Supah Ninjas

Supah Ninjas is an American action superhero teen sitcom, created by Leo Chu and Eric Garcia. The series aired on Nickelodeon from January 17, 2011 to April 27, 2013. It ran for two seasons. The series follows three high school friends—Mike, Owen, and Amanda—who lead a double life as crime-fighting ninjas.

The series was originally created as a starring vehicle for YouTube comedian Ryan Higa, who was slated to play the lead role of Mike. According to Higa, the producers wanted him to remove his YouTube videos, but he refused. The lead role was given to Ryan Potter instead, and Ryan Higa was given a one-time role as the titular villain of the episode "DJ Elephant Head".

The first season was filmed in Los Angeles and the second season was filmed at 31st Street Studios in Pittsburgh. On March 15, 2012, it was announced that the series was renewed for a second season that premiered on February 9, 2013. On May 7, 2013, Nickelodeon cancelled the series after two seasons.

Plot

The series follows Mike Fukanaga and his friends, Owen and Amanda. Following his grandfather's death, Mike receives a mysterious letter that leads him to discover that he comes from a long line of vigilante ninjas. Along with Owen, and later Amanda, they are ushered into the world of crime-fighting, forming the team "Supah Ninjas." They are trained by a hologram of Mike's grandfather, whom Owen refers to as "Hologramps", in Empire City.

Cast

Main

• Michael "Mike" Fukanaga (portrayed by Ryan Potter) is a Japanese-American student, who is quiet, shy, socially awkward, and nerdy. He and his best friend Owen discover a secret underground dojo under his bed, where a hologram of his late grandfather awaits to train him in the ways of the ninja. Mike discovers that he is the latest in a long family line of ninjas, besides his father, and ultimately learns about leadership, friendship, discipline, deception, and romance while saving Empire City from villains. His weapon of choice is a pair of nunchucks and his necklace, or mon in Japanese, is a disguised shuriken. His love interest is his friend and fellow ninja Amanda. In the finale, Mike is kidnapped by Kagema.
• Owen Reynolds (portrayed by Carlos Knight) is Mike's best friend and fellow Supah Ninja. He is of African American descent. Owen is eccentric, has a tendency to overreact and show little discipline, and can be food-loving and lazy at times; despite this, his instincts make him a powerful and fearless warrior. He is the only character to call Grandpa Fukunaga "Hologramps". His signature weapon is a Bō staff. He is always trying to impress girls, sometimes using Amanda or Mike as a "wing-man" of sorts.
• Amanda McKay (portrayed by Gracie Dzienny) is a smart, stylish, talented, and popular cheerleader and scholar. In the first episode, she is kidnapped by The Rhymer before being rescued by Mike and Owen, who are still in basic training. Upon discovering who her rescuers are, she pressures them into letting her in on the action by threatening to tell everyone about the "Supah Ninjas", ultimately leading to her inclusion in the group. Her family is wealthy, as they own the chain of McKay Casinos. Later in the series, she seems to develop romantic feelings for Mike. According to Hologramps, she is distinctive from the rest of the group due to her methodical nature. Her weapons of choice are a pair of tonfa.
• Yamato (portrayed by Travis Wong and Jake Huang and voiced by Matthew Yang King (credited as Matt Yang King)) is a sarcastic and wise-cracking X-39-P Fighting Robot trainer, nicknamed "Yama" by The Ninjas, who serves as a practice opponent at the dojo.
• Hattori "Hologramps" Fukanaga (portrayed by George Takei) is the sensei of the Supah Ninjas and Mike's deceased grandfather. A hologram carrying the family ninja legacy, he guides the Supah Ninjas in an underground high-tech dojo beneath the Fukanaga home. He has Yamato guide them in combat while using other tactics, such as meditation, to round out their skill sets. He is disabled by his twin brother Kagema Fukanaga in "The Ishina Strike Back" before being brought back by Quentin/Kid Q in "The Floating Sword", telling the Supah Ninjas that it is time to start the next phase of their training.

