#lmk theories

[quitealotofsodapop]

I just want y'all to know that "Shí Bǎomǔ/Stone Nanny" is like the best term ever created for Stone Monkeys, and I can only credit it to an anon asker.

Mostly because it immediately makes me think of these kinds of old statues, like even seen in tge LMK show itself;

Celestial animals with stone skin and silk hearts. Invulnerable to all attacks except ones of emotion. A species so gentle that all that is left is their fossilised bodies - ones that monkey demons almost instinctually feel at ease around.

And being this creature may just make the Monkey King the most dangerous creature in all the Realms. For he will always have something to fight for and protect.

The Gods will run when a "Shí Băomŭ" goes to war.

[maidenofthecloud]

Headcannon: view of the heavenly court

I have read theories about what from sun wukong's point of view he was abandoned by the brotherhood, I like that theory

But what if it is not only from their SWK point of view,

what if the whole celestial court thinks that the brotherhood left SWK to its fate?

What if in the middle of the battle when the brotherhood was surrounded

they would see sun wukong "surrender" to the Jade Emperor and thought he betrayed them

macaque opened a portal to escape They thought the Monkey King betrayed them first, so they have no problem leaving

But Monkey King didn't betray them...

Sun wukong, the heavenly court army, Erlang shen even the Jade Emperor everyone thinks they fled

Something funny thing is that all the achievements of azure, peng and yellow tusk when working for the celestial court were forgotten over time and became known as the cowards who fled in the battle of havoc in heavenly

So I can understand why azure enshrine almost the entire heavenly court in the Scroll of memory.

[familyofpaladins]

Here it is!!! Here's my giant board of things that make me go "HHMMMM"

There's just a lot of things that happened this season (season 4) that could connect back to LBD.

more and close ups of the board below

Main things here:

There's several times where LBD refers to playing "a game" and that people and other things are "pieces" of that game

The Jade Emperor tells Azure that he is just a piece in a game. What is this game? Who are the players? LBD and the Emperor? Someone else? The mystery person with the scroll? The Mayor? Where is he???

LBD also tells Monkey King, Macaque and Mk at different points that she will rip/undo/erase the memories of them. How was she planning on doing that? Oh hello Ancient Scroll of Memory that is in the Underworld.

Oh underworld you say? Ya know, I wonder if that was the "beyond" the Mayor was referring to when he said that LBD would use the Samadhi fire to cleanse the celestial realm and beyond. I mean, the fire IS an Inter-dimensional weapon after all.

There is twice that LBD refers to MK as a monkey. Does she know? Did she know that MK was a stone monkey all along??? Does that have anything to do with the weird blue wisps during MK's transformation?

I'm now realizing that I forgot to add a piece of info, but its over all not super important. But she tells Macaque at one point that he "refused the Path of Destiny, and so there will be Pain". But she tells MK that the pursuit of what you think is right will only lead to pain.

She also tells Mei (which MK overhears) while possessing Monkey King, that they (Mei and the other Heroes) are Agents of Chaos, which LBD wants to eradicate, and that in doing so will get rid of disorder and Destruction. Meanwhile the ink curse tells MK that he's nothing but a Harbinger of Chaos who will cause nothing but Chaos and Destruction. Is it simply using LBD's words to get in his head or is there something more there?

also the symbols on the scroll are the same symbols that LBD uses and which surrounded her when she was locked away. Does that mean anything? Is it just the language of the underworld? Is it just a language the animation crew uses on repeat because they have it? or is LBD connected to the scroll?

hhmmmmmmmmm

[gamegirlx]

okay so hear me out

so this isnt even a grounbreaking theory or anything like this was just a thought-

SO THESE GUYS LOOKED VERY SIMILAR.

i am indeed stating that the monk from the left could be mayor, and here's why.

OKAY SO MK GOES TO THE PAST, RIGHT, so i can assume that mayor not being an LBD follower or soldier YET could be reasonable, so that's one.

THING IS THO, why would mayor be in a monk palace or smthn

well for one, these monks in this temple are pressumaby, training to become immortals, yes? (this temple btw is where wukong learns how to be immortal)

now WE HAVE MAYOR. whom we know has existed since the ancient China era all the way to the modern times

SO ASSUMABLY mayor is immortal

and the only way mayor could be immortal is by doing all that immortal monk training schmack

HERE'S ANOTHER THING

the monk also seems to have an almost "awkward squeeky" voice, very similar to mayor's goofy voice (except in this case the monk's voice hasn't developed to the distinct mayor voice we all know and love :>)

IN CONCLUSION

the aliens are real and i really need lmk s5. :DDDD

[bonnisbon]

Sorry for asking you out of the blue but can you explain why ink mk doesn't wear clothes in pitiful creatures in s4? I forgot which episode but I'm still confused by his appearances

No prob, this is my first ask tbh, and I don't mind people asking me🙏🏼

I clear up that this is my theory!

