Johnny Thunder

Johnny Thunder

Theme:	Adventurers Egypt Amazon Dino Island Orient Expedition Studios Jurassic Park 3 The LEGO Movie
Variations:	Adventurers, India, Mount Everest, China, The LEGO Movie
Accessories:	Brown fedora Reddish Brown fedora Grey pistol Light Grey Pistol Black Binoculars Grey Binoculars Spear Pickaxe Rifle Shovel Magnifying glass Brown backpack Black camera 1x2 tile printed with dynamite 1x2 printed tile 2x2 tile printed with various Egyptian artifacts Red Gem Sextant Map
Years:	1998 - 2003, 2014
[List of appearances]

Johnny Thunder is the main character in the LEGO Adventurers theme. He is included in numerous sets as a minifigure in each of the theme's sub-series, often alongside such characters as his friends Dr. Kilroy and Pippin Reed. He also appears in a couple Studios sets, including Jurassic Park 3 set 1370 Raptor Rumble Studio, played by an actor. In addition to all of this, Johnny also appears in seven video games, more than any other previous LEGO character.

Johnny makes a cameo in The LEGO Movie as a master builder and appears in a set from the tie-in theme, 70815 Super Secret Police Dropship. In 2015, 75900 Mummy Museum Mystery, a Scooby-Doo set, pays tribute to Johnny by including (a sticker representing) his portrait with a plaque that reads "1922".

Description[edit | edit source]

In his appearances in the Egypt, Jungle and Dino Island subthemes and the Studios theme, Johnny wears black pants and a tan button up shirt. The shirt has two pockets on the chest, a black belt with a revolver in it, and a red bandanna around his neck. Above the bandanna, a little bit of his yellow chest shows. His sleeves are also tan and his hands are yellow. Johnny's face has a black mustache, sideburns, hair, a miniature goatee, and a smirk. He wears a brown button-side fedora.

Johnny with a backpack, a scorpion, and several accessories

In the Orient Expedition theme, Johnny was redesigned and received three new variants for each of the areas he and his partners visited.

The India variant has tan pants with two pockets similar to the ones he had on his chest in his previous variation. His torso design is the same, except for the main part is now green and he has a blue or gray undershirt under rather than his chest. His arms are still tan and his hands still yellow. Johnny's face is very similar, but he now has pupils in his eyes and a more subtle smile rather than a smirk. He also has a small goatee.

For his trip to Mount Everest, Johnny wears the same pants as the Indian variant, and still had the same fedora. His torso is very similar to the Indian variant's, but it is now brown, has a fur lined collar, and the colours of some of the items on his shirt are changed. His face is the same as in India.

In China, Johnny wore the same costume as in the three original Adventurers subthemes, except he now uses the same face as his other Orient Expedition variants.

Some of Johnny's variants also have a brown backpack attached to the neck, between the head and torso.

In 2014, Johnny was re-released in a The LEGO Movie set, the Super Secret Police Dropship. The minifigure is based upon his original variant, but has some differences. Johnny's eyes contain white pupils, and his eyebrows are modified to go better with the new eye style. As well, his knapsack strings are redesigned, now appearing thicker, darker, and with a black outline on the edges. The three buttons on his shirt are also changed from black dots to black circles with tan centres. His fedora piece is the same design, but is now reddish brown as opposed to the original brown, due to a change to the colour palette in 2014. Otherwise, Johnny remains largely the same as his original version.

Video game variants[edit | edit source]

In most video games he has appeared in, Johnny has his original appearance. However, there are still differences between games. They are generally modified versions of his first costume.

In LEGO Racers 2, Johnny has his standard appearance, but his legs are brown instead of black.

In LEGO Stunt Rally, Johnny wears Baron von Barron's torso and has minor facial differences.

In LEGOLAND, he has pupils, a nose, hair on the back of his head, and a separate bandanna piece.

Johnny's biggest change is in LEGO Universe, where he also wears a satchel, his hat is black, he has a badge on his arm, he does not have side burns, his belt is more detailed, and he has pockets and soles on his legs.

His appearance in The LEGO Movie Video Game is based on his updated design included in the Super Secret Police Dropship. He carries a rifle.

Background[edit | edit source]

Johnny Thunder, an Australian adventurer and a passionate archaeologist, travels with a scientist named Dr. Kilroy and a photographer for "World Magazine" named Pippin Reed. Together they discover many treasures and outwit many varied villains. Thunder himself is a treasure hunter, and donates what he finds to a museum instead of keeping it for himself, unlike Sam Sinister, his arch enemy.

