Ninjago 2014

[PenPlays]

I'm pretty sure that that noise is my brain dribbling out of my ears and combusting spontaneously. Just how in the megablocks would that work?

And to think I thought you survived the previous brain combustion...

I took a look at the instruction booklet and it's pretty clear. That would be an amazing crossover (please at least refrence Exo-Force in the show PLEASE!)

[Aanchir]

It's not like Ninjago hasn't alluded to other LEGO franchises in the past... as you mention, there WAS the Clutch Powers reference.

But I think that sticker might be a mere Easter egg rather than any kind of implicit confirmation that the two brands coexist in the same universe. After all, Sentai Mountain is already split on that sticker, which would imply the Exo-Force story took place PRIOR to the current Ninjago story arc. Even if Ninjago does have pretty advanced technology (and has for a pretty long time, judging from the Golden Mech that once belonged to the first Spinjitzu master), it seems to be a very different sort than that featured in Exo-Force. I think trying to tie the continuity of the two themes together would just end up diluting both Ninjago's sense of ancient and magical traditions and Exo-Force's futuristic appeal.

[LegendsOfNinjago]

Exo Force had A similar "Anceint, Magical" qualities. Remeber the Golden City? It was quite mysterious. But tring to create one world out of two lines. There's has been talk about this sticker sense, dare i say it, Brick Show showed off there model. While they didn't catch, others did which casued the spark to catch 2 or 3 weeks ago. Either way, while it would be EPIC to see them combine, I think LEGO was just throwing us an easter egg.

[Merc4hire95]

I love the little Easter egg of the Sentai Mountain on the mechdragon, but I personally would not want Exo-Force universe to co-exist with Ninjago. Now that being said, I would love if TLG took some inspiration from Exo-Force into the sets and show. Maybe they can make a new temple with a back-story of the first spinjitzu master. Perhaps they could pull out a "Kung Fu Panda" and have the mountain be the birth place of spinjitzu. So who knows what TLG has in store for us in the summer. I for one would like to see a Ninja Fortress set that appears as a fortress/temple that sits on top of the Sentai Mountain.

Edited December 12, 2013 by Merc4hire95

[Mandate]

It may be a mere reference Aanchir, like the Clutch Powers one, but in this case, why? EXO-FORCE is a line dead for years that has little or nothing to do with NINJAGO, even with all the Mechs we've been getting as of late. Granted, Clutch too has little to do with NINJAGO, but it's a bit more justified in Clutch's case because of all the LEGO lines that co-exist at the same time in that universe. But EXO-FORCE... EXO-FORCE's media didn't contain Minifigures of any sort, and usage of LEGO-like objects in the books and comic (and miscellaneous gear) was very sparse, whereas NINJAGO constantly uses Minifigures and, like the Pilot episodes, currently uses objects very close to the sets. Not to mention that in all of the new sets, they put the Sentai Mountain sticker as a data-screen on of all places a giant mechanical dragon. While yes, the dragon technically is a mech, it's far from anything ever seen in EXO-FORCE other than in the final year. The sticker, or a modified version, would have been better placed on the Samurai Mech, the Golden Mech, Fire Mech or the Earth Mech (thought not the snake mech).

In the end it all comes down to really is why? It may be just a simple reference, like the Clutch Powers one, but there are more appropriate sets for such a reference and more appropriate places on the Mechdragon itself for a reference such as this.

[obsidianheart]

In the end it all comes down to really is why? It may be just a simple reference, like the Clutch Powers one, but there are more appropriate sets for such a reference and more appropriate places on the Mechdragon itself for a reference such as this.

Mechs. Asian influence. Human heroes versus robotic villains. I'd say the two lines have a pretty good amount in common.

[just2good]

It may be a mere reference Aanchir, like the Clutch Powers one, but in this case, why?

It's there as it amuses people like us, like most Easter eggs. Think of the Aqua Raiders skeleton in the Portal of Atlantis set. That theme was dead for three years when it came out, and it hasn't been mentioned after that Easter egg.

[ToaJaller78]

Exo-Force+Ninjago=

PURE AWESOME.

[PenPlays]

It's there as it amuses people like us, like most Easter eggs. Think of the Aqua Raiders skeleton in the Portal of Atlantis set. That theme was dead for three years when it came out, and it hasn't been mentioned after that Easter egg.

Not to mention that Dr. Brains in Atlantis is the same Dr. Brains in Power Miners (the Undersea Explore was meant for Power Miners as well). I think it's safe to say that the Sentai Mountain sticker on the Mechdragon is just an easter egg. A shame, but cool all the same (that somewhat rhymes!).

