“Father is no longer here! Good and evil, there has always been a balance. Where I go, the balance can be destroyed. Soon I will be strong enough to possess the Four Weapons, so I can recreate the world in my image!”
— Garmadon's final lines before disappearing, "Weapons of Destiny."
The Pilot Episodes are the first installment in the LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu series. It was originally released on January 14th, 2011. It is often referred to by fans as Way of the Ninja. Kai is the main protagonist for this installment and Samukai is the main antagonist. The Skulkin serve as the villainous faction.
It is the first installment in the Prophecy of the Green Ninja arc. It introduces all of the main characters of the series, being the original four Ninja, Wu, Nya, and the main antagonist Lord Garmadon. The collectible weapon for this installment is the Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu.
In February 2012, the pilots were adapted into a series of three books. The first, titled Way of the Ninja, recorded the events of the episode of the same name.
"Long before time had a name, Ninjago was created by the First Spinjitzu Master, by using the Four 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 of their power at once. When he passed away, his two sons swore to protect them, but the oldest was consumed by darkness and wanted to possess them. A battle between brothers broke out, and the oldest was struck down and banished to the Underworld. Peace returned, and the younger brother hid the weapons. But knowing his older brother's relentless ambition for power, he placed a guardian to protect them. And for fear of his own demise, a map for an honest man to hide." - Sensei Wu in "Way of the Ninja."
Young blacksmith Kai joins the ninja team in an effort to rescue his younger sister, Nya. Under the tutelage of their wise sensei, the four teenagers band together to face Samukai and the Skulkin army, led by Wu's evil brother, Lord Garmadon.
Characters[]
Cole - Kirby Morrow
Garmadon - Mark Oliver
Jay - Michael Adamthwaite
Kai - Vincent Tong
Kruncha - Brian Drummond
Nuckal - Brian Drummond
Nya - Kelly Metzger
Samukai - Michael Kopsa
Wu - Paul Dobson
Zane - Brent Miller
Battles[]
Kai & Wu vs. Skulkin Army
Kai vs. Cole, Jay, & Zane
The Ninja vs. Rocky
Kai vs. Garmadon's shadow
Wu vs. Garmadon
Locations[]
Ninjago
Ignacia
Four Weapon's Blacksmith
Mountains of Impossible Height
Monastery of Spinjitzu
Caves of Despair
Ninjago City
Floating Ruins
Frozen Wasteland
Ice Temple
Forest of Tranquility
Fire Temple
Underworld
Garmadon's Dark Fortress
Episodes[]
Episode No.
No. in Series
Image
Title
Air Date
1
Pilot
"Way of the Ninja"
January 14th, 2011
2
Pilot
"The Golden Weapon"
January 14th, 2011
3
Pilot
"King of Shadows"
January 14th, 2011
4
Pilot
"Weapons of Destiny"
January 14th, 2011
Music[]
Original Soundtrack[]
LEGO Ninjago Masters of Spinjitzu Original Soundtrack
Songs[]
The Weekend Whip
Born to be a Ninja
A-W-E-S-O-M-E
Ninja-Go!
Media[]
Key Visuals[]
Key Visual #1
Key Visual #2
Spin-Offs[]
Mini-Movies (2011)
In Fall of 2011, six mini episodes were released as sequels to the pilot episodes. They range from showing the Ninja hanging out on their dragons to a flashback of Garmadon's original banishment to the Underworld.
Books
Four books released related to the pilot episodes.
Kai: Ninja of Fire and Zane: Ninja of Ice released on September 1, 2011.
Cole: Ninja of Earth and Jay: Ninja of Lightning released on January 1, 2012.
Kai: Ninja of Fire
Zane: Ninja of Ice
Cole: Ninja of Earth
Jay: Ninja of Lightning
The Challenge of Samukai
Under the tutelage of their master Sensei Wu, the "chosen four" ninjas Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane must learn to use their elemental powers of fire, ice, lightning and earth. Their mission: defeat Sensei Wu’s evil brother Garmadon and his army of skeleton warriors before they can take over the world!
The Challenge of Samukai
Back in their home village after the battle with Garmadon, the four ninja are hoping for some R&R. Instead, they get drawn into a fight to the finish with the most powerful and unexpected foe they have ever faced: Sensei Wu—their own sensei! Can the students hope to defeat the master?
LEGO Battles: Ninjago (2011)
LEGO Battles: Ninjago, also known as LEGO Ninjago: The Videogame, is the first Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu video game to be released, available on the Nintendo DS system. It takes place within the pilot episodes and is a sequel/spin-off to the original LEGO Battles game.
LEGO Ninjago: Spinjitzu Scavenger Hunt (2011)
LEGO Ninjago: Spinjitzu Scavenger Hunt is a game based on LEGO's Ninjago theme. It is a fighting game that focuses on using Spinjitzu. This game is unplayable on Apple devices over iOS 11.
Spinjitzu Smash (2011)
Spinjitzu Smash! is the first in a series of Web Games based on the LEGO Ninjago theme. The player has to defeat waves of enemies to progress through the story of the game.
Spinjitzu Smash DX (2011)
Spinjitzu Smash DX was a game on the Cartoon Network website. Cartoon Network's website doesn't currently contain the full version, and though it previously prompted the player to go to the official Ninjago website to play the full version, the game has been removed from there as well, and thus one is not able to play the full version.
Smash Creations (2011)
Smash Creations is an online Ninjago game released in 2011. It Is a special version of the Spinjitzu Smash! series with customizable Cards and ninja. The game focuses on fighting Skulkin and winning.
The Four Paths (2011)
The Four Paths is a Web Game that was released on Cartoon Network in 2011.
Spinjitzu Smash Party (2011)
Spinjitzu Smash Party is a Web Game to feature the LEGO Ninjago theme. Gameplay is similar to previous LEGO Ninjago games, Spinjitzu Smash!, Spinjitzu Smash DX, and Smash Creations. The game gives the player the option to create their own character, and choose their own level to play. Players can create their own deck of cards, or use the default decks.
Sets[]
Kai was the mascot ninja, and the box art depicted a variety of locations. The Golden Weapons were the collectible items.
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
Notes[]
Although it was called "Masters of Spinjitzu" on LEGO.com, Tommy Andreasen said that the pilot season does not have a name, but they have referred to it as "Way of the Ninja."
Depending on the source, the episodes are either two 22-minute parts or four 11-minute parts.
The Hageman Brothers' original beat sheet for the episode divided the story into four parts, referring to each as a chapter. However, it was written to be either two 22-minute episodes or one 44-minute special, not four 11-minute episodes.
Though Tommy Andreasen prefers the 22-minute division, the episodes were required to be split into four 11-minute parts to allow for more broadcasting options.
He himself refers to the episodes as two rather than four.
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.
In a concept for the original ending, the ninja followed Garmadon into a portal to the future.
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.
In some other airings, the tune of the audio was a half - a whole full semitone lower.
In the Japanese version, all 4 episodes are trimmed down into a single 23 minute episode, cutting out various scenes.
Continuity[]
Garmadon's evil form strongly resembles that of an Oni. It is implied in later seasons that the bite of the Great Devourer counteracted the Balance inside of Garmadon, letting his quarter Oni blood become dominant.
The Dragons introduced in this installment are said to be able to ferry between realms. At the time it is not known that Wu and Garmadon both have a quarter Dragon blood in them.
Kai & Nya's parents are absent in this installment, and it is implied that they died. Ray is shown in a flashback being given the Map of the Golden Weapons by Wu, but his design is different than how he later appears. At the time it is unknown that the two of them are being held captive by Krux.