Characters / Ninjago - The Overlord's Army

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The Ultimate Evil

The Overlord (UNMARKED SPOILERS)

The Overlord/Digital Overlord/Golden Master/Crystal King

The Overlord's original form

^{His form when possessing Garmadon}

^{His true form}

^{As the Digital Overlord}

^{As the Golden Master}

^{As the Crystal King}

^{His centaur-like form}

"All that has happened was by my design!"

Debut: "The Stone Army"
Voiced by: Scott McNeil

An ancient evil from Ninjago's past that was trapped on the Island of Darkness by the First Spinjitzu Master and left sunken at the bottom of the Endless Sea, but was able to return and exact his revenge in the present day due to a series of events he plotted during his imprisonment. He helped Lord Garmadon in Season 2 to turn Ninjago into his own image, but later betrayed him and took over his body before ultimately being destroyed by Lloyd in the Final Battle, purifying Garmadon and bringing peace to the land.

This peace would sadly be short-lived, as Season 3 saw the Overlord's resurrection as an evil computer virus known as the Digital Overlord inside the systems of Borg Industries due to Cyrus Borg building his company over the site of the Overlord's destruction. With Pythor's assistance, he became the instigator of the Nindroid conflict with plans of stealing Lloyd's golden power and using it to escape the digital realm and become the prophesized Golden Master, but was eventually defeated by Zane at the cost of the latter's own physical body.

The Overlord returned once again in Season 15 under the moniker of the Crystal King, making a deal with Harumi to revive her in exchange for her servitude as his right-hand woman in his quest to end the Balance and has her gather Vengestone for him to build a new army with the ability to nullify the Ninja's Elemental Powers. One year after Kalmaar's defeat and Nya merging with the Endless Sea, The Overlord has Harumi assemble a Legion of Doom consisting of the Ninja's old foes to serve as his generals and gains a new physical form before launching another assault on Ninjago in his attempt to destroy the Balance by corrupting the Elements of Creation.

