Zane

Zane is a protagonist in Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu. He is the white Ninja of Ice, a stoic man with no knowledge of his origins. In the episode Tick Tock, it is revealed that he is a robot, referred to as a "Nindroid" (a compound word combining "ninja" and "android"). He was chosen to protect the Green Ninja along with the other three Ninja.

Zane's Early Life
Zane was created by Dr. Julien in a small workshop in the depths of Birchwood Forest. He spent many happy years with Dr. Julien, who taught him skills such as cooking. During this time, Dr. Julien also built the Falcon to act as a companion for his artificial son, and the mechanical bird would continue to aid Zane throughout his life.

Eventually, Dr. Julien passed away from old age, with Zane at his side. On his death bed, Dr. Julien told the saddened Zane that he had a great destiny ahead of him, and that he had become the son Dr. Julien had never had. Expressing his love one more time, the dying inventor's final act was to turn off Zane's "Memory Switch", so his son would be spared the pain of heartbreak as he moved into the next stage of his life.

After being "reset", Zane went out into the world, believing himself to be an orphan. Sensei Wu found Zane meditating at the bottom of a frozen-over pond, and recruited him as a member of his team of Ninja, alongside Cole and Jay. He began training at the Monastery of Spinjitzu, gaining an affinity for Ice.

Way of the Ninja
Zane joined his comrades in attacking Kai as part of the latter's final test.

The Golden Weapon
After their fight with Kai, Cole, Jay, and Zane are revealed to be Sensei Wu's students as well. Sensei Wu performs Spinjitzu and changes the four Ninja into differently colored uniforms. Zane is the white Ninja of Ice. In the morning they go looking for the first Golden Weapon in The Caves Of Despair to find the Scythe Of Quakes. After they retrieve the Scythe and are leaving, Zane and the others are attacked by Samukai and his army. While fighting they unlock Spinjitzu and scare of the Skeleton army. After defeating them, they are faced with the Earth Dragon. Kai uses the Scythe to defeat the Dragon.

King of Shadows
After getting the Scythe, the Ninja set out to find the next three Golden Weapons. Traveling by boat, the Ninja are going to get the next weapon, the Shurikens of Ice. While on the boat, Sensei Wu tells the four about the Tornado of Creation and what it is capable of doing. When they get to the Frozen Wasteland, Zane goes and grabs the Shurikens, causing him to become frozen in a block of ice. By grabbing the Shurikens, he awakens the Ice Dragon. The other three Ninja lift Zane up and ride him out of the Frozen Wastelands to the boat. Their next stop was to get the Nunchucks of Lightning hidden at the Floating Ruins. When Jay grabbed the Nunchucks, the Lightning Dragon appeared. Using one of Jay's inventions, they escaped to the Forest of Tranquility. Sleeping in the Forest, Kai wake up to see Nya standing nearby and calling his name. She runs away to the Fire Temple with Kai running after her. Cole, Jay, and Zane all are captured by Skulkin, but soon escape using a sword Jay stole. With the three Golden Weapons in the Skulkin's possession, Cole, Jay and Zane try to stop them but are quickly thrown off their trail.

Weapons of Destiny
Cole, Jay, and Zane go to the Fire Temple to look for Kai and Sensei Wu, but Zane's sixth sense tells him they are not there. After Zane informs the others of the news, the Fire Temple opens up, revealing Kai and Nya on top of the Fire Dragon. After explaining to the Dragon that they are trying to protect the Golden Weapons, they became allies. Nya states that Dragons can cross into the Underworld, but Cole, having a fear of Dragons, claims there is not enough room for all of them on one Dragon, giving Kai the idea to recruit the three other Dragons. After they cross over to the Underworld, the four try to sneak past the Skeletons by using the stalactites from the ceiling, but they eventually find themselves grasping onto the legs of Spykor instead, causing them to fall and alerting the Skulkin of their presence. Seeing no way out of fighting all the Skulkin and Spykor, Jay says they should use the Tornado of Creation. The four Ninja defeat all the Skeletons and go to help Sensei Wu. The Ninja find Sensei Wu fighting Samukai and losing the battle. After Sensei Wu is defeated, Samukai betrays Lord Garmadon and takes all four Golden Weapons at once. The power of the weapons destroys Samukai and a portal opens up in his place, allowing Lord Garmadon to escape through it. Back at Four Weapons, Nya finds that all the Ninja are safe.