Recurring

• Martin Fukanaga (portrayed by Randall Park) is Mike's widowed father, who works as a police officer. Unlike Hologramps and Mike, the "ninja trait" skipped his generation. He is gullible and somewhat clueless, but well-intentioned, seeing the ninjas as heroes even when others in law enforcement do not seem to.
• Cameron Vanhauser (portrayed by Jordan Nichols) is the son of the owner of Empire Condominiums. Amanda broke up with him after he told her that he felt she was too boring and straight-laced. In "Detention", Amanda tells him that he will meet the perfect girl, even if she is not the one.
• Kelly (portrayed by Giselle Bonilla, season 1) is Amanda's friend and fellow cheerleader. Despite disliking Owen and Mike, she remains the object of Owen's unwarranted flirting and advances. However, it is revealed in "Detention" that she has a soft and considerate side.
• Julie (portrayed by Victory Van Tuyl) is a kind, smart, and attractive girl. She and Mike share a love of comic books, and she becomes his love interest and eventual girlfriend. In "Flint Forster", she breaks up with Mike through a text after having moved away two weeks prior.
• Paloma Peru (portrayed by Marissa Cuevas) is a school reporter who is introduced in "Shadow Fly". Owen seems to have a crush on her. She is actively pursuing the ninjas.
• Quentin (portrayed by Matthew Gumley) is a science nerd and Owen's friend. In "Enter the Dojo", he is given the knowledge of the ninjas' secret identity and swears to secrecy as Owen gives him the moniker "Kid Q". He is the one to help fix the dojo, repair Yamato, and help re-enable Hologramps at the dojo.

Main villains

• Ishina: A rival ninja clan to the Fukunaga clan, who seek a weapon known as the Floating Sword. They "kidnap" Connor, but this was a set-up, and Connor is revealed to be their leader, who serves a more powerful master: Grandpa Fukanaga's evil twin brother Kagema. He finds out that Mike, Owen, and Amanda are ninjas in "Quake". They appear again in "Cousin Connor", where Connor tries to get the ninjas to turn on themselves. However, Mike learns that Connor is one of the Ishina and that he tricked them, leading to a battle that ends in Kagema defeating the ninjas and escaping with Connor. Connor manages to get hold of Mike's medallion and uses it to get into the dojo, where he intends to relieve Mike of the Floating Sword.
• Connor (portrayed by Brandon Soo Hoo) is Mike's cousin and the grandson of Mike's grandfather's sister (great-aunt), who is the co-leader of the Ishina. Along with the Ishina, he seeks to take the Floating Sword back from the Fukanaga family to create a powerful weapon to attempt world domination and enact revenge on the members of the Fukanaga family. At the end of the first season, in the episode "Cousin Connor," he stole Mike's mon, which he used to open the secret entrance to the dojo. After his infiltration attempt is thwarted, he tricks the ninjas into thinking that the Ishina were holding his parents hostage to try and take out the trio. However, he is foiled again and sent to Madagascar in a shipping crate.
• Kagema Fukanaga (portrayed by George Takei) is Hologramps' evil twin brother and Mike's great uncle, who is the current leader of the Ishina clan. He was entrusted to protect the Floating Sword, but betrayed his family and attempted to steal it, only to be thwarted by his brother. He manages to take out the ninjas and escapes with Connor. In "Grounded Ninja", it is revealed that he needs the Floating Sword to complete his ultimate weapon, a robotic ninja named "Hakaisha - The One Who Destroys". In the episode "The Floating Sword", he was defeated by Mike and Connor, but Kagema kidnaps Mike and escapes.
• The Rhymer (portrayed by Christopher Reid) is a villain who rhymes when speaking and robbed places whose names rhymed with each other. He was pursued by the Supah Ninjas in the pilot episode; after his minions were defeated by Mike and Owen and arrested, the Rhymer escaped after being furious that nothing rhymes with "orange".
• Katara (portrayed by Sydney Tamiia Poitier) is a knife-throwing cat burglar who stole priceless antiquities. She started dating Mike's father in order to break into a museum he was guarding, and managed to escape before the ninjas could capture her.
