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Lo-Pan is a fictional character featured in the 1986 comedy/action film, Big Trouble in Little China directed by John Carpenter and portrayed by James Hong.

Centuries ago, Lo Pan, a great warrior, was defeated in battle by the First Sovereign Emperor, Qin Shi Huang. The Emperor placed upon Lo Pan the curse of No Flesh. Although Lo Pan can be temporarily granted a decrepit body by supplication to the gods, in order to permanently break the curse and regain his human form, he must marry a woman with green eyes. Simply marrying her will please Ching Dai, the God of the East. But to satisfy the Emperor, he must sacrifice her.

Not much is known about his time after his death. He is first seen for only a brief moment when Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) turns around while driving his truck and sees a ghostly mandarin in red robes, a "ten foot tall roadblock," beconing him to run him over, which Jack does. Also at this time, a trio of unknown warriors decend from the heavens into the battlefield that Jack and his friend Wang Chi (David Dunn) stumbled onto. These three are identified as the Three Storms – Thunder, Lightning, and Rain.

He is next mentioned as David Lo-Pan, the head of the Wing Kong Exchange. He also is in charge of the street gang, the Wing Kong (known for their red sashes and turbans). It's revealed that Lo-Pan arranged for the assassination of the leader of the Chang Sings, a rival street gang (who's Chinese standoff Jack and Wang Chi were at). Wang Chi's grandfather refers to Lo Pan's curse, calling him "only a dream." During this time we learn that Miao Yin's (Suzee Pai), Wang Chi's fiancée, kidnapping was ordered by Lo Pan.

When next we see Lo Pan he is a decrepit old man in a wheelchair, at least 100 years old. He describes his curse, and that Ching Dai has promised him that if he finds a very special girl with green eyes he is able to trancend his weakened mortal form and ascend to a greater existence and rule the world. Miao Yin is clearly the next hopeful for Lo Pan. When Jack comments that it shouldn't take 2000 years to find a girl, Lo Pan does say that there have been others, but clearly none of them were suitable.

After Jack insults him and Lo Pan has Jack and Wang thrown into the Hell of the Upside Down Sinner, we witness the transformation from the mortal form into that of the etherial appearance we see him as earlier in the film. In this state we see him glide on air, move through tables and walls, and be unable to interact with any other phyiscal being. We see Miao Yin, garbed ceremonially and laying suspended in mid air. We learn Thunder, Lightning and Rain all serve Lo Pan, during a ceremony in which Gracie Law (Kim Cattrall) and Miao Yin are to be tested to see if they can end his curse. When both girls pass the test, Lo Pan decides to marry both women.

Later, as the time approaches for Lo Pan's wedding, it is revealed by a tour bus driver and local mystic expert/sorcerer Egg Shen (Victor Wong) of the second condition of the curse – to appease the Emperor the girl he marries must be killed. Via telepathic contact through a guardian of Lo Pan, everyone's worst fears are confirmed by Lo Pan himself. With both women as his brides, he can sacrifice Gracie Law to the Emperor and keep Miao Yin for himself.

At his wedding, after only succeeding in using the Needle of Love to "marry" Miao Yin, Egg Shen, Wang Chi, Jack, and several Chang Sings crash the party, and Lo Pan enters mystical combat with Egg Shen. After using his powers to deflect a crystal missle, Egg Shen pulls out of his Six Demon Bag a purple jewel, and Lo Pan puts his fingers together to project a green beam. The beams from the gem and Lo Pan meet, creating a pair of Chinese warriors with swords. After a battle of wills between the two that causes the warriors to fight, they simultaniously strike each other down, and Lo Pan states "You never could beat me," implying that the pair had fought each other before. Lo Pan finally makes his escape, and Lightning cuts off his escape route.

Lo Pan finally is confronted by Jack and Gracie, where he is preparing to have Miao Yin killed by Thunder. Jack tries to throw his dagger at Lo Pan but misses. Lo Pan retrieves the knife, attempting to use it to kill Jack, but Jack grabs it before it hits and reflexively throws the dagger back, killing Lo Pan.

• Lo Pan is part of the anti-Chuck Norris gang in the web animation The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny.^[1]

• Many fans of the video game Mortal Kombat that came of age in the 1980s notice a similarity between Raiden and the Storm "Lightning" in the film. Raiden and Shang Tsung were inspired by "Lightning" and "Lo Pan". John Tobias has confirmed this.^{[citation needed]}

• Lo Pan is the name of a non-player character (an evil martial arts practitioner in San Francisco's Chinatown) in the computer game Fallout 2. Lo Pan is also the name of a sorcerer in Master of Magic.

• From "Book of Chantries", a Mage: The Ascension supplement, chapter 3 page 119:

"In Chicago's Chinatown there is a being of great power and unspeakable evil. He is called the Jade Demon... known as... "Lo Pan"... The Jade Demon has two basic forms. On Earth, he is a feeble, nearly bald Chinese man who looks at least 100. In his Horizon Realm, he resembles a Chinese mandarin in the prime of life... Sometimes he grows his fingernails to extreme lengths..."

• The 1994 PC game Master of Magic lets the player portray a wizard attempting to dominate a fantasy world; the player can customize and name their own wizard, or use one of the "pre-generated" wizards...one of whom is an Asian wizard named Lo Pan.

• Lo Pan is the name of a non-player character (an evil martial arts practitioner in San Francisco's Chinatown) in the computer game Fallout 2. Lo Pan is also the name of a sorcerer in Master of Magic.

• James Hong, the actor that portrayed David Lo Pan, reprised the role in the 2001 Sci Fi Channel series The Chronicle episode "Here There Be Dragons".^[2]