Sun Wukong and Popular Culture

Goku, a character based off of Sun Wukong from the Manga and Anime Dragonball and Dragonball Z

Sun Wukong as portrayed in the video game Smite

Sun Wukong as portrayed in the video game Warriors Orochi

Wukong as he appears in League of Legends

Sonson, a female version of Sun Wukong who appears in Marvel vs Capcom 2

Jet Li as The Monkey King in the film The Forbidden Kingdom

It was interesting to me reading Tripmaster Monkey to see how the character Wittman Ah Sing identifies himself with the legendary Monkey King Sun Wukong from Journey to the West. Growing up, I have seen this character portrayed in many different series and forms of media, primarily through video games but also through film. In all of his variations, Wukong is portrayed as a trickster, someone who fights in a way that defies the laws of physics and toys rather playfully with his opponents. Despite not knowing a lot about Chinese culture, this is a character I was raised with and rather familiar with before reading about him in this book.

So what is it about Sun Wukong that resonates with cultures outside of China? As we see with The Forbidden Kingdom, League of Legends, and Smite, the character has massive appeal in the United States. Marvel vs Capcom 2 and Warriors Orochi are games produced in Japan, and Dragonball is a Japanese manga and anime, meaning that the character has some sort of influence there as well. What exactly is it about Sun Wukong that translates so well with multiple cultures, even ones that could be completely oblivious to Chinese mythology?