Kalmaar

> "*This world was once ours. Then they came and despoiled the Endless Sea with their lands and their foul presence. But with the power of Wojira, I can correct this wrong!*"
> ― Kalmaar.
>
>

**King Kalmaar** was the ruler of Merlopia and the Endless Sea, Trimaar's son and Benthomaar's adoptive brother. Due to his hatred for those who lived on land, Kalmaar became obsessed with reawakening a sea serpent known as Wojira so he can use her powers to destroy the surface world.

As years went by, Kalmaar was still searching for Wojira until he once managed to find a sea scroll depicting the Temple of Wojira. With the help of his adopted brother, whom he used, he got to the temple, stole th0e Wave Amulet from his kind and began experimenting with models of the real Storm Amulet in order to reawake Wojira.

## Background

### Prior to *Seabound*

Years ago, Kalmaar and Trimaar wandered around in the Endless Sea when Kalmaar saw a shipwreck. While there, Kalmaar tried to get Trimaar to tell him more about Wojira until Trimaar saw a baby being attacked by eels. After Trimaar fought the eels off, he introduced Kalmaar to the newest member of their family, Benthomaar. As years went by, Kalmaar ignored Benthomaar whenever he tried to please him because he was looking for anything about the Sleeper in the Deep. He was studying sea scrolls when Benthomaar visited him many times and tried to help him with it.

During the time, he began to sink several ships whenever he discovered one so he could appease his hatred for humans, as his father wouldn't. This allowed Kalmaar to sink a total of 50 ships.

Eventually, Kalmaar discovered that Wojira was in a temple at the Tartarus Trench and told his father about it. Trimaar, however, forbid Kalmaar into going there due to the trench being dangerous and filled with poisonous sulphur vents. Soon, Kalmar told Gripe that he needed someone that could help him swim through the Tartarus Trench safely, so he got Benthomaar to swim through there by saying that he was sorry for not seeing that he is part of the family.

Once they went to the Tartarus Trench, Benthomaar and Kalmaar swam passed the vents and made it to the Temple of Wojira. After Benthomaar saved Kalmaar from an eel, Kalmaar revealed to him that he still doesn't consider him as his brother and that it was only an act, and told him to leave him be. Benthomaar sadly obeyed, and before leaving the Tartarus Trench, he said that he hopes Kalmaar gets his wish.

After finding the temple, Kalmaar later stole the Wave Amulet from the other Merlopians so he can return it to Wojira.

### *Seabound*

Kalmaar continued to make futile attempts to awaken Wojira with faux amulets along with some of the Maaray Guards. Glutinous explained that he needed more time, but Kalmaar yelled at him to try again. However, it failed, causing the following energy pulse to reveal Nya and Maya's location by making the former glow. Then, Kalmaar saw Nya and Maya, and began to shoot at them by using his trident. After seeing Nya using a water blast on the Maaray Guards after he powered down Maya's APS suit, he was surprised to find out that she was a Master of Water and soon resisted the water blast. He then knocked out Nya and took her and Maya as his hostages.

### The Wrath of Kalmaar

Kalmaar was listening to Nya and Maya telling each other about the Keepers and the Storm Amulet. He then ask for the Island of the Keepers' location from Nya, but was interrupted by Gripe. Gripe told Kalmaar that King Trimaar needed him at Merlopia. He and Gripe then leave and return to the Merlopian Palace. He then arrived at the throne room, where Trimaar asked Kalmaar if he was responsible for sinking the *Hydro Bounty*. Kalmaar then declined and his adopted brother Benthomaar agreed. Trimaar said that if he finds out if Kalmaar was lying, he will be furious. After Kalmaar left the throne room, he then told Gripe to make Nya and Maya tell him more about the Island of the Keepers and to get rid of them.

### Long Live the King

Glutionus found Kalmaar and told him that the *Hydro Bounty* was working and didn't get destroyed. Kalmaar then started to think that the ninja were smarter than he thought. After the ninja told Trimaar about Wojira, Kalmaar interrupted. He then argued with Trimaar and said that with Wojira, they could destroy Ninjago and the rest of the surface. Enraged by Trimaar saying that he would not accept this and that he's his father and king, Kalmaar blasted him with his trident, fatally injuring him. He then cried for help and framed the ninja for attacking Trimaar.

Then Benthomaar ran in and asked Kalmaar if Trimaar was truly injured, and Kalmaar told him that it was true. Kalmaar told Benthomaar that it was too late to save Trimaar, and told him to comfort Trimaar in his last moment while Kalmaar will deal with the ninja. He ordered Gripe to flood the castle and to release the Ripper Sharks on the ninja. Gripe then came and saw Kalmaar, who declared himself as "King Kalmaar."

