This article is about the snake staff owned by Jafar. For other uses, see Staff (disambiguation).
“Your Highness, Jafar has been controlling you with this!”
―Aladdin to the Sultan after destroying the staff.[src]
Jafar's Snake Staff is a cobra-headed scepter owned by Jafar, in Aladdin. Initially and primarily used as a means of hypnosis, the ruby eyes made those who gazed into them become susceptible to Jafar's suggestions and obey his every order. It was eventually destroyed by Aladdin when he discovered its true function. Once Jafar wishes to become the world's most powerful sorcerer, he gains a new staff that is imbued with various magical abilities.
In the original film, before Jafar becomes a sorcerer, the staff is shown to have the ability to use hypnosis, as shown when Jafar uses the staff to get the Sultan to hand over his mystic blue diamond ring. He claims he needs it to "find the princess a suitor", when he actually needs it to discover the identity of "the diamond in the rough".
In another scene, Jafar attempts to use the staff's power to have the Sultan allow him to marry Jasmine. However, the fanfare caused by the arrival of Prince Ali (Aladdin) distracts the Sultan before he can finish his hypnotized response.
He later brainwashes the Sultan shortly after attempting to have Ali killed, trying to have him state that Jasmine must marry Jafar, and later after Ali reveals himself to have survived and exposes that Jafar had tried to have him killed, to claim that Ali is "obviously lying". However, Ali, deducing how Jafar is able to persuade the Sultan, snatches the staff and smashes it on the floor, exposing Jafar for his villainy as a result.
Later on, Jafar steals Aladdin's lamp, taking over his role as the Genie's master. He uses his second wish to become the most powerful sorcerer in the world. His staff is restored but it now has open fangs and was extremely powerful that uses many skills, including moving people and objects. During the final battle, the staff disappears when Jafar became a giant snake, and then an all-powerful genie.
In the sequel, Jafar is freed from his lamp, and after transforming into his human form, he retains his staff and it is by his side throughout the entire film. Its original purpose is also alluded to by Iago and Aladdin, where the former claimed he had been a victim of the hypnotic properties, and Aladdin also believes it after he is saved by Iago and tries to tell the Sultan this is the case with them not believing him. It had its original look and shot laser bolts from the eyes. He was also shown holding it in his Genie form. It is unknown what happened to the staff after Jafar's death, but it could be assumed that it was destroyed along with or after his lamp.
Hercules and the Arabian Night[]
In the Aladdin and Hercules crossover, the staff was given its largest role and once again had its original look. In the episode, Hades, Lord of the Underworld, decided to revive Jafar from death after his demise in The Return of Jafar. The staff was used to keep Jafar alive, and if he ever lost it, he would become a lifeless spirit once more. Hades also enhanced the staff to be extremely powerful than before; creating things like live scorpions and shot fireballs. This staff was once confiscated by Hades after Jafar, in hysteria, started causing destruction in the underworld, as a means to force him to cooperate.
However, the creations of the staff can only exist as long as the staff exists, otherwise, the creatures will fade out of existence. Aladdin and Hercules destroyed it during their battle against Jafar and Hades, and with it, Jafar was killed once again and his soul was sucked into the River Styx for good.
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland[]
In the spinoff show to Once Upon a Time, Jafar's staff was actually a woman named Amara who was trapped in the form of a serpent staff by Jafar. Amara was a powerful healer and sorceress who is feared amongst the residents of Agrabah.
In her earlier life, she was the mother of Cyrus, Taj, and Rafi. When she was badly burned upon some people that Cyrus beaten in a card game, Cyrus had to use the water from the Well of Wonders to heal her. The effects of the water work heal Amara as she learns what had happened. When Nyx arrives, she begs her to spare her sons as they are turned into genies with their lamps being scattered across Agrabah.