So, in season 4 episode 7, pitiful creatures, we first see ink MK, the ink curse, that guy, and he has no clothes... well.

I have a theory for that, rushed, but it's a theory 🤓☝🏼

So, ink MK is supposed to be a manifestation of the curse, and he is in his monkey form.

The point is that he is a monkey. He can also represent a feral state, a primal form of MK's monkey form.

To represent MK's biggest fear (from now on), becoming unrecognisable, feral, a 'harbinger of chaos'.

Look at him he's so silly

We don't know exactly if he can work as a manifestation of emotions, fears, etc, but heyyyy 🫠

[a-tea-goblin]

so I've seen a few theories about the noodle gang being reincarnations of the jttw gang, expect for Sandy, who is genuinely just Sha Wujing.

this has some evidence behind it, like Sandy having the same feeling of deja vu at the ritual site as the others, but also having memories of the pilgrims getting hurt that he shouldn't if he was just a reincarnation as well as some other things that I can't recall right now.

but one thing I've never seen mentioned is Sandy having a monk's spade (the weapon Sha Wujing carries)

(02x03)

[turbo515]

Other thoughts

Oh, hello again!

I want to some theories about the first episode of Monkie Kid season 5, just little thoughts that came to me these days

These are all my thoughts, my ideas, but I really don't know what to think anymore. Really appreciated if you want to share other theories

But first of all let's talk about season 4... Season 4 finished with our "heroes" winning their battle, Nezha going to the Celestial realm with Jade's emperor power and Yellowtusk. There can be many different ideas on that scene, like "when Yellowtusk said the word *heroes* everyone was in front of him except for MK" and maybe this thing can lead to some thought like *MK gonna be bad* or *MK evil arc begins now*, but honestly I don't think it will happen. Let me explain better: MK is literally scared about his new form and, even though he fought against Azure with that and did a good job using his power, I think he knows very well he still has to learn A LOT. He almost sacrificed himself to save his friends lots of time and he would do everything he can to protect them, so I don't think and I hope there won't be any villain arc. Otherwise, something else can happen, like the fact he could lose control because of the influence of Nuwa or something else, but without hurting anyone.

(oh boy, I think I wrote too much 😂)

Let's talk about my ideas on the first episode of season 5...

MONKEY KING'S HOUSE IS COMPLETELY GONE IN THE LAST EPISODE OF SEASON 4 So I think they're gonna rebuild it? Maybe? Poor house... :(

I feel like they're gonna do the rebuilt of the house, making that better and bigger for everyone and maybe adding some new monkey kinging stuff xD But not sure, because the last season they just went to the beach like nothing happened to the house, so maybe it's already built? Or... they still have to rebuild it? Isn't flower fruit mountain like split in half?

Sooo Where does monkey king lives now?

(I think I wrote a bit too much, but I like to share thoughts and I like to listen to others opinion so feel free to share a comment/reblog with your theories and else. This season is giving me too much hype, BUT I'M HAPPY WITH THAT) (Also sorry for my bad english 😅)

[gxthicupid]

So the poll finished a while ago, and the LMK theories + prediciton post won. Congrats to anyone who voted for the LMK theories + prediction post!

I am nearly finished with it, I just need to edit it and will post tomorrow.

For the people who vote for the OC post, don't worry. That post is in the works, too. I will post it whenever I can.

[goldenfoxthe1st]

u can take this as a theory or a headcanon but anyways ive been thinking and what it mk isnt human OR demon. his entire past is a complete mystery, all we know is that

1: he hasnt always gone by mk (one and possibly only reason being his name is incredibly long so he shortened it to match with his idol)

2: he has worked for pigsy for 2 years

i find it interesting how mk of all people was selected by monkey king to be his successor. i mean in the grand scheme of things, before he grabbed the staff he was just another guy doing his job. it could be his friendship with the reincarnations/descendants of his past traveling companions, or it could be for another entirely different reason.

something that strikes me as odd is that mk was able to perfectly control the staff and his powers when he was fighting dbk, but not before or after. it could be because he was in a life or death situation, or it could be because he wasnt focusing on the fact that his powers arent his. in that moment he truly believed he was the successor of the monkey king, and so he was able to use those powers without any problems. of course thats still a theory, theres no way to confirm why until it's said so in canon.

