After the Final Battle, peace resumed until the Overlord returned and created the Nindroid Army. The Overlord made the Nindroid Army by using Zane's blueprints. During this time, a love triangle formed between Nya, Jay, and Cole. The conflict ended when Zane sacrificed himself to vanquish the Overlord. Saddened by Zane's death, the ninja parted ways but reunited after learning of Zane's survival and set out to rescue Zane on a mysterious island. There, Jay and Cole made amends over Nya, while the ninja allied with the Elemental Masters to defeat Chen's Anacondrai Cultists, who had caused the Second Serpentine War.
Shortly after, the ninja battled Morro and spirits from the Cursed Realm. Needing to learn Airjitzu, the ninja went to the Temple of Airjitzu, where Cole was turned into a ghost. He soon came to terms with his condition and used his new abilities. Following the ghost invasion, the ninja were tormented by Nadakhan, who captured Cole in the Djinn Blade. After Cole and the others were freed, Jay used his last wish to undo recent events. On the Day of the Departed, Cole confronted Yang, who tricked Cole into reviving the ninja's old enemies. Cole fought Yang, but eventually made amends with him, and Cole became a human once more via the Rift of Return.
Cole joined his allies in battling the Time Twins and their Vermillion army, as well as seeking the powerful Time Blades. Although their enemies were defeated, Wu was lost in the time vortex but was rediscovered a year later in the form of a baby by Cole, as he liked to drink tea and wouldn't drink anything else, as well as acting like Wu. Cole protected the de-aged Wu from a notorious gang that resurrected Lord Garmadon, and the two were later stranded in the Realm of Oni and Dragons with the original ninja looking for a way home. After the defeat of Iron Baron (the leader of the Dragon Hunters), Cole, along with the other original ninja and a middle-aged Wu (now the Dragon Master), returned home with the help of the Dragons. They managed to defeat the Colossus while Lloyd defeated his father, saving Ninjago once again.
Cole fights alongside his friends to defend against the Oni invasion but falls into the darkness attempting to rescue citizens. However, he survives and comes to the monastery to defeat the Oni and witness Jay ask Nya to be his Yang. Months later, Cole and his friends fight against Aspheera and her Pyro Vipers after accidentally releasing them from their tomb. After Zane is banished by Aspheera's sorcery, he and the remaining ninja send themselves to the Never-Realm in order to rescue him. While Lloyd went to find Zane, Cole and the others protected the Ice Fishers of Great Lake. Cole befriended Krag the Yeti in the mountains, who led him to the Traveler's Tree, allowing them to use its berries to make a potent enough dose of tea to go back home. The ninja fight Boreal the Ice Dragon, and discover that Zane is the Ice Emperor. With Zane having managed to return to his senses in a fight with Lloyd and freeing the Never-Realm from its eternal winter, the team reunites and use Traveler's Tea to head back to their home realm.
Sometime later, Cole and the other ninja enter the virtual world of Prime Empire when the legendary arcade game resurfaces, and hundreds of gamers are zapped into it. He and Kai sacrifice their last of their four lives to save Jay, Nya, and Lloyd in the Speedway Five-Billion. Eventually, Jay moves on to convince Unagami to free everyone trapped in the game, and Cole, as well as the other ninja, gamers, and NPCs are freed.
Afterward, Cole travels to the Kingdom of Shintaro on top of Shintaro Mountain, where he discovers Dungeons that were made by an evil sorcerer Hazza D'ur underneath the mountain and the evil Skull Sorcerer. He gets captured but is later saved by the other ninja. He returns to the surface, but the King, Vangelis, reveals that he is actually the Skull Sorcerer, and banishes him, Princess Vania, and Wu to Rock-Bottom. There, they meet the Lowly. Together, they escape from Rock-Bottom and Cole faces the Skull Sorcerer, unlocking the power of the Spinjitzu Burst, which he used to defeat the Skull Sorcerer and fulfill a promise he made to his mother. Cole, Wu, and the other ninja later leave Shintaro but prepare to go on another adventure.
Cole traveled to the Island of the Keepers to save Misako and Wu. There, the ninja discovered the Storm Amulet and the existence of Wojira.
When Nya lost control of her powers, he stayed behind at the monastery along with Kai while the others went to investigate. Later on, he attempted to stop Kalmaar from awakening Wojira, but ultimately failed and he assisted the other ninja in the fight that followed. He was saddened when Nya left, and attended her memorial, as well as silently comforting Jay during this time.
One year later, Cole unites the ninja team to solve a Vengestone hoarding from some henchmen, but they run into and form a rivalry between the New Ninja. Later, after realizing a way to bring Nya back, Jay and Cole break into Borg Tower to steal Aspheera's staff, but were unsuccessful. The ninja, however, manage to stow a truck containing it and allow Aspheera, who was freed by Kai, Zane and Lloyd, to steal Nya's powers and become human again. At a cost though, the ninja become criminals and are placed in Kryptarium Prison. When hearing word about the Overlord, now known as the Crystal King, is summoning the ninja's worst enemies against them, the ninja break out of prison thanks to Dareth, and have Lloyd go undercover with the Council of the Crystal King. As the ninja search for Lloyd under the N line, the tunnel is blown up by Crystal Spiders and are trapped under rubble until they are saved by Nya in her Samurai X Mech, and the ninja regroup at the Samurai X Cave to save Lloyd and plan to stop the Overlord's invasion and save Ninjago. Eventually, Cole and the original ninja unlock their Dragon Forms, reclaim their Golden Weapons and unite them to prevent the Overlord from corrupting them, becoming crystalized in the process. However, the powers formed the Golden Ultra Dragon and defeated the Overlord, freeing everyone from the Overlord's reign. Cole and the other ninja, alongside their allies, rebuilt the Monastery of Spinjitzu.