• Harland Mauzer / Two-Ton Harley (portrayed by Paul Wight) is an overweight biker who ate a lot of food to gain weight and reunite with his old gang, the Wrecking Crew. He was taken out by the Ninjas and was recaptured at the end of the episode, being the first villain who was actually captured by the ninjas. He returns in "Enter the Dojo", when Quentin releases him from prison thinking that the ninjas wanted to face off against their biggest enemy. He breaks into the Food Rodeo and intends to reunite his crew and break down the city, but is defeated by the ninjas with the aid of Mike's father, Martin.
• Nicholias Spaski / Checkmate (portrayed by Rick D. Wasserman) is an "undefeated" chess prodigy who cheats and uses elaborate traps to gain the advantage and win. He returns in "Eternum", where he escapes from prison.
• Red-Eye (portrayed by Scott Lowell) A former biology teacher at Benjamin Rush High School, Mr. Bradford became a bug-like monster whom Owen calls "Red-Eye" after he experimented on himself to try to find a universal cure for disease. He uses his newly acquired abilities to break into his old workplace and obtain the necessary items to create a cure. After finding the cure, Bradford uses it to cure Amanda's infection rather than his own.
• Jellyface: Frankie Fellows used Plasma 17 to disguise himself as the people who got him arrested and have them suffer as much as he did, before being defeated by Mike. He returns in "Detention", where he kidnaps and impersonates Mike to smash the trophy case so he can get into the school on Saturday, where Martin was going to be during homecoming. He planned to plant a bomb and a tank of poison gas in order to get revenge on Mike and Martin. His plan was foiled when Owen took him out during a battle, with Mike and Amanda defusing the bomb. He is seemingly aware of the ninjas' identities.
• Malleni the Magnificent (portrayed by Vince Corazza) is a skilled magician who faked his own kidnapping to frame both his assistant Veronica, and his rival, Dominic the Magnificent. He was stopped when he was kicked into a magic box by Owen, which split him into three pieces, with him vowing vengeance on the Supah Ninjas.
• Charles White / Quake (portrayed by Esteban Cueto) is a forger of music boxes who uses special metal gloves that allow him to work with hot metal. After his employer died, Charles sought to collect the music boxes that he had made. However, every time he got his hands on one, he accidentally crushed it, causing him to break out into a rage. Amanda helped him take off his gloves and gave him a music box, after which he leaves peacefully.
• Skeleton Crew: A secret society who ties with Benjamin Rush High School. They leave hidden messages by leaving behind a key and a strip of paper which is decoded by being wrapped around the key. They seek a hard drive for an unknown reason, but are defeated by the ninjas and arrested. However, their return is implied when Amanda and Mike find a message wanting revenge from their leader, the Skeleton King.
• Flint Forster (portrayed by Cody Christian) is a villain who steals from the rich and gives to charity, like a modern-day Robin Hood, along with his group. He seems to have an interest in Amanda, and leaves her his necklace before escaping. He returns in "Finding Forster", where he discovers Amanda's identity in a debate at Benjamin Rush High. They are taken hostage by Flint's debate team when he stole a suitcase filled with credit cards. After Mike and Owen show up and defeat the debate team, Flint says goodbye to Amanda before leaving. He returns again in "Spring Fling", where he finds Amanda and asks her to the Spring Fling dance; however, he discovers that Chop Shop seeks revenge on him, and Amanda learns that Flint stole from him. Flint escapes, but Amanda is captured. He soon discovers that Mike and Owen are the other ninjas after they return to the garage and defeat Chop Shop and his crew, and Flint decides to call the police himself. He is the second villain to have a close relationship with a main character.

