Serpentine generals

History[]

Background[]

Serpentine Generals serve as the leaders of their respective tribes. With the exception of the Anacondrai, each tribe has only one general who is physically distinguishable from other members of the tribe thanks to the presence of a tail instead of legs. For the Anacondrai, generals had green gems adorning their heads and chest while lower ranking members had blue or purple gems instead. Tribe generals also generally carried golden staves which served as their badge of office and was widely recognized throughout their tribe as an important symbol of their status.

Lower ranked tribe members could rise to the rank of general by challenging and defeating their respective tribe's general in a Slither Pit match, where afterwards, their legs would fuse together into a tail while the now deposed, former general would lose their tail and gain legs in its place.

Rise of the Snakes[]

Following the Search for the Golden Weapons, the five tribe generals were: Slithraa of the Hypnobrai; Fangtom of the Fangpyre; Skalidor of the Constrictai; Acidicus of the Venomari; and Pythor, the last surviving Anacondrai, by default. The Hypnobrai would be released from their tomb by Lloyd after stumbling upon it in the Glacier Barrens. Within the tomb, he encountered Slithraa who attempted to hypnotize the boy, but instead wound up hypnotizing himself and falling under the boy's control. Under Lloyd's command, the Hypnobrai proceeded to commit various acts on his orders, such as stealing candy and constructing a treehouse for him. Ultimately, these menial actions greatly displeased Skales, a warrior ranked Hypnobrai, prompting him to challenge and defeat Slithraa in combat, becoming the new general of his tribe in the process.

After being exiled by Skales, Lloyd made his way to the Fangpyre Tomb inside the Cemetery of Souls. Grateful for their release, Fangtom pledged his tribe's allegiance to the boy and assisted him in his desire for revenge against the Ninja and the Hypnobrai. However, Fangtom and his tribe would turn on Lloyd as well after discovering that Skales, a long time friend of Fangtom's, was now the general of the Hypnobrai.

Greatly displeased by being betrayed by yet another Serpentine tribe, Lloyd sought out the dreaded Anacondrai, having noted the fear in Skales' voice from merely mentioning their name. Unfortunately, rather than another army of snakes, all Lloyd discovered within their tomb were piles upon piles of their skeletal remains. The Anacondrai were long gone. Just as hope seemed all but lost however, Pythor, the sole surviving member of his tribe, revealed himself to Lloyd and offered his servitude in gratitude for being released from his imprisonment. Unbeknownst to Lloyd however, Pythor's fidelity was nothing more than a ruse, for the cunning snake had noticed that the boy carried with him the Map of Dens, which Pythor intended to take for himself to unite all five tribes under his command and unleash the Great Devourer.

Bidding his time, Pythor continued to feign loyalty to Lloyd, assisting the boy in tormenting his former classmates at Darkley's School for Bad Boys and rigging the building with all manner of booby traps as they prepared for the arrival of the Ninja. In the ensuing skirmish, as the Ninja closed in on Pythor and Lloyd, Pythor revealed his true colors as he snatched the Map of Dens from Lloyd while using his invisibility to escape and leave Lloyd behind to his fate.

Sometime later, Pythor would use the Map of Dens to locate and free the Constrictai and Venomari, with the generals of both tribes pledging their allegiance to Pythor for their freedom. Knowing of their enemies' impending arrival, the two tribes and Pythor laid awaiting in ambush at the Toxic Bogs while Skalidor remained behind at the Constrictai Tomb should the Ninja arrive there first. Skalidor would ultimately encounter Zane and Cole prior to the Jay and Kai's arrival at the Toxic Bogs, briefly fighting against the pair before being knocked out by a strike to the chest from the end of the Scythe of Quakes. Meanwhile, Acidicus and Pythor awaited the Ninja's arrival to their trap, revealing themselves after successfully ambushing them and laughing as they watched their enemies impending demise within the acidic waters of the bogs. Unfortunately, the sudden arrival of a mysterious samurai would foil their plans, forcing the generals and their forces to flee.