Several weeks later, Cole moved to a farming village, where a dispute was in progress, and thanks to his visiting father and the farmers, he regains his powers in the process before leaving the village with his father.
Later after the Merge, Cole was separated from his fellow ninja, and woke up in the Land of Lost Things, where he encountered a Munce exile named Geo and started to protect the children living there from a creature called the Hoarder, using his powers to transform into a golem, which he thought was powered up from Geo's Fusion powers. One such encounter, he attacked threesuspiciousindividuals before discovering one of them was his teamate Nya accompanied by Sora and Riyu, and he learn the Claws of Imperium were after the Dragon Core, which is stolen by Dr. LaRow. When time came to attack Imperium, Cole stayed behind, only to start following an ghost-like orb in a journey in which he find out the place where the screams of the earth come from.
After finishing his mission, Cole returned to the Land of Lost Things, where he found out that the Wolf Clan led by Lord Ras, planned to abduct Bonzle and exploit her to unlock a gateway for the Forbidden Five's release. In order to protect her, Cole and Zane embarked on a journey to Mysterium to find Bonzle's creator, Gandalaria. Despite the help of the sorceress, Bonzle is finally kidnapped by Jordana in the Wyldness. Eventually, Cole, Zane, and Gandalaria joined forces to save the Cloud Kingdom from imminent destruction while the others prevent the Blood Moon Ritual, at the cost of Kai and Bonzle being banished to the Nether-Space. When three Arc dragons were murdered sole time later, Cole joined the ninja as they participate in the Tournament of the Sources, where he battled Arin's old friend, Frak, and lost, but gave him advice during the latter's battle against Zur. Guided by a light, Cole came across the Monastery of Gates where he learned from the orb was actually Wu, assuming it was his departed spirit and that he was responsible for the Merge. After Nokt won the tournament, Cole and the ninja attempted to stop the former as he released the rest of the Forbidden Five before Nya was able to free Kai and Bonzle with Riyu's help, and Nokt had the seized powers stripped and returned to their rightful owners before watching the Forbidden Five, along with Ras and Arin, escape through a portal gate, which became destroyed.
Weeks later, Cole stays in the Land of Lost Things, while his teammates embark on several journeys which ultimately lead to them confronting Thunderfang. Cole notices the Winds of Chaos and keeps an eye on the Finders. After Thunderfang's death, Cole reunited with the ninja and an amnesiac Jay who revealed to them that Arin's parents are still alive.
After attending Egalt's funeral, Cole brought Frak to train with him and Kai at the Land of Lost Things where they soon learned about the screaming earth. When they arrived at the place of the vibrations, he and Frak, combined with Kai's Fire, unearthed the remains of the deceased Source Dragon of Balance as they were visited by Master Wu.
Returning home, they found themselves attacked by the Spectral Dragonians as Cole became furious that the Finders had their soulsabsorbed, he went to attacked Nokt for hollowing them. Unfortunately, he was hollowed out too in the process for his recklessness. But after the Ninja defeated Thunderfang, his soul returns as he happily reunites with the Finders. But as the ninja are scattered throughout the lands because of Ras, he is the only one who remains in the Monastery.
Cole has a muscular body, as a result of his past as a rock climber. He has the basic yellow flesh of a LEGO character. He has medium length, shaggy black hair and bushy eyebrows, and from Season 8 to 10, a more relaxed look to his eyes. Before Season 8, his hair was shorter and swept to the left. His eyebrows were thinner and woollier.
As a ghost, Cole's body was no longer tangible. His skin was a pale green and the rest of his body was transparent. He was outlined by a pale green streak and appeared to glow like other ghosts do. During Day of the Departed, Cole was thrown into the rift to the Departed Realm by Yang, restoring his humanity. However, since Cole barely made it out, he received a ghostly green scar going down the left side of his face. Starting from Season 8, his scar is no longer visible (probably because time let it heal itself) but when he uses the Earth Punch, it reappears as orange. As of Season 11, the scar now looks longer.
In an anime inspired scene of "The Absolute Worst," Cole is shown to have dark brown eyes and wears orange bands on his wrists.
He generally prefers black or dark clothing, though his favorite color is said to be orange,[2] which seems to be represented with orange highlights on a number of his outfits. Since "The Royal Blacksmiths," Cole's civilian outfit is mainly a dark gray hoodie and black pants with a brown belt. As seen in Season 6, he still wore this outfit while off-duty but due to becoming a ghost, it was tinted pale green and transparent. For more images on Cole's appearance in his different ninja suits, click here.
Ninjago: Like the majority of hisfellowninja, Cole was a teenager at the start of the original series.[4] However, the ninja do not officially have specific ages,[5] as they were meant to be perpetually in their teenage years for the duration of the original series.[6] As of Hunted, he and the other three original ninja were stated to be "grown-up teenagers" by Jay.[7]
Dragons Rising: The Merge occurs sometime after Crystalized, and the main events of the series take place an unknown amount of years later. Children before the merge grew into teenagers, which may imply that he and the other five ninja, excluding Zane, are now young adults in their 20s instead of teens. However, as mentioned above, the creators do not specify ages.
What follows are possible estimations using creator statements on the ninja's ages. Their specific ages are not canonically set in stone, and some older statements may no longer apply if the creator later disagrees with themselves.
Potential Estimations: During the events of the pilot episodes and Season 1, Cole was at least 15 or 16 years of age.[8][9]
Cole used to be more uptight and strategic, disapproving of Kai's impulsiveness. Before meeting Wu, Cole lacked direction and purpose. At this time, his mother just passed away and he was struggling to take care of the family himself. As a ninja, Cole thoroughly enjoys helping others in need and feels accomplished with a job well done.