A young Jafar visits Amara at her home, begging for her to teach him magically to exact revenge on his father the Sultan for abusing and abandoning him. She insists he is not ready, though he insists that he is, and she reluctantly begins teaching him dark magic. As a man, Jafar is tricked by Amara into giving his friend Akil a poison to make him see how far he will need to go to become the sorcerer he intends to be. The two then begin a sexual relationship and begin a plan to obtain genie magic to become the most powerful sorcerers in the world. Jafar and Amara successfully obtain a genie bottle each, though Jafar learns of a third in Agrabah. He then tricks Amara by siphoning her magic, transforming her into a snake, and converting her into his serpent staff.
When Jafar manages to steal the Knave of Hearts' heart from Alice and Cyrus, he tries to blast them only to have Amara's staff formwork against him, forcing Jafar to retreat with the Knave of Hearts' heart.
Amara was later freed from her staff form due to the hints given to Alice, Will, and Cyrus by the Jabberwocky. Amara confronted Jafar and they both ended up in a brief duel until Cyrus got wounded by a shard of glass. Jafar convinced Amara that they should use the powers of the genies like they planned to do in order to save Cyrus' life.
When it came to Cyrus taking Amara to the Well of Wonders to return the water in her back to Nyx, Jafar attacked them which resulted in Amara dissolving into water upon her death. Following the final battle with Jafar, Cyrus told Taj and Rafi that they were freed from the genie curse at the cost of their mother's life.
While Jafar holds this staff, it means that he's waiting before to continue to looking for the magic bottle of Cyrus. The staff first appears in "The Savior". Jafar uses it to kill Emir, a man seeking help from Aladdin, than Princess Jasmine's Pretendent, Achmed.
The staff appears in "Steal Away" as an exhibit in the Museum of Cultural History. When Mal was possessed by her cursed Birthright Jewel, she stole it from the museum and handed it to Zevon. It is seen again when Zevon showed it to Jay, Carlos, Jane, and Freddie in "Options Are Shrinking". When Jay saw it in Zevon's hands, he knew right away that the staff was his Dad's and that it was kept in the museum.
In "Party Crashers" Zevon stole Jay, Carlos, Evie, and Freddie's Birthright Jewels so he could use them to power the staff with their own power. Zevon planned to use the jewel powered staff to turn everyone in Auradon evil. However, in "United We Stand" Mal was able to get ahold of the staff and used it to undo Zevon's "evil"; she also used its power to lift the curse from her jewel. It's possible that the Snake Staff was later returned to the museum.
Why Jafar never attempts to hypnotize Jasmine with the Snake Staff can be interpreted like this: it's vaguely implied that the Snake Staff only works on weak-willed people (e.g. the Sultan) and the rebellious Princess Jasmine is too strong-minded. Even the Sultan does manage to snap out of the hypnosis on his own at least once. It also only seems to affect the victim while he's actually holding it in their face, making it impractical for long-term work.
After Genie grants Jafar's wish to become the most powerful sorcerer in the world, the Snake Staff's appearance changes slightly, with the mouth opening to reveal four fangs. It remains that way for the remainder of the film.
In the concept art of the deleted song "Why Me?", it is shown that Jafar has multiple Snake Staffs. He takes only one Snake Staff to use, and keeps the others in a closet.
The eyes of the staff are normally red, while in the short episode of Descendants: Wicked World they're green.
In the 2019 remake of Aladdin, the staff's appearance is slightly altered with several jade green belly scales above the grip and a diamond on the top of its head. After Jafar becomes a sorcerer, his staff is primarily red and gold, with a gold lotus symbol beneath the mouth. When in use, the staff glows red and the head can move.
The second staff was even a real cobra before taking its staff form.
