The Overlord

*“Did you truly think you could defeat me? Your powers were a gift from me. It was I who possessed the serpent that bit your hand! It was I who corrupted the Great Devourer and set him against you! All that has happened was by my design! The Devourer was merely a pawn, set in motion by me to provide a worthy vessel for my return. Now, at last, I have such a vessel. I am complete!”*
— The Overlord to Garmadon and Lloyd, "Dragon Form"

## The Overlord

* Crystal King
* Spirit
* Golden Master
* Dragon

## Information

### Status

Deceased

**The Overlord** (also known as the **Dark Lord**) is an evil spirit, the creator of the Stone Army and the source of all Darkness in Ninjago. A sinister dark entity, he first appeared as a dragon-like being that challenged the First Spinjitzu Master, who was well aware of the creature's true nature. After a lengthy battle, the First Spinjitzu Master succeeded, defeating the Stone Army and trapping the Overlord on the Dark Island. Not willing to resign in defeat, the dark entity corrupted a lone serpent and sent her after the Spinjitzu Master's oldest son, Garmadon, to put his plan into motion.

Thousands of years later, a corrupted Garmadon was confronted by the Overlord's spirit, who influenced him to join forces. Garmadon assumed command of the indestructible Stone Army, which constructed an ultimate weapon. Eventually, the Overlord revealed he was using Garmadon and possessed his body - commencing a metamorphosis that turned him into his monstrous dragon form. The ninja and Lloyd returned to Ninjago, where Lloyd fought and defeated the Overlord in the final battle.

Sometime later, the Overlord once again returned in the form of a digital virus. With the help of Pythor and the Nindroids, the Overlord became the all-powerful **Golden Master** using the Golden Weapons and Lloyd's Golden Power. In a final effort to defeat the Overlord, Zane sacrificed himself, destroying both their physical forms. As the balance must be maintained, the Overlord survived, and his spirit went into hiding for many years. A statue of him was to be placed in the Ninjago Museum of History's Hall of Villany prior to the Time Twins' return.

After the resurrected Lord Garmadon's rule over Ninjago City had ended, the Overlord confronted Harumi following her demise, coercing her into doing his bidding and reviving her. The Overlord adopted the title **Crystal King**, and once again sought to destroy the Balance - promising an era of peace in the darkness. A year after the Great Flood, Harumi assembled a council of villains to serve the Overlord, including Pythor, the Mechanic, Mister F, Aspheera and Vangelis, who performed a ritual to grant the Overlord a physical form. The Overlord waged a new final battle on the people of Ninjago, and was met with resistance from the ninja and their allies. Ultimately, the Overlord was defeated by Lloyd and the combined elemental might of Earth, Fire, Ice and Lightning, which took the form of the Golden Ultra Dragon.

## History

### In the beginning

Before Ninjago's creation, there were two kinds of beings with unfathomable power: the Oni and the Dragon. The Dragons had the power to create, while the Oni had the power to destroy; and so, they waged war against each other. One day, a child was born of both powers, the First Spinjitzu Master, who went on to create a land of light and darkness, these powers had been passed down to him from their respective owners.

From the shadows of the new world, the Overlord emerged. Risen to counterbalance the light, the Overlord challenged the First Spinjitzu Master to a battle for control of Ninjago. The battle eventually ground into a stalemate, so the Overlord created the Stone Army to turn the tide in his favor. At one point, the Overlord and his army took cover at the Temple of Fortitude to resist the First Spinjitzu Master's Golden Power.

Eventually realizing that he would be overcome, the First Spinjitzu Master used all of his strength to split Ninjago into two equal halves, which would later become two islands—one half remained as Ninjago, and the other became the Island of Darkness. This balanced the forces of light and darkness, preventing the Overlord from leaving the Island of Darkness as it slowly sank beneath the sea. For thousands of years, he plotted the events that would lead to his return.

At some point after his defeat, the Overlord corrupted a serpent that would later become known as the Great Devourer and set his plan in motion, pinning the serpent on a young Garmadon, in order to corrupt his power and use Garmadon to create strife, as well as create a variety of other problems that would stem from the Great Devourer's influence, which would ultimately lead the Overlord to obtaining a worthy vessel to inhabit.

### Legacy of the Green Ninja

#### The Stone Army

After being betrayed by Skales and falling into the Endless Sea, Lord Garmadon was carried to the shores of the Island of Darkness, now just a nondescript tropical island. Appearing before Garmadon as a pulsing sphere of pink-ish energy, the Overlord guided the four-armed villain through the jungle, promising to fulfill his dream of remaking Ninjago in his own image. Although skeptical and suspicious of the mysterious voice, Lord Garmadon followed the Overlord's instructions and activated a mechanism in a rock at the center of the island, causing the rest of the Island of Darkness to rise from the sea.

#### The Day Ninjago Stood Still

With the Island of Darkness restored, the Overlord had Lord Garmadon climb a series of rugged cliffs, assuring him that a great power lay at the end of his trial. Eventually, Lord Garmadon arrived in front of the Celestial Clock, and the Overlord told him to remove the Helmet of Shadows from its pedestal. As Garmadon placed the Helmet on his head, the hands of the Celestial Clock began to move. The Overlord explained that the helmet gave Garmadon control of the Stone Army, while the Celestial Clock was counting down to the final battle between good and evil—a battle that the Overlord intended to win.

#### The Last Voyage

When Lord Garmadon went to oversee the Stone Army's mining operations, the Overlord told him that the soldiers were searching for Dark Matter, a powerful evil material that could be used to construct an ultimate weapon for the forces of darkness. After hearing this, Garmadon became much more excited about mining.

#### Island of Darkness

As construction of the ultimate weapon continued, the Overlord warned Lord Garmadon that he sensed the presence of the ninja on the Island of Darkness. Garmadon responded by sending Stone Warriors across the island to hunt the ninja down, only to find them narrowly escaping capture in his own base camp. The Overlord realized that the ninja were looking for the Temple of Light, and told Garmadon about the location's significance.

Unfortunately for the forces of evil, the ninja succeeded in their quest, and the Stone Army was driven off by their renewed elemental powers and Lloyd's new "Golden Dragon" technique. Learning of this development atop the mountain where the Celestial Clock rested, the Overlord alleviated Garmadon's concerns by reminding him that their forces were also growing stronger, and the countdown to the final battle continued unabated.