In the pilot episodes, Cole insisted he was without fear, though Zane quickly pointed out his fear of dragons. When the ninja had to recruit their dragons, Cole awkwardly stood on top of the Earth Dragon instead of properly mounting him. Despite his initial hesitance, he grew to accept Rocky, even learning to care for him more than the other ninja cared for theirs. He was also worried to face his dad and dance in Season 1. He had a fear of ghosts in Season 5, which he was also able to overcome after turning into a ghost and facing Master Yang. This was the same with singing in front of people in Season 8. Cole has had the most fears expressed and conquered, despite acting like the bravest of the ninja.
Cole may act out of instinct or impulse without thinking first, as seen in "Wishmasters", where two of his wishes went to waste.
He is shown to have fatherly tendencies, caring for baby Wu as his own in Season 8, even going to the extent of calling him Cole Jr. before figuring out the baby's identity. He was often shown being protective of the de-aged Wu as well, examples being when he attempted to threaten Ultra Violet should she harm the child, running into the ninja's cabin to protect him when the Bounty crashed, and making sure toddler Wu was safely hidden behind a rock before joining the other ninja in using his Spinjitzu. Throughout the season, Cole was his main caretaker. Another example of these tendencies was in Season 11, where Cole threatened Krag with a parent-like punishment: to not let him play video games.
Cole has kept a strong relationship with his father, Lou, ever since Season 1. Before, he would lie to his father through letters about his dance practice, not wanting to disappoint him, which ironically, held him back from his True Potential. Whenever the Royal Blacksmiths would be performing, Cole would point out his dad proudly. Since then as well, Cole has been more confident in his dancing and singing. He occasionally does the move Triple Tiger Sashay in a fight and in Season 8, he openly sang.
He also has addictive tendencies, mainly his love for cake. He has also shown these same tendencies towards noodles from Chen's Noodle House. In general, Cole seems to have a great love for food and eating, despite being shown to be a terrible cook in Season 1. Sometimes he eats without thinking though, like when Dareth hid weapons in a cake for them, or eating the fortune cookie without taking out the fortune. In Season 9, the others joked about how he might be overweight, but Cole points out how he had shown a lot of self restraint in Seasons 8 and 9 by staying away from cake, even stating that "his body is a temple". In "The Weakest Link", he questions why he ever gave up cake, and Jay responds with the same thing.
At the beginning of Season 8, Jay comments that Cole has become a party pooper since Master Wu had gone missing after Season 7. This was due to Cole giving up cake. It seems like a drastic change for him, and may be inferred that the loss of Wu affected Cole immensely. Similarly, the death of his mother, Lilly, prior to the series, impacted him and forced him to become more responsible at a younger age, explaining his tendency to become a leader and take more responsibility to deal with loss.[10][11]
He and Zane are the most serious and focused of the ninja. However, that does not stop him from allowing his one-track mind or competitiveness to get the best of him. Once he really sets his mind to something, he will remain interested in it until it is fulfilled (for instance, when he was itching for a fight in "Island of Darkness").
Cole is one to put himself at risk before his friends, as shown when he gave Jay the Jadeblade during Season 4. He has shown sympathy toward Zane, Lloyd, young Wu and Jay when they were melancholic. However, when trying to comfort his allies, he seems to have difficulty finding the correct words to do so, only able to accomplish the task with the example of his teammates. He always encourages his friends to do the right things but tries not to force them. This happened with Jay in Season 6 and Wu in Season 9. If it comes down to it though, he will try to solve the problem. He tends to be patient and give others the benefit of the doubt, as seen in "Scavengers" when he told the others to not be so hard on Lloyd, who was trying to lead at the time.
Sometimes Cole is shown to not think things through. One of these occurrences was in Day of the Departed when he was bitter about being turned into a ghost and went into the temple to face off against Yang alone and when he in Dragons Rising, Season 3 decided to face against Nokt alone. He realized the depths of his actions and theeffecttheyhadon his friends and felt guilty, though in the end he managed to get past his inner turmoil and defeat Yang. He showed understanding to Yang's plight and was able to get him to overcome his pain and attempted to get him to go through the rift with him.
Cole has been shown to make allies easily. Examples of this include Master Yang, Krag in the Never-Realm, and the Upply in Shintaro. Cole seems to be very understanding and willing to help those who need it. Cole is also never willing to leave someone behind, as shown in Season 4 with the factory workers and eliminated Elemental Masters. This was an early example in the show of his promise to his mother to "always stand up to those who are cruel and unjust", even though the phrase was never shown until Season 13.
Rarely does Cole back down from a fight, for better or worse. When Jay aggravated Cole about Nya, Cole was willing to fight back. However, it doesn't seem like it was about Nya as much as it was about seeing who was the better of the two. However, in the end his maturity manages to shine through, with him finally ending the fight in the Tournament of Elements. Since then, Cole is proud to be considered Jay's best friend and is shown to return this friendship.[12]
Season 11 showed how sensitive Cole is to keep his friends happy and how he hates letting them down. This is most evident when Cole felt extreme guilt for losing the Traveler's Tea after arriving in the Never-Realm, and is further elaborated in the form of a nightmare where the others (except Zane, of course) chastise him for losing it, even forcing him to get it back despite the Land-Bounty being inches away from falling off a cliff. He also seemed like a pretty good artist, making some pretty well-drawn ninja puppets to tell the kids stories about Aspheera and how the ninja got into the Never-Realm. The other times we see drawings from him are the ones hanging in Lilly's room when he was younger in Season 13 and in Season 1 when Nya was explaining the venom of the Venomari.
