Karlof

> "*Karlof used to be aeronautical engineer back in Metalonia. Work on Roto Jets.*"
> ― Karlof to Cole.
>
>

**Karlof** is the current Elemental Master of Metal, a former aeronautical engineer in Metalonia and a contestant in the Tournament of Elements. A brutish and often arrogant man, Karlof thought the Tournament would be entertaining, but quickly started a rivalry with Kai, who ultimately defeated him during the first round. He was then forced to work in Chen's noodle factory, where he befriended Cole. Together, they built a Roto Jet and successfully escaped from the factory. Karlof and the other Elemental Masters sabotaged Chen's plans to hold all the elements for himself but failed to prevent his followers from becoming fake Anacondrai.

The Elemental Masters united and faced the Anacondrai warriors at the Corridor of Elders. Despite their best efforts, they were overpowered by their adversaries until Garmadon sacrificed himself to curse Chen's army.

Months later, Nadakhan imprisoned Karlof and the other Elemental Masters in the Djinn Blade. After Jay made his final wish, recent events were erased and he was freed. Not long after, Karlof was captured by the Vermillion and forced to help construct a machine for their masters. Eventually, he was freed from captivity by the ninja.

After the supposed demise of the original ninja, Lloyd recruited Karlof and many others into a new team in a bid to resist Lord Garmadon's oppressive rule.

## History

### Early Life

Karlof was born as a descendant of the Elemental Master of Metal. While refining his craft in his homeland of Metalonia, he worked as an aeronautical engineer responsible for constructing Roto Jets. Eventually, he received an invitation to Master Chen's Tournament of Elements.

### The Tournament of Elements

#### Invited to Chen's Island

Karlof was among the people with elemental powers aboard the ship that brought them to Chen's Island. While on the ship, the ninja passed him training with a punching bag. He was later seen trying to fight a reluctant Skylor until Kai came over, and a fight between him and Karlof ensued. Just as Karlof was about to finish the fight, Clouse called him off.

When the ship arrived at Chen's Island, Karlof pushed Kai out of the way, almost starting another fight. The Master of Metal was later present as Chen explained how the Tournament works. When he asked what he would win, Chen replied that if he moves on to where he wins every match, he will get the best fortunes.

#### Losing the First Round

Karlof fought Kai for a Jadeblade, and he came out victorious. Just as he was about to go put it on the statue, Kai unscrewed the metal fist holding the Jadeblade and stole the weapon. Incandescent, Karlof furiously proclaimed that Kai cheated as the Red Ninja fled with the Jadeblade.

Because of this, Karlof admitted that he didn't want to come to the Tournament. Chen said that he was "sad" to hear that the brute did not enjoy his stay before dropping him through a trapdoor, immediately making Kai feel somewhat guilty for his actions. Karlof was later brought to an Anacondrai warrior ceremony, as Chen explained that "only one can remain." Chen then drained Karlof of his element as Zugu and Eyezor held him there, causing Karlof to be weakened for a second only to find his powers stolen and collapse.

Karlof was distraught at losing his powers before Chen stated he would let him go as the former meekly asked "Really?" However, he was stunned when Chen instructed his followers to take him to the factory, and the cultists dragged a screaming Karlof away into the darkness.

When the ninja tried recruiting Neuro to help, the latter refused until Lloyd told him to read his mind and the latter saw Karlof having his element taken away and decided to join after he saw Chen's true plans.

#### Working in the Noodle Factory

After being sent to work in the noodle factory, Karlof was shown to have given up hope of escape and refused Cole's proposal for help, instead trying to get him to work and telling him to "make noodles, not trouble." When Cole caught sight of Zane in a prison cell, Karlof pretended to be tying his shoe to momentarily distract Zugu and prevent Cole from being caught.

Surprised that Cole is in a good mood because of finding Zane, Karlof began to wish he had friends or allies that would help him. As Cole explained he would try to free Zane and escape the first chance he got, Karlof had him promise to not forget him as Cole hurriedly made that promise. When Cole made his move, everyone cheered him on.

