Jump to content

Are treads canon ?


Zidonaro

Recommended Posts

Yes, the treads are canon. We don't know how or why, but that's how the Makuta made them.

 

Though it does make me wonder about the Rahi-Nui. It was said to have the body and hind legs of a Muaka--does that mean it had the treads of said creature, or was it the clawed legs simply placed on the opposite end? Anyone else ever have this dilema? The text, both times the beast appeared in the books, described specifically "hind legs" (plural) or a Muaka. Ideas, anyone? Someone wanna ask Greg about it?

Edited by ~The 1st Shadow~

~Your friendly, neighborhood Shadow

 

sotpbanner.png

~Credit for Avatar and Banner goes to

NickonAquaMagna~

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are we forgetting that Rahi are biomechanical? The wheels don't have to be biological parts. They can have skin over protodermis wheels, and it would be entirely normal for the MU. So to answer the original question; Yes.

 

EDIT: Kapura'd.

Edited by Regitnui
  • Upvote 2

:r: :e: :g: :i: :t: :n: :u: :i:

Elemental Rahi in Gen2, anyone? A write-up for an initial video for a G2 plot

 

I really wish everyone would stop trying to play join the dots with Gen 1 and Gen 2 though,it seems there's a couple new threads everyday and often they're duplicates of already existing conversations! Or simply parallel them with a slightly new 'twist'! Gen 2 is NEW, it is NOT Gen 1 and it is NOT a continuation. Outside of the characters we already have I personally don't want to see ANY old characters return. I think it will cheapen the whole experience to those of us familiar with the original line...

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What always bothered me was the Muaka Hordika in Web of Shadows having legs. The real-world reason is the animators just reused the Graalok model from Mask of Light, but it seems strange for Hordiak Venom to for some reason turn treads to legs. It doesn't seem that bestial.

 

As for the description of hind legs in the books, I'd blame the inconsistencies typical for the Hapka books, except for the fact that Farsthey wrote Tales of the Masks. It's presumably just a non-canon mistake on his part.

"You are an absolute in these uncertain times. Your past is forgotten, and your
future is an empty book. You must find your own destiny, my brave adventurer.
"
-- Turaga Nokama

nichijou2.jpg

Click here to visit my library!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are we forgetting that Rahi are biomechanical? The wheels don't have to be biological parts. They can have skin over protodermis wheels, and it would be entirely normal for the MU. So to answer the original question; Yes.

 

EDIT: Kapura'd.

 

Kapura'd? Oh, man, that's brilliant. This needs to be a thing. :P

  • Upvote 13
"You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant."
-- Harlan Ellison

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What always bothered me was the Muaka Hordika in Web of Shadows having legs.

It shouldn't -- Hordika means mutated. :)

 

 

 

To the topic question... well, I've been Kapura'd too, so yeah. :lol: (And no, the treads aren't biological -- why would you think that? :) Though they might have a few biological components, I suppose.) Basically, Rahi are robots, but with organic components too. It's normal for robots to have treads, so why should we think of it as weird for artificial lifeforms that are part machine?

 

(To be clear, Rahi aren't literally robots, I mean that robots have treads because they're artificial, and so do some Rahi. :))

 

Oh, one point I wasn't Ninja'd on that I thought of when I saw the topic title -- Greg said sets are generally canon (other than obvious things like not being made out of plastic, and having organic components too). Aside from the (astutely noticed) Pewku treads (which we could see aren't canon since they weren't in the older Ussal crab set form), then, the treads are canon simply because they're there in the set form. :)

  • Upvote 2

The Destiny of Bionicle (chronological retelling of Bionicle original series, 9 PDFs of 10 chapters each on Google Drive)Part 1 - Warring with Fate | Part 2 - Year of Change | Part 3 - The Exploration Trap | Part 4 - Rise of the Warlords | Part 5 - A Busy Matoran | Part 6 - The Dark Time | Part 7 - Proving Grounds | Part 8 - A Rude Awakening | Part 9 - The Battle of Giants

My Bionicle Fanfiction  (Google Drive folder, eventually planned to have PDFs of all of it)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, glad to see others have most excellently answered the question already. But for some help in similar dilemmas, here are some general guidelines.

