LEGO NINJAGO’s Evil Jay minifigure explained

LEGO NINJAGO is introducing its biggest twist ever this summer as the theme explores a new era, turning a familiar teammate to the dark side.

Of the many upcoming LEGO NINJAGO summer 2024 sets coming in a couple of weeks, or later this summer for those in the US, 71818 Tournament Battle Arena may be the most appealing thanks in no small part to its array of minifigures.

We’ve already covered how one of the minifigures in 71818 Tournament Battle Arena is a reference to Ultra Agents but a second figure in the set is even more interesting for longtime LEGO NINJAGO fans. Note that the article from this point will cover spoilers for the first and second seasons of LEGO NINJAGO: Dragons Rising.

One of the minifigures in 71818 Tournament Battle Arena is named Evil Jay, finally bringing back the missing ninja after the original team was scattered across the merged realms at the start of LEGO NINJAGO: Dragons Rising. Why Jay would turn on his friends may seem confusing, but it could make perfect sense with some context in the animated series.

Jay is one of the only members of the original team that has yet to rejoin in the animated show but he has appeared twice, revealing that he has lost his memory. Now, Jay is back in a physical minifigure based on what is likely to be a future moment in the second season of LEGO NINJAGO Dragons Rising. He is sporting wolf insignia on his clothing similar to Ras’ minions.

Jay’s amnesia leaves him more vulnerable than the other members of the team and he’s already been revealed to have joined the Administration. A moment from the second season confirms that he is aware and confused regarding his elemental powers. The minifigure suggests that Jay will embrace his powers once more later in the second season and Ras could be the one to teach him, gaining his trust in the process.

Should Ras find Jay and discover his lost memories first, he may choose to use the familiar character to bolster his ranks and the minifigure’s design indicates that this may be the case. As for how long Jay will be evil – that has yet to be seen.

This is only speculation based on content in the first two seasons of LEGO NINJAGO: Dragons Rising. The concept of an evil team member is exciting and something that could be explored further than Zane’s turn to the dark side in the ice chapter of Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu.

For now, nothing has been officially confirmed other than that Jay will be evil – at least as a physical minifigure. 71818 Tournament Battle Arena launches on June 1 in the UK and Europe or August 1 in the US alongside many other new LEGO NINJAGO models.

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Jack Yates

LEGO has been a part of my life ever since I was young. It all started when my brother passed down 7657 AT-ST to me. It’s guided me through my early years, through school and eventually through my degree in journalism. I still have all my collection proudly on display, including my many NINJAGO sets, my favourite of all the LEGO Group’s themes. Outside of Brick Fanatics I am an avid gamer and enjoy a good game of Dungeons & Dragons.

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