Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu/Pilot Episodes

The **pilot episodes** are the first installments in the *Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu* series and are succeeded by the Mini-movies and Season 1: Rise of the Snakes. Kai was the focus character, Lord Garmadon served as the main antagonist and the Skulkin were the villainous faction. It introduced the four original ninja (Kai, Jay, Zane and Cole), Nya, Sensei Wu and Lord Garmadon.

## Offical Description

*Long before time had a name, the NINJAGO world was created by the First Spinjitzu Master by using the Four Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu; weapons so powerful, no one could handle all of their power at once. When he passed away, his two sons swore to protect them, but the oldest, Lord Garmadon, was consumed by darkness and wanted to possess them all. A battle between brothers broke out. Lord Garmadon was defeated and banished to the Underworld.*

## Plot

A young blacksmith named Kai is working in his shop with his sister Nya, when an old man enters, looking for a ninja. Kai orders the man out, and shortly after, dark clouds form over the village and the Skulkin emerge and take a mysterious map. Kai duels the Skulkin leader Samukai, but is easily defeated. The old man returns and saves Kai, while the Skulkin escape and kidnap Nya. The old man, named Wu, explains the history of Ninjago to Kai. Long before time had a name, Ninjago was created by the First Spinjitzu Master, using the four Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu: The Scythe of Quakes, the Nunchucks of Lightning, the Shurikens of Ice, and the Sword of Fire. Weapons so powerful, no one can handle all their power at once*.* After he passed away, his two sons, Wu and his brother Garmadon swore to protect the Golden Weapons. However, Garmadon turned evil and wanted the weapons for himself. A battle broke out beetween the two brothers and Garmadon lost and was banished to the Underworld. Wu hid the Golden Weapons in certain parts of the land, placing a dragon to guard each. Fearing for his own demise, Wu gave the map to a friend, who was none other than Kai's father. As Wu finishes the story, he fears that Garmadon may have taken control of the Underworld and the Skulkin. Wu decides to requit Kai to train under him to become a ninja. Althrough hesistant at first, Kai accepts. The two go to a Monastery where Kai begins to train for days, only to fail, until one day, he manages to pass the test. Later that night, Kai is ambushed by three mysterious ninja.

The three ninja attack Kai and their fight takes them to the training course where they are stopped by Wu. Wu tells Kai that this was his final test, before transforming their clotches into various colors (red for Kai, blue for Jay, white for Zane and black for Cole), before introducing them to their elements. Kai, Master of Fire, Jay, Master of Lightning, Zane, Master of Ice and Cole, Master of Earth. They set off to find the Golden Weapons, starting with the Scythe of Quakes. Wu leaves with one warning: do not use the Golden Weapon. The ninja successfully find the scythe, but are ambushed by the Skulkin. The ninja fight the skeletons, performing Spinjitzu for the first time. The Skulkin retreat and the ninja are attacked once again: This time by a dragon; the guardian of the schyte. Kai uses the schyte aganist the dragon, and they escape. Wu, having told them not to use the weapon, berates them, but neverthless, they continue searching for the Golden Weapons.

The ninja successfully find the Shurikens of Ice and the Nunchuks of Lightning, and there is only one more Golden Weapon left: the Sword of Fire. The ninja decide to take some rest, but Kai sees Nya heading to the Temple of Fire. He follows her, but she is revealed to be Lord Garmadon in disguise. Kai retrives the Sword of Fire and rescues the real Nya, but Garmadon summons shadows of Kai to battle him. Wu appears, saving Kai once again, but the Skulkin steal the other three Golden Weapons and capture the ninja. Wu sacrifices himself by taking the sword to the Underworld, but Garmadon follows him. Kai manages to tame the Fire Dragon as the ninja fail to prevent the Skulkin from returning to the Underworld with the Golden Weapons. The ninja reunite at the Fire Temple and use their dragons to head to the Underworld. They perform the Tornado of Creation and defeat the Skulkin. Wu duels Samukai, but is defeated and Samukai claims the Golden Weapons for himself, betraying Garmadon. However, the power of the weapons causes him to explode, and creating a vortex, allowing Garmadon to escape. The ninja return to Ninjago. prepared for Garmadon's return.

## Cast

* Cole - Kirby Morrow
* Garmadon - Mark Oliver
* Jay - Michael Adamthwaite
* Kai- Vincent Tong
* Kruncha - Brian Drummond
* Nuckal - Brian Drummond
* Nya - Kelly Metzger
* Samukai - Muchael Kopsa
* Wu - Paul Dobson
* Zane - Brent Miller

## Episodes

 2
 3
 4

## Sets

* 2258 Ninja Ambush
* 2259 Skull Motorbike
* 2260 Ice Dragon Attack
* 2263 Turbo Shredder
* 2504 Spinjitzu Dojo
* 2505 Garmadon's Dark Fortress
* 2506 Skull Truck
* 2507 Fire Temple
* 2508 Blacksmith Shop
* 2509 Earth Dragon Defense
* 2516 Ninja Training Outpost
* 2518 Nuckal's ATV
* 2519 Skeleton Bowling
* 2520 Ninjago Battle Arena
* 2521 Lightning Dragon Battle

### Spinners

* 2111 Kai
* 2112 Cole
* 2113 Zane
* 2114 Chopov
* 2115 Bonezai
* 2116 Krazi
* 2170 Cole DX
* 2171 Zane DX
* 2172 Nya
* 2173 Nuckal
* 2174 Kruncha
* 2175 Wyplash
* 2254 Mountain Shrine
* 2255 Sensei Wu
* 2256 Lord Garmadon
* 2257 Spinjitzu Starter Set

### Miscellaneous

* 4617163 Ninjago Eyes Sticker
* 4636204 LEGO Ninjago Promotion
* Cole Articulated Figure
* Bonezai Articulated Figure
* Garmadon Articulated Figure
* Kai Articulated Figure
* Krazi Articulated Figure
* Nuckal Articulated Figure
* Samukai Articulated Figure
* Wu Articulated Figure
* Zane Articulated Figure

## Trivia

* Although it was called "Masters of Spinjitzu" on LEGO.com[1], Tommy Andreasen said that the pilot season does not have a name, but they have referred to it as "Way of the Ninja."[2]
* In a concept for the original ending, the ninja followed Garmadon into a portal to the future[3].
* These episodes was originally meant to be a standalone story meant to introduce the toy line, but fan enthusiasm allowed it to continue into a full series.
* The original *Character Encyclopedia* incorrectly refers to the pilot episodes as Season 1, and the *actual* Season 1 as Season 2.
	+ Amazon Prime Video also classifies the season incorrectly. It refers to the pilot episodes as part of Season 1. It also plays the audio for both episodes at a lower pitch, by half a semitone.
* The only modern things that appear in the pilot episodes are the electric wires in Ignacia, a phone on the wall in the blacksmith shop and Ninjago City in Jay's flashback.

## References

1. https://web.archive.org/web/20160731021027/http://www.lego.com/en-us/ninjago/museum/pilot-season-masters-of-spinjitzu/season-0
2. https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1268580923962011655
3. https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/870660507983896576