[Mandate]

Mechs. Asian influence. Human heroes versus robotic villains. I'd say the two lines have a pretty good amount in common.

Except there's one big huge flaw in that logic. NINJAGO is not strictly human VS robot. Nor does it seem to be in the TV show right now. It feels more like they're just trying to completely bypass the Nindroids amd fight the Overlord (also, the nindroids are controlled more or less by the Overlord anyway, so they're more like remote control toys that are just on auto-pilot) NINJAGO doesn't really have a lot of Mechs anyway. Right now we've only got five of them. At a basic glance maybe they have a lot in common, but they're still very far apart in almost every way. NINJAGO was also more specific in its Asian influence than just anime, and NINJAGO also builds onto its influences in a lot of ways.

Regarding just2good's comment, that's not really comparable here. Aqua Raiders ended suddenly and the ATLANTIS line really told you what happened to them in the end, and the two lines were linked if only by the underwater aspect. But as a whole there isn't much for NINJAGO and EXO-FORCE to connect.

Penkid, Dr Brains wasn't exactly an Easter Egg of sorts, but more like a cross-theme merge. Any evidence to back up the idea that the Undersea Explorer was designed for PM yet released a year after PM ended?

[PenPlays]

Any evidence to back up the idea that the Undersea Explorer was designed for PM yet released a year after PM ended?

It was from a BrickJournal article featuring prototypes of the Undersea Explorer. Mark Stafford (the set's designer) provided images for the article. It can be found on page 9 here.

[obsidianheart]

Except there's one big huge flaw in that logic. NINJAGO is not strictly human VS robot. Nor does it seem to be in the TV show right now.

I don't watch the show, so that's not what I was talking about. Sticker showed up on a set that is human versus robots and cyborgs. Anyway, I'm not really of the opinion that the two universes (or any LEGO universes) are officially linked. I figure it's just a designer having a bit of fun. Maybe the mechdragon was designed by someone who built a bunch of the Exo-Force stuff and it made them nostalgic.

[Aanchir]

Incidentally, we now have cover illustrations for the ninth and tenth Ninjago graphic novels. The ninth one DOES involve Nindroids, which I was pretty much expecting given that its synopsis on Amazon.com was so vague... generally that's a pretty good hint that they don't want to spoil things related to an upcoming product line. They are due for release in January and May, respectively.

I'm pretty sure the cover illustration for the tenth one is a visual reference to something. Does anyone recognize what, specifically?

I'm kind of sad that even with Ninjago coming back strong, there don't seem to be any Ninjago chapter books in the pipeline. I'm not entirely surprised, though. It was clear with the fifth one that those were being reduced in priority, since the fifth one was just TV episode adaptations instead of new original stories like the first four. But I guess that's OK. The chapter books aren't nearly as essential now that the TV series can cover a year's story pretty thoroughly and the graphic novels can provide supplementary side-stories.

[M'Kyuun]

I don't watch the show, so that's not what I was talking about. Sticker showed up on a set that is human versus robots and cyborgs. Anyway, I'm not really of the opinion that the two universes (or any LEGO universes) are officially linked. I figure it's just a designer having a bit of fun. Maybe the mechdragon was designed by someone who built a bunch of the Exo-Force stuff and it made them nostalgic.

I subscribe to your theory. I'm guessing Mark Stafford, who started his Designer career on Exo-Force, and is generally responsible for most of the sets containing mecha. It's not much of a stretch in my mind to see Designers put references to other themes, even real people, i.e. NNENN, into newer sets. While I think EF and this new season of NinjaGo have some commonalities, I doubt there'll be a crossover. Personally, I'm still holding out hope that we'll get a transforming mech theme sometime in the future. Transformers are still incredibly popular due to the live action movies, cartoons new and old, and nostalgia fueled toylines like Masterpiece and Generations. I think a well done transforming theme would do well, esp if they can tie it to a show, games, and such.

[Lego Spy]

No, Cyrus' name is a pun on Cyborg, and Borg is a term not invented by Star Trek anyway.

Yes I know, I was making the connection that his headpiece looks somewhat like a Borg headset from Star Trek. Resistance is futile.

