Council of the Crystal King

The **Council of the Crystal King**, also known as the **Crystal Council**, is a group of the ninja's past enemies that were recruited by the Overlord's herald, Harumi, to join the Crystal army and exact revenge upon the ninja.

They raided the Monastery of Spinjitzu and stole the Golden Weapons, which they then used to help the Overlord take physical form and stand by his side during the Crystal Infection.

However, after gaining Dragon Form, the ninja were able to defeat individual members of the council and defeat the Overlord. After the final battle, they were imprisoned in Kryptarium Prison.

It is the secondary antagonistic faction of *Season 15: Crystalized* of *Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu*.

## Goals

* Steal the Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu.
* Destroy the Monastery of Spinjitzu.
* Serve the Crystal King. (all succeeded)
* Defeat the Ninja. (failed)

## History

One year after the Great Flood, Harumi began putting together the Council of the Crystal King for the Overlord. Her Crystal Spiders visited Aspheera, Vangelis, Pythor, the Mechanic (Lloyd in disguise) and Mister F (at some point) and she asked them if they would join the council. As they all agreed, the spiders freed them from their respective prisons and transported them to the Crystal Temple.

### The Council of the Crystal King

Disguised as the Mechanic, Lloyd Garmadon was guided by a Crystal Spider to the Crystal Temple down the Ninjago Metro, where most of the Council was sitting together in a table. Lloyd got surprised at the fourth member being what he thought was Mr. E, but Pythor affirmed to him that he's actually Mister F, the new model. After sitting down on a chair, Lloyd noticed an empty remaining one, before its owner, the Kabuki Mask, appeared. He revealed that he is additionally the Crystal King's servant and that he will not reveal his plan yet. He also revealed that an impostor is among them, causing Lloyd to panic. As Aspheera accused Vangelis for wearing a mask and the latter accused Mister F for wearing a helmet, the Kabuki Mask showed the villains a recorded video of the ninja fighting the real Mechanic, thus revealing the true impostor.

The villains almost immediately began to attack Lloyd, who tried to escape. However, Pythor caught him with using the Anacondrai invisibility and removed Lloyd's fake mustache. Lloyd broke free and used Spinjitzu to attack, but Mister F shot him out of it. Barely conscious on the floor, Lloyd saw the Kabuki Mask approaching him, inquiring him to guess who he is. As Lloyd began to black out, the other villains gathered around him as the Kabuki Mask gave him a clue: a familiar lullaby. While singing it, the Kabuki Mask finally took his mask off and revealed himself to be Harumi, who ended the song as Lloyd finally blacked out.

### The Fall of the Monastery

While Harumi and Mister F remained at the Crystal Temple to guard Lloyd, the rest of the Council raided the Monastery of Spinjitzu, to steal the Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu. During the ensuing fight, Aspheera attacked Wu, the Mechanic battled P.I.X.A.L., while both Vangelis and Pythor attacked Nya. Pythor mocked Nya about her lost powers, but was grabbed by Skylor from behind and thrown on the floor. As Skylor was about to strike him with his own naginata, Pythor turned invisible and struck her. After overwhelming Skylor, P.I.X.A.L, and Nya, Vangelis, Aspheera, and the Mechanic attacked Master Wu all at once. As a way to make things fair, P.I.X.A.L. summoned the MiniPix to attack the Council. As Aspheera tried to steal the Weapons of Spinjitzu, Wu stopped her from doing so.

Tons of Crystal Spiders then arrived and start attacking the MiniPix. On the verge of winning, Aspheera told Nya that Harumi sent her farewell, suprising the then former Water Ninja. Wu, Skylor, P.I.X.A.L. and Nya were all knocked out while the Council of the Crystal King managed to steal the Weapons of Spinjitzu. Aspheera took the Sword of Fire, Vangelis took the Scythe of Quakes, the Mechanic took the Shurikens of Ice, and Pythor took the Nunchucks of Lightning. Vangelis then ordered the Mechanic to arm the Crystal Spiders, starting a two-minute timer to detonate the Monastery.

### Darkness Within

After raiding and destroying the Monastery, the Crystal Council return to the Crystal Temple with the four Golden Weapons. Around the big crystal, they place the four weapons around it as Aspheera uses her new staff and its powers to transform the Golden Weapons into the Weapons of Destruction through a ritual and through that, they bring the Overlord back into the world of Ninjago, now known as the Crystal King.

