ratigan, as he is said in "The World's Greatest Criminal Mind" to have drowned widows and orphans.
- DOR-15 as her actions erased Wilbur Robinson from existence.
- The Walrus, as he ate several baby oysters.
- Sabor, as she killed Kerchak and Kala's son.
- His Swedish dubbing was provided by Mikael Persbrandt, who also played Victor Karlosson in Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, as well as the Swedish dubbing for Kron in Dinosaur.
- Shan Yu is the only main villain in the A Twisted Tale stories that didn't appear as a main or secondary antagonist. This is because Shan Yu's version of Reflection didn't survive the avalanche.
External Links[]
- Shan Yu on the Pure Evil Wiki
- Shan Yu on the Disney Wiki
- Shan Yu on the Historica Wiki
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