### Escape from Merlopia

After Benthomaar told a group of Maaray Guards that Kalmaar was asking for them, Kalmaar told the group that Benthomaar is helping the ninja. He, Gripe, and the other Maaray Guards then follow the ninja through the city of Merlopia. They destroy part of Merlopia and follow the ninja, shooting torpedoes at them. Benthomaar and the ninja block off part of the area, preventing Kalmaar and the others from advancing.

### The Storm Amulet

Glutinous came and told Kalmaar that he may have discovered the location of the Storm Amulet and says that the island is in the storm belt. Gripe said nothing was there but Kalmaar corrected him.

Kalmaar, Gripe, and the Maaray Guards travel to the Island of the Keepers and see the *Hydro Bounty*. When the ninja return with the fake Storm Amulet from Mammatus, the Merlopians ambush them in the *Hydro Bounty*. They ask for the Storm Amulet and Nya tells Jay to give it to them, despite Kalmaar knowing that the amulet was fake. He then destroyed the *Hydro Bounty* and headed to the Explorer's Club.

### Riddle of the Sphinx

After the Trial By Sphinx, Kai, Ray, Wu, Cole, and Misako go to a room where they meet Clutch Powers. Kalmaar and the other Merlopians broke down the wall and demanded the Storm Amulet from Clutch. Clutch gave it to Wu, and a fight ensues between Kalmaar and Wu. Kalmaar and Wu pushed each other back and continue fighting.

### Papergirl

After Nelson and Antonia rode around Ninjago City mentioning events like Unagami's invasion and Aspheera, they see Kalmaar break out of the Explorer's Club with the Storm Amulet. Kai started fighting him and the Storm Amulet rolled over to Antonia. After Antonia got away with the amulet, Kalmaar and the Maaray Guards chased after Antonia and Nelson to get it. Antonia and Nelson got cornered by them, but they rode off a ramp. Kalmaar jumped down and got in a truck. He started chasing them, but Kai jumped in with him. They drove off another ramp and fall in the sea. Kalmaar emerged and grabbed the Amulet, then asked Antonia if she was a ninja, an Elemental Master, a mystic, an Oni, a Serpentine, or a Vermillion, but Antonia said she is just a papergirl. Surprised by this, Kalmaar laughed at her, saying that he underestimated humans due to his encounter with her, and then dove into the sea and swam away.

### Master of the Sea

At Ninjago Harbor, Kalmaar started imagining the fate of Ninjago once Wojira awakens until he was interrupted by Wu. However, he was able to capture him and the others after he overpowered them. When Kalmaar attempt to drown them, he realized that the other group managed to return to Ninjago to stop him. During the battle, Kalmaar battled Nya and Benthomaar until he decided to get away with the Storm Amulet.

During the getaway, he tried to blast Nya with a torpedo, who managed to dodge it and take the Storm Amulet from him. Unbeknownst to Nya, she actually took the fake Storm Amulet from the Island of the Keepers while Kalmaar got away with the real one.

### The Calm Before the Storm

After Kalmaar awakens Wojira with the Storm and Wave Amulets, he takes control of her by using his trident then takes her to Ninjago City as his first act of destroying the surface world. Two days later, he and Wojira were able to Arrive in Ninjago City and created a tsunami to flood the city.

### Assault on Ninjago City

Kalmaar started to do whatever damage he could do to Ninjago City by commanding Wojira. During his assault, he commanded Wojira to go after the *Destiny's Bounty*. He eventually was challenged by Nya and the two lunged into battle.

### Nyad

Kalmar started his battle with Nya until he was able to beat her, forcing Nya to retreat. While going after Nya, Kalmaar spotted the *Destiny's Bounty* and went after it, but soon realized that the ship was on auto pilot and send out a search party to look for the ninja.

During the search, Gripe informed Kalmaar that they found the Police Commissioner. When Kalmaar questioned the Police Commissioner where the ninja are, he threatened him with his trident until Wojira sensed something. Once Kalmaar realized that Wojira sensed Nya, he continued his battle with her.

### The Turn of the Tide

During his reign and command over Wojira, he faced off against Nya. While fighting, he eventually ended up having to fight an enraged Jay due to the fact that he seemingly killed Nya in mid-battle. He soon blasted Jay off of Wojira's head, and later fought Benthomaar, who subsequently broke his trident, freeing Wojira from his control.

