Panda King is a character in the Sly Cooper video game franchise. He first appeared in Sly Cooper and the Thieveus Raccoonus, (2002), as one of the villains, a member of the Fiendish Five who had a part in taking out Sly's dad and stealing the thieveus raccoonus. He was the fourth boss in the game. He then reappears in Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, (2005), having reformed and regretted his past actions and his defeat to Sly, resorting to the life of quiet meditation in the Kunlun Mountains. They help him save his daughter, Jing King, from being forced to marry the ruthless tyrant General Tsao, and when they do he agrees to join the Cooper Gang as the demolitions expert for his fireworks expertise, to aid them during the Cooper Vault job.
Why He Rocks[]
- Extremely badass.
- Incredible voice acting by Kevin Blackton, who also voiced Sir. Raleigh the Frog and Muggshot.
- Awesome wardrobe.
- He's one of the few characters in the series to get a lot of character development; in his case, it was a redemption arc, and a pretty good one, too.
- Funny personality.
- Despite the horrible things he's done, he's always been likeable in a way because of his sense of honor; in Sly 1, he's the only one who shows respect to his guards, refering to them as "valued employees", and, unlike the other members of the Fiendish Five, he doesn't pull any dirty tricks during his fight with Sly, facing off with him man to man. He also humbly resigns in defeat once you win, complimenting Sly's abilities.
- Some of the best written dialouge in the entire series.
- In Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, he has an air of unpredictability, due to his past life as a cruel criminal, who murdered Sly's family, and his many years long struggle to reform himself and become better. This made it so you never know if he's going to attack Sly or not when the two are talking; that, combined with the peculilar, almost hesitant way that he talks in the game. When he starts to slow his speech, it's easy to start thinking that he's had a change of heart, and you'll have to fight him again.
The ONLY Bad Quality[]
- His boss fights are noticeably the easiest in the entire series. This is because, his episode in Sly 1 was meant to be the first, but that was changed during the production of the game, and the fight in Sly 3 was meant to be a replica of that fight, since it was in Panda King's memories, but it was even easier because Sly has a health bar now and can take 4-5 hits before he dies.
Quotes[]
- I see you carry the cane of the notorious Cooper Thief Clan. Have you come here for revenge? To steal back the thieveus raccoonus?
- Why should you care if I bury a few worthless villages in the snow? You are a thief, just like me.
- Insolent child. You shall pay dearly for your disrespect. Still, to honor your Cooper ancestry I will send you to your doom with the beauty of my new firework technique. FLAME FU!
- FIERY WHEEL!
- BOOMING CHOP!
- PALMS OF THUNDER!
- Your skill with that cane is unparalelled.
- Attention valued employees. Sadly nearby village chose not to pay for damage protection service, and thus I am forced to bury alive under many ton of snow. Please do your part to pitch in by killing the intruders on sight. Thank you, that is all.
- My mind is clear, focused on your destruction!
- If you truly wish to aid me, stand still, and let my fireballs cook your flesh!
- Am I, AM I? Let us find out!
- I hate you Sly Cooper! You've ruined me, ruined the Panda King!
- YOU ARE correct. Forgive me, my mind is not always my own.
- Fear not, Cooper. I shall not kill you this day.
- Very well, I will be there presently, you may go.
- I will mind your neck.
- Greetings old friend. I am about to walk alongside Sly Cooper, and I cannot carry you with my on the journey.
- You fool! This is your chance for revenge! He humiliated us, ruined us, made us weak!
- Humiliation was a crossroads. I have chosen to walk the path of humility.
- Humility that cost you your daughter! Destroy Cooper now!
- If I kill Cooper, who would you have to hate? Your reason to linger inside my mind would be gone.
- No, if you kill Cooper it is you who would disappear. I will take your place.
- Without Cooper and his associates I stand little chance at saving Jing King.
- Little chance!? Allow yourself to dip into my hateful fury, and we will save Jing King single handed.
- Such an action would cost many lives.
- Your path of moderation will cost you Jing King.
- Cooper is a teacher of humility. We have slain his parents, yet he manages to trust us. My studying him we will become whole.
- I have no desire to join with my weaker side. You are failure, I am the strength that used to be the once glorious Panda King!
- You are strong, and I am humble, but only through coropration will we become the father Jing King needs.
- The yin...and the yang?
- If strength were all that mattered, General Tsao would be an ideal son in law.
- Very well. Cooper...shall live.
- THE DEED IS DONE!
- My fireworks are not flares. The burst with fierocious beauty, then disappear like the lightning.
- HA! With the fireworks it'll fly, as the bird. FLY BIRD, FLY!
- THE FUSE IS LIT!
Trivia[]
- The Panda King spoke in broken English in the first game, while he speaks proper English in the third game.
- The Panda King is the only member of the Fiendish Five that spoke to his guards with respect at all times. He even calls them "valued employees."
- The Panda King appears on a billboard in the job "At the Dog Track." There are also several portraits of the Panda King on display in the Museum of Natural History in Cairo.
- The Panda King's binocucom is red and shaped like a samurai helmet. When zoomed in, it resembles the scope of a sniper rifle.
- The Panda King's signature color is red. Like Sly, it is based off his attire, not his skin.
- In Infamous, another game developed by Sucker Punch Productions, there are some Chinese takeout boxes with pictures of the Panda King on them. In Infamous: Second Son there is a gas station called "Panda King Gas."
- In the beginning of "Goodbye My Sweet," a box full of fireworks with a bear paw on it can be seen on a shelf in the hideout. This likely belonged to the Panda King.
- The Panda King is minorly referenced in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, as some of El Jefe's fire attacks mimic some of his Flame-Fu moves.[18]
- Fireballs, for example, is used similarly by both of them, but although the Panda King uses complete fireballs, El Jefe uses volcanic bombs.
- Some of El Jefe's fire attacks involve creating a pulse wave made out of fire, similar to the pulse wave created by the Panda King's Fiery Wheel.
- Panda King is thus one of four villains to appear or be referenced in every game of the series, along with Raleigh, Muggshot, and Clockwerk. Panda King alone was a boss in Sly 1, a cameo picture in Sly 2, both a boss again and a hero in Sly 3, and referenced with another boss's attacks in Thieves in Time.
- The Panda King is the only member of the Cooper Gang who is known to be a parent.
- He is one of three characters to include his species in his name, along with Jean Bison and Carmelita Fox.
- Panda King is the first villain to appear on a title screen for an episode[19]. Followed by him, the others are Clockwerk[20], Rajan[21], and Jean Bison[22].
- He and Clockwerk are the only ones to appear on a title screen more than once[23].
- Arpeggio appears on the title screen of Menace From the North, eh? but that's Jean Bison's episode, not his.
- Clock-La appears on the title screen for Anatomy for Disaster, but you don't know about Clock-La at the time.
- He is one of three heroic characters in Sly 3 to have a somewhat antagonistic role by one point in the game[24], along with Carmelita and Penelope.
All Appearances[]
- Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves (2005)