another thing is how did wukong know mk was worthy of picking up the staff. he said that he had been watching him but for how long? i doubt just the pilot episode, it has to have been much longer than that. wukong doesn't seem like the type of guy to hand out his power to just anybody, especially some dude who delivers noodles for a living.

i could go on and on and on about this and trust me, i want to, but for the sake of the people reading this im gonna continue on to the main point. mk isnt a human OR a demon, hes a being that was made to hold the power of the monkey king. in short, i believe mk is a celestial primate of some sort. i dont think he was born from stone, but i DO THINK he was made to be one. lady bone demon called him a monkey even though throughout the entire series hes been shown as human.

WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY NEXT POINT. in the lego sets mk has a monkey form, and it wouldn't make sense for him to just randomly become a monkey after months of having wukongs powers, that sort of thing would happen either right away or gradual changes. or it could. im not the writers so i cant say anything for sure. maybe ill make this an au. pre-mk mk was just pure energy until he gained a vessel. or he was a baby monkey created by the residual energy from macaque and wukongs fight in jttw that was diguised as a human and sent off into the world. my brain ran out of juice sorry its 1:30am

[yuusaris]

Just some general predictions I'm keeping in my own tag for my own sake to see if I'm right later

Monkie Kid spoilers

1) They write out Wukong at the end of 5 or 6, probably 6.

I am so fucking certain of this, he has had to be severely detained in every single season since Spider Queen attacked because he is just so gosh damn powerful - I want him to be there, obviously I do, I love him and Sean Schemmel as him and he should be going Goku and Wukong forever. But I'm being realistic. He's OP and has been sidelined consistantly.

I think they may want to take away his immortality, give him some time to live out his life ("DForever's a long time, bud") orrrrr....

1.5) Wukong becomes Jade Emperor, somehow.

Dunno if it'll happen, but it'll be funny as hell if it does.

2) Macaque turns traitor on Wukong with the rest of the Brotherhood.

I'm... 50/50 on this one. Macaque is my precious wet possum in a paper bag and I would do crimes for him... but for a narrative about making your own choices and how he hesitates to do so... I think it would be an interesting twist on what we've thought and give Wukong a reason to be pissed at him for his own reasons, seeing as we may not be getting the JTTW plotline in LMK.

3) Obvs - Sandy is Sha Wujing with memory loss or whatever shit.

I don't even know if this is a prediction, but I feel like it's something.

[mochiwei]

Some TOTK Zelda doodles 💕 I have so many theories!!

[quitealotofsodapop]

Disturbing thought after reading the Spider Sisters arc of JTTW:

CW for discussions of cannibalism;

So in the book; after the Seven Spider Sisters invite Tripitaka in for some food, they try to trick him into eating human flesh as a cruel prank as they're seducing him. Not only as an insult, but as a tactic - humans who consume (willingly or not) fellow sentient beings get a massive hit to their positive Karma. Like, straight back to Hungry Ghost level. As a monk, if Tripitaka hadn't been wary (for once) of the meal offered to him, he would have not been able to enter the Buddha's domain at all.

Only in times of extreme famine is such consumption excused in the Buddha's eye. One major reason being that eating human flesh was like the super-extreme of desiring meat, and that it caused an addicition in the consumer.

It's not just a cruel joke common to demons, it a calculated move to permanently lower their victim's Karma - likely transforming them into a fellow demon within the next life.

SO

In one of my fave episodes "To Catch A Leaf"; MK gets earthquake-causing hiccups from "cursed meatballs" he ate at a eating competition. His seller is clearly meant to be a demon/spirit who targeted him specifically - likely recognising him as the demon-fighting Monkey Kid.

MK: "Oh man I so could go for more of those [meatballs] right now!"

Even the creators must have realised an issue here, as the transcript for the episode changes it to "beef balls" instead (angry mooing from DBK and Red Son).

And considering that the Spider Sisters were skillful cooks enough to make human flesh appear like gluten and tofu?

I wouldn't be surprised if the cook who targetted MK slipped something non-kosher into those meatballs.

Or maybe just pork cus his dad's a pig.

Then again it could have been another reason why Sandy decided that he had to get MK to consume a super-rare buddhist flower immediately.

Fun fact; entities who have consumed human flesh in JTTW are said to have a weird stank about them, esp in their breath. SKW notably *does not* have this stank about him (both Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing do, both being eaters of humans prior to joining Tripitaka) but he's able to recognise it in other demons. Kinda like how people who eat a lot of cheese can smell like cheese.