Later, upon hearing that the other Masters would pay for his actions and remembering his promise to Karlof, Cole decided to stay behind and free the captives while Zane leaves the Island. Despite being imprisoned for so long, Zane chose to stay as well to help the others escape from Chen's grasp.

#### Escaping the Factory

Karlof was working in the factory when Zugu decided to put it on lockdown to search for Cole. When all the guards were gone, Karlof signaled to the Master of Earth and Ice to come out of hiding from a barrel. He and the other imprisoned fighters then gathered around Zane who proceeded to explain his plan to escaped through the sewer pipes. Karlof immediately objection to the plan due to how unsavory the smell of the sewer would be but they were interrupted by the arrival of Dareth. Karlof reminded Cole that the pipes would only hold their combined weight and thus the plan wouldn't work due to the Brown Ninja's arrival.

While the masters were brainstorming plans, Karlof brought up that he used to work on Roto Jets, but his idea was quickly dismissed by Cole as they were without a jet and were also underground. Zane, however, approved the idea and sent everyone to work finding suitable parts to build one while he and Karlof drew up the blueprints.

Karlof began working on the Roto Jet, disguising it as a noodle machine to avoid suspicion. Soon, more eliminated Masters join them, among them being Jay, who reunited with Cole and Zane. After Cole told Jay of the plan, the Master of Lighting dropped his previous attitude of being positive to question the sense of the plan as Karlof asked what happened to positive thinking. Karlof continued working, explaining to an impatient Zugu, who needed noodles for the ceremony, that it still needed to be fixed as the cultist got annoyed and pushed him aside only to find it wasn't a noodle machine, but a jet.

Karlof laughed stating that was what needed to be fixed before having Cole operate it and blast the guards and escape the factory. Karlof rode on top of the jet to fix any malfunctions while Cole reiterated that was why people don't build jets underground. Karlof helped the Masters push the jet through the tunnels as they went on to save Nya and Garmadon from Clouse's Anacondrai serpent. They fired a barrage of missiles to cause debris to fall on top of the beast killing it once and for all. Cole soon asked Karlof why the jet wasn't off the ground as Karlof stated some things needed to be fixed and told Cole that he would get it in the air. Karlof noted it would be possible because of positive thinking, which was joined along with the other Masters.

Very soon, Karlof made good on his word as the jet manage to fly into Chen's ceremony hall, disrupting the spell. The Elemental Masters fought against Chen's followers long enough for Kai to destroy the Staff, returning the Elemental Powers to their respective masters. With his power restored, Karlof stated the Anacondrai warriors had no chance as he coated himself in metal to fight them. The Masters defeated the Anacondrai warriors but Chen and select followers managed to escape. With Chen in hiding, the Masters seized control of the island while awaiting the villain's next move. Amid the celebration, Karlof laughed along with the other Masters when Zane turned on his funny switch.

### Hunt for Skylor

Karlof worked on repairing the ElectroMech when he and the ninja learned from Griffin Turner of Chen using Skylor to complete the spell from. He told an amazed Griffin Turner he wished he had his own dragon after seeing Lloyd fly off on his dragon.

### Escaping the Island

Karlof later rounded up Zugu and Eyezor while asking Cole if there was still no sign of Chen and he was told the villain escaped. Cole then asked if Zane returned but he stated he hadn't seen him before he witnessed Garmadon transform into Anacondrai as the latter noted anyone with a tattoo would be transformed as well which meant the same for the cultists.

Karlof took part in fighting the Anacondrai but the Elemental Masters were gradually overwhelmed forcing them to retreat to the palace. The Master witnessed Chen and his army leaving the island to conquer Ninjago while leaving them stranded.

Karlof later witnessed Zane arriving on a Titanium Dragon noting he unleashed a Dragon as well. He listened as Zane stated his fears are what prevented him from summoning the Dragon as Kai and Skylor arrive on an Elemental Fire Dragon supporting Zane's theory.

His wish of summoning a Dragon came true after he faced his fear in hopes to defeat the Anacondrai warriors, making him very happy. He then left with his allies to go after Chen's army.

He returned to Ninjago City with his allies, only to find that Chen had yet to invade and at Lloyd's command, they left to protect the people.

