Sun Wukong

Sun Wukong is a new character to the Warriors franchise based upon one of the main characters in the Chinese epic, Journey To The West. Wukong first makes his appearance in Warriors Orochi 2, a continuation of the first Warriors Orochi game. He is portrayed as an energetic, but lazy and magical being of extreme power. Wukong is the fastest character in the Warriors franchise to date.

Journey to the West

 * "Time to add another notch to Mr. Whacky!"
 * -Sun Wukong

Birth of a King
Sun Wukong was born from a mystical stone from the sky, on the Huāguǒ-shān (literally meaning,"mountain of flowers and fruit"). Within the mountain, were many hidden areas. To display his own bravery, Wukong nominated himself to jump through a large waterfall in order to find out what was behind it. The monkey boldly leaped through the waterfall, and described his findings as almost celestial. A cave was behind the water, with exotic plant life, emerald-green moss, comfortable stone beds and chairs, a mystical colored fog, and much more. A stone tablet was featured in the middle of a bridge, carved with the words, "Happy Land of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, Cave Heaven of the Water Curtain". The clans of monkeys soon inhabited the cave. After the event, Wukong is recognized by all inhabitants of the mountain as king, specifically known as the "Handsome Monkey King". Soon, the mountain becomes civilized, and became extremely prepared for future conflicts. The mountain would continue to strive for centuries.

However, soon, Wukong realized that, though he was past the others in rank, he was not beyond them in mortality. On a quest for immortality, he traveled on a raft to more civilized lands, where he found a Buhddist monk named Bohdi. Through constant traveling, the Monkey King gained able human speech and manners. Bodhi was reluctant to teach the Monkey, as he was not human, but, through determination and will from the other party, decided to. It was around this time that Bodhi gave him the name, "Sun Wukong". Sun, relating his monkey origins, and Wukong, or aware of emptiness. With the monk, Wukong gained favoritism of his teacher, and learned many magical abilities. The Monkey King gained confidence, and bragged about his new powers, so Bodhi threw him out of the temple. Before this, Bodhi made Wukong promise to never tell where he got his new abilities.

Back on the Huāguǒ-shān, finds himself as one of the most influential demons globally. He began a earch for a weapon that he thought would be worthy of himself, which, after searching into the sea, was the Ruyi Jingu Bang, a staff treasured by the Dragon King of the East Sea. The act caused beings of the sea, as well as the sea itself to be driven to fear and confusion, because of the Jingu Bang's properties. The staff started to grow as Wukong would approach it. This meant that it's new master has been found. From there, Wukong defeated the four dragons of the four seas in battle, with the elements of the Ruyi Jingu Bang. He then forced them to give them their ultimate battle armor, a golden chain mail, cloud-walking boots, and a phoenix feather cap. After, Wukong resisted Hell's attempt to reap his soul. Therefore, the Monkey King did not reincarnate as all others did, and he wiped his, and all other monkeys' names out of the "Book of Life and Death". The Dragon Kings and Kings of Hell reported him to the Jade Emperor of Heaven for the Monkey's outrageous acts.

With a plan to make the Monkey King more stable, the Jade Emperor invited Sun Wukong to Heaven. Instead of the divine promotion to a god which Wukong expected, he was made a Head of the Heavenly Stables. An enraged Monkey King rebelled and made an alliance with some of the most powerful demons in the world. The attempts of Heaven at subduing the rebellion failed. The rebellion, however, defeated Heavens' armies, proving himself equal to even Heaven's greatest general. Though eventually, with the combined forces of Taoist and Buddhist forces defeated Wukong's forces. After failed executions, Sun Wukong was locked into a magical cauldron to be made into an elixir. After seven weeks, the cauldron burst open, with Wukong more powerful than ever. The Jade Emperor and Heavens, out of any options, appealed to the Buddha. The Buddha fooled the Monkey King into thinking that he could actually complete the Buddha's own challenge of leaping out of his own hand. The Buddha then sealed him into an imprisonment for five centuries.

Journey to the West
Five centuries later, the Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin, was searching for disciples to protect a pilgrim, Xuanzang in search for Buddhist literary compositions from India. Wukong accepted the offer in exchange for freedom. Guanyin fully understood Wukong's uncontrollable capabilities, so she gave Xuanzang a headband from Buddha, and tricked Wukong into wearing it. The headband could never be removed, and would cause extreme pain via tightening with a special chant. Guanyin gave the Monkey King three hairs, to be used in the most dangerous of situations. Accompanied by priest Xuanzang, Wukong was allowed to journey to the West.