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• A.I. Is a Crapshoot: He becomes a computer virus in Season 3.
• Ancient Evil: He's a dark primordial being from Ninjago's past.
• The Antichrist: As the Golden Master, a prophesied figure said to possess power equal to that of the First Spinjitzu Master who would go on to conquer the world and enslave every man, woman, and Serpentine for all eternity.
• As Long as There Is Evil: During the final battle, he gives a speech, saying "as long as there is light, there must always be shadow," implying that he's this trope. Considering neither having a massive explosion go off INSIDE HIM and destroy his physical form or getting frozen to the point of shattering weren't enough to kill him, he probably has a point.
• Back for the Finale: After 8 years and 12 Seasons of absence, he would finally return in the 15th and final season, under the new identity of the Crystal King.
• Big Bad: Initially acted as this when the series was meant to end after the second season before being uncancelled, being the true overall villain of the series and the cause of everything going wrong in the world. He officially retakes this role in Season 15, revealing not only that he has planned his return for past few seasons, but that he is also responsible for Garmadon's corruption in the first place.
• Big "NO!":
  • Gives a series of them upon realizing Lloyd is about to destroy him.
  • Gives one in Season 3 when the Ninja manage to reboot the system, and another upon his defeat by Zane.
• Canon Character All Along: The Crystal King seems to be a new antagonist before it's revealed that he is The Overlord.
• Clipped-Wing Angel: When the Ninja botch his attempt to regain his physical form by siphoning Lloyd's golden power, he returns in the form of a purple blob that's barely able to hold a shape. Once he's stable enough, however...
• Complete Immortality: As a primordial being of darkness, he can never be killed for good, even destroying his physical form twice only makes his spirit lay dormant temporarily.
• Conflict Killer: After his threat as the Crystal King becomes apparent, Ronin is willing to drop his current grudge with the Ninja to help them, and Killow and Ultra Violet, who still hate the Ninja, also decide to assist them with some prompting. Even Harumi eventually turns against him once he inadvertently makes it clear that he's effectively responsible for all of her suffering.
• The Corrupter: His dark matter has the ability to turn whatever it touches evil. He also makes Garmadon worse and worse through his manipulations. He's also the being responsible for creating the Great Devourer and thus turning Garmadon evil in the first place.
• Costume Evolution: His Crystal King from contains elements of all of his prior designs, having all three prior color schemes (gold, black, purple, and gunmetal gray), the four arms from when he possessed Garmadon, the symbol of the Golden Master, and his draconic face based on his dragon form. He also has horns, similar to the Oni, which he may be connected to.
• Dark Is Evil: Obviously, with his element being Darkness and his desire to throw the Balance Between Good and Evil out of whack.
• Deadpan Snarker: Despite his largely humorless personality, when Garmadon complains that the Overlord could have warned him that the Garmatron's cannon had to warm up, the Overlord responds with "How could I? You were monologuing."
• Devour the Dragon:
  • The Overlord eventually betrays Lord Garmadon and possesses his body.
  • According to the creators, he would've likely done the same to Pythor.
• Digital Abomination: Season 3 has the Overlord resurrecting inside Borg Industries' computer systems as the Digital Overlord, a virus capable of corrupting nearly any electronic device as well as create new ones to suit his own needs. Within the digiverse, he appears as a gigantic mass of shadowy pixels with tentacles and is capable of warping the entire surrounding. After the Overlord regains his physical form and becomes the Golden Master, he's able to use the same powers he had in the digiverse in reality.
• Eldritch Abomination: He's a formless evil who has been around since before time had a name, can bend beings to its will through dark matter, and according to the creators, is impossible to kill due to effectively being the very concept of evil itself.
• Eviler than Thou: To Lord Garmadon when he hijacks his body.
• Evil Overlord: Is a literal example of this, as his name is The Overlord and he's the embodiment of evil itself.
• Evil Sounds Deep: He has an incredibly deep voice.
• Final Boss: He was originally intented to be the last villain faced by the Ninja before the series got extented after Season 2 due to its popularity and later returns as the main villain of Crystalized, the final season of the original series, which is fitting given his status as the Greater-Scope Villain.
• Foreshadowing: The Crystal King looks like a mix of the various forms of Overlord and it's revealed that they're the same person
  • His emblem belongs to the Golden Master.
  • He has a Mouth of Sauron: Kabuki Mask. This was Pythor's job in the Overlord's Nindroid army.
  • Speaking of Pythor, he is among his generals again.
  • The Crystal King remains in the shadows so far. Overlord's modus operandi is to remain hidden or act as an Orcus on His Throne.
  • He has purple eyes. The same eyes as Overlord.
  • He leads a Legion of Doom made of past villains and was the overarching villain from Season 13 to Season 15. Coming from the Overarching Villain of the whole show, this is not surprising.
  • The Crystal King has a stone army like the Overlord, this time made of Vengestone.
• Gemstone Assault: As the Crystal King, he can use his crystals as a weapon (such as firing crystal shards at his enemies) or as a means to control people. His crystals are also used to give power to the Vengestone Army.
• Greater-Scope Villain: While the Big Bad of Seasons 2, 3 and 15, he's indirectly responsible for the following:
  • Long before the events of the series, he had corrupted the Great Devourer, which would end up leading into Garmadon's corruption and the events of the pilot episodes and Seasons 8 and 9. Through the Devourer's offspring (the Vermilion), he's also indirectly responsible for Season 7. Garmadon's corruption also influenced young Lloyd to follow in his footsteps, leading to him awakening the Serpentine and causing the events of Season 1. Pythor being out and about also leads to Season 4's final two episodes.
  • The ninja getting involved with the Tournament of Elements was caused by Zane's Heroic Sacrifice in Season 3, Morro's escape from the Cursed Realm was caused by Garmadon's banishment in Season 4, and Clouse escaping the Cursed Realm (and awakening Nadakhan) was caused by the ending of Season 5, meaning the Overlord's attack on New Ninjago City was indirectly responsible for kickstarting the chain of events that includes Seasons 4, 5, and 6. This also results in the Mechanic getting sent to Kryptarium Prison thanks to his involvement in Chen's plans, which would end up somewhat leading to him becoming The Dragon for Unagami in Season 12.
  • As the Crystal King, he commanded Harumi to build an army for him, which she did by purchasing vengestone from Vangelis, meaning he indirectly played a part in Season 13.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Happens to him three times in "The Titanium Ninja" after becoming the Golden Master. The Ninja hide in the Temple of Fortification and wear Stone Warrior armor over their clothes, both having been designed by the Overlord to withstand the golden power that he now wields. Then later, Zane absorbs the aforementioned golden power from the Overlord and uses it in tandem with his ice powers to defeat him]].
• Idiot Ball: Seems to have grasp this during Season 3. Except not really. After being defeated by Lloyd and he became a computer virus, he could potentially have whatever body or even bodies he wants yet insists on reclaiming his original, it appears to be this trope. But there are three reasons why reclaiming his original body is the smarter thing to do: 1) Since he requires electricity to function in his digital state, and the Ninja have the Technoblades, which are capable of stopping, and perhaps even destroying, him while he remains in the system, he has a very valid point for regaining corporeal form. 2) He wants to skip finding a host so that they won't fight him from the inside this time. And 3) The process would also have the benefit of making him even more powerful.
• Immortality: As per word from the series' creator, he's flat-out unkillable as he is a primordial being that balances Ninjago's light, all you can try to do is seal him and/or destroy his physical forms to temporarily put him out of commission.
• Indian Burial Ground: Cyrus Borg had the idea to build his company over the site of the Overlord’s first defeat to symbolize Ninjago’s defiance against any evil that would seek to invade it. Little did he know that doing so would allow the Overlord to resurrect inside his computer systems and terrorize Ninjago once more.
• It Only Works Once: Don't expect a tactic that defeated him once to work twice in a row.
  • In the far past, the First Spinjitzu Master defeated him with the help of mechanical golden armor. He has the transformed Garmatron (piloted by a corrupted Nya) shoot it down before it can reach him.
  • In Rebooted, he turns Lloyd's golden power (which was the reason for his second defeat) against him by absorbing it with special robots he had Cyrus Borg develop.
• Knight of Cerebus: The first villain in the series (at least the first one with a mind of its own) to have absolutely no comical traits at all and one of the most powerful villains of the show, up to the point where Ronin and the Sons of Garmadon are ready to help the Ninja against him when he returns as the Crystal King in Crystalized.
• Light Is Not Good: His Golden Master incarnation is clad in bright golden armor, both times, yet is no less evil for it.
• Literally Shattered Lives: Zane defeats him the second time by absorbing his power and freezing him until this happens.
• Manipulative Bastard: Manipulated Garmadon into thinking he was the Big Bad, so he'd complete his ultimate weapon and disrupt the Balance between good and evil, freeing the Overlord from his prison and allowing him to recover his original form.
• Near-Villain Victory: His return in Crystalized sees him coming dangerously close to his ultimate goal of destroying the Balance, as he easily defeats Garmadon (the only one around who was able to properly use his Oni Form), and after Lloyd backs out from using his Oni Form, the Overlord knocks him off the Oni Temple to leave him to fall to his death. He even manages to corrupt the original four Ninja (which would have also corrupted their elements which make up Creation, thus giving the Overlord the power he needed to destroy the Balance) along with likely everyone else remaining in Ninjago City. Fortunately for the heroes and unfortunately for the Overlord, the Ninja sacrificed their elements and the Golden Weapons before they were crystallized, which not only prevented the elements from being corrupted in the first place but also summoned the Golden Ultra Dragon, saving Lloyd's life and giving him the power and opportunity to finally defeat the Overlord once again, this time for good.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: He takes the time to brag about just how much effect he's had on the setting to Lloyd and Garmadon as he's killing them, specifically mentioning his part in corrupting the snake that would become the Great Devourer while Harumi is in ear-shot. This results in Harumi deciding to help Lloyd and Garmadon defeat him.
• Non-Standard Character Design: The form he takes when possessing Garmadon has a very un-Minifigure-like design to it, including fingers, toes, and several insectoid features. Averted with all later designs, which depict him as a Minifigure.
• One-Winged Angel:
  • After taking over Garmadon's body, he takes the form of a gigantic black dragon. Though this is stated to be his true form, as opposed to a genuine transformation.
