Niu Mowang (牛魔王), better known as The Bull Demon, is the main antagonist in the Disney+ original series American Born Chinese portrayed by Leonard Wu.
Background[]
In traditional tellings, Niu Mowang, who also goes by the name Ox King, is a sworn brother to Sun Wukong, but is usually seen as an antagonist to him. The two have a rivalry which is brought about by Wukong stealing his Princess Iron Fan's banana leaf fan. Niu Mowang angrily chases after him and Zhu Bajie where they battle. This is shortened however by the arrival of Nezha who takes Niu away to the Jade Emperor to be tried.
Personality[]
In his youth, Niu Mowang was seen as being very shy and soft-spoken, reluctant to speak up to get what he wanted. Following Sun Wukong speaking up and getting the title of Great Sage, Niu becomes resentful and angry and realizes that he does not want to be like Wukong. As he got older, he became cold and uncaring, deciding that life was not worth sharing and plotted to destroy Heaven and Earth. It is hinted that he has a softer side as he is shown to be sweet with Princess Iron Fan.
Physical appearance[]
Niu Mowang resembles that of a Chinese adult man. His human attire is a brown leather jacket, grey jeans and shirt, black fingerless gloves, red neck scarf, and a nose ring. His hair is styled to give the impression of a bull with a chin warmer. His full demon appearance gives him the face of a bull, complete with horns.
Powers and abilities[]
Niu Mowang is a skilled martial artist and displays supernatural abilities such as shapeshifting, though he is apparently not as adapt at it as Sun Wukong.
History[]
Season 1[]
In Rockstar Status, Niu Mowang, the Bull Demon, appears and asks Guanyin to join him against the Jade Emperor, but she refuses, mocking him by reflecting a small mirror in front of him. The two fight, with Mowang showing his true form and shattering the mirror. Mowang leaves with Guanyin warning him about harming Wei-Chen. Once he disappears, Guanyin notices that a piece of the shattered mirror is gone. Once Wei-Chen uses the Jingu Bang to help wrap the statue in toilet paper and once Jin Wang leaves however, Mowang appears and steals the Jingu Bang. With the Jingu Bang in his posession, Mowang places the mirror piece he stole from the Goddess of Mercy into the end of it.
In Make a Splash, years earlier, before Sun Wukong was the Monkey King, he and Niu Mowang were the best of friends. So much so that Wukong was brought as a guest by his friend Niu Mowang to attend the Heavenly Peach Banquet, a party for all the major Gods and Demons to celebrate the last year of Ao Guang, the Dragon King, being a Great Sage. Wukong tries to urge Mowang to be the next Great Sage, though it is heavily apparent that he does not have the confidence for it, made apparent when he sheepishly greets Guanyin. With Wukong's help, the two are able to sneak inside. Wukong then entices Mowang to have a meeting with Guang so that he can pitch his idea for a journey to the west to acquire the sutras from India. While waiting around, the two of them meet Princess Iron Fan and Princess Jade Face. Mowang tells Iron Fan his dream and she becomes smitten with him. When Guang passes through the party, Iron Fan uses her magic fan so that Wukong and Mowang can follow Guang. Guang privately undresses so that he can be bathed and Mowang uses the opportunity to pitch his idea to him. However, his low mumbling ends up putting Guang to sleep and he returns to Wukong dejected. When Guang returns to the party, Wukong urges Mowang to go up and speak, but he gets stage fright and simply chants a song before getting booted off stage. Afterwards, when the party is over, Iron Fan meets with Mowang and offers that he visit her at her home in Fire Mountain, which he is pleased by. As Sun Wukong happily explains that now he is the Great Sage, he can bring Mowang with him, the Bull Demon rebuffs him. Mowang admits that Wukong actually embarrasses him and that he did not want to be urged into doing what he wanted to do. This causes Wukong to tell Mowang that he does not have what it takes to be a Great Sage due to his conservative demeanor. Mowang tells him that he knows that, and leaves the party angrily.
In Abracadabra, the Bull Demon approaches Ji Gong when he is bested by the Monkey King's son.
In Hot Stuff, Niu Mowang offers Wei-Chen to join him, but Sun Wukong appears, planning to confront Mowang himself. After Wukong sends Wujing away, he gets stabbed by the mirror piece Mowang had hidden in the staff. By the time Wei-Chen arrives, Mowang has taken Wukong away.
In Beyond Repair, Niu Mowang is keeping Sun Wukong in the basement of the Golden Temple while the mirror piece is still lodged in him. Later, Mowang drags Wukong out as he tries to apologize for turning him into something he is not, but Mowang actually thanks him for making him accept himself. Wei-Chen arrives, but Mowang figures out that not only does he not have the pendant, but that he also still does not know if the fourth scroll is real. He proceeds to beat up Wei-Chen, but Gong has a change of heart protects him. Mowang angrily destroys the mad monk's paintings as Wukong and Gong force Wei-Chen to leave. Gong gives Wei-Chen some beads before fleeing as Mowang uses the Jingu Bang to finish off Wukong, forcing Wei-Chen to run.
In The Fourth Scroll, Jin has a dream that he is on Beyond Repair talking to Jamie Yao as Freddy Wong, but is interrupted by the appearances of Christine Wang, Simon Wang, Anuj, and Guanyin. The latter of whom informs Jin that it is the Autumn Equinox which is when Niu Mowang will enact his plan and that he needs to find Wei-Chen and help him before Heaven and Earth are destroyed. At the soccer game, it turns out that Niu Mowang is disguising himself as Mr. Larkins and tries to attack Jin, only for Wei-Chen to jump in and fight Mowang instead. The Jingu Bang gets imbedded into the ground, giving off an otherworldly glow, though the audience thinks it is part of the show. Wei-Chen and Mowang have an aerial battle as Jin and Anuj flee. However, Jin has one final thought about his parents and instead leaps over the Jingu Bang as it gives off a light blast, only for Jin to absorb it and survive. Wukong arrives to sedate Mowang and reveals that Jin is the fourth scroll, much to everyone's delight. Wei-Chen, Wukong and Mowang disappear.
Fast and Furious Franchise
He appears as the main antagonist in Fast and Furious Presents: Dom and DK (alongside Ji Gong).
Quotes[]
- "Why don't you join our uprising? Help us bring about a new era of change."
- "No one gives you anything. You have to just take."
- "I know who I'm not. I'm not you."
- "You don't get to tell me who I am. You have no idea who I am."
- "Children are like a mirror. Sometimes it's hard to look."
Trivia[]
- Niu Mowang does not appear in the original graphic novel, but he is commonly associated with being the antagonist of Journey to the West mythos that he was added for there to be direct conflict.
- In The Fourth Scroll, Anuj tells Jin and Wei-Chen that Mowang's current plan sounds similar to the manga that he reads, pointing out that Wukong's story has been adapted numerous times.
- They begin to search through their manga and come to the conclusion that Mowang will draw energy from the Earth and that he is most likely going to be at the game that night in disguise.
Gallery[]
Appearances: 6/8[]
References[]
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