Inside your gallbladder

to a tacky grandpa

Might i add edgy boy

2015 angsty “crap I’m a dad now” Wukong

1996 pretty boy Wukong

2021 little lego man Wukong

and one of the oldest images of og classic Wukong, who is of course screaming his little immortal monkey heart out.

Funny yet responsible Wukong

Another animted one, from the 1961 movie 大闹天宫

https://youtu.be/8CtY3x0J83o

I’m also glad to see 1961-1964’s Sun Wukong added to the list. I’ve always enjoyed him as a classic icon, but I’ve definitely grown an even bigger soft spot for him since I focused on him in my undergraduate thesis (along with Nezha 1979 and Princess Iron Fan).

Speaking of Princess Iron Fan though, might I include the Sun Wukong from her film?

He’s very 1920s American rubberhose animation-inspired!

The biography film of Osamu Tezuka, godfather of anime and creator of Astro Boy, even paid homage to him since he (and Sun Wukong in general) served as a big inspiration for him.

https://youtu.be/36OfEZ3e4xY

Also gonna add Sun Wukong from Lotus Lantern 1999!

On this post’s specific topic though, I totally agree! It’s amazing how many interpretations of him can coexist.

I talked a bit about it in my thesis because it really is fascinating just how many iterations of Sun Wukong and now other mythical characters from China there are. They’re constantly just being reimagined, and it’s really cool! Like, people have called Sun Wukong China’s Mickey Mouse, and yet the beauty of it is that he’s an iconic character anyone can create with and change and yet still be recognizable. 🥰

Bonus:

Also kicking myself because I just realized I COMPLETELY forgot to add Peking opera Sun Wukong, aka some of the coolest (and fanciest!) versions of the monkey king out there:

Oh and this one from a Webtoon called Omniscient Reader, he doesn’t do much other than being passively describe in the narratives, but he’s lowkey loves drama, he got a cool nickname too, but kinda sad

“Prisoner of the Golden Headband”

…and the “Not Your Daddy’s Monkey King!” version who starred in 2000′s “Monkey Magic” 

Who also comes in pocket-sized form

From the comic Fei Ren Zai, I absolutely love this comic, though I haven’t read up until Wukong’s introduction

And to add on some Sun Wukongs brought up by other rebloggers, thank you to @game-boy-pocket for bringing up “Nintendo’s ‘Funny parody’ version of Saiyuki, Yuyuki, which will probably never see an English translation due to the vertical text”:

@roddaprime for submitting League of Legends Sun Wukong in his “many flavors”:

Original:

Volcanic

General Wukong

Jade Dragon

Underworld

Radiant

Lancer Stratus

and Battle Academia

And finally @rootbeergoddess​ for submitting “mobile app game Sun Wukong”!

And finally finally, to bring some attention to upcoming animated versions of the Monkey King, we can look forward to a stoic head-bonking Sun Wukong in the upcoming film “The Four Monkeys: The Return of Sun Wukong” which will presumably focus on the Monkey King in his role as one of the four World Wreaking Monkeys (alongside the Red-Bottomed Horse Ape, the Bare-Armed Gibbon, and the Six-Eared Macaque):

We’ve also got what looks like an angst-filled upcoming film in “The Monkey King: The Demon Monkey” where apparently Sun Wukong gets uhhhhh fuggin’ possessed:

And last but certainly not least there’s the animation “Great Sage Equaling Heaven: True or False Sun Wukong,” which looks like it focuses on the conflict between Sun Wukong and his (in this film) Huaguoshan brother the Six Eared Macaque as a way to explore the many different facets of the Monkey King, his struggle with having to choose between them, and the consequences thereof:

@asleepz22 , @eclipsedmoon87 , and @janetbrown711 for offering Overly Sarcastic Production Sun Wukong

@kotturstjarna for suggesting Animal Crossing Sun Wukong in the form of Tiansheng:

@funkehouse for bringing up Subway Surfers Sun Wukong:

@piyosplayhouse for submitting girl Sun Wukong in the form of Sonson from Marvl vs. Capcom:

@lostredsupergiantstars for introducing Netflix Sun Wukong from The New Legends of Monkey:

@mirkaaaluv for submitting another anime Sun Wukong in Goku from Saiyuuki:

@wildwitche for offering NUMEROUS movie Sun Wukongs, these being the monkey kings from:

 Wu Kong:

Monkey King: The One and Only:

The Monkey King: The True Sun Wukong:

Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back:

They also presented another video game Sun Wukong from Unruly Heroes:

@itsatravesty for suggesting evil little bastard Sun Wukong from Stephen Chow’s Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (as well as the aforementioned the Demons Strike Back):

as well as 70s live action Sun Wukong from Monkey:

@justastoryteller for bringing up Jet Li Sun Wukong from The Forbidden Kingdom:

@flippythegodzilla for submitting Jackie Chan Adventures Sun Wukong:

@reallifemonkiekid for bringing up many different monkey kings with Mystic Manor Sun Wukong (aka “Jade Monkey Satue”):

giant mecha Sun Wukong in Wukong Impulse Gundam:

and Miraculous Ladybug Sun Wukong with King Monkey:

And finally thank you to @destructiveemily​ for offering Warframe Sun Wukong:

First we have a hyper-aggressive Sun Wukong in the form of Rajang from Monster Hunter along with some Monkey King themed armor from the same game, submitted by @presidentstarscream​:

We’ve also got big humanoid bruiser Sun Wukong from Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, submitted by @sucksinlosers​:

Next up is an extremely humanoid Monkey King from A Korean Odyssey, submitted by @tickledpink31​:

@jztherabbit​ submitted the much more monkey-ish Sun Wukong from 2005′s A Chinese Odyssey, which has apparently become something of a classic:

@ladyzerodark​ offered up a whole barrel of monkeys! So to start here’s some Sun Wukongs from the mobile games League of Pantheons, Heroes of Mythic Might, AFK ARENA and Dragalia Lost:

They also sent over an elderly Sun Wukong from High School DxD

And a golden snub-nosed monkey Sun Wukong from the Kung Fu Panda tv series

@restlessdsm likewise submitted many monkeys, although these are all variations of the Monkey King from  the MegaTen/Persona games:

In the theme of video games, @pazeia​ sent over the Sun Wukongs from Son Son 1&2:

@sciencethot​ sent over the Sun Wukong from God of Highschool:

@mshexley​ sent in Smite Sun Wukong:

@tp2-byes​ gave us this cutie Sun Wukong from El Origen de Goku:

@doodleferp​ submitted Archie Sonic Sun Wukong:

Continuing the comic representation, @halfdeadhalfpaniced​ sent over DC Comic’s Sun Wukong from Monkey Prince:

And I’ll end this thread with one of my favorite recent comic versions of the great sage in Chaiko Tsai’s Sun Wukong from 2023′s The Monkey King:

Johnny/Nny - Johnny the Homicidal Maniac

♡ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̽‿̩͙‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̽‿̩͙‿̩͙‿̩̩̽‿̩͙‿̩͙‿̩̩̽‿̩͙‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̽‿̩͙‘⸊ˎ♡