Great Protector

The Great Protector (Mandarin: 神龙), is a mystical dragon and the protector of Ta Lo. In ancient times, she fought against the Dweller-in-Darkness, and saved the realm of Ta Lo from destruction. The Great Protector resided in the lake by the Ta Lo village for centuries, until she came to the aid of the people of Ta Lo in 2024 against the Dweller, which had been freed by Xu Wenwu. Upon defeating the Dweller, the Great Protector remained as the protector of Ta Lo.

Ancient Past
"The Great Protector joined their fight and turned the tide."

- Ying Nan to Xu Shang-Chi and Xu Xialing No match for the Dweller-in-Darkness and the Soul Eaters, the Ta Lo Armed Forces were on the brink of defeat. Unill the Great Protector gave aid to the warriors, helping fend off the attack and driving the Soul Eaters and the Dweller-in-Darkness behind the Dark Gate. She then gave a gift to the people of Ta Lo in the form of Dragon Scale, a material which the people of Ta Lo forged into their armor and weapons to make them able to harm the Soul Eaters.

Battle of Ta Lo
Fighting the Soul Eaters again, the Great Protector awakened again after Xu Shang-Chi got knocked into the lake by his father. Joining the fight, Shang-Chi rode the Great Protector into battle agains the Dweller-in-Darkness. Eventually, the Dweller-in-Darkness got a hold of the Great Protector and started to suck out her soul, however, she was saved by Katy Chen when she shot a Dragon Scale Arrow through the Dweller-in-Darkenss' throat. The Dweller-in-Darkness was then defeated by the Great Protector with the help of Shang-Chi.

Rememberance
With the battle won, the people of Ta Lo and the remaining members of the Ten Rings held a funeral for those they had lost. Lighting lanterns, and sending them off into the lake, the Great Protector swam around them, in remembrance of the fallen.

Personality
The Great Protector is a caring being, helping out the people of Ta Lo on more than one occasion. She even occasionally gives them gifts, such as Dragon Scale, which the Ta Lo Armed Forces forges into their armor and weapons to enhance them and give them the ability to harm the Soul Eaters.

Powers

 * Dragon Physiology: Great Protector is a dragon. Dragons are an ancient race of mythical reptiles that possess vast amount of powers and abilities. Their dragon scales are full of mystical properties that allow others to fight Soul Eaters and the Dweller-in-Darkness.
 * Superhuman Strength: Great Protector possesses a tremendous level of superhuman strength, being able to kill many Soul Eaters with ease. Her strength has proven to be greater than the Dweller-in-Darkness at first, being able to crash it to the mountain with the latter unable to break free, and fling it away for a considerable distance, before it consumed enough souls which slowly overwhelmed her and could not break free from its own grip.
 * Superhuman Durability: Great Protector possesses a tremendous level of superhuman durability, being able to withstand many attacks from Soul Eaters with only minor injuries. She was even able to survive brutally attacked by the Dweller-in-Darkness even after it became much stronger by consuming many souls.
 * Superhuman Speed: Great Protector possesses a tremendous level of superhuman speed, being able to kill many Soul Eaters in a short period of time. She was even faster than Dweller-in-Darkness, as she was able to stop the Dweller-in-Darkness from attacking Shang-Chi by crashing it towards the mountain, and later being able to catch up to it even from a considerable distance and successfully stop it from attacking the village.
 * Superhuman Agility: Great Protector possesses a tremendous level of superhuman agility, being able to easily outmaneuver many Soul Eaters, and even the Dweller-in-Darkness, with the latter unable to successfully attack her when she circling around it.
 * Superhuman Stamina: Great Protector possesses a tremendous level of superhuman stamina, being able to kill many Soul Eaters without showing any sign of fatigue, and continue to fight the Dweller-in-Darkness even after she was nearly killed by it.
 * Superhuman Reflexes: Great Protector possesses a tremendous level of superhuman reflexes, being able to easily dodge many attacks from Soul Eaters, and even the Dweller-in-Darkness.
 * Regenerative Healing Factor: Great Protector can heal and regenerate with great speed, being able to recover all her injuries sustain from Battle of Ta Lo in only a short period of time.
 * Longevity: Great Protector possesses an extremely long lifespan, she has lived for thousands of years.
 * Self-Sustenance: After battling against the Dweller-in-Darkness over four thousand years ago, Great Protector lives underwater ever since before it appeared again. During her time living underwater, she does not appear to need air, food, water, or sleep to survive.
 * Flight: Great Protector can fly through the air at very high speed, even faster than the Dweller-in-Darkness.
 * Power Bestowal: Great Protector can give a portion of her power to others in order to protect Ta Lo from threats, as she did with Ying Li, Ying Nan, and Shang-Chi.
 * Air Manipulation: Great Protector possesses the ability to manipulate air, being able to manipulate air bubbles from the water to Shang-Chi's nose as he was about to drown, successfully regaining his consciousness.
 * Water Manipulation:GalleryOverlay desktop 0001 ssfb 4875 marketing comp2k v22.1009.tif.jpg Protector possesses the ability to control and manipulate water, creating solid water constructs. She was able to create giant tentacles of water, forming a giant water pit in the air to trap the [[Dweller-in-Darkness]], with it unable to escape from them, until it consumed more souls which it successfully break free. She later used the giant tentacles of water to attack the Dweller-in-Darkness, staggering and sending it flying in the air with each blow, with it unable to block or dodge them, while forming the giant water pit again to trap it, but this time it could not escape.
 * Soul Absorption Resistance: Great Protector can resist her soul from being absorb from the Dweller-in-Darkness far better than anyone else, being able to resist for over a minute, holding long enough for Katy Chen to launching a dragon scale-tipped arrow through its throat, whereas the souls of others will be absorbed in matter of seconds.

Abilities

 * Master Combatant: Great Protector is a highly skilled and formidable combatant, being able to easily overpower the Dweller-in-Darkness in combat at first, before it consumed more souls which increased its size and strength.

Allies

 * Guang Bo †
 * Ying Nan
 * Ying Li †
 * Morris
 * Shang-Chi
 * Katy Chen - Savior
 * Trevor Slattery
 * Ten Rings
 * Xu Wenwu †
 * Xu Xialing
 * Mattias/Razor Fist

Enemies

 * Soul Eaters
 * Dweller-in-Darkness † - Attempted Killer

Trivia

 * The Great Protector gets her powers from the water of Ta Lo.
 * The Great Protector's name in Chinese is 神龙 (shén lóng), which translates to "god dragon" or "divine dragon".

Behind the Scenes

 * Christopher Townsend, the visual effects supervisor, explained that they based the movement of the Great Protector on sea snakes and eels, always trying to keep her animation very fluid and poetic. And for the physiology of the dragon they referenced reptiles and birds, always keeping in mind the vastness of the creature.