Xiaolin Showdown/Headscratchers


 * Why do the Good Guys never use the Golden Tiger Claws when they have them? They're only used in their own episode, in the episode where, against Mala Mala Jong, and a few others. I can forgive them for forgetting some Wu, whose uses have to be contrived most of the time, but the Golden Tiger Claws can warp them to any location. They could get the Wu in less time then it takes to tell it.
 * Well one, it would destroy the point of Dojo's character. Two, given how many times that the Shen Gon Wu go from Xiaolin to Heylin and back, it wouldn't be a good thing if the Golden Tiger Claws got into the wrong hands. Three, the show would be less interesting to watch.
 * To add on to the part about the Shen Gon Wu constantly moving between sides, it would really suck for a character to teleport somewhere without Dojo, have the claws stolen, and then have no way to get back, contact their friends, or be traced.
 * Dojo sensed the location of a Shen Gon Wu like a metal detector. He leads them in the right direction, but he doesn't automatically know where the Shen Gon Wu are located to begin with. He just follows his senses.
 * Was it impossible to build a weakness into those things, to make it more usable? For example, the optimal distance to warp is X feet, and if you try anything less or more than that you're dizzy and wobbly on arrival? You can only use them once every ten seconds to stop Flash Steps? The possibilities are endless, but they decided to be lazy about it.
 * Or they didn't want to add in random weaknesses and opted to use them as a plot device rather than just another Wu.
 * Similar to the above, why is the Helmet of Jong never used except to form Mala Mala Jong? Eyes in the back of one's head would be useful, but the Helmet is one of, if not the only Wu that is never used in the normal manner.
 * Maybe the brain of an ordinary person finds it difficult to process getting information from four different eyes at once.
 * It's magic. No doubt Dashi built a secondary spell into the thing to temporary rewire the wearer's brain to allow for the extra input.
 * No doubt?
 * Probably for the whole "So that we don't wind up wagering it in a Showdown and letting Heylin get their hands on it" reason.
 * Why the hell didn't they use the reversing mirror with the ring of nine dragons? Combining up to 9 entities into one super bad being surely seems like a good idea.. Mastery over all 4 elements + dragon shape-shifting + a master monk's skills would surely be more than a match for any villain in the show.
 * Maybe they liked being individuals more than they liked the idea of being super powerful. Such a merger would PROBABLY be permanent. The Ring of the Nine Dragons used properly just splits you into nine versions of yourself with your intellect split evenly. So at the end of the conflict you'd be screwed. I know I wouldn't take that deal.
 * They wouldn't necessarily be stuck in one form. Reversing the changing chopsticks effect couldn't be undone without the reversing mirror a second time. So all it would take is the reversing mirror + the ring again.
 * Then why did Omi need to use both against Dojo to return to normal size even though both him and Jack used it prior to return to normal size without the mirror?
 * Why is Omi bright yellow? Just... why?
 * It's a Chinese stereotype.
 * Exactly. So why?
 * All the other monks are probably Chinese, yet none of them are yellow. I'm guessing that Omi got jaundice and somehow went blind. He finds his way around through chi, not ridiculous eyesight.
 * Dashi used the tiger claws to go the simpsons verse and bring in omi'ss ancestor.
 * Headscratcher solved.
 * Omi isn't the only one: Dashi is also yellow. Additionally, they share similar facial features. So I always thought that Omi and Dashi were Color Coded for Your Convenience to indicate that Omi, who was Conveniently an Orphan, was actually a descendant of Dashi.
 * Presumably for the same reason that Jack is gray.
 * What exactly happened to all those Shen Gong Wu from "The Crystal Glasses?" You know, the ones that filled the cave the showdown took place? If the powers that be didn't have plans for them, they could have just not had so many activate...
 * Some of them (like the sandals) show up later in the series.
 * Am I the only one wondered how Master Monk Guan survived for over 1500 years? Chase's longevity could be attributed to the Lao Mang Lone soup, but nobody's ever brought up Guan's age.
 * You're not alone. And also, if Guan and Chase fought alongside Dashi against Wuya and none of them died in that battle, where the heck is Dashi?
 * If I remember correctly, his spirit or something came out of the new puzzle box used to reseal Wuya...which he gave to Omi himself...That just brings up a whole new set of problems.
 * Read up "Chinese Immortals." Essentially a healthy/moral mind, diet, right meds, etc. in addition to Charles Atlas Superpower as far as Traditional Chinese Medicine is concerned is the key to immortality so let's just say Master Monk Guan ate his Wheaties, meditated and exercised to live that long and not age a day past his prime.
