This article is about the Serpentine general. You may be looking for the rocket.
“Because of your friends, you have done what we never could: united the Serpentine and your kind as one. Because of you, the Balance is restored. And because of your father, our spirits can be free. You will have our eternal respect as the greatest warriors to ever battle for Ninjago.”
General Arcturus was one of the Anacondrai generals during the Serpentine War. Arcturus and the other generals led his kind into battle during this conflict, winning various battles, such as the battles in Jamanakai Village and Birchwood Forest. He proved relentless in his efforts to conquer Ninjago and defeat the Elemental Alliance until his adversaries found that the Sacred Flutes could hypnotize the Serpentine. As such, Arcturus' army was defeated and sealed away in various tombs, with his own kind winding up in a fang-shaped tomb in the Sea of Sand. Along with his fellow generals, Arcturus was found guilty of war crimes and banished to the Cursed Realm. Despite this, Arcturus' reputation was great enough that a celestial zodiac was named after him.
During the Second Serpentine War, Master Chen transformed his followers into fake Anacondrai, even going so far as to use Pythor to make the transformation permanent. Knowing that Arcturus and the generals wouldn't stand for Chen's actions, Pythor proposed releasing the spirits of the Anacondrai generals to curse Chen's army. However, this could only be done if the person who cursed them, Garmadon, sacrificed himself to take their place. Garmadon chose to do so with help from his son, Lloyd. Freeing Arcturus and the generals; they proceeded to curse Chen's army, with Arcturus personally denouncing Chen before banishing him himself. Arcturus then commended Pythor for his bravery by restoring him to his normal size and thanking Lloyd for restoring peace between humans and Serpentine. He proceeded to the Departed Realm with his fellow generals.
Arcturus was a supreme general of the Anacondrai during a time in history when tensions were high between man and the Serpentine. He attempted to keep peace between both species and collaborated on a truce, but upon hearing from Chen that the humans were planning war, Arcturus believed they had no choice but to attack. Therefore, he ordered an attack on Jamanakai Village, where the Serpentine oppressed the villagers, and finally, when the Anacondrai army arrived, they defeated the Elemental Masters. The former general Venomari then approached Arcturus, who was standing on a destroyed chariot in front of his Anacondrai army, and told him that the Serpentines had taken control of the village. Arcturus told him that "only one can remain."[1]
Some time later, Arcturus led the Anacondrai army into a battle in Birchwood Forest against the Elemental Alliance led by Garmadon and Wu. The Alliance prevailed for some time, and Arcturus ordered a retreat, but when the Elemental Master of Earth opposed the Alliance and began fighting it, Arcturus was the first to turn back and eventually win the battle.[1]
Arcturus and the generals' banishment
Arcturus, confident after his victory, gradually began to conquer most of Ninjago until the Elemental Alliance created the Sacred Flutes. With the help of them, they then imprisoned all the Serpentine in five separate tombs and brought Arcturus and the other Anacondrai generals to court. There, the supreme general of the Serpentine army begged for mercy, which Mystake refused, and Garmadon then relentlessly banished the generals into the Cursed Realm.[1]
During his forty years in the Cursed Realm, Arcturus pondered his mistakes and eventually changed his mind about the war.[2]
Arcturus and the other generals leaving the Cursed Realm
During the Second Serpentine War, Garmadon soon learned that Chen deliberately played both the Serpentine and humans into attacking each other, and he was informed by Pythor that the only way to stop Chen and his army is to release the spirits of Arcturus and the other Anacondrai generals so that they can curse Chen and his army. Garmadon made the selfless decision to offer himself as a sacrifice to the Cursed Realm in order to free Arcturus and the generals. He understood that they could only be released if he took their place in the Cursed Realm, as he was the one responsible for banishing them there.
