Appearances
Featured characters:
Kai (First appearance) (Joins Ninja)
Supporting characters:
Nya (First appearance)
Sensei Wu (First appearance) (Main story and flashback)
Antagonists:
Skulkin Army (First appearance)
Lord Garmadon (First appearance) (Appears in flashback; mentioned in main story) (Behind the scenes in main story)
Samukai (First appearance)
Nuckal (First appearance)
Kruncha (First appearance)
Numerous unnamed others (First appearance)
Other characters:
Ray (Unnamed) (First appearance) (Appears in flashback; mentioned in main story) (Apparently deceased in main story)
First Spinjitzu Master (First appearance) (Death in flashback; mentioned in main story)
Ninja (First appearance) (Cameo)
Jay Walker (First appearance) (Cameo)
Cole (First appearance) (Cameo)
Zane (First appearance) (Cameo)
Organizations:
Sons of the First Spinjitzu Master (First appearance) (Main story and flashback)
Ninja (First appearance)
Skulkin Army (First appearance)
Earth Elemental Dragon (First appearance) (Only in flashback) (Unidentified)
Races and species:
Humans (First appearance) (Main story and flashback)
Elemental Masters (First appearance) (Unnamed) (Main story and flashback)
Human-Dragon-Oni Hybrids (First appearance) (Unnamed) (Main story and flashback)
Skeletons (First appearance)
Dragons (First appearance) (Only in flashback) (Unidentified)
Nindroids (First appearance) (Unidentified)
Locations:
Ignacia (First appearance)
Four Weapons Blacksmith (First appearance)
Underworld (Mentioned)
Ninjago (Mentioned)
Monastery of Spinjitzu (First appearance) (Main story and flashback)
Training Course (First appearance)
Bathroom (First appearance)
Items:
Samurai Armor (First appearance)
Kai's first sword (First appearance)
Samukai's daggers (First appearance)
Golden Weapons (Appears in flashback; mentioned in main story)
Scythe of Quakes (First appearance) (Only in flashback)
Nunchucks of Lightning (First appearance) (Only in flashback)
Sword of Fire (First appearance) (Only in flashback)
Shurikens of Ice (First appearance) (Only in flashback)
Golden Weapons Map (First appearance) (Main story and flashback)
Wu's staff (First appearance)
Ninja gi (First appearance)
Training gi (First appearance)
Protection gi (First appearance) (Only in flashback) (Unidentified)
Jay's nunchucks (First appearance)
Cole's scythe (First appearance)
Jay's nunchucks (First appearance)
Zane's shurikens (First appearance)
Tea (First appearance)
Vehicles:
Skull Truck (First appearance)
Turbo Shredders (First appearance)
Events:
Battle Between Brothers (First appearance) (Only in flashback)
Search for the Golden Weapons (First appearance)
Ambush on Golden Weapons Blacksmith (First appearance)
Theft of Golden Weapons Map (First appearance)
Kidnapping of Nya (First appearance)
Ambush on Kai (First appearance)
Concepts:
Spinjitzu (First appearance)
Elemental Powers (First appearance)
Fire (Mentioned)
Creation (First appearance)
Plot
At Four Weapons Blacksmith, Sensei Wu visits young blacksmiths Nya and Kai, the latter of whom struggles with molding weapons. Wu tells Kai he is looking for a ninja, and the latter angrily tells him to leave. A dark cloud spreads over Ignacia, as the Skulkin Army–Samukai, Nuckal, and Kruncha arrive to steal the map of the Golden Weapons. A fight ensues, during which Nya is kidnapped on the orders of Lord Garmadon. Wu explains that Ninjago is in danger, that he is in need of a ninja, and explains he is one of the sons of the First Spinjitzu Master, Garmadon is his estranged brother who is trapped in the Underworld following a fight between the two, and that they need to find the Golden Weapons before Garmadon does. Kai reluctantly agrees, on the condition he is allowed to get Nya back. Kai starts training to be a ninja, but fails due to his impulsiveness, anger, and impatience. That night, Kai is angry at Wu for being subtle and for not giving him the abilities he has in the right amount of time. He practices ninja moves, only to fearfully run into three ninja[a].