  • When the Ninja confront him in the digital world, he becomes a giant vaguely humanoid entity made of darkness with numerous tentacles where his legs would be.
  • Once he returns to full power as the Golden Master, his power takes on the level that he had in the digital world... in reality, with a robotic body made out of the smelted Golden Weapons attached to his lower half to go with it.
• Omnicidal Maniac: His ultimate goal is to corrupt the Powers of Creation, which would bathe all 16 realms in darkness.
• Our Dragons Are Different: His true form is a giant black dragon.
• Purple Is Powerful: Purple is incredibly common in his color scheme (with all of his forms having the color in some way), and he is one of the most dangerous enemies the Ninja have ever faced with only the Oni arguably being more dangerous than him.
• Pyrrhic Victory: He manages to escape the digital realm, but is unable to drain all of Lloyd's power and can barely keep his new body together until Pythor and his minions help him get the means to better control it.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Gains red eyes as the Digital Overlord and the Golden Master.
• Replacement Flat Character: By the time he made his debut, Lord Garmadon has shown a kinder side that loves his son and a tragic backstory revealing his evilness was basically a poison corrupting his mind. The Overlord takes up the original role of a person who is evil for the sake of it and an enemy to all of Ninjago.
• Returning Big Bad: He served the main villain of Seasons 2 and 3 and was mostly absent from the series for eight real-world years and 11 Seasons before returning as the main villain of Season 15.
• Satanic Archetype: It's safe to say he's the closest thing Ninjago has to an equivalent of Old Scratch himself, as he's the embodiment of evil and a spirit that existed before time had a name. Furthermore, he transforms into a Dragon for the final battle of Season 2 after hijacking Garmadon's body, makes a deal with Harumi to revive her while also manipulating her into thinking he's trying to bring peace to Ninjago, gains a demonic-looking form as the Crystal King. And top it all of, he's responsible for most of the show's events by corrupting the Great Devourer into biting Garmadon's hand to corrupt him.
• Sealed Evil in a Can:
  • The Overlord and the evil side of Ninjago which he inhabited were supposed to remain disappeared for as long as the Balance between good and evil remained in check. However, Lord Garmadon's ambition to remake Ninjago in his image upsets that balance.
  • Season 3 has the Overlord's soul becoming trapped in cyberspace after losing his body in the final battle with Lloyd. While it gives him a lot of stuff to control, he still wants a new body instead of remaining inside a computer. He eventually gets it.
• Spider Tank: Rides a three-legged one in Season 3 after becoming the Golden Master.
• This Cannot Be!:
  • Is left in disbelief when Lloyd begins to fight back against him, unable to believe a mere human could manage to match him.
  • Happens again when Zane pulls off his Heroic Sacrifice, absorbing the Golden Master power to ultimately defeat him.
  • He is left in disbelief for a third time when Lloyd returns to fight again, this time with the help from the Golden Ultra Dragon.
• Took a Level in Badass: While he was always powerful, the Overlord often had to rely upon a host, a second-in-command, or technology to make himself a threat to the Ninja. In Crystallized, his new body appears to be much more powerful, managing to defeat Wu in single combat, and gives Lloyd and Garmadon a hard time in the final battle to the point of almost killing them, even after Harumi changes sides to assist them.
• Unseen Evil: Spends most of his screen time as a disembodied voice but is considered to be the evilest entity in the entire series. When he finally appears in person, he's as frightening and powerful as he was made out to be. All three times.
• Vocal Evolution: His voice is much deeper and more guttural in Crystalized in contrast to the shrill and high-pitched voice shown within his previous appearances. His voice modulation also emphasizes this aspect.
• Walking Spoiler: It's hard to talk about him without spoiling that he is the real main villain and Final Boss of Season 2 instead of Garmadon. His return in Crystalized only increases his spoilerific nature due to the reveal of his role within the Vengestone Myth Arc from the previous two seasons, the surprise of his return after being absent for years and The Reveal that he was responsible for several other events within the series by corrupting the Great Devourer.
• Worf Had the Flu: The only reason Lloyd managed to stand any chance at all in their first fight was because Garmadon was Fighting from the Inside, and even then, the Overlord beat him and left him with an injured leg. Even after Lloyd obtains his Golden Super Mode in their ultimate rematch, the Overlord is able to fight him fairly evenly before finally being defeated.
• You Are Too Late: An example where the villain is the victim of this. He crystalizes the four original ninja when they have already put their Four Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu together. Thus, unleashing the Golden Ultra Dragon on him.
• You Have Failed Me:
  • Doesn't take kindly toward his fellow council members (mostly Pythor, Aspheera, Vangelis, and the Mechanic) when they failed to capture the Ninja, he almost tried to kill them until Harumi and Mr. F informed about the Ninja's actual location. Even when the council members are defeated by the Ninja during the final battle, the Overlord showed no concern for this as he is more focused on petrifying all life in Ninjago.
  • Upon succeeding in his plot to petrify all life in Ninjago (including the Ninja and all of their allies), the Overlord attempts to tie up one loose end by murdering Harumi as punishment for defying him, not caring of the fact that he's responsible for her family's demise.
    Overlord: (attempting to kill Harumi after petrifying all life in Ninjago) You chose the WRONG SIDE, Harumi!!