Despite having his trident destroyed, Kalmaar attempted to take control of Wojira again, but the serpent instead threw him into the air and then swallowed him whole, killing him.

## Relationships

### Family

* Trimmar † - Father and Victim
* Benthomaar - Adoptive Brother and Attempted Victim

### Allies

* Merlopians
	+ Gripe - Second-in-Command
	+ Maaray Guards - Subordinates
* Ripper Sharks
* Manta rays

### Enemies

* Eels
* Ninja
	+ Nya - Archenemy, Temporary Prisoner, Attempted Killer and Attempted Victim
	+ Jay - Attempted Victim
	+ Lloyd Garmadon - Attempted Victim
	+ Zane - Attempted Victim
	+ Cole
	+ Kai - Attempted Victim
* P.I.X.A.L. - Attempted Victim
* Kai and Nya's family
	+ Ray
	+ Maya - Temporary Prisoner and Attempted Victim
* Keepers
	+ Mammatus
	+ PoulErik
* Wu - Attempted Victim
* Misako - Temporary Hostage and Attempted Victim
* Clutch Powers - Attempted Victim
* Explorer's Club
	+ Cecil Putnam
* Paperboys
	+ Antonia
	+ Nelson
* Glutinous - Former Ally
* Wojira † - Former Servant and Killer

## Appearances

### Sets

* 71754 Water Dragon
* 71755 Temple of the Endless Sea
* 71756 Hydro Bounty

### *Ninjago*

#### Season 14: Seabound

* 168. "Five Thousand Fathoms Down"
* 169. "The Wrath of Kalmaar"
* 170. "Long Live the King"
* 171. "Escape from Merlopia"
* 172. "The Tale of Benthomaar" (flashback)
* 173. "The Storm Amulet"
* 174. "Riddle of the Sphinx"
* 175. "Papergirl"
* 176. "Master of the Sea"
* 177. "The Calm Before the Storm"
* 178. "Assault on Ninjago City"
* 179. "Nyad"
* 180. "The Turn of the Tide"

#### Season 15: Crystalized

* 181. "Farewell the Sea" (pictured)
* 199. "Crystastrophe" (pictured)

### Ninjago Magazine

* 79. *Shore Chaos*
* 82. *In the Belly of the Whale*
* 83. *4 Feet High and Rising* (visualized)
* 84. *Here Comes the Flood!*

### Video games

* *Abyss* (non-canon)
* *LEGO Brawls* (non-canon)

## Etymology

In some languages, "kalmar" means squid. His name could also be a play on the word calamari, which is a type of squid dish. Nya also refers to Kalmaar as "Calamari." The suffix "maar" comes from the Latin word root "mar," meaning "the collection of organisms at the bottom of a body of water" and "ocean or pool" respectively. However, in-universe, the suffix "maar" means "sea."

He is named after Tommy Kalmar, one of the crew members in charge of the franchise.

His name is also possibly inspired by the Kalmar union (A union of Sweden, Denmark and Norway during the 15th and early 16th centuries).

