The Dark Island Trilogy

*“Though many don't know the full extent of what happened, they know that, at last, all is right with their world. For the light has done more than returned, it has been renewed.”*

— Master Wu, "The Final Battle"

## Magazine Cover

The ***Dark Island Trilogy*** is a set of graphic novels that serve as the eighth installment of the *Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu* series. It was originally released on August 8th, 2016. Wu is the focus character for this installment and Clouse is the main antagonist. The Shadow Army serve as the villainous faction.

While chronologically it takes place between Seasons 6 and 7, it is not considered part of the Master Trials Arc. They are one of the first graphic novels to be directly tied in with the TV show, as evident by a mural of these events being drawn on the Monastery of Spinjitzu walls in Season 10.

It is preceded by *Skybound* and followed by *Day of the Departed*.

## Plot Summary

After investigating the Dark Island following the disappearance of several sailors, Misako and Ronin are attacked by pirates in the midst of a storm; sometime later, their boat washes up back in Ninjago. Wu, who has been meditating for some time and sensing a growing threat, quickly assembles the six ninja to take the *Destiny's Bounty* in search of them, bringing along a mysterious crate in the process. Unfortunately, the group is caught in a storm on the way to the island that scatters them, with Kai waking up in what appears to be a vast desert. Wu wakes up and finds the *Bounty* damaged nearby, only for Lloyd to appear being chased by a group of angry gorillas. After eluding them, uncle and nephew get the *Bounty* seaworthy and begin sailing upriver, with Wu noting that the influence of Dark Matter appears to be growing stronger all around them in his journal entries.

Elsewhere, Jay and Nya awake at No Man's Bluff and find their communicators inactive, and so begin searching for the others. They soon come across an unexpected sight: the pirates who attacked Misako and Ronin, who happen to be members of Nadakhan's crew, though only Jay and Nya remember the events of their previous encounters due to Jay's wish. The pirates have captured Ronin, who reveals that he was forced off their ship only for it to disappear along with Misako. As the ninja and pirates battle, the Leviathan appears and grabs Ronin, and Nya orders Jay to stop the pirates while she deals with it; however, he helps free Ronin instead, and the thief unveils his new Mech and aids the Nya in driving off the sea beast. The trio then set off to find Misako.

Lloyd and Wu continued their journey up the River of Darkness, only to notice the effects of the Dark Matter upon the environment and be affected by it themselves, with Lloyd abusing his powers before taking off alone in search of Misako. Wu is similarly affected, with an insect bite causing him to envision a dark copy of himself who taunts him for using the ninja for his own gains; however, Wu is able to banish this illusion. Meanwhile, Zane and Cole awaken and, after encountering a large bird, find a mine where Misako and the captured fishermen are being forced to dig up Dark Matter. An enraged Lloyd arrives and begins attacking, but Zane and Cole are able to calm him down before going after Misako, who has fallen under the influence of the Dark Matter but is purified by Lloyd's Energy.

The Sky Pirates mass for another attack, but the three ninja and the freed prisoners are aided by the arrival of Ronin, Nya, and Jay. Elsewhere, Wu discovers that the villain behind the troubles on Dark Island is none other than Clouse, who had come to the island after failing to acquire the Teapot of Tyrahn (due to Jay's final wish to Nadakhan). Having used his magic to forcibly recruit Nadakhan's crew, Clouse now seeks to use the Dark Matter to corrupt the Temple of Light, which will reunite the Dark Island and Ninjago as a landmass of darkness that Clouse will control. Clouse escapes Wu aboard *Misfortune's Keep*, while the ninja acquire new vehicles created by Monkey Wretch and purified by their elemental energy. Cole then discovers Wu but is sent to search for the missing Kai.

Kai, who has been wandering lost in the Billy Badlands, is captured by a pair of pirates but rescued by Cole, whose partial immunity to the Dark Matter enables him to reason with a partially corrupted Kai. The pair acquire new vehicles and set out to meet with the other ninja, eventually succeeding in doing so and making their way towards the Temple of Light. Unfortunately, the final convoy of Dark Matter needed to overwhelm the Temple of Light's defenses and corrupt it is already in motion, and the Dark Island itself is falling into chaos as a result of the evil energies. The ninja team reunites and attempts to stop the convoy, only to be attacked by Clouse and nearly buried under a magical sandstorm. Undeterred, the heroes make their way to the Temple of Light, determined to stop Clouse or die trying.

Upon arriving at the temple, the ninja find that Clouse's plan is already well underway and are forced to confront his Shadow Army and Sky Pirates. Defeat seems inevitable, but Wu arrives and reveals the contents of his crate: his father's Golden Mech, which he soon pilots into battle against Clouse. Clouse responds by creating his own Shadow Mech from the members of his army, and the two engage in battle only for Wu to emerge victoriously. The merging of Ninjago and the Dark Island is halted, the Temple of Light is restored to its original glory, and a vortex draws Clouse-unwilling to accept help from his enemies-into the Underworld. With the Sky Pirates captured and the balance restored, for the time being, the ninja celebrate their victory.