The Stone Army

In General

Debut: "The Stone Army"

An army of indestructible stone warriors who serve as Garmadon's (but moreso the Overlord's) soldiers in the second half of Season 2.

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• Badass Army: An army of Nigh Invulnerable soldiers.
• Boring, but Practical: While they don't have much going for them other than extreme durability, it's more than enough to make them some of the most formidable opponents the Ninja have ever faced.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: They effortlessly defeat the Serpentine in "The Day Ninjago Stood Still", trapping them underground for the rest of the season.
• Doom Troops: Nearly invulnerable and incredibly formidable, they stand out as being some of the fiercest Mooks in the series.
• Implacable Man: Nothing the Ninja hit them with can do more than slow them down until the Ninja get their upgraded elemental powers.
• Nigh-Invulnerability: Aren't called the "indestructible Stone Army" for nothing. Turns out they have one weakness: the Ninja's pure elemental powers obtained at the temple of light.
  • And going by most of them being dead by the time of "Day of the Departed", they are clearly vulnerable to the Light powers of the Spinjitzu Masters.
• No-Sell: They're completely immune to the Serpentine's respective powers.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: Were sealed underground with the defeat of the Overlord, but unleashed by the Serpentine accidentally unearthing them.
• Turned Against Their Masters: The entire Stone Army (save for Kozu) are linked with the Helmet of Shadows, giving them command over the army, if the helmet falls into the hands of someone else, the army will obey their orders rather than of their original master. Garmadon and Kozu learned that the hard way.

General Kozu

Debut: "The Day Ninjago Stood Still"
Voiced by: Paul Dobson

The General of the Stone Army created by the Overlord, and Lord Garmadon's personal translator.

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• Back from the Dead: Temporarily in "Day of the Departed", but returned to the Departed Realm upon being defeated by Dareth wielding the Helmet of Shadows.
• Disney Villain Death: A slight case, Garmatron shoots him down along with the rest of the Stone Army when Dareth tries to have them clear the way for the Ninja to confront the Overlord, but isn't shown to be killed and is ultimately destroyed by Lloyd's golden power's World-Healing Wave.
• The Dragon: To Garmadon, at first, however his true loyalty lays with the Overlord.
• Elite Mook: The General of the Stone Army who resembles the usual soldiers (who are already extremely tough) but is even stronger.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Gets destroyed by his own Stone Army soldiers due to Dareth controlling them with the Helmet of Shadows in "Day of the Departed".
• Human Cannonball: Amusingly falls victim to this trope when he attempts to load the Garmatron's cannon, only for Wu to kick him into the loading bay and leading the Overlord to mistakenly fire him at Ninjago instead. Kozu survives due to his immense durability, but now finds himself overwhelmed by Darreth's students as they gang up on him and tie him up.
• It's Personal: Apparently holds enough of a grudge against Dareth that he chooses to go after him instead of one of the Ninja in "Day of the Departed".
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Has multiple arms and is the general of the already dangerous Stone Army.
• Translator Buddy: Acts as this for Lord Garmadon, being the only member of the Stone Army that can speak the Ninjago language.
• Uncertain Doom: Until "Day of the Departed", his actual fate was unknown as he and the rest of the Army vanishes after the Overlord is defeated.
• Use Your Head: How he was defeated the second time in Day of the Departed, by his own army no less (Thanks to Dareth using the Helmet of Shadows).
• Verbal Tic: "GLUTAVU?"

