This week, on Myths and Legends, we're back with Sun Wu Kong, the Monkey King, and the

Journey to the West. We'll see which animal you should transform into when you're lowering

the per capita attractiveness of that hot new city, and that, when it comes to hiring, maybe

avoid the person who wants to hold the whole city hostage. The creature this time is that

half Spider-Man, who's less about the

heroics and more about the opposite of that. He's a murderous thief.

This is Myths and Legends, Episode 397, King of Hearts.

This is a podcast where we tell stories from mythology and folklore.

Some are incredibly popular tales you might think you know, but with surprising origins.

Others are stories that might be new to you, but are definitely worth a listen.

Okay, real quickly, in the story of the

journey to the West, a 16th century Chinese novel, we follow Schwanzong, the human monk, who was

tasked with retrieving the Holy Scriptures from the Thunderclapped Temple in the West. Since the road

is impossibly long and dangerous, he was granted four guards, essentially monsters on a redemption

ark for his trip. There was Sun Wu Kong, the Monkey King, a superpowered monkey who turned against

heaven and nearly won hundreds of years prior. He was imprisoned and granted to Shwan Zong as a bodyguard.

There's also Pigsie, a stinky, appetite-driven pig man, and Sandy, a dour indigo

Sandman. There's also their horse, which is actually a dragon, but who almost never leaves

the form of a horse. Today we'll catch up with a group, not on the road, but outside of a city,

hoping that this time it'll be different.

Music outside of a city, hoping that this time it'll be different. Some Wukong, the Monkey King, walked up to the soldiers slumped over by the wall.

Back on the road, closer to the forest,

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