Flight of the Dragon Ninja
Sensei Wu had told the Ninja to train, but they decided to have a race with their Dragons instead. Jay was trying to convince them that he was the best out of the four of them since he won the last time they had raced. Zane said that they should be training to avoid angering Sensei Wu, but Kai convinces him to race by telling him that riding their Dragons was a form of training. Cole sets the terms of the competition, stating that whoever wins the race will be Dragon Master for a month and the group speeds off. Kai and Zane battle hand and hand for a little bit, before Zane takes the lead. The group approaches the "finish line" but Cole speeds across first by throwing a roasted chicken in front of Rocky's nose. Cole lands first, but Kai says they'll beat them tomorrow. Cole protests that they agreed winner would be Dragon Master for a month, but Zane claims not to remember agreeing to that statement.

Battle Between Brothers
One day, Zane noticed that Sensei Wu was wearing a new kimono. He complimented it as "most extraordinary", and learned that it had powers against evil - more importantly, it reminded Sensei Wu of the day Lord Garmadon was banished to the Underworld. After revealing details of his battle against his evil brother, Sensei Wu told Zane that there were many years of peace after Garmadon's downfall. On cue, Jay soared overhead on the back of the Lightning Dragon, and Zane quipped that those days seemed to be over.

Rise of the Snakes
Sensei Wu implores the Ninja to start training again to prepare for his brother's return to Ninjago, but ever since Lord Garmadon had disappeared, they have done nothing but play video games and waste time. Their meeting is interrupted by Nya, bringing word that Garmadon was spotted in Jamanakai Village. The out-of-shape Ninja then travel to Jamanakai Village to stop Lord Garmadon, only to find the sighting to be false and the fake Garmadon to be his son Lloyd Garmadon, who has escaped from Darkley's School for Bad Boys. Lloyd tries to terrorize the village and rob them of their candy, threatening to release the Serpentine on the villagers, but is instead run out of town by the Ninja. Afterwards, Kai discovers he has accidentally taken Sensei Wu's bag in the rush out of the Monastery, and finds a scroll that tells a prophecy of a ninja who will rise above the rest, becoming the Green Ninja and facing off against Lord Garmadon. The Ninja try to hold a tournament to find who is the best of them all, and thus proving which one will become the Green Ninja. Sensei Wu sees the presence of the Serpentine in his Spirit Smoke and quickly alerts the Ninja, who rush to the village and are able defeat the Hypnobrai. However, Skales hypnotizes Cole before fleeing the scene. After stealing the Hypnobrai Staff, Nya uses the anti-venom inside it to cure the villagers, but Cole remains under Skales's influence.

Home
With the Hypnobrai and Lloyd Garmadon still at large, Zane resumed training with his comrades, only to interrupt their individual training with his own regime. The other three Ninja began questioning Zane's "odd" behavior, despite Sensei Wu telling them that brothers are often quite different. After a mail delivery, Jay wondered why Zane never receives any letters from his parents, prompting Zane to reveal his past as an orphan. The reminder of his mysterious past left Zane in a mild depression, even after Sensei Wu told him that his home was the Monastery.

Zane made dinner for his friends that night, only to fail to understand their laughter when they saw his pink apron. In an attempt to make the Ninja of Ice laugh, Cole started a food fight, but Zane remained puzzled. As Zane went outside to take out the trash from dinner, he finds a falcon that mimics his every move, and is persuaded to follow him. The bird led him to Lloyd's Treehouse Fortress, in Wildwood Forest, prompting him to summon his fellow Ninja to the location the next morning.

