The Dark Truth Behind LEGO Islanders

Here on LEGO Pirates Retrospect, we've covered Captain Roger Redbeard's pirate crew, the Imperial Soldiers and the Imperial Guards... today, we explore one of the most revered LEGO Pirates subthemes - this is The Dark Truth Behind LEGO Islanders
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[@VestedUTuber]

Just to note one thing, Ironhook only has wooden leg in the Islanders sets. In every other set, including the Red Beard Runner which was released after Islanders, he has normal legs. This would suggest that he lost his leg in an islander attack, except he apparently got it back afterwards somehow...? I don't know, probably some mystical voodoo-borne magic or something (When it comes to pirates I can't resist making alestorm references).

[@OurToyWorld]

I know which character you're talking about- I don't think that's Ironhook. I think it's just a classic case of LEGO only having x amount of torsos, heads and legs for pirates, lol- which makes putting together the lore a bit confusing. Although, who knows, perhaps Ironhook and Redbeard made up- and he somehow got his leg back? Funny you bring up Alestorm, I was just listening to "the anchor song" the other day

[@PirateJohnson]

​@@OurToyWorld, watch out for Silly Sausages...

[@Masterchief_Tito]

Your theory is not completely wrong though. In every set that released BEFORE the islanders, he still had both legs. Not only that, I think he also lost his shoulder pads.

[@drsuchomimus]

I used to love the background art and dioramas made for the Islanders in the catalogs. The dramatic sunsets and shadows, the tropical islands, the mysterious ruins: it had it all. Not the most PC, but I’ve loved them.

[@platformerfailure3257]

It's always fun seeing the classic Lego themes covered decades after their releases. After all, the kids who played with them have since grown up and are able to look at their toys through a different, more analytical lens. Most of the classic themes, like Space, Castle, Pirates, and Adventurers had very little written story. Much like the bricks themselves, the story could be whatever the children wanted it to be, and left many parts to the imagination. Videos like these prove that having a more open-ended story can be beneficial, since it inspires creative play. Even though all of these videos are likely people reading between the lines too much and overthinking the simple lore of children's toys, it shows that it really can be enjoyable by all ages. As someone who never lived through this era of Lego (but wishes he did), I believe that the Classic themes perfectly captured the spirit of originality and creativity that Lego is famous for.

[@efex5720]

I just love how well of a job lego did back in the days to inspire people to creative stories with their toys. I can see myself as a child putting all the lego pirate stuff in my room and play following that story :)

[@riley_oneill]

We never figured out the timeline for the 89-97 Pirates line. I always figured that if it did tell a consistent story that it was one that was a least 100 years. The Imperials, Imperial Guard, and Imperial Armada factions all representing different governments. The 97 line also ended with the Pirate society more or less being defeated. Whatever treasure the Islanders had could have been the motivation for the sailors leaving the Lego mainland (We never got the Europa line, which depicted what was going on 400ish years post Castle). I have had the whole story in my head that whatever magical items Majisto used to conjure dragons somehow lead to a societal collapse at the hands of the Fright Knights. The society that rebuilt it self in the ashes only heard of magic in legend and few knew much about it and doubted its existence. The magical gems Majisto used were rediscovered again and the Europa society sent ships to go look for them, which then resulted in the Pirates story line as the Islanders had them. This would also be how the Monster Fighters and other factions had powerful gems in their storyline and I figure that this went all over to Classic space who were searching the galaxy for these gems, and Aquazone who were finding some version of them at the bottom of the ocean.

[@plushiesdx]

LoreEscape has a very interesting timeline. A lot of the placements of events are not where you would expect. "if it did tell a consistent story that it was one that was a least 100 years" funnily enough, a lot of sources have pirates taking place over all kinds of time periods, which would make it longer than 100 years

[@Joaquim-uv3cz]

Excellent video. I also think that you read my post on the Classic Pirates Eurobricks Forum, "[Investigation] Who is the Captain Ironhook?", which makes me happy. A few comments: - With a bit of investigation, it is clear and beyond any doubt that Ironhook and Roger Red Beard are two different characters, as you correctly pointed. I must add that they have not the same face: originally Roger is redheaded, and Ironhook has brown hair. At least, that was the case at the beginning (1992, 1993 and 1994). - It is also true that Lego has never been clear with Lego Pirates Lore. This lore expanded in a disorganized way, with some differences depending on the countries. So now, we have to do a reconstruction. - As I said before, Ironhook and Roger are different characters and there is no discussion, but to be honest, Lego could have done a better distinction regarding the flags and stuff. - It is really cool to realize that in 1994 and 1995, Lego Pirates had four different and complete factions. - Your theory about Ironhook downfall is just a theory, but I really love it. Congratulations! - Regarding Jake the Snake Blake from 1996' Red Beard Runner. To me, it is clear that is some kind of an Ironhook version. I can't prove it, but it seems pretty obvious to me. Despite the magic "wooden leg issue", it looks like Lego wanted us to give a new version of Ironhook. Now, that is just a theory: maybe Ironhook returned to Roger's crew after his defeat but, obviously, he wasn't allowed to use the captain's bicorn.