SWK, meets up with the gang after S2: "...MK. Why do you smell like that?"

[maidenofthecloud]

Rumble and savage could be mk's rivals and next antagonists of lmk

I think there's a good chance that rumble and savage will appear in season 5 or 6 as antagonists. Why? well

Many theorized that in this image we are presented to the antagonists these future seasons.

Something that turned out to be true.

I have many theories about this image, But let's concentrate on the screen with two red dots

( look like a pair of red eyes)

Something interesting in a post I saw that someone pointed out that they seem to be looking at sun wukong's stuff

My idea is

Rumble and savage appear to want to take mk's place as sun wukong's successor.

Rumble and savage may want sun wukong's powers or may want to be close to him in some way.

Perhaps they are envious of the nearness mk has with SWK or rather they are envious of the existence mk

Rumble and savage may feel that mk is not worthy of being the successor to Monkey King. From their point of view mk never suffered enough and never fought enough and yet mk has the affection of the world.

While mk received love and affection. From his friends,

Of the bull family

Macaque their creator

And especially the great sun wukong

All this from a biased perspective, of course

Imagine that there is a plot of usurpers where rumble and savage kidnap mk and pose as the

Or they might want revenge on macaque by eliminating him, but mk would stand in the way because macaque is his friend and it wouldn't be right to let rumble and savage kill him.

[familyofpaladins]

okay so I came up with this idea long before season 4. Possibly after I first watched the show (which was after season 2). And while its aleady poven wrong, theres a couple things I want to add to theories about what's happening in season 4, but i will put those thoughts (and any season 4 spoilers) under a cut. But the rest you can read as a story idea or au if you want

(Also, sorry for typos and lack of capitalizing, I typed it in a note app first and it doesnt automatically capitalize new sentences)

ok ok so this idea is basically MK is a stone egg baby kinda based on the idea of hatching an egg under a toad makes a basilisk, but if you sit a mystic monkey on a rock and have him wish for a successor he hatches one ANYWAY idk if this stone is already magic or not. but wukong sits on a stone on a mountain near the city and looks over the city. he admires the view and kinda wishes how he had someone to spend it with. but also he's lonely and maybe is kinda preparing to end his immortality. but he doesnt want to leave the city/world unprotected, and that maybe he could train someone to take over for him. but this is all just a passing thought! he barely even realizes that he thought it! he turns into a bird and flies back to ffm little does he know that in his thinking, some of his magic was absorbed by the stone. but that alone isnt enough to hatch a baby.

the stone sits on a hiking trail. A hiking trail that a certain pig likes to hike when he needs to get out some of his frustration when it's been a bad day in the noodle shop. He likes to sit on the nice big stone and look at the city. He can see his shop from here and he knows no matter how bad a day he had, the shop is worth it. And maybe he thinks about how the building had been passed down through his family, but who was he going to give it to? (not that he's anywhere near old enough to give up the shop, but… he didnt have any family.) hmmm maybe he should hire some help? hmm other places deliver. maybe he could get someone to do that? absent thoughts, and relief gained, the pig continues home. none the wisher that the stone has taken in his thoughts and wishes

And maybe the pig comes back on the trail with a scholar to show him the view, and maybe the scholar complains about his ankles and asks to sit down. and maybe he starts to tell stories of the Monkey King and maybe the pig is a little less than attentive , and the scholar wishes for someone who enjoys the tales as much as he does. And after they finish enjoying the sunset they continue on their way. none the wiser to the stone that holds warmth from more than just the setting sun.

More people come and sit on the stone to look at the beauty of the city and bask in its warmth. A couple with their baby daughter who has too much energy for their house of collections. A big blue guy who is trying to cool his temper by going on hikes and befriending the wildlife. and maybe they all come back at various times. and they sit on the stone.

And the stone has been storing their energy and wants and desires until one day

one day the pig is hiking to his favorite spot. but before he gets there he finds a little lost child on the path. who would just leave a child on the trail?? he takes the child back to the city. no parents are ever found and well, they've gotten a little attached to each other. it's not for another couple months that he has a chance to go back to the trail and is very disappointed that his favorite spot to sit is no longer there. (who moves a stone?!)

As for the monkey king. maybe he senses something (but doesnt know what exactly) when the stone hatched. or maybe he's observing the city again when he's drawn to a noodle shop. Inside he sees the pig and the scholar and a child. He thinks what ever he sensed was the pig and scholar, since they so closely resemble his old companions. However the child steals his attention as he climbs the stool onto the counter to swipe the noodles from a bowl with out the other two noticing at all. the King finds the kid amusing and decides to check in on him anytime he decides the visit the city. and finds he does so more and more often and the kid reminds him of himself.