 * Again, where does that leave Dashi, then, if he was even better than Monk Guan or Chase? Or better yet, considering Master Fung was a match for Chase Young in a bodycast, why on earth isn't HE ageless like Chase and Monk Guan are, in the Bad Future episode?
 * Well, Dashi was apparently Grand Master even back then, when Chase and Guan were still learning (a title which nobody else we know of has been around long enough to acquire). Who knows, Dashi could've been 1,500 himself at that time for all we know.
 * I just assumed Dashi made a Heroic Sacrifice, so he'd be able to seal Wuya in the puzzle box in the future.
 * This troper always thought that Chase Young and Master Monk Guan's lives were inextricably tied together, that they were destined to be each other's opposite regardless of time, space, or even reality. This is supported in "Time After Time": when Omi stops Chase from becoming evil, Guan drinks the Lao Mang Lone Soup instead, and it is Chase who inexplicably lives for 1500 years. It seems that as long as one of them drinks the Lao Mang Lone Soup, the other will rise to challenge him as a Chinese Immortal.
 * The best explanation i can think of for why Dashi isn't around is that the Chinese Immortal requires proper diet as well as mind and body, Dashi very much seemed like the type of person who would drink and party even knowing it would cost him eternal life.
 * Remember how Omi became supercharged with the energy of all 4 elements after using those special Shen Gong Wu? In an earlier episode, there was the Sun Chi Lantern, a SGW that basically let him do the same thing. My question is: Why wasn't he all explody then?
 * Different power levels between the two events. The Sun Chi Lantern was used in season one, where the heroes had no elemental powers to speak of. The latter event evolved powerups to their Wudai powers, which were stronger than their Apprentice powers. The first was just enough for Omi to Curb Stomp Battle Jack, Chameleonbot, Catnappe, and Tubbimura, whereas the second was just to much for him.
 * Also, the Sun-Chi Lantern only allows for sharing of chi (life energy), not supernatural magic powers. He borrowed their energies so he would have enough to fight the whole Legion of Doom Jack had assembled.
 * In Master Monk Guan's first appearance, he trades Dojo to Chase Young to get back his Spear of Guan. At the end of that episode, he gives it to Omi. Then, in his next appearance, he gives Raimundo the Spear of Guan -- and reveals that he has a bunch of them. If he had the extras, then why did he need to get the spear back from Chase Young before?
 * If I remember correctly, he had all the extras made after the whole episode with Chase Young, just in case.
 * But then how could the one he gave Raimundo be his favorite? It's probably because the different Spears of Guan were pretty much different models and only Guan could use all of them. Any other person would only fit one particular spear.
 * Why do the heroes never wear the full suit? Mala Mala Jong is nothing special; anyone could put on the Jet Boot Su, Two Ton Tunic, Fist of Tebigong, Third Arm Sash, Helmet of Jong, and Eye of Dashi and be as effective, if not more, than Jong.
 * I think wearing all that would be very heavy, not to mention the fact that you would have to shout the names of all of the Wu whenever you wanted to use them.
 * Also, Mala Mala Jong demonstrated the ability to exert a magnetic pull on other Wu (like with Raimundo's Sword of the Storm), and he's also made of hellfire. Those qualities can't be duplicated by someone just wearing the Wu.
 * So, when they fight Mala Mala Jong, they Hand Wave not using the Serpent's Tail to get the Heart of Jong by saying the that even while intangible, the Eye of Dashi can still hurt you. So, why don't the heroes ever use it against Wuya when she's ghostly?
 * Because, as a ghostly person, she has no nerve endings and therefore cannot feel pain?
 * Wuya isn't a physical threat in ghost form. She can't touch people besides causing small discomfort, can't hold or use Wu (only exception seems to be able to activate the Reversing Mirror), and doesn't make herself a part of the struggles. No point in attacking her because unlike those she consorts with, she can't do anything to you.
 * There are some things that bother me about the whole timeline aspect of the 2-part finale. For one thing, how did the Sands of Time end up in that future? As stated in the SAME episode, there was no old Omi in that timeline, the old Omi from the episode before went back to an entirely different future. Secondly, why was the Omi in the good-Chase timeline frozen like the Omi we know? If the entire set of events were different in that timeline the whole quest thing would have never happened and that Omi would have no reason to freeze himself
 * We can logically conclude that the aspects of Old Omi are removed from the timeline due to Omi freezing himself and never growing old. That means, while the monks were never forewarned to get the Sands of Time, the Wu still activated normally, with possibly a different result in regards to a Showdown. Old Omi, having not existed, did not attend, and did not hide the Sands of Time in the future afterwards. This could cause a mild paradox in that Omi (present) only got the idea to visit the future via freezing to talk to Old Omi.