However, after returning to Ninjago, Wu notes in his journal that he senses another threat on the horizon: something involving Kai and Nya's mother and father and two twins he believed were lost to time. . . .

## Characters

* Clancee - Ian James Corlett
* Clouse - Scott McNeil
* Cole - Kirby Morrow
* Dogshank - Nicole Oliver
* Fishermen - N/A
* Flintlocke - Paul Dobson
* Jay - Michael Adamthwaite
* Kai - Vincent Tong
* Lloyd Garmadon - Jillian Michaels
* Misako - Kathleen Barr
* Nya - Kelly Metzger
* Ronin - Brian Dobson
* Wu - Paul Dobson
* Zane - Brent Miller

## Battles

* Misako & Ronin vs. Sky Pirates
* Nya vs. Leviathan
* Nya, Jay, & Ronin vs. Sky Pirates
* Lloyd & Misako vs. Dogshank
* Wu vs. Shadow Wu
* Wu vs. Clouse
* Kai & Cole vs. Sky Pirates
* Ninja vs. Sky Pirates
* Wu vs. Clouse (rematch)

## Locations Visited

* Ninjago
* Endless Sea
* Dark Island
	+ Temple of Light
	+ River of Darkness
	+ Jankikai Jungle
	+ Shadow Bay
	+ Mount of Eternal Shadows
		- Digger's Deep
	+ No Man's Bluff

## Chapters

2. Shipwrecked
4. The Long River
6. The Final Battle

## Notes

* In the early stage, Tommy Andreasen, Tommy Kalmar, and Kenneth Bonde spent a day at Andreasen's house brainstorming the ideas for the trilogy. They wanted to explore underutilized elements from the TV series and tie in components from Skybound and "Day of the Departed," the two adjacent TV installments. Greg Farshtey, the author of the series, stated how this was different than his other writing roles and was more akin to writing a movie novelization, because it was a story someone else had already come up with.
* Despite never being directly mentioned in the series, the events of the novels are considered by the writers to have a more significant role in Ninjago's history than "Day of the Departed," as the latter did not receive a mural and was not seen in the intro of March of the Oni, unlike the book series.
* The Golden Mech makes its first appearance since "Rise of the Spinjitzu Master."
	+ The Temple of Light makes its first appearance since "Codename: Arcturus."
* The Sky Pirates all return, none of which remember the events of Skybound, as the events were erased in "The Way Back."
* The events of the three novels take place over the course of 32 days.
* The story was partly inspired by the *Mad Max* franchise, specifically *Mad Max: Fury Road*, being described by Kalmar as "Ninjago meets Mad Max." This is especially prominent with Kai's story line in the desert in Part 3. Additionally, *Apocalypse Now* served as an unintentional inspiration, specifically for Wu journeying down the River of Darkness in the *Destiny's Bounty*.

## Continuity

* The Rock Roader, Titanium Ninja Tumbler, Ninja Stealth Raider, and Ronin's Salvage M.E.C. all make their first appearances in this installment, explaining how they came about in *Day of the Departed*.
	+ It is revealed that the Ninja's vehicles were built by Monkey Wretch using Dark Matter (and subsequently purified by the Ninja,) and Ronin's mech was built by him from scraps he found on the island.
* The Sky Pirates make their return in this installment, although with their memories wiped from the previous season. They are now led by Clouse. At the end of the graphic novel series, they are imprisoned in Kryptarium.
	+ Although the show acknowledges that the events of *The Dark Island Trilogy* did occur, the Sky Pirates are never mentioned nor seen in the prison at any point in the series.
	+ The Ninja, except for Jay and Nya, do not remember the events of *Skybound*, so they do not know who the Sky Pirates are.
* There is a continuity error when Kai meets Clouse for the first time in Part 3, he mentions that Garmadon had taken care of him in the Corridor of Elders, referring to the events of the fourth season's finale, "*The Corridor of Elders*," in which Garmadon sacrificed himself to banish Chen and his army to the Cursed Realm, despite Clouse being sent to the Cursed Realm prior to this episode during his battle with Garmadon in "*The Day of the Dragon*."
	+ It is possible that Kai was not aware of their battle in the jungle and just assumed that Clouse had been banished along with Chen and the rest of the Anacondrai Cultists
	+ Another continuity error is when the Ninja are surprised to see Clouse is alive as a ghost, although they had previously encountered him in the canon live stage play, *The Realm of Shadows.*
* At his defeat by Master Wu, Clouse is banished to the Underworld in a similar fashion to his rival, Lord Garmadon.
	+ As of now his fate remains unknown.
* At the end of the books Master Wu has a vision seeing the two twins lost to time and a significant event occurring during the holiday Day of the Departed, foreshadowing the events of *Day of the Departed* and *The Hands of Time*.
* It is revealed during *The Splinter in the Blind Man's Eye* that Clouse was only able to enlist the help of the Sky Pirates in this event due to Fenwick's meddling with destiny after he was banished from the Cloud Kingdom.

## Gallery

The events of the Dark Island Trilogy as depicted in the television show