The Midnight Stranger

This article is out of universe from Kung Fu Panda.
This subject has been distinguished as part of the real world and therefore should not be taken as part of the fictional universe of the Kung Fu Panda franchise.

This article is about the episode. For other uses, see Midnight Stranger (disambiguation).

The Midnight Stranger

[Episode transcript]

General info

Season #	Episode #	Prod. code
2	16	206

Original U.S. airdate

January 20, 2013

Voice cast

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Plot

Synopsis

When kung fu is outlawed, Po turns to donning a mask to fight crime.^[1]

Summary

Po is placed in jail by Constable Hu, having once again employed Kung fu without going through the process of applying for a permit. Po argues that the application process is impractical, but Hu refuses to bend on the matter and-according to the authority granted him by the Imperial emblem-bans the practice of Kung fu. Released into the custody of the Furious Five, Po and his teammates quickly become frustrated, as crime is running rampant and they are forbidden by law from stopping it. The group are forced to wait, hoping that Shifu will resolve the matter after he returns from a trip. However, while walking late that night, Po witnesses a robbery in progress, and decides to intervene after spotting a nearby suit of armor in his size and donning it to hide his identity.

After fighting off the bandits, Po is addressed by the beneficiary of his efforts as the Midnight Stranger, a term he is unfamiliar with. Spending the night at the Noodle shop, he questions his adopted father about the Stranger and is told the legend; in the process his father is revealed to be an avid fan of the Stranger. The reaction to the Stranger's efforts among the villagers is fairly positive, but Constable Hu is outraged by a vigilante taking the law into his own hands. Discussing the matter with the Furious Five, Po learns that while most of them disapprove of the Stranger's actions, Tigress is enamored of the idea of the heroic outlaw.

Po continues to don the armor and fight bandits in the valley, much to their dismay and Hu's consternation. Several of the outlaws then ambush him at the Noodle shop, where his father is briefly thrilled to see him until Po-in his Midnight Stranger guise-destroyed much of Ping's property, including quite a bit of Midnight Stranger fan memorabilia. The bandits, realizing that they can't defeat the Stranger, decided to get help, while the next day Po learns of his father's outrage and contempt for the false Midnight Stranger. After encountering Tigress, who is out looking for the Stranger in hopes of winning his affections, he is approached by Hu, who asks for his help in apprehending the Stranger. The pair soon hold a stakeout, in which Po is confident that they won't see the Stranger, only for Ping to arrive in a homemade Stranger helmet and thwart a robbery.

Believing Ping to be the Stranger he has been looking for, Hu takes him into custody with the intent of sending him to Chorh-Gom Prison, only for Po to don his armor in an effort to prove his father's innocence. After Po's identity is revealed, Hu lets Ping go free and arrests him instead, intending to take him to prison. However, the Pig bandits then arrive, and surprise Hu by thanking him for banning Kung fu and making their criminal enterprise easier. They then introduce their new ally, Lidong, who quickly battles Po but inadvertently frees him from Hu's handcuffs. Hu, meanwhile, is so outraged by the mockery the criminals have made of him that he joins Po in battling them down, even bringing down Lidong with a powerful body slam.

Pleased by the victory, Hu announces that the ban on Kung fu is lifted, but then informs Po that he doesn't have the ability to change the process and make permits unnecessary. The Five then arrive in response to the disturbance, and Tigress is horrified to learn that the object of her affections was Po in disguise.