Shou-Lao is an immortal Chinese dragon who became the source of power in K'un-L'un. During a performance of the dragon riders of K'un-Lun for the entertainment of its Yu-Ti, Shou-Lao went berserk and attacked the city's leader. He was slain by Quan-St'ar who cut out the dragon's heart. Enraged at this, Yu-Ti banished Quan-St'ar from the city and revived Shou-Lao by melting his heart and placing it in a sacred cavern. Following this incident, those who became Iron Fist had to accomplish the final test of defeating Shou-Lao in order to absorb part of his power. This was done over 66 times.[1]
After she was busted for training three cavemen, Fan Fei was chained up and watched as the cavemen were fed to Shou-Lou by Lei Kung. When she broke out with the hope that she will die fighting Shou-Lou, Fan Fei punched Shou-Lou in his chest tattoo and gained his powers.[2]
When Danny Rand was becoming the next Iron Fist, he defeated Shou-Lao by burning the dragon-shaped tattoo off his chest. After defeating Shou-Lao, Danny Rand plunged his hands into the brazier containing Shou-Lao's immortal heart and it charged him with the power of the Iron Fist.[3]
Steel Serpent later attempted to fight Shou-Lao. When Steel Serpent failed to defeat Shou-Lao, Lei Kung found him weeping in the snow. He then took Steel Serpent back to the city.[4]
During the Avengers vs. X-Men storyline, the X-Men fought the Avengers in K'un-L'un when Hope Summers and Lei-Kung arrive on the back of Shou-Lao who blasted the Phoenix Force-empowered Cyclops. Unfortunately, Shou-Lao was far too young to put up a fight and its riders were dislodged. However, Hope was able to unleash a combination of dragon energy, fire, and chaos magic to banish Cyclops to the Moon.[5]
Shou-Lao have dragon powers (the ability to utilize wings for flying, breathe fire, change colors, live forever, and strike at lightning-fast speeds). In addition, he is super-strong and durable, as well as resistant to all types of diseases.
Shou-Lao makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in a flashback in the Iron Fist episode "Dragon Plays with Fire". Though only Shou-Lao's glowing red eyes are seen. Finn Jones, who portrays Iron Fist, stated that Shou-Lao will be explained and referenced during the first season and further explored in future seasons.[6][7] In addition, Jones stated that Shou-Lao could not be shown onscreen due to budgetary constraints.[8]
The Defenders miniseries reveals that the bones of Shao-Lao's kind contain a substance with resurrective properties. The Hand has been using it since being banished from K'un-L'un centuries ago, but eventually have run out of it. This causes them to seek access to the remains of another dragon, buried underneath Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan.
Shou-Lao appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2. When Iron Fist, Ms. Marvel, and Spider-Man enter K'un-Lun's Cave of the Dragon while looking for a shard of the Nexus of All Realities, they find the shard embedded in Shou-Lao's heart as Steel Serpent controls Shou-Lao into attacking them. After defeating Steel Serpent, Iron Fist removes the Nexus shard.