Nindroid Army

In General

Debut: "The Surge"

The Overlord's new soldiers in Season 3, created using a modified version of Zane's schematics.

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• Back from the Dead: Some of them were resurrected in "Day of the Departed", but returned to the Departed Realm alongside Cryptor after being defeated by Zane.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: The Stone Army was a force of ancient stone soldiers given life through supernatural means who used brute strength and durability to overwhelm their opponents. The Nindroids are ultra-hi-tech robotic warriors manufactured from the most state of the art technology who utilize martial arts and various other abilities like Eye Beams and a built-in Invisibility Cloak to give them an edge in combat.
• Evil Knockoff: All of the Nindroids are essentially this to Zane, their schematics having been based on his. Lampshaded at one point by Pythor when Cryptor claims Zane to be his copy instead of the other way around.
• Eye Beams: They can fire lasers from their eyes.
• Eyepatch of Power: All of them have one eye covered up.
• Good Costume Switch: The Nindroids controlled by Cyrus Borg from Season 6 onward wear white robes instead of black.
• Heel–Face Brainwashing: Reprogrammed/rebuilt by Cyrus Borg to serve the good sometimes between Seasons 3 and 4.
• Invisibility Cloak: They have a built-in one that allows them to move around hidden.
• Literally Shattered Lives: Most of them, including Cryptor and Min-Droid, suffer this fate after Zane's Heroic Sacrifice.
• Mecha-Mooks: They are all robots and the Overlord's new set of minions.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: All of them have red eyes, and act in Season 3 as the Overlord's soldiers.
• Replacement Mooks: They replace the Stone Army as the Overlord's foot soldiers in Season 3.
• Superior Successor: Upon their debut they were much stronger and faster than their predecessor Zane was. Gets turned back on them in Season 4 after Zane acquires his new body.
• Too Dumb to Live: When the Nindroids find the mass that was once the Golden Weapons, Cryptor refrains his subordinates from touching it directly as only the Overlord can handle the massive power emanating from it. One of them decides to anyway and gets vaporized.
• The Worf Effect: The remaining Nindroids locked up in Kryptarium Prison in Season 4 are effortlessly defeated by Zane to show off how much stronger his new body is compared to his old one. The Nindroids controlled by Cyrus Borg are also unable to do much against Nadakhan or the Mechanic and his army of Kryptarium inmates.

General Cryptor

Debut: "The Art of the Silent Fist"
Voiced by: Richard Newman

The general of the Nindroid Army created by the Overlord in Season 3.

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• Back from the Dead: Was resurrected in "Day of the Departed", but returned to the Departed Realm after being defeated by Zane.
• Bad Boss: Doesn't treat his subordinates with much respect, especially Min-Droid. A lot of instances has Cryptor throwing them out of the vehicles they're driving so he can drive them instead.
• The Dragon: To the Overlord, until Pythor enters the picture.
• Elite Mook: The general of the Nindroid Army.
• Smug Snake: Cryptor believes himself to be the greatest warrior of all time and never misses an opportunity to mock his minions or enemies. His arrogance was ultimately the reason of his downfall, twice.

Min-Droid

Debut: "The Art of the Silent Fist"
Voiced by: Michael Adamthwaite

A Nindroid who was made smaller than the others due to the factory he was made in running out of metal.

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• Berserk Button: Hates having his size being made fun of.
• Butt-Monkey: Is constantly made fun of for his appearance, and suffers a lot of abuse from Cryptor.
• The Dog Bites Back: Finally stands up to Cryptor in "The Titanium Ninja" after overhearing the general belittling him and starts beating him up.
• Mini Mook: Is much smaller than all the other Nindroids, and is often made fun of for it.

The Crystal Army (SPOILERS)

The Crystal King's army, comprised of old villains, and an army made of Vengestone.