[@LeoMidori]

I think the implication is that whatever Ironhook's forces were, they were somewhat on the ragtag, highly improvised and relatively poorly armed side. The biggest ship Ironhook had was Renegade Runner, but otherwise everything else were rowboats, and the Raft Raider, a literal rigged and sail equipped raft likely used to break away from Redbeard. Sure, they had cannons on small islands, but without ships to use them to assault with, manpower to force down the Islanders, or small but fast and maneuverable boats to get away from the canoes and catamarans, the only option for Ironhook getting any treasure were stealth or other forms of subterfuge.

[@Joaquim-uv3cz]

That is an awesome comment!

[@crisfrey2753]

lol, the build up in this video was getting me anxious but the video delivers. I like that these sets are vague enough to let you use your imagination but also let you follow the story if you pay close attention like you did. I had 2 islander minifigs as a kid I think, they came in tiny impulse sets my dad bought cause they had a discount by mistake that day. Nice to see them kicking butt against the pirates.

[@scottdavis_34]

One thing is for certain, never underestimate King Kahuka! I believe he still lives! haha Thanks Ritchie! : )

[@OurToyWorld]

You said it perfectly Scott! Thanks for your support throughout this series. I hope this Islanders retrospect lived up to your expectations man :) - I know you're a big King Kahuka fan.

[@ironrex6979]

Dude I loved that figure so much, when I was a kid, just because of the badass mask

[@AcManoloxkasha]

Another Dark Theory about the Vanishing of The Islanders is that some Version of Spanish Conquistadors (Spanish Armada) Killed them which explains why Roger attacks them to recover the treasure.

[@Tupiaz]

Captain Redbeard and Captain Iron Hook where rivals. Japanese comercial confirms this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rWOvaKiQjtaHe6M Captain Iron Hook was captain on the ship renegade runner. Renegade could naturally just mean being a pirate. However, it could also meant being a renegade from Captain Redbeard's old crew. The reason for the small boats where several reasons. 1. Production cost keep the price down and have som easy playability. 2. Captain Iron Hook already had a large ship (even though it was smaller than Redbeard). However, having a cheaper large pirate ship was good set for people who couldn't afford spent money on the biggest pirate ship. I don't really see the support for Redbeard and King Kahuka being allies. Lego simply just had a new pirate fraction which where both enemies to Redbeard, the islanders, Imperial Guards and Soldiers.

[@stud_sidious]

I would love to see what LEGO could do with Islanders sets today using updated parts & new figs. We got a small taste in the Pirates of the Caribbean sets that had figures of the tribes that lived on castaway islands. Those figures were great. BTW Richie I bought the lego house large buildable Red Beard set on ebay & the build experience was awesome. Way better techniques than the large h potter fig sets. You should get it. It's worth the exclusive set price.

[@AydenTheCarrot]

I’m buying it at The LEGO House when I go to Denmark in August! I already have a display case and a shelf ready to go!

[@stud_sidious]

@@AydenTheCarrot it was a fun build.

[@cheng3580]

There was one lego updated lego islander in the minifigures line

[@riverstambaugh11]

I’d love a revisit of pirates in general! An in-house theme with multiple runs and factions would be amazing. Just picked up the eldorado fortress.

[@defensivekobra3873]

A bit questionable if "strange primitive natives that may or may not eat people" would fly nowadays, could easily come off as distasteful, dissrespectful or offensive. That said, should they include them in future sets, it'd be neat to see official depictions of islanders with guns. Historically, various groups getting access to firearms via trade from outsiders and promptly using them, sometimes in conjuction with their existing weapons, is really common, and it'd look dope to see an islander with a spear in one hand and a gun in the other fighting imperials. (Ofc that's technically possible already you can do as you please with your own minifigs in just the same manner as i can give king kahuka a lightsaber and a hot dog, but an official depiction would be neat)

[@GailitisPrintmaking]

Islanders would be an amazing Lego re-make!

