Tag Archives: Talismans

The Dog Talisman: The Best Defensive Talisman

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Happy Year of the Dog! We’re back once again to talk another talisman and this time it’s the Dog. The Dog Talisman has a special place in Jackie Chan Adventures as it introduced two prominent, reoccurring supporting characters. One was Scruffy, the noble dog that inherited the talisman’s power, and the other is the amazing Hak Fu! That’s right! Hak Fu’s was first introduced in the Dog Talisman episode in season 1, pretty interesting, huh?

But I’m getting ahead of myself, what does the Dog Talisman do? The Dog Talisman’s power is immortality. Whoever holds the talisman will not die and will survive events that would otherwise maim or kill them. We see Scruffy surviving a blast of dark magic from Daolon Wong, Uncle withstanding a brutal, wall-breaking punch from Hak Fu, and Jackie escaping unburnt from Shendu’s fire blast. This is a defensively strong talisman! However, beyond this the power becomes a bit inconsistent. Sometimes, the user does not flinch from attacks (like Scruffy for instance) while other times they seem to feel the pain but exhibit no outstanding injuries (like Finn’s collisional injury or when Shendu was electrocuted). This inconsistency seem to derive more from story convenience and less on the user or the situation. The show implies the talisman brings youth to the aged like it did for Uncle in season 1. Although he did not physically de-age, he fought like he was in his prime (it also cured him of his lactose-intolerance).

Some people scratch their heads though as the Dog Talisman sounds suspiciously like the Horse Talisman and its power of healing. I would also question why the two talismans even exist separately. Remember, the talismans originated from Shendu. An ancient warrior casted a spell on the dragon and extracted his powers in the form of the talismans. Wouldn’t the healing and immortality be the same talisman? Also, I have to wonder why Shendu would even need the Horse Talisman if he’s immortal all the time (even Finn questioned why he would need to carry both at the same time)! But I’m nitpicking here.

If Jackie Chan Adventures had less respect for its characters or storyline we might have seen the Dog Talisman used more commonly as a solution to tricky problems. Luckily, thanks to Jackie’s reluctance on talisman use, this was not the case. When we do see the Dog Talisman, it’s usually in the vein of a talisman episode or a season climax. On that note, characters label the Dog Talisman as one of the “cool” talismans making it one of the first talismans characters try to snatch in the heat of the battle. Whoever carries it means their foe has to think cleverly to win the battle which is always an exciting moment.

Regardless, we have an unusual situation in that we have a “cool” talisman that rarely makes appearances! So there’s not much to talk about the Dog Talisman besides one noteworthy moment in Jackie Chan Adventures. As mentioned before, in season 2, “Enter the Demon World, Part 2” Jackie survives a fiery blast from Shendu thanks to the Dog Talisman. When they escape, Jackie relies on the Dog Talisman for survival and when he loses it, he doubts his own strengths. Jade rallies Jackie though and explains how Jackie by himself is still a great hero. This lifts Jackie’s spirits and helps the J-Team defeat the demons. It’s a touching moment in the series in that we rarely see Jade give an effective pep talk to Jackie.

That’s it for now, hope you all have a great Year of the Dog!

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The Rooster Talisman: there since the Beginning

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Happy Year of the Rooster!  To celebrate the occasion, let’s once again check out the Rooster Talisman in the Kids WB cartoon series, Jackie Chan Adventures.  The Rooster Talisman (which bestows Levitation powers to the user) is special as it was the first Talisman seen and premiered in the first episode of the series!  Looking back at this episode, I can’t help but be amused how different the show was compared to later seasons such as the rougher character designs and an overall awkward pace.  You can tell the creators were trying to figure out what kind of show Jackie Chan Adventures was going to be.

image from jackie chan adventures wiki

image from jackie chan adventures wiki

But enough about the show, let’s talk about the Rooster Talisman!  Unlike our previous two talismans, the Rooster was prominently used throughout the show, even in episodes where it was not the focal point (a big example being Jade’s battle with the Sky Demon).  It’s now hard to understand why either.  The Rooster Talisman is simply useful.  The power to levitate yourself (and other objects) would’ve solved a world of problems for our heroes had it not been for Jackie’s reluctance to use the Talismans.