### Second Serpentine War

#### Stranded in Ninjago

Very soon under Shade's orders, he went after a noodle truck: like everyone else, he realized it was a trick by Chen and ended up losing his dragon out of fear being left stranded after seeing the truck was empty. This allowed the Anacondrai warriors to invade without a problem.

#### Battle at the Corridor of Elders

Karlof eventually received a message from Neuro and regrouped with the other Masters at the Samurai X Cave, being one of the last to arrive with Kai, Jay, Chamille, and Mr. Pale. There, Wu explained that their only chance to stop the Anacondrai warriors would be to face them at the Corridor of Elders.

Karlof fought alongside the ninja in the ensuing battle and watched as the spirits of the Anacondrai generals banished the Anacondrai warriors to the Cursed Realm.

Afterward, he was with his allies as Cole thanked the Masters for their help after they achieved victory, the Master of Metal hugged Jay and Kai as he noted that it was better than fighting against them.

Soon they parted ways but not without promising future aid when needed. He later led the clean up in the Corridor.

***The following events were undone due to Jay's final wish, and thus, did not happen in the current timeline.***

### Captured by Nadakhan

At some point, Nadakhan imprisoned Karlof in the Djinn Blade with the other Elemental Masters.

While Jay was attempting to rescue his friends from the Djinn Blade, Karlof floated by, being left unnoticed by his fellow Elemental Master.

***The following events occurred after Jay made his final wish, and thus, happened.***

### Vermillion Invasion

#### Captured by the Time Twins

At some point after the conflict with the ghosts, Karlof retired from being a fighter before he was captured by the Vermillion and the Hands of Time. He was cuffed in Vengestone to help build the Iron Doom.

When Jay and Cole broke in to the workshop, he quickly hugged Jay, happy to see him as the latter struggled to free himself of Karlof's tight grip. He was questioned by Cole as to why he was there and he explained how ended up being captured and forced to work for the Hands of Time. He continued his work until he was freed by the ninja.

### Controlled by Clouse

***This section is a stub. You can help expand this section by adding some information.***

### The Resistance

#### Saving his Friends

Karlof arrived and saved Lloyd, Nya, Misako, Dareth, and P.I.X.A.L. from the Sons of Garmadon. He sent Mr. E flying back in a single punch, saving Dareth.

Karlof even took down Killow, who was bigger than him. He then escaped with the other members of The Resistance with the help of Skylor.

When the Resistance made it back to the garbage depot Nya said they could use the metal to build armor and machines, which he got excited about.

The Resistance watched as Lloyd led Dareth in a fight against Karlof. When Karlof won, Lloyd told them to make a plan.

He later watched Lloyd's speech.

The Resistance celebrated Lloyd's speech. They started planning on who else they could recruit to help them.

#### Captured by the Sons of Garmadon

When the Sons of Garmadon attacked the Garbage Depot, the Resistance fought them. They were eventually taken to Kryptarium Prison.

Inside his cell, Karlof passed the time by doing push-ups.

#### Escaping Kryptarium

Karlof is in his cell before he overhears the guards saying that the ninja have returned. Karlof is happy to learn this, and along with Griffin and Ronin, he broke them out of their cells. Karlof took part in the escape of the prison.

Karlof later made it back to Ninjago where he joined in defeating the Colossus with the chains along with the ninja and their other allies.

Following the defeat of the Oni, Karlof celebrated with the ninja in the Monastery of Spinjitzu.

## In the Tournament app (non-canon)

Karlof is a playable character in *LEGO Ninjago: Tournament*. He can be purchased for 1,000,000 studs. His special power is Boost, making him completely metal. He is also an unplayable boss and has an extra power of creating tremors in the ground, which can deal with at least two hearts of damage.