 * As for the frozen Omi post-past, Chase Young didn't become evil, but Guan did. Replace Guan in present Chase Young's role, throw in Bean not getting double crossed, and you have a worse scenario than original. The frozen Omi may have gotten the bright idea to reverse Guan's transformation as opposed to Chase's, and following the same logic as present Omi, froze himself.
 * Speaking of the Sands of Time, how about when Omi was stuck in the past the first time? Dashi told Dojo to get the Sands of Time for the Xiaolin Showdown between him and Omi, but yet when Omi realized that he was stuck in the past with no way back, Dashi told Omi that they had hid the Sands of Time already. This troper had assumed that the Sands of Time in that episode was just a normal hourglass, but then it reappeared in the aptly named "The Sands of Time" episode, where it was the EXACT SAME HOURGLASS AS BEFORE. Did Dashi just hide the Sands of Time while Omi was freaking out?
 * Master Fung is a master of magic, right? Why did they never use that? They even introduced it at the beginning of a season as if it were going to be really important, then just ignored it.
 * Why in the holy hell did Dashi create so many... just plain random Sheng Gong Wu? The one that's stands out the most in my eyes is the Sweet Baby Among Us. A giant, golden super baby who shoots golden diapers by air humping. Just why?!
 * A bigger offender would be the Ants In The Pants. Dojo even says that "It's not much in a fight, but it's great at parties." Of course, it could just be Dashi was the definition of Crazy Prepared.
 * One episode shows the warriors using the Sweet Baby as a sparring partner. Never know when you're going to run into some fifteen-foot tall opponent with annoyingly tough skin.
 * Dashi was obviously stoned while creating these? Seriously, remember when Omi met Dashi in the past? The guy was just TOO calm.
 * HEY! Dashi is a master of ZEN!!! Zen emphasizes wisdom and enlightenment. As such, it de-emphasizes theoretical knowledge in favor of direct self-realization through meditation. So don't call him stoned!!!
 * Who's idea was it to create Mala Mala Jong? You'd think Dashi wouldn't want that to happen. I mean if the Wu were created by Dashi, why on earth is Mala Mala automatically on the Heylin side? Don't you think He would be with the Xiaolin? It just doesn't make sense to me.
 * Pretty sure it was meant as a last resort, like the Sapphire Dragon. It's like a homing beacon for Wu, so in the event that Wuya stole some Wu, Dashi could retrieve them with Mala Mala. If Wuya beat Dashi, he'd have a warrior of pure Wu for backup. Plus, I do believe there was a Wu created specifically to control Mala Mala.
 * The Emperor Scorpion wasn't created specifically for Mala, and that's not my point. Dashi made the thing, and it's specifically identified as being a Heylin warrior, that's always evil. He could never be used as a soldier, without the Emperor Scorpion. It confounds me that he let the Heart of Jong survive.
 * Who said Dashi had anything to do with Mala Mala? Here's a theory: Mala Mala once had a completely different body, but that ended up getting destroyed, but someone (*Cough-Wuya-Cough*) made a new body for him/it so it could be brought back to serve evil. He was defeated and scattered, but because the Wu weren't destroyed, it was bound to that form for eternity, or until all the Wu that make it up get destroyed permanently.
 * I know this is pretty minor but Raimundo's necklace just bugs me, you know that spiral one he's always wearing. Of the like, dozen outfits he wears in the show it's only missing from about two and and I really want to know the story behind it.
 * It might just be a purely aesthetic accessory, like Clay's hat.
 * Jack's sinking power level. In season one he's competent and a legit threat. He's still a quality challenge for part of season two then Chase Young shows up rematerialized Wuya and Jack goes from semi-competent to just worthless. Heck he even won a good amount of Showdowns early on.
 * There's several possibilities: A) Chase distracted him. He was so busy trying to win him over he didn't get anything evil done. B) Wuya helped him out a bit in the first season, so later he was supporting himself more. and C) When you think about in in a Fridge Logic sort of way, he probably was at the same level as he was in the beginning, and the monks got better. Think about it: From what we're shown, Jack only ever truly fights the monks on a regular basis, whereas the monks fight a crap load of regular villains and one shot villains. They even commented themselves about how fighting Jack had become norm and boring, meaning they'd gotten used to him and his tactics. Jack then seems much weaker in comparison.
