blogs_blog_1497

I sort of get where you're coming from, but at the same time, him being set up as a "planner" helped me feel a lot better about his involvement in post-2001 story arcs.

 

In 2003, I felt really disappointed to find that the release of the Bohrok Swarms was just a part of Makuta's "plan" to subdue the Matoran. I was much happier thinking of the Bahrag as autonomous beings and the release of the swarms being an unintended reaction to Makuta's defeat. Instead, the Bahrag started to seem like Makuta's pawns. Even the Bahrag's powers got nerfed in 2003, when it was revealed that the "tunnel wall illusion" trick from the comics had apparently been Makuta's doing, not the Bahrag's.

 

Then in 2004, we had another interesting villain — a suspiciously authoritarian Turaga, who led a dystopian Matoran society policed by robot enforcers. It was neat to see an authority figure who challenged the Toa using political authority, not magical powers or brute strength. But once again, it turned out that it was just Makuta in disguise, pulling the strings.

 

At this point, if Makuta hadn't been set up as a "planner" whose behind-the-scenes machinations were an inherent part of his characterization, then I probably wouldn't have ever wanted to see him again after his defeat by Takanuva. It was starting to seem contrived that he managed to survive any apparent defeat completely by chance, or that whenever an imposing new villain showed up, it turned out to be either Makuta or an unwitting pawn. TVTropes calls this trope "Hijacked by Ganon", based on the similar tendency in the Legend of Zelda franchise to invoke its classic villain as the real enemy even in stories that seem like they're going to set up a fresh, new main villain.

 

But Time Trap helped to establish that OK, he might not have WANTED to be defeated all of these times, but he had at least taken steps to prepare for that eventuality, and he wasn't just an enemy too thick to know when he was beaten. He was perfectly willing to feign defeat in anticipation of later victories. And for me, that made his 2002, 2003, and 2004 appearances, as well as his return in 2006 and 2007, a lot more bearable.

idk I kinda get where you're coming from (and its his involvement past 2004 that started rubbing me wrong the most) but I feel like up until 2005 it was more easily justified. For example, Makuta wasn't really even defeated in 2001, so it made sense for him to continue to strike. In fact, the only reason he struck with the Bohrok at all, for storyline purposes, was to set up another mystery: what are the Bohrok for? Because the 2002 story made it at least somewhat clear that they weren't malicious, and they had the "clean it all it must be cleaned" thing going on. I could tolerate that because Makuta still had reasons to strike, and the Bohrok served as a way to deepen the mysteries of the island. (As for the Bohrok Kal, I don't remember correctly, but I don't think they were affiliated with Makuta at all. They were a failsafe mechanism in case the Bahrag were detained from their mission somehow.)

 

After that, 2003, his involvement is obvious, as the Toa of Light is the one who is destined to be able to defeat him, so he obviously would try his hardest to stop him from coming (and that's why it bugs me so much that he "planned" to be defeated because if he did it made no sense for him to try so hard to stop his coming from happening.)

 

2004, his involvement was a necessary evil. We already knew he put Mata Nui to sleep, so if the Turaga had a tale to tell, it was inevitable they'd have to tell that bit. With that in mind, I feel it was handled decently. Yes, it involved a bit of "Planner", but not enough that it undermined his destructive spirit aspect.

 

However, from that point on, yes, it was ridiculous how much he got involved. 2005? His Visorak hordes. 2006? He controlled Zaktan. 2007? Surprise, surprise. And then, in 2008, when he didn't appear at all? Bam, there he is, right at the end. But to me, knowing him as a Planner doesn't make it any easier to swallow, it just reeks of lazy writing. Anything can be written off as "all part of the plan" so you don't need to bother actually outlining anything about it.

I too understand where you are coming from, even if I don't really agree with it. However, ascribing either the blame or praise to Greg for Makuta's nature in the later years doesn't really make sense, as it wasn't ever his decision, or at least his alone Everything from Makuta being a species to Terridax lying about much of his nature was planned from the very beginning, and most of Greg's writing from 2001 to 2008 (minus the serials) was just him taking the basic plot-lines set in stone early on and filling in the details. The mystery of the early years was filled with misdirection, true, but it was intentional misdirection, and since they were planned from the beginning, the revelations later on were not in any way retcons.

 

That said, I kind of wonder if the storyline might not have concluded better if TLC had given 2010 a whole year and two waves of sets, or if sales hadn't declined and they had decided to go with the original storyline of Inika saving Mata Nui in 2008 but not awakening him, and then the Toa Nuva attempting to find the Great Beings starting in 2009. Though, I still think Greg handled things fairly well with Journey's End, all things considered.

Was it? I've never been too certain about how much was planned and how much was Greg's work. The only bit I knew was planned all along was the giant robot.

 

Greg was definitely responsible for the shift in his personality, though.

Yep. Sometime before the site downtime, Greg posted a comprehensive list of all the major plots twist in Bionicle and detailed which ones were planned from the beginning and which weren't. Makuta being a species was one of the twists that was, which means that all the stuff Teridax said in early years about being the spirit of destruction and Mata Nu's brother was always lies. The topic is long since gone due to the dataclysm, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who remembers this.

Hm. Being part of a species and being a powerful entity of destruction don't necessarily counter each other, though, and his transformation from that sort of villain to a Planner and a Politician aren't necessarily linked to that.