In Season 12, he and Kai heroically both sacrificed themselves for the others to win the Speedway Five-Billion. Both Jay and Cole in this season were shown to be the video game experts on the team, though Cole likes to do it in style.[13]
Cole has a lot of ideas that seem to typically be shot down or cause doubt. In Season 4, as he tried to find the trigger for a secret passage in Kai's suite, the other ninja questioned him. Later in the season as he and the factory workers plan an escape, his plan of rolling into giant egg rolls was rejected. His argument against a Roto Jet was also ignored. In Season 13, Cole seeing a purple creature in his bedroom wasn't believed by the ninja or Wu. Later, Cole tries to lead Master Wu, Vania, and the Lowly out of the mountain by making choices like riding the minecart and using the stone mech to push it. Not only was there doubt, but when they barely succeeded each time, Cole would claim dizzily, "Another great idea!"
Cole has a lot of confidence in his super strength. In Season 4 after Chen took his elemental power, Cole yelled that they couldn't take his super strength, in which he was quickly proven wrong. This happened again when the ninja were put in jail. In Season 8, his advice to Lloyd to impress Harumi was to act tough and flex his muscles.
Cole is the most likely ninja to give nicknames. Some nicknames/name calling include calling Zane "Tin Can," or "Pinky" (when Zane's gi was pink in Can of Worms) and calling Jay "Motormouth," "Zaptrap," and "Bluebell." He also makes fun of his friends' crushes, like when Kai thought Skylor could've been related to him, or after Lloyd went into town with Harumi. For himself, he befriended Princess Vania, but nothing romantic occurred between the two and he assured Lloyd that he doesn't like her in that way since they just met.
Cole has a somewhat uncreative naming sense, although Zane stated Cole was much better at naming things than he was. He was presumably the one to name his Earth Dragon "Rocky", and other names he came up with have been "Rocky Dangerbuff", "Dangerbuff Jr.", "Snake Jaguar", and "Cole Jr.".
According to Tommy Andreasen, Cole "is a selfless empathic person ... as simple as that".[14]
Weapons and abilities
Abilities
Earth: Cole commands the element of Earth, giving him great physical strength and durability, which he primarily uses. He can stand his ground to a supernatural degree and enemies frequently act as though they have hit a person-shaped brick wall when they bump into him. At full power, he can manipulate the earth below his feet, causing earthquakes, creating fissures, throwing rocks and dust at enemies, or even burying things in rapidly-rising mounds of dirt. Even with his powers disabled, Cole was able to lift a large rock to stop a kethanol geyser in the Caves of Despair, although Cole was unable to break out from Vengestone cuffs.
Earth Punch: After defeating Yang, Cole obtains superhuman strength, even more so than before. This is seen in use when his arms glow orange. Cole himself doesn't even know the extent of this new ability, nor is he an expert at controlling its power. At times, his hands appear to have a mind of their own when the power is activated. But over time he manages to control it and summon it at will, but it is shown that if he becomes lazy and doesn't train, it loses its ability.
Spinjitzu: Like his fellow ninja, he can also perform Spinjitzu, channeling the power of Earth. He can combine his Earth Punch with Spinjitzu to make a magma trail.
Cole using the Spinjitzu Burst
Spinjitzu Burst: In contrast to the other ninja, Cole possesses the knowledge to execute the Spinjitzu Burst. Initially, Cole harbored reservations regarding his mother's capacity to perform the technique until he recollected the promise he had made to her to stand up for what is right.
Elemental Dragon: Like all other Elemental Masters who managed to overcome their fears, Cole is capable of summoning his own Earth Dragon at will.
Elemental Golem: Sometime after the Merge, Cole obtained the ability to encase himself in stone, creating an exoskeleton that resembles that of a golem.
Dancing: After coming to terms with his dancing heritage, Cole gains a surprising amount of grace and flexibility, allowing him to wriggle out of tight spaces when he relaxes himself.
Triple Tiger Sashay: His new agility also enables him to perform the Triple Tiger Sashay, which is effective against multiple opponents or for getting himself out of trouble.
Video gameproficiency: Cole has shown to be skilled at video games, as he beat Zane's Lava Zombie high score. His video game skills were also prominent in Prime Empire, as he was the only other ninja (aside from Jay), to understand what it was, and was the only one who had the skills to get Nya, Kai, and Lloyd through Level 13 and enter. He also helped as a temporary guide through Prime Empire to help the others get through the game better.
Cooking: Cole was a poor cook in "Home" as his duck chowder glued the lips of all the Ninja, but his skills did improve over time as he made Snogfruit Punch, and it ended being pretty good. This skill grew when he met the Finders as Cole made them breakfast, Fritz and Spitz said they really missed it when he was absent, and Geo described him as "the real chef in this place."
Expert Climber: Cole is also an expert climber. He manage to climb mountains and later after possessing Zane's Ice Mech he manage to apply his skill to make up for lost time, catching up to Morro.
Combat: Because of his training with Wu, Cole is formidable fighter and is able to take on multiple opponents with his Spinjitzu. He is also capable of performing hand-to-hand combat against Serpentine, Stone Warriors, and Nindroids. He manage to defeat several Elemental Masters during the Tournament of Elements despite having a stomach ache.
Swordsmanship: Although he uses blunt weapons, Cole is a skilled swordsman, managing to take down the Skull Sorcererin the first half of their fight with the Blades of Deliverance.
Ghost Physiology (formerly): As a ghost, Cole has the following abilities:
Possession: As a ghost, Cole can possess materials like snow, objects like a keyhole, and machine mechanisms like the Ice Mech.
Intangibility: Cole also has the ability to phase through solid objects, but become solid himself if he concentrates.
Levitation: Cole can levitate if he concentrates hard enough.[15]
Invisibility: Cole can become invisible if he concentrates, but is still visible to paranormal scanners.