 

1. The sets are generally 98% accurate to the canon appearance. Only obvious things like the Bahrag being incapacitated by pin removal, the Rahkshi losing their Kraata by being bonked on the head, Pewku treads, and the ACTION FIGURE GAME MONITOR THINGIES are non-canon.

 

2. MU inhabitants are basically robots with organic stuff inside so they run smoother. Bara Magnans are organic beings with mechanical stuff added so they're stronger. The result on both ends is a being that can be mistaken for 100% robotic even if you closely examine them, unless you take a look at their insides. So, anything that doesn't fit our standards of anatomy (like not having treads, or having humanlike proportions) is perfectly acceptable.

Pk57sNJ.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nothing personal, but this is one of the things I dislike about the Bionicle fandom. Like, why do people even care? Why does it matter whether one aspect or another of a set is or isn't canon? I truly hope the new Bionicle doesn't concern itself with whether a character's appearance in one medium is more or less canon than their appearance in another medium or as a set. Because it's a really trivial thing and it's far easier to let people come to their own decisions about how they prefer characters represented.

  • Upvote 2

Formerly Lyichir: Rachira of Influence

Aanchir's and Meiko's brother

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nothing personal, but this is one of the things I dislike about the Bionicle fandom. Like, why do people even care? Why does it matter whether one aspect or another of a set is or isn't canon? I truly hope the new Bionicle doesn't concern itself with whether a character's appearance in one medium is more or less canon than their appearance in another medium or as a set. Because it's a really trivial thing and it's far easier to let people come to their own decisions about how they prefer characters represented.

now, in general, i agree with you on this. but i have to say that in this particular instance it's interesting to know what's canon and what's just set design. i had never actually thought about the fact that the '01 Rahi had friggin' treads on them until now...and hey, it turns out that those are actually A Thing in the canon, and they make for some potentially really creepy headcanon depictions.

  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nothing personal, but this is one of the things I dislike about the Bionicle fandom. Like, why do people even care? Why does it matter whether one aspect or another of a set is or isn't canon? 

 

Well, Rahi (which are clearly supposed to represent animals) with wheels and treads, biomechanical or not, are at least an uncommon and strange thing. It's no surprise they abandoned this in later years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have nothing against the treads, though I can see why they were dropped. Although it worked well for some rahi like the tarakava, others like the Muaka looked a little awkward. My solution for the Muaka/Kane-Ra in general would be to give them two hind legs with a tread on each so they keep the solid panther look but still have dem sweet treads.

 

And don't be surprised if you see me saying "Kapura'd" these days. That's one of those things that's so brilliant it only comes once every few decades. The world will never be the same...

Edited by Banana Gunz
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The treads are canon, however when bionicle was first beginning the characters weren't really meant to show organic protodermis, so I think they were designed more like large fighting machines. It was only til the later years of bionicle that they removed the treads deal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Nothing personal, but this is one of the things I dislike about the Bionicle fandom. Like, why do people even care? Why does it matter whether one aspect or another of a set is or isn't canon? I truly hope the new Bionicle doesn't concern itself with whether a character's appearance in one medium is more or less canon than their appearance in another medium or as a set. Because it's a really trivial thing and it's far easier to let people come to their own decisions about how they prefer characters represented.

now, in general, i agree with you on this. but i have to say that in this particular instance it's interesting to know what's canon and what's just set design. i had never actually thought about the fact that the '01 Rahi had friggin' treads on them until now...and hey, it turns out that those are actually A Thing in the canon, and they make for some potentially really creepy headcanon depictions.

