Stone Army

''This article is about the faction. For the episode, see here.''

The Stone Army is a group of antagonists in LEGO's Ninjago theme. Preceded by the Skulkin and the Serpentine, they are the primary enemy faction for Ninjago's 2013 sets, as well as for the second half of the cartoon's second season.

Beginnings
The Stone Army is far older than the Ninja or even the Serpentine, hailing from the time when the Overlord and the First Spinjitzu Master battled for control of Ninjago. In order to turn the tide in his favor, the Overlord created the Stone Army from dark materials hidden deep underground, giving them indestructibility and unwavering loyalty to his evil will. Commanded by energies within the Overlord's helmet, the new army threatened to overwhelm the First Spinjitzu Master, forcing him to split Ninjago in two, with the Overlord and his forces trapped on what would become known as the Island of Darkness. Some members of the Stone Army remained on Ninjago - apparently imprisoned by the ancient tribes - but they eventually fell into dormancy, awaiting their master's command once more.

The Stone Army
A Giant Stone Warrior was unearthed by Misako, and it was put on display in the Ninjago Museum of History. Unfortunately, the venom of the Great Devourer reanimated the exhibit; first the bobblehead merchandise, and then the Warrior itself. No less indestructible than when it was first created, it proved impossible for the Ninja to defeat, until Lloyd tricked it into falling down the massive sinkhole it had been excavated from.

The Day Ninjago Stood Still
While burrowing under Ninjago City in an attempt to bury it, the Serpentine came across a tomb containing a large portion of the Stone Army. The statues were brought to life once more when the Devourer's venom dripped onto their bodies, and they quickly overwhelmed the Serpentine forces before leaving the tomb, trapping the snakes underground. The Stone Army proceeded to wreak havoc on Ninjago City, forcing everyone to evacuate in the Destiny's Bounty; although the dark warriors nearly destroyed the ship's boosters, their victims managed to escape.

The Last Voyage
The Stone Army soldiers left in Ninjago City were eventually called back to the Island of Darkness by Lord Garmadon, who had allied himself with the Overlord and taken the Helmet of Shadows for his own, giving him command over the Stone Army. The army was then put to work mining the island for Dark Matter and constructing an ultimate weapon for the final battle. While working, a small party of Stone Warriors noticed Zane's Falcon flying over the island and disabled it with a shuriken.

Island of Darkness
The Stone Army continued working on the weapon, showing samples of Dark Matter to Lord Garmadon, when the Overlord sensed the Ninjas' arrival. Bent on preventing his foes from interrupting his plans, Garmadon deployed a portion of his army around the island in search of the Ninja. Some of the Stone Warriors stayed in Garmadon's camp to study the Falcon, and were thus surprised when Zane arrived to retrieve it. The other Ninja also arrived, and the Stone Army narrowly failed to capture them as they made their escape.

General Kozu led a group of his fellow warriors in pursuit of the Ninja's new Earth Driller as the latter headed for the Temple of Light. They continued to chase the Ninja up the mountain, but were hindered when Kai used his Fire Mech to attack them. By the time they penetrated the Temple interior, the Ninja had gained new powers, and the Stone Army finally suffered a defeat. General Kozu led the withdrawal as Lloyd used his Ultimate Spinjitzu Master techniques to create a massive golden dragon over the temple.

The Last Hope
Despite the new setback, the Stone Army continued working on their master's ultimate weapon, with some manning various vehicles around the camp perimeter in case the Ninja tried an attack. When the Overlord questioned Lord Garmadon's resolve, the latter attempted to prove his evil by barking orders at some nearby Stone Warriors, causing them to bump into each other in a panic.

Disguised as members of the Stone Army, the Ninja infiltrated the camp with Misako as an apparent prisoner. They ended up working with the Stone Warriors for a time until Cole blew their cover, and fought their way out when Misako managed to steal the Helmet of Shadows. When Nya showed up with the Earth Drill to help the Ninja escape, the Stone Army pursued in their vehicles, but eventually broke off the chase to let Garmadon attack the Ninja with his new mech. When Lloyd destroyed the robot, the Stone Army advanced, only for the Ninja to escape again. They caught up with the Ninja at the Celestial Clock, and managed to stall their foes until the countdown to the final battle ended. As the Ninja fell from the mountain, the Stone Army captured Nya.

Return of the Overlord
With their prisoner and the Helmet of Shadows in tow, the Stone Army returned to Garmadon's camp, where the Garmatron had just been completed. Lord Garmadon corrupted Nya with Dark Matter to test the substance's potency, and subsequently donned the Helmet as he boarded the Garmatron and headed for the coastline.

The Stone Army followed - some on foot and some manning their vehicles - as their master's ultimate weapon arrived on the shores of the Island of Darkness. A group of Stone Soldiers loaded a Dark Matter missile into the Garmatron's main cannon, and the army fended off an attack by Lloyd, Misako, and Sensei Wu while Garmadon fired on Ninjago. While the Soldiers reloaded the cannon, the rest of the army was attacked by the Ninja, who engaged the dark force in battle to prevent them from loading any more missiles into the Garmatron.

The Stone Army bore witness to their master's return as the Overlord possessed Garmadon's body, and also saw General Kozu get blasted into Ninjago due to the interference of Sensei Wu. They continued to battle the other heroes as Lloyd faced off with the Overlord, and eventually fled through a portal summoned by their creator in order to attack Ninjago City directly.

Rise of the Spinjitzu Master
Upon arrival in Ninjago City, the Stone Army marched behind the Garmatron as it corrupted the city with Dark Matter. They were reunited with General Kozu and witnessed the Overlord's transformation into his true form - afterwards, they were set to defend their master's fortress.

When the Ninja were spotted approaching the fortress on the back of the Ultra Dragon, the Stone Army attacked with fiery projectiles from their catapults and crossbows. The dragon dodged their fire, drawing their attention away from Lloyd, who broke through the outer wall of the fortress with the Golden Mech. The Stone Army was no match for the fighting robot, but Nya managed to down it with her turret, forcing the Ninja to join the fray to stop the army from overwhelming the injured Lloyd.

Despite the elemental powers of their foes, the Stone Army gradually wore the Ninja down. They were poised to finish the Ninja off when Dareth donned the Helmet of Shadows and forced them to stop. General Kozu immediately proclaimed the army's allegiance to the Brown Ninja, and the rest of the Stone Army quickly fell in line. Dareth sent them to advance on the Overlord, but the soldiers were shot off the staircase by Nya's turret.

Shadow of Ronin
The Stone Army was made active again, when Dareth used the Helmet of Shadows again, and used them as servants.

General
The highest rank in the Stone Army, identified by their white face, red armor, and second set of arms. Usually wields a Butterfly Sword in each hand. The only known Stone General is General Kozu.

Giant Warrior
Similar to the General, but with a black helmet and a much greater size than any other member of the Stone Army. Shares the General's preference for Butterfly Swords.

Warrior
Smaller versions of the Giant Warrior with only two arms and black chestplates. Favors Butterfly Swords and katanas in battle.

Soldier
Resemble "normal" minifigures, but with the monstrous face of a Stone Army member. Wears a conical red hat similar in design to Sensei Wu's. Usually wields a black Katana, sometimes with a round red shield.

Scout
A shorter version of the Soldier without the jagged red shoulder armor. Wields a crossbow, sometimes equipped with flaming arrows.

Characteristics
The Stone Army appear as black-skinned soldiers with black and red armor and glowing green eyes. Their faces are covered in white or red markings and their teeth are sharp fangs, adding to their inhuman appearance. They wear red and gray armor with a green spiral displayed on the abdominal plating. All ranks (save the Scouts) wear jagged red shoulderpads. In addition, Warriors and Generals wear elaborate helmets vaguely resembling the one worn by Samurai X, but with fang-like details around the mouth guard and small, wing-like protrusions on the sides.

Members of the Stone Army are indestructible, due to being made from a dark ore mined in the Island of Darkness. They are fairly skilled warriors and pilots, possessing a number of vehicles and machines to use against their foes. Additionally, they speak exclusively in a strange, presumably ancient, language consisting mainly of grunts, roars, and yells. As a result, Lord Garmadon relies on General Kozu to translate their words - however, they appear to understand modern Ninjago speech without their General needing to translate.

The Stone Army is extremely dangerous, but the full elemental power of the Ninja proves enough to defeat them. They can also be hindered by falls or obstacles, although their great strength and limitless stamina makes these temporary defences at best. Most importantly, they are bound to serve whoever wears the Helmet of Shadows; if the helmet changes hands, so does the army's allegiance.

Trivia

 * From the story of the stone wars, the stone army had a stone color, instead of their mostly red and black colors they would have after their ressurection.
 * The Stone Army's design is largely the same between sets and other media, with the exception of the markings on the Scouts and Soldier's faces. In the sets, the Scouts have yellow markings and the Soldiers have blue ones, but other media depicts them both with white markings.
 * The Stone Army's design may be based on the terra cotta warriors of ancient China, who were said to protect the souls of their owners when they passed on. Entire armies were buried with Chinese emperors, much like how the Stone Army was sealed underground in the cartoon.
 * The LEGO sets remove any mention of the Overlord's hand in the Stone Army's creation, instead claiming that they are based in the Underworld (making them similar to the Skulkin).
 * In "Return of the Overlord," a Stone Warrior speaks in English as it approaches Lord Garmadon with the imprisoned Nya. This implies that the Stone Army has begun learning the modern language of Ninjago, or that General Kozu was supposed to be in the scene.
 * Oddly, the ninja have never used the Stone Army to aid them since "Rise of the Spinjitzu Master", yet they are probably  still controlled by Dareth. They were seen at the end of Shadow of Ronin, but it is still unknown if the game was canon or not.