During the journey, Wukong faithfully served Xuanzang, and they were accompanied by two who wished to repent for their sins, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing. The group of four (including the priest's horse) were constantly attacked by demons and supernatural beings who believed that Xuanzang's flesh would grant them immortality. In this situation, the Monkey King was granted access to the powers of Heaven. They, after eighty-one trials, finished the mission, then returning to China. The Monkey King was granted Buddhahood, or perfect enlightenment for his service.

Attributes
In legend, Sun Wukong possesses incredible strength, superb speed, skilled fighting ability, each of his hairs possessing magical properties. He also knows various spells in order to command wind, part water, conjure protective circles against demons, freeze humans, demons, and gods alike. He owns a magical staff that can stretch almost infinitely, and rides a cloud that can travel at blinding speeds. His power makes him very arrogant and confident. His sense of humor makes him a trickster and a prankster, and he caused havoc in the heavenly court of the Jade Emperor simply to amuse himself. However, his cleverness and power were no match for the wisdom of Buddha, who imprisoned him under a mountain. The only way that he can be freed is if he agrees to aid the one who frees him. In Journey to the West, he was freed by the monk Xuanzang, and became a great help to him on his mission to bring the Buddhist sutras from India to China. After being freed from the eight-trigram cauldron of Lao Tzu, Sun Wukong gained the ability to sense evil in all forms.

Ruyi Jingu Bang
The "Ruyi Jingu Bang", was a fictional staff wielded by Sun Wukong in the novel, Journey to the West. Before switching owners over to Wukong, the staff was used by a Da Yu, the first ruler and founder of the Xia Dynasty of China. Though the Monkey King used it as a weapon, Da Yu used it to measure the depth of flood waters that were destroying China. On his journeys, Wukong finds it in the undersea temple of the Dragon King of the East Sea, Ao Guang. The staff was able to grow at it's user's will, but was extremely heavy, in modern scales, about 7.7 tons of iron. With it's high relativity to water, the staff would be the only one that could control the ebb and flow of the ocean's tides.

Characteristics

 * "Heh... At least I had fun."
 * -Sun Wukong

Along with a jolly demeanor almost always about, Sun Wukong is a villain, though portrayed as non-malevolent. Wukong wears a small vest outlined with tiger fur, revealing a tattooed upper body and crest. He also sports baggy pants, as well as an armored tail. Spiked air that fades from white to an orange-red, and outrageously long sideburns present a monkey-like appearance, based on his Journey to the West counterpart. Shadowed eyes also help the presentation.

The Monkey King also has a tendency to get distracted mid-battle, as, during some of his charge attacks, he pauses to look for something.

Ground Moveset

 * undefined: A fireball is launched from a rotating staff.
 * , undefined: A staff-propelled lift accompanied by a series of lifting kicks.
 * ,, undefined (undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined): A rolling dance that lifts enemies into the air, followed by a slap to the ground.
 * ,, , undefined: A spin with an extended staff.
 * ,, , , undefined: A leap into the air, accompanied with a lifting wind.
 * ,, , , , undefined: Neck swing with the staff.
 * Wukong rides on his Nimbus, while spinning his staff on both sides. At the end, Wukong leaps onto his upright staff and green rain falls in the surrounding area.
 * : Jump.
 * , : Jump, then swipe that sends out a wave.
 * , undefined: Jump, then a horizontal spin that sends Wukong a far distance.

Horse Moveset

 * undefined: Wukong leans to each side, and spins his weapon.
 * , undefined: An attack to the right, followed by a weapon spin.
 * ,, undefined: Two attacks on the right and left, followed by two weapon rotations.
 * ,, , undefined: Two slashes to the right side, one to the left, then a helicopter-styled spin horizontally.
 * ,, , , undefined: Two attacks to both sides, then a spinning voulge to both sides.
 * ,, , , , undefined: Three attacks to the right side, two to the left, then a helicopter-styled spin.
 * Repeating slashes to all sides until the Musou gauge empties.
 * Dismount.

Using Sun Wukong

 * "It's time to paint the town red!... And I'm all outta paint!"
 * -Sun Wukong

Warriors Orochi 2
When you start off, Wukong has the, if not one of, best movesets in the game. With his Nimbus cloud, there is basically no need for a mount. The ability Impulse can max out Wukong's speed, as well as a high level. The Speed attribute of the Monkey King can max out at higher levels. With the ability Cavalry at the max level of 15, however, the Red Hare and Matsukaze horses are faster than Wukong. A mid-running attack, in which he spins his staff, can propel and make the running faster for a small millisecond. The King has an excellent horse moveset as well. While on the horse, his attacks provide at least two hits per button press, and each is fast and powerful.