 

I, too, think that's usually true, but justified in this case. A set-story discrepancy this noticeable does seem like it deserves attention. It's something a fanfic writer or a MOCist making a Muaka revamp would reasonably want to know.

 

 

What always bothered me was the Muaka Hordika in Web of Shadows having legs.

It shouldn't -- Hordika means mutated. :)

 

I know it was mutated, but it seems radically unusual for Hordika Venom. Generally, the mutation doesn't add or get rid of major anatomical traits, except Rhotuka spinners. The Dark Hunter Spinner, for example, is still a humanoid.

"You are an absolute in these uncertain times. Your past is forgotten, and your
future is an empty book. You must find your own destiny, my brave adventurer.
"
-- Turaga Nokama

nichijou2.jpg

Click here to visit my library!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The answer was stated earlier in the topic. The mutated muaka model was a modified ash bear. Keep in mind the movies were direct-to-video/dvd ones, so they most likely did it as a means to save both time and money. It's probably the same reason why the MoL background matoran models were reused in LoMN and why Teridax's "Ultimate Dume" form was his titan form but with wings slapped on.

 

If the developers had more resources, the muaka might have looked different. Or it might not have because, let's face it, wild animals on wheels are kind of silly.

Edited by Sharnak the Bohrok Lord
  • Upvote 1

Remember Artwork III?

It was the best of times.

It was the worst of times.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nothing personal, but this is one of the things I dislike about the Bionicle fandom. Like, why do people even care? Why does it matter whether one aspect or another of a set is or isn't canon?

People simply like to know. :) As has been brought up in past discussions on canon, in the real world, there's only one "how it is" (at least in our own universe :P) -- we might hear rumors, but want to know what actually happened. Similarly, knowing what's actually canon can help make fiction feel more real. ^_^

 

Also, if somebody wondering about what is and isn't canon doesn't appeal to you, simply don't follow such discussions. :) That way you both get what you want, as opposed to you stopping somebody else from getting what they want just because you don't want it, yanno? =)

 

Because it's a really trivial thing

The same could be said about trivia games (as the name implies :P). They're still fun, and more importantly, good mental exercise. ;)

 

Well, Rahi (which are clearly supposed to represent animals) with wheels and treads, biomechanical or not, are at least an uncommon and strange thing. It's no surprise they abandoned this in later years.

First, the problem with this reasoning is it is anti-imagination -- things can only exist if they are very similar to real-world things? Why cannot a tiger-like alien artificial creature exist with treads? Just because no such thing yet exists on Earth? (Although robotic "creatures" already do exist. :P)

 

Second, it is not that they "represent" animals in the sense that Earth animals are "really" what they are, but they are inspired by real-world animals. There's a crucial difference there, because the ones with treads are also inspired by real-world mechanical things that have treads. They represent a fusion of real-world animals and real-world machinery, not just one or the other. That would be like objecting to a new recipe by picking out just one ingredient and saying the recipe clearly represents only that ingredient. No, imagination spurs us to make new things by recombining things from the old in new ways. That is how you yourself came to be -- it is part of the core of what it means to be human.

 

Third, treads not being in later creatures probably had much more to do with a lack of set reason for there to be, not for the reasons you seem to be implying here. :) After 2001, "that had been done." It also had to do with the famous mis-estimation of primary target audience in 2001 as Technic fans, when it turned out to be roleplayers, so later sets moved away from Technic style in general, and that meant later main-story villain sets got small and simple. So most Rahi were made as combiner sets, not main sets, and you can't add treads into a combiner set if there's no parts for it in the source sets. Part of it was probably also that they just forgot the importance of staying consistent with it. However, in 2009 somebody did remember because treads were added to one of those sets again!

 

I know it was mutated, but it seems radically unusual for Hordika Venom.

