Characters / That's Why They Call It the Present

Aunt Wu's

The staff of a new dim sum restaurant in the valley, they take in a severely wounded Tai Lung and secretly nurse him back to health.

Wu Lien

• Combat Hand Fan
• Cool Old Lady

Dalang

• Chef of Iron
• Family Eye Resemblance: Has his mother's eyes.

Yu Su Lin

• Beware the Nice Ones

Mei Xing

• Dark and Troubled Past
• Rape as Backstory

The Jiao Clan

A clan of Amur tigers and Dalang's birth family who have terrorized the empire for years, and now have their eyes set on the Valley of Peace.

• Panthera Awesome
• Theme Naming
• Unfinished Business

Jiao Shen

• Abusive Parent: Turned his sons, whom he saw nothing more than valued soldiers in his army, into ruthless killers.
• Even Evil Has Standards
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: His late wife Ming Hua.
• The Patriarch

Jiao Shang

• The Berserker: The Dragon Rage.
• Big Brother Instinct: Toward Dalang .
• The Casanova: Has at least twenty children scattered around the empire, including Hu Quon.
• Family Eye Resemblance: Has his mother's eyes.
• Token Good Teammate

Jiao Xiang

• The Berserker: Thanks to Koshchei, he started drinking, then using drugs.
• Cool Big Bro: According to Dalang, Xiang used to be this until Koshchei turned him into a drug addict.

Jiao Huang

• Beard of Evil: Sports a goatee.
• Eyepatch of Power
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Has a vial of his own poison smashed in his face.
• Master Poisoner
• Would Hurt a Child: Threatens a baby rabbit in front of the Valley to announce his family's impending invasion.

Jiao Feng

• Outliving One's Offspring: According to "The Present Shuffles", Feng had sired a child with his lover. He had planned to do the honorable thing by marrying her, but the pregnant girl committed suicide out of fear of shaming her parents.
• Poisoned Weapons: Uses some of Huang's poison on his arrows after Huang's death.

Jiao Chang and Jiao Ang

• Trickster Twins: According to Dalang's recollections of them.
• Posthumous Character: Killed by the Valley guards offscreen.

Ming Hua

• Arranged Marriage
• Deceased Parents Are the Best
• Morality Chain
• Posthumous Character

Others

Sonam

• Black Cloak: As part of his assassin disguise.

• Eyepatch of Power: One of the many scars he has includes a missing eye.
• Papa Wolf: Nearly died getting his son to safety from the Jiao.
• Scars Are Forever: Jiao Shen sure did a number on him.

Nima

• Combat Hand Fan: Just like her mentor, Aunt Wu.
• Panthera Awesome
• Posthumous Character: Died when Tai Lung was a baby, but continues to watch out for him as a spirit.

From the sequel

Asmodei Koshchei

• Panthera Awesome: An Amur leopard

Lang

The Half Dozen

Six wolves who join Koshchei after he kills their previous employer.

• Genius Bruiser: Tan Lan is apparently pretty good at using math for combat purposes.

Captain Zang Deshi

• Inspector Javert

Cadet Hu Quon

• Meaningful Name: Hu means "tiger" in Mandarin.
• Tell Me About My Father: He is Jiao Shang's illegitimate son.

The Wu Sisters

Captain Altai

Master Sun Bear

• Dying Moment of Awesome: Dies taking down a regiment of soldiers to protect Tai Lung.

• Old Master: Over a thousand years old, abbot of the Phoenix Temple and can kick anyone's ass, any time.
• Really 700 Years Old: Drank from a spring of "longer-lasting life" - he may be old, but he's still mortal.

Little Brother

• The Silent Bob: The death of his family traumatized him so much he refuses to speak and only uses pantomime.