And as the years go on, he thinks that maybe just maybe, he could retire and this kid could be his successor. yeah, that seems like a good plan! the kid was just like him, but also better. who better to give his powers to?

SPOILERS FOR SEASON 4 BELOW

okay. so obviously this idea is wrong firstly in that in canon MK's stone came from Moneky King's stone, whereas my idea had it be a completely different stone.

Canon also makes it seem like someone deliberately made MK. But I do wonder if the person or whoever or whatever realized what they were doing though, and didnt realize they succeeded and that's why MK was able to just wander up to Pigsy's shop. Maybe. Idk

I DO THINK that the whole reason Monkey King started watching Mk was because he sensed Something about the kid (even if he didnt consciously realise it or pinpoint what exactly he was sensing) and decided to keep watching him. And after a while decided that if anyone would be his successor it should be this kid! (Genuinely unaware of the link they share)

[gamegirlx]

lmk season 5 (or doesnt have to be season 5) theories? or just thoughts that might be true such type stuff?

lmk s5 will include mayor

here's why i think so

so before we begin let's just keep in mind that most of us have heard that s5's villians are most likely the ten kings of the underworld who are also known as the grim reapers of their world, okay? keep this noted...

SO LET'S TALK ABOUT MAYOR

OKAY SO WE HAVE MAYOR. i always hear people say that he should have a redemption arc in s5 but honestly thats not in character with mayor tbh I, personally, IMAGINE THAT HE'LL BECOME PHYSCO over LBD's death, not simply giving up but actually becoming ever so determined to bring back lady bone demon to help her accomplish her "destiny". How tho?

he'll kill macaque. :D

okay so we know how macaque was brought back to life with LBD's power? I imagine that macaque has like "LBD life essence", and mayor will be wanting "LBD life essence" to bring back Lady Bone Demon.

NOW HERE COMES THE PART WHERE I TIE IN THESE BABIES

so the ten kings of the underworld are tasked to keep in control those who die, yes?

i would LIKE to imagine that Mayor comes to contact these guys, telling them that Macaque is still illegally alive due to LBD, and how Mayor will help them get Macaque to put him to death like he shouldve been.

(with ofc, mayor's real intentions just using the ten kings to help him get closer to macaque because surely mayor couldn't simply approach and take macaque's "'lbd life energy" without the LMK main characters interupting him.)

SO YES.

that's my S5 plot theory that indeed includes mayor. :D

okay, random note to end on, TOXICINSANITY MAKES NO SENSE, i still dig it a bit tho so uhm like imagine mayor meeting dead syntax while he's in the realm of the ten kings?? (since techniclly that would just be hell)

NOW I HAVE ANOTHER S5 THEORY THO

this'll be a smaller rant, okay but imagine them all becoming famous due to saving the world and also just HAVING POWERS NOW

LETS START WITH EVERYONE'S NEW LIVES, beggining with pigsy

so i imagine pigsy, and how maybe his shop would become more famous now? and due to that he suddenly has less time with MK and Tang, maybe he becomes more self-indulgent and maybe even selfish here?

FOR TANG, okay so tang, finally feeling important and famous for once, feels almost entitled to keep people cheering for him, forcing himself to help anyone he can, just like MK can. he finds himself becoming tuckered out, wondering if feeling important is really what he wanted.

(for my freenoodles homies, i can imagine that tang never really wanted to be famous but wanted to be loved, by PIGSY SPECIFICALLY OFC, but pigsy being busy cant spend time with tang, so on and so forth)

MK MEANWHILE, is trying his best to not be in the spotlight and tries to live a more secluded life, especially with his monkey form being just around the corner??

FOR MEI, i'de like to think that while she enjoys the fame, she can't help but feel split about MK not liking the attention, but man, she sometimes just cant help but spend a little self-indulgent time to just show off to everyone and be praised.

idk what else i can talk about SOBS IM SORRY NO WUKONG CONTENT FOR TODAY BUT LIKE???

ive ranted fr long enough, good evening, morning, and afternoon, everyone.

[imminent-danger-came]

Sun Wukong Knew About MK the Whole Time: A Theory

I am currently hyped up on leftovers and iced coffee, so let's do this!

I've talked about this before, here and here, but I think it's finally time I wrote an official post. You can go and read those posts if you want to (I definitely hit the nail on the head with some of this stuff), but I will be compiling a lot of what I said on those posts here!

