Hypnobrai hypnosis

“Lloyd thought back to his encounters with the Hypnobrai all those years ago. Eyes are said to be the window of the soul, and he clearly remembered seeing souls suppressed in the eyes of those who fell to their hypnotic gaze.”

— Narration, The Splinter in the Blind Man's Eye, Chapter 13

Hypnobrai hypnosis^[1] is the special ability of the Hypnobrai tribe. It enables them to take control of a target's mind by making eye contact for a certain period of time.

History

History[]

Rise of the Snakes[]

When Lloyd accidentally opened the Hypnobrai Tomb, Slithraa emerged and attempted to hypnotize him. However, Lloyd slipped on the icy floor and fell out of the path of Slithraa's gaze, causing the Serpentine general to see his own reflection in an ice stalagmite and inadvertently hypnotize himself instead. This allowed Lloyd to take control of the Hypnobrai.

Later, when Lloyd commanded the Hypnobrai to raid Jamanakai Village of their candy, the Serpentine hypnotized the villagers into aiding them. When the ninja arrived, Cole retrieved the Hypnobrai Staff from Slithraa, only to be hypnotized by Skales. Due to Nya's interference, Skales was unable to issue any commands to his newest victim at the time, but the hypnotic effects would remain within the Black Ninja even after the Hypnobrai retreated and the ninja proceeded to cure the hypnotized villagers with the Hypnobrai Staff's anti-venom.

Home[]

Using his hypnotic hold over Cole, Skales was able to see through the ninja's eyes, learning the location of the Hypnobrai Staff in the Monastery of Spinjitzu. When the ninja attacked Lloyd's treehouse fortress in Wildwood Forest, Skales noticed Cole and enforced his hypnosis, commanding Cole to fight his teammates. The battle gave the Serpentine time to escape and head for the Monastery of Spinjitzu, where they retrieved the Hypnobrai Staff and burned the place to the ground. Before Cole could bring down the fortress with the ninja still on it, Master Wu arrived on Flame, playing the Sacred Flute and breaking Skales's control over his pupil.

During Skales and Slithraa's Slither Pit battle, Slithraa attempted to hypnotize his treacherous subordinate, only for Skales to interrupt him with attack. After Skales defeated Slithraa, he used his new authority to force Slithraa to obey him, effectively undoing the effects of his self-inflicted hypnosis.

All of Nothing[]

When the ninja raided the Serpentine's underground fortress, Skales attempted to hypnotize Kai. However, Kai countered the technique by closing his eyes and performing Spinjitzu, knocking away the Hypnobrai around him without making eye contact.

Season 2: Legacy of the Green Ninja[]

Ninjaball Run[]

In an attempt to stop the ninja from refueling the Ultra Sonic Raider mid-race, Lord Garmadon sent a group of Serpentine to attack the ninja directly. Zane faced off with a Hypnobrai Scout on top of the Raider and turned his head 180 degrees to avoid the snake's hypnotism attempt.

Effects

Effects[]

Through hypnosis, Hypnobrai can control their victims' minds and actions. Victims retain much of their personalities but twisted to serve the Hypnobrai's ends. Hypnosis victims develop red eyes with dark red spirals, somewhat resembling the eyes of a Hypnobrai Serpentine.
Hypnotized victims can become sleeper agents, with the effects of the hypnosis in a dormant state. In this state, the Hypnobrai who hypnotized them can see through their eyes at will, and the Hypnobrai Staff's anti-venom cannot cure them. At any time, the Hypnobrai can "activate" the hypnosis within a sleeper agent, at which point they act like any other victim of the hypnosis.

Known users

Known users[]

Known victims

Known victims[]

Lloyd (resisted)
Slithraa (self-inflicted)
Jamanakai Villagers
Cole
Jay^[4] (non-canon)
Kai (resisted)
Zane (resisted)
Gus (non-canon)
Mrs. Abel (non-canon)
Mr. Abel (non-canon)
Skales Jr. (self-inflicted)
Serpentine tribes^[5] (non-canon)

Appearances

Appearances[]

Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu[]

Season 1: Rise of the Snakes[]

1. "Rise of the Snakes"
2. "Home"
4. "Never Trust a Snake" (mentioned)
11. "All of Nothing"

Season 2: Legacy of the Green Ninja[]

17. "Ninjaball Run"

Ninjago Magazine[]

30. "Techno Clash!" (victim)

Ninjago: Legacy Magazine[]

10. "It's On Like Comic Con!"
40. "Revenge of the Snakes" (non-canon)

Books[]

Rise of the Serpentine (non-canon)
The Splinter in the Blind Man's Eye (mentioned)
Strike of the Serpentine (mentioned)

Trivia

Trivia[]

The Hypnobrai hypnosis is loosely based on the Indian cobra's ability to confuse its natural enemy with a hood mark of "spectacles" at the back of its head.
The Hypnobrai hypnosis seems to be combined with Lightning on the art for Card 65 - Hypno Charge.
It is unknown if the Hypnobrai still use their hypnotism, as they began a new age of peace with the rest of the Serpentine.
Hypnobrai can be affected by their own hypnotism, as seen in "Rise of the Snakes".
The ability to see through the victim's eyes is similar to Zane's Falcon Vision ability.
Unlike the other Hypnobrai, SsssSsss Underwood, current-day Aspheera and Spitz don't have black stripes on their eyes, and coincidentally, none of them uses hypnosis.
The idea that Benton was manipulated by Hypnobrai hypnosis to fight against Elemental Alliance was first suggested by Tommy Andreasen on X in 2016^[6] and later stated in Chapter 13 of The Splinter in the Blind Man's Eye in 2022. However, the betrayal was later revealed in Strike of the Serpentine to be caused by Clouse's Dark Magic.
Despite the fact that Hypnobrai hypnosis has not actually been used on-screen since "Ninjaball Run," in Season 1 of Dragons Rising episode, "Crossroads Carnival," the character Mikloshe, who is a person-charmer, appears. In this activity, Mikloshe uses a flute to hypnotize humans.