the monkey king: great sage heaven’s equal

When an ancient stone obelisk is struck by lightning, a magical being emerges, taking the form of a monkey. This monkey quickly establishes a devoted local following, due to his self-evident awesomeness. All is well until, one day, our hero is alerted to the impermanent nature of existence. Dismayed, he ventures forth, seeking immortality.

Monkey’s quest takes him from an exclusive institute of mysticism, where he masters various superpowers and takes the name ＂Sun Wukong,＂ to the dragons’ undersea forges, where he obtains his signature weapon: a shapeshifting iron staff. His mightiness now beyond question, Sun Wukong then travels to the Underworld, where he scratches out his name from the Book of Death.

Sun Wukong’s antics down on Earth, Sea, and Underworld have come to the attention of Heaven, the divine bureaucracy which rules the Universe under the nominal leadership of the Jade Emperor. While the gods’ first impulse is to simply crush this primate upstart, they are persuaded by budgetary considerations to co-opt him instead, offering Sun Wukong a coveted seat in Heaven’s court.

Unfortunately, Sun Wukong turns out to be a poor fit for the stifling, rulebound culture of Heaven. Offended at not being given a grand enough title, he storms back to Earth in a huff. There, he decides to make up his own title: ＂Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal.＂ Can the gods restore a balance of power to the universe? Or is this just the beginning of the havoc caused by The Great Sage (Heaven’s Equal)?