Panda King

“	Fear not, Cooper. I shall not kill you this day.	„
	~ The Panda King to Sly Cooper.

The Panda King is a former antagonist of the Sly Cooper franchise. He joins Sly Cooper's gang in Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves.

He was voiced by the late Kevin Blackton.

History[]

Background[]

Born poor on the streets of China, Panda King was fascinated by the fireworks set off by rich noblemen every New Year. After spending a decade learning the art, Panda King attempted to offer his fireworks to the noblemen. However, the vain and arrogant Noblemen could not see past his shabby clothes and poverty to see his talent and drove him away. Enraged and humiliated, he used the tools of his art for crime, becoming feared by the very noblemen who cast him aside. Subsequently he was recruited by the Fiendish Five as their demolitions expert. At some point in his earlier life, the Panda King apparently married and had at least one child; the fate of his wife is unknown.

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus[]

Together with his fellow members of the Fiendish Five, the Panda King took part in the attack that resulted in the death of Sly's parents and the theft of the Thievius Raccoonus. After acquiring the Thievius Raccoonus' section containing the blueprints of Otto Van Cooper, Panda King set up shop in the Kunlun Mountains of western China. Building a massive explosives factory, he disguised it as a large temple-like facility. In order to finance his crimes, the Panda King pressured local villages for avalanche protection. If they refused, he would set off a firework that would bring a megaton of snow down on them.

Panda King finished his brand new firework technique, Flame Fu, just in time to use it against Sly Cooper. Despite Panda King's impressive fighting style blending the martial arts of his homeland with his firework skills, he was defeated by Sly. He was then arrested and put to jail by a frustrated Carmelita Fox. Afterwards, after learning the origin of a vehicle the Panda King had utilized in his base, Sly went after Clockwerk.

Interlude[]

Getting out of prison through unknown circumstances, the Panda King returned home to his family, still harboring a deep resentment towards Sly for defeating him and ruining his criminal reputation. During this period, he was convinced to take up meditation, and grew out his hair and beard.

Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves[]

A few years later, Sly and the gang needed an artillery expert in order to get into the Cooper Vault. Panda King joined the gang after they help him save his beloved daughter, Jing King (who is only seen in silhouette form during the game) from the evil General Tsao. The general had been the one to convince the Panda King to take up meditation, all so that he would be unable to prevent Tsao from forcing Jing King to marry him. At first, both Sly and Panda King were highly against this alliance: Sly because the Panda King had helped kill his parents, and Panda King because Sly had humiliated him. However, after being forced out of a dream of his previous battle with Sly, the Panda King seemed to get along with the Guru, most likely because of their shared spiritual values. He was also moved by Murray's dedication to the things he cares about and helped him recover the Cooper Van. He is extremely confident and proud of his fireworks, though he readily recognizes their limitations as well.

When the Panda King was brought into the field, he came into conflict with his criminal side, a sort of yin-yang split personality that takes the part of yang. He reconciled with his other half to save his daughter, despite the other's wishes to kill Sly, by convincing his other side that they needed each other and Sly's help to save their daughter. After Jing King was saved, Panda King left her with an aunt while paying off his debt to Sly and the rest of the gang. He would subsequently help them battle the sea monster Crusher and utilize his fireworks on Kaine Island to help Sly, Bentley, and Murray access the Cooper Vault. After Dr. M was defeated, Panda King returned home and moved in two doors down from his daughter. Probably fearing another General Tsao incident, she allowed him to screen all her suitors, and as yet she is unmarried-due to the fact that her suitors are scared off by their stony, fiery-tempered possible father-in-law, as well as the fact that he is seen armed with a firework bazooka whenever one approaches the house.