Unusual does not mean nonexistent, remember. Just unusual. And the unusual should be encountered sometimes to be realistic. :)

 

Also, we don't really know that it's unusual. Actually, since treads themselves are unusual, and legs more common, maybe Visorak venom isn't 'programmed' to handle large-scale mechanical features like that? Maybe it's just too confusing and the transformation defaults to legs instead? For all we know, that could be the standard rule for Hordika versions of tread creatures. Clearly there are standard rules to the venom since it transformed all six Toa Metru in roughly the same way.

 

Generally, the mutation doesn't add or get rid of major anatomical traits, except Rhotuka spinners.

The problem with this reasoning is you're basing it on cases where no such major mechanical trait exists in the first place, so they may be irrelevant. You could apply it also to the Toa Hordika's faces to illustrate the fallacy. Generally, the mutation doesn't fuse masks to body parts, because masks aren't FOUND on most body parts. But every place a mask WAS found, it was fused. Likewise, every place we have seen a tread in the original form of a Rahi (which is just once) that became a Hordika, it was removed.

 

Plus, even if we had cases where such major mechanical features weren't wiped out, you're still arguing from a majority to a conclusion of universality. If you show that something happens 90% of the time, does that prove that the 10% doesn't exist? No.

  • Upvote 2

The Destiny of Bionicle (chronological retelling of Bionicle original series, 9 PDFs of 10 chapters each on Google Drive)Part 1 - Warring with Fate | Part 2 - Year of Change | Part 3 - The Exploration Trap | Part 4 - Rise of the Warlords | Part 5 - A Busy Matoran | Part 6 - The Dark Time | Part 7 - Proving Grounds | Part 8 - A Rude Awakening | Part 9 - The Battle of Giants

My Bionicle Fanfiction  (Google Drive folder, eventually planned to have PDFs of all of it)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have nothing against the treads, though I can see why they were dropped. Although it worked well for some rahi like the tarakava, others like the Muaka looked a little awkward. My solution for the Muaka/Kane-Ra in general would be to give them two hind legs with a tread on each so they keep the solid panther look but still have dem sweet treads.

 

And don't be surprised if you see me saying "Kapura'd" these days. That's one of those things that's so brilliant it only comes once every few decades. The world will never be the same...

Firstly, I want to see that MoC. Secondly, wow, I'm sure someone had done the Kapura'd thing before...

 

In the movie, Vakama acts surprised, almost terrified by being approached by this hordika-fied creature. Not that he's an expert, but I'm ninety percent sure he could recognize one of Metru and Mata Nui's major predators. So him reacting with shock to seeing a Muaka without treads leads me to believe such a thing is similar to us humans seeing a lion with a motorcycle for a butt: Terrifyingly weird.

  • Upvote 2

:r: :e: :g: :i: :t: :n: :u: :i:

Elemental Rahi in Gen2, anyone? A write-up for an initial video for a G2 plot

 

I really wish everyone would stop trying to play join the dots with Gen 1 and Gen 2 though,it seems there's a couple new threads everyday and often they're duplicates of already existing conversations! Or simply parallel them with a slightly new 'twist'! Gen 2 is NEW, it is NOT Gen 1 and it is NOT a continuation. Outside of the characters we already have I personally don't want to see ANY old characters return. I think it will cheapen the whole experience to those of us familiar with the original line...

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am perfectly okay with Mauka, Kane-re and Manas having treads but not a Tarakava. Seriously, how would it swim if it only had a tiny fin behind its treads? The treads would have been very hard to swim with, too.

How's a snake swim? "Kick" the whole tread section up and down. Should work. :P (Snakes are side to side, but same idea.) The tail acts like one giant fin.

 

Plus, there could be "fins" running along the sides as I theorized for this art to make it more effective.