#### The Last Hope

As the ultimate weapon neared completion and the Celestial Clock neared the end of its countdown, the Overlord sensed a growing conflict within Garmadon. The latter insisted that he wanted nothing more than to consume Ninjago with darkness, but the Overlord questioned Garmadon's resolve, noting that the final battle would inevitably bring him into contact with Lloyd. His prodding caused Garmadon to explode with rage and redouble work on the ultimate weapon, pleasing the Overlord.

When the ninja managed to steal the Helmet of Shadows, Garmadon sent the Stone Army in pursuit, only for the Overlord to remind him that the ninja could control the army if one of them donned the Helmet. Acknowledging this possibility, Garmadon instead opted to pursue the ninja's Power Drill with his Samurai Mech but failed to stop them from reaching the Celestial Clock. However, their unfamiliarity with the clock's design—coupled with the interference of General Kozu—prevented the ninja from replacing the Helmet of Shadows before the countdown finally ended. As Lord Garmadon wondered what was going on, the Overlord explained that the final battle was about to begin, and led his servant back to his base camp, where the Garmatron was finally completed.

#### Return of the Overlord

As Garmadon admired the Garmatron, the Stone Army returned with Nya as a prisoner. The Overlord watched as Garmadon immersed Nya in Dark Matter, infecting her with evil and transforming her into a loyal servant of darkness. With the test complete, the Overlord accompanied his forces as the Garmatron left the camp and headed for the coast.

Upon arrival, the Overlord encouraged Garmadon to fire the Garmatron's main cannon across the ocean—its Dark Matter warheads would infect Ninjago piece by piece, remaking it in Garmadon's image. Unfortunately, Lord Garmadon was distracted when Lloyd, Master Wu, and Misako arrived and begged him to stop—although they failed to reach the villain, their interference prevented the Overlord from warning Garmadon about the main cannon's twenty-second warm up period. Despite this, the Stone Army managed to delay the heroes until the Garmatron could fire, thereby corrupting Ignacia.

As Lord Garmadon dropped Lloyd and General Kozu down a trapdoor and fired another shot of Dark Matter at Jamanakai Village, the balance between light and darkness shifted enough for the Overlord to begin manifesting in the world once more. At this point, the Overlord revealed that he had been using Lord Garmadon all along—the four-armed villain had only been a pawn in the Overlord's millennia-long plan to free himself and conquer Ninjago. Lord Garmadon angrily protested at this (both at being used and because the Overlord was "stealing" one of his previous plans), but the Overlord took over his body, declaring that his "metamorphosis" had begun.

In an attempt to gain even more power, the Overlord set the Garmatron's sights on Ninjago City, only to realize that the ninja were interfering with the Stone Army's attempts to reload the cannon. He sent General Kozu to secure the bullets but ended up accidentally firing him into Ninjago City when Master Wu kicked the general into the Garmatron's loading port. The Overlord was then confronted by Lloyd, who was determined to stop the villain before he could corrupt any more of Ninjago.

A fierce battle erupted, with the Overlord gaining the upper hand. However, Lloyd called out to his father, and Lord Garmadon's attempts to reach out to his son caused the Overlord to weaken momentarily. Taking his chance, Lloyd launched a furious assault, and Lord Garmadon desperately struggled against the Overlord's control in order to avoid harming his own son. Unfortunately, the Overlord regained control over Garmadon's body and overcame the Green Ninja's energy beam, trapping Lloyd in a sphere of darkness and hurling him across the beach, breaking his leg. Weary of the ninja's interference, the Overlord opened a portal to Ninjago City and led his army through it, leaving the ninja stranded on the Island of Darkness.

#### Rise of the Spinjitzu Master

The Overlord and his army appeared in the middle of Ninjago City, where the former immediately began bombarding everything in sight with Dark Matter fired from the Garmatron's turrets. The influx of darkness accelerated the Overlord's metamorphosis, allowing him to regain his original form. Leaving his helmet in the streets, the Overlord proceeded to transform the Garmatron into the Dark Fortress, setting Nya and the Stone Army to defend it.

When the ninja returned and attacked the tower, the Overlord let his minions do the work against his foes until Dareth gained control of the Stone Army by donning the Helmet of Shadows. He began spitting masses of darkness at the ascending ninja, corrupting Cole, Jay, and Zane. With Kai occupying his corrupted sister and the Ultra Dragon shot down, the Overlord turned to the top of the stairs to find only an injured, unarmed Lloyd standing against him. The Overlord scoffed at the Green Ninja's defiance, but Lloyd was able to unlock his full potential, becoming the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master.

Despite his own considerable power, the Overlord was overwhelmed by Lloyd's new abilities. Even taking the fight to the sky failed to provide an advantage, as Lloyd summoned the Golden Dragon to pursue the ultimate evil. Enraged at the mortal's persistence, the Overlord surrounded Lloyd in a massive sphere of darkness and attempted to devour him. In turn, Lloyd used his powers within the Overlord's mouth—the dark dragon had only enough time to roar in fury and denial before he was obliterated, removing the taint of darkness from Ninjago City, the corrupted heroes, and even Lord Garmadon.

### First Return

Unbeknownst to the heroes, the Overlord was not destroyed by his battle with Lloyd although he was almost reduced to nothing. When Borg Tower was built in the former resting place of the Dark Fortress, the Overlord somehow infected the network as the Digital Overlord virus.

### Rebooted

#### The Surge

The Digital Overlord infects Cyrus Borg through his artificial limbs, transforming him into the villainous OverBorg. The Digital Overlord proceeds to spread his corruption to all of the robots in New Ninjago City, and sends them after the ninja; however, they escape.

#### The Art of the Silent Fist

The Digital Overlord collects Lloyd's Golden Power to try to make a new body but soon runs out of power. The Overlord tells P.I.X.A.L. he needs more of Lloyd's Golden Power and changes his plan to capturing Lloyd instead of getting the Techno Blades.

#### Blackout

After the power went out, the Stranger stole the Overlord hard drive then put it in the computer, which was powered by Electro-Cobrai.