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In General

• Evil Counterpart: To the Ninja team. Not just because of how they wield the Golden Weapons, but also through their similar yet conflicting personalities and traits.
  • The Crystal King/Overlord/Golden Master to Wu: The Big Bad and Big Good of their respective teams. While Wu seeks to protect the balance of Ninjago, the Crystal King seeks to destroy it.
  • Kabuki Mask/Harumi/The Quiet One to Lloyd: While both have never wielded a Golden Weapon, they are still effective leaders.
  • Aspheera to Kai. They both wield the Sword of Fire and are associated with the elemental power of Fire: They're also both impulsive and hot-headed too.
  • Mister F to Zane: They both use at least one of the Shurikens of Ice. The fact that they're both nindroids also helps.
  • Skull Sorcerer/Vangelis to Cole: These two utilize the Scythe of Quakes. They are both level-headed and strategic leaders. While Cole uses more ground-based attacks, The Skull Sorcerer is more aerial in combat.
  • The Mechanic to both Zane and Nya:
    • Like Zane, he makes use of at least one of the Shurikens of Ice. His asymmetrical face design brings to mind Zane's masked appearance back in Seasons 4-7. He and Zane both have a robotic physiology also.
    • Like Nya, they are both inventors in their own rights and both have overpowered the four original ninja at one point in their life.
  • Pythor to Jay: Pythor and Jay both use the Nunchucks of Lightning. Although this is most likely to Pair the Spares, since Pythor has a more antagonistic relationship with Lloyd and/or to a lesser extent, Kai. However, they both have a habit of mocking their enemies and rivals. It's also worth mentioning that Jay temporarily became a serpentine in Season 1, thus making him even more similar to Pythor.
• Legion of Doom: A gathering of the Ninja's old enemies; Pythor, The Mechanic, Mister F, Aspheera, King Vangelis/Skull Sorcerer, and Kabuki Mask/Harumi/The Quiet One. The leader of the army is the Crystal King/Overlord/Golden Master.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: The various members of the Council don't really get along with each other very well, and don't really even like each other, at least once in the season getting on each other's case for something they find annoying about another member (with everyone getting on Aspheera's case about her constant talk of revenge). Justified as the group only really formed due to a mutual dislike of the Ninja and a promise of power.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: As of Season 15, Aspheera, Skull Sorcerer/Vangelis, Pythor, the Mechanic, and Harumi have become just as, if not even more, psychopathic than the Crystal King/Overlord is. See their folders for more details.

The Council of the Crystal King

The Members of the Crystal Council^note  From left to right: Skull Sorcerer/Vangelis, Aspheera, Mister F, The Mechanic, Pythor Not Pictured: Kabuki Mask/Harumi

An alliance consisting of several of the Ninja's old foes, brought together by Kabuki Mask in order to get revenge on the Ninja. They serve as the Crystal King's generals during his latest assault on Ninjago.

For tropes pertaining to Pythor and Aspheera, see here. For tropes pertaining to The Skull Sorcerer and The Mechanic, see here.

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Kabuki Mask (UNMARKED SPOILERS)

You are invited to join the Council of the Crystal King and have your revenge upon those who wronged you. Do you accept?

Voiced by: Andrew Francis (Masked), Britt McKillip (Unmasked)

The Crystal King's messenger, Harumi, who hides her face behind a kabuki mask.