Expert Leadership: Cole has shown to be a selfless, confident, intelligent, and compassionate leader when needed. Cole is known as "the rock and foundation" of the Ninja. Cole takes the role as the responsible one due to Master Wu's disapperance: when it came to protecting Baby Wu from the Sons of Garmadon and the Dragon Hunters, taking care of him as he grows up, getting his memories back, and teaching Wu about responsibility. Cole's selflessness, confidence, and compassion has helped many people; not just civilians but his teammates as well. This has helped him befriend many people, thus creating deep trust and loyalty between themselves and Cole: it's how he was able to help bring the Munce and Geckles together to free them and fight the Skull Sorcerer, he's helped the Upply get back to the surface and continue adventuring, even when The Merge happened, he's helped the Finders deal with the Hoarder and Wolf Mask Warriors, keeping them safe, and finding a way to prevent the Forbidden Five from coming back. Cole also coached Frak to control his Earth element.
Stealth: Being a ninja, Cole is able to sneak into places without being noticed.
Weapons
Scythe: In battle, Cole favored scythes, especially the Scythe of Quakes. He wielded a larger and sharper scythe in Season 7.
Elemental Blade: He later wielded an Elemental Blade with the power of Earth, allowing him to use his elemental powers to great effect once more.
Techno Blade: During the Nindroid crisis, Cole, along with the other three ninja (Kai, Jay, and Zane), received Techno Blades, a weapon which allowed the ninja to hack into any electronics.
Aeroblade: He also had an Aeroblade (along with Kai, Jay, and Zane) that can destroy ghosts.
Hammer: Post-movie, Cole wielded a large hammer that he uses to slam the ground and channel the power of Earth.
Blades of Deliverance: Cole briefly wielded his mother's Blades of Deliverance during his fight with the Skull Sorcerer. He used them to great ability until they broke when Vangelis used the Skull of Hazza D'ur to shatter them.
Prismatic Blade: Cole used a Prismatic Blade to fight off the Spectral Dragonians, although he didn't upgrade his blade like Frak and Kai.
Vehicles
Cole has owned a variety of vehicles in his ninja history.
A Lightning Dragon that came under Nya's ownership following the Battle of the Second Monastery, where he was liberated by the Claws of Imperium. Cole rode him along with Zane to find Mysterium.
Wielding the elemental power of earth, Cole possesses immense physical strength that comes in handy in difficult situations. Cole may have quit the family trade of singing and dancing because he never felt that he could make his father proud, but he still has the moves. He may ooze confidence, but the Ninja of Earth is suitably grounded. He loves the simple life – the outdoors, rock-climbing, old-school tech and most importantly: cake. Cole is the calm center of the team. However, there is one thing that he’s afraid of – dragons! He has to overcome his fears to ride his Earth Dragon, learning that they’re not that scary and a great way to enter the Underworld.[16]
Season 1 (Museum)
Cole’s dad thinks that his son needs to forget all this ninja business and follow him into the family trade…show business! But the feuding father and son discover that even though they’re very different people, they have more in common than they think. Meanwhile the Ninja of Earth finds that embracing his softer side makes him a better ninja, rather than just a better dancer.[17]
Season 2 (Museum)
Cole’s confidence in his own raw power is put to the test when he discovers that their new adversaries are made of an indestructible substance. Faced with impossible odds, Cole will prove that the greatest strength comes from the inside.[18]
Season 3 (Museum)
When a matchmaking console reveals to Nya that Cole is her perfect match, it jeopardizes her relationship with Jay. Cole is frustrated over this whole thing, because he has never thought of Nya in a romantic way. The strain on his friendship with her and the new rivalry with Jay are distractions at a time when the whole team needs to be focused on the threat of the Digital Overlord.[19]
Season 4 (Museum)
Jay and Cole’s feud over Nya is still simmering as this adventure begins. When Chen pits them against each other in combat, the other ninja have reason to fear the worst. But the two put aside their differences and ally against Chen, which leads to Cole losing his power. In a desperate circumstance, Cole embraces the fact that a hero has a responsibility to more than just himself or his teammates, and leads a rebellion of Chen’s slave laborers.[20]
Season 5 (Museum)
The threat posed by Morro is particularly hard on Cole. Not only must he battle his greatest fear, ghosts, but he spends a moment too long in the Temple of Airjitzu and becomes one himself! He will learn that change, no matter how frightening, can be an opportunity as well.[21]
Season 6 (Museum)
Their battle with Morro may have been won, but Cole paid a heavy price … he’s still a ghost! Although he came close to despair, Cole has adapted. He has learned to touch physical objects, yet still "ghosts" through walls and he can now access all his elemental powers. Cole’s new skills serve the ninja well, until he makes a wish too many and is trapped in Nadakhan’s Djinn Blade.[19]
Season 7 (Museum)
When he returned to his solid human form on the Day of the Departed, Cole unlocked a new Elemental ability: the Earth Punch – a glowing, double-fisted battering ram of a martial arts move. But like a kid learning to ride a bike without training wheels, Cole is still figuring out how to deliver an Earth Punch without accidentally pummeling his friends (or himself)![22]
Sons of Garmadon
Wielding the elemental power of earth, Cole possesses immense physical strength that comes in handy in difficult situations. Cole may have quit the family trade of singing and dancing because he never felt that he could make his father proud, but he still has the moves. He may ooze confidence, but the Master of Earth is suitably grounded. He loves the simple life – the outdoors, rock-climbing, old-school tech and most importantly: cake.[23]
2019 (The Legacy of Cole)
Did you know Having mastered the elemental power of Earth, Cole has immense physical strength, which always comes in handy for the team in difficult situations. Cole was born into a family of great entertainers and was always expected to follow in his father’s dance steps. He quit the family trade because he never felt that he could make his father proud, and so he chose to fulfill his destiny as the Earth Ninja. But he still has ALL the right moves. He oozes confidence, yet this Master of Earth always keeps his feet on the ground. He loves the simple life – the outdoors, rock climbing, old-school tech and, most importantly, cake. Favorite NINJAGO® Legacy weapon The Scythe of Quakes cuts through stone and can start earthquakes. Transforms into Cole’s Tread Assault vehicle. Quote “Some of us may look a little different, but like our team some things never change.”
