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Nuckal is a general of the Skulkin army, as well as a friend of Kruncha. He is hyperactive and crazy, making him the complete opposite of Kruncha, but by comparison, he is intelligent for a Skulkin. Long ago, Nuckal was banished to the Underworld, where he became part of the Skulkin army and assisted his master, Samukai. Nuckal aided the Skulkin in their quest to stop the ninja from claiming the Golden Weapons. While the Skulkin managed to take the weapons, Samukai's attempt to keep them from Lord Garmadon resulted in his demise. As a result, Garmadon escaped into Ninjago to cause chaos. Shortly after, Nuckal left the realm alongside Kruncha and tried adapting to life in Ninjago.
Nuckal and Kruncha made numerous attempts to fit in with the people of Ninjago—substituting in a boarding school, participating in the Ninjaball Run, and helping Garmadon and the Skulkin to fight the Serpentine. Eventually, Nuckal and Kruncha regularly went to Yang Tavern to fight in Mezmo's Slither Pit matches. After Kruncha tried bribing his opponents to lose on purpose, he and Nuckal were thrown in Kryptarium Prison.[3] Nuckal would fight the ninja when No-Eyed Pete accidentally unlocked all the jail's cells, though he was soon put back in his place. At some point later, Nuckal and Kruncha either escaped or were set free from Kryptarium, after which they kept trying to fit in with the people of Ninjago.
At some point before or after the Merge, Nuckal and Kruncha returned to the Underworld.
History[]
Background[]
At an unknown point in time, Nuckal was a warrior who died, and, unable to come to terms with death, was sent to the Underworld, becoming a Skulkin as a result. He would eventually become a general of the Skulkin, with Kruncha acting as his partner.
When Garmadon arrived in the Underworld and usurped Samukai's title, Nuckal became subservient to him and was eventually assigned to participate in the hunt for the Golden Weapons.
The Last Voyage (flashback)[]
Nuckal and Kruncha went with Samukai to revive Dr. Julien and make him build vehicles for their army.
Pilot episodes[]
Way of the Ninja[]
Nuckal and Kruncha accompanied Samukai and several Lightning Skulkin in attacking Four Weapons Blacksmith in search for the Map of the Golden Weapons. While Kai and Nya were distracted by the foot soldiers, the two generals snuck into the store to search for the map. Nuckal became distracted with one of the samurai helmets and quickly got into a fistfight with Kruncha after each accused the other of not looking hard enough. Their fight however caused a chain reaction of destruction around the shop, eventually revealing the map which the generals claimed. The two retreated to the Skull Truck where they were ordered to capture Nya and left to the Underworld with her.
The Golden Weapon[]
Nuckal accompanied Samukai's forces to the Caves of Despair in search of the Scythe of Quakes. While there, he and Kruncha oversaw one of the conveyor belts and notices a rock that is shaped like a donut. Thinking it is a real donut due to its shape, he bites hard on it, breaking his teeth. He continued to keep searching until Jay alerted the skeletons to the ninja's presence. He then rallied behind Samukai and attacked the ninja, though he was forced to retreat when the ninja unlocked Spinjitzu.
King of Shadows[]
Nuckal was part of Samukai's forces that followed the ninja to the Floating Ruins, though they managed to escape with the Nunchucks of Lightning. That night, Nuckal and the other Skulkin ambushed the ninja in the Forest of Tranquility, stole the three Golden Weapons, and escaped into the Underworld. Unknown to Nuckal, Jay had stole his sword, allowing him and the others to escape after the Skulkin left.
Weapons of Destiny[]
Upon returning to the Underworld, Kruncha and Nuckal were put in charge of guarding the entrance of the fortress as they anticipated the arrival of the ninja. As predicted, the ninja eventually arrived and the skulking closed in around them. However, the ninja used the Tornado of Creation to turn the fortress into a giant Ferris wheel, trapping Kruncha and Nuckal in one of the cars.
Legacy of the Green Ninja[]
Wrong Place, Wrong Time[]
In the timeline where Garmadon traveled back to the Skulkin's attack at the blacksmith shop, Nuckal saw two versions of Kai when he and Kruncha left the shop after retrieving the map, which confused Nuckal. He later told the Skulkin about this, indirectly informing Garmadon that the ninja had followed him back in time.
