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Could we see more Gen 1 elements in Gen 2 Bionicle?


Makuta_of_Oz

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As a pure genwunner who is against this idea of a 100% reboot, obviously I yearn for more Gen 1 elements in Gen 2 Bionicle. But what's to say it won't happen?

 

LEGO stated in their meeting in BZPower's video that they wanted to dumb down the names so younger fans can more easily understand, meaning species like Matoran, Skakdi, Vortixx and Skrall are no more. But there are a few elements of Gen 1 that can still work despite this:

 

Dark Hunters

 

The ultimate example of Gen 1 elements that can transition seamlessly into Gen 2 are the Dark Hunters. The name "Dark Hunters" is perfect for the new naming system used in Gen 2 Bionicle, the name "The Shadowed One" is both mysterious and fitting for Gen 2, and nearly all Dark Hunters have English code names (though there's no way we'll see Gen 1 characters that don't, such as Triglax and Lariska).

 

When I was hoping for a continuation, I argued that The Shadowed One would be the perfect new main villain because of his hidden name, and his organisation, and I can see both returning in Gen 2 Bionicle as alternate villains. Bionicle has had alternate villains before and lasted 9 years doing so (Dark Hunters, Barraki, Skrall), and other successful franchises had multiple main villains (eg. Batman had the Joker and the Riddler, and Spiderman had Goblin and Doc Oc), so why not do it again now?

 

Great Beings

 

The Great Beings could be deities or demigods (or even Gods) in Gen 2 Bionicle. In fact I feel Ekimu and Makuta could be Great Beings. Okay, so Gen 1 Great Beings can't wear masks, but what's stopping Gen 2 Great Beings (if they exist) from being able to do so? Remember, this is a reboot, so LEGO can easily redesign the Great Beings as they see fit.

 

Great Spirits

 

Again with the idea of redesigning past elements, Gen 2 Bionicle could have Gods known as Great Spirits who could be worshipped as Mata Nui was (and be actual spirits rather than 40,000,000' tall robots).

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I don't think it's "dumbing down the names" so much as it's trying to reduce the complex terminology. I noticed that when people unfamiliar with the old BIONICLE try to read up on it, there tends to be a strong (negative) reaction toward the large amount of complex names and terminology. It's probably not a bad thing for the new BIONICLE to try and reduce that. Even I get a lot of the names confused and I've been a fan since the beginning.

 

At this point it's impossible to say how many cues they'll take from old BIONICLE. Those are definitely terms they can use, but whether or not they will be used, or if they would even have the same meaning, is completely up in the air at this point. The only thing I'd suggest is not having both 'Great Spirits' and 'Great Beings' as separate terms. I still can't remember what the difference is, and like I said, I've been a fan from the beginning.

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Ugh. Not everything you mentioned was terrible in the original (a good deal though), but I dearly hope those things are not brought back in any way, shape, or form.

 

~B~

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Yeah, I don't think any of the things you mentioned are necessary for the new story. The Dark Hunters could be interchanged with any other villains easily due to the fact that they were all different anyway, and as an organization I see no need for them to return. As for Great Beings and Great Spirits, I see little reason to call gods or other worshiped entities that when the term will mean something different to older fans—if the concept is new, it should have a new name.

 

One of the groups you DIDN'T mention that I would think could have a lot of potential, funnily enough, is the Element Lords. The idea of beings composed of pure elemental energy is an iconic one (one which even appeared to some extent in Throwbots), and one that I believe could be utilized more. The CCBS has enough transparent colors and the like to maybe make figures like that work (likely with some new molds as well) as a set of antagonists.

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It's also worth noting that some of those names you mention like Vortixx and Skakdi were not created until a year or more after the characters in question were introduced. So not using names like that doesn't "dumb things down" any more than they were when those sorts of characters debuted.

 

Meanwhile, you also provided some examples of more generic names used even in the old BIONICLE such as the Great Beings and Dark Hunters. The Shadowed One is even a character who uses a generic name. If using generic names for groups like this was not a problem, why would using generic terms for Okoto's villagers or the evil Skull Spiders be seen as "dumbing things down"?

 

In general, I'm sure the new BIONICLE will accumulate more jargon and complexity as it goes on, and that seems to be a big reason behind the designers NOT using a lot of it in the theme's first year. BIONICLE's problem was not the use of specific terminology so much as the fact that it got more and more of this kind of terminology each year, so that towards the end it was practically drowning in it. Starting things off simple and using theme-specific terminology only where it's needed (like character names, or the term Toa, or the island name Okoto) will give the theme more room for growth without making things so very complicated so very quickly.

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You do realize "genwunner" is a purely derogatory term, right?

 

And I'm not so sure the Dark Hunters could make the transition, considering Lego appears to want the reboot to be more child-friendly and the Dark Hunters are a gang of thieves who regularly talk about how many people they've killed in gruesome ways.

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