So. Let's get the Mr. Elephant out of the room first: The David Breen Tweets. (thread here).

I see this tweet mentioned a lot whenever I bring up SWK knowing about MK, and honestly, this is a far cry from the "it's been confirmed that SWK didn't know" definite answer everyone's been implying.

So let's break it down!

#1: "Monkey King ain't the father"/"Monkey King isn't his dad." Well of course! Being born from a stone means you don't have any parents. I see it like this: Wukong isn't MK's dad, but he's also not NOT MK's dad, it's a secret third thing (creator and creation). Or, perhaps Wukong didn't help create MK at all, but he at the very least was involved in the circumstances that lead to MK being created/being born from the stone. (Aka eldritch abomination MK theory. My Beloved. Okay sorry.)

#2: "Monkey King was ripping his way through memories looking for MK, but kept coming back to the stone. He doesn't know why." So, while Wukong was ripping through memories, he didn't know why the scroll kept spitting him out by the stone. This is not a confirmation that Wukong didn't know about MK and his origins. It also begs the question: how did Wukong know MK was in the scroll to begin with? There's also some speculation to be had about why Wukong was so desperate to find MK to begin with:

MK: "Monkey King did this?" Macaque: "It looks like he's been tearing his way through his past—trying to find his way to.." MK: "Me."

(4x11 A Lifetime of Mistakes)

-

What was he so afraid of MK finding? Or, what was he afraid the scroll would force MK to experience? I think these are questions worth asking.

#3: "Wukong's trying real hard to leave the 'not being open with MK' days behind after s3. Problem is he's got lifetimes of info to catch them up on." Well, this one is a DOOZIE. One: we already know MK doesn't know everything about Wukong and his choices because he doesn't know Wukong killed Macaque (thank you 4x11). Two: "trying real hard" and "successfully doing" are very different things. And three: YOU DON'T JUST DROP INFO LIKE "Hey, did you know you're a Monkey Demon?" ON TOP OF SOMEONE RANDOMLY. Especially not MK. You have to prepare them for it.

Wukong is trying to do better and be better for everyone around him, but that still takes work. That still isn't easy. He's still going to make mistakes, which means he's not going to always go about being open with MK in the best way.

Sun Wukong: “Point is, mistakes happen, but so long as you leave the world in better shape than you found it, then it’s all good. Right?”

(4x01 Familiar Tales)

-

This scene—to me—feels like Wukong is trying prepare MK for his eventual "Hey did you know you're a Monkey Demon?" conversation he wants (and needs) to have down the line. Yes, SWK is trying to be more open with MK, but he's also just not going to be given that chance before the truth comes out.

MK: "Yeah right, if Monkey King really was my dad don't you think he would have said something by now?" Mei: "Yeah...because he's normally SOOOOO forth coming with information." MK: "Well uh, whatever—when we find Monkey King's stone, then we'll just ask him!"

(4x05 Court of the Yellow Robbed Demon)

-

Notice how they never asked Monkey King that question? From a writing standpoint, why bring this up at all if it wasn't to imply that (even if Monkey King isn't MK's dad) he wasn't involved with MK's creation in some way?

ANYWAYS.

NOW THAT THE BREEN TWEET THAT HAS RUINED MY LIFE IS OUT OF THE WAY, let's get into the evidence given to us throughout the entirety of the show. Starting with this:

This isn't a scene that takes place during the "A Hero is Born" special, as I'm sure plenty of people have noticed before now. Of course, this could have just been Monkey King "scouting out a successor", but with everything we know now doesn't that...feel kinda weird?

We were told at the beginning of the show that Monkey King gave MK his powers, but now we know that's not true. MK has had his own powers this whole time—and that's something Wukong, at the very least, knew:

Sun Wukong: "Listen kid: You fought demons, and you didn't die, and you made it here! Not just anyone can lift my staff, but you did." (1x00 A Hero is Born)

-

MK: "This whole time, I thought my powers came from the staff! Sun Wukong: "The staff's just a big 'ol stick bud! It takes someone special to lift it." (3x03 Smartie Kid)

-

There's also 1x09 Macaque, which I have mentioned before:

Macaque: "Ohohoh no, can't you hold the magic staff anymore? Well, you know what that means—there really isn't anything special about you. You're just a kid with a heavy stick."

This scene is then followed by MK lifting the staff, which only happens because Wukong encourages him.

MK: "Ugh, I can't! I'm not strong enough." Sun Wukong: "Kid! We're definitely going to have words later, but it's time for the Hero Stuff!"