### The Coming of the King

Shortly after gaining his new physical form, the Overlord used his powers to empower the Crystal Council, giving them new armor as well as their signature Weapon of Destruction. Happy with what they got, they thanked the Overlord in return as well as bowing towards him. When Lloyd managed to free himself and tilted the Crystal Island to one side, the Crystal Council and the Overlord held on to prevent themselves from sliding down. After Lloyd fled the area, the Overlord ordered his council to pursue and kill the Green Ninja. During the chase, they managed to corner Lloyd, who tries to warn them that their master will destroy everything. When they all threw their weapons at Lloyd, the Green Ninja easily avoided them and the Weapons of Destruction collided, which caused a powerful explosion that knocked the Crystal Council to the ground.

Angry at their foolishness, Harumi scolds them, stating that their weapons are far too powerful to be in contact with one another. She then tricks them into going the opposite path that Lloyd took so she can go after him herself, believing that he deserves another chance to join the council. As Lloyd was willing to jump off the temple while Harumi tries to get him on her side, the Council arrived to watch. They were left shocked and confused as Lloyd jumps down from the Crystal Island with Harumi. Aspheera tells the council to go after them, but knowing that jumping after the two is too risky, Pythor and Vangelis go back into the temple while the Mechanic retorts back telling her to jump after them.

### Return to Primeval's Eye

The Council chases Lloyd and Harumi on Dragonides. Later, after Lloyd goes onto the *Bounty*, they attack it but Zane and Nya drive them away.

### Quittin' Time!

After Ninjago City was crystalized, the Council was ordered by the Overlord to bring the ninja to him. The Mechanic finds Jay and Nya and fought the two, but was defeated.

### An Issue of Trust

The Council meets the Overlord but he is not happy as he reprimanded the four of them before Harumi and Mister F reveal that they know where the ninja are. They later surround the Resistance with their army to overwhelm them at the newspaper warehouse.

### Dragon Form

The Council aided the crystal army in overpowering the Resistance. However, when the ninja's allies, including the NPCs, Sky Folk, Upply, Keepers, Merlopians, joined the battle, the ninja were able to attain Dragon Form and fought with their respective adversaries. As a result, the Council lost their weapons and were ultimately defeated. Shortly thereafter, Aspheera warned the ninja that their triumph would be brief, as the Overlord intended to corrupt them all for their powers. Nevertheless, Zane intervened and froze Aspheera before she could say that she would exact her revenge.

After the battle, the Crystal Council were arrested and sent to Kryptarium Prison.

