| NOTE: This page is about Kai the Collector's movie counterpart, as his novelization counterpart was not voted Near Pure Evil, therefore only Kai the Collector's movie counterpart's information and crimes should be included here. |
| “ | The mortal realm. You hear that, Oogway? I’m back. KAI HAS RETURNED! | „ |
| ~ Kai announcing his return; also his most famous quote |
| “ | Who? The panda? His chi is strong, but it won't be enough. He will meet the same fate as you. And so will every panda in that village. | „ |
| ~ Kai taunting Shifu on the Panda Village's doom before absorbing his chi. |
General Kai (also simply known as Kai or also Kai the Collector) is the main antagonist of DreamWork's 32nd full-length animated feature film Kung Fu Panda 3, the third installment of the Kung Fu Panda franchise.
He is a supernatural bull who was once a brother-in-arms with Oogway. However, after Oogway stopped him from taking the chi of the pandas, Kai developed a deep hatred for him. This animosity led him to seek revenge by destroying Oogway's legacy and stealing the chi of every master and panda. Kai now serves as Oogway's arch-nemesis.
He was voiced by J.K. Simmons, who also voiced General Wade Eiling in Justice League Unlimited and Cave Johnson in Portal.
His Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Him Close to Being Pure Evil?[]
- In the past, Kai was believed to have killed many animals as a conqueror alongside Oogway, earning aliases like "Maker of Widows".
- Desiring to have all of the pandas' chi for himself, Kai attempted to take it from them, only to be stopped by Oogway, who had abandoned his path as a conqueror.
- Even though he carried the badly injured Oogway for days, and Oogway's survival was largely due to the pandas' help, Kai remained ungrateful to them for saving his friend's life, as he still clung to his conqueror mindset.
- While in the Spirit Realm, he stole the chi of every master. Though it's not explicitly stated how many masters or how long it took, the Realm is depicted as virtually empty, implying that he stole the chi from every master there, including Tai Lung.
- It's also worth noting that when their chi is absorbed, their souls are as well, and the victims are enslaved as ghoulish zombies, known as jombies, against their will. This proves the process to be painful and even a fate worse than death.
- Kai proceeded to take Oogway's chi before entering the mortal realm. Upon arriving there, he summoned some of his corrupted spirits to find and fight the Furious Five, all while telling Oogway, in jade amulet form, that when he was done, no one would remain who would remember his name.
- Master Chicken mentioned jade creatures attacking his village, prompting him to track them with Croc and Bear, the latter of whom also had jombies invade their villages.
- While hiding out in a desert, Kai took the chi of Master Croc, Bear, Chicken, and Mantis, taunting Crane by threatening to destroy the Jade Palace and everyone in it before taking Crane's chi as well.
- He proceeded to steal the chi—and practically the souls—of every master in China, enslaving their souls with this method.
- Upon arriving at the Jade Palace, he defeated most of the Furious Five and consumed the chi of Monkey and Viper, turning them into jombies as well.
- He destroyed Oogway's statue and the Palace before taunting Shifu, telling him that Po wouldn't be able to stop him, and taking Shifu's chi as well.
- At the secret panda village, he summoned his jade army to attack Po and the pandas, but the army was briefly outmatched.
- After Po attempted to send him back to the Spirit Realm and failed, Kai mocked him while preparing to take his chi and the chi of every panda in the village—including Tigress and Mr. Ping—forcing Po to sacrifice himself by using the Wuxi Finger Hold on himself to send both of them to the Spirit Realm. While Po was later able to return, nobody knew he had the ability to do so.
- While Kai's reasons for wanting to take the pandas' chi are not fully explained, it is presumed to be out of spite against their ancestors, believing they were responsible for Oogway turning against him. It should also be noted that had he succeeded in taking the pandas' chi, it would have led to their extinction, as they were the only survivors of Lord Shen's massacre.
- Kai attempted to take Po's chi, even using a large building to aid in his defeat.
- Despite Kai's horrific defeat, exploding into nothing, it was well-deserved considering everything he did to Po, his friends, and his family.
- Kai lacks a tragic backstory and abandoned his previous redeeming traits after Oogway banished him to the Spirit Realm.
- Although Kai returns to the Spirit Realm willingly after The Chameleon's defeat, it is clear he had little choice in the matter.
- Moreover, his lack of remorse for stealing chi from both living and deceased warriors means this cannot be seen as mitigating.
What Prevents Him from Being Pure Evil?[]
- Kai ultimately fails to meet the Heinous Standards set by Lord Shen, who had fewer resources than he, yet managed to do worse by committing genocide on Po's species, attempting to take over China, and causing mass destruction, while also being a much more personal foe to Po.
- Kai is taken seriously most of the time, but there are some comedic moments that detract from his villainy, such as a bunny and goose not knowing who he is while he tries and fails to make them remember him, Po interrupting him when Kai discusses his plan to steal the chi of the pandas in the village, Po tricking him with a 'What's that over there?' gag, and him becoming the victim of slapstick comedy during his final fight with Po.
- After Po defeats the Chameleon, Kai shows respect by sincerely bowing before his former archenemy and willingly returning to the Spirit Realm without attacking him, demonstrating that he possesses some honor.
Trivia[]
- In regards to him showing respect for Po due to freeing him and his fellow Kung Fu masters from the Chameleon's grasp towards the end of Kung Fu Panda 4, co-director Stephanie Ma Stine stated that Kai the Collector isn't redeemed and that had she wished to do so she would have brought him to the story's forefront, which didn't serve as a consequence of him and Lord Shen being last-minute additions to the film, which made impossible for the filmmakers to weave him into the plot by re-timing, re-animating and re-scoring scenes to make any possible redemption meaningful.
- Originally, Kai was meant to be a much darker character as he would not have had any of the comedic moments that were shown in the final version. He even would have explicitly killed Po rather than the latter sacrificing himself. Whether or not this would have affected his NPE status and have potentially made him Pure Evil is unknown. However, the former would have been more likely since he still would have failed the standards to Lord Shen. It would have also made Kai even worse if it stayed in.
External Links[]
- Kai the Collector on the Villains Wiki
- Kai the Collector on the DreamWorks Wiki
- Kai the Collector on the Kung Fu Panda Wiki
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 Near Pure Evils
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Movies Television See Also | ||
 Near Pure Evils
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Animated Features Live-Action Features Animated Television See Also | ||
