While the first round of Ninjago was interesting (and the franchise was still finding its feet. Bless them for those first four dragon builds, though. They were so different and interesting) ... I feel like, for me, the snakes was when the whole Ninjago concept just really solidified.

I loved the concept of the villains rogue gallery, so I remember, between the sets, Bricklink and eBay, I successfully tracked down all 16, and was pretty proud of myself for it, too.

I wonder if Zack Snyder saw this and that's what prompted his idea for the Batmobile. Or maybe it was the concept artist or whatever. Not really a fan of that kind of Batmobile. I get it, it's after 20+ years of crimefighting, but it's a bit too custom and the Batmobile works best the more carlike it is with only a few extra flourishes. And then there's the Tumbler... Not a Batmobile, but they do give a reason for its existence, so I'm satisfied.

Oh right, this is about Ninjago. Uh... 0/10 doesn't come with a piece of cake for Cole.

I loved Ninjago in its early days, up until I grew out of it around 2015-16. I quite like the look of this; it's clear they went with some Batmobile vibes.

yes, finally some more ninjago being on the sotd, this set is very good and I wish they made a legacy remake, it deserved one

It's kind of crazy that this set would still work if it came out today.

The ZX Ninja are really neat minifigures, Zane has been one of my favorites ever since I got him back then even through my dark ages

Semi Quick Lore!

Long ago the First Spinjitzu Master forged the Four Golden Weapons in the land of Ninjago, and used them to shape Ninjago how he wished. Among these was the Scythe of Quakes, and the Golden Weapons collectively had many strange powers.

Many years later the Serpentine became inhabitants of Ninjago. Among their tribes were the Hypnobrai, blue snakes capable of hypnotizing others. Around 30-40 years before the advents of the show, the Serpentine War took place. After this conflict the five Serpentine tribes were separated and sealed in underground tombs.

During the Pilot of Ninjago, our heroes recovered the Four Golden Weapons. Cole, the Ninja of Earth, claimed the Scythe of Quakes.

Sometime after, Lloyd Garmadon, son of Lord Garmadon, attempted to free the Serpentine and use them to take over Ninjago. The first tribe he discovered were the Hypnobrai. Lloyd accidently hypnotized the leader of the Hypnobrai into doing his bidding. The tribe's second in command, Skales, grew sick of working for a child and challenged General Slithera to a duel for control of the tribe. Skales won and became General Skales.

Sometime after the Serpentine were released, Master Wu taught the Ninja a new ability of the Golden Weapons. If the user could maintain focus and confidence, they could use the weapons to manifest elemental vehicles to help them travel. (Or, I suppose a more accurate description would be the weapons turned INTO vehicles.) Cole used the Scythe of Quakes to create this four wheeled, all terrain vehicle. While I don't believe this feature was ever used in the show, the vehicle could even flip upside-down and rotate the cockpit to reveal a green underbelly --- perhaps the Serpentine would mistake this vehicle for one of their own!

Oh also that staff with the cobra head and blue gem is a sort of badge of office for the leader of the Hypnobrai. It has an antivenom that can undo Hypnobrai hypnosis. You're not getting Cole's lore tonight, just the car and the snake.

@MCLegoboy:
I rather like Snyder’s take on the Batmobile, though I admit the second version with the gun taking up the right side of the cockpit is a bit much. I also like Burton’s, Nolan’s, and Reeves’ versions. There are some good takes in post-Burton animation and video games, and there’s a really cool roadster version that was built as a promotional piece right before anyone had ever heard of Adam West.

@TheOtherMike:
The tires have treads, and this assaults them.

Ah, the good old days when Lego didn’t feel the need to throw in a Kai minifigure to sell a Cole set.

Given how painful it can be to step on, isn’t all Lego a tread assault, really?

The star here in this set was definitely Skales (until one of the children took that figure with him to school and managed to lose it... :-( )

@MCLegoboy said:
"I wonder if Zack Snyder saw this and that's what prompted his idea for the Batmobile. Or maybe it was the concept artist or whatever."
Funny you should say that. A couple of years after this set was released, I modded the vehicle to make a Batmobile. So if Zack Snyder or a concept artist drew inspiration for the Batmobile from this set, they were not alone :~)

Fun fact: in the penultimate episode of the first season cole fights Skales in the Serpentine Train. Instead of fighting fair he summons this vehicle and just launches the rocket at the Hypnobrai general, defeating him. Technically this set depicts that scene.
Never use a staff in a vehicle rocket fight?

I wasn't into the vehicles from the season all that much (except for the outstanding Samurai Mech), but it sure is nostalgic to see Cole's first (non-dragon) vehicle. To think that in 2011 the Ninja only had 'traditional' builds like monastaries, dragons etc. only for the 2012 to do a 180 on that. If only we knew how much more would come after...

@GSR_MataNui said:
"Semi Quick Lore!

Long ago the First Spinjitzu Master forged the Four Golden Weapons in the land of Ninjago, and used them to shape Ninjago how he wished. Among these was the Scythe of Quakes, and the Golden Weapons collectively had many strange powers.

Many years later the Serpentine became inhabitants of Ninjago. Among their tribes were the Hypnobrai, blue snakes capable of hypnotizing others. Around 30-40 years before the advents of the show, the Serpentine War took place. After this conflict the five Serpentine tribes were separated and sealed in underground tombs.

During the Pilot of Ninjago, our heroes recovered the Four Golden Weapons. Cole, the Ninja of Earth, claimed the Scythe of Quakes.

Sometime after, Lloyd Garmadon, son of Lord Garmadon, attempted to free the Serpentine and use them to take over Ninjago. The first tribe he discovered were the Hypnobrai. Lloyd accidently hypnotized the leader of the Hypnobrai into doing his bidding. The tribe's second in command, Skales, grew sick of working for a child and challenged General Slithera to a duel for control of the tribe. Skales won and became General Skales.

Sometime after the Serpentine were released, Master Wu taught the Ninja a new ability of the Golden Weapons. If the user could maintain focus and confidence, they could use the weapons to manifest elemental vehicles to help them travel. (Or, I suppose a more accurate description would be the weapons turned INTO vehicles.) Cole used the Scythe of Quakes to create this four wheeled, all terrain vehicle. While I don't believe this feature was ever used in the show, the vehicle could even flip upside-down and rotate the cockpit to reveal a green underbelly --- perhaps the Serpentine would mistake this vehicle for one of their own!

Oh also that staff with the cobra head and blue gem is a sort of badge of office for the leader of the Hypnobrai. It has an antivenom that can undo Hypnobrai hypnosis. You're not getting Cole's lore tonight, just the car and the snake. "

He does Ninjago lore now too!