History NightmareFuel / KungFuPanda

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tai_lung_vision.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350: '''''"Tai Lung will return."''''']]

You wouldn't think [[SugarWiki/BetterThanItSounds a movie titled]] ''Kung Fu Panda'' could show you how terrifying the eponymous martial art can be... yet somehow, it ''really does''.

!!Movie:
* For starters: [[TheDreaded TAI LUNG.]] To wit:
** He is a rogue kung fu master so scary that an entire prison was built specifically to hold him. When he escapes from said prison, ''everyone'' in the Valley is afraid of him, including his former master, the Furious Five, and TheChosenOne... even Vachir loses his cocky bravado once it becomes clear that Tai Lung has made it past all Chorh-Gom's defenses.
-->'''Zeng''': Can we run now?\\
'''Vachir''': ''[[OhCrap (whimpering)]]'' [[OhCrap Yes.]]
** Oogway doesn't believe Shifu has bad news. He's told Tai Lung escaped?
-->'''Oogway:''' That ''is'' bad news...
** Speaking of Vachir... yeah, he was an [[{{Jerkass}} asshole]], but the only thing we ever see of him again after Tai Lung breaks out? The metal cap he kept on his horn. What the hell did Lung ''do'' [[OffstageVillainy to him]]...?
*** The last we see of Vachir is Tai Lung throwing a bomb at his face. [[LudicrousGibs Not showing what happened to him might have been for the best.]]
** A whole prison was built to contain him. What was all he needed to escape it? ''A FEATHER''. Once he escapes his acupuncture-tortoise-shell-straitjacket thing, the TailorMadePrison proves to be ''utterly inadequate.'' Even without the help of the ballista bolts, all Tai Lung would have to do is bring his paws close together enough to break his manacles, which he was already doing before they shot at him and broke one for him.
** "[[WhamLine Tai Lung will return.]]" Cue a brief but ''completely horrifying'' flashback to a rabid snow leopard - teeth bared, claws slashing, eyes glowing solid gold - attacking the Jade Palace, the camera positioned to look like he's charging '''''[[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou directly at you]]''''' (Happily detailed in the page image). And this is [[EstablishingCharacterMoment the very first glimpse we have of him in the entire movie]]. To say that Master Shifu [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness had every right to be horrified]] by the revelation of Tai Lung's return would be a massive [[{{Understatement}} understatement]].
** Tai Lung's introduction proper also counts. After being treated to a visually impressive scene of Chorh-Gom prison and its thousand-strong guard, Tai Lung himself is shown: a hunched figure [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill chained down to a pair of massive boulders on a platform above a vast drop, restrained by a tortoiseshell-like device that sticks a couple dozen acupuncture needles into his body to keep him paralysed, with a pair of ballistae trained on him at all times in case he so much as twitches]]. And even all of ''that'' is considered to be inadequate by Shifu, hammering home ''just how dangerous'' Tai Lung is for a first-time viewer.
*** The way he remains utterly still and silent despite the warden's taunts and stepping on his tail (which the film later indicates to be quite painful) is pretty creepy in its own right. Moments after Vachir and Zheng walk away, cue Tai Lung's almost-glowing eyes [[EyeAwaken snapping wide open]] into an ''epic'' DeathGlare that seems to be aimed '''[[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou directly at the viewer]]''', complete with menacing ScareChord.
** The curb-stomps he dishes out are completely and ''absolutely brutal''.
*** The aforementioned prison escape features him serving one of these to a 1000-strong army of heavily-armed rhinos. An entire prison meant to contain him, one thousand soldiers trained to guard the place - and at ''best'', all they manage to do is slow him down. And this is ''after'' he spent about twenty years effectively immobile and unable to train, [[FridgeHorror bringing up the question of just how strong he is after he gets to stretch his muscles.]]
*** His fight with Tigress starts off like this, but things even out once the other members of the Furious Five start to join in. Unfortunately, towards the end of the fight, it loops right back around in his favour.
---> '''Tai Lung:''' Shifu taught you well... (''[[OneHitKO incapacitates Monkey in the blink of an eye, with a single stroke]]''; ''[[MassOhCrap Furious Five collectively gasp in horror]]'') ''But he didn't teach you everything.'' (''pounces, [[NothingIsScarier cut to next scene]]'')
*** Then there's the way Tai manages to turn the tables on the Furious Five, which itself deserves special mention. [[HopeSpot The Five destroy the bridge to the Valley]], leaving Tai bound in the bridge's rope on the other side; and they share relief amongst themselves...until a distant noise catches Tigress' attention. Due to the high elevation, Tai is completely obscured by the clouds below, so all the Five and the viewer can see is the rope ''start swinging around'' the rock formation at high speed, turn back towards the cliff they're on, rise upwards...and then the rope snaps. [[ParanoiaFuel Tai is nowhere to be seen]]..until ''[[JumpScare he drops right behind them]]'', followed by his one-liner above. This all happens in the span of ''thirty seconds''; and despite the Five dealing him some serious blows, Tai looks and sounds no worse for wear. The entire confrontation feels like it was AllForNothing, and cements Tai as [[ImplacableMan borderline implacable]]!
*** After Shifu had to fight Tai Lung twenty years prior, he was forced to walk with a stick because his right hip was broken by Tai Lung himself! Not to mention that apart from the fact that Shifu couldn't land a clean hit on him at any point both fights, Tai Lung badly injured him and nearly strangled him to death! Sure, he did survive, but after Po won the fight against Tai Lung, he thought that his master was going to die, and if he didn't stop Tai just in time, Shifu would [[KilledOffForReal get killed for real]]!
*** Not even ''Po'' could handle him at first. The start of their fight was basically Tai Lung getting injured by Po's [[ConfusionFu attempts to secure the Dragon Scroll]] in an over the top game of Keep Away. Then Tai Lung got fed up and floored Po in one hit, with a followup that would likely have killed anyone else. If he wanted Po dead from the start, Tai Lung could've done so easily but luckily for Po, he instead focused all of his efforts on getting the Scroll.
* What Po does to Tai Lung. Sure, it's hilarious to see... But it also includes a large amount of ''savage'' head shots. In particular, while they're falling from the stairs Po makes sure that at every step ''Tai Lung slams his head on solid stone'', and at one point follows it up with ''sitting on his head''. There's a reason Tai Lung was almost exhausted by the point Po started fighting him straight: what he had just gone through would have ''killed'' a lesser fighter.
* At some point during his escape from prison, Tai Lung shoves a mace ''in a guard's mouth''... and proceeds to launch him straight up with a kick to the jaw. Imagine how bad that's gotta be for that guard's teeth... ''urgh...''
* Tai Lung's reaction to being denied the Dragon Scroll was destroying the Valley and possibly going on a ''killing spree,'' judging by the villagers running in fear from him in the flashback. Oogway was proven right when he saw darkness in Tai Lung's heart.
* Whatever the Wuxi Finger Hold is. Each and every time a character threatens to use it on an opponent, the latter's reduced to a stammering, quaking mess, and when it IS finally used... the visual effects may be gorgeous, but until ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda3'', it's NothingIsScarier incarnate.
** With the revelation of its ultimate effect in ''Kung Fu Panda 3'', we conclusively know that when Po used it on Tai Lung, he sent the snow leopard straight to the Spirit Realm, the literal afterlife, where he was then preyed upon by that movie's BigBad by having his ''chi'' stolen. Even for someone as selfish and cruel as Tai Lung, being forcibly removed from the living world and having your life energy sucked out is ''not'' a pleasant fate.