[@mrzipper0509]

I'm surprised that lego battles was not mentioned once. Spoilers for lego battles below. in the game islanders were the ally faction for pirates in their story and they were shown to be great friends as the pirates were shown helping the islanders defend their land from imperials (also know as bluecoats) and 2 pirates also just walked into islanders camp and after friendly fist bump they helped the pirates read a piece of treasure map, later on king kahuka got imprisoned by the imperials but was saved by brickbeard and his crew. It is shown that the reason why imperials attacked the islanders was in effort to save a captured ninja master and make allience with the ninjas to hunt down brickbeard (it is also possible that they had alternative motives, likely the fact that islanders were helping the pirates). It could be asumed that depending which side wins the others ally would be wiped out. The wiki states that if brickbeard wins the ninjas could be wiped out, however islanders are just said to be the most trusted allies of pirates ond would do anything to defend their home lands and kahuka.

[@mike.94]

I would never connect Ninja with a pirate theme, but you can be right

[@Thunder-Ghost]

Not sure if this count but in the LEGO Battles game for the Nintendo DS the Islanders was fighting with the pirates against the Imperials and the ninjas I think that was Captain Brickbeards crew tho but King Kahuka himself was there and you could use him in some of the missions

[@AydenTheCarrot]

I love this series, thank you so much for making it! Also, in the lore, Redbeard and King Kahuka are friends. Ironhook is an enemy to both of them. I like your theory about Redbeard’s new crew relating to Ironhook making them join his side only to be killed by the islanders, I am going to incorporate that into my lore. One more thing to add onto that, I think that Ironhook was captured by King Kahuka in Treasure Chest and he gave up fighting and joined Redbeard’s crew in the Redbeard runner. I could go on for a while about all the lore I have gathered and pieces together, and this was the last thing I needed to have a good, complete story!

[@GrievousDu38]

What about the LEGO Battles DS game? Could it be canon?

[@brickmanusa]

Another week another great video! Keep it up homie!🔥🐐

[@AbsolutelyJason]

Yes! ❤

[@wouters1180]

The real dark truth is that the islanders probably ate them😂

[@Masterchief_Tito]

I do really hope that the pirates, western and knight theme will be revived soon. And yes. As a part of gen Z, I can confrim that we WANT these sets. Since they released a set with the bluecoats, I think that they are soon going to release a set with the red coats then the islanders and then finally, the spaniards. And I also hope that a new faction gets added too. Maybe the swedish? Would be interesting to see the pirates fight in a different terrain than just the tropical jungles.

[@Flippotycoon4583]

Such a nostalgic set for me I remember having the big set with the bridge and statue ❤

[@fortcastellan1730]

The Islanders feel like a faction that we simply could not get today. Anyways, I enjoyed the faces: I used them as makeshift aliens in some of my Space-sets. (In the vein of Star Trek's aliens-are-just-people-with-funny-faces trope). And that looped-river baseplate that came with their home base still gets some use by my nieces to this day.

[@laurimaijala4984]

I came here with a heavy heart ready to learn about the racism in depiction of the Islanders. That might still be there but damn am I glad this was a lore video!

[@pr_nightmare]

Let’s go, new retrospective! I’ve been watching every episode eagerly so far!

[@OurToyWorld]

Thanks for the support! This comment made my day, glad to see people are enjoying this series :)

[@ZenobiaofPalmyra]

We must have critical support for the Islanders in their struggle against the Yakubian invaders.

[@imanj3446]

The Lego Battles Nintendo DS game features the islanders; possible additional lore there

[@danielwilliamson6180]

I've got a couple of old Islander minifigures. I always thought they were Aztec Warriors.

[@pedrofang17]

I'm not particularly into LEGO Pirates but I played a lot of LEGO Racers when I was a kid and hearing this story is interesting.

[@russell9870]

you make some great content but the black background with text is so distracting, it feels like the tik tok trend where you have a minecraft video playing to completely unrelated audio. It’s just unnecessary but it’s your content I just wanted to give some feedback, either way you earned a new sub great stuff!

[@StickManBlue721]

Hey nice video

[@OurToyWorld]

Thank you so much!

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

Despite being pretty racist, the Islanders are treated with a baffling level of decency at times. They're not brutal savages, they're actually pretty peaceful. They also didn't go for the "they're cannibals" or "they're all nature shaman" tropes. They feel like they're just trying to keep their own lands safe by any means necessary. They're having to face pirates and roving European navies all the time. Not exactly the best treatment, especially since it's implied a few times that the Islanders were wiped out, but not as bad is it could have been.