(1x09 Macaque)

-

Ultimately, Wukong knows MK can lift the staff again even after Macaque supposedly stole all of MK's powers. He knows MK can beat DBK (more on that later). He does something similar to all this in 3x14, being the one to let MK face the Lady Bone Demon, powered by the Samadhi fire, alone (even after Pigsy tries to stop MK):

Wukong want's to protect MK. That's why he went to face the Lady Bone Demon alone in the first place—but here, he let's MK stop the end of the world all by himself. Why would he let his beloved student face not only LBD, but a reality ending flame alone?

Because he knows how much power MK has. Because he knows MK is capable of doing it.

This all brings me to my main point: If before now we were supposed to believe that Monkey King gave MK his powers, and he so clearly didn't, how would Wukong not know he didn't give MK powers. And because he clearly knew he didn't give MK any powers, why would he not question where this kid's insane level of power came from? He had to have "chosen" MK to be his successor for a reason right?

ESPECIALLY because Wukong never planned on being a mentor in the first place:

Sun Wukong: "I know I can never make it up to you. Honestly, I- I never thought I'd live as long as I have let alone be someone's mentor—turns out I'm not very good at it. I guess what I'm trying to say is...I'm sorry MK. For all of it."

(3x14 Destiny Fulfilled)

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This was also alluded to in 3x05 Amnesia Rules:

Pigsy: "Of COURSE you don't remember the kid—one day you are going to grow up to be a terrible mentor!" Sun Wukong: "Ha! Zhu Bajie, can you imagine me teaching someone? HA!"

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So, Wukong clearly didn't ever want to become a mentor, and this directly contradicts what Wukong says to MK in "A Hero is Born":

Sun Wukong: "You're perfect!" MK: "Perfect for what?" Sun Wukong: "To be...my successor!"

Honestly, think about it: has Wukong ever once actually needed a successor? When given the opportunity, he goes off and tries to handle things on his own anyways (Leaving in s2, wanting to go and reforge the Samadhi Fire on his own, going to stop LBD alone). It's the classic "we're being told one thing and shown another" trick.

Sun Wukong: "No no no- in case you forgot I'M retired, you're the one supposed to be taking care of the bad guys." (1x01 Bad Weather)

Even in 2x01 he's lying:

Sun Wukong: "Aw, come on bud! I promised myself that when I found a successor I'd go see some friends, take a tour of my old stomping grounds, just cut loose you know?" (2x01 Sleep bug)

It's proven in the next episode, and by the fact that all of his friends are dead/gone, that literally nothing he said here is true.

And, it's also note worthy to point out, that by this point Wukong had already disappeared for hundreds of years. Why step in again at all? Why put the effort into getting a successor you definitely were never prepared to have?

MK: "*sigh* You think Monkey King ever felt like this? Maybe that's why he stayed up on this mountain, just having a good time with you guys. You know cause- cause he knew he'd be out of the way where he couldn't hurt anyone he cared about." Macaque: "Or, he was doing his usual Wukong thing and being a lazy peach eating idiot. Ignoring all the worlds problems.

(4x09 Roast of the Monkie Kids)

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So, I don't know about you, but I'm going to trust Macaque's insight on this. I'm not sure Wukong ever planned on coming back. Sealing DBK, he effectively cut off one of his last ties to the world (please go read wlw-wukong's thoughts, they are delightful), and he had already left the world alone for a long time. Why did he feel the need to train a successor now?

The simple answer is this: because he knew he needed to train MK and teach him to control his powers, and DBK's return was the perfect way to do it.

NOW. THE S4 MK VISIONS.

So, the visions MK see's all through out s4 (4x03, 4x04, 4x05, 4x06) are of Wukong ripping through the scroll and going to the stone—David Breen confirmed that himself in the above tweets.

Here's a list of what we see:

(4x03 The Great Tang Man)

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(4x04 Pig Napped)

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(4x05 Court of the Yellow Robbed Demon)

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These are what I would say are the visions of Sun Wukong trying to find MK in the scroll. Yet, they are distinctly different from what Subodhi presses MK to remember ("Tell me of your childhood, your parents." "You do not remember?" "And what else?"):

(4x06 Show Me the Monster)

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Look at that difference!

Every vision MK has includes the same scenes, except this one. That's why I think it's a memory; that and the way it's framed, with MK closing his eyes in focus. The other visions from 4x03, 4x04, and 4x05 all are unprompted, being forced upon MK. Why make this last "vision" so different from the others? Why show our mystery lady making the stone monkey? That would be because it's a memory—be it MK's, something from the scroll, or a mix of both.