2019
Cole – the Elemental Master of Earth!
Cole was born into a family of singers and dancers, and his father sent him to a performing arts school as a child to learn the trade. But showbiz wasn’t for Cole, so he secretly left to pursue his own destiny in life.
Always keen to challenge himself, one day Cole decided to climb the tallest mountain in NINJAGO® world. Master Wu was at the summit waiting for him and he invited him to the Monastery of Spinjitzu to learn how to be a ninja. It was the start of many thrilling adventures.
Wielding the elemental power of earth, Cole possesses immense physical strength that comes in handy when the ninja team are in a tight spot. And while he may be confident, the Master of Earth is suitably grounded. He loves the simple life – the outdoors, rock-climbing, old-school tech and, most importantly, cake!
Cole is a firm favorite with LEGO® NINJAGO fans and a Cole minifigure can be found in lots of LEGO building toy playsets.
2020
The son of a dancer, Cole refused to follow in his father’s footsteps, and was instead recruited to be a ninja by Master Wu. Imbued with the power of the earth, Cole is revered for his strength and bravery.
Every gamer's dream is Cole's nightmare!
If you’ve ever played video games, then you know the feeling. That moment when you’re smashing the controller, glued to the screen, and you think: “Wouldn’t it be awesome to live inside this game – for real?” So when Cole got sucked into the Prime Empire game, he couldn’t have been happier. An amazing chance to immerse himself in the most incredible game world he’s ever seen? Count Cole in! But as you know, things don’t always work out great for the ninja, right? It doesn’t take long for Cole to realize his dream of fully living inside a game is more like a nightmare, with mysterious villains and impossible races and that terrible moment when, in the name of friendship, he – no, we can’t even mention it. It’s too sad, and we’re still not over it. But it did get us thinking. Imagine your very own ninja adventure, where one of your biggest dreams comes true... and then goes very wrong, very quickly! What would your nightmare videogame be like?[24]
Season 13
In the Dungeons of Shintaro, Cole finds himself confronting the demons of his own past and the unresolved specter of his mother’s passing. Lilly died when Cole was young and he has never come to terms with that. The last words Cole spoke to her were a promise that someday, somehow, Cole would make her proud. In the bowels of Shintaro Mountain, Cole finds the chance to fulfill that promise when he learns of the fabled “Spinjitzu Burst” and uses it to defeat a foe that his mother once faced. But to do so, he must become a leader in his own right. He must lead a ragtag group of misfits called the Upply up from the bowels of Shintaro Mountain and unlock the powers of the Spinjitzu Burst.
2021
FIND BALANCE, WITH COLE
Cole is one of the most powerful ninjas, with strengh that can cause earthquakes! But even Cole, the most balanced of ninjas, can become angry. When that happens, battles are lost. Cole knows that to become a Master, we must control our emotions to achieve Balance.
Cole is the Earth Ninja. He enjoys the simple things in life, like rock-climbing, the outdoors and (most of all) cake![25]
Cole is a member of Master Wu's ninja team. As the Earth Ninja, he wields the elemental power of Earth and supports his friends with his confidence and great physical strength.
His name means "swarthy, coal-black, and charcoal" in English.
A stand-in used for Cole's name before the ninja were given actual names was Blake.[26]
Behind the scenes
Cole was the only one of the original ninja whose trainee suit printing in the show was proportional to its minifigure counterpart, as opposed to Kai, Jay, and Zane's, which were somewhat warped in size.
While he has his father's eyebrows in his pre-Season 8 design, they more closely resemble his mother's in his current design.
Twitchy Tim has the same eyebrows as pre-movie Cole, though this does not indicate a familial relation.[27]Jimmy, as of Season 11, and one of the Borg Tower vaults security guards[28] have the same eyebrows as post-movie Cole.
This was referenced in "The Two Blades" when Vania assumed Cole was the leader and in the Ninjago honest trailer when the narrator said "we were led to believe" Cole was the leader.
In the 2012 blooper reel, Cole's full name is "Cole Bucket", though this is non-canon. Kirby Morrow disapproved of the name, instead suggesting "Cole Steel".[31]
Cole's Rebooted website description said that his friends called him Cole Bucket when he was young.[2]
Cole's shirtless appearance has gone through a few changes, all based on minifigures from other LEGO themes. See here for images of the various designs.
By the time of "The Last Hope," Cole had buffed up even more, presumably from his ninja training and fighting, now having a torso based on that of the Airplane Mechanic from LEGO's Indiana Jones theme.
This muscle design can also be partially seen in his appearances in "The Invitation" as a lumberjack and in several other episodes of Tournament of Elements as a prisoner, even though his collar area has a different appearance in his tournament robe, which he wore around the same time.
This muscle design can also be partially seen beneath his vested "Rocky Dangerbuff" appearance in "The Oni and the Dragon," even though his Resistance and Hunted robes, the suits he wore around the same time, showed a different-looking collar area as well.
As of "Wasted True Potential," Cole had lost his muscles as a result of being lazy and relaxed for a long period of time. Along with Kai and Lloyd, Cole's torso in this now resembled that of the Shower Guy from Minifigures Series 19.
