Cliff Gordon has arguably the weirdest story out of all the Ninja's parents.
• He's an actor who fought in the Serpentine War, where he met Libber, Master of Lightning. The two get married almost immediately after the war ends.
• 25 years into their marriage, they have a son (Jay), but Cliff suddenly decides 'I can't have a family, I'm too much of a womaniser!'
• Lobber leaves him and puts their son on the doorstep of a junkyard, where he's adopted by Ed and Edna Walker. Libber herself is never seen again.
• Jay grows up not knowing he's adopted and becomes a world-famous hero.
• At some point, Cliff realises the famous Blue Ninja is his son (presumably because he has Libber's powers), so he builds a Jay shrine in a secret room (complete with hidden door) in his mansion. He also has Jay made his legal heir.
• Meanwhile, Jay has become a fan of the Starfarer comics and movies, not knowing that the lead actor in those movies is Cliff Gordon.
• Some point after the Ninja are arrested in S6, Cliff dies (the cause is unknown, but he was in his late 60s at a minimum), and the letter that informs Jay of his inheritance gets stuck in transit until Nadakhan gets involved. Jay, not yet knowing he's adopted, first assumes his father Ed has died, so his parents tell him the truth.
• When the events of S6 are undone, Cliff still dies, but the letter never reaches Jay. Jay knows the letter is out there, he's just not doing anything about it.
Also, Ninjago City really loves watching two of his movies over and over (Starfarer and that one romance movie from S1 Ep2 that Zane laughed at), and Fritz and Spitz in Dragons Rising both named themselves after him.
I'd say being raised by the Walkers was definitely the better life for Jay. Somehow, Cliff doesn't strike me as good father material.