I fail to see how a villain that just has "a drive to destroy" is in any way less generic than a villain that actually knows what they're doing. That's basically every Saturday Morning Cartoon villain ever: evil for its own sake, not for any particular reason. Villains like that have no real depth, they cannot possibly carry a story for very long.

Teridax being an ominous cardboard cutout would've been fine if BIONICLE was just a single-year franchise, but with the story going beyond that, he had to evolve as a character. That being said, I'll admit that BIONICLE's writing is far from perfect. Things being written off as "all part of the plan" is just lazy writing. It also doesn't help that most of Teridax's involvement was revealed retroactively.

Father, the main villain of Fullmetal Alchemist, is a good standard to hold these types of villains to. He had a plan - one pretty similar to Teridax's, actually - but he didn't go "I totally meant to do that" with every setback, he just reacted and adjusted his plan accordingly. He was a far more believable character and threat.

his motivations changed from a drive to destroy to simply a jealous bid for power

That motive isn't something that came later, it was established from day one.

I know he had a bid for power all along, but his motivations changed from being a spirit of darkness and destruction and thus opposing everything Mata Nui stood for... to, as I said, simply being an angry janitor.

 

I stand that there is nothing wrong with a dark spirit with a drive to destroy in a long-running franchise, and my case is Samurai Jack. Did Aku ever have to become a Planner? And being a spirit of destruction doesn't mean not knowing what you're doing, since he clearly knew what he was doing 2001-2003. The only time he saw real defeat was at the end of 2003 (which was then written off as "all part of keikaku"). I'm saying it's fine if he had a plan, but that was what defined his character from 2006 on. It was just "I have plans" and "Look at me I'm Makuta". He didn't evolve as a character. He changed, but he didn't gain any depth. He went from a cardboard cutout to a cardboard cutout posed differently.

I know he had a bid for power all along, but his motivations changed from being a spirit of darkness and destruction and thus opposing everything Mata Nui stood for... to, as I said, simply being an angry janitor.

Except that's clearly not what happened. He can't be driven by a compulsion to destroy and have a personal reason for doing these things. The two motives contradict each other.

 

I know that in MNOG he said that he was a Spirit of Destruction, but every single other thing from 2001 always gave his envy of Mata Nui as his main motive. The only reason MNOG didn't mention that, was because that version of the legend wasn't narrated.

 

I stand that there is nothing wrong with a dark spirit with a drive to destroy in a long-running franchise, and my case is Samurai Jack. Did Aku ever have to become a Planner?

 

Not a good example. Aku had already won by the time the story starts, no further planning necessary, and he was played for comedy fairly often. Samurai Jack is also an episodic series, with any semblance of an overarching plot being little more than a framing device.

 

It was just "I have plans" and "Look at me I'm Makuta". He didn't evolve as a character. He changed, but he didn't gain any depth. He went from a cardboard cutout to a cardboard cutout posed differently.

I don't know, I think usurping power because the people you were meant to protect detest you, and instead worship a completely inattentive god has a lot more depth than "because I'm evil".

Except that's clearly not what happened. He can't be driven by a compulsion to destroy and have a personal reason for doing these things. The two motives contradict each other.

 

 

Really? He can't want to usurp a spirit that's against everything he stands for? That contradicts his motive how?

 

Not a good example. Aku had already won by the time the story starts, no further planning necessary, and he was played for comedy fairly often. Samurai Jack is also an episodic series, with any semblance of an overarching plot being little more than a framing device.

 

 

Actually, Samurai Jack's main conflict showed up fairly often, with Jack consistently running into something to help his quest, or some conflict related to Aku, or Aku himself. Sure, any episode of it can be enjoyed alone, but together it still adds up to a plot. And actually, the lack of the same sort of style in Bionicle is part of what drove it into the ground.

 

I don't know, I think usurping power because the people you were meant to protect detest you, and instead worship a completely inattentive god has a lot more depth than "because I'm evil".

 

 

Not really, considering the canon reason people detested him was because he unleashed Archives exhibits on a few Matoran war leaders, which essentially adds up to "because I'm evil".

Really? He can't want to usurp a spirit that's against everything he stands for? That contradicts his motive how?

 

At its core, Teridax's motive was a simple "I want what Mata Nui has" not "I don't like what Mata Nui stands for".

 

Actually, Samurai Jack's main conflict showed up fairly often, with Jack consistently running into something to help his quest, or some conflict related to Aku, or Aku himself. Sure, any episode of it can be enjoyed alone, but together it still adds up to a plot.

 

Yes, the conflict showed up often, but there was never any real progress for either side. This is best seen with the cliffhanger from Episode XIV, which was never resolved. Not even a simple 'Jack lost the fight' or 'Aku destroyed the Portal' resolution. It's a total cop-out.

 

Besides the occasional reference to an earlier episode (The Scotsman, for instance), there was no continuity. You could rearrange the episodes in almost any order and it would make no difference.

 

There's nothing wrong with an episodic style, of course. Samurai Jack is a fantastic show, but it's not how you do an ongoing arc.

 

And actually, the lack of the same sort of style in Bionicle is part of what drove it into the ground.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by this. BIONICLE should've been episodic?