Egypt[edit | edit source]

Johnny and co. in Egypt

In his first Adventure depicted in LEGO sets, Johnny Thunder and his friends, Dr. Kilroy, Pippin Reed, and Harry Cane, journey to Egypt to find the Re-Gou Ruby, which is protected by the undead Pharaoh Hotep, before his nemesis Baron Von Barron and Baron's partner, Slyboots.

Jungle[edit | edit source]

The Jungle subtheme depicted Johnny, Kilroy, Pippin, and Harry going to the Amazon River in South America to find the magical Sun Disk protected by the mysterious Achu. Johnny and his friends are pitted against Señor Palomar, a South American bandit, and his partner, Rudo Villano. Another character, Gabarro the sailor, helps both the Adventurers and Palomar.

Dino Island[edit | edit source]

Johnny with a baby Tyrannosaurus rex

The journey to Dino Island is different than the previous adventures to Egypt and the Amazon. Harry does not travel to the island with Johnny, Pippin, and Kilroy, but is replaced by their new assistant, Mike. This journey sees the return of Baron, now using the name of Sam Sinister, who is now partnered with his relative, Alexia Sinister, and the poacher Mr. Cunningham. Rather than looking for treasures, the Adventurers capture Dinosaurs to study them. Sam/Baron is attempting to take them back to the mainland and open a park.

Orient Expedition[edit | edit source]

After discovering part of a map in the home of Marco Polo, Johnny, Kilroy, and Pippin set out for India to search for the supposedly mythical Golden Dragon.

Johnny and company on elephants

In India, Johnny rescues Babloo from Sam/Baron, now using the name Lord Sam Sinister, and Maharaja Lallu. Grateful, Babloo helps bring the Adventurers to the Scorpion Palace with his elephant, Giri. At the Scorpion Palace, Lallu loses his title of Maharaja when Babloo reveals that he had found the Sun Stone (which Dr. Kilroy had taken from Tygurah earlier). Sam attempts to discover the treasure inside of the palace, but is forced to flee when he moves the claws of a giant scorpion decoration which triggers a boulder. Climbing on top of elephants, Johnny and his friends are able to reach the upper floor of the palace and retrieve the Golden Shield which has another piece of a map on it. While conversing about following the map and leaving for Mount Everest, the adventurers are overheard by Sam who had returned.

While hiking up Mount Everest, the Adventurers befriend Sherpa Sangye Dorje and use his hot air balloon, the Aero Nomad, to reach the summit. Johnny is able to come up with a plan when Sam attacks them in his bi-plane. After that, they travel on foot to the Temple of Mount Everest and discover the golden sword and another map piece, this time leading to China.

In China, the group's car is sabotaged by Sam and the group is captured by Dragon Fortress Guards. They are locked in the Great Wall until Pippin escapes and rescues Johnny and Kilroy. While looking for the Dragon Fortress where the Golden Dragon was kept, they meet a girl named Jing Lee in the city of Xi'an.

Johnny confronting Jun-Chi

After the heroes give her food for her sick father, Jing Lee agrees to show them to where the Dragon Fortress is. Hiding on a junk ship, they reach the fortress. Jing Lee shows the group a side entrance which turns out to be the home of Jun-Chi, a lion-dog creature. Jun-Chi chases the group until they are captured by Emperor Chang Wu and his guards who have made an alliance with Sam. Sam takes the golden treasures (the shield, sword, and helmet which was discovered "off-screen"). The group escapes when the guards scatter after Jun-Chi reappears. Sam uses the confusion to find the Dragon Fortress Statue which leads the path to the Golden Dragon. Johnny catches up with Sam and tries to keep him from pulling a nearby lever, but Sam refuses not to. The lever turns the statue to life and scares Sam away, causing him to drop the treasures in the process. The heroes replace the statue's sword, shield, and helmet with the golden ones and pull the lever again. This time, the sword and shield transform into golden keys. The keys open doors to the side, revealing wheels. Pulling the wheels causes a secret door to open, and through the door, the group finds the Golden Dragon.

While trying to escape the fortress, the group is attacked by Chang Wu's catapults, but manage to make it away.

Other Adventures[edit | edit source]

Egypt again[edit | edit source]

Johnny, Pippin, and Dr. Kilroy return to Egypt to investigate a tomb where strange noises have been coming from. They discover a mummy which has awoken from the dead because an object is missing from its tomb. They discover a secret chamber and Johnny retrieves the object, the golden snake, and returns it to the tomb, allowing the mummy to fall back into its sleep.