Sequels:Abis Mal • Abis Mal's Thugs • Cassim • Sa'Luk • Forty Thieves • The Oracle TV Series:Sadira • Merc • Queen Hippsodeth • Scara • King Pector • The Mukhtar • King Mamood • Eden • Sultan Pasta Al-Dente • Dhandi • Hamed • Pharabu • Prince Uncouthma • General Gouda • Brawnhilda • Bud • Runta • Thundra • Queen Kimbla • Sydney • Brisbane • Koala Kid • Machana • Fasir • Riders of Ramond • Samir the "Destroyer" • Squirt • Captain Al Bahtross • Prince Wazoo • Ajed Al-Gebraic • Amal • Abnor Mal • Mechanicles • Scooter • Zarasto the Marauder • Marauders • Zorasto • Mozenrath • Xerxes • Khartoum • Sirocco • Shaman • Mirage • Haroud Hazi Bin • Fashoom • Saleen • Armand • Ayam Aghoul • Evil Aladdin • Caliph Kapok • Sootinai • Daru Tavelevil • Malcho • Dominus Tusk • Al Muddy Sultan • Al Muddy • Aziz • Minos and Fatima • Nefir Hasenuf • Nefir's Imps • Arbutus • Magma • Amuk Moonrah • Chaos • Evil Genie • Scourge of the Desert • Amin Damoola • Frigeed • Anubis • Sahkata, Razili, and Farida • Sand Monster • Sand Shark • Mothias • Ding and Oopo • Queen Deluca • King Zahbar • Queen Deluca's Brothers • The Great Rift • Mamluks • Kileem • The Ethereal • Zin and Zang • Kutato • Unkbuut • Destane Enchanted Tales:Aneesa • Hakeem • Sahara • Sharma Video game characters:Nasira • Bizarrah • Very Ankh-Amman Deleted Characters:Zena • Genie of the Ring • Jasmine's Mother Remake:Dalia • Prince Anders • Hakim
Episodes
Season One:Getting the Bugs Out • Mudder's Day • Fowl Weather • The Prophet Motive • Much Abu About Something • My Fair Aladdin • To Cure a Thief • Never Say Nefir • Raiders of the Lost Shark
Season Two: "Air Feather Friends" • "Bad Mood Rising" • "Do the Rat Thing" • "The Vapor Chase" • "Garden of Evil" • "Some Enchanted Genie" • "Web of Fear" • "Plunder the Sea" • "Strike Up the Sand" • "Sneeze the Day" • "I Never Mechanism I Didn't Like" • "Forget Me Lots" • "Scare Necessities" • "SandSwitch" • "Lost and Founded" • "Moonlight Madness" • "The Flawed Couple" • "Rain of Terror" • "Dune Quixote" • "That Stinking Feeling" • "The Day the Bird Stood Still" • "Of Ice and Men" • "Opposites Detract" • "Caught by the Tale" • "Elemental, My Dear Jasmine" • "Beast or Famine" • "Smolder and Wiser" • "The Game" • "Poor Iago" • "The Spice is Right" • "The Animal Kingdom" • "Power to the Parrot" • "The Sands of Fate" • "Hero with a Thousand Feathers" • "The Citadel" • "Snowman is an Island" • "The Secret of Dagger Rock" • "In the Heat of the Fright" • "Witch Way Did She Go?" • "The Seven Faces of Genie" • "The Wind Jackals of Mozenrath" • "A Clockwork Hero" • "Mission: Imp Possible" • "Stinker Belle" • "Sea No Evil" • "Shadow of a Doubt" • "Smells Like Trouble" • "The Way We War" • "Night of the Living Mud" • "Egg-stra Protection" • "A Sultan Worth His Salt" • "Heads, You Lose" • "The Love Bug" • "When Chaos Comes Calling" • "Genie Hunt" • "Armored and Dangerous" • "The Lost Ones" • "Eye of the Beholder" • "Shark Treatment" • "Black Sand" • "Love at First Sprite" • "Vocal Hero" • "The Lost City of the Sun" • "As the Netherworld Turns" • "Seems Like Old Crimes" • "From Hippsodeth, with Love" • "Destiny on Fire" • "The Return of Malcho" Season Three: "The Hunted" • "Riders Redux" • "The Book of Khartoum" • "While the City Snoozes" • "Two to Tangle" • "The Ethereal" • "The Shadow Knows" • "The Great Rift"
Golden Scarab Beetle • Jafar's Snake Staff • Genie's Lamp • Jafar's Lamp • Eden's Bottle • Mozenrath's Gauntlet • Crystal of Ix • Blue Rose of Forgetfulness • Tree of Renewal • Emerald of Khufu • Cassim's Dagger • The Oracle's Scythe • Hand of Midas