There's also the matter of like, why Wukong going to the stone would trigger any sort of vision in MK to begin with. Overall, it just seems like there something more to those visions.

This would be how I imagine the general timeline playing out:

MK is created (through help of Sun Wukong), a beautiful baby boy pops out of the stone, and Sun Wukong "loses" that beautiful boy (if Wukong knew he was born to begin with) with MK finding his way to Pigsy's.

Then it's later Sun Wukong finds MK again, coming up with a plan to make MK his "successor" (still leaving MK with Pigsy, which I think was the right call lol). As Wukong says in 4x01, "You make ONE mistake, and no one ever let's you live it down! Looks like the ghosts of my past have finally caught up with me." That's what I think this parallel in particular is really trying to show off—in some way, MK is part of his past mistakes, just like Macaque is.

AND SO. I WILL CLOSE OFF THIS THEORY POST WITH EVERYTHING WE LEARNED IN THE SPECIAL.

Sun Wukong: "Heh, nothing gets under his skin more than a monkey. Leave Azure to MK and me."

(4x12 The Plan Man)

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Sun Wukong: "Kinda embarrassing for the Jade Emperor to have two little cheeky monkeys running circles around him the first day on the job." MK: "Well, one monkey and one unconfirmed, but *laughs* yeah! I'd be embarrassed for sure!"

(4x13 Rip and Tear)

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Wukong sounds suspiciously confident that MK is a monkey.

Not even MK is sure what he is (which he's probably just in denial, but also "Until I know what I am, what my destiny is?" from 4x08 anyone?), but Sun Wukong is extremely certain about what MK is.

Sun Wukong: "We got this bud. Would have liked to give you some new training with your monkey form, but-" MK: "Oh yeah yeah yeah- uh um- about that— um. I- I was thinking, I've never really needed a scary new monkey form before, so, I just thought maybe I'd use it next time." Sun Wukong: "Next time? Kid, there might not be a next time! This is the time."

MK: "It's be fine! Mei and I have got this awesome new armor and everything! You know, when we look this good? Ain't nothing gonna beat us." Sun Wukong: "Kid. New armor isn't going to cut it! We have to hit Azure with everything we've got! You can't just ignore this whole part of your power because it scares you!"

(4x12 The Plan Man)

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If the writers were trying to highlight the fact that Wukong didn't know, this scene would have gone very differently. Instead of "You can't just ignore this whole part of your power because it scares you!" I think it would have been more along the lines of "I know this is new for all of us, but you've got to accept this part of your power!".

Even this exchange at the end of the special raises some alarm bells for me:

Pigsy: "Heh, don't bother. I've been telling him that for years but he LITERALLY never listens." Sun Wukong: "Yep! That's how we roll."

(4x14 Better Than We Found It)

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That's how "we" roll? As in him and MK, as two monkeys? Again, Wukong is surprisingly chill and okay with this new form for someone whose first interaction with it was supposedly this:

MK, writhing on the ground in pain, completely destroying the world around him, and unable to control his powers.

Sun Wukong: "Yeah! Go MK, go! Just try not to totally wreck up my stuff would ya-"

(4x13 Rip and Tear)

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Overall, it gives me the impression that Wukong already knew what MK was before 4x07. This new form didn't scare him because he always knew that's what MK was. MK, to Wukong, is MK! And MK has always been a Monkey Demon. He has unshakeable faith in his protege, and even while MK is absolutely tearing up the world around flower fruit mountain he can't help but cheer for him.

After all, Wukong knows MK is the only one who could defeat Azure:

MK: "Ne Zha's right—while Azure has the Jade Emperor's power and the scroll, there's NO way we could beat him head on!" Sun Wukong: "I mean, some of us could beat him! *ahem* One of us, specifically-" MK: "Nope! None of us at all."

(4x12 The Plan Man)

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"But Imp!" I hear you say, "Wukong was talking about himself here!". To which I would reply, that's not true! This scene is right after Wukong has already said he only almost beat the Jade Emperor:

Sun Wukong: "But don't worry—I almost beat the Jade Emperor single handed once! Between both of us, Azure doesn't stand a chance." (4x12 The Plan Man)

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Between this and Wukong's pre-fight convo with MK ("We have to hit Azure with everything we've got!"), he's clearly banking on MK using the full extent of his powers to win this fight. Wukong isn't banking on his own—if he were, he would never have left MK to go and collect the scroll pieces during their fight with Azure.

Conclusion

Sun Wukong knew MK was a monkey the whole time, lol—and fate has plans for MK. Great plans, or foul? Time will tell.

And Wukong has done his best to ensure that those plans are great.