After the Mega Weapon was destroyed, these events were erased.
Mini-movies[]
The New Masters of Spinjitzu[]
Kruncha and Nuckal decided to steal the ninja's Golden Weapons while they are sleeping. However, they would lose control of their Spinjitzu powers, hurting themselves in the progress. After returning the weapons, they went back to the Underworld, arguing that it was a bad idea.
Return to the Fire Temple[]
Returning to the temple, Kruncha and Nuckal argued about whoever left the stove on.
Rise of the Snakes[]
Never Trust a Snake[]
He is a substitute teacher at Darkley's Boarding School for Bad Boys with Kruncha, tied up with a rope thanks to Lloyd's revenge scheme with the help of Pythor.
Tick Tock[]
Nuckal was playing a round of rock-paper-scissors with Kruncha but ran away when Wu approaches them to get to Mistaké's tea shop.
The Royal Blacksmiths[]
He appeared with Kruncha cheering the Serpentine's performance and jeering the ninja.
All of Nothing[]
Nuckal and Kruncha arrive in the Serpentine's Underground Fortress with the rest of the Skulkin to fight the Serpentine. The two Generals take on Skales together, Nuckal flailing about and babbling to distract the Hypnobrai General while Kruncha sneaks behind him to strike.
Day of the Great Devourer[]
He and Kruncha partake in the Take Back Ninjago rally.
Legacy of the Green Ninja[]
Double Trouble[]
Nuckal had his cotton candy stolen by Bizarro Cole.
Ninjaball Run[]
Kruncha and Nuckal participate in the Ninjaball Run competition using a Skull Truck. While they were successful in taking out Lloyd, though, they crash in the Glacier Barrens.
Tournament of Elements[]
The Invitation[]
When Kai became a fighter in underground slither pits, he defeated Kruncha before rejoining the ninja. Nuckal then took the chance of telling off the beheaded Kruncha by kicking his head. Shortly afterwards, he was arrested and thrown in Kryptarium Prison.
The Greatest Fear of All[]
Nuckal was among the inmates of Kryptarium Prison. He went on to witness the fake Anacondrai attack, and after No-Eyed Pete opened the cell doors, escaped to wreak havoc. However, he was ultimately placed back into his cell.
Sometime afterward, he and Kruncha eventually succeeded in leaving Kryptarium as a result of good behavior or they just escaped.
Special Delivery From Stiix![]
Yang revealed to Kruncha and Nuckal that he is going to resurrect Samukai if they will help him to steal the statues from the Hall of Villainy. A week before the Day of the Departed, a group of Skulkin attacked the truck which was transferring these statues, but they were defeated by the ninja.
Dragons Rising, Season 3[]
Casket of Bones[]
Nuckal and Kruncha were playing a bone rolling challenge with each other when Ras, accompanied by Arin and Sora, arrived. Ras questioned the two Skulkin about the location of the Forge of the Forgotten. Inclined to respond to assertive leadership, Nuckal began to disclose the information, but was abruptly interrupted by Kruncha, who cautioned him against revealing such information to mortals. Growing impatient, Ras knocked off the heads of both Nuckal and Kruncha, compelling them to relent and disclose the location of the Forge. Arin and Sora helped the two Skulkin by reattaching their heads. Nuckal remarked on Ras' temperament, noting that they had grown accustomed to such behavior from their previous bosses.
Later, during the fight between Ras and his former accomplices, Arin and Sora fell down onto the bone pins Kruncha and Nuckal were setting up as the latter two ran away from the commotion.
Appearance[]
Nuckal's original design
Nuckal is a Skulkin warrior with a big square-shaped skull head and a bulky jaw. On his head, there are several spikes looking like a mohawk but significantly shorter. He has yellow teeth with one of them missing in the middle sometimes (continuity error). His left eye is visible, being inside a deep black hole, all red and shiny with a black pupil. His right eye is possibly gone as it is under a metal patch that is bolted over the eyehole, covering a big scar. He wears big shoulder pads with blue spikes sticking out and the Skulkin symbol in red on his chest. He wears a blue belt around his waist and he also wears big black boots like the rest of the Skulkin Army.
On his 2019 Legacy minifigure, his skull is much smaller and instead of spikes on his head, he has a blonde mohawk. He doesn't wear any boots and his shoulder pads are significantly smaller. However, the scar over his covered eye is pictured on this minifigure, as it was missing on the original one.