The Hageman Brothers decided to turn Cole into a ghost when they were looking at the product tests for Possession and thought it would be interesting for one of the ninja to become a ghost.[32]
Cole appears on a sticker representing a video game screen in a non-Ninjago set, 60291 Family House. While he wears red, the character is most likely Cole due to his hairstyle and the fact that he wields a scythe.
According to Tommy Andreasen, Cole's greatest fear might be not living up to his mother's promise.[33]
Trivia
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He is the second ninja to have sacrificed his body in some way, the first being Zane, the third being Nya, and the fourth being Kai.
Cole used to be afraid of dragons until he got to know Rocky.
He seems to care for Rocky more than the other ninja care for their own dragons, as Cole was the most upset when the dragons had to leave in "Snakebit". He was also the happiest to see that Rocky had returned as the Ultra Dragon.
In "Can of Worms," Cole stated, "I used to hate dragons, but now I officially hate snakes."
Additionally, Cole wore his DX suit to the Tournament of Elements, implying it is his favorite suit and reflects on how much he cared for Rocky.
His hobbies include rock climbing,[35] drawing,[36] cooking, and sometimes, dancing.
Despite this, Cole stated in "Rise of the Spinjitzu Master," "I liked being a ninja. It's not like we have many other skills."
Cole has the most ninja vehicles used in the show with eight of them.
He is extremely determined in culinary arts, but according to the other ninja, he is a terrible chef, as his duck chowder glued everyone's mouths shut, and Kai and Lloyd criticized Cole's chili.[37][38][39] However, his Snogfruit Punch (made in "All of Nothing") was apparently fairly decent, as the ninja were all seen drinking some at the end of the episode, even Nya admitting it wasn't bad.
Cole's favorite color is orange, according to trivia from the Rebooted version of the official site. This is reflected in a number of his suits, including his Airjitzu suit (with orange highlights and arms), his "Day of the Departed" suit which also featured orange arms and highlights, and his Sons of Garmadon suit, which also has small orange highlights. As of Sons of Garmadon, his scar turns orange when he activates the Earth Punch.
Orange was also Kirby Morrow's favorite color for accents, while green was his favorite color overall.[40]
In both of Cole's focus installments, the colors orange and green play a significant role, with green being the villain's color and orange serving to enhance the setting or aesthetic. In "Day of the Departed", the lanterns are orange and Yang's ghostly theme color is green, and in Master of the Mountain, the Skull Sorcerer's theme color is green and the lava in the Dungeons of Shintaro is orange.
Cole's Elemental, Techno and Djinn Blades were all green, while his Aeroblade is orange.
According to Tommy Andreasen, Cole doesn't change his color to brown because "Dareth would be upset."[41]
In "Curseworld, Part I," Cyrus Borg reveals that Cole's favorite music genre is soft rock.
Cole, Lloyd, Arin, Sora, and Frak are the only ninja who do not currently have a romantic relationship.
Though it seems Cole and Nya had some feelings for each other in Rebooted, Tommy Andreasen stated "Cole was just a bit confused because of the attention she showed him" and "I think he was mostly flattered of the attention."[42][43]
When Nya chose Jay, Cole had no problems and accepted their union.[44]
Kai has stated that Cole loves her like a sister.[45]
Tommy Andreasen jokingly stated that Cole's love interest is cake.[46]
Though it was implied when he and Vania said goodbye to each other in "The Son of Lilly", according to Tommy Andreasen, it is not confirmed whether Cole and Vania have feelings for each other and is up for audience interpretation.[47]Chris "Doc" Wyatt later confirmed that Cole has no romantic interest in her.[48]
A question on LEGO.com asked, "Who would be a good girlfriend for Cole?", with the options being Nya, Harumi, Vania, and "Someone else Cole is yet to meet".[49]
His sexuality was brought to question following tweets supporting a relationship between him and Geo.[50][51]
It has not yet been directly confirmed by any of the head writers, but if true, then he, along with Geo, will be the first main/recurring characters confirmed to be LGBTQ+.
Cole ultimately conquered all of the phobias he displayed in the show, having lost his fear of dragons when becoming Rocky's friend, making peace with the Serpentine, embracing his transformation into a ghost, and singing in front of others.
Cole and the other original four ninja could only harness their elemental powers in the past by being dependent on Lloyd. This may have been due to Lloyd sharing his Golden Power with them. However, this has changed since, as the ninja were able to use their elements when Lloyd lost his in Sons of Garmadon.
There are several occasions where Cole is shown to be very fond of cake:
He asks if there's going to be cake at Lloyd's "ceremony" in "Double Trouble." Later, when flying the Ultra Dragon to Dareth's dojo, he can be seen enjoying cake.
He questioned if Cyrus Borg's surprise was cake in "The Surge," only to be disappointed it was a statue.
Out of all the food his suite offered, he quickly went for the cake he found in "Only One Can Remain."
He asked if there's any cake after devouring the factory's products in "Spy for a Spy."
He unintentionally left a trail of funnel cake crumbs, which Ronin follows in "Public Enemy Number One."
He accidentally ate the cake that was supposed to hide supplies to help the ninja escape the jail in "Enkrypted."
In "The Mask of Deception" Cole was almost tempted to eat cake despite giving up on sweets.
After a misunderstanding in the Kryptarium Prison, he wondered if the cafeteria had any cake in "Questing for Quests."
When given three choices for the answer to the Sphinx's riddle, he immediately replied with "cake," saying it's the answer to everything in "Riddle of the Sphinx."
He tries to have some cake while incarcerated in Kryptarium Prison, but it was dry to the point it was hard as rock in "Kryptarium Prison Blues."