Cast
Vincent Tong as Kai: An ninja with the ability to manipulate and conjure fire who reluctantly agrees to join the Ninja.
Kelly Meltzger as Nya: Kai's younger sister who is abducted by the Skulkin.
Paul Dobson as Wu: An ninja master and the estranged brother of Lord Garmadon, who teaches Kai to be a ninja.
Michael Kopsa as Samukai: Garmadon's second-in-command and the general of the Skulkin Army.
Brian Drummond as Nuckal and Kruncha: A pair of Skulkin who often bicker and argue with each other.
Notes:
Identified off-screen as Jay, Cole, and Zane, respectively.
"So, what are watching now?" somebody asked.
"Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu. We're going to watch the pilot season, then the shorts, and then the main series. It is about a group of ninja who are formed to stop Lord Garmadon from obtaining the Four Golden Weapons." Alex explained.
Some people smiled, while Garmadon frowned from his evil ways.
Alex went onto the YouTube app, and typed in "Way of the Ninja full episode" in the search bar. He clicked the first tab.
The episode started with an intro revealing the title of the series "Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu" with an subtitle under it reading "Episode 1 – Way of the Ninja". The series starts with an frame on Ignacia, where we see an old man, Sensei Wu, walking along the road, when suddenly, the frame closes-up, where we hear an clanging sound. In the blacksmith sound, we find out that the clanging sound is caused by Kai making a sword, with Nya in the background.
Kai: To forge the perfect weapon, you first need the right metal and plenty of heat. He puts it in a cooling device. Cool it off and… presto! He looks disappointed at its unruly shape and groans in disappointment.
"Now you can make weapons with your elemental powers." Jay said.
"If we get them back." Kai said.
"You will." Lloyd said optimistically.
Nya giggles.
Nya: You made it too quickly, Kai. Be patient. If Father was still here, he'd say…
Kai: I know, I know. "No matter how much fire you have, experience isn't something you learn overnight." That may work for you, Nya, but I'm going to be a better blacksmith than Dad ever was!
"So ambitious." Lloyd said. "Even more than me."
"I'm here, son." Ray said. "I'm alive."
Kai and Nya hugged their parents as everyone gushed at the emotional moment.
Wu arrives in the shop.
Wu: Hmm, your metal is loud and heavy. Useful to slow one down. Useless in the art of stealth. All tools for a samurai… But nothing for a ninja? Wu knocked down some samurai armor.
Everybody laughed.
Kai: Ninja? He scoffs. You're a long way from finding a ninja in these parts, old man.
"Kai, I raised you better than this." Ray scolded his son.
Kai looked down in shame.
Kai: And the shop is called "Four Weapons", not "for browsing". Either buy something or go peddle your insults somewhere else.
Wu: Ha! Too bad! Thought I found something special here.
"Damn!" Jay exclaimed. "He got you there!"
"That's what happens when you disrespect Wu, my son. He snaps right back." Ray stated.
Kai: If it's something special you're looking for, let me–
He looks around, not finding Wu anywhere.
Nya: What is it?
Kai: He was just– Forget it.
A purple cloud engulfs Ignacia, when the Skulkin Truck arrives through a wormhole portal.
Nuckal: Let me go first! Please, oh, please, I'm dying to go down there!
Kruncha: Oh, you nitwit, you're already dead, try to control yourself in front of Master Samukai! Coughs and changes to tone to talk to Samukai. With all due respect, the last time you did say I could go first.
Everybody laughed.
"You got to admit that the skeletons' bickering is funny." Kai said.
"It is." Nya said.
Samukai: Sorry, boys, this one is mine. Just remember what we're after and find that map! (to his skeleton warriors)Attack! The Skulkin Army start driving up, with the truck also being driven by Samukai. (scaring the villagers) Boo!
The villagers start running away in fear, as Kai and Nya observe the scene. Kai puts on a samurai helmet and armor.