 * In addition to the above point on the monks getting stronger, Sorting Algorithm of Evil. We even see this when Wuya first re-materializes, Jack is immediately rendered worthless because she's so powerful once she's physical again. After Chase is brought into play, Jack is once again outmatched because Chase is shown to be such a powerful, brutal villain from the outset. Chase's jungle cats happen to be more effective Mooks than Jack's robots which also ups the threat level. In general the thing which stops Chase killing the hell out of the monks is that he isn't interested at that point, whereas what stops Jack is that he plain isn't competent enough. It's worth noting that both Wuya and Chase managed to corrupt one of the monks, incidentally.
 * The idea of the Xiaolin warriors getting more powerful as opposed to Jack getting less competent is supported by Jack's numerous CMOA s . Think about it: if it weren't the Xiaolin warriors he was up against, Jack would definitely qualify as a Badass Normal. He's shown unexpected ingenuity in a number of his schemes, his skill with mechanics and robotics is unmatched, and he's tough enough to participate in, if not win, Xiaolin showdowns, which is still a feat that an ordinary Muggle couldn't manage. It's just that in comparison to the Xiaolin warriors, to Wuya, and to Chase, Jack simply doesn't measure up.
 * See also: Shonen Upgrade, which describes how said upgrades can also downgrade villains.
 * Being the but monkey doesn't make Jack stronger, and his abusive relationship with Wooya from late season one on can't have helped him.
 * How exactly did Jack originally find out where the Xiaolin temple is to steal Shen Gong Wu from it? It is doubtful that he would've known where the Xiaolin warriors kept the Shen Gong Wu, let alone where the Xiaolin warriors basically lived. Wuya couldn't have helped Jack with this one, as she probably was too busy fighting Dashi to memorize where the temple was, plus the world probably changed too much in 1500 years for Wuya to locate the temple again.
 * Wuya can sense the location of active Shen Gong Wu, remember?
 * Wuya and Dojo, actually. However, Dojo specifically points out it's really tough to track Wu once they've already been activated. With Wu being easiest to track immediately upon activation, this presents a problem in the above theory. Tracking down a Wu that was activated a long time ago would be particularily hard. Still, it's not even close to impossible for Jack to have tracked the warriors down with simple reconnasiance tech. So between Jack's tech finding the actual base and Wuya vaguely being able to point Jack in the right direction for the Wu themselves, Jack could actually raid the temple without any out of character knowledge.
 * The Heart of Jong. Why on earth would Dashi make a Wu that's power is to give life to things and turn them evil? Wasn't he a good guy? Sure, it seemed nice when Jack stuck it in his robot, but that robot was still beating up the heroes. Every time the heart acts on it's own it creates a monster. There's a difference between making something random and mostly useless and making something that's intent on killing you and the rest of the planet.
 * The way this troper sees it there are a couple of possibilities
 * 1. Perhaps some of the Shen Gong Wu did not go the way Dashi intended them, it's never explicitly stated how he created them and it's likely that it was a very complicated thing. This first possibility would also explain the sapphire dragon.
 * 2. Mala Mala Jong was originally a human that Dashi fought against in his younger days but could not kill. Eventually Dashi defeated him by sealing him into the Heart of Jong. This second possibility would not also explain the sapphire dragon.
 * I thought it had more to do with who was influencing the Heart at the time. Any time the heart did anything evil, it was being influenced by the Heylin side. Mala Mala Jong? Wuya used the Heart. Jack's robot? Jack used the Heart and programmed the robot to follow evil directives (which even then, the robot acted only because it had to, and did show a desire to be friendly and do non-evil acts). The Snow Goon was created after Jack dropped the Heart, so it still had Heylin influence. It would probably do good if a good guy used it, but you know the good guys are never going to use it because they're good guys and don't need to.
 * Okay, how did Jack lose the showdown in the first episode? Good for Omi, he beat the robots. Jack was still faster than him, and even when he stopped to cheat, he should still have been able to get to the Wu first. Seriously, the only reason he just stood there and let Omi pull down his pants and collect the Wu was so that the protagonists could close out their first episode with a victory.
 * You just answered your own question.