The Overlord is outraged that he failed to procure Lloyd. However, the Stranger explains that his attack on the ninja was merely a plot for them to send the Falcon, of which he now controls. With Lloyd heading into Hiroshi's Labyrinth, it will be the perfect place to spring a trap. Delighted by this news, the Overlord tells the stranger that he likes him due to the deviousness of the plan and laughs as his vengeance gets within reach.

#### The Curse of the Golden Master

Lloyd's location has been revealed and is clear for capture; however, the Stranger said that their low on power and he gets a tank full of Electro-Cobrai and is fully operational to capture the Golden Ninja to conquer his Power to become the Golden Master.

#### Enter the Digiverse

When the ninja entered the Digiverse in a bid to shut the Overlord down for good, the villain sent Pythor and the Nindroids to attack their physical bodies while he infiltrated the Digiverse to attack their consciousnesses. His digital self was erased by the Techno Blades, seemingly destroying his consciousness, but before he was erased he escaped into his new incomplete "Golden Master Body."

#### Codename: Arcturus

Pythor and the Nindroids managed to recover the Mechdragon and retrieve the Overlord from within it. However, due to the incomplete transfer of Lloyd's golden power, the Overlord was left as an insubstantial blob—not wishing the Nindroids to behold his weakened condition, he had Pythor conceal him.

Learning that Lloyd had divided his Golden powers between himself and the other four ninja, the Overlord initiated Codename: Arcturus, a plan to acquire the Golden Weapons from space. Despite the ninja's efforts, the Overlord and Pythor succeeded in completing their rocket and launching it from the Lost City of Ouroboros. Unbeknownst to the Overlord, however, the five ninja boarded the rocket just before it took off.

#### The Void

The Overlord's new body is taken to Borg Tower by the Nindroids to await the arrival of the Golden Weapons.

#### The Titanium Ninja

He finally managed to get the Golden Weapons to become the Golden Master and create his mech. Later when his Destructive Reign begins, The ninja manage to head back to New Ninjago City and get the Indestructible and Invulnerable powers to stop him including a pill which could shrink the Overlord. When Wu and Garmadon throw the pill to him, Pythor manages to get the pill which saved the Overlord; however, Pythor had to face consequences of turning small and being chased by the Falcon. The Overlord then used beams of pure Golden Power to ensnare all of the ninja, except Zane. Zane then used the beams to get close enough to the Overlord to hang off of the Golden Mech. Zane then began to absorb the energy within the Golden Mech, weakening the Overlord. He then used the last of his strength to destroy the Overlord's physical form.

### Ninjago: Decoded

A remnant of the Overlord Virus' code (trapped in a Memory Loop) was found in Zane and slowly began corrupting him in order to take control of Zane's body and exact his revenge on the ninja, as it turned out Zane's "death" remained a traumatic event in the Ice Ninja's memory after he was rebuilt. However, by using good memories, the ninja managed to erase the rest of the Overlord Virus, for good.

### Second Return

Similar to the aftermath of his battle with Lloyd, the Overlord survived his defeat by Zane, feigning the assumption that he was reduced to dormancy. He would spend the next few years in exile, hiding from the inhabitants of Ninjago, bearing witness to countless historical conflicts and feeding off of the resulting violence while planning his revenge, awaiting the opportunity to reveal himself.

### Crystalized

#### A Sinister Shadow (flashback)

After Harumi's death from the collapsing building, the Overlord, introducing himself as the Crystal King, met up with her, saying he's been noticing her and her potential for some time. When he offered her to be resurrected in exchange for having to work for him, Harumi reconsidered due to the fact that she didn't even know him. This caused the Overlord to believe that he was wrong and began to leave, leaving Harumi behind in the Departed Realm. But Harumi changes her mind and accepted the deal, so the Overlord brings her back to life.

The Overlord gave Harumi a crystal and told her to go to the Oni Temple, where she placed the crystal inside a pedestal and transforming it into the Crystal Temple. When a larger crystal emerged from the pedestal, the Overlord manifested as a shadow from inside and revealed himself to Harumi, showing his true identity as the Overlord to her. Harumi began to fear that the Overlord will destroy Ninjago, but the latter claimed that he actually wants Ninjago to be at peace, saying that destruction actually comes from the battles between good and evil but could stop it by destroying the Balance. This convinced Harumi to serve the Overlord once more, so the Overlord then ordered her to create an army made out of Vengestone, which would allow them to block the ninja's Elemental Powers.

A year after the Great Flood ended, the Overlord began to recruit the ninja's enemies by forming the Crystal Council. With the help of his second-in-command, Harumi, he was able to have Mister F, Aspheera, Vangelis, Pythor, and the Mechanic become the council's members and join the Vengestone army. During the assembling, the Overlord had Harumi meet up with Lloyd after he and the others were arrested and put to Kryptarium, wanting him to know about the Crystal Council and their attack on Ninjago.

#### Darkness Within

After the Crystal Council steal the four Golden Weapons, Aspheera performs a ritual with her new staff to transform the weapons into the Weapons of Destruction. With their new power, the Overlord begins to emerge from his crystal as the Crystal King, and repeats a familar phrase to Lloyd during the events of The Final Battle, "It ends, now," as he laughs menacingly.

#### The Coming of the King

After gaining his physical form as the Crystal King, the Overlord claims that he has returned and recalled the times Lloyd, Garmadon, and the First Spinjitzu Master battled him, saying that all they do is just fail. But after hearing Lloyd saying that he could beat him a third time, the Overlord attempts to intimidate the Green Ninja by bestowing his council new powers and weapons, and moments later, turn his temple into a floating Crystal Island. He then gave Lloyd two options between working for him, or die. However, Lloyd chooses neither and escapes. The Overlord then orders Harumi and the rest of the council to destroy Lloyd. As they did so, the Overlord goes to the room that had the Vengestone Guards, being proud that Harumi did what he asked her to do. Using his powers, he brings the Vengestone Guards to life by crystalizing them.

## Other appearances and mentions

### Day of the Departed

During the ninja's tour of the Ninjago Museum of History's latest exhibit, the Hall of Villainy, Dr. Saunders stated that there were still many more statues to be added, including ones of the Overlord and the Golden Master. Based on this statement, it is possible the Overlord would have had more than one statue in the museum.

