The Overlord

The Overlord was a major antagonist in Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu, appearing about halfway into the second season. He was the creator of the Stone Army and the original source of all darkness in the world of Ninjago - and thus, the true antagonist of the series.

In the Beginning
When the First Spinjitzu Master created Ninjago, it was a land of light, causing darkness to appear as a counterbalance. The Overlord appeared from the darkness and 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. 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.

The Stone Army
After being betrayed by Skales and falling into the Endless Ocean, 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 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 the 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 own robot, 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, Sensei 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 warmup 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 millenia-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 Sensei 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 true form. Leaving his helmet in the streets, the Overlord proceeded to transform the Garmatron into a tower-like fortress from which to oversee the newly-corrupted city, 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.

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 manifested as a larger, more demonic version of Garmadon himself. 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 reverted to his true form, a monstrous black dragon with four long tentacles or feelers on its face, massive, tattered black wings instead of arms, and a broad, toothy mouth.

Powers and Abilities
The Overlord was credited with the creation of the Stone Army, implying that he may possess the element of Creation (or a dark equivalent). In his orb form, he was able to float freely, allowing him to accompany Lord Garmadon wherever he travels on the Island of Darkness. He also appeared to have some form of enhanced perception, as he immediately sensed the Ninja's arrival on the Island of Darkness.

After using Lord Garmadon's body to retake a physical form, the Overlord gained enhanced physical strength, high durability, and the ability to release dark energy from his hands. He usually fired this energy as offensive beam attacks, 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.

In his true form, the Overlord's 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 the rest of his body was still present or if the Overlord could simply manifest parts of himself at will within the sphere.

Trivia

 * The Overlord is Ian James Corlett's second major voice acting role in the series, with the first being Skales. Coincidentally, both are scheming villains who betray Lord Garmadon at some point in the series.
 * Some sites claim that the Overlord is voiced by Scott McNeil instead of Ian James Corlett.
 * Supplementary materials imply that since the Overlord is the source of all evil in Ninjago, he might be responsible for creating the Great Devourer by corrupting a lone serpent with darkness. If this is true, the Overlord is also indirectly responsible for causing Lord Garmadon's fall into evil; a connection further implied by the fact that Garmadon returns to his original, goodhearted self following the Overlord's apparent demise.
 * The Overlord views the environment with thermal vision in his "Orb" form.
 * The Overlord's final fate is unclear, but the emphasis on light and darkness being balanced implies that the forces of evil are not entirely destroyed after Lloyd's victory. It is unknown, however, if the Overlord was simply banished to the Island of Darkness once more, or if he was actually destroyed to allow the darkness to disperse into Ninjago's light, rather than exist as a concentrated entity.