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• Arch-Enemy: Of Lloyd. After all, she is Harumi.
• Back from the Dead: Turns out she's actually Harumi, who was revived by the Overlord after having died back in Hunted.
• Broken Pedestal: Upon seeing Garmadon in his Oni form helping Lloyd and the Ninja fight against several Dragonides, she furiously glares at him before boarding another Dragonide to attack them. This implies that Harumi no longer idolized Garmadon and has abandoned whatever respect she had for him. This was shown earlier in "A Sinister Shadow" when the Overlord played on Harumi's insecurities by declaring Harumi's decision to idolize Garmadon's evil persona to be a poor one as it led to her death, which in turn drove an angry Harumi to pledge loyalty for the Overlord in exchange for a second chance.
  • During the final battle against the Overlord, Garmadon silently, but coldly, voices his disappointment towards Harumi for siding up with the Overlord and his plot to corrupt the powers of creation, to which Harumi angrily retorts that he and Lloyd aren't strong to stand against the Overlord. However, she realizes her awful mistake when the Overlord reveals that he was the one who created the Great Devourer that turned Garmadon evil and killed Harumi's parents in the first place.
• Canon Character All Along: She turns out to be Harumi.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Seems to have picked up a few minor traits of one. At one point she jokingly refers to her council as a "villainous volleyball team", and even lampshades the "dramatic exit" trope when Lloyd interrupts hers.
• The Dragon: Of the Crystal King. She used to be this to Garmadon too.
• Evil Wears Black: She wears a black kimono as Kabuki Mask.
• Foreshadowing: Some elements give small clues about Kabuki Mask's true identity:
  • They're both The Dragon and The Heavy of the season's Big Bad, just like Harumi's role in Season 9.
  • Kabuki brought back old foes of the ninjas, as she did in Season 8 by reviving Garmadon.
  • During their meeting with Lloyd in "Ninjago City Vs. Ninja", they specifically mention they told Lloyd the news about the Crystal King because they wanted to see how helpless Lloyd looked when he lost everything he loved, much like Harumi's motives to bring back Garmadon as she explained in Season 8.
  • Kabuki Mask is wearing a mask similar to the Oni Masks of the Oni Trilogy and the mask the Sons of Garmadon were wearing during the premiere of Season 8. Fitting for someone working with Mr. E/F and for the founder of the Sons of Garmadon.
• Greater-Scope Villain: She was Vangelis's client back in Season 13 — in fact, she was in Shintaro at the exact same time the Ninja were there.
• The Heavy: The one advancing the Crystal King's plans.
• Heel–Face Turn: She turns against the Crystal King after learning that he created the Great Devourer that killed her parents, effectively being the entire reason she fell into villainy in the first place.
  Harumi: (angrily towards the Overlord) YOU TOOK MY PARENTS!!! YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!!
• Moral Myopia: Downplayed. She freed Pythor and had him serve the Overlord once again so that they can get their revenge on Lloyd and the Ninja. Though it is quite clear to everyone in Ninjago that Pythor was the one who released the Great Devourer that killed Harumi's parents, Harumi still holds Lloyd responsible for her parents' demise as he was the one who released Pythor from the Anacondrai tomb in the first place. However, this falls apart when the Overlord reveals that he's the creator and puppeteer of the Great Devourer himself.
• Mouth of Sauron: They act as the messenger of the Crystal King, relaying the Crystal King's invites to the other villains.
• Samus Is a Girl: Despite having a male voice, Kabuki Mask ultimately turns out to be female.
• Toyless Toyline Character: Zig-Zagged. Harumi herself appears in the Crystallized toy line, but her Kabuki Mask disguise does not have an accompanying Minifigure.
• Walking Spoiler: Much like The Quiet One, it's hard to talk about Kabuki Mask without dropping that they're actually Harumi.

Mister F

^{Click to see him Crystallized}

Debut: "The Council of the Crystal King"

An upgraded model of Mr. E, and a general in the Crystal King's army.

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• Ambiguous Situation: Pythor describes Mr. F as the latest model of Mr. E. However, it's unclear if this meant that he's Mr. E rebuilt, an entirely new nindroid but with Mr. E's memories, or if he is a new nindroid made from completely separate ties from Mr. E.
• Back from the Dead: He's a new model based on the original Mr. E.
• Katanas Are Just Better: It's not Mr. E. - or rather Mister F. - if he doesn't have one of his katanas.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: He still has red eyes and he's even more dangerous than before.
• Silent Antagonist: As usual, which Pythor complains about.
• Uncertain Doom: He is last seen crushed under a billboard Zane sent falling on top of him. However, Word of God states that his fate is up for debate. Leaving it unknown if he survived or not. Which is rather strange, considering how the other villains recruited into the Council of the Crystal King were all confirmed to be sent back to Kryptarium prison.

Others

Vengestone Army

Debut: "A Painful Promise"

Also called the Crystal Army, they are an army created by Kabuki Mask, specifically designed to overpower Ninjago's populace and counteract the Ninja's powers.

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• Man of Kryptonite: They're made of Vengestone, which negate the Ninja's Elemental Powers. PIXAL has to upgrade the Ninja's vehicles for them to be able to destroy them.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Barring their ability to convert people into more of them, they're an implacable army made of a type of mineral that the Ninja struggle to fight against, similar to the Stone Army. Given that the Overlord created both, it's likely not a coincidence.
• Technically-Living Zombie: They can add more to their ranks by simply touching the denizens of Ninjago, whose bodies turn purple and have crystal shards jutting out of them.