** A whole prison was built to contain him. What was all he needed to escape it? ''A FEATHER''. Once he escapes his acupuncture-tortoise-shell-straitjacket thing, the TailorMadePrison prison proves to be ''utterly inadequate.'' Even without the help of the ballista bolts, all Tai Lung would have to do is bring his paws close together enough to break his manacles, which he was already doing before they shot at him and broke one for him.

** A whole prison was built to contain him. What was all he needed to escape it? ''A FEATHER''. Once he escapes his acupuncture-tortoise-shell-straitjacket thing, the TailorMadePrison prison proves to be ''utterly inadequate.'' Even without the help of the ballista bolts, all Two Lung would have to do is being his paws close together enough to break his manacles, which he was already doing before they shot at him and broke one for him.

** A whole prison was built to contain him. What was all he needed to escape it? ''A FEATHER''. Once he escapes his acupuncture-tortoise-shell-straitjacket thing, the TailorMadePrison prison proves to be ''utterly inadequate.''

** A whole prison was built to contain him. What was all he needed to escape it? ''A FEATHER''.

** "[[WhamLine Tai Lung will return.]]" Cue a brief but ''brickshitting'' flashback to a rabid snow leopard - teeth bared, claws slashing, eyes glowing solid gold - attacking the Jade Palace, the camera positioned to look like he's charging '''''[[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou directly at you]]''''' (Lovingly detailed in the page image). And this is [[EstablishingCharacterMoment the very first glimpse we have of him in the entire movie]]. To say that Master Shifu [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness had every right to be horrified]] by the revelation of Tai Lung's return would be a massive [[{{Understatement}} understatement]].

* ''Secrets of the Furious Five'' delivers a bit of AdultFear when little Viper, with absolutely no martial arts training, went up against a hulking, armoured gorilla bandit after he effortlessly defeats her father (noted to be TheDreaded due to his otherwise-unstoppable poisoned bite). The fact that she manages to turn it into a CurbStompBattle dispels the fuel fast, but still.

