Mistika I
Entry posted by Janus
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The Toa Mistika, the latest hot-button issue amongst BIONICLE fans. If you like them you're considered a noob who knows nothing or at best a supporter of the dreaded focus groups, if you don't you're clearly a purist who worships the very ground 2001 stands on.
So, what are my thoughts?
Well, I'm going to be misleading and cruel =D. Y'see, this is Mistika I, the first part of the article which deals with the setup and background for the advent of the Mistika. This will be a multiple part series and worry not, it will eventually get to my thoughts on the Mistika.
To understand my thoughts you need to go waaaay back into 2001 when BIONICLE was just beginning (please hang on before you yell OMG HE'S A PURIST GET HIM). The Strange and mythical Toa were first revealed and frankly...I was not impressed. In fact I was terribly underwhelmed and refused to have anything to do with it. The 'teaser' of Tahu and Vakama did nothing to whet my appetite and I just wanted this expected failure of a line to get on and die just like RoboRiders and Slizer/Throwbots.
But it didn't, in fact it was a few weeks later when a comic book detailing the lush world that these warriors lived in debuted in my very own mailbox. I read it from cover to cover repeatedly and instantly knew that unfortunately, I was hooked.
Gradually the story evolved, bringing in the mysterious Bohrok and even the ungainly BOXOR and EXO-TOA suits (They've always seemed like they should be in capitals. Deal with it) and with it came the promise of change--perhaps the Toa we knew and loved were destined for something greater.
2003 appeared with mixed sentiments. Most of us here on BZP and across the fan spectrum had been eagerly studying the leaked images of the So-called Bohrok/Toa hybrids, with their strange and rather evil looking "Kranohi," could these things possibly be our much beloved Toa, or were they yet another fearsome enemy for them to face?
Well as we all know now, the so-called "Kranohi" turned out to be the powerful Kanohi Nuva, powerful and mysterious artifacts and the transformation of the original Kanohi masks--but more than that, as was rather clear from looking at the new masks (Minus the Kaukau, but it was always kind of an odd duck out) they introduced something new to the BIONICLE mythos (Or at least the plastic) unlike the previous Kanohi they were organic.
Again fan reactions were mixed, some still stand by the fact that Nuva-ization was the worst thing that could possibly happen, some eventually (and grudgingly) accepted that it was bound to happen, and others loved the changes almost immediately.
I myself was between camps two and three. Upon the advent of the Nuva I proudly announced my disdain for them--minus Kopaka and Gali--and to this date I still regret not picking up a Tahu Nuva.
Like what many perceive the conflict over the Mistika to be, the primary conflict about the Nuva was those masks (some of which I will not deny were godawful). Very few had issue with the characters or their presentation in the storyline--even the basic construction received props in most circles I frequented.
It was just those masks.
Sentiments on the Nuva remain mixed, but the fact remains it was a key part of the BIONICLE franchise, the first transformation of our primary heroes. And I think that's something that's forgotten fairly often--especially here on BZP. Back in those days (Man do I sound old) the Toa Nuva were the only heroes we knew about. The Metru, the Inika, the Mahri, the Hordika. These were concepts we couldn't even begin to grasp because we knew in those days that the Toa Nuva were destined to wake up Mata Nui--how could the story be about anybody else? It would be like Spider-Man comics suddenly passing off a new Spider-Man and telling us to love him instead (Funny story about that...)
Naturally the move away from the 'main Toa' ruffled a lot of feathers, but most were content until it became apparent that the Nuva were to be shunted to the back of the story while more, newer, edgier, cooler heroes were pushed to the forefront (Jeese, am I writing this on Marvel Comics or LEGO?). And then there came that first hint of something wonderful. The word that the Toa Nuva were not only going to return to their place in the story--but that they were to be redesigned and re-released.
Try and imagine the joy that old fogies such as myself felt. Our heroes were not only taking back what we always felt was their rightful place--but additionally they were coming back in plastic! Of course many of us (including myself) were also rather hesitant at accepting this at face level--not only because people can say just about anything on the Internet (By the way, I'm really Bill Gates. Don't tell anyone) but also because we had seen how few similarities were shared by the Matoran > Inika > Mahri transformations.
but hey, a little hope couldn't hurt, right?
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