Wu's Academy[1][2] (formerly Darkley's Boarding School for Bad Boys, then Darkley's Boarding School for Great Children) was a school near Ninjago City that taught its students the ways of villainy, shaping them into the next generation of evil overlords.
Eventually, the school taught the students the ways of good rather than evil, causing the students to revolt against the school. For a brief time after the Final Battle, Darkley's was run by Master Wu before he retired. The students were also taught how to learn Spinjitzu.[3]
Misako dropped off her son, Lloyd, at Darkley's in hopes of protecting him while she studied the prophecy for the Final Battle, having anticipated his destiny as the Green Ninja and hoping to avert it.[4] Growing up in the school, Lloyd became a rather incompetent, if an aspiring, student, often running off to pull harmless pranks that he pretended were acts of villainy.
Eventually, after being bullied by another student named Finn,[5] Lloyd was kicked out of the school due to his lack of skill. At some point, Kruncha and Nuckal became substitute teachers.[6]
When Lloyd first met Pythor, Pythor questioned why he ran away from the boarding school, in which Lloyd told him that he was actually kicked out for "lacking the immoral ambition of becoming one of tomorrow's masterminds." Pythor deceptively told Lloyd that he never should have intended to go to that school in the first place, and they should seek out vengeance instead. Manipulated, Lloyd agreed, and together the two ambushed the school, holding all of the students and staff members hostage, rigging the building with traps in anticipation of the ninja. The ninja, wary of their attacks, used the anchor of the Destiny's Bounty to drop through the roof and all of the floors, before making their way up, freeing the students and teachers and confronting the duo on the rooftop. Deciding Lloyd had lost his use, Pythor promptly stole the Map of Dens and escaped.
Sometime afterward, the school eventually underwent several extensive reforms, being changed to instead teach goodness as a result of unknown circumstances. Enraged, the staff quit in protest, resulting in Noble and several others replacing them.
The ninja received a letter informing them that their last visit to the school had turned the students good and that Lloyd was invited to get an honorary degree. However, upon arriving, the ninja found out that Gene, Brad Tudabone, and the other kids at the school had overthrown the new teachers and taken them hostage, hoping to "undo the damage" that Lloyd had done to himself and the school's reputation by becoming good. When the evil ninja arrived at the school, at first the students wanted to help them, but they ended up deciding to team up with Lloyd and help the ninja defeat their evil counterparts instead. The students were successful in aiding them by disguising themselves as the ninja to confuse the evil ninja, and the staff was freed, reconciling with the children and settling their differences.
Following the Overlord's initial defeat at Lloyd's hands, Noble went on to become a warden at Kryptarium Prison, and Master Wu took possession of the school and renamed it "Wu's Academy." The ninja, with the exception of the school's former student Lloyd, became staff members alongside Dareth and Nya.
Although the school did well, it became clear that the four ninja did not enjoy their job: the students were undisciplined, and the teachers barely received any respect (Zane at one point was forcibly controlled by Brad thanks to an Ultra-Remote from New Ninjago City). Later, the students were invited to go on a field trip to Borg Industries, but when the Overlord returned to wreak havoc, the students were evacuated back to the school by Nya, who frantically searched for Lloyd, only to come across a lounging Dareth instead.
Following the loss of Zane and the temporary split-up of the ninja team, Nya went back to the academy, hoping to resume teaching.
At one point, Kai visited the school to see Nya, but he rejected the idea of resuming teaching without the other ninja. After talking with Nya, Kai saw a flyer for the Ninjago Ice Rink on the school's bulletin board, which inspired him to get a job at the ice rink.
Weeks later, Lloyd visited the academy to ask Nya about Kai's whereabouts.
Originally, Darkley's was a boys-only school, but after Wu took over, girls were allowed to attend his academy.
According to Tommy Andreasen, the school was closed down after the Nindroid crisis due to its students being endangered.[7] However, it was open in A Team Divided, which takes place after the Nindroid crisis. Coupled with the fact that students wearing their uniforms are seen several times throughout the following seasons, it can be assumed that the school did remain open, at least for some time.
Similar building in The Hands of Time's opening and credits
A building similar to this one is seen in the opening and closing credits of Season 7: The Hands of Time, with its color scheme resembling the school's concept art, but it is not the same building.[8]
The school has been named various ways throughout different media:
It's called "Sensei Wu's Academy" in Season 3 but simply "Wu's Academy" in the Dark Island Trilogy, Part 2 Episode Guide page for "The Surge" and on LEGO.com,[2] as the term "Sensei" had since been replaced by "Master." Seeing as there was an image of the "Sensei Wu's Academy" sign on the same page in the Episode Guide, this name may have been used instead of "Master Wu's Academy," at least in that case, to avoid having the page contradict itself.
Tommy Andreasen's early notes for Chamille, the Elemental Master of Form, included that she at one point took the disguise of a 10-year-old student named "Mikey Glover" to learn the ways of the truly despicable at Darkley's but left when it became a school for Great Children.[10]
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.jpg "Boarding School for Bad Boys (Concept Art).jpg (171 KB)")
