King Kalmaar, previously Prince Kalmaar, is a Ninjago Minifigure released in 2021. He is the king of the Merlopians.
Description[]
Kalmaar comes with unique molded head and tentacled "leg" pieces, and a unique printed torso. His physical variant comes with a gold version of a shoulder armor piece introduced in 2013, but this is omitted from his animated series depiction.
Background[]
Kalmaar was born the son of King Trimaar, ruler of Merlopia, but sadly inherited none of his father's benevolent temperament. Being instructed in the history of the world of Ninjago, Kalmaar was resentful of the fact that the Endless Sea had been disrupted by the lands created by the First Spinjitzu Master. He was also generally dismissive of the surface-dwelling races of Ninjago in general, viewing them as inferior beings and resenting what he saw as their encroachments on what should be his domain. He became fascinated with the legend of Wojira, seeing in the beast's power the potential to flood Ninjago island and thus "reclaim" it as part of the Endless Sea.
Kalmaar questioned his father regarding Wojira, but Trimaar discouraged Kalmaar's interest in the beast and his hostile attitude towards the other inhabitants of their world. Sadly, Kalmaar paid little heed to his counsel, only becoming annoyed whenever Trimaar changed the subject. Kalmaar also demonstrated a callous attitude, expressing amusement at the sight of a sunken ship in contrast to the pity evidenced by his father. He was also uninterested when they came across a young boy being attacked by eels, believing they should leave him to perish or survive by his own strength. Trimaar rescued the youngster, whom he decided to adopt and name Benthomaar; sadly, Kalmaar did not respect his father's choice, always insisting on regarding Bentho as his "adopted brother", usually with an unpleasant emphasis on "adopted."
As the years passed, Kalmaar's contempt for others-including his father and brother-grew, and he became increasingly obsessed with locating Wojira. Eventually, he searched the forbidden records of the Merlopian vaults and discovered a scroll detailing the existence of the Temple of Wojira, resting place of the long-dormant serpent, within the Tartarus Trench. Trimaar was horrified when Kalmaar questioned him, and forbid him to seek out the temple. Infuriated, Kalmaar resolved to pursue his goal anyway, and decided that Benthomaar would be a perfect candidate to send into the hazardous trench to scout out a safe route.
Feigning affection for Bentho and a desire to make amends for his previous coldness, Kalmaar persuaded him to travel into the trench. Bentho succeeded in locating the temple, at which point Kalmaar informed him that he had served his purpose; from this, Bentho realized that Kalmaar would never regard him as a true brother, though he would continue to treat Kalmaar courteously. Kalmaar, meanwhile, broke into the temple and found Wojira, whom he set Glutinous and his Maaray Guards to try awakening. He also stole the Wave Amulet and returned it to Wojira's head as part of this effort, but attempts to awake her without the Storm Amulet as well failed to produce anything but pulses of energy that began to affect sea creatures and the elemental powers of Nya, the current Elemental Master of Water.
In "Five Thousand Fathoms Down", Kalmaar returned to the temple and demanded that Glutinous make another attempt to awaken Wojira, despite the failure of several previous replica Storm Amulets to do so. On this occasion, the resulting energy pulse struck Nya, who with her mother Maya had followed the energy signals to the temple. Kalmaar ordered his minions to capture the pair, and was startled to see Nya manipulating the power of water. Despite this, he was able to stun Nya, whom he recognized as the Master of Water and derided as "the usurper."
In "The Wrath of Kalmaar", Kalmaar goes to check on his two prisoners, and immediately tries to interrogate Nya when she mentions the Island of the Keepers, hiding place of the Storm Amulet. When she refuses to cooperate, he is interrupted by his chief guard Gripe, who informs him that he has been summoned by his father. Annoyed, Kalmaar goes to the throne room in Merlopia, where he is greeted by his father and Bentho. Trimaar questions whether Kalmaar has been attacking surface-dweller ships, something he apparently has done in the past, which Kalmaar denies. Upon speaking with Gripe again, he orders his subordinate to get the information he wants out of Nya and Maya and then eliminate them so his father won't learn of his attack on the Hydro Bounty.
In "Long Live the King", Kalmaar learns that the Hydro Bounty has become seaworthy again from Gripe. He is then summoned by his father again to answer charges of his attack on the vessel and attempting to awaken Wojira. Kalmaar confesses to both, stating that he is only doing what Trimaar himself should have done. When Trimaar condemns his actions and reminds Kalmaar that he has no authority due to Trimaar being both his father and king, Kalmaar responds by blasting him with his trident. After taking out the only guards present, he then cries out, blaming the attack on his father on the Hydro Bounty's crew.