 

IMO, however it works, the Tarakava treads are actually the best of the bunch. The others basically replace legs and look cool, but the Tarakava actually can speed like a motorcycle on land (as shown in the Ga-Koro fight with Gali in MNOG). Taking that away would be massive fail IMO. :P

The Destiny of Bionicle (chronological retelling of Bionicle original series, 9 PDFs of 10 chapters each on Google Drive)Part 1 - Warring with Fate | Part 2 - Year of Change | Part 3 - The Exploration Trap | Part 4 - Rise of the Warlords | Part 5 - A Busy Matoran | Part 6 - The Dark Time | Part 7 - Proving Grounds | Part 8 - A Rude Awakening | Part 9 - The Battle of Giants

My Bionicle Fanfiction  (Google Drive folder, eventually planned to have PDFs of all of it)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The tarakava, I always thought, worked like a cross between a mantis and a snake. It would hold its front limbs off the ground, and slither along with the rest of its body. If it needed to hurry, it would rear up onto its treads and use them like it did in the MNOLG.

:r: :e: :g: :i: :t: :n: :u: :i:

Elemental Rahi in Gen2, anyone? A write-up for an initial video for a G2 plot

 

I really wish everyone would stop trying to play join the dots with Gen 1 and Gen 2 though,it seems there's a couple new threads everyday and often they're duplicates of already existing conversations! Or simply parallel them with a slightly new 'twist'! Gen 2 is NEW, it is NOT Gen 1 and it is NOT a continuation. Outside of the characters we already have I personally don't want to see ANY old characters return. I think it will cheapen the whole experience to those of us familiar with the original line...

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I am perfectly okay with Mauka, Kane-re and Manas having treads but not a Tarakava. Seriously, how would it swim if it only had a tiny fin behind its treads? The treads would have been very hard to swim with, too.

How's a snake swim? "Kick" the whole tread section up and down. Should work. :P (Snakes are side to side, but same idea.) The tail acts like one giant fin.

 

Plus, there could be "fins" running along the sides as I theorized for this art to make it more effective.

 

IMO, however it works, the Tarakava treads are actually the best of the bunch. The others basically replace legs and look cool, but the Tarakava actually can speed like a motorcycle on land (as shown in the Ga-Koro fight with Gali in MNOG). Taking that away would be massive fail IMO. :P

 

Ah! The picture with the fins makes it a lot more easy to understand. I always thought of the Tarakava being stuck in the position from the set. I can now see how that would work. Thank you!

  • Upvote 1

I HATE SCORPIOS


 


~Pohatu Master of Stone, 2015

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

How's a snake swim? 

Snakes swim?

 

Absolutely, they do! For starters, there are sea snakes, which spend their entire lives in the water. But in addition to that, there are plenty of species of water snake, including the water moccasin, one of the three species of venomous snakes native to my home state of Virginia.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

How's a snake swim?

Snakes swim?

 

I always pictured the Tarakava flattening themselves out and speeding along the ocean floor.

Yes, yes they do. Most reptiles swim in that way, notably crocodilians.
  • Upvote 1

:r: :e: :g: :i: :t: :n: :u: :i:

Elemental Rahi in Gen2, anyone? A write-up for an initial video for a G2 plot

 

I really wish everyone would stop trying to play join the dots with Gen 1 and Gen 2 though,it seems there's a couple new threads everyday and often they're duplicates of already existing conversations! Or simply parallel them with a slightly new 'twist'! Gen 2 is NEW, it is NOT Gen 1 and it is NOT a continuation. Outside of the characters we already have I personally don't want to see ANY old characters return. I think it will cheapen the whole experience to those of us familiar with the original line...

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Snakes swim?

Sorry, I forget not everybody has seen it personally. :P

 

RT, glad to help. ^_^ Yeah, I think there's a canon image somewhere of them swimming like that. I guess I thought that was common knowledge (but the fins are my idea).

The Destiny of Bionicle (chronological retelling of Bionicle original series, 9 PDFs of 10 chapters each on Google Drive)Part 1 - Warring with Fate | Part 2 - Year of Change | Part 3 - The Exploration Trap | Part 4