Nya: What are they?
Kai: I don't know. Stay here.
Kai fights off the soldiers with his sword, chopping one's head off in the process.
"That was funny." Jay said.
The skeleton head bites Kai's toe, as he yelps in pain.
Kai: Bite this. He kicks away the skeleton's head away. Two skeletons nearby clap as Nya stealthily attacks them with a bo staff. I thought I told you to stay back!
Nya: And what? Let you have all the fun? The two fight off several of the skeletons as Kruncha and Nuckal sneak into the shop.
"What are those two doing in your shop?" Zane asked.
"Stealing the map to the Golden Weapons." Kai said. "We were distracted. That was the plan. To distract us!"
Nuckal uses a gold piece to look at himself.
Kruncha: You're not looking hard enough!
He throws a helmet at Nuckal as the latter groans in pain.
Nuckal: You're not looking hard enough!
The two start fighting each other.
Everybody laughs.
Kruncha knocks Nuckal into a phone line, which makes the sign fall down, revealing the map hidden underneath it.
Kruncha and Nuckal: The map!
While Kai and Nya are fighting the soldiers, Samukai suddenly appears, as Kai draws his sword, when Samukai laughs evilly and reveals his bone daggers.
Kai (in fear): Oops.
He attacks him, and idiotically tries to use his sword to black the dagger, only for Samukai to knock it away with his daggers and kick Kai to the ground, before waving his daggers for a killing blow.
Wu (performing Spinjitzu): Ninjago!
Suddenly, Wu is in a gold tornado attacking Samukai with Spinjitzu.
Samukai: Sensei Wu! Your Spinjitzu is rusty.
Wu: Nothing like bone to sharpen its edge, Samukai.
"Wait, you knew him?" Cole asked. [1]
"When me and Garmadon were in our youth, Samukai was one of the threats we had to face. We used Spinjitzu to defeat, but he ended up dying and was sent to the Underworld as punishment." Wu explained.
Garmadon nodded.
"I never liked him." he stated. "He was annoying in our youth and when I was in control of the Skulkins."
Kai grunts as Samukai, laughing evilly, throws his daggers at a water tower, which starts to tumble.
Kai: Oh, no!
Wu uses Spinjitzu to save Kai from the tumbling water tower.
Wu: Ninjago!
Samukai jumps on the Skulkin Army and laughs again.
Samukai: Lord Garmadon says to take the girl!
With glares stared at him, Garmadon says: "That was me back then. I have no intention of being that same man. The evilness has been removed from my heart."
Wu (in fear): Lord Garmadon?
"Why were you scared of me, brother?" Garmadon frowned.
"It wasn't you. It was the fact that Samukai wasn't ruling the Underworld, you were." Wu said.
Garmadon nodded.
Kruncha laughed, and used the skeleton hand to grab Nya, who was in the process of attacking a Skulkin warrior, as she screams.
Kai: Nya! Samukai laughs as the Skulkin Army drives away. They took Nya!
Wu: I told you. Useless.
Kai (angry): Oh, you could have done something! You could have used your Twistitzu or your–
Wu: Spinjitzu.
Kai: But you did nothing.
"You're blaming him when Nya was the one who deliberately disobeyed you." Ray chastised both Kai and Nya, the former for blaming Wu and the latter for disobeying her older brother.
Kai: I'm going to get my sister back.
Wu: Where they go, a mortal cannot. That was Samukai, king of the Underworld.
All the gods looked at each other, knowing that wasn't their Underworld.
Wu: And if it's true he's carrying out orders for Lord Garmadon, then I fear things are far worse than I ever thought.
Kai (confused): Lord Garmadon? Underworld? What's going on? What do we have that's so important to them and why did they take my sister?
"It was part of our plan to lure you into a trap, knowing that you have a hero complex and you would do anything to save your sister." Garmadon explaining, gesturing to them. "But that was the old me. The new me doesn't kidnap, doesn't attack, doesn't do violence, doesn't have evil plans for world domination, and doesn't steal things."