[@bavarianwolf3806]

everything is racist today, just delete everything release before 2010, lego, magic, Pokemon etc^^

[@johannesclips1685]

redbeard and the islanders have cutscenes toghether in the game lego battles were they become friends and so on

[@Natural.Static]

POV: Its 12:00am and you see this video, learning interesting Lego Lore.

[@OurToyWorld]

🤝🤝

[@MayoHosko]

I grew up with the islanders which is why I’m not as crazy about pirates as I should be. The lore about ironhook is way too confusing for me so I have my own head canon that he was an understudy to redbeard or he’s redbeards estranged brother. I don’t know which I’m more comfortable with

[@johnmurdoch8534]

I had the renegade runner and the catamaran set..i still do!

[@minerva-265]

Twin brother, look at the face. Is it not clear? LOL

[@simoncooper6752]

I'll never look at my childhood Lego the same way again.

[@johannr2658]

4:25 what is the name of this set? it looks like the skull's eye schoone on first thought but it has 2 Crossed Sabres on the front sail and the sails are ripped. it only has 2 cannons and the skull's eye schooner has 3. the skull's eye schooner also had 4 sails and a little one in the back.

[@blocksmithforge]

Maybe I missed it? No mention of the half buried Islander statue in the Barracuda Bay set? This surely must fit into the canon somehow. :)

[@OurToyWorld]

I brought it up at the end 😹

[@toafellha8130]

You might want to check out the two (german) audiobooks. Spoiler Alert: In the first Story Chief Quextil and Redbeard go against pirate 'Narben (Scars) Johnny' of the Seastar; the chief's son knows their language. In the end the islanders even save Redbeard's Crew from Admiral Woodhouse of the 'Sealion'. The rival pirates get incarcerated by the islanders and guarded by crocodiles. In the second story Redbeard and the Islanders go against Iron Hook who acquired the 'Silver-Island' while cheating at gambling with Redbeard. In the end the Islanders lure Iron Hook and his Crew with their gold into a quicksand trap. To escape, Iron Hook has to hand over the Island and as an example of the bond between the Islanders and Captain Redbeard, he returns them every piece of their stolen gold (after caressing it). (I don't know if the islanders appear in the pirate's book series or a time cruisers comic.)

[@The_normal_PIayer]

I like this video it’s really detailed

[@OurToyWorld]

Thanks for the support- hope You’re enjoying the LEGO Pirates Retrospect series!

[@openshutterfilms]

Great video

[@OurToyWorld]

Thank you, OpenShutterFilms!

[@gen_henry9836]

My headcanon was that the sets were simply released out of chronological order. Ironhook was the first mate while on Red Beard's Runner, but mutinied, became capitain of the Renegade Runner, while Redbeard got the Skull Eye's Schooner.

[@user-pz7ob8yt4u]

This video was looking way too deeply into these Lego sets I love it for that

[@sergevantrash2091]

So good. Love it. But what is going on at 5min16sec? Is that a hand holding up the pirate on the left or what?

[@Daniel_B_23]

Video I’ve been patiently waiting for! Awesome! Thank you so so much! Great video!

[@OurToyWorld]

Thanks for your support Daniel, I hope you're excited for what is still to come with this series!

[@Daniel_B_23]

@@OurToyWorld I am I’ll keep an eye out. Thank you.

[@Maniac4Bricks]

Fascinating observations, I'm liking these lore theory videos!

[@4713Caine]

I owned a few Islander sets. I was glad they decided to introduce the faction as it was a nice deviation from the standard ships and fortresses of the pirates and Soldiers/ImperialGuards. on another note, it would be cool if your theory about Redbeard being in Kahoots with Kahuka were true.

[@SamieCarvalho]

I loved the islanders line!

[@chucksucks8640]

How come we don't have any stories where the islanders attack the innocent europeans and behead them? That sounds like a great story to play out with the sets.

[@MilochGarcia-fg4pi]

I'm pretty sure there's an old Lego commercial where red beard and iron hook are fighting over a treasure chest then it all falls in the water. It might have been a Japanese commercial.

[@OurToyWorld]

I know which one you're talking about! I meant to include it in this video but forgot to- I think it's from an advertisement that includes the Imperial Guards as well.