Kalmaar orders the city flooded in order to stop the fleeing surface-dwellers, claiming it was Trimaar's last wish when Bentho arrives on the scene. However, as Bentho is carrying the dying Trimaar to get him help, Trimaar tells Bentho that Kalmaar was the one who attacked him, and urges him to help the surface-dwellers stop Kalmaar. Kalmaar then dons his father's crown and proclaims himself the new king of Merlopia. In "Escape from Merlopia", Gripe reports that the surface-dwellers have escaped their Ripper Sharks, and Kalmaar realizes that Bentho is helping them after a group of guards claims that Bentho sent them to see him. He leads his minions to the dock where the Hydro Bounty is moored, and pursues the ship in his undersea chariot as it pulls away from the city.
Kalmaar orders his minions to fire on the Hydro Bounty despite the risk of harm to his own citizens, but the Hydro Bounty escapes through a tunnel that its crew succeeds in collapsing behind them using Kalmaar's own torpedoes. In "The Tale of Benthomaar", Bentho recounts his troubled history with Kalmaar. In "The Storm Amulet", .
In "Riddle of the Sphinx", Kalmaar breaks into the Explorer's Club in search of the Storm Amulet, only to be confronted by Master Wu, Kai, Cole, Ray, and Misako alongside the club members. When Wu warns that their friends will arrive to help stop him, Kalmaar informs him that he has left the other Ninja stranded before escaping with the Storm Amulet. In "Papergirl", Wu's force pursues Kalmaar and he loses the Storm Amulet to Antonia, who flees with it and tries to escape Kalmaar and his minions. Kalmaar hijacks a truck to pursue her and Nelson, only for it to end up in a canal after he is attacked by Kai and the two drive off a raised bridge. Emerging from the water, Kalmaar retrieves the amulet and demands to know who Antonia is, and is both stunned and amused to learn that the one who nearly thwarted him is a mere papergirl.
In "Master of the Sea", Kalmaar and his minions arrive at the docks, and Kalmaar begins contemplating flooding Ninjago City only for Wu's group to catch up to them. Misako attempts to steal the amulet from him, but is captured after a brief struggle between the two groups. Kalmaar has his enemies bound to an anchor and dropped into the sea, only for the Hydro Bounty to rise beneath them. Its crew, including Bentho, then join in the resumed battle, with Kalmaar briefly putting on an act of trying to convince Bentho to rejoin him as a distraction to allow Gripe to attack. He then attempts to flee with the amulet, but seemingly loses it to Nya, who later arranges for it to be transported to Shintaro.
In "The Calm Before the Storm", the crew of a ship spot Kalmaar as he rides a revived Wojira through stormy seas. Glutinous later arrives in Ninjago City and informs the Ninja that Kalmaar tricked Nya, slipping her the fake Storm Amulet while he escaped with the real one. Returning to the Temple of Wojira, Kalmaar restored it to Wojira to awaken her, before using his trident to inflict pain upon the serpent and force her to submit to his commands. He then departed with Wojira, whom Glutionus reasoned he would soon force into complete submission before attacking Ninjago City. His prediction proves true, and Kalmaar and Wojira rush into the city in the midst of a flood.
In "Assault on Ninjago City", Kalmaar's forces invade the city, with Kalmaar continuing to goad Wojira into attacking the populace and the Ninja in particular. They eventually set their sights on the Destiny's Bounty, before attacking the Ninja Sub Speeder and then being confronted by Nya. In "Nyad", Kalmaar and Nya briefly battle before Nya leaves to regroup with the other Ninja; Kalmaar then sets his sights on the Bounty, which has been damaged by Wojira's attacks. After finding the ship abandoned, Kalmaar is eventually brought by Gripe to the Police Commissioner, whom they have learned is a friend of the Ninja. Kalmaar attempts to force him to reveal the location of the Ninja, but is interrupted when Nya-having merged with the sea like Nyad before her-arrives to confront him.
In "The Turn of the Tide", Kalmaar faces off with Nya, recognizing what she has done but remaining determined to stop her. He seemingly succeeds in vaporizing her, only to be attacked by Jay, whom he soon manages to overpower. Benthomaar then attacks him, proving a more formidable foe but still losing to Kalmaar. Kalmaar attempts to force Bentho to recognize him as king, but Bentho leaps from Wojira and throws a blade that shatters Kalmaar's trident and knocks the crown from his head. When Kalmaar attempts to use his broken weapon to goad Wojira again, the serpent tosses him high into the air before swallowing him whole. Once Wojira has been defeated, Nya uses her new powers to draw the floodwaters out of Ninjago, leaving no trace of Kalmaar's attack or ambitions but his broken trident and the discarded crown.
In "Farewell the Sea", Kai uses a cardboard cutout of Kalmaar as a target for his students to attack, and uses the example of Kalmaar's attack on Ninjago as reason for his violent training methods.
Variations[]
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| Physical |
Non Physical[]
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| Teenager | Prince |
Appearances[]
Gallery[]
Notes[]
- Kalmaar was voiced by Giles Panton.
- Kalmaar is similar to Pythor P. Chumsworth.
- Kalmaar's appearance is also slightly similar to the Squid Warrior from the Atlantis theme.