Greece[edit | edit source]

Johnny, Pippin, and Kilroy travel to Greece to a sacred artifact, known as the golden bull. They believe it to be hidden in a maze, guarded by the Minotaur. The adventurers discover that the golden bull is not actually in the maze, but in fact a clue is instead. They travel to a nearby island seen in a mural in the labyrinth. Johnny scales the cliff to discover a temple. Hidden behind a veil in the temple is the shadow of a bull-like creature (presumably the Minotaur) who claims to be "The guardian on the Golden Bull". The guardian challenges Johnny to a modified game of "Connect Four". Johnny wins, and is awarded with the Golden Bull.

Sam Sinister also returns in this story. He attempts to get the Golden Bull before Johnny, but is defeated.

The LEGO Movie[edit | edit source]

Johnny Thunder's cameo in The LEGO Movie

Johnny Thunder is a Master Builder who appears at Cloud Cuckoo Palace when Wyldstyle discovers the Special, Emmet. However, a tracking device placed on Emmet's leg by Bad Cop leads the Super Secret Police to Cloud Cuckoo Land and Johnny is among the many Master Builders captured. He is imprisoned in Lord Business' Think Tank, and his imagination is sapped to make instructions. He and his comrades are later freed.

In the Video Games[edit | edit source]

Johnny Thunder is the boss of the 4th circuit in LEGO Racers. He also appears in LEGOLAND, LEGO Racers 2, LEGO Universe, LEGO Stunt Rally, Soccer Mania and LEGO Island 2.

In LEGO Racers, Johnny Thunder is the boss of the fourth circuit. Players who finish first in this circuit win his car set. Aside from his role as the boss in the fourth circuit, he also makes a cameo in in the second and fifth circuits on the Amazon Adventure Alley level, flying around in the Expedition Balloon along with Dr. Kilroy.

In LEGO Racers 2, he and Pippin send the player out on the Dino Island mini-games. However, Johnny Thunder also appears as a recurring CPU racer in all races on Dino Island, Mars, and the Arctic, leading up to the boss races.

In LEGO Island 2, Johnny Thunder is one of the characters on Adventurers Island. Pepper Roni must bring him and his group to a pyramid in the desert, then fly their plane through the Amazon jungle, and finally rescue dinosaurs from Mr. Hates' cages.

In LEGO Stunt Rally, Johnny Thunder and other Adventurers characters appear in the opening cut-scene of the game, calling for the "loop-da-loop" obstacle.

In Soccer Mania', Johnny Thunder may be unlocked after his team (the Adventurers Explorers) is beaten on Dino Island, as the player goes in search of the pieces for the spaceship, to hunt down the Brickster.

In LEGOLAND, Johnny Thunder appears in one of the cut-scenes and in the opening video. At certain points in time, the professor goes back in time with his time machine. The final time that he does this, he appears in Egypt, and gets a copy of the pyramids and other Adventurers locations as attractions for the park. In the opening video, a portrait of Johnny may be seen in the background as Professor Voltage unveils his time-machine.

As he appears in LEGO Universe

In LEGO Universe, Johnny Thunder appears as an NPC character. His appearance is similar to the original one, but he wears a Venture League armband, re-designed black pants with pockets, a black hat that is similar in shape to his original, and a brown shoulder bag. He is found in Red Blocks amphitheater, and challenges players to find treasure chests scattered around Nimbus Station. Upon collecting all of the treasure chests, Johnny Thunder gives players approval from the Venture League faction, allowing them to join if they wish. After players choose their faction, Johnny Thunder gives missions to find treasure chests in other worlds, and rewards players for finding them.

In The LEGO Movie Video Game, Johnny Thunder is a playable, unlockable character.

Notes[edit | edit source]

In the Ask Max section of the LEGO club site, Max states that Johnny Thunder is on vacation but he still gets a few postcards from him. "Are there plans for any more Johnny Thunder sets in the future? No, Johnny is still on vacation, though I get a postcard from him now and then. But if you like his kind of adventure, you might want to check out the new Pharaoh’s Quest sets!"
He is one of a few real Minifigures to appear in LEGO Universe.
The Adventurer gear in LEGO Universe is based off of him.
There was a Studios online game called "Backlot" about helping out with Johnny Thunder's movie.
The 2012 edition of The LEGO Book states that Josh Thunder from Dino is a descendant of Johnny Thunder.
A redesigned version of Johnny can be seen in the Lost Kingdom Adventure in LEGOLAND Parks.
Johnny Thunder was also known as Sam Grant and Joe Freeman in some countries other than the United States.

Appearances[edit | edit source]