[@OsirusIrdia]

🎵I'm an Island Boy🎵

[@OurToyWorld]

Nooooooo

[@MikeyJProductions]

Fantastic videos man, I have enjoyed this series. It's also nice to see someone else that knows and is interested in Pirates lore.

[@OurToyWorld]

Thanks for the support MikeyJ! That compliment means a lot :)

[@MikeyJProductions]

@@OurToyWorld 👍👍

[@detroit_toyhunter74]

Such depth to some of my favourite sets as a kid.....this is awesome!!! thank you

[@OurToyWorld]

Of course, any other themes you’d like to see me cover

[@MomentsOftheMagic]

wonderful video! great to learn about the back stories of these sets

[@sonofeyeabovealleffoff5462]

I never saw the islanders as problematic as a kid. I thought they were awesome. I even built them stuff like sacrifice pits and made massive hodge-podge scavenged pieces of ships for their boats.

[@forodinssake9570]

They're honestly not that problematic, especially for the 90's, they even have catamarans which are awesome

[@SonySteals]

It’s obviously the same pirate, just in stranded scenario. That’s why he only appeared in one small set.

[@Starwarsfearsome]

Love the sunset artwork, sad lego artwork on sets isn’t as good anymore

[@OurToyWorld]

So much better than box art today

[@AbsolutelyJason]

Interesting theory! I really enjoyed the Islanders when I was growing up. Fun sets!

[@Shanetronic]

Just saying but Ninjago has a sub theme of islanders as well, They bare mini resemblance to 1 another, Who's to say they didn't travel ninjago, 🤔

[@shaunw9092]

Haha when I was a kid (I still have these sets) I just thought it was another costume for Red Beard. Perhaps a greater lore question is are the Islanders Caribbean Natives or Polynesians? I always thought it was the latter.

[@jeythecount6546]

Visually they look NOTHING like the actual native inhabitants of the Caribbean. Instead, they indeed look like people of the wider Polynesia. Which makes no sense, they shouldn't be there at all.

[@Komicklepto]

I thought that as well, I didn't realise until now that Ironhook and Redbeard were two different characters!

[@smartistepicness]

The title of the video made me think that this video was going to be about how they were discontinued for looking stereotypical. I didn’t expect a deep dive into lego pirate lore.

[@OurToyWorld]

Hope you were pleasantly surprised!

[@smartistepicness]

@@OurToyWorld I was. Thank you.

[@Nerdtendo6366]

Shoutout to my friend that traded me some Ninjago mini figures for a Clone, a 501st Clone Pilot helmet, and the islander torso with the cleavage

[@OurToyWorld]

That’s an awesome haul

[@mrsamaritan6881]

The most wide spread opinion by LEGO Pirate fans is that "Ironhook" is just Redbeard in his casual clothes and sometimes using a false name.

[@jaxbricksproductions]

Very nice video!

[@JanoschNr1]

So for you Theory = Truth ...

[@MightyMoriar]

They were dope back in the day

[@bendiv7999]

What if ironhook is Just the Name the islanders gave their oppontent by bis appearence ( an Iron Hook hand )

[@keshavraman7739]

Read beard is the Islander king!!

[@theannguyen2100]

Here is another dark truth: Look at the islanders' gold coins, which are bright, flashy and numbered - like they were made in Europe, you can easily guess that those gold were not mined and forged by the islanders themselves, but were stolen from, possibly, other european ships.

[@keshavraman7739]

They deserve it!!!

[@brenlc1412]

Are you going to talk about the Imperial Armada?

[@OurToyWorld]

Yes! Should be coming out this week or the week after. Hope you're excited.

[@alistercook5066]

Leave my islanders alone I'm army building them I have over 700 now 😂

[@aqa2866]

there was a story ? :O XD

[@user-wi2ns5tf3y]

I’m back!

[@riccardoromano6619]

Fallout lore? Star wars lore? Nah, LEGO LORE😂😂

[@OurToyWorld]

Best kind of lore there is.

[@ScreenHackTV]

Islanders are not politically correct . That's why they're long gone.

[@user-ue7nw5tv4e]

The dark truth isn't just... the blatant racism of this sub-theme?

[@pixelfille3130]

I have been wondering this, how is it racist?

[@monopalle5768]

I can't tell if the world is serious about reading into lego pirate lore, or this is commentary on the over-reach of political correctness.

[@boobiesbutts4295]

They also appear in the lego Racers game on the 64.

[@MusicForMyDemons]

ssss

[@fuckyomamafuckyosisterfuck6136]

They are savages