Armour-clad Monkey King: China’s Iron Man knock-off pulled from Tencent Video amid backlash
- Online production Armoured War God Monkey King was expected to exclusively stream online on Tencent Video from Tuesday
The latest film adaptation of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, which features an armour-clad Monkey King, has been pulled from Tencent Holdings’ streaming video service after being criticised for copying Marvel Studios’ Iron Man.
The film Armoured War God Monkey King was expected to stream exclusively on Tencent Video from Tuesday, but never made it online as Marvel fans in the world’s largest internet market slammed producers Daishu Movie of Beijing and Guangzhou-based Grandmet Presentation for their effort.
The promotional trailer of the film drew much flak online after it showed the Monkey King, also known as Sun Wukong, getting a makeover that included wearing a bright red-and-gold armoured suit and headgear, with an artificial intelligence-powered assistant and display, similar to that used by Iron Man, the superhero alter ego of business magnate Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Armoured War God also features a hi-tech version of antagonist Yang Jian, the three-eyed god in the novel. Yang wears a silver-coloured, full-body armour that is no different from the gear worn by War Machine, the superhero comrade of Iron Man.