Minor villains

• Subsiders: A crew that lived in the shadows of abandoned subway tunnels. Every time a new member joins, they give them a new name. The crew included Subsider (Christopher Kien Dao), Moth (Xin Sarith Wuku), Toad (Victor Lopez), Roach (Gabriel Nunez), Rat (Caine Sinclair), and Viper (Ramses Jimenez), with Owen's friend James (Jonny Weston) once being part of the crew. They wear hoodies and white masks and rob trucks full of valuable items, such as money. They attempted to escape, but were defeated by Mike and Amanda, with Viper being defeated by Owen.
• Komodo (portrayed by Bryan Friday): A former assistant to Cameron's father, Dr. Theodore Anton wanted revenge for being double-crossed by Vanderhaussen. He wears a large dragon helmet and uses an atomic flamethrower to burn down buildings.
• Dollhouse (portrayed by Tyler Poelle) captured people and put mind control devices around their necks so they would act like moving dolls. Towards the climax of the episode, Mike finds that Dollhouse never had any friends and had a lonely childhood, which influenced his evil plan. He is defeated when he attempts to shoot Mike with tranquilizer darts, but is subdued after Mike catches one and throws it at Dollhouse's hand.
• X (portrayed by Christopher Maleki) is a skilled assassin from the mob that sought to kill the person Mike's father was protecting. He was identified by the X-shaped scar on the back of his neck. He was disguised at the train conductor and took control of the train leading to a Sci-Fi convention.
• House of Lords: A British crime group led by Sir Nigel Wickett, whose members wield cricket paddles. They were after Kickbutt (Lucas Cruikshank) after he stole their money, but are defeated by the ninjas and Kickbutt. Two of their members are portrayed by Mark Lindsay Chapman and Ray Park.
• Morningstar Academy: A boarding school where the headmistress, Ms. Morningstar (Paulette P. Williams), turns troubled girls into skilled thieves who rob for her and are wanted in several countries. These thieves included Clarissa (Daniella Monet), Fiona (Allison Caetano), and Bethany (Kiralee Hayashi), who are defeated by Amanda.
• DJ Elephant Head (portrayed by Ryan Higa) - Real name Leslie, he is a former student at Benjamin Rush High School who was seemingly expelled. He used his musical rhythms to make people fall asleep so he could steal a rare diamond called the Eye of India, while also seeking revenge on the school. He battles Owen, but is knocked out with his sleeping disk playing and his minions accidentally knock each other out. DJ Elephant Head, the villain's artist name, is a spoof of the progressive house producer Deadmau5.
• Snakeskin (portrayed by Amy Lucas) is Benjamin Rush's guidance counselor. Her actual name is Susie Scott, who lived a double life as a villainess who was using devil diamond snake venom to make popular kids' skin shed, as she was bullied by popular kids in her childhood. She planned to use toxic poison in Melanie's party, but was defeated by Amanda.
• Dr. Eternum (portrayed by Todd Stashwick) is a demented psychiatrist who believes that he can manipulate human nature using the word "Gemini". He captures Mike and attempts to convert him to evil, but is defeated.
• Mechanov (portrayed by Curt Lowens) is an evil scientist who believes that the only way humankind can evolve is through machines, having saved his children, Optic and Buzzsaw (portrayed by Dennis Keiffer and Danielle Burgio) from an explosion by turning them into cyborgs. During his final battle with Mike's grandfather, his lab exploded and he was assumed dead; however, he is revealed to have survived, but fallen in a coma. When he comes of age and begins to die, his children attempt to steal purple diamonds that can power an exoskeleton in order to save his life, but are defeated by the Fukunagas. Mechanov's exoskeleton, with him in it, was defeated by Owen, before being finished off by Martin.
• Lemuel Lightner / Limelight (portrayed by Danny Masterson) is a villain who went to college and performed drama with three celebrities. Resenting the fact that they became famous when he did not, he kidnapped them and attempted to kill them so that he could become famous. However, he is defeated by Owen, while his henchmen are taken out by Mike and Amanda.
• William Block / Frostbite (portrayed by Steve Monroe) is a villain whose family used to own the Lickety Splits ice cream company. However, they were robbed and locked in a freezer, where they all caught frostbite and Block lost a finger. Seeking vengeance, he kidnapped criminals by freezing them and keeping them prisoner in his old factory instead of handing them over to the police. He tried to freeze Amanda when she found out his secret, but she was able to defeat him when she threw a shuriken at a liquid nitrogen tank, freezing him.
• Shadow Fly (portrayed by Bobb'e J. Thompson) claims that he is one of the ninjas that stops the villains of Empire City. He tricks the ninjas into thinking that he was kidnapped so that he can capture them, but is exposed as being an imposter after the ninjas stick him to a billboard.
• Wesley (portrayed by Kevin M. Horton) is the science assistant of Dr. Warner Krowsa. Tired of listening to Dr. Krowsa's insults and waiting for him to invent something worth stealing, he stole a telekinesis helmet that allows the wearer to move things with his mind. He tries to destroy Quentin, but was stopped by Mike, Owen, and Amanda.
• Kylie Coors (portrayed by Ciara Bravo) once went to go to cheer camp with Amanda, but was sent to juvy after she stole money from the camp and Amanda found out and told the coaches. She later returns, being named the cheerleader captain of another school. During Spirit Week, she comes to Benjamin Rush and plays nice to mess with Amanda and make people not like her and think that she is crazy. She tricks Amanda into coming to the tunnels, putting blue prints in Amanda's locker to frame her for attempting to blow up the gym, but is defeated by Amanda.
• Trip Taylor (portrayed by Glenn McCuen) is a credit card counterfeiter, who kidnapped Flint and Amanda before being defeated by Mike.
• Gina / Wallflower (portrayed by Jillian Rose Reed) had a crush on Owen, which he did not notice due to having a crush on Paloma Peru. She kidnaps him and tries to change her look to get him to be with her. However, she is defeated after accidentally locking herself in a box.
• M@yhem: A group of internet kids led by new student Tyler, who have been cyberbullied because of internet videos of them gone wrong, and attempt to cause riots to get people to cause mayhem before Tyler is defeated by Owen.
• Chop Shop (portrayed by Sam Turich) is a mobster who has a crime ring and uses his garage as a cover. Flint Forster steals from him and wants revenge on him. He kidnapped Amanda to get Flint to come back, but is defeated by the ninjas and Flint.

Production

On September 30, 2010, Nickelodeon announced that it had ordered 26 episodes of the series, which was slated to begin production in Los Angeles for a 2011 premiere. Initially, the series was planned to star YouTube comedian Ryan Higa as the lead character Mike Fukanaga. In an update video posted to his channel on July 16, 2011, Ryan Higa explained, "The reason why I turned it down is because they wanted me to remove my YouTube videos."

On May 7, 2013, it was announced that the series would not return for a third season. Chris Breakwell, owner of the show's production facility 31st Street Studios, stated "Nickelodeon liked it but they're going in a different direction."

Episodes

Season 1 (2011–12)

Season 2 (2013)

Awards and nominations

References

External links