### Green Destiny

During the Liberation of Ninjago, Jay references the Final Battle and the Nindroid crisis by mentioning the Overlord.

### After Hunted

After the reconstruction of the Monastery of Spinjitzu, a mural was created, depicting the major historical events the ninja had faced. Several parts of the mural depicted the Overlord as both the Overlord Dragon and the Golden Master.

## Personality

The Overlord has shown to be serious and cunning, though he is often heavily reliant on metaphysical concepts and prophesied events (destiny, the Balance, the Final Battle, the prophecy of the Golden Master, the Final Prophecy of Quanish the Elder, etc.)

As is to be expected from the embodiment of darkness, the Overlord is very cruel and devoid of empathy and seems to enjoy inflicting pain and despair upon his enemies. In fact, he has been known to go out of his way to do so, taunting his victims in hopeless situations.

The Overlord has only ever shown respect for one person; that person being Pythor. That respect going as far as to include Pythor as an ally during the attempted Golden Master apocalypse. After the Liberation of Ninjago, he revealed to Harumi that his ultimate goal is to destroy the Balance, saying that destroying it is the best way to let Ninjago and its people no longer be plagued by conflicts and destruction, and instead let the realm be at peace in the dark.

## Appearance

During Misako's telling of Ninjago's origins (seen in "The Stone Army"), the Overlord was depicted as a towering mass of dark fire with a vaguely humanoid shape.

When Lord Garmadon arrived on the Island of Darkness, the Overlord appeared as an orb of purple energy with a pale yellow core. The orb pulsed as the Overlord spoke.

After possessing Lord Garmadon's body, the Overlord began his transformation to his original form, which started out as larger, more demonic version of Garmadon. Notable differences included longer limbs ending in clawed hands and feet, short spikes erupting from his shoulders and back, glowing purple eyes, and elongated reptilian jaws filled with long fangs. In "Rise of the Spinjitzu Master," the Overlord completed his transformation, which has a monstrous black dragon with four long feelers on its face, massive, tattered black wings instead of arms, and a broad, toothy mouth.

"Enter the Digiverse" saw the Overlord appear in two different forms. The first was that of a shadowy armored humanoid, as he was in the process of transforming into the legendary Golden Master. When confronting the ninja inside the Digiverse, he took a shadowy humanoid form of great size made out of black and blue ash that possessed a number of tentacles.

In "Codename: Arcturus," the Overlord had become a pulsing amorphous, pink, white, and red blob with glowing red eyes due to his interrupted transformation into the Golden Master.

In "The Void," the Overlord's being had stabilized into that of a completely blank, black armored humanoid with glowing red eyes with purple mist surrounding him as his body was nearly complete.

In "The Titanium Ninja," the Overlord assumed his semi-golden master form as a black and purple humanoid figure with a face akin to the mid-metamorphosis form he assumed in Garmadon's body with a pair of glowing red eyes. Furthermore, he was adorned with golden skeletal armor and a black helmet with purple energy trailing behind him from his back that appeared similar to a cape. After completing his Golden Master form by fusing with his mech, he experienced a growth spurt of enormous proportions where his armor gained a more ornate appearance and his torso and legs had completely disintegrated with vibrant, flickering purple flames taking their place with mechanical black and gold machinery attached to him in place of his legs, which Zane would ultimately use to hold himself in place when the master of ice presumably died.

The remnant of the Overlord's digital code from "Decoded" has visual traits from both forms of the virus' full version. Being purple and filling a screen, it has the general figure of the Overlord's eyes but they are smaller and can turn as if they were on a head. They also differ from both the original and the Kraken by appearing more yellow than red.

After gaining a physical form in "Darkness Within" as his new form as the Crystal King, the Overlord has a black face with two large gray-white horns, pink glowing eyes, sharp teeth, and yellow accents on his face. His horns, bare a strong resemblance to the horns on the Oni Mask of Deception. There also appear to be several tusks from the underside of his face. He is also seen having a tall metal neck from underneath his face. His torso closely resembles that of his Golden Master form, though with a few notable differences; his Golden Master symbol is present but now glows pink. There are also glowing pink parts in between the armor, and there are two crystals of the same color on the upper portion of his torso, with the addition of gray shoulder pads. He gains four golden arms which end in gray hands, similar to when he possessed Garmadon, though he lacks the claws and limbs, having actual LEGO arms and hands, in which goes for the same case for his legs, which are dark gray with yellow and purple accents and patterning.

## Powers and abilities

 *“Did you hope to defeat me so easily? This form is but a shell; a vessel which I command, and change at will!”*
— The Overlord, "Dragon Form"

### Abilities

* **Floating**: In his spirit and Crystal King form, he was able to float freely, allowing him to travel on the Island of Darkness and the Crystal Island.
* **Resurrection**: The Overlord has the ability to resurrect souls from the Departed Realm (whether he can only resurrect newly departed souls or ones that have been departed for a while as well is currently unknown). He used this power shortly after Harumi’s death after she vowed to serve him.
* **Enhanced Perception**: He also appeared to have some form of enhanced perception, as he immediately sensed the ninja's arrival on the Island of Darkness. The Overlord also has some kind of perception of living beings (it is not known whether it was thermal vision or the Overlord sees the souls of beings themselves).
* **Enhanced Strength and Durability**: After using Lord Garmadon's body to retake a physical form, the Overlord gained enhanced physical strength and high durability, easily able to take Lloyd's attacks and overpower him.
* **Immortality**: The Overlord, who is the source of all darkness, represents the dark part of the Balance, due to which he (as an entity) can never be destroyed. Or, as shown in "Rise of the Spinjitzu Master," when Lloyd destroyed the Overlord, he, after a while, was able to recover, apparently from nothing, which confirms his perfect form of immortality. It is worth noting that, apparently, the Overlord is on another plane of existence during his dormant state and for a full return to the physical world, he needs outside intervention as he needed it throughout all his appearances on the screen.
	+ **Manifestation**: The Overlord (based on his own words) uses shells in order to act in the physical world. Probably, the Overlord does not have its own physical form and exists solely as a concept\spirit of Evil.
* **Possession**: As shown by the example of Lord Garmadon and the Borg Industries systems, the Overlord is able to possess objects, making them their hosts. Upon possessing Garmadon, the Overlord caused a mutation in his body, turning him into a dragon so the Overlord could regain his original form.