Everyone nodded.
Wu: What's so important? How everything in Ninjago itself? An flashback starts. We see the First Spinjitzu Master forming Ninjago. (shifts to an voiceover) Long before time had a name, Ninjago was created by the First Spinjitzu Master by using the Four Weapons of Spinjitzu: (each weapon is shown) The Scythe of Quakes, the Nunchucks of Lightning, the Shurikens of Ice, and the Sword of Fire.
"So, the First Spinjitzu Master is like God?" Harry stated. [2]
"Who?" Wu asked.
"In my universe, God created the world after seven days using light and darkness." Harry explained. [3]
Wu (voiceover): Weapons so powerful no one can handle all of their power at once.
The ninja remembered Samukai and how he was disintegrated after trying to prove fate wrong.
We see the First Spinjitzu Master training a young Wu and Garmadon.
Wu (voiceover): When he passed away, his two sons swore to protect them but the oldest was consumed by darkness and wanted to possess them.
Baelfire and Belle cringed with thought, thinking it very similar to what happened to Rumplestiltskin, Belle's lover and Bae's father.
Wu (voiceover): A battle between brothers broke out and the oldest was struck down and banished into the Underworld.
"Father, I'm sorry." Garmadon apologized.
"It's ok, my son. Your darkness was caused by that infernal snake." The First Spinjitzu Master seethed.
We see young Wu meditating.
Wu (voiceover): 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.
We see a silhouette of a dragon.
"A dragon?" Harry asked.
"Yeah. They also are a very useful method of transportation." Cole stated.
Wu (voiceover): And, for fear of his own demise, a map for an honest map to keep. We see the map being drawn. That honest man was your father. The flashbacks and voiceovers end, returning to the present day. This makes Kai look at him. The older brother is Lord Garmadon and I need to find those weapons before he does.
"Well, that was very dramatic." Garmadon said.
"My sons, try not to fight in the future. Vengeance is a path no one can afford to accept." The First Spinjitzu Master lectured. [4]
Kai: You're the younger brother? Then you came looking for the map?
Wu: No, I came for something greater. He places his staff on Kai's shoulder. You. Since my brother cannot enter this realm, it's obvious he has struck a deal with Samukai. If he were to collect all four weapons, even I would not be able to stop him again. But you! You have the fire inside, I will train you to harness it. Use it. (he pats Kai's helmet with his staff) Become a Spinjitzu Master.
"And there it is!" Jay exclaimed.
Kai: Look, I'm flattered you think I'm all that, but I gotta save my sister! I'm not going to get involved with your sibling rivalry.
Wu easily takes Kai down his bo staff.
"Sounds like me and Nightwing." Damian said gruffly, before smiling. [5]
"Shut up, pipsqueak." Nightwing said.
"Shut up, bird for brains." Damian said.
"'Bird for brains?' You take that back!" Nightwing exclaimed.
"Make me!" Damian exclaimed.
"Do it."
"No."
"Do it."
"Stop bickering! Damian, apologize." Bruce ordered.
"Yes, father. Sorry, Nightwing." Damian apologized.
Nightwing nodded.
Wu: Haha. Clunky mule. You're not even ready to face my pinky toe. If you want to get your sister back, you must control the fire inside. Only when you become a Spinjitzu Master, will you be able to face… He dramatically pauses. Lord Garmadon.
"What a dramatic pause." Harley said.
Kai: Okay. Then when do we start?
Later, we see Kai climbing a mountain, as Wu backflips onto it. Kai finally makes it to the top, approaching Wu out of breath.
Kai: How long is training gonna be? Aren't we in a bit of rush since they have the map?
Wu (pausing for a moment): Patience. They enter the monastery.
"I have a bigger monastery." Damian smiled, referring to the one he grew up and trained to be an assassin. [6]
Wu: You will be ready when you are ready. Not a minute sooner.
Kai (surprised): A monastery? You expect me to learn to fight in a place of peace?
"A monastery is used for training ninjas but it also a place of peace." Damian smiled.
