Pilot episodes

“If you want to get your sister back, you must control the fire that burns inside. Only when you become a Spinjitzu Master, will you be able to face… Lord Garmadon.”

— Wu to Kai, "Way of the Ninja"

Pilot episodes
Information
Season	Pilot
Run time	22/11 minutes per episode
Episode count	2; split into 4
First US air date	January 14, 2011
Written by	Dan and Kevin Hageman
Directed by	Michael Hegner Justin Murphy
Season guide
Next	Mini-movies

Chronological order
Previous	Shatterspin
Next	Mask of the Sensei

The pilot episodes are the first installments in the Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu series and are succeeded by the mini-movies and Season 1. Kai is the focus ninja and mascot character, Lord Garmadon serves as the main antagonist, and the Skulkin are the villainous faction of the episodes. It introduces the four original ninja (Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane), Nya, Sensei Wu, and Lord Garmadon.

Official description

Long before time had a name, the NINJAGO world was created by the First Spinjitzu Master by using the Four Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu; weapons so powerful, no one could handle all of their power at once. When he passed away, his two sons swore to protect them, but the oldest, Lord Garmadon, was consumed by darkness and wanted to possess them all. A battle between brothers broke out. Lord Garmadon was defeated and banished to the Underworld.

Story

"Long before time had a name, Ninjago was created by the First Spinjitzu Master, by using the Four Weapons of Spinjitzu: The Scythe of Quakes, the Nunchucks of Lightning, the Shurikens of Ice, and the Sword of Fire. Weapons so powerful, no one can handle all of their power at once. When he passed away, his two sons swore to protect them, but the oldest was consumed by darkness and wanted to possess them. A battle between brothers broke out, and the oldest was struck down and banished to the Underworld. Peace returned, and the younger brother hid the weapons. But knowing his older brother's relentless ambition for power, he placed a guardian to protect them. And for fear of his own demise, a map for an honest man to hide." - Sensei Wu in "Way of the Ninja."

Young blacksmith Kai joins the ninja team in an effort to rescue his younger sister, Nya while retrieving the Golden Weapons. Under the tutelage of their wise sensei, the four teenagers band together to face Samukai and the Skulkin army, led by Wu's evil brother, Lord Garmadon.

Cast

• Cole - Kirby Morrow
• Garmadon - Mark Oliver
• Jay - Michael Adamthwaite
• Kai - Vincent Tong
• Kruncha - Brian Drummond
• Nuckal - Brian Drummond
• Nya - Kelly Metzger
• Samukai - Michael Kopsa
• Wu - Paul Dobson
• Zane - Brent Miller

Episodes

Season Ep #	Series Ep #	Image	Episode name	Airdate
1	Pilot		"Way of the Ninja"	January 14, 2011 (US)
2	Pilot		"The Golden Weapon"	January 14, 2011 (US)
3	Pilot		"King of Shadows"	January 14, 2011 (US)
4	Pilot		"Weapons of Destiny"	January 14, 2011 (US)

Sets

Kai was the mascot ninja, and the box art depicted a variety of locations. The Golden Weapons were the collectible items.

One of the largest waves, this group of sets depicts dragons, Skulkin vehicles, locations, and training stations/battle grounds. With spinners depicting almost all of the ninja in both their trainee and DX variants, the Skulkin are also associated with each of the four elements (Earth, Ice, Fire, and Lightning), despite not having Elemental Powers in the show.

• 2258 Ninja Ambush
• 2259 Skull Motorbike
• 2260 Ice Dragon Attack
• 2263 Turbo Shredder
• 2504 Spinjitzu Dojo
• 2505 Garmadon's Dark Fortress
• 2506 Skull Truck
• 2507 Fire Temple
• 2508 Blacksmith Shop
• 2509 Earth Dragon Defense
• 2516 Ninja Training Outpost
• 2518 Nuckal's ATV
• 2519 Skeleton Bowling
• 2520 Ninjago Battle Arena
• 2521 Lightning Dragon Battle

Spinners

• 2111 Kai
• 2112 Cole
• 2113 Zane
• 2114 Chopov
• 2115 Bonezai
• 2116 Krazi
• 2170 Cole DX
• 2171 Zane DX
• 2172 Nya
• 2173 Nuckal
• 2174 Kruncha
• 2175 Wyplash
• 2254 Mountain Shrine
• 2255 Sensei Wu
• 2256 Lord Garmadon
• 2257 Spinjitzu Starter Set

Miscellaneous

• 4617163 Ninjago Eyes Sticker
• 4636204 LEGO Ninjago Promotion
• Cole Articulated Figure
• Bonezai Articulated Figure
• Garmadon Articulated Figure
• Kai Articulated Figure
• Krazi Articulated Figure
• Nuckal Articulated Figure
• Samukai Articulated Figure
• Wu Articulated Figure
• Zane Articulated Figure

Trivia

The Trivia on Pilot episodes needs to be organized. You can help the wiki by organizing the following information chronologically based on how the information applies to the series. This template can be removed once the section has been organized.

