Shan Yu

Articles About Shan Yu
Main Series	Mulan
Non-canon	Disney Heroes: Battle Mode - Kingdom Hearts - Disney Sorcerer's Arena

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Your walls and armies have fallen! And now it's your turn! Bow to me!

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Background

Shan Yu is the main antagonist of Disney's 1998 animated feature film Mulan. He is the evil leader of the Hun Army, who are responsible for mass genocide and havoc across China. When the emperor commissions the Great Wall to deter invaders, Shan Yu views this as a challenge and declares war on his majesty, with the intent of taking over the country.

This dropdown contains the synopsis of Shan Yu's story. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!

The film's opening scene depicts Shan Yu leading the Huns in an invasion of China by using grappling hooks to scale the Great Wall of China, setting the tone of the film. When one of the Chinese guards of the Great Wall reveals that he has lit the torches and that the Emperor will soon know of Shan Yu's presence in an attempt to intimidate him, Shan Yu's only response is to burn one of the Imperial flags before giving a satisfied "perfect," revealing that the Emperor receiving the message of the Huns' invasion is precisely what Shan Yu has intended to accomplish. Later on, Shan Yu and his men have destroyed yet another village and proceed to expose two spies sent by the Emperor. One of them insists the Emperor will stop Shan Yu, only for him to rebuff the scout before telling them to pass a message to the Emperor to send his strongest armies. As the two men leave, he has one of his archers murder one. While heading to the Imperial city, his falcon brings him a doll from a village. On the doll are pine dust from the high mountains, white horsehair from Imperial stallions, and the smell of sulfur from cannons, clues that the Imperial army is waiting for them at a mountain pass. Instead of avoiding the army, he and his men head in that direction, since the quickest way to the Emperor is through the pass. Upon arrival, he and his troops not only crush General Li's army at the mountain pass but also, in an act of fierce barbarity, raze the surrounding village to the ground, leaving no survivors. Ironically, the army's winning streak is lost when they encounter Li Shang's meager force. Soon after the destruction of the main Chinese army, the group uses cannons to hold their own against Hun archers after Mushu has accidentally ignited a cannon, giving away their position to the enemy (however it's possible the archers had already spotted them without Mushu's blunder). Eventually, Shan Yu leads the Hun cavalry down to the army to attack. Though the Huns vastly outnumber Shang's troops, Mulan manages to bury them in an avalanche by aiming a rocket at a nearby mountain. Upon noticing the intention, Shan Yu then slashes her, which eventually causes her identity to be revealed. Shan Yu nearly escapes but, like his men, he is buried by the avalanche. Despite this, he survives (but loses his hood and scabbard), and upon unearthing himself from the snow pile, Shan Yu learns that his army has been destroyed and lets out a cry of rage. Just then, five other Huns break out from the snow as well, and Shan Yu quickly decides that his five remaining Huns will be enough to capture the Emperor as long as they use stealth. His earlier cry also ended up exposing his survival to Mulan, which ultimately resulted in his downfall. With the advantage of being believed to be dead and defeated, Shan Yu is able to infiltrate the Emperor's palace and hide on the rooftops where he receives his sword from Hayabusa, who has quickly snatched it back from Shang. On the ground, his Elite Huns capture the Emperor during the victory ceremony by disguising themselves as dragon dancers. After ordering his Elite Huns to guard the door, Shan Yu tries but fails to convince the Emperor to kneel before him. Just as Shan Yu moves to strike the Emperor down, Shang stops him and Chien-Po carries the Emperor to safety. Shan Yu then overpowers Shang and is about to take his anger out on the defenseless captain, only to be distracted by Mulan, who reveals to him that she is the soldier who caused the avalanche. Abandoning Shang in favor of disposing of a more dangerous target, Shan Yu attempts to kill Mulan while pursuing her throughout the palace until they arrive at the palace rooftop, where Shan Yu believes he has finally cornered Mulan. But to his surprise, Mulan disarms him using only a fan, which he had stabbed with the sword, stating she may be out of ideas. But not quite, as she grabs back the stabbed fan and the sword, and Shan Yu then spots Mushu with a rocket aimed at him before he attacks Mulan once more, only for her to knock him over. Mulan then pins him to the roof with his own sword as Mushu launches the rocket (lit by Cri-Kee) that slams into Shan Yu and propels him into a tower full of fireworks, killing him in the explosion.

Codex Statistics

Tier: 10-A likely 9-C, 9-C with his sword

Name: Shan Yu

Origin: Mulan

Sex: Male

Age: Unknown

Classification: Human, Leader of the Hun Army

Status Deceased (Shan Yu was killed in a firework explosion)

Alignment Chaotic Evil (Shan Yu is a megalomaniacal who has shown that he is not above killing his enemies in cold blood to prove his strength, and he has been shown to make jokes about it: after capturing two Imperial scouts and sending them to deliver his challenge to the Emperor, he asks his lead archer how many men it takes to deliver a message. The archer then draws his bow and replies, "One." or when he joked about returning a doll to its owner only for him to ravage the village and it being heavily implied not even the children were spared)

Dimensionality: 3-D

Attack Potency: Above Average Human level likely Bone level (Shan Yu can destroy a door with a punch and bust through a roof), Bone level with his sword

Durability: Above Average Human level likely Bone level

Striking Strength: Above Average Human level likely Bone level

Lifting Strength: At least Athletic Human (Shown as superior to Li Shang who by working with his soldiers, they could lift a large statue)

Travel Speed: Superhuman (Comparable to Li Shang who could outrun a bear)

Combat Speed: Superhuman

Reaction Speed: Superhuman

Stamina: High (Shan Yu is a trained soldier)

Range: Standard Melee, Extended Melee with his sword

Intelligence: Gifted (Shan Yu is the leader of the Hun Army, he defeated Li Shang in combat and from only a few subtle clues found on a doll, he knew imperial armies awaited him)

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Powers and Techniques

Superhuman Speed, Vehicular Usage (Land Vehicles; Shan yu can ride a horse), Weapon Mastery and Penetration Damage (Sword Usage; Shan Yu is a skilled sword fighter), Martial Arts (Shan Yu could defeat Li Shang in combat), Stealth Mastery (Shan Yu snuck into the Imperial City), Immortality (Undead; If Shan Yu was to die, he would become a spirit like his ancestors)

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Equipment

Shan Yu's sword Shan Yu's sword is a serrated, jagged jian with a ring pommel and a long grip that can be held with one or two hands.

Hayabusa: Hayabusa is one of the secondary antagonists of Disney's 1998 animated feature film, Mulan. A foreboding predator with a hatred for China, he is Shan Yu's loyal pet falcon and an integral member of the Hun Army.

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Other

Standard Tactics: Shang will typically use his sword and martial arts skills for melee combat. While Hayabusa will attempt to aid him by messing with his opponent.

Weaknesses: Nothing Notable

Battle Records

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