Books:Once Upon a Time: Shadow of the Queen • Once Upon a Time: Out of the Past • Once Upon a Time: Red's Untold Tale • Once Upon a Time: Regina Rising
Season One: "Pilot" • "The Thing You Love Most" • "Snow Falls" • "The Price of Gold" • "That Still Small Voice" • "The Shepherd" • "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" • "Desperate Souls" • "True North" • "7:15 A.M." • "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" • "Skin Deep" • "What Happened to Frederick" • "Dreamy" • "Red-Handed" • "Heart of Darkness" • "Hat Trick" • "The Stable Boy" • "The Return" • "The Stranger" • "An Apple Red as Blood" • "A Land Without Magic"
Season Two: "Broken" • "We Are Both" • "Lady of the Lake" • "The Crocodile" • "The Doctor" • "Tallahassee" • "Child of the Moon" • "Into the Deep" • "Queen of Hearts" • "The Cricket Game" • "The Outsider" • "In the Name of the Brother" • "Tiny" • "Manhattan" • "The Queen Is Dead" • "The Miller's Daughter" • "Welcome to Storybrooke" • "Selfless, Brave and True" • "Lacey" • "The Evil Queen" • "Second Star to the Right" • "And Straight On 'Til Morning" Season Three: "The Heart of the Truest Believer" • "Lost Girl" • "Quite a Common Fairy" • "Nasty Habits" • "Good Form" • "Ariel" • "Dark Hollow" • "Think Lovely Thoughts" • "Save Henry" • "The New Neverland" • "Going Home" • "New York City Serenade" • "Witch Hunt" • "The Tower" • "Quiet Minds" • "It's Not Easy Being Green" • "The Jolly Roger" • "Bleeding Through" • "A Curious Thing" • "Kansas" • "Snow Drifts" • "There's No Place Like Home" Season Four: "A Tale of Two Sisters" • "White Out" • "Rocky Road" • "The Apprentice" • "Breaking Glass" • "Family Business" • "The Snow Queen" • "Smash the Mirror" • "Fall" • "Shattered Sight" • "Heroes and Villains" • "Darkness on the Edge of Town" • "Unforgiven" • "Enter the Dragon" • "Poor Unfortunate Soul" • "Best Laid Plans" • "Heart of Gold" • "Sympathy for the De Vil" • "Lily" • "Mother" • "Operation Mongoose" Season Five: "The Dark Swan" • "The Price" • "Siege Perilous" • "The Broken Kingdom" • "Dreamcatcher" • "The Bear and the Bow" • "Nimue" • "Birth" • "The Bear King" • "Broken Heart" • "Swan Song" • "Souls of the Departed" • "Labor of Love" • "Devil's Due" • "The Brothers Jones" • "Our Decay" • "Her Handsome Hero" • "Ruby Slippers" • "Sisters" • "Firebird" • "Last Rites" • "Only You" • "An Untold Story" Season Six: "The Savior" • "A Bitter Draught" • "The Other Shoe" • "Strange Case" • "Street Rats" • "Dark Waters" • "Heartless" • "I'll Be Your Mirror" • "Changelings" • "Wish You Were Here" • "Tougher Than the Rest" • "Murder Most Foul • "Ill-Boding Patterns" • "Page 23" • "A Wondrous Place" • "Mother's Little Helper" • "Awake" • "Where Bluebirds Fly" • "The Black Fairy" • "The Song in Your Heart" • "The Final Battle" Season Seven: "Hyperion Heights" • "A Pirate's Life"• "The Garden of Forking Paths" • "Beauty" • "Greenbacks" • "Wake Up Call" • "Eloise Gardener" • "Pretty in Blue" • "One Little Tear" • "The Eighth Witch" • "Secret Garden" • "A Taste of the Heights" • "Knightfall" • "The Girl in the Tower" • "Sisterhood" • "Breadcrumbs" • "Chosen" • "The Guardian" • "Flower Child" • "Is This Henry Mills?" • "Homecoming" • "Leaving Storybrooke"
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland: "Down the Rabbit Hole" • "Trust Me" • "Forget Me Not" • "The Serpent" • "Heart of Stone" • "Who's Alice?" • "Bad Blood" • "Home" • "Nothing to Fear" • "Dirty Little Secrets" • "Heart of the Matter" • "To Catch a Thief" • "And They Lived..."
