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 and the supreme general of the Serpentine army 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 Serpentine. Upon hearing from Chen that the humans were planning for war, Arcturus believed they had no choice but to attack. He therefore 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 Venomari general then came to Arcturus, who was standing in a destroyed chariot in front of his Anacondrai army, and told him that the Serpentine 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. Realizing his mistake of his refusal to listen to Arcturus, Garmadon agrees and sacrifices himself to the Curse Realm to release Arcturus and the generals, informing them of Chen's crimes.
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 and the other generals thanked Garmadon's son Lloyd for bringing peace between humans and the Serpentine, even showing respect for Garmadon for his great sacrifice and restoring Pythor to his original size as a reward for his newfound courage and finally making them proud. 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 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
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 Serpentine was defeated and the war ended, Arcturus humbly asked for the mercy of three judges, which Mystake rejected and the Anacondrai generals were banished to the Cursed Realm.
Bowing to Lloyd
For 40 years at the Cursed Realm, Arcturus realized his mistakes and reformed, and after his release by Garmadon, he was angry with Chen becausehe disgraced the Anacondrai's memorial and, without mercy, banished him and his cult to the Cursed Realm. 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 he did not have red but green eyes. He was wearing an Anacondrai vest with a green gem on his chest, while the same gem was on his forehead. He also had gold sleeves and large gold armor with spines.
As a ghost, he no longer had a green gem on his forehead and was almost completely and transparent with a green mist around him.
Weapons and abilities
Abilities
Anacondrai abilities
Anacondrai invisibility: Arcturus' primary ability allowed him to turn invisible, although he was never seen using it.
Prolonged lifespan: Like the rest of the Serpentine, Arcturus had prolonged lifespans.
Fire resistance: Like all Anacondrai, Arcturus' hides were immune to fire.
"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.
Although Arcturus was the supreme general who commanded the united Serpentine tribes during the Serpentine War, he was never the crowned Serpentine King. The reason for this is unknown.
Gallery
Promotional media
Ghost Arcturus in The Tournament of Elements mural.
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