I think what annoys me the most about this is that the Ninjago magazine has multiple renders of this Frak minifigure without the hood, one of which was used on the bag of his minifigure’s appearance as a magazine gift. (The magazine also has a render of his previous outfit from the show, which did not have a minifigure despite looking far better).
The existence of these renders proves to me that a hoodless Frak minifigure absolutely should have been possible.
Long and rambling speculation about why this may be the case
I will note that the following arguments make several assumptions. While I do cite multiple facts, I want to make it clear that my final argument is speculation, and invite criticism of my argument even as I establish herein that it could absolutely be 100% false, outside the established facts. That said, I would not be entirely surprised if this argument turned out to be the case.
An interview with a LEGO designer suggests that the use of a hooded head piece may have been due to certain “constraints”, but I see no reason why they couldn’t just make the Pyro Viper head but with a shorter neck, just like the show did (or, at the very least, give him pupils).
It irks me greatly that Ninjago had better Serpentine minifigures fourteen years ago, and, though I understand that printing standards have changed since then, they could have figured something out. I mean, Kalmaar had pupils five years ago, and LEGO’s printing standards on sloped surfaces were definitely close to their current norm at that point. LEGO was also perfectly fine persisting the Pythor head mold in 2022, which also features pupils, so this excuse for the hooded Frak minifigure will be put aside for now.
The minifigure itself, besides the head, isn’t the worst thing in the world (I’m cosplaying it soon, after all), but it still isn’t as good as his Core/Dojo outfit from S3:P1. And, if LEGO had followed up this minifigure with a new one a wave or two later, as they did with the other Young Ninja, I wouldn’t be so unhappy. But, of course, they did not, so we’re left with this.
One potential reason for the paucity of Frak minifigures is that 71844 likely did not sell well. After all, though I enjoyed the set even discounting the minifigures, I will admit that I would not have bought it had it not been Frak’s only minifigure appearance. Kai, the Spectral Dragonian (though a different variant), and Wyldfyre (whose minfigure had already been spammed enough) each came elsewhere in $10 sets. Nokt came in multiple sets earlier in the year, including a cheaper one. The only minifigure besides Frak who was not in another cheaper set was Cole, but it’s doubtful that one would buy the set just for him. The vehicle itself was fun but not the best set ever, and its appearance in the show was hardly gamebreaking. Plus, outside the US, Frak, Cole and Nokt were all in the Ninjago magazine, removing all incentive for non-US fans to purchase the set outside the set itself.
What lesson would LEGO have likely taken from this, given that they so often take the wrong message from set sales? Frak doesn’t sell.
Why, though, would Frak have been included in such a set, rather than a cheaper set that would have made his minifigure more available (even Wyldfyre’s set debut was nearly half the price)? A set, which, mind you, was retired only a year after it was first sold?
My guess is that LEGO does not wish to support his character. Based on the designer interview linked above, he was originally intended for release in the Tournament of Sources wave, but never materialized in that wave. Plus, he’s a major character in Dragons Rising Season 4, yet is in none of those sets.
Speculation about that last point
As a side note, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was supposed to be in the sets before Legacy was expanded. Legacy this year was originally just going to be the Blacksmith Shop, but increased interest spurred LEGO to make more Legacy sets, taking budget away from other sets and leaving the Dragons Rising sets with the low age marks (this sentence is a fact, not speculation). If the new X1 Ninja Charger had not been produced, Cryptor’s Nindroid mask mold likely would not have taken up a mold frame, allowing for another mold, which I speculate would have been a Frak head, whether the same or a new one.
Given that the X1 appears in S4:P2 trailers and bears little resemblance to the original X1, it is likely that this was originally going to be a Dragons Rising set that may have been meant to include Frak, but the inclusion of Cryptor and Dusk scratched out those plans (it wouldn’t be the first overpriced red vehicle he would have been included in). Even the Dragon Form claws may have contributed to this–they were originally meant to be introduced earlier in the year, but, again, Legacy thwarted those plans by taking up mold frames that forced the dragon claws to be pushed out into later in the year. For reasons I get into below, I theorize that Frak was seen as an easy target for removal, and so he was scrapped. But, again, this is just speculation, and makes several assumptions.
I have two theories, but I’ll go ahead and address and dismiss the first, which is that LEGO did not want to overload the main character department. LEGO may have initially opposed making Wyldfyre as a minifigure, but they eventually acquiesced and spammed her minifigure so much that I had to start giving mine away because I had so many of the same figure (nearly half of my 2025 Ninjago purchases included her). And, yes, the show may have a problem with too many characters, but they’ve been able to make multiple Euphrasia minifigures despite her much smaller role in the show when compared to Frak.
My second theory is a little more disheartening: Frak, being non-human as he is, is a risk. Ninjago chose Serpentine as villains initially precisely because children are afraid of snakes, so a snake hero? Well, that simply can’t sell.
Frak is, after all, the only Serpentine minifigure LEGO has ever produced to not be an antagonist. Notice how his minifigure doesn’t even look like a snake? Apparently, LEGO was listening to Wu when he said to never trust a snake (which is super speciesist, incidentally)…
LEGO needs to take a risk and make a new Frak, a Frak who is recognizable as the character he is meant to be. The show has treated most Serpentine as neutral or good characters since 2014; it’s time for the sets to catch up with this.
Plus, given Frak’s father’s comments in S4:P1, it is implied that Serpentine have faced in-universe segregation due to such things as “Never trust a snake.” Is that the message LEGO really wants to send? That they only support one species as heroes, and that “secondary” species can only be villains? I don’t think so, and I hope LEGO realizes this.
And before someone rushes in to call me a hypocrite for criticizing the sets despite being a Ninjago lover, I’m allowed to have a diversity of opinions. I love the show, but I am aware it has many problems, especially in the pre-movie era. Similarly, I can enjoy the theme and wish it to continue while still criticizing its current state and desiring a new direction. 71863 and 71868 are some of my favorite Ninjago sets, but most of the other sets from the Summer 2026 wave are pretty uninteresting. Many Ninjago fans are disappointed with the current set direction, but it’s the kids that have the buying power (and the teenagers and adults, but only for Legends).
I will remind you that I make several assumptions above, and that none of this should be taken as fact unless proven by insider statements.
TL;DR: LEGO probably only wants Serpentine as villains, and so wants to obfuscate Frak’s Serpentine status if he’s being marketed as a hero.
Maybe in some Ninjago City set down the line, we can get an accurate Frak (and, loath as I am to say it, his horrible dad with him, since they share a head mold in the show).