### Powers

* **Darkness**: The Overlord possesses the elemental essence of Darkness. Whilst in control of Lord Garmadon's body, he gained the ability to release dark energy from his hands. He usually fired this energy as offensive beam attacks, which could overpower Lloyd's energy beams and break his leg, but he could also use it to fly; by releasing small "jets" of energy from his lower pair of hands, the Overlord was able to hover in the air or propel himself at varying speeds.
	+ **Darkness Materialization**: The Overlord can give life to inanimate statues. He uses this ability to give life to the Stone Army and the Crystal Warriors, in which the latter were created by having parts of them be replaced with the infectious crystals.
	+ **Dragon form**: Over time, the Overlord can turn into his original dragon-like form, from which his strength and durability increased even further, due to his massive size. He could fly with the use of his large wings, breath dark fire, and spit masses of pure darkness that corrupt anything they hit (much like the Garmatron's Dark Matter shots). At the end of his battle with Lloyd, he displayed the ability to transform himself into a large orb of shadows that engulfs his foe—within the orb, his head grew to many times its original size, although it is unclear if this was purely an ability, or if his host body kept him physical. Even before his transformation as the Golden Master, he was the most powerful enemy the ninja ever met.
	+ **Crystal Creation**: As the Crystal King, the Overlord can create his own crystals that can bestow anyone or anything his powers, or infect them.
		- **Strength Bestowal**: Upon giving Harumi a crystal, he allowed her to move massive hunks of debris to escape a collapsed building following her resurrection.
		- **Telekinesis**: As the Crystal King, the Overlord can use his crystals to levitate and move objects of great size (in this case the Crystal Island by using the central crystal) at will. This is similar to when he used Golden Power as the Golden Master to move all of Ninjago City and turn it into a fortress.
		- **Crystallization**: As the Crystal King, the Overlord can use his powers to crystallize terrain, people, objects, and even entire cities. Once Crystallized, said objects, people or terrain are under his full control, and whatever powers they possessed are also under his command as well. He wished to use this power to crystallize the ninja, and thereby gain dominion over the Elements Of Creation.
		- **Shapeshifting**: As the Crystal King, the Overlord can change shape and size at will, as shown when he shifted his form to be that of a giant centaur-like creature.
* **Golden Power**: As the legendary "Golden Master," his powers grew to be equivalent to, if not greater than the First Spinjitzu Master. Once he gained this power, he used it to turn Ninjago City into a colossal fortress, gathering the largest buildings into a near impenetrable wall. Soon after this, he tried to shoot Kai with a beam of Golden Energy. He was also able to use Golden Energy to levitate cars in mid-air, and even threw one at Nya. Eventually, as the Ninja were traveling down a street in their vehicles, the Overlord shot them with a massive ball of golden energy, sending them all huddling further down the street. After this, he used his newfound powers to perform Spinjitzu for the first time, becoming a massive golden tornado. When the ninja got Stone Armor, the Overlord, like the Golden Master, shaped roof tiles into a massive arm and hand in an attempt to crush the ninja; despite this, he failed to crush them. At the end of the episode, he was powerful enough to ensnare the ninja with beams of Golden Power. Though, this shouldn't have been possible as the stone armor the ninja were wearing was supposed to be resistant to the might of Golden Power. However, the Overlord had grown in strength and power tremendously by that point in the episode, which may have been the reason why he was able to overpower the stone armor.

## Vehicles

### Tanks

* Garmatron
	+ This vehicle was built for Garmadon and the Overlord to launch Dark Matter into Ninjago. However, after betraying Garmadon, the Overlord took possession of the Garmatron.
	+ It first appeared in "The Last Hope."

### Mechs

* Overlord Mech
	+ A large mech that the Nindroids created for the Overlord after he became the Golden Master.
	+ It first appeared in "The Titanium Ninja."

## Relationships

*Main article: The Overlord's relationships*

### Allies

* Stone Army (formerly)
* Nindroid Army (formerly)
* Crystal army
	+ Council of the Crystal King
	+ Crystal Warriors

### Enemies

* First Spinjitzu Master
* Ninja
* Sons of the First Spinjitzu Master
* Cyrus Borg
* Harumi

## Official descriptions

### Season 3 (2017 Museum gallery)

*The Overlord was the arch-enemy of the First Spinjitzu Master and the source of all evil in the world. Also known as the Dark Lord, the Overlord was consigned to Dark Island after the First Spinjitzu Master split the land in half. Existing as a spirit, the incredibly powerful Overlord plotted to return to the human plane of existence, using Garmadon and the Stone Army as his pawns. He is a skilled manipulator who has directed events from behind the scenes for centuries. His original form was a dragon. Although the Overlord was defeated by Lloyd in the final battle, he was not destroyed. He survived as a computer virus in Cyrus Borg’s Digiverse and was able to take over the whole city, thanks to Borg’s technology being everywhere. But the now Digital Overlord was not satisfied. He was trapped. To escape the Digiverse he needed Lloyd’s Golden Power. The Ninja were able to reboot the Digiverse, but it was too late: the Overlord had already taken physical form. He sent his Nindroids on a space mission to retrieve the Mega Weapon, the remainder of the four Golden Weapons, to become the prophesized Golden Master. He was finally destroyed by Zane.*

### *Visual Dictionary New Edition*

*Sporting four arms and super-crooked teeth, the Overlord in spirit form looks truly sinister. It's no suprise that he's one of the toughest opponents the ninja have to face.*

### *The Visual Dictionary*

*This is the physical form of the Overlord, the source of all evil in Ninjago. The Overlord has sapped the Golden Ninja's golden power in order to become the Golden Master - a legend of Serpentine lore who will conquer all of Ninjago, starting with its capital city. The Overlord combines the four Golden Weapons of Ninjago to create his mechlike armor.*

### LEGO.com description

*Quick! Lloyd is on his own and needs your help! Charge into battle to take on The Crystal King, who has transformed himself into a terrifying Centaur creature with 4 legs and powerful wings. Watch out for his large sword and the 3 dangerous warriors by his side. You might be outnumbered, but it is crucial you repel their invasion of NINJAGO® City. Be Brave! Be Ninja!*