The Monkey's special attacks are very unique, and may have been based off of Son Goku of Dragonball. The first one, that does not require movement, sends a rain of green spearheads to fall on the enemy. The second, which requires movement, include Wukong sending out two mini-clones of himself, that have their own unique attack. The special move inflicts heavy damage, and juggles enemies. The third move, which requires moving and an additional press, makes Wukong grow to a giant, and bangs on the floor. The attack has a special bolt-like attribute, and covers good range.

Sun Wukong's charge attacks are great for crowd-clearing, and possibly every attack has it's own function. The undefined attack goes in a straight line, and with a high attack, kills weak enemies. As with a majority of Warriors,, , undefined (undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined) is the best officer killers. With Wukong, you can curve behind a guarding officer, and launch your attack from there. The last hit has activated elements, making it an effective, but small area crowd killer. The, , , undefined string is easily the best charge attack in the whole moveset, as it has a very long range from the beginner levels, and elements activate on it.

Like all characters, some elements are highly recommended for Sun Wukong. Examples are Fire, Bolt, Might/Brave, and Absorb. Fire, Might/Brave, and Bolt serve as the extra damage-appliers for peons and officers alike. Fire slowly eats away at the opponent's life for a small interval, while Bolt inflicts some damage to health bars. Might and Brave both increase damage to soliders and officers, respectively. The Absorb is useful, as, unlike most other Speed-type characters, Sun Wukong's special attacks use Musou.

Flash is an exceptionally useful crutch, as it can break enemies' guards, though, again, is just a crutch, with the, , undefined (undefined, undefined, undefined, undefined). Agility is also a nice, but generally unneeded helper, though is recommended if you want to get rid of a weakness.

This weakness would be a small interval at some of his attack strings. For example, in the, , , undefined, after spinning the Jingu Bang twice, Wukong gets on his knees, puts a palm to his forehead, and waves his head around, seeming to be searching for something. As explained before, the issue can easily be resolved with a high-level Agility boost on his weapon.

Role in Games

 * "Nu Wa, cavorting around with the humans? Just what are you scheming?"
 * "Shouldn't you mind your own business?"
 * -Sun Wukong, talking with Nu Wa when he first sees her with the Wei army.

Warriors Orochi 2
In the game, he is freed instead by Taira Kiyomori and as a result fights on the side of the Orochi forces, he is however, among the least malevolent officers. Wukong faithfully serves Kiyomori Taira as a gigantic favor was done for him. However, he shows almost no interest in resurrecting Orochi, just paying his debt to Taira. Some parts of his character might have been inspired by the character Son Goku from the manga Dragonball, itself a loose adaptation of Journey to the West.

Interactions

 * Hideyoshi Toyotomi: Sun Wukong and Hideyoshi have a special cutscene in the battle of Bai Di Castle, in the Samurai story mode. In it, Wukong comments on Hideyoshi's looks as a monkey, calling him a "little pet". Obviously, this refers to Hideyoshi's simian-like appearance. Throughout the game, the two have special dialogue that comments on the others' looks.
 * Kiyomori Taira: As Kiyomori freed Wukong before the game from his prison, Wukong sees it as his own debt to serve Kiyomori 'till his debt is paid. Wukong serves as Taira's right-hand man, mostly leading most missions to gain more officers to resurrect Orochi. For example, Wukong attempted to lead Taira's army at the Wuhang Mountains to bring Mitsuhide Akechi and his daughter, Gracia, but unfortunately, the Shu army stopped them. Kiyomori and Taira, much like Keiji Maeda and Orochi, have a sort of mentor-student, or friend relationship.
 * Da Ji: In one of the Dream mode stages, Sun Wukong whines on how he has to listen to Da Ji. Like many other of Orochi's officers, like Lu Bu, have a disliking for Orochi.
 * Nu Wa and Fu Xi: Since Wukong came from the same realm as Nu Wa and Fu Xi, the two immortals have an understanding of the Monkey King. In one of Wei's stages, Wukong comments Nu Wa on how she seems to be flirting with the humans, in which the Goddess responds how nosy he is. Fu Xi frequently calls Sun Wukong, "Monkey" in their appearances.