Wu: Not fight. Train. In order to become a true ninja, first you must be able to see what others do not.
"Well, that was very wisdomal." Damian said.
Kai: But there's nothing here.
Wu pushes a dragon statue, which reveals a secret button, which he pushes to reveal a training course.
Kai (amazed): Whoa! Is this going to teach me how to do that cool move?
Wu (pauses in a moment of worry): Oh, dear. He steps on top of one of the training poles as it descends, only to get launched into the dragon symbol and throw onto the ground. Complete the training course before I finish my tea. Then we will see if you are ready. He drinks the entire cup. Today you failed. Tomorrow you will try again.
Kai (confused): Failed?! But I didn't even start to–
Wu leaves and goes into the door of the monastery and closes it.
Wu: Patience.
"This could teach you to have patience, Prince Zuko." Iroh chastised his nephew. [7]
"I have patience! I have plenty of patience, Uncle!" Zuko defended himself.
At that comment, Iroh raised an eyebrow, knowing that Zuko did not have patience whatsoever.
We go through a training montage, as we see Kai trying to train, only to fail each time. The first time he tries to use his sword to knocking down of the training dummies only for it knock him down.
Wu: Fail. The next time, he succeeds the first obstacle, but gets knocked out by the spinning training poles. Fail. The third time, he gets knocked out by the regular training poles. Oh, fail! The fourth time, he gets knocked out by a big spike. Oh, so fail! The fifth time, it likes like he is going to succeed but a big chain throws halfway across the training course. And… fail.
Kai goes onto the training course, as Wu is putting ice into his tea and runs a perfect course, passing everything and not being knocked out by anything. Kai accidentally knocks Wu's cup out of his hand and when he looks up after pouring tea into it, Kai is nowhere to be seen.
Everybody laughs from the scene.
"Kai failing should be an internet meme!" Jay exclaimed. [8]
"It should!" Cole and Zane also exclaimed.
Kai (suddenly appearing): Was that one sugar… or two? Wu is impressed with Kai's progress and enters the Monastery. So, am I gonna learn this Spinjitzu I've been hearing so much about?
Wu: You already have. Your final test comes tomorrow. He closes the door. My advice is to get some sleep.
Later that night, three unknown ninja enter the Monastery as Wu is asleep and Kai is getting ready for bed in the bathroom.
Wu (in a flashback, voiceover): My advice is to get some sleep.
Kai (talking to himself and gesturing wildly) Oh yeah?! Well take this! The first ninja silently nears the front door, wielding a pair of nunchucks. And this! The second ninja lands in the corner of the room, wielding a pair of shurikens. And this! Kai then faces all of the ninjas, including the third one, who wields a scythe as they prepare to attack him. (realizing his trapped situation) Oops…
"Well, some shit is going to go down." Damian exclaimed.
"Obviously." Nightwing said.
The episode ends with a "To be continued" subtitle.
And that's the end of the chapter. In my next chapter, I will be going over the second part of this chapter, "The Golden Weapon". Comment below what you think and I'll see you in the next chapter.
[1] In their youth, Garmadon and Wu killed Samukai and sent him to the Underworld. This was revealed in a flashback after the pilot season concluded in a short before the first season of the main series was released.
[2] I noticed this. They both create lands, Ninjago and Earth, respectively. Both possess godly powers and have sons, The First Spinjitzu Master having Wu and Garmadon, and God having Jesus and a surrogate son in Lucifer / Satan, and at least one of their son turns evil. Garmadon or Lucifer.
[3] This is a reference to the first story of the Bible, Genesis.
[4] I thought about a quote that I thought Splinter from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would say.
[5] This is a reference to Damian and Nightwing's first encounter in Batman and Son.
[6] This is a reference to where Damian was raised and trained with the League of Assassins.
[7] I think Wu teaching Zuko to train as a ninja would be funny, since Zuko would snap everytime Wu said "patience".
[8] I think it would be funny if one day I went on the internet and saw Kai's failing in training and underneath it a caption read "Fail!" or "Epic fail!". 😂