### Teamwork is needed to defeat a new opponent!

*A new super villain called the Crystal King is on the prowl.*

*He wants to recruit a group of villains to take over NINJAGO® City.*

*The ninja must unite and call on all their allies to crush this new adversary.*

### Very Bad Bunch

*The **Crystal King** leaves nothing to chance. He recruits an entire council of generals to carry out his orders. The ultimate goal: to **conquer the home of the ninja**.*

### Crystalized

*This powerful new enemy is at the center of the NINJAGO® world’s troubles. His centaur-like figure and powerful sword make him a dangerous enemy to battle, but even more threatening is his mastery of the infectious crystals, which seem to corrupt everything they come in contact with. With a formidable army behind him, can anyone stop The Crystal King?*

### Series Finale

*The Crystal King threatens to plunge NINJAGO® City into darkness once and for all! Will the united power of the ninja and their allies be enough to protect their home from absolute destruction? Buckle up and get ready for the epic action-packed finale to find out how it all comes to an end!*

## Appearances

Sets
* 70505 Temple of Light (in Garmadon's body)
* 70728 Battle for Ninjago City (Golden Master)
* 70666 The Golden Dragon (Legacy)
* 70670 Monastery of Spinjitzu (Legacy Golden Master and Dragon; painting)
* 71699 Thunder Raider (Legacy)
* 71742 Overlord Dragon (Legacy Golden Master and Dragon)
* 112218 Lloyd vs. Overlord (Legacy Golden Master)
* 71771 The Crystal King Temple (Crystal King; four-armed)
* 71772 The Crystal King (Crystal King; two-armed and Centaur)
* 71774 Lloyd's Golden Ultra Dragon (Crystal King; four-armed)
* 892294 Overlord (Crystal King; two-armed)
* 66715 Ninjago Gift Set (Legacy Golden Master and Dragon)

*Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu*
Season 1: Rise of the Snakes
* 1. "Rise of the Snakes" (mentioned)
* 4. "Never Trust a Snake" (mentioned)

Season 2: Legacy of the Green Ninja
* 20. "The Stone Army"
* 21. "The Day Ninjago Stood Still"
* 22. "The Last Voyage"
* 23. "Island of Darkness"
* 24. "The Last Hope"
* 25. "Return of the Overlord"
* 26. "Rise of the Spinjitzu Master"

Season 3: Rebooted
* 27. "The Surge"
* 28. "The Art of the Silent Fist"
* 29. "Blackout"
* 30. "The Curse of the Golden Master"
* 31. "Enter the Digiverse"
* 32. "Codename: Arcturus"
* 33. "The Void"
* 34. "The Titanium Ninja"

Season 4: Tournament of Elements
* 42. "The Day of the Dragon" (indirectly mentioned)
* 44. "The Corridor of Elders" (flashback; no lines)

Ninjago: Decoded
* 1. "Legacy" (video)
* 2. "Vehicles and Mechs" (video)
* 4. "Ninjago's Most Wanted" (video)
* 5. "The Digiverse and Beyond" (video)
* 7. "Beasts and Dragons" (video)
* 8. "Rise of Garmadon" (video)
* 9. "Prophecy of the Green Ninja"
* 10. "Greatest Battles"

Season 9: Hunted
* 94. "Green Destiny" (mentioned)

Tales from the Monastery of Spinjitzu
* 1. "Master Class" (painting)
* 2. "Green and Gold" (painting)
* 3. "The Weekend Drill" (painting)
* 5. "Blue Lightning" (painting)
* 6. "Samurai X-Treme" (painting)

Season 10: March of the Oni
* 95. "The Darkness Comes" (painting)
* 98. "Endings" (painting)

Season 11: Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu
* 99. "Wasted True Potential" (painting)

Prime Empire Original Shorts
* 1. "Let's Dance" (painting)

Season 13: Master of the Mountain
* 145. "Shintaro" (painting)

Season 14: Seabound
* 165. "A Big Splash" (painting)

The Virtues of Spinjitzu
* 1. "Curiosity" (painting)

Season 15: Crystalized
* 186. "A Painful Promise" (mentioned)
* 187. "Ninjago City vs. Ninja" (mentioned)
* 188. "Kryptarium Prison Blues" (mentioned)
* 191. "The Fifth Villain" (mentioned)
* 192. "The Council of the Crystal King" (mentioned)
* 193. "A Sinister Shadow"
* 194. "The Spider's Design" (mentioned)
* 196. "Darkness Within"
* 197. "The Coming of the King"
* 198. "Return to Primeval's Eye" (mentioned)
* 199. "Crystastrophe"
* 200. "Christofern" (mentioned)
* 201. "A Lesson in Anger" (mentioned)
* 202. "Brave But Foolish"
* 203. "Quittin' Time!" (mentioned)
* 204. "Return of the Ice Emperor" (mentioned)
* 205. "Safe Haven" (mentioned)
* 206. "Compatible" (mentioned)
* 207. "Distress Calls" (mentioned)
* 208. "An Issue of Trust"
* 209. "Dragon Form"
* 210. "Roots"

Books
* *Golden Days* (flashback)
* *The Splinter in the Blind Man's Eye* (mentioned)

*Dark Island Trilogy*
* *Dark Island Trilogy, Part 1* (artwork)

Ninjago Magazine
Legacy Edition
* 18. *Dark Forces!*

Video games
* *LEGO Ninjago: The Final Battle* (non-canon)
* *LEGO Ninjago: Nindroids* (non-canon)
* *LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin*
* *LEGO Dimensions* (non-canon)
* *Legendary Ninja Battles* (non-canon)
* *Golden Legacy* (non-canon)
* *Crystalized* (non-canon)