## Behind the scenes

* According to Bragi Schut, Kalmaar is one of *Ninjago*'s worst villains.
	+ He also replied that Kalmaar will be tough to top for future *Ninjago* villains.
* According to Tommy Andreasen, Kalmaar is his favorite WildBrain villain. He also noted that his motivation is basically racism.
* Giles Panton, his voice actor, considers Kalmaar one of his "mains."
* His name is similar to that of Kalmah, one of the Barraki warlords from *BIONICLE.*
	+ Interestingly, both characters are antagonists in their respective lines' ocean-themed storylines and have squid characteristics (Kalmaar is a humanoid squid; Kalmah had tentacles and used squid as weapons).
* His face resembles that of Gill-Man's from *The Creature from the Black Lagoon.*
* He is similar to the Squid Warrior from *LEGO Atlantis*, as they are both based on squid, have tentacles instead of legs, have mustache in the form of the tentacles, live underwater and use a trident as a weapon.
* He is also similar to Pythor in several respects.
	+ Both are purple non-human villains without legs and with a new head mould designed just for them.
	+ Both first appear in the fourth episode of the season where they serve as the main antagonist.
	+ Both speak with a British accent.
	+ Both committed murder of at least three members of their own kind.
	+ Both have eyes of a different color on the physical minifigure than in the show.
	+ They both wish to awaken a giant serpent: Wojira and the Great Devourer respectively.
		- Coincidentally, both were devoured by the ones who they wished to re-awaken. However, while Pythor survived albeit with his completely bleached scales, Kalmaar didn't survive. Also, Pythor awakened the Great Devourer in the penultimate episode, whereas Kalmaar awakened Wojira earlier.
			* Pythor was also devoured by the Great Devourer almost immediately after awakening it, while Kalmaar managed to control Wojira for longer.
* He is similar to Aspheera, as both were able to overthrow a person of a higher rank (Trimaar and Mambo V).
* He is also similar to Vangelis:
	+ They served as the evil member of their families.
		- Both families also have a good member (Benthomaar and Vania), who helped the ninja and learn the truth of the evil family member.
	+ They brought back a creature that was known for terrorizing people: Wojira and Grief-Bringer.
	+ They tricked their own guards by telling tell them that the ninja were the enemies: the Maaray Guards and the Army of Shintaro
	+ They both also have backstory about working together with some of the ninja's allies (Benthomaar and the Upply) to find something important (the Temple of Wojira and the Skull of Hazza D'ur), but later betray them after they found it.
	+ They seek glory for their kind, despite lying to them: the Merlopians and the Sky Folk.
* While he has yellow-green eyes in the show, in the sets they are blue-pink. He also has gold armor in the sets which Trimaar has in the show instead.
	+ According to Michael Knap the reason for this is that "we did not have the option to make the eyes yellow and the TV show need more detail."
	+ His father, King Trimaar, has similar eyes in the show as Kalmaar in the sets.
	+ Because of this, his headpiece is technically more accurate to Trimaar than it is to him.
* Like Wojira, Kalmaar has several teal spots on his face on his minifigure that did not appear in the show.
* His minifigure's blue sections are more teal rather than in-show cyan.

## Trivia

* He is the second prince to appear in *Ninjago*, the first being Nadakhan.
* He is fifth main antagonist that doesn't appear in the first episode of their season, the first four being Pythor, Scorm, the Preeminent, and Vangelis.
* He is the first character to kill a sapient character onscreen in a WildBrain episode.
* He is the first character to commit parricide (killing of a parent), as well as the first to commit regicide (killing of a king) onscreen.
* Kalmaar is the seventh character who speaks with a British accent. The six four are Pythor, Sir Fangar, Gobbleton Rambley, Garg, Jack Shields and Killow.
* He is the tenth known king in *Ninjago*, the first nine being Pythor, Skales, Khanjikhan, Nadakhan (in an alternate timeline), Mambo V, Grimfax, Atta the Ratta, Vangelis and Trimaar.
* He is the third child of a monarch that is shown to succeed their parent, the first being Nadakhan (in an alternate timeline) and the second being Vania.
* He knows of Oni, Serpentine, and Vermillion.
* He knows how to drive, albeit poorly.
	+ The reason for this was because he believed that the vehicles in Ninjago were creatures ridden by people for transportation, similar to the manta rays.
* He has received several nicknames from the ninja, like "Calamari" from Nya and "Tentacles" from Kai.
* Kalmaar's voice actor, Giles Panton, often replies to people on Twitter with mini-videos talking in the voice of Kalmaar.
* Kalmaar is the only main antagonist in the WildBrain era to appear in every episode of their season from their debut onwards.
* According to Giles Panton:
	+ "Kalmaar is the handsomest, strongest, and most intelligent of all the Merlopians."
	+ Kalmaar would consider Pythor insignificant.
	+ The only human food that Kalmaar likes is pizza.
	+ If Kalmaar met Clay Moorington from *Nexo Knights*, a great battle would ensue.
* Kalmaar is one of the seven main antagonists not currently known to be alive, the other six being Chen, Morro, the Preeminent, the Time Twins, and the Omega.
* He is the fourth most frequently appearing main villain in a single wave, as he was released in up to three sets with exactly the same appearance. The first three are Garmadon, Vex and Unagami.
* According to Tommy Andreasen, there is no information about his mother.
* During his death, Kalmaar still thought he had killed Nya, as she did not return until after Wojira devoured him.
* Despite that in Kalmaar's description in *Mech vs Monster!* it is written that "with each of his eight tentacles he has committed at least one evil deed," in fact he has only five tentacles.
* Kalmaar's Polish voice actor, Krzysztof Prałat also voices Chen.
* Kalmaar is the last main antagonist introduced in the original *Ninjago* TV series, due to the inclusion of returning villains from past seasons in Crystalized.
* Kalmaar makes an appearance in the Ninjago NXT mini-movie "Oldies", even though he died in his debut season.