*** The way he remains utterly still and silent despite the warden's taunts and stepping on his tail (which the film later indicates to be quite painful) is pretty creepy in its own right. Moments after Vachir and Zheng walk away, cue Tai Lung's almost-glowing eyes [[EyeAwaken snapping wide open]] into an ''epic'' DeathGlare [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou that seems to be aimed]] '''directly at the viewer''', complete with menacing ScareChord.

* Whatever the Wuxi Finger Hold is. Each and every time a character threatens to use it on an opponent, the latter's reduced to a stammering, quaking mess, and when it IS finally used... the visual effects may be gorgeous, but until the third movie, it's NothingIsScarier incarnate.

You wouldn't think [[SugarWiki/BetterThanItSounds a movie called]] ''Kung Fu Panda'' could show you how terrifying the eponymous martial art can be... yet somehow, it ''really does''.

** The Curb-Stomps he dishes out are completely and ''absolutely brutal.''

** With the revelation of its ultimate effect in ''Kung Fu Panda 3'', we conclusively know that when Po used it on Tai Lung, [[spoiler: he sent the snow leopard straight to the Spirit Realm, the literal afterlife, where he was then preyed upon by that movie's BigBad by having his ''chi'' stolen.]] Even for someone as selfish and cruel as Tai Lung, [[spoiler: being forcibly removed from the living world and having your life energy sucked out]] is ''not'' a pleasant fate.
* ''Secrets of the Furious Five'' delivers a bit of AdultFear when little Viper, with absolutely no martial arts training, went up against a hulking, armoured gorilla bandit after he effortlessly defeats her father (noted to be TheDreaded due to his otherwise-unstoppable poisoned bite). The fact that she manages to turn it into a CurbStompBattle dispels the fuel fast, but still.

* What Po does to Tai Lung. Sure, it's hilarious to see... But it also includes a large amount of ''savage'' head shots. In particular, while they're falling from the stairs Po makes sure that at every step ''Tai Lung slams his head on solid stone'', and at one point follows it up with ''sitting on his head''. There's a reason Tai Lung was almost exausted by the point Po started fighting him straight: what he had just gone through would have ''killed'' a lesser fighter.

'''Vachir''': [[OhCrap ''(whimpering)'' Yes.]]

'''Vachir''': ''(whimpering)'' Yes.

*** The aforementioned prison escape features him serving one of these to a 1000-strong army! Of rhinos!
*** His fight with Tigress starts off like this, but things even out once the other members of the Furious Five start to join in. Unfortunately, towards the end of the fight, it loops right back around in his favor.
---> '''Tai Lung:''' Shifu taught you well... (''incapacitates Monkey in the blink of an eye'') ''But he didn't teach you everything.'' (''pounces, [[NothingIsScarier cut to next scene]]'')

** With the revelation of its ultimate effect in ''Kung Fu Panda 3'', we conclusively know that when Po used it on Tai Lung, [[spoiler:he sent the snow leopard straight to the Spirit Realm, the literal afterlife, where he was then preyed upon by that movie's BigBad by having his ''chi'' stolen.]] Even for someone as selfish and cruel as Tai Lung, [[spoiler:being forcibly removed from the living world and having your life energy sucked out]] is ''not'' a pleasant thought.
* Secrets of the Furious Five delivers a bit of AdultFear when little Viper, with absolutely no martial arts training, went up against a big hulking gorilla bandit. The fact that she manages to turn it into a CurbStompBattle dispels the fuel fast, but still.

*** After Shifu had to fight Tai Lung twenty years prior, he was forced to walk with a stick because his right hip was broken by Kai! Not to mention that apart from the fact that Shifu couldn't land a clean hit on him at any point both fights, Tai Lung badly injured him and nearly strangled him to death! Sure, he did survive, but after Po won the fight against Tai Lung, he thought that his master was going to die, and if he didn't stop Tai just in time, Shifu would [[KilledOffForReal get killed for real]]!

*** Shifu couldn't land a clean hit on him at any point during the fight, and Tai Lung nearly strangled him to death! Sure, he did survive, but after Po won the fight against Tai Lung, he thought that he was going to die, and if he didn't stop him just in time, Shifu would [[KilledOffForReal get killed for real]]!

You wouldn't think a movie called ''Kung Fu Panda'' could show you how terrifying the eponymous martial art can be... yet somehow, it ''really does''.

** Speaking of Vachir... yeah, he was an asshole, but the only thing we ever see of him again after Tai Lung breaks out? The metal cap he kept on his horn. What the hell did Lung ''do'' [[OffstageVillainy to him]]...?