## Behind the scenes

* Regarding the inspiration for the character, Tommy Andreasen said, "The Overlord was entirely Kevin and Dan's idea… we needed something bigger and badder [than the Serpentine]…"
* In original concepts for "Rise of the Spinjitzu Master," Wu, after seeing Misako and Garmadon reconcile, would walk away with the Overlord manifesting inside him as the screen faded to black.
* When asked why they brought the Overlord back for Rebooted, the Hageman Brothers stated, "we thought the ultimate battle would be the end. S3 taught us how expansive the stories could be."
* The Hageman Brothers have stated that the Overlord "is too one dimensional" and "is awesome, but hard to break new ground since he's such a massive baddie. I ask you — how would he evolve?"
* Tommy Andreasen once called him "Bruno," saying, "We don't talk about Bruno." This is a reference to the character from Disney's *Encanto* and the song about him.
* When asked how much of a threat would the Crystal King be on a scale of one to ten, Tommy Andreasen replied that if 10 refers to "the end of the world as we know it… 12?"
* The Crystal King's face is based on the LEGO piece for the Oni Masks from Season 8: Sons of Garmadon, although it has a slightly more complicated shape.
	+ The gray horns are also the same as on the Oni Mask of Deception.
* The Overlord's black virus-like orb design is similar to his spirit pink orb design in Legacy of the Green Ninja.

## Trivia

* In the Portuguese-translated shows, his name translates as "Lord of Lords".
* His minifigure has sloped legs, instead of a cape as shown in the television series.
* The Overlord and Morro are the only two Elemental Masters (if the Overlord can be considered an Elemental Master) to take over the body of another Elemental Master: Garmadon for the Overlord, Lloyd for Morro.
	+ Both of these hosts are related to each other.
* According to Tommy Andreasen on Twitter, the Overlord could potentially be the most powerful antagonist in the series, if he had the right vessel. It is unknown if this vessel was any of his previous forms, as it is open to interpretation if he is the most powerful villain the ninja have faced.
* Although he is extremely ancient, he is not the first evil to come into existence, the Oni and Wojira are, though the Overlord is Ninjago's original evil and the First Spinjitzu Master's arch-nemesis.
	+ It's unknown whether the Overlord existed before Ninjago's creation.
	+ When asked if the Overlord was an Oni, Tommy Andreasen said it would be left up to interpretation.
	+ When asked on the chances of the Overlord and the First Spinjitzu Master being brothers he answered, "...It's like you don't know me at all."
* The Overlord has several specific features that are not shared by anyone else in the show:
	+ The Overlord is the only character in Ninjago who is immortal, as he cannot be truly killed or destroyed.
		- The Overlord's spirit is indestructible because he is part of the balance. Misako said in "The Stone Army" that "in order for there to be light, there must be shadow", and since the Overlord is the source of all darkness (both the element and other definitions associated with evil), he's part of the balance.
	+ Overlord is not just the embodiment of evil, but literally the source of all evil in the world and evil itself.
	+ According to Tommy Andreasen, the Overlord does not submit to the writing of fate by the monks of the Cloud Kingdom. This means that it is not affected by any objects that somehow "know" the fate of the one against whom they are directed. It's also possible that Overlord transcends the very concept of causation, based on its nature.
	+ The Overlord views the environment with thermal vision in his "spirit" form.
	+ The Overlord is the embodiment of darkness and evil and needs a body to use his powers. However, as Misako states in "The Stone Army", he will be "trapped from this world" for as long as the balance is sustained. For instance, he was only able to use Darkness while he possessed Garmadon. When his transformation into his original form was complete he could use his full powers. In his Golden Master form, he had both Darkness and the Golden Power.
	+ He doesn't need a body to use dark matter though, as it is from his life force.
* The Overlord, Garmadon, and Unagami are the only villains to be the main antagonist in more than one *Ninjago* installment.
	+ The Overlord in the second half of Legacy of the Green Ninja, Rebooted, and Crystalized.
	+ Garmadon in the pilot episodes, first half of Legacy of the Green Ninja, and Hunted.
	+ Unagami in the Prime Empire Original Shorts and Prime Empire.
* The Overlord and the First Spinjitzu Master were the first beings with powers similar to Elemental Masters in the realm of Ninjago.
* Like the First Spinjitzu Master, the Overlord can wield all four Golden Weapons at once, as shown when he wore the Golden Armor in "The Titanium Ninja".
* A statue of his dragon form was part of the ninja exhibit at the Ninjago Museum of History.
* According to Misako in "Rise of the Spinjitzu Master", the Overlord's original form is a dragon.
	+ This may explain why his possessed Garmadon, Golden Master, and Crystal King forms both resemble his dragon form in some way, even though neither the backstory of the Overlord nor the prophecy of the Golden Master show them in this fashion.
	+ His depiction in the legend is likely due to the ability he demonstrates at the end of "Rise of the Spinjitzu Master". Similarly, the same episode reveals the Golden Mech used by the First Spinjitzu Master. Neither the mech nor the dragon are depicted in the legend, although the former's revelation better reveals why the First Spinjitzu Master was able to split Ninjago.
		- The book *Secret World of the Ninja*, which shows this same legend, describes him as growing stronger, despite his lack of physical form. This is either an error (as the same book says Dr. Julien was interrogated by the Stone army instead of the Skulkins), or an indication that his dragon form isn't fixed like his Golden Master one.
		- Because of this, it's likely he could become just a shadow-sphere back then, but not when he regains it in the present since he's technically still possessing Garmadon.
		- The Overlord's possession of Garmadon is similar to Zuul and Vinz Clortho's possession of Dana and Louis in the first *Ghostbusters* movie.
* He is the first villain in the series to use Spinjitzu against the ninja, not counting corrupted Nya in Episode 25. However, he was not the first villain chronologically to use Spinjitzu; that goes to Aspheera, who learnt it from Wu thousands of years ago.
* Years before the Overlord Dragon set was released, another LEGO version of the Overlord Dragon was shown in an official *Ninjago* video about the story of the Green Ninja.
* The Overlord states, "My master plan has been in the works since the beginning of time." While not an error in the context of this episode, it would eventually be revealed in Sons of Garmadon, six seasons later, that Ninjago was not the First Realm. Since the Overlord's existence seems to tied to the realm of Ninjago, his statement in this episode is technically false.
* During the prophecy of the Golden Master, the symbol of **the Overlord** can be seen on the Golden Master's chest. This foreshadows the Overlord becoming the Golden Master.
* In the *Legacy* sets, the Overlord received an updated design that seems to be an amalgamation of his possessed Garmadon and Golden Master forms. This design did not make an appearance in Tales from the Monastery of Spinjitzu. It is unknown if it is canon in any way.
	+ Despite his very different appearance, the set he appeared in was meant to relive the Final Battle with the Golden Ninja and the Overlord.
	+ It appears to be some sort of Spirit form, as it has a translucent head as well as a ghost tail. Nadakhan, another four-armed ghost-tailed minifigure is not a spirit, and thus lacks this type of head.
	+ The *Visual Dictionary New Edition* describes it as him in spirit form, likely indicating that he can choose how people perceive him when he is in said state, much like when in virus form when he appears as the Kraken.*[citation needed]*
	+ This is a case in point when the same figure is used in a Rebooted-themed set.
	+ Since it's a spirit form, however, he may only be able to present himself as forms he had when physical, unlike his virus form, which he made into the Kraken.*[citation needed]*
	+ If so, this makes the Overlord's 2019 variant a would-be modern-day image of the character, just like every other *Legacy* minifigure.
* He would have gotten rid of or betrayed Pythor eventually, as he did with Garmadon.
* His dragon form more closely resembles that of a Wyvern.
* In "Level Thirteen", a screen in Borg Tower greatly resembles the Digital Overlord's eyes.
* According to Tommy Andreasen, it's doubtful that it will ever be revealed whether the Overlord or the Omega is stronger, with the Omega "gone" and the Overlord currently in a weakened state.
* Tommy Andreasen once referred to 45th US President Donald Trump as "The most recent incarnation of the Overlord."
* As the Crystal King, he is the fourth main antagonist of their season with a secret identity that isn't obvious to the ninja for the majority of a season. The first three being the Quiet One, Unagami, and the Skull Sorcerer.
	+ The Crystal King is the third title that the Overlord famously goes by to be revealed, preceded by the Dark Lord (from the Green Ninja prophecy), and the Golden Master (from the Curse of the Golden Master).
		- The ninja mistook two of his titles twice for characters they were already familiar with: Dark Lord (they thought it referred to Garmadon) and Golden Master (the ninja mistook Lloyd for being the Golden Master).
* As the Crystal King, he is the fifth most frequently appearing main antagonist in a single wave, as he was released in up to three sets with exactly the same appearance. The first four are Garmadon, Vex, Unagami, and Kalmaar.
* The Crystal King is also a name of a monster in *LEGO Power Miners*.
* As the Crystal King, he is one of the five main antagonists that doesn't appear in the first episode of their season, the others being Pythor, the Preeminent, Vangelis, and Kalmaar.
* His line "There will be peace in the dark" suggests similar motives to Ultron's from *Avengers: Age of Ultron* and *What If...?*, who wanted to destroy everything in order to bring peace to the world.
* As the Crystal King, he is the first WildBrain main antagonist to have two physical variants in a single wave of sets.
	+ However one of them is non-canon.
* He is also the only villain from the WILFilm ApS seasons to return as the main antagonist a WildBrain season.
* The Overlord (in Dragon and Centaur forms), Morro, Nadakhan, Unagami and Vangelis are the only main villains which can fly.
* The Overlord has very similar goals to the First Spinjitzu Master, albeit by very different means; the Overlord wishes to achieve peace via imbalance and Darkness' domination over Light, whilst the First Spinjitzu Master achieves peace by balance between these two powers, neither having dominion over the other and existing in complete harmony.
* With the revelation in Dragon Form that the Overlord has been pulling all the strings and was indeed the one who corrupted the Great Devourer and had it bite Garmadon to set his plan in motion, it can be argued that the Overlord is the overall main antagonist of the entire series, as he has pulled the strings and had an effect on the Pilot episodes (through Garmadon,) Season 1 (through the Devourer,) Season 2, Season 3, Season 7 (through the Vermillion), Season 8 & Season 9 (since the Devourer killed Harumi's parents and subsequently turned her evil,) and Season 15.

