Bionicle's true successor

[Zidonaro]

Now, I know there's Hero Factory out there and that HF is the official Successor theme to BIONICLE

 

However, let's suppose you could create a new theme that would be more similiar to BIONICLE in essence. What would be it's name ? What would be the plot ? The world ? There would be collectibles(like the kanohi masks or kanoka) ? Who would be the villain ? the heroes ? Would you add gears to the sets ? Would there be elemental powers ? How would you handle the History in the next years ? Or it would be a year long story only ?

Edited June 28, 2014 by jalar

[TheSkeletonMan939]

It'd be a loose continuation of the original Bionicle storyline. It takes place on Spherus Magna, but thousands of years after. Pretty much all of the original character are dead, except maybe Gresh and some of the others. All the Matoran are gone. The Agori of Bara Magna form a great superpower, while the inhabitants of Bota Magna form another; they're locked in a cease-fire, and they hate each other.

 

Then one day the Great Beings finally realize that things won't change for the better ever; that it's time to "reboot" the universe. They try to incite a conflict that will lead to the two empires destroying each other, leading to a huge power vacuum when they destroy each other. Then the Great Beings can step in and start the Element Lord process all over again; they awaken Mata Nui from the Ignika and invite him to become a Great Being to help.

 

As for the sets - I guess the first year could take place before the war, and the next few years could take place during the war. I guess since Gresh would be a familiar face, the Bara Magnans would be the good guys and the Bota Magnans would be the bad guys.

[Lyichir]

I don't know. Personally I'd be happy with just a Hero Factory theme with more consistent character development, better TV episodes, and more supplementary media (like the short-lived chapter book series). There's nothing inherently wrong with Hero Factory's worldbuilding, and in fact it improves on Bionicle's story in several ways (such as having an unbounded universe that's more conducive to storytelling, telling a more episodic story that allows for new fans to jump on easily, and focusing more on a core cast instead of constantly shifting between main characters). The only problem is that the media relating to the theme is generally mediocre.

[Click]

I had one idea that took place on a far away mining colony. After losing contact with Earth (or whatever the home colony was), the leader took over and imposed a military rule over the miners, requiring them to mine for him and his underlings.

 

Rather than having elements, I had classes of workers. There were miners (orange), transporters (blue), smelters (red), soldiers (green), elite (white), and maybe a few more. Each class would have their own varieties of functions, like the miners would have something like this (a punching function based on the Power Miners set), and the transporters would have wheeled functions. I also had this awesome idea for constructing faces, where eyes, mouths, and foreheads could be attached to a base similar to a Hordika neck and accessories like helmets, hair, eyepieces, and microphones could be added. This, along with new body types and colors, will provide a good variety to the sets.

 

Storywise, of course there would be a resistance. We could have lines of a combination of important/unique characters (miner foremen, aspiring leaders, etc.) and resistance groups. Larger sets of mining gear/military vehicles could be released as well.

[Hitoshura]

This idea maybe somewhat(or more than just somewhat) overused, but something like a post apocalypse setting. It has a bunch of robot-like beings running the world. The world is falling apart and the robots have to save it without it looking like the 2006-07 Bionicle story.

 

Or we can just have a Bionicle sequel focusing on Spherus Magna.

[Sumiki]

The BIONICLE sequel idea is the obvious way for LEGO to bring back the line if they ever chose to do so.
 
I don't find anything wrong with Hero Factory by itself, and I think it's really kind of wrong to compare the two. The lines would never even be compared if they weren't both constraction in nature. I've always thought of lines like Ninjago when talking about successor lines, because the storytelling is more similar with Ninjago than it is with Hero Factory.

[Axilus Prime]

A Bionicle reboot many years in the future, so far that an entirely new cast with the exception of Mata Nui and Makuta can be used. Makuta is resurrected by some means, prompting the "good guys" to resurrect the legendary figure from eons ago, Mata Nui, to face him. They do so, and boom. War for control of the planet. Nothing needs to be drawn from past stories other than those two characters, so people can jump into the story just like that.

 

Of course that's a bit unlikely since Lego seems strongly opposed to a Bionicle return. But they could do so much better if they just created a theme with all the seriousness of Bionicle. It doesn't need to be as complex. It just needs to have that serious tone again. That would lay the foundation for a better thought out story and characters.

[Wazdakka]

The only thing that can be a true successor to Bionicle is Bionicle.

[Click]

Honestly, I would like to see Bionicle too, but I am sure that if Lego brought it back with a simpler theme and new building concepts, many of the old fans would hate it. It wouldn't be the Bionicle we all grew up with, and it would just look like Bionicle in it's death throes mixed with Hero Factory, and that's the last thing I want. I would prefer a new story, one that can survive on it's own merits rather than the declining fan base of the past. Bionicle had a great storyline, and I want to see some of that, but it's been played out. Bionicle is dead in my mind. That doesn't mean I don't love adding my own characters to the universe, but I am acknowledging it probably will not come back. That is why I posted something new.