I subscribe to your theory. I'm guessing Mark Stafford, who started his Designer career on Exo-Force, and is generally responsible for most of the sets containing mecha. It's not much of a stretch in my mind to see Designers put references to other themes, even real people, i.e. NNENN, into newer sets. While I think EF and this new season of NinjaGo have some commonalities, I doubt there'll be a crossover. Personally, I'm still holding out hope that we'll get a transforming mech theme sometime in the future. Transformers are still incredibly popular due to the live action movies, cartoons new and old, and nostalgia fueled toylines like Masterpiece and Generations. I think a well done transforming theme would do well, esp if they can tie it to a show, games, and such.

Yeah, I don't see a "crossover" happening. They're so vastly different that I think it might turn people away.

Edited December 12, 2013 by Lego Spy

[obsidianheart]

I'm pretty sure the cover illustration for the tenth one is a visual reference to something. Does anyone recognize what, specifically?

Not specifically, but the style is that of movie posters for horror or thriller movies from the 30s or 40s. Maybe the 40s version of Phantom of the Opera?

[Freddy Bricker]

Do these graphic novels ever have a real affect on the show? This phantom ninja is starting to seem more interesting than most of the ninja's themselves. And I wouldn't expect any cross-overs from these two themes, although it'd be nice, it'd be disappointing if Lego decided to put attention on Exo-Force (a retired theme) over underused characters like Misako, Nya (although she's been pretty on point lately) and or Dareth.

[Mandate]

Not really, if you know the back-story of the Phantom Ninja. He was a bandit Wu caught and trained into a ninja, on the condition that he only stole from Bandits from that point on. Then there's just myths and rumors about him, and he's incredibly powerful in terms of physical fighting, but Lloyd or one of the other ninja could easily take him on now that they've all finished their training, unlocked their True Potential etc whereas the Phantom hasn't. Even if the EXO-FORCE reference has meaning to the NINJAGO world, I doubt it would become a thing of focus anyway. Also, Aanchir, I forgot to mention that EXO-FORCE's plot is very dynamic in regard to Sentai Mountain. Sentai Mountain was split and shortly after the robots were cast into the Gorge, until they came back later (obviously). So it wouldn't necessarily have to have taken place before-hand.

Anyway, personally I think the Graphic Novels are mostly non-canon. The novels including the Stone Army, etc don't really fit into the plot of the TV show (not that I've read them, but I'll explain why). The Day Ninjago Stood Still took place the day after The Stone Army, and The Last Voyage took place the day after TDNSS. The Last Voyage covered presumably two days of time, and the day after that was (VERY presumably) Island of Darkness. From there the plot is directly built on from the point where it left off.

This leaves no time whatsoever the Novels to take place. Inbetween TDNSS and The Last Voyage is unsuitable, because the Stone Army was implied by Wu to have stayed in the city and then suddenly disappeared. Furthermore the Bounty took them directly from NINJAGO City to the beach, and no attacks came from the Army. Between The Last Voyage and the Island of Darkness is a stretch too, because not even the Overlord knew the ninja were on the island yet (though he sensed them). And to say any of them could have happened after Island of Darkness is absurd due to the retreat of the army and presumed lack of attack during the night (the Overlord, Garmadon or the Stone Army never learned of where the ninja were hiding). Maybe some of the early graphic novels could be considered canon, but the one involving the Final Battle can't for reasons already stated.

[Freddy Bricker]

Good point JayWalker, but I think I'll leave it to respond for tomorrow, I'm practically drifting right about now.

[Zachattacx]

Though it's only a Easter Egg..

Plot Twist!

Those robots from Exo-Force are evolved Nindroids.

:P

Yeah...totally wrong.

:P

[LegendsOfNinjago]

Though it's only a Easter Egg..

Plot Twist!

Those robots from Exo-Force are evolved Nindroids.

:P

Yeah...totally wrong.

:P

I died laughing at this and then I compared Mech One to General Cryptor.Cryptor seems much more advanced. Haha

[PenPlays]

I died laughing at this and then I compared Mech One to General Cryptor.Cryptor seems much more advanced. Haha

That's not entirely true, I'd think. Meca One not only was self-aware, but was also in complete control of the robot armies (as apposed to being the general). According to the mini-movie it appears that Meca One could clone himself as well.

[LegendsOfNinjago]

That's a valid point, I didn't know that until now. Look wise is what I was talking about.

[Merc4hire95]

Meca One was impressive, but we can't just overlook General Cryptor's abilities of superior hand to hand combat skills

and his unique abilities to camouflage through some sort of invisibility cloak. I'd say that makes him quite the formidable foe against Meca One.

[LegendsOfNinjago]

General Cryptor vs Mech One!!! That would be an awesome battle *begins building MOCS*