After analyzing the structure, Kai decides that they should target the ropes holding the fortress up, and Zane joined Jay and Cole in moving to one of the trees with the support ropes. Zane cut his rope with Spinjitzu and rendezvoused with Kai and Jay on the roof, only for Cole to suddenly attack them (due to Skales' hypnosis).

As the fortress began crumbling beneath them, Zane suggested that Jay try to shock Cole out of the spell with the Nunchucks of Lightning, but the blast only fazed the brainwashed Ninja of Earth. Zane futilely pleaded with Cole as the latter prepared to sever the final support rope, but Sensei Wu breaks the spell with the music of a flute. Zane joined his comrades in jumping aboard Flame's back as the fortress fell apart completely, but the victory was soured when they returned to the Monastery and found it in flames.

After Cole freed the other dragons from their burning pens, Zane had Shard put out the fire. Realizing that the Hypnobrai had destroyed the Monastery while the Ninja were destroying Lloyd's fortress, the other Ninja blamed Zane for the destruction of their home. While Sensei Wu chastised his pupils for their rashness, Zane left astride his dragon for an unknown purpose.

The next day, Zane returned to the makeshift shelter his comrades had erected and explained that he was following the Falcon he had seen earlier, which led him to the Destiny's Bounty. As the Ninja celebrated their new home, Zane told Sensei Wu that he no longer needed to search for his family - it was right here, among the Ninja.

Snakebit
Jay's parents, Ed and Edna arrive at the ship to visit, much to Jay's annoyance. After being embarrassed multiple times by his mother, Jay ushers his parents back to their own home. Ed and Edna are bitten by the Fangpyre, while other members of the tribe infect vehicles in the yard for their own uses. The next day, Jay keeps his promise to his father and visits the junkyard with the others on foot, as the Ninja's Dragons migrated east to begin a transformation in their stage of life. When they arrive, the place is quiet. He finds Ed and Edna captive and beginning their transformation into Serpentine. While the Fangpyre fight the Ninja, Sensei Wu explains the only way to change Jay's parents back is to get the anti-venom from the Fangpyre Staff. After discovering their Golden Weapons have the ability to transform into vehicles, Jay uses his Storm Fighter plane to steal the staff from the Rattlecopter. Nya creates the anti-venom before accidentally losing the staff, and Ed fixes the defense system of the Destiny's Bounty that Jay was working on the day before, allowing them to take flight and escape the Fangpyre.

Never Trust a Snake
One night, Zane has a strange dream involving the Falcon speaking to him, Lord Garmadon attacking him aboard the Destiny's Bounty, and the Green Ninja appearing before him. The dream causes him to oversleep, and Zane tells the other Ninja about his dream when they question his uncharacteristic tardiness. Their excitement over the dream leaves them unable to focus, getting them in trouble with Sensei Wu. Their mentor punishes them by forcing them to train until they can answer his riddle about the best way to defeat an enemy.

Unable to think of the correct answer, the Ninja grudgingly accept their punishment. The moment Sensei Wu is out of earshot, however, Zane tells the other Ninja more about his dream. They all begin speculating over which one of them is the Green Ninja, with Zane pointing out that the Green Ninja's possession of the Falcon implies that it must be him.

The Ninja's training is interrupted when they are sent to Darkley's School for Bad Boys, where Lloyd was spotted with the Anacondrai General, Pythor P. Chumsworth. The Ninja are forced to climb to the top of the building, only for Zane and Kai to set off a booby trap that sticks them in place with goo. After Pythor betrays Lloyd by stealing the Map of Dens, the Ninja take the would-be-evil overlord into their custody. Zane joined his comrades in suggesting punishments to Sensei Wu, with Zane's contribution being that Lloyd "sit in a corner for a century."

To Zane (and the other Ninja)'s astonishment and fury, Sensei Wu reads Lloyd a bedtime story instead of punishing him for his mischief. When they go to complain to their sensei, he merely asks if they have finally solved his riddle, prompting the Ninja to protest that they've thought of everything without coming up with an answer. Finally, Sensei Wu reveals that the best way to defeat an enemy is "to make him your friend", causing the Ninja to realize that Lloyd is now being turned away from the path of evil.