 * Season 2, Ep. 7. Omi used the Shroud of Shadows, Reversing Mirror and Changing Chopsticks all in 1 showdown against Dojo without wagering the Shroud or Mirror. This would certainly be cheating, and surprisingly Jack never did it before. Why did they break the rules for this?
 * Maybe it's allowed and that's the first time anyone's thought to do something like that. Not to mention it was a small (but skilled) boy against a giant, two-headed dragon. Methinks it might even the playing field a little bit if he were allowed to use more than one in that situation.
 * It is allowed as it is done in later episodes without much consequence. Of course, it's still weird that Kimiko mentions it as "cheating" even though Omi did it first. I'm guessing the writers caught on to it and wanted an explanation. My mistake, it just seemed so out of place to suddenly have it happen.
 * Season 2, Ep. 16. The Mermaid (can't remember her name) planned to flood the world by melting the polar ice caps from the center of the earth. They say normally it would be too hot but then the Black Beetle activates, which would allow her to go to the center. Forgetting about all the physic behind it (gravity), My question is, twice have the characters gone to the center of the earth, in the  Mala Mala Jong episode and the Emperor Scorpion one, and the heat was a completely different issue in each of these. Omi found himself easily burned the first time but able to grab the Tiger Claws. The second time, all 4 dragons, Mala Mala and Jack were all in the earths core for a considerable amount of time. The dragons are apprentices and may be able to cope with the conditions (although things like intense cold in the Snowman episode and Raimundo going into a panic when Clay accidently causes his robe to catch fire seem to contradict this), but Jack was perfectly fine outside of the Tunnel Armadillo, despite being...well, Jack. So why is the core suddenly an issue with the Mermaid? The only think I could think of would be something involving Jacks outfit or his constant exposure to Shen Gong Wu, but that is stretching it to atom-thin lengths.
 * WMG on my part, but it could be that the "Center of the Earth" Omi and Dojo refer to aren't truely the planet's core, but close enough to be surviveable. So to activate the volcanic activity the mermaid would have to go past the point of no return to cause the damage, where the temperatures would go from incredibally uncomfortable to lethal.
 * While I know in a meta sense that it has to be something that the animators can turn the immediate area into: Why does no one ever pick a showdown they're all-but guaranteed to win? The closest we had was the "catch the bird" thing where Jack was betting on being faster than Clay, but as we've seen showdowns can literally be anything (they saved the world with soccer, for Pete's sake). Why not have Jack pick "make a functioning robot out of scrap" or Clay pick "bronco riding" or Kattnappe "who knows the most about cats?" You could at least bring it up and then have Dojo pull out an ancient thing saying showdowns must be fair (unlikely, given how the villains cheated in the finale).
 * Heck, even when they use Shen Gon Wu in the showdowns they chose, it's often in a "oh, this can help me win" way instead of a "I picked this showdown specifically because that Wu gives me the advantage" way except for Jack's balance shwodown with the Monkey staff...
 * Huh, so Jack's the only one who thinks to do it?
 * Nooo... Raimundo once picked flashlight tag because he had the Golden Tiger Claws, Clay challenged Jack to find a needle in a haystack, Kimiko challenged Pandabubba to Goo Zombies (the game her dad's company DESIGNED)... It happens quite often, if you're looking for it, but not straight-out since the opponents tend to show some competence in the field as well (Jack dodging beams with the Lotus Twister or being surprisingly good with a flying saddle), Pandabubba being no slouch at video games, etc).
 * In "Dreamscape," Jack Spicer wins the first Showdown. Not too unusual, though this time he happens to get the Shadow of Fear. That little old Wu that lets the user hop into others' minds and bring their fears to life. Then, of course, he sneaks into the Xiaolin Temple to use it on our unsuspecting heroes... Who aren't just unsuspecting; they're ASLEEP! Jack has a nightmare Wu, Master Fung's not at all surprised that it was used, and they did nothing to stop him. No sentries, no talismans, nada... after he's broken into the temple before and stolen every Wu in the vault. NO WONDER STUFF KEEPS GETTING STOLEN!!!
 * When Raimundo got possessed by the Wu (The Last Temptation of Raimundo), why didn't they just use the Emperor Scorpion to take the Wu off of him/make the Wu stop controlling him? Unless I missed something, they should have the Emperor Scorpion with them and it does control the Shen Gong Wu. I know that it would take away the point of the episode, but gee, was it so hard for them to even consider it? Or (after the Heylin comet passed, obviously) to give a reason why they couldn't use it?