All five tribe generals later gathered together inside of Ninjago City's subway system, where Pythor attempted to unite the tribes. After the Ninja's intervention however, the tribes scattered about in different places while Pythor and Skales worked to try again to reunite the tribes, spending a period of time digging in the Sea of Sand for the fabled City of Ouroboros.

One night, after successfully rediscovering the City of Ouroboros, Pythor invited the other three generals and their tribes in another attempt to unify them. To do so, Pythor challenged the four generals to combat for their staves and their allegiance, an action that angered the other generals, though Skales had secretly known of Pythor's plans ahead of time and schemed alongside him to rig the fight in Pythor's favor, providing him with the Sacred Flute that they had captured from the Ninja back at the Toxic Bogs. Using the flute, Pythor was able to easily subdue the other tribe generals, earning the allegiance of their respective tribes and successfully uniting the Serpentine. The generals would then assist Pythor the search for the Fangblades, notably coming into conflict with the Ninja within their underground fortress. After the release of the Great Devourer, however, during which Pythor wound up being one of her first victims, the other generals took refuge inside the Fangpyre tomb as they wondered about their future.

Legacy of the Green Ninja[]

The Serpentine gathered their followers at Crashcourse Canyon, where Skales proclaimed himself the new king of the Serpentine. Just then, Lord Garmadon arrived, attempting to persuade the Serpentine to join him as his new army. Skales objected, pointing out that Garmadon had previously fought alongside the ninja. Despite Skales' protests, Garmadon insisted that the Serpentine either serve him or perish. This ultimatum forced many of the Serpentine to align with Garmadon, while the generals chose to remain loyal to Skales.^[1]

To reclaim their army from Garmadon, the Serpentine generals executed a bank robbery to divert the attention of the ninja while Skales broke into the Hero's Suite to kidnap Lloyd. Their plan was to use Lloyd as leverage to force Garmadon into surrendering the Serpentine. Despite their efforts, the ninja intervened, successfully rescuing both Jay and Lloyd. Skales, however, was captured and imprisoned in the City Jail, while the other generals managed to escape.^[1] During this time, they allied with Garmadon as he attempted to use the Mega Weapon for the first time.^[2]

Eventually, the Serpentine generals orchestrated a breakout for Skales from the City Jail using the Charter Bus. Although they succeeded, they were pursued by the Ninjago Police and inadvertently caught up in the Ninjaball Run, which left them bewildered. To their surprise, they discovered that the police were more focused on winning the race than apprehending Skales, prompting the generals to also aim for victory. Unfortunately, their escape took a turn for the worse when the Serpentine Bus collided with most of the other vehicles, resulting in a massive traffic jam. Ultimately, the generals managed to extricate the bus from the wreckage and drove it to the finish line, where they met up with Garmadon and escaped.^[3]

Under Garmadon's command, the Serpentine generals, accompanied by a hesitant Skales, made their way to the Ninjago Museum of History. Garmadon intended to activate the Mega Weapon to bring a Grundle back to life, having it to the ninja. However, the plan appeared to unravel when the ninja showed up unexpectedly. In a rush, Garmadon fled the scene, while the Serpentine generals took the opportunity to snatch a golden sarcophagus. As the generals attempted to make their getaway through the sewers, they realized the sarcophagus was too large to fit through the manhole, forcing them to abandon it and escape without it.^[4]

After some time, the Serpentine generals organized a Slither Pit event when Garmadon unexpectedly showed up. He disclosed his plan to locate the Dark Island and planned to share the "untold power" associated with it to help him take over Ninjago, although he secretly planned to keep it for himself. The generals, despite Skales' irritation, agreed to ally with Garmadon on this mission. However, as they searched for the Dark Island using a Rattlercopter, their efforts proved fruitless. Frustrated with Garmadon, the generals turned against him, with Skales pushing him into the Endless Sea, and subsequently be proclaimed as the new Serpentine King.^[5]

Gallery[]

Rise of the Snakes[]

Season 2: Legacy of the Green Ninja[]

References[]