## Translations

### The Overlord

 Polish | Overlord (Episode 20)
 Ukrainian | Надволодар

## References

1. ↑ A Sinister Shadow
2. ↑ "The Oni and the Dragon"
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "The Stone Army"
4. ↑ "The Titanium Ninja"
5. ↑ "Return of the Overlord"
6. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160927223221/http://www.lego.com/en-us/ninjago/characters/overlord-season-3-aa5a9f0d39124e6497d39ffbfee41f7a
7. ↑ https://www.lego.com/en-us/kids/sets/ninjago/the-crystal-king-6c5c4b874385e9e215766e6e5e2266f9
8. ↑ *LEGO Life*
9. ↑ *Water Dragon!*
10. ↑ https://www.lego.com/en-us/kids/ninjago
11. ↑ https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1163479631418318849
12. ↑ https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/796477627808829442
13. ↑ https://twitter.com/brothershageman/status/740371580543324160
14. ↑ https://twitter.com/brothershageman/status/967292462359195649
15. ↑ https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1498057246307143681
16. ↑ https://twitter.com/tommyandreasen/status/1519717498068819969?s=21&t=3UvCbfu1Jo4SWfHvKEjHKw
17. ↑ https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1171537941828702208
18. ↑ https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1171719898432753666
19. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20210323183603/https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/768013459007102976
20. ↑ https://youtu.be/WlaEKkl0cPA?t=147
21. ↑ https://twitter.com/tommyandreasen/status/1519744060608688130?s=21&t=dFxbpurhOajtGvaSUi10Bg
22. ↑ https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/789337487466430464
23. ↑ https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/767606249789743104M
24. ↑ This is the physical form of the Overlord, the source of all evil in Ninjago. (The Visual Dictionary)
25. ↑ The Overlord was the arch-enemy of the First Spinjitzu Master and the source of all evil in the world (Season 3 (2017 Museum gallery))
26. ↑ https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/767742709809438720
27. ↑ https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/961967366568636417
28. ↑ "Winds of Change"
29. ↑ https://youtu.be/q5KW\_MSXaLA?t=70
30. ↑ https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/769936696301457408
31. ↑ File:Screenshotter--NEW12313-5’38”.jpg
32. ↑ https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1167741153309052928 (link missing context)
33. ↑ https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1325117754828001281