Can of Worms
Lloyd's conversion to the side of good was not instantaneous, and the Ninja had to deal with a series of pranks from their new companion. Zane greeted Lloyd while taking out his laundry, only to learn that his outfit had been mixed with Kai's in the wash, turning his garments pink. He intially blamed Kai for the mishap, only to be accosted by Jay in turn, who claimed that Zane had tinkered with the Training Robot without his permission. The four-way argument was broken up by Sensei Wu, who revealed that Lloyd was behind all of the pranks and explained that this was a lesson on the destructive potential of rumors (although he admitted that he made that one up on the spot, since Lloyd had stolen his lesson book).

Zane was present for Nya's deduction of a pattern to the location of the Serpentine Tombs, allowing the Ninja to deploy to the last two in hopes of stopping Pythor from releasing the rest of his brethren. Zane and Cole were sent to the Mountain of a Million Steps in search of the Constrictai Tomb. Along the way, Zane had to endure Cole's quips about his pink gi, as well as the mild indignity of riding piggyback as the Ninja of Earth rapidly scaled the steep mountain. A short time later, they discovered the Constrictai's prison near the top of the mountain, only to find it seemingly empty.

While searching the tomb for the snakes, Zane discovered strange paintings on the walls. He told Cole that the drawings detailed a prophecy; when the five Serpentine tribes unite as one, they can find the Four Silver Fangblades and unleash the Great Devourer to consume all of Ninjgao. Before they could leave the tomb, the two ninja were attacked by Skalidor, who revealed that he had been waiting to ambush them ever since Pythor opened the tomb. Zane and Cole had difficulty fighting the Constrictai General, with their attempts to use the Sacred Flute stymied by Skalidor's choking coils, but Zane eventually managed to play the melody, leaving Skalidor open to an attack from Cole. With the General downed and their personal objective failed, Zane and Cole fled the tomb to reinforce their allies.

Unfortunately, the other pair's luck had been no better; by the time Zane reunited with his comrades in the Toxic Bogs, the Venomari Tomb was open and empty. The Ninja were then ambushed by the Constrictai (minus Skalidor), the Venomari (including General Acidicus), and Pythor himself. Heavily outnumbered - especially with Kai under the influence of Venomari Venom - Zane tried to use the Sacred Flute against the snakes, but Pythor snatched it out of his hands before he could weaken the surrounding Serpentine. Forced back onto a log sinking into the corrosive sludge of the bog, the Ninja were only saved by the arrival of the mysterious Samurai X.

Back on the Destiny's Bounty, Sensei Wu was relieved by his pupils' survival, but concerned by their failure to stop Pythor from freeing the rest of the Serpentine. His concerns were only compounded when Zane revealed the loss of the Sacred Flute and Cole mentioned the prophecy they found in the Constrictai Tomb; realizing that Pythor sought to fulfill the prophecy and unleash the Great Devourer, Sensei Wu sent the Ninja to find the Serpentine and prevent them from uniting. The Ninja immediately leaped into action, although Zane's outfit was still pink (much to his dismay).

Landing in Ninjago City with the help of his Snowmobile, Zane noted that the Serpentine were nowhere to be seen, despite the Ninja landing directly on their supposed coordinates. The Ninja soon realized the snakes were hiding in the subway tunnels below them, and came upon a massive gathering listening to Pythor's talk of unity. To disrupt the meeting, the Ninja threw insults among the crowd of Serpentine, with Zane commenting that the Constrictai's digging "must have given them dirt for brains".

Although the plan caused the snakes to begin arguing again, Skales spotted the Ninja and sent the Constrictai in pursuit. Only Zane escaped capture, and his pink outfit allowed him to camouflage himself against a poster when the Serpentine came looking for him. The Ninja of Ice then returned to the gathering and swung in on a rope, knocking Pythor and Skales aside and freeing his friends. With the full Serpentine army in pursuit, Zane used the Shurikens of Ice to freeze part of the tunnel, allowing the Ninja to escape on his Snowmobile while the snakes slipped and slid on the ice.