[fishers64]

Anything with an original epic storyline, stylized armor, and Lego pins and axles.

Edited June 29, 2014 by fishers64

[Spiderus Prime]

Well My Idea is taking about 1000 Years after Bionicle's ended as both Matoran and Agori as now one of the same,and They ever build cites named after their fallen brothers and sisters like Ice-Matoro City,Fire-Lhikan City,Earth-Marvah City,Water-Naho City,Stone-Kodan City,Air/Jungle-Nidhiki City,ect. With the Descendants that told all the many legends about their ancient warriors from The Legendary Mata Nui Robot called Toa who defeated monstrous monsters and It's Dark Overlords,The Makuta. Now a new kind a evil is rising who are descents of those Monsters and their Leader is a descent of Tuma,The Skrall Leader that terrorize the cities to bring chaos to their worlds until a Mysterious Elder come by to seven descents of The Toa who will be leaned about the ways of the Toa with new powers and skills to Fire,Water,Stone,Earth,Air,Ice,Stone, & Ever Light will defeated the Monstrous Villains and saved their cities. I only keep Kopaka as a Turaga,Mata Nui is always mentions sometimes and ever appeared,Makuta is only be mentions never to returns.      

[Lyichir]

The BIONICLE sequel idea is the obvious way for LEGO to bring back the line if they ever chose to do so.

 

I don't find anything wrong with Hero Factory by itself, and I think it's really kind of wrong to compare the two. The lines would never even be compared if they weren't both constraction in nature. I've always thought of lines like Ninjago when talking about successor lines, because the storytelling is more similar with Ninjago than it is with Hero Factory.

I don't see how the lines wouldn't be compared. Both deal with robotic-looking heroes with elemental powers fighting evil as a team. The sets are produced by the same company, and the story employs several of the same writers. The chapter books in particular (being pretty much the pinnacle of Hero Factory storytelling) could fit right in with the Bionicle universe with minor adjustments. And that's not just because they're written by Greg Farshtey—his work on the Ninjago and Chima books is just as good but you certainly wouldn't confuse the stories for Bionicle ones.

 

Besides that, the fact that they ARE both constraction ties the lines together a great deal, and since the sets were immensely important in making Bionicle what it is, a true "successor" would be similar in both sets AND story. Some fans may consider the story to be the only part of the Bionicle theme that was worth anything, but the story wouldn't even EXIST without the sets, and the sets constantly guided the direction of the story throughout its run.

 

Saying that only a sequel to Bionicle could truly count as a successor feels like a cop-out, to me, especially considering that any such sequel would almost certainly be under the same name (and thus not really a "successor" at all, but a continuation).

[Sumiki]

My point was only that if Hero Factory wasn't constraction, they wouldn't be compared. As it is, the constraction nature of both is the only commonality. In terms of story, a lot of lines share structures and concepts - Ninjago, Chima, heck, even Exo-Force back in the day. You don't see those compared to BIONICLE.

[Crunchyn]

What I want... a good hybrid of sci-fi and fantasy mostly which was what appealed to me most about Bionicle.

[boston100]

sequl 1000 years in the future.

[MetaToa]

Replacing Bionicle to a full extent is not really a good idea. Making a new Bionicle is not the same as the actual thing; it will be like a knockoff with the same story and yet not the same feeling around it.  

[~garnira returns~]

If it were to be a sequel to Bionicle, it would be set around 20 years after the end of the original line. I think I'd have a mixed bag of bad guys, including the Barraki, TSO, Makuta from an alternate dimension, Marendar, and some new characters of known species. The heroes would be The heroes from old Bionicle, but perhaps kind of reintroduced. They would be the same characters, but 20 years later, so there would be some changes. It would be set on Spherus Magna, of course, but I think I'd specifically set it on the Aqua Magna side. It would be centered around exploring and settling unknown continents and following in the footsteps of the Great Beings. I'd want to give it that early Bionicle feel of mystery, but with more contemporary characters and technology. Set wise, I'd try the mask pack thing along with the basic lineup of sets. The mainstream lineup of sets would be released similarly to how the 2008 sets were released, with 3 good guys and 3 bad guys per line of medium sets. The story would progress as it did in old Bionicle, with an overall story progression year by year, but a different subplot of sorts each year. If I reached the climax of the overall story and there was still a large following, I'd just create a new goal or bring back an old villain.

 

I'd call it something like Bionicle, Chronicles of Tomorrow or Spherus Magna.

[Lyichir]

Replacing Bionicle to a full extent is not really a good idea. Making a new Bionicle is not the same as the actual thing; it will be like a knockoff with the same story and yet not the same feeling around it.

A true successor doesn't have to have the same story by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, what the original poster is specifying seems to imply a spiritual sequel: a successor with a DIFFERENT story but with similar themes and general tone.