Why is the Tumblr Bionicle fandom so thoughtful and clever? Like, I spent ten years on the Bionicle section of Youtube and, while there's a lot of great stuff there, there was much more petty drama and much less insight. I spent two years on the Bionicle subreddit and saw an internet-coup by homophobic jerks (and one Putin-supporter). And yeah, lots of great stuff too, but not the same concentration of thoughtful interpretation. Then Reddit went haywire and I came here and found the community I've been looking for since I was twelve. Maybe it's just a matter of taste; there aren't quite as many Bionicle memes here, but so much more Bionicle literary analysis, and I just love it.
Don’t take this remotely seriously, I just thought it was a neat idea and a sort of interesting “what if” scenario. It basically all boils down to, if given little ot no physical or mental limitations by using his mask, could Kingdom!Matoro, in theory, reanimate Mata-nui’s dead corpse? And whether or not there is any sort of implication of this not only being true, but was his being given a Tryna perhaps pre-determined in case Matoro failed to revive Mata-nui in time?
Under the cut for length!
So in regards to Kingdom!Matoro (or Matoro as a Mahri I'm general) he was bestowed with the kanohi Tryna - the mask of necromancy reanimation. An interesting choice by the Ignika (which is the supposed source of his and the other Mahri’s mutation) but it got me thinking... (ie I was VERY bored at work).
Now again, this is not to be taken seriously, but after rereading the Into the Darkness podcast transcript again, something just really bugged me about the whole situation with Teridax and Matoro. So, Teridax’s goal was to blackmail Matoro into reanimating Tuyet, because she had remnants of the Nui-stone embedded in her armor (though apparently in the main universe, it wasn’t Nui-stone fragements), and the reason was...so he could bestow it on a Toa?
That got me to thinking just what this implies. We’re all fully aware of Teridax’s psychopathic ability to plan and prepare a thousand backup plans to his backup plans. We also know he has an invested interest in The Plan to take over the Matoran universe, but it can’t be achieved if Mata-nui dies. So, taking into account his tendency to have backup plans in stacks, could he have, say, predicted Matoro being given the Tryna, and thus, his plans for the Nui-stone were in fact to somehow sway Matoro to his side, give him the Nui-stone, and in the event Mata-nui dies, have Matoro harness the stone and, I don’t know, reanimate the husk? At least enough to allow Teridax to slip into the Core Processor and do what he needed to do, because as it stands, it SOUNDS like for him to even get into the GSR, Mata-nui HAD to die at least briefly.
And to me, it just doesn’t entirely add up. Or maybe I’m not remembering things correctly (it’s been A While since I read the books). Why would he want the Nui-stone to begin with? As far as I can tell, it’s used exclusively to enhance Toa.
He showed an unusual interest in Matoro, and I’m going to guess it’s because, one, Matoro is inherently linked to the Ignika for obvious reasons, and two, he has a mask that may or may not be of use to Teridax in some way if something goes wrong.
So, if given the Nui-stone, could Matoro have proved useful in reanimating Mata-nui? My guess is yes. In Tuyet’s hands, she apparently was able to essentially take over the Toa Empire Universe. If given that enhancement, Matoro probably could reanimate a massive, universe-sized robot with very little strain; at least long enough for Teridax to do whatever he needs to do.
On the flip side of things, there is also the possible reason why Matoro got the Tryna. The Inika/Mahri were mutated by the Ignika, and due to the Ignika’s sentience, I wouldn’t be surprised if it had chosen their masks from the get-go. So why the Tryna for Matoro? Why such an obscure, taboo mask?
Supposedly masks are a sort of nod to a trait of a Matoran/Toa's personality or ability, or perhaps at the least prove utility to their programmed profession. So, supposedly, masks align with one’s destiny. Matoro’s destiny is to die to revive Mata-nui. If we assume over-use of mask powers causes strain, we can assume if he tried to reanimate Mata-nui without a Nui-stone, he would probably die in the procees. But what would be the point? There is no utilitary reason for Matoro to have the Tryna that isn’t just symbolism (which is rife within the MU, but I digress). The other Mahri, on the other hand, all got masks they could utilize to their new enviroment. Jaller got echolocation, Hewkii got gravity powers, Hahli can mimic Rahi, Kongu can summon demons and Rahi and god knows what else, and Nuparu got stealth ninja powers. One could argue there’s A Lot of dead things in the ocean, but there is literally SO many other masks Matoro could have been given that would have been much more useful in The Pit.