## Relationships

### Family

* Previous Elemental Masters of Metal † - Ancestors

### Allies

* Elemental Masters
	+ Skylor
	+ Griffin Turner
	+ Neuro
	+ Shade
	+ Bolobo
	+ Ash
	+ Gravis
	+ Jacob Pevsner
	+ Mr. Pale
	+ Tox
	+ Chamille
* Ninja
	+ Cole - Former Fellow Prisoner
	+ Zane
	+ Lloyd Garmadon
	+ Kai - Former Enemy
	+ Jay
	+ Nya
* Wu
* Dareth
* Lou - Former Fellow Prisoner
* Mystake †
* P.I.X.A.L.
* Misako - Former Fellow Prisoner
* Ronin - Former Fellow Prisoner

### Enemies

* Anacondrai Cultists
	+ Chen † - Former Imprisoner
	+ Clouse
	+ Zugu †
	+ Eyezor †
	+ Kapau †
	+ Chope †
	+ Sleven †
	+ Krait †
* Nadakhan - Former Imprisoner
* Vermillion
	+ Machia †
	+ Blunck †
	+ Raggmunk †
* Time Twins
	+ Krux - Former Imprisoner
	+ Acronix
* Sons of Garmadon
	+ Garmadon - Former Ally
	+ Harumi
	+ Killow
	+ Ultra Violet
	+ Mr. E †
* Colossus †

## Weapons and Equipment

### Weapons

* **Metal Gauntlets**: Karlof is armed with a pair of metal gauntlets that greatly enhance his punching power. They can even take down an Oni powered Mr. E.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Metal**: Karlof had the power to turn his body into hard metal before losing it to Master Chen. He later regains his stolen power when Kai destroyed Chen's staff.

### Abilities

* **Superhuman Durability**: Even without this power, he appears extremely durable—he is completely unharmed when Kai throws Fire straight at him. He has fought Kai, a skilled fighter and ninja twice emerging victorious from both conflicts without so much as a scratch on his person.
* **Superhuman Stamina**: He is also very enduring, being able to fight head-on for an extended time period without tiring, displaying his extreme stamina.
* **Mechanical Skills**: He seems to have a background in mechanics and engineering, which is seen in his ability to craft a Roto Jet out of spare noodle factory parts. This showcases his advanced intellect despite his broken speech patterns and seemingly ignorant personality.

## LEGO.com description

*Karlof used to be an aeronautical engineer in a region called Metalonia. Now he is smashing opponents with his metal fists. He can turn his body into metal at will, making it very hard for anyone to land a damaging blow. Kai and Karlof develop an instant dislike and as things heat up, it is clear that here Kai has finally found a truly worthy adversary.*

## Appearances

*Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu*
Season 4: Tournament of Elements* 35. "The Invitation"
* 36. "Only One Can Remain"
* 37. "Versus" (flashback; no lines)
* 38. "Ninja Roll"
* 39. "Spy for a Spy"
* 40. "Spellbound"
* 41. "The Forgotten Element"
* 42. "The Day of the Dragon"
* 43. "The Greatest Fear of All" (no lines)
* 44. "The Corridor of Elders"

Season 6: Skybound* 63. "Operation Land Ho!" (no lines)

Season 7: The Hands of Time* 72. "Pause and Effect"

Ninjago: Decoded* 1. "Legacy"
* 6. "The Elemental Masters"
* 7. "Beasts and Dragons"
* 10. "Greatest Battles"

Season 9: Hunted* 85. "Firstbourne"
* 86. "Iron & Stone"
* 87. "Radio Free Ninjago"
* 88. "How to Build a Dragon"
* 89. "The Gilded Path"
* 90. "Two Lies, One Truth"
* 94. "Green Destiny"

Season 10: March of the Oni* 98. "Endings" (no lines)

Villain Throwbacks* 4. "The Story of Master Chen" (video)

Books
***This section is a stub. You can help expand this section by adding some information.***
* *Way of the Departed* (non-canon)
* *Amber Spiral* (mentioned)

Video games* *LEGO Ninjago: Tournament* (non-canon)
* *LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin* (non-canon)
* *LEGO Dimensions* (non-canon)
* *Ninjago Rush* (non-canon)
* *The LEGO Ninjago Movie Videogame* (non-canon)
* *LEGO Brawls* (non-canon)