The Ninja returned to the Destiny's Bounty to report their success, with Zane commenting that Lloyd's prank had actually helped him avoid capture and save his friends. On cue, Lloyd arrived in the dining room, having washed the pink out of Zane's clothes, and the Ninja of Ice joined everyone else in laughing when Cole fell for the former would-be evil overlord's final prank.

Tick Tock
As part of his continued training, Zane decided to try and beat his old breath-holding record by sitting underwater while the others timed him. He sat for over ten minutes without any apparent fatigue before deciding to come up and check his time, learning that he had easily beaten his original record. As Zane climbed back aboard the Destiny's Bounty, Jay commented on how far all of them had come in their training, prompting Zane to suggest that they had reached their full potential.

The Ninja sought Sensei Wu's opinion on the matter, only to find him packing his things for a journey. Sensei Wu explained that they had yet to unlock their True Potential, and revealed some of his past with Lord Garmadon - specifically, how the latter's fall to evil began when he was bitten by the Great Devourer. The old master charged Zane and the others with preventing the Devourer's awakening by finding the four Fangblades before the Serpentine could, and then set out to find help in their quest to rescue Lloyd from Pythor's clutches.

While putting up signs advertising their search for the Fangblades, Zane spotted the Falcon once again. Despite his comrades' misgivings, he convinced them to follow the bird across Ninjago - however, the other three eventually tired out, leaving Zane to continue the chase alone. He followed the Falcon the the middle of Birchwood Forest before the bird suddenly fell from the sky. When Zane approached it, he was stunned to discover that the Falcon was actually a robot.

As Zane picked up the Falcon and continued exploring the forest, he was attacked by the Juggernaut, who identified him as an intruder. Using all of his skills, Zane was able to disable the robot, discovering that it was similar in design to the Falcon. After the battle, he found the Hidden Workshop the Juggernaut was guarding and entered with the offline Falcon in tow. Within the workshop, Zane found the Falcon's blueprints and successfully repaired his mechanical friend. In the process, he stumbled upon his own blueprints, discovering that he was a robot as well.

When the other Ninja arrived, Zane revealed his true nature to them. After a moment of shock, the other Ninja insisted that they thought no differently of Zane than before, but the White Ninja refused to accompany them out for a time. While reflecting on the revelation, Zane noticed mention of a "Memory Switch" in his blueprints; when he found the switch in his body, he was able to restore his memories of Dr. Julien. Shedding a single tear for his creator, Zane finally found the strength to move on, letting the Flacon perch on his arm as he ran to tell his friends the good news.

When Zane emerged from the workshop, he found his fellow Ninja being overwhelmed by a group of Treehorns. He immediately jumped into the fray, fighting off the monsters with a passion that the Ninja had never seen. When the Treehorn Queen appeared, Zane boldly challenged her, declaring that learning his true identity had freed him of all doubts. With that, he unlocked his True Potential and defeated the Queen, causing the other Treehorns to flee as their leader was frozen solid.

The strain of using his True Potential caused Zane to nearly pass out, but his friends were there to catch him. After recovering from the effort, Zane explained that he had regained all of his memories, and theorized that his inability to remember his past had been the obstacle in his heart that prevented him from reaching his True Potential. With that decided, Zane led his friends out of the forest, more determined than ever to bring down the Serpentine.

All of Nothing
When the Serpentine became suspiciously low-profile, the Ninja began tracking whatever leads they had in hopes of figuring out what the snakes were up to. Zane helped corner a Venomari Soldier who revealed that Pythor was already halfway across the world, digging up the final Fangblade; in response to the snake's gloating, Zane pointed out that the Serpentine would likely be consumed by the Great Devourer along with the rest of creation.