So does the Tryna just imply his destiny is to revive someone (ie Mata-nui)? Or was he given the Tryna because, regardless of the Ignika and REGARDLESS of whether or not Matoro dies or if he has a Nui-stone, the Tryna would act as an end all contingency? I can't see it being the former, and while the latter is REALLY pushing it, it makes more sense. This may or may not also be supported by the fact that a contingency mask DOES exist, and that is the Ignika itself. It’s supposed to both be Mata-nui’s defibrillator, but it’s also a reset button.
I don’t know, it just feels very off to me, both Matoro’s mask and Teridax’s motivations for the Nui-stone. I can’t recall if it was ever expanded upon if he even had a Toa in mind to give the stone to, and if not, I doubt he would have gone to the trouble of finding it. That’s a HUGE detour to take when he’s on such a tight time crunch now.
Anyways, that’s gonna do it for me, so if anyone has any thoughts, discuss!
Ok so here's a thought; if one of the Matoran from Karzahni became a Toa, would they still look messed-up? Would their weapons be fused to their hands? Can a Karzahnian (Karzahnite?) even become a Toa?
I saw a post around here recently about the subject of light and shadow in the MU (I couldn't find the post again because tumblr :/) and I remembered how when I was younger I asked Greg Farshtey on the LEGO message boards (I think) about a fan theory of mine I had about the Avohki and Kraahkan.
You see, my theory was that they were actually the same mask.
It started out with noticing the design similarities between the Avohkii and the Kraahkan's secondary form. I'm pretty sure it turned out that the secondary form was actually meant to be the Mask of Light and Darkness combined but as a kid I thought it was weird how they shared so many features.
But the essence of the idea remains. Question: when bathed in energized protodermis, why did the masks COMBINE? Why, like many other things that come into contact with energized protodermis, did they not just transform into something else entirely? Instead they fused together, as if being one was somehow their destiny...
So my theory is that they are actually two separate versions of the same mask. After all, they're not legendary masks, so there's no reason why there couldn't be more than one of the same (just as there are probably plenty elemental masks like Hewkii's mask of gravity), and we've already seen other normal masks get "corrupted" by shadow energy. I would say there probably aren't more than two of this mask since the elements of light/shadow are so crucial/important, but it's not impossible that more than one was made.
I think it's a special case of elemental mask where the dissonance between the expressions of light and dark is so severe that the elemental standing of the user can influence the way the mask expresses itself, and thus change its shape. We have seen masks change shape before without completely changing their powers so it's not completely unprecedented (Nuva masks).
Also, the reason why Takanuva's Avohkii didn't suddenly become a Kraahkan is because they only had half their light drained. It does noticeably more slicked back... almost like it's halfway between changing shapes...
But the main idea I wanted to express was that light and shadow are a powerful binary, and that the different expressions of it may be vastly different but still occupy the same spectrum. I think one of Bionicle's biggest flaws is that it didn't go more into depth with light and dark, choosing to opt for a slightly more overtly "light, good; shadow, evil" fantasy story (it was after all, still being made for kids, as exceptional as its other story telling was), but it DID touch on it in subtle ways. The fact that in 2008 you see a Toa of light struggling with their elemental expression and a makuta (Krika) with compassion and remorse (that was unprecedented for beings of shadow) shows that the writers were clearly interested in playing with that. I think collapsing the line between light and shadow by making the masks technically the same would've really leaned into that.
Anyway Greg shot it down so it's not canon but Mata-Nui knows how strong fanon is.
I never noticed this before, but almost all the names of Ga-Matoran and Toa of Water mentioned in the Bionicle G1 series have something to do with water!
