Kruncha

Kruncha is a Ninjago minifigure released in summer of 2011. He appears in LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu, as one of the tertiary antagonists of the pilot episodes and a minor antagonist for the rest of the seasons. He mostly arguing with Nuckal. He is the Skulkin General of Earth and currently the leader of the skeleton army.
==Description==
He has a large white head and a gray helmet. He has red eyes, a grey belt, and red and grey armour. In Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu, he has a red belt and red armour. He has a gray monocle covering his right eye; however, in the Ninjago TV show, he does not.
A new version of Kruncha was released in 2019 for Ninjago: Legacy; one set features him with armor and a helmet, while another comes without them.
==Background==
Second in command of the Skulkin Army, Kruncha is the hard-headed, strong skeleton General of Earth. He has seemed to be good at driving, and Samukai trusted him as his responsible 2nd-in-command, letting him drive and fire the grabber on the skull truck. Originally, he served under the command of Samukai, who was defeated by Lord Garmadon, whom took supreme control of the Underworld and the undead legions. Seeking the Four Weapons of Spinjitzu, he accompanies Samukai and Nuckal to Ninjago to search for the weapons, and eventually finds a map to the weapons, after bickering with Nuckal, his dimwitted companion. 
Later, Kruncha is seen helping the other skeletons mine for the Scythe of Quakes, as well as following the ninja to the locations of the Shurikens of Ice and Nunchucks of Lightning. The following night, he helped in the ambush of the ninja's camp and stole the weapons, but when Garmadon's plan to unite them at the Fire Temple failed, Samukai lead the Skulkin to the Underworld in a change of plans. At Garmadon's fortress, Kruncha and Nuckal guarded the entrance, but were trapped in a ferris wheel of bones when the ninja united to form the Tornado of Creation. After Samukai's defeat and Garmadon's betrayal to the army, Wyplash (previous third-in-command) lead the surviving skeletons, excluding Kruncha (who now is the general of the skeleton army) and Nuckal out to Ninjago to seek vengeance for their fallen king. 
Meanwhile, the two plotted an escape attempt using the Skull Truck to steal the Weapons of Spinjitzu, but the plan backfired and the generals were forced to return them. 
Now on the run, Kruncha and Nuckal met up with Wyplash and helped be to excavate the secret Underworld entrance in the Fire Temple to unleash more Skulkin. However, the plan was apprehended by Kai and Nya, who trapped Wyplash and the other skeletons (excluding Kruncha and Nuckal) within the Underworld, ending the threat of the Skulkin.
Now helpless, Kruncha and Nuckal traveled to Darkley's Boarding School for Bad Boys and became substitute teachers, but were told by Cole to leave Ninjago and never return, or else. 
Again on the run, the two were spotted shortly in an unknown village, but were scared off by Sensei Wu, and also seen in the Blade Cup Talent Show booing the ninja's performance. However, they made a dramatic appearance when Garmadon re-banded the Skulkin army and lead them to battle against the Serpentine. The duo were seen fighting the snakes, (Kruncha was, Nuckal seemed to be more of yelling and dancing) encouraging the ninja to stop Pythor's plans. 
They were also in episode 13, at the "take back Ninjago rally", dancing to 'we want snakes to slither away!' 
In the episode Ninjaball Run, they competed with their Skull Truck. They performed well in the race, but they were provoked when they saw Lloyd and the ninja working together. They shot a skeleton hand, grabbing the Dragon and pulling Lloyd down, but didn't pay attention to the hand's chain, which wrapped the truck around a tree. They were last seen sissy-fighting with each other while a wheel of the Truck fell off.
In The Invitation, he was seen fighting Kai at the Slither Pit. He was defeated easily by Kai and was later seen talking to Nuckal.
==Gallery of Variants==
==Appearances==
* 2174 Kruncha
* 2507 Fire Temple 
* 2508 Blacksmith Shop 
* 2521 Lightning Dragon Battle 
* 70665 The Samurai Mech
* 112007 Wu vs. Skulkin
=== TV Series ===
* LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu
** Pilot Episodes
*** Way of the Ninja
*** The Golden Weapon
*** King of Shadows
*** Weapons of Destiny
** Mini-Movies
*** The New Masters of Spinjitzu
** Season 2
*** Never Trust a Snake 
*** Tick Tock
*** The Royal Blacksmiths 
*** All of Nothing
*** The Day of the Great Devourer
** Season 3
*** Ninjaball Run
*** Wrong Place, Wrong Time 
*** The Last Voyage 
=== Video Game Appearances ===
* LEGO Battles: Ninjago
== Notes ==
* In the online art (see below), Kruncha's body has a blue cloth, when it should be grey.
* In Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu he has a red cloth and no monocle. Also, he has a cracked tooth and a dark metallic grey helmet instead of a light grey one. His armour had brown straps on the bones instead of black ones.
* He and Nuckal are some of the only characters in Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu to have a theme song, the others being Zane, his Falcon, Lloyd Garmadon, Grand Sensei Dareth, and Ed Walker & Edna Walker.
* Kruncha's name is a play on the word "Cruncher".
* In the Ninjago Official Guide Book, he is mistakenly given Nuckal's description.
* The skull truck seems to belong to them rather than to the skulkin army, as shown in The New Masters of Spinjitzu and Ninjaball Run.
== Gallery ==
cruncha ninjago.png|From LEGO Battles: Ninjago
kruncha poster.jpg|Kruncha in a poster
2174-1.jpg|Kruncha on his spinner.
Kruncha and his weapons.jpg|Kruncha and his Weapons
Kruncha.png|Kruncha in a CGI
Kruncha Card.png|Kruncha card
Kruncha and Nuckal don't see Cole and Jay.png
Samukai, Kruncha and Nuckal are here.png
== See also ==
*Samukai
*Nuckal
*Wyplash
*Frakjaw
*Chopov
*Krazi
*Bonezai
Category:Minifigures introduced in 2011
Category:Ninjago Minifigures
Category:LEGO Battles minifigures
Category:LEGO Quest & Collect minifigures