His design in Ninjago: Dragons Rising resembles his Legacy variant but with the mohawk being turned into longer spikes similar to the ones on his original design. His shoulder pads also resemble the ones on his original minifigure with blue spikes attached to it and the Skulkin symbol in red on his chest. His pupil is white instead of black.
Weapons[]
He is seen wielding the Golden Double-Bladed Bone Axe on the official Ninjago website, though in Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu, he typically uses a Silver Dark Blade. He also briefly wielded an Anacondrai Blade while attacking Jay in Kryptarium.
Relationships[]
Kruncha[]
He and Kruncha share overall mirrored personalities, both act like problem children in Samukai's army, both striving to win Samukai's favor, possibly for a promotion. They fistfight each other constantly. He acts like Kruncha's wingman on occasion, as seen in The Invitation, where he gives him advice on wrestling during a wrestling match with Kai. However, Kruncha interprets it all the wrong way.
Samukai[]
He is a general under Samukai, and constantly competing for Samukai's approval.
Allies[] |
Enemies[]
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Appearances[]
Trivia[]
- Nuckal appeared in WILFilm's first proof of concept video for Ninjago, albeit with some differences in appearance and a voice more akin to Kruncha's.[6]
- He is considered the Skulkin general of Lightning in promotional material and the Ninjago Spinners game, but this is non-canon, as the Skulkin do not have Elemental Powers in the TV series.[7]
- His name is based on the word "knuckle," the bone within the hand.
- Concept names for him composed of "Crumble"[citation needed] and "Funnybones."[8]
- In the episode "The Golden Weapon," he loses a tooth. However, two episodes later, his teeth appear to be normal once more, only for it to fluctuate yet again in "The New Masters of Spinjitzu," where two teeth are missing.
- He and Kruncha were substitute teachers at Darkley's Boarding School for Bad Boys.
- "Double Trouble" is the only episode to feature Nuckal without Kruncha.
- Nuckal is a playable character in LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin. He can be bought for 100,000 studs.
- In "The Invitation," either his and Kruncha's voices are switched, or their character models are.
- It may have been a mistake with the character models since the scene with the two shows Kruncha acting with Nuckal's characteristics.
- In the Official Guide, he is mistakenly given Kruncha's description.
- He is voiced by Brian Drummond, who also voices Kruncha.
- Nuckal shares some similarities with Jay.
- He is the Skulkin general of Lightning, and Jay is the Ninja of Lightning.
- He often doesn't think plans through, and Jay doesn't usually think his own plans through (a notable example would be in the episode "Stiix and Stones").
- His best friend is Kruncha, a more grounded foil to him, which is the same as Jay's best friend, Cole.
- Kruncha and Nuckal are seen booing the Take Back Ninjago rally in "Day of the Great Devourer" even though they should be in agreement with the rally, as they fought against the Serpentine and stated that "Everybody hates snakes" two episodes prior. This may be an error or an intentional detail to highlight Kruncha and Nuckal's noncommittal allegiance.
- There is a spinner in every 2011 set Nuckal appears in.
- He's the only Skulkin general whose spinner is not transparent. He's also the only general to have a lower ranker's armor.
- Alongside Kruncha, Nuckal holds the record of the longest gap of episodes between appearances, with 169 episodes between his appearance in "The Greatest Fear of All" and his return in "Casket of Bones."
- He is the only Skulkin to be missing an eye and also the only Skulkin with head spikes.
- He was re-released in 70665 The Samurai Mech, with new molds for his head, different legs, and taller spikes on his head, represented by a mohawk hairpiece.
- He loves causing mayhem, since he is known for his childish being. He dislikes being bored.[9]
References[]
- ↑ https://x.com/TommyAndreasen/status/772528746683334656
- ↑ Way of the Departed, Chapter 11
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20151227182918/http://www.lego.com/en-us/ninjago/explore/story-6/chapter-4
- ↑ Special Delivery From Stiix!
- ↑ Mother Earth
- ↑ https://x.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1217155321321443329
- ↑ https://x.com/TommyAndreasen/status/878642293472980993
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeJ2V5oWVvU
- ↑ Character Encyclopedia Updated and Expanded