Andreasen said that if Cole was a YouTuber, his videos would be about "the joys of cake".[52]
Andreasen said that because Cole is the Master of Earth, his favorite type of cake would likely be Sand Cake.[53] He later implied that Cole's favorite flavor of cake is chocolate ganache, shown in "Wasted True Potential".[54]
Cole is the first and currently only ninja to be the focus on a TV special, that being "Day of the Departed."
This is also the first time he was the main focus of the show, the second time being Master of the Mountain.
Despite their contrasting personalities and previous rivalry over Nya, Cole's best friend is Jay.[12]
Tommy Andreasen revealed on X that Cole got his elemental powers from his mother[55] and that she inherited them from her father, a former Elemental Master of Earth.[56]
His mother being the previous Elemental Master of Earth would later be proven and go on to become a central plot point in Master of the Mountain.
Cole's icon used in Decoded
After returning to a human again from "Day of the Departed" until sometime after The Hands of Time, Cole had a ghost scar. In Sons of Garmadon, the scar is no longer visible normally, but it reappears when he's in his Earth Punch form, now colored orange. Tommy Andreasen said this would be explained in his novel, Way of the Departed.[57] In the novel, it is explained to be another rift.
According to Bragi Schut, the writers haven't established whether Cole is colorblind or not, but he did fail to recognize the colors of the Skull of Hazza D'ur in "The Skull Sorcerer." Cole said the skull was red, so it could mean he has deuteranopia. Schut said "I wouldn’t be surprised if he was [colorblind]."[60]
When asked in an interview with Brent Miller (Zane's voice actor) who Cole's best friend was, Kirby Morrow, Cole's voice actor, jokingly said "Cole's best friend is Sensei Wu. Nobody knows, but we have this whole secret thing where Sensei Wu and I actually, we go and fish on Sundays, and we talk about all sorts of things, mostly about how Zane is not very good at ninja moves."[62]
In later seasons, Wu and Cole have been grouped together throughout various points in the story, specifically in seasons 8, 9, and 13.
Cole is the only ninja whose future or older self has not been seen. Everyone but him and Lloyd had future reflections in the ice labyrinth, while Lloyd temporarily became an old man in the second half of Skybound.
He is also so far one of the only four ninja (along with Jay via the League of Jay, and Kai and Nya in "Fugitives From Madness") whose pre-Season 8 design has been seen in the WildBrain animation, albeit in child form.
Out of his first four vehicles, two (the Earth Driller and Roto Jet) were not specifically his in the show but were marketed as such in the sets.
Conversely, the Stone Mech was his in the show but marketed as primarily Kai's in the set.
Cole has twice had a certain trait or been in a situation that would later go on to become a running joke with his character. The first is cake, and the second is him falling (first seen in "The Fall" and later parodied in "The Cliffs of Hysteria" and "The Real Fall").
Cole's moments of unlocking his True Potential ("The Royal Blacksmiths") and Spinjitzu Burst ("The Son of Lilly") are somewhat opposites of each other. Cole unlocks his True Potential when his father accepts him for not following the family's footsteps, while Cole unlocks his Spinjitzu Burst by channelling his mother's power and legacy.
However, the sense that it makes does pose some irony on the fact that Cole's mother is an elemental freedom fighter, which is what Cole was always destined to be, and not a performer like his father is.
Both destinies included intense training in acrobatic techniques that involve grace, style, and power, all of which Cole has grown accustomed to.
In 2016, a video called "Cole's Ghostly Struggle" (see below) was released by LEGO. The video uses the product animation videos' animation style and centers around Cole practicing honing his ghost abilities to become physical for brief periods of time. When asked if the video was non-canon, Tommy Andreasen simply clarified when it would have taken place in the timeline, implying it can be considered canon.[63]
However, the video shows Cole fading in and out of existence due to fear, and the description states, "If he gets too scared he will disappear completely." This was not shown to be a feature of ghosts in the TV series, possibly meaning this video is non-canon.
It is possible that this feature was intended to refer to him fading in "Day of the Departed."
Cole is tied with Kai as the ninja who have worn the most suits in the franchise, with the exceptions of the Scuba gear Zane, Lloyd, Nya, and Jay wore in Seabound nor did he have an Avatar variant in the show, Kai did not have Tournament of Sources suit or a Scuba suit, Nya and Lloyd did not wear various earlier suits, having joined the ninja team later; Zane did not wear the Tournament or Digi robes & did not have an Avatar variant and Jay did not wear his Merge suit in Dragons RisingSeason 1 as well as not wearing the Mech pilot or Climber suits in Dragons RisingSeason 2 and did not wear a Storm suit in Season 3.
The description also states that Cole "brings a book to battles, so he won’t get bored."[2] However, this would seem to contradict his eagerness to fight as shown in "Island of Darkness."
He is the only ninja not to have a speaking role in any of the Ninjago: Reimagined shorts.
However, if archival audio isn't counted, then the same would apply to Lloyd.
This is probably due to the untimely death of his voice actor, Kirby Morrow.
According to Bragi Schut, if Cole had a secret hobby, it would be that he "likes to turn his uniform inside out so people think it’s new."[66]
He is the second ninja to be recast, the first being Lloyd.
Unlike Lloyd's voice change, which was given the in-universe reason of his aging, Cole's was not be acknowledged in the show.[67]
This is because for the characters in-universe Cole sounds exactly the same as he always did from the Pilot Season onwards whereas out-of-universe he sounds different to the audience.
Cole is the last ninja to announce an episode title, with that being "Distress Calls."
A Ninjago: Core book states Cole is afraid of ghosts, spiders and snails.
Cole is the ninja who appears to have the most trouble remembering Jordana's name.
When asked who would win in an arm wrestling match between Cole and Nokt, Chris "Doc" Wyatt replied with Nokt.[68]
When asked if Cole knew Rising Dragon technique, Chris "Doc" Wyatt replied, "Hold onto this."[69]