## Members

* Harumi (leader)
* Aspheera
* Vangelis
* Pythor
* The Mechanic
* Mister F

## Trivia

* According to Tommy Andreasen, Nadakhan was considered to be a part of the Crystal Council. However, the idea was scrapped since his return would have been too complicated to explain.
	+ The plan for his return was for Clutch Powers to drop the Teapot of Tyrahn and it would break, freeing Nadakhan to join the council.
* Mister F is the only member of the council who was not seen being recruited by the Kabuki Mask.
* The Mechanic, Pythor, and Harumi are the only members of the council to have debut during the "WilFilm" era (Pilot - Season 10).
	+ On a side note, those were the only generals that were seen on-screen trying to search for the ninja during the Crystal infection.
* The council is the second group consisting of different past enemies of the ninja in the show, after the group of villains revived by Master Yang in "Day of the Departed."
	+ Coincidentally, Pythor is part of both groups, making it the second time he has joined a villainous group.
* Aside from Harumi and Pythor, every member of the council has a minifigure that is inaccurate in some way to their Crystalized design in the show:
	+ Vangelis' mask has glowing pink eyes and additional details in the show, while his minifigure has pure black eyes and lacks those details. His wings also aren't as grand and lack the pink spikes in the physical version.
	+ Unlike her minifigure, Aspheera has visible pupils in the show and instead of a purple-black ghost tail, she has a silver snake tail with a similar armor covering on the front as Pythor.
	+ Mister F has a pink visor instead of a red one in the show and a slightly different helmet design.
	+ Unlike his minifigure, the Mechanic has a Nindroid eye covering his left eye and part of his hat, and lacks the dark ring around his right eye, although this detail was present pre-Season 11. The left side of his Crystalized torso in the show also contains additional details to represent his mechanical side being connected to his robo-arm, which the physical minifigure lacks. His robo-arm also continues to be improperly represented on the physical minifigure.
* Four members of the council were royalty at some point in their lives.
	+ Harumi was the princess of Ninjago until she abandoned that role after her death and subsequent resurrection by the Overlord.
	+ Aspheera briefly became the Serpentine Queen after overthrowing King Mambo V.
	+ Pythor became the Serpentine King until Skales took the title after he was consumed by the Great Devourer.
	+ Vangelis was the King of Shintaro until he was dethroned and replaced by his daughter, Vania.
		- All these members of the council also have their individual theme songs.
* The council can be seen as the villainous counterparts to the ninja, from their personal rivalries with their respective ninja, in addition to the respective Weapon of Destruction that each council member wields adds a personal connection to the four original ninja that owned their respective Golden Weapon.
	+ The Overlord, the leader of the Crystal army, can be considered to be Wu's counterpart, due to their roles within their respective teams of leadership and usually sitting in the sidelines during battle. They both also have similar but completely opposite goals concerning the sake of Ninjago; Wu wishes to protect and preserve the realm of Ninjago as his father would, while the Overlord seeks to destroy the Balance and cover all of Ninjago in darkness. Additionally, the two have a face-off in "Brave But Foolish," and seem to share identical fighting styles during their battle.
	+ Harumi, the leader of the council, is the counterpart to Lloyd, due to their past conflicting history in Sons of Garmadon and Hunted, both serve as the leaders of their respective groups, and have sided against their teams, as heroes and villains respectively. Harumi's role in sitting on the sidelines with the Overlord is identical to how Lloyd used to stay out of combat as the Green Ninja, usually accompanied by Wu (and occasionally Nya) within the first first seasons. They have also have never owned a Weapon of Destruction or a Golden Weapon respectively. And Harumi consistently trying to convince Lloyd to join the dark side contrasts how Lloyd wanted Harumi to join the good side throughout Crystalized.
	+ Aspheera is the counterpart to Kai, as both are the hot-headed and impulsive members of their teams, Aspheera wields the Sword of Destruction, and she had previously stolen Kai's Fire powers in Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu. On an interesting note, out of all the members of their teams, Aspheera and Kai have had the most amount of focuses. Aspheera was focused on five episodes of Crystalized, the most out of any member besides Harumi, whilst Kai had the most TV installments focused on him (pilot episodes, Season 1, Season 4 and Season 7).
	+ Pythor is the counterpart to Jay, as both seem to be the humourous members of their groups, and Pythor wields the Nunchucks of Destruction. While there isn't much of a personal connection and rivalry between Pythor and Jay (in fact, Pythor clearly has the most history and rivalry with Lloyd out of all the ninja, shown in Rise of the Snakes and "Day of the Departed"), it's worth noting that Jay temporarily became a Serpentine like Pythor after being pricked by the Fangpyre skeleton in "Once Bitten, Twice Shy," and additionally, Jay and Pythor squared off in a major fight during a flashback in "Blue Lightning." Jay is also the only ninja to not have been defeated by Pythor during their first encounter with him.
	+ Mister F is the counterpart to Zane, due to their statuses as Nindroids, Mister F wields a Shuriken of Destruction, and Zane and Mister F's rivalry is based on Zane's rivalry with the previous model, Mr. E during in Season 8.
	+ The Mechanic could be considered a second counterpart to Zane, as he wields the second Shuriken of Destruction, and the Mechanic tried to dismantle Zane for spare parts in Season 6, and attempted to destabilize Zane to power the Manifestation Gate in Season 12. However, the Mechanic's role on the team is more identical to Nya (especially her role as Samurai X), as both are highly experienced in mechanism and both have been able to overpower the four original ninja with their tools (the Mechanic easily resisted the ninja with his Robo-arm in "The Fifth Villain" and "The Council of the Crystal King", while Nya has also been to be a greater opponent for the ninja in "Can of Worms" and "The Snake King"). The Mechanic's rivalry with Nya is also explained in his fantasy in "The Absolute Worst," and the Mechanic is even paired as her rival in Crystalized, during "Quitting Time!" and "Dragon Form."
	+ Vangelis is the counterpart to Cole, as both are the level-headed and strategic of their groups, Vangelis wields the Scythe of Destruction, and Cole was the first ninja to discover Vangelis' identity as the Skull Sorcerer, in addition to being the one to confronting him during the Battle for Shintaro Mountain in Season 13.
* In *Ladybug and Cat Noir in Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu*, they are joined by Smaug, Hexxus, Mayura, Megatronus Prime, Lord Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange, Opaline Arcana and Davy Jones.