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland: Wonderland Castle • The Mad Hatter's House • White Rabbit's House • Underland • Tulgey Wood Both series:Storybrooke • Maine • Enchanted Forest • Forbidden Fortress • Wonderland • Wonderland Maze • Agrabah • Sherwood Forest • The Sultan's Palace
Objects
Once Upon a Time: Once Upon a Time (Book) • Red Riding Hood • Maleficent's Staff • Magic Wand • Glass Slipper • Poisoned Apple • Spinning Wheel • Magic Lamp • Dark One's Dagger • Chipped Cup • Jefferson's Hat • Magic Beans • Captain Hook's Hooks • Enchanted Candle • Pixie Dust • Dreamshade • Salad Fork • Pandora's Box • Silver Slippers • Sorcerer Hat • Enchanted Broom • Trident • Enchanted Shell • Heroes and Villains (Book) • Merida's Bow • Magical Rose • Excalibur • Olympian Crystal • Cinderella's Dress • Golden Scarab Beetle • Rapunzel's Frying Pan • Magical Golden Flower • Shrinking Potion • Floating Lanterns • Tarot Cards • Maui's Fish Hook
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland: Vorpal Blade Both series:Jafar's Snake Staff • Enchanted Hearts • Jafar's Lamp
Original Songs:Powerful Magic • The Queen Sings • Love Doesn't Stand a Chance • Revenge Is Gonna Be Mine • Wicked Always Wins • Charmings vs. Evil Queen • Emma's Theme • A Happy Beginning
Season One: "Evie's Explosion of Taste" • "Mal's Digi-Image Problem" • "Audrey's New Do? New Don't!" • "Careful What You Wish For" • "Voodoo? You Do" • "Lamp Sweet Lamp" • "Genie Chic" • "Puffed Deliciousness" • "Good is the New Bad" • "Spirit Day" • "I'm Your Girl" • "Mash It Up" • "All Hail the New Q.N.L.B." • "Mad for Tea" • "Carpet Jacked" • "The Night is Young" • "Neon Lights Out" • "Hooked On Ben"
Season Two: "Slumber Party" • "Odd Mal Out" • "Pair of Sneakers" • "Wild Rehearsal" • "Chemical Reaction" • "Talking Heads" • "Steal Away" • "Evil Among Us" • "Options Are Shrinking" • "Party Crashers" • "Mal-lone" • "Trapped" • "Face to Face" • "United We Stand" • "Celebration"
Descendants: Rotten to the Core • Evil Like Me • Did I Mention • If Only • Be Our Guest • Set It Off • Believe
Wicked World: Night Is Young • Good is the New Bad • I'm Your Girl • Rather Be With You • Evil • Better Together Descendants 2: Ways to Be Wicked • What's My Name • Chillin' Like a Villain • Space Between • It's Goin' Down • You and Me • Poor Unfortunate Souls • Kiss the Girl Descendants 3: Good to Be Bad • Queen of Mean • Do What You Gotta Do • Night Falls • One Kiss • My Once Upon a Time • Break This Down • Dig a Little Deeper Miscellaneous:Genie in a Bottle • Stronger • Keep Your Head on Halloween • Audrey's Christmas Rewind