When Nya found the Serpentine's underground fortress. Zane joined the Ninja, Nya, and Sensei Wu in invading the fortress to reclaim the Fangblades. He used his Falcon Vision to circumvent the effects of the Venomari's venom, allowing him to clear the way for his allies. Cole allowed him to retrieve the Fangblades, but Zane was blocked by a wall of spikes bursting from the ground - suddenly, the Ninja were trapped in a cage. (IN-PROGRESS)

Pirates Vs. Ninja
Double Trouble Zane, along with the other ninja, are trapped by the darkleys boarding school for bad boys students.

Child's Play
Zane, along with the other Ninja are turned into kids by Lord Garmadon and are chased by the Grundle, and at the end of the episode he and the other Ninja returned to normal.

Appearance
Zane wears a white ninja suit and has a blond high-top. When he discovered the Ice Dragon, he gets a DX Ninja suit with a picture of a dragon on his outfit. He has a control panel in his chest which he can open up, containing switches for Vision, Audio, Voice, Power, Memory, and Humor - he also has a set of switches in his arm. For more images on Zane's appearance in his different ninja suit, click here.

Personality
Zane is the most reserved and serious of the Ninja. He has little understanding of humor or even basic social conventions (as seen when he walked into the bathroom despite Cole being on the toilet). He also has a very strong bond with Sensei Wu, being the most polite and respectful towards him. The other Ninja are occasionally wary of his strange habits, but they quickly learn to accept him for it regardless.

Initially, Zane was melancholy over his inability to remember his parentage or where he came from. He eventually accepted that the Ninja were his family and that their home was his home as well, but he never truly gave up on finding details of his past. Upon learning his origins, he was briefly struck by shock and depression, only to overcome his feelings and accept his robotic nature when he restored his memories. When he eventually reunited with his father/creator, Dr. Julien, he readily accepted him as his father.

Weapons and Abilities
Zane's affinity for Ice allows him to freeze objects to varying degrees and perform a chilly Spinjitzu attack. He generally prefers Shurikens in battle, especially the Shurikens of Ice. He has also wielded a katana, a spear, and a flail at times, and eventually gains an Elemental Blade that channels his Ice powers.

As a Nindroid, Zane has increased stamina and durability compared to his organic comrades. He can also store data and calculate courses of action through a panel on his wrist. He also has a strong bond with the Falcon, and eventually learns to see through its eyes for scouting areas or compensating for when his own eyes are unusable.

Ninjago.com Description
Zane is quiet, very smart and often sees the future or knows what to do without knowing exactly why. He is very loyal to his friends, even though they like to tease him when he doesn't get their jokes, or laugh at him when he doesn't know he's said something funny.

Despite Zane's odd ways, the Ninja see Zane as one of their brothers. As Sensei Wu says, even brothers can be very different. Still, he wishes more than anything that he could be normal, and he is determined to discover more about his past. He is convinced that will help us find out why he always feels like the odd one out.



Trivia

 * He was the first to reach his True Potential.
 * Zane has a sixth sense, which has manifested in clairvoyance and an uncanny ability to sense what others cannot. He also was able to communicate with the Falcon and detect its presence, though this may be related to their similar origins.
 * He is the only NRG Ninja released at a later date than the rest of the set.
 * Zane appears to have a fear of living food, as shown in All of Nothing.

Set Appearances
Normal: Kendo: DX: ZX: NRG: Kimono: Micro Figure:
 * 2113 Zane
 * 2504 Spinjitzu Dojo
 * 2506 Skull Truck
 * 2507 Fire Temple
 * 853100 Zane Keychain
 * 9446 Destiny's Bounty
 * 9563 Kendo Zane
 * 2171 Zane DX
 * 2260 Ice Dragon Attack
 * 9440 Venomari Shrine
 * 9445 Fangpyre Truck Ambush
 * 9449 Ultra Sonic Raider
 * 9554 Zane ZX
 * 30086 Hidden Sword
 * 9590 NRG Zane
 * 70504 Garmatron
 * 3856 Ninjago