Alas, here’s what I found on multiple Google searches and baby name websites:
Gali - “wave” (origin: Hebrew)
Okoth - “born when it was raining” (origin: African)
Marka - “steady rain” (origin: African)
Kai - “sea” (origin: Hawaiian) or “pier of a harbour” (origin: Basque)
Kailani - “sea and sky” (origin: Hawaiian)
Amaya - “night rain” (origin: Spanish and/or Japanses)
Hali (Hahli) - “the sea” (origin: Greek)
Pelagia - “of the sea” (origin: Greek)
Nireta - “from the sea” (origin: Greek)
Maku (Macku) - “wet” (origin: Maori)
Shasa - “precious water” (origin: African)
Nixie - “water sprite” (origin: German)
Dalu - “well bucket” (origin: Arabic)
Visola (Vhisola) - “longings are waterfalls” (origin: African)
Naho* - “sailing wave” (origin: Japanese)
Tuyet - “Snow” (origin: Vietnamese)
Other names I couldn’t find and/or had different meanings:
Other than the names listed above, almost every character’s name had something to do with their elemental connection to water. However, I think that Kotu and Idris’ non-water-specific names were still intentional:
I theorize that LEGO took the time to give their characters not only elemental-related names from the real world, but also names that contribute to or hint at their personalities, personal journeys, or life circumstances:
Vhisola’s longing for praise and attention;
Kotu’s bitterness and jealousy of Hahli’s Kohlii skills (MNOG II);
Dalu’s desperate search for water on the barren island of Voya Nui;
Given the examples above, could this mean Tuyet has a cold personality? Or that Idris is another Great Being in disguise?
What do you think? Are there any names I missed? Did you find any other possible meanings to the names above?
Let me know in the comments below!
THEORY UPDATE:
Hey everyone! It’s been a long time since my last Bionicle fan theory post, but I promise I have a special one in the works for an upcoming milestone! In the meantime, I’m gonna try to post smaller theories/discoveries like this once every month or so.
Keep your eyes open, and thanks for all the love and support!
You guys are awesome :)
At least, not in the sense that they stand for anything morally good. Before I go any further, though, I want to clarify that this isn't me critiquing Bionicle, but suggesting some depth and foreshadowing to the story that I think many people may have missed.
So let's look at the virtues one-by-one:
Unity: This is maybe the closest to an actual virtue, since it implies some love for your community. But what unity really comes down to is "working together," and so how morally good unity is depends entirely on what the community's goals are. The matoran of Metru Nui might have caught on to Makuta impersonating Turuga Duma if they weren't so united behind their leader.
Duty: This one basically means "do your job," which is only really as moral as the job. Most of the matoran of Voya Nui were dutiful enough to follow the Piraka's orders even before they were mind-controlled with Zamor spheres, but that was hardly for the best, and the least dutiful rebels were the heroes in the end.
Destiny: This has a moral dimension if you believe in a destiny written by some benevolent and omniscient higher power but, in the Bionicle universe, Mata-Nui and the Great Beings are capable of making mistakes at best and amoral at worst. Destiny seems more like a way to tell characters to stay in line and accept their appointed tasks. Yet over and over we see characters who do the most good by rejecting their appointed task (Takua, Jaller's team when leaving for Voya Nui, the Voya Nui rebels), not because they think they have some other destiny , but because it's the right thing to do.
Looking at all these points together, it seems clear that the three virtues are really just an order of obedience dressed up in the language of morality and religion. Considering that the creatures of the Matoran universe were built to be nothing more than workers keeping the Mata-Nui robot alive, then it makes sense that they would be taught to worship obedience and hard work. This gives dark undertones to the adoration of the three virtues, but in turn makes it all the more beautiful that these characters developed culture, individuality, and true morality when they had been made as nothing but slaves.
(By the way, this is all on my mind because I'm planning on shirking unity (in my family), duty (to my job), and (biological) destiny by transitioning female in a few months and I wanted to set up a moral backdrop for that).
Since Zaktan is presumably from the Skaddi's home island of Zakaz, does that mean he was named after the island, like the way highly patriotic people name their kids after their country (I've known an Italian named Italia, for example)? If so, I feel sorry for him; Zakaz patriotism seems like a lost cause. No wonder he's pissed all the time.