This was also one of the best episodes in the series as well. The Rooster and Rabbit Talismans were just icing on the cake. Image from the Jackie Chan Adventures wiki

This was also one of the best episodes in the series as well. The Rooster and Rabbit Talismans were just icing on the cake. Image from the Jackie Chan Adventures wiki

The Rooster Talisman has been a constant presence in the series for reasons you may actually not realize.  Okay, so in season 3 when Jackie blew up the Talismans, the Rooster Talisman possessed its noble animal, Eggbert, a rooster that lived in Malaysia and later moved to Kansas.  Eggbert was subsequently paired up with the Pig Talisman’s noble animal, Mordecai.  These two were the best as Eggbert just flew Mordecai around while he caused havoc with his laser eyes.  Now, this episode was one of the few times Jackie Chan an co. lost to Daolon Wong as he absorbed both powers with his freaky mouth hands.  In subsequent episodes, up to the climax of season 3, Daolon Wong frequently used his newfound levitation and heat beam eye powers to his advantage.  I like this a lot actually as Daolon Wong becomes a bigger threat unlike season 1 where the Dark Hand barely used their talismans.  That wasn’t the last of Eggbert though as he and Moredecai were infrequent guests to the show in later episodes such as “The Amazing T-Troop” and “The Powers That Be.”

Luckily, when push comes to shove the Talismans will be used as a last resort.  These instances don’t happen too often though and that’s what makes those episodes great.  Some of the special ones include the awesome Talisman battle in Season 2’s “The J-Team,” the Talisman vs Demon battle in Season 2’s “The Demon World,” and the battle against the Oni Generals in Season 4’s “Ninja Twilight.”  The Rooster Talisman’s insane usefulness combined with the show underplaying them means that every time we see someone use it, we’re in for a good time.

Happy Year of the Rooster!

The Monkey Talisman’s True Power

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The Monkey Talisman, in Jackie Chan Adventures, is similar to last year’s Ram Talisman as it had a rather unique super power and did not get used often during the show’s run. However, unlike last year’s Ram Talisman, the Monkey Talisman was significantly more useful and it generated some genuinely funny or comedic moments.

Image from http://jackiechanadventures.wikia.com/wiki/Monkey_Talisman

First off, for those who forget, the Monkey Talisman has the power of Shapeshifting, or more correctly, to change the holder or target into whatever animal they think of. Many animals were used during the show’s run such a rabbit, walrus, elephant, giraffe, hippo, and even a chinchilla. The Monkey Talisman can also change the person back to their original form.

Unlike the Rabbit, Ox, Dragon, or Pig Talisman, the Monkey Talisman did not see much use during the show’s run and it’s a real shame too! One of the few times when the Monkey Talisman was not used during a Talisman episode was when the J Team busted in to the Hollowlands Penitentiary in Season 2. Jade turned Jackie into a chinchilla and carried him to another part of the prison.

As such, we don’t know the full extent of the Monkey Talisman’s power compared to the other Talismans. Rooster can make you, or something you’re looking at, fly, Pig can give you heat beam eyes, and Horse can heal you. But what about the Monkey Talisman? What are the true limits to its power?

The show keeps referring to the Monkey Talisman as “shapeshifting” but no one has used it to transform into an inanimate object. Even Haiku, the Noble monkey that was worthy of this power, only used it to transform into other animals. As such, we can assume that you can only transform into an animal with this power.

As for what kind of animal, that is entirely hard to say. In the first couple of seasons, the Monkey Talisman’s victims and users transformed only into vertebrates. But we later find out in Season 3 that invertebrates, such as Haiku’s cricket form, are also on the table. Given the huge phylogenetic diversity, it would not be unreasonable to assume that you can also transform into a starfish, a squid, or even a flat worm.

Image from https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments/courses/0708S/BIOL/BIOL-18-0708S/lab_material/lab4-6_8-9.introduction_to_animal_diversity

But what about jellyfish or sponges? Yes! I think you would be able to transform into these as well. I honestly think that the Monkey Talisman can transform anyone or anything into what we regard as animals. As such, the Porifera and Cnidarians could be included although I would certainly feel sorry for the poor bastard that got turned into a sponge. If the Horse Talisman can fix a sinking cruise ship and the Rat Talisman can bring an ancient Aztec deity to life, what’s stopping the Monkey Talisman from doing this as well?

It’s a shame, like I said before, that we didn’t get much of the Monkey Talisman in Jackie Chan Adventures. I’m sure that if Jackie let Jade have access to the talismans, she would have a lot of fun with the Monkey Talisman. And God, this show loved its puns so you can bet that Jade would say things like “being a fly on the wall” or “elephant never forgets” before transforming into that animal. You could even throw in ancient animals like dinosaurs as well.  A visit to the natural history museum could be livened up with some actual dinosaurs roaming the halls.  Also, we missed a golden opportunity for El Toro and Viper to transform into their respective animals, that would’ve been great (even better is if they got their counterpart)!

Happy Chinese New Year!