• Although it was called "Masters of Spinjitzu" on LEGO.com, Tommy Andreasen said that the pilot season does not have a name, but they have referred to it as "Way of the Ninja."
  • Despite the above statement, a DVD by the name "Masters of Spinjitzu" containing the pilot episodes exists.
• Depending on the source, the episodes are either two 22-minute parts or four 11-minute parts.
  • The Hageman Brothers' original beat sheet for the episode divided the story into four parts, referring to each as a chapter. However, it was written to be either two 22-minute episodes or one 44-minute special, not four 11-minute episodes.
  • Though Tommy Andreasen prefers the 22-minute division, the episodes were required to be split into four 11-minute parts to allow for more broadcasting options.
    • He himself refers to the episodes as two rather than four.

• These episodes was originally meant to be a standalone story meant to introduce the toy line, but fan enthusiasm allowed it to continue into a full series.
• In a concept for the original ending, the ninja followed Garmadon into a portal to the future.
• The original Character Encyclopedia incorrectly refers to the pilot episodes as Season 1, and the actual Season 1 as Season 2.
  • Amazon Prime Video also classifies the season incorrectly. It refers to the pilot episodes as part of Season 1. It also plays the audio for both episodes at a lower pitch, by half a semitone.
    • In some other airings, the tune of the audio was a half - a whole full semitone lower.^{[citation needed]}
• The only modern things that appears in pilot episodes are the electric wires in Ignacia, a phone on the wall in the blacksmith shop, the Skulkin Vehicles and Ninjago City in Jay's flashback.
• In the Japanese version, all 4 episodes are trimmed down into a single 23 minute episode, cutting out various scenes.
• A soundtrack album for the pilots and Season 1 was released in 2014.

Focus characters

Protagonists

• Kai was the focus ninja. The main storyline focused on how he became a ninja, especially his training with Wu. Kai initially does not want to become a ninja and instead be a blacksmith like his father, but is forced to do so to save Nya.
• Nya serves as a motivation for Kai. She was the primary cause of Kai's story and reason to become a ninja.
• The other three ninja play relatively minor roles.
  • Jay loses his voice in the second half and suggests the Tornado of Creation. He takes a slight interest to Nya, which hints to their future relationship.
  • Cole is shown as the leader of the ninja team. He is afraid of dragons but is forced to adapt when the ninja train their dragons to enter the Underworld.
  • Zane is established that he does not have a sense of humor and is very serious. This story continues into Season 1.
• Wu was the first character to be seen in the series. His backstory was mentioned as well. He plays a major role as he trains Kai and the rest of the team.

Antagonists

• Lord Garmadon served as the main antagonist. His escape from the Underworld and quest for the Golden Weapons is the main threat to the ninja.
• Samukai is the secondary antagonist. He intends to betray Garmadon, but ends up dying due to the power of the weapons.
• Other important antagonists include Kruncha and Nuckal.
• The Skulkin were the villainous faction of this season.

Gallery

Promotional media

Wide poster

Slightly different version of the poster

Mural

Final scene

Art by AMEET Studio based on the final scene

Original script

Poster by Joshua Deck included in 71741 Ninjago City Gardens

From Journey to Mastery

Character posters

Kai

Kai DX

Jay (note: Jay is the only ninja without a DX character poster because he does not have a DX spinner set)

Cole

Cole DX

Zane

Zane DX

Nya

Sensei Wu

Lord Garmadon

Kruncha

Wyplash

Frakjaw

Chopov

Krazi

Bonezai

Videos

Ninjago2009-0

Early concept

The Beginning - LEGO Ninjago - Original 2011 Trailer

Ninjago Pilot - Work in Progress

Short clip of the very first 3D blocking of the TV series. The scene is from the start of "Way of the Ninja."

Ninjago pilot 2011 - early 3d blocking

Early 3D blocking of the sequence where the ninja meet. This film features Kai's original bad hair and his scar, along with the first draft recording of Paul Dobson's Wu, which was later re-recorded.

Blooper Reel - LEGO Ninjago