## Trivia

* When Karlof uses his elemental power, he grows slightly in size. He also seems to turn into metal, with his clothing, helmet, and skin turning a silver color and making him seemingly indestructible.
* When he first appeared, his voice was deeper than future appearances.
* Karlof is one of nine Elemental Masters that have facial hair.
	+ The other eight are Wu, Bolobo, Neuro, Gravis, Jacob, Jay (in the future) and the Time Twins, both Acronix and Krux.
* He is the third character to only speak in third-person, the others being Tremor, Mungus, Ghoultar, Korgran, and Murt.
* Karlof uses the face of the Dragon Soldiers and Dragon Wizard from LEGO's *Castle (2013)* theme.
	+ Hammer Head, Crusher, Scooter, and Okino use an updated version of this head piece, with an alternate, angry expression, slightly unnoticeable.
	+ Twitchy Tim has the same beard in gray.
* He and Kai were somewhat rivals at the beginning of Season 4, yet at the end of "The Corridor of Elders," Karlof is seen hugging Jay and Kai.
* Karlof was the first person of many things:
	+ The first person to lose in the tournament because he was not able to obtain a Jadeblade.
		- This spot technically belongs to Kai, who cheated to gain the Jadeblade that Karlof had won in fair combat.
	+ The first person to single-handedly take down Killow, as all previous times, it was a group effort.
	+ The first character to have a Samurai X-style helmet with nothing on the clip on the forehead (though it is present in the sets).
* He appears to speak in a Russian accent.
* His former home was in Metalonia, just like Korgran and Korgran's father. His job was a mechanic to Roto Jets. That skill came in handy when Cole, Zane, and Karlof planned to escape the noodle factory as Zane made a blueprint for Karlof to build the Roto Jet.
	+ His metalworking skills are the reason he was captured in the seventh season.
* In *LEGO Dimensions*, Karlof, in his metal form, can shoot his gauntlets at the player, recall them, and create tremors by punching the ground.
	+ Nothing of these happened in the series.
* Karlof appears as an unlockable character in *The LEGO Ninjago Movie Videogame*. He can be unlocked by achieving bronze medal status or higher in "The Deadly Arena" training dojo, which requires the player to accumulate at least 60,000 studs.
* He is an unlockable character in *LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin*.
* He was one of the only Elemental Masters introduced in Season 4 to appear physically in a *LEGO Ninjago* set from that wave, the others being Griffin Turner and Skylor. Tox and Mr. Pale appeared in the *Ultra Agents* sets, while the others were released in various sets throughout the following years.

* Karlof's character and element are similar to the X-Men character, Colossus.
	+ It also contracts to both of them having a Russian Accent.

* In the first sneak peeks of the character, perhaps due to the translation from another country, he was called "Hanlan".
* Karlof is somewhat similar to Gajeel Redfox, a character in the manga/anime *Fairy Tail*.
	+ Both started out as antagonists, but later in the story, they became heroes and allies to the main protagonists.
	+ They are both associated with metal (Karlof is the Elemental Master of Metal, and Gajeel is the Iron Dragon Slayer), and use their powers in the same main way: coating themselves in metal to improve their defense.
	+ They share a rivalry with a hot-headed, pyrokinetic protagonist (Karlof is the main enemy of Kai, while Gajeel, even after his turn to the side of good, has a mutual rival in Natsu Dragneel, the Fire Dragon Slayer).
* His name in the Spanish version has an extra "f," "Karloff."
* Karlof and Bolobo are the only Elemental Masters who do not have an exclusive face printing in the sets.
* He has a car and can drive.
* His minifigure portrays him with silver gauntlets to match his armor, while in the show, they are gunmetal grey
	+ His armor switches from silver to gunmetal grey from Season 7 onwards, likely to match the color of his gauntlets.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Invitation
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Spellbound
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Only One Can Remain
4. ↑ Versus
5. ↑ Ninja Roll
6. ↑ Spy for a Spy
7. ↑ The Forgotten Element
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Day of the Dragon
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Greatest Fear of All
10. ↑ The Corridor of Elders
11. ↑ Operation Land Ho!
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Pause and Effect
13. ↑ Firstbourne
14. ↑ Iron & Stone
15. ↑ Radio Free Ninjago
16. ↑ How to Build a Dragon
17. ↑ The Gilded Path
18. ↑ Two Lies, One Truth
19. ↑ Green Destiny
20. ↑ Endings