Arcturus and the other banished generals
Upon being freed, Arcturus and the generals confronted Chen, who tried to plead mercy by claiming that they were on the same team. However, finally aware of Chen's dishonest and treacherous nature, Arcturus refused by denouncing Chen as a liar, cheater, and impostor. Arcturus and the generals sent Chen and his followers to the Cursed Realm as punishment for their actions. Arcturus showed his gratitude towards Pythor, acknowledging his courage and bravery. He believed that Pythor had finally achieved something that made his ancestors proud. As a token of appreciation, Arcturus restored Pythor to his normal size. Arcturus then extended his thanks to Lloyd, recognizing that it was because of him and the other ninja that the Serpentine and humans have been united as one, restoring balance. Arcturus also showed respect for Garmadon's sacrifice. He concluded by stating that Lloyd and his fellow ninja would always be respected as the greatest warriors to have fought for Ninjago by them. Arcturus and the other generals soon headed to a portal to the Departed Realm, finally at peace.
Legacy[]
Decades after Arcturus's banishment, during the Nindroid crisis, Garmadon remembered facing Arcturus in battle, and Master Wu noted that a celestial zodiac had been named after him, but the two were unable to guess at the meaning behind the association of his name with the Overlord's project.
"Project: Arcturus" was eventually discovered to be a rocket named after the Serpentine general and a constellation with the same name, and the Nindroids were located at Ouroboros, where the Serpentine used to study the stars. The rocket carried the Nindroids and the ninja into space, where the Overlord hoped to obtain the Mega Weapon.[3]
Personality[]
Arcturus asking for mercy
Arcturus was the leader of the Anacondrai tribe which made clear his abilities to govern and his skills as a warrior. In spite of this, however, Arcturus was a peace-loving Serpentine, and tried to make concessions to maintain a truce between humans and Serpentine, or at least until Chen tricked him into believing that the humans were going to attack his people, forcing Arcturus to take up arms.
During the Serpentine War, Arcturus was a very cruel and ruthless general who led the Serpentine legions into the war against humans, ordering his army to occupy human villages and cities and oppress their inhabitants. He followed the Anacondrai creed: "Only one can remain."
When the Serpentine were defeated and the war ended, Arcturus humbly asked for the mercy of three judges, a request Mystake rejected, leading to the Anacondrai generals being sentenced with banishment to the Cursed Realm.
Bowing to Lloyd
After 40 years inside the Cursed Realm, Arcturus realized his mistakes and reformed, and after his release by Garmadon, he banished Chen and his cult to the Cursed Realm for disgracing the memory of the Anacondrai. He then turned to the ninja and thanked them generously, calling them the greatest warriors of all time and saying that they would have the respect of the Anacondrai generals for eternity. He also thanked Pythor for helping to release them and told him that he had shown great courage, restoring him to his original size. Arcturus then finally rested and left for the Departed Realm satisfied with his fate.
Appearance[]
Arcturus looked similar to other Anacondrai, which included purple scales all over his body, a long tail, and a snake-like head with four white fangs, but with green eyes instead of the usual red. He also wore an Anacondrai vest surrounding a green gem on his chest, with a similar gem atop his forehead. Arcturus also wore gold shoulder armor, contrasting with the dark red armor worn by the other Anacondrai Generals.
As a ghost, he no longer had a green gem, or markings, on his forehead and was almost completely transparent and surrounded by green mist.
"Arcturus" is a Latin word, originally from Greek Arktouros, which means "bear watcher." It is also a name of the brightest star in the northern constellation of Boötes. However, his match with the star was most likely used when choosing a name for the character, as the celestial zodiac in Ninjago is named after him and he has nothing to do with bears.
Behind the scenes[]
Arcturus appears to use the same torso print as the 2015Pythor minifigure, only recolored in various areas.
He also reuses 2012 Pythor's tail like the other Anacondrai.
Trivia[]
Arcturus is the only seen Anacondrai to have green eyes rather than red. The reason for this is unknown.
While he was still alive, Arcturus had black and gold markings with a green gem on his head, like the other Anacondrai generals. As a spirit, however, Arcturus appears to have no markings on his head, while the other generals do.
He and the other cursed Anacondrai generals are the only known ghosts to display the abilities to curse mortals and making something (Pythor in this case) bigger/returning it to its original size.
Despite being one of the generals of the tribe, he was never seen carrying the Anacondrai Staff during the Serpentine War, instead wielding an Anacondrai Blade in battle.
It is possible that this was because they were at war at the time, as no other general was seen with a staff in the flashbacks.
Gallery[]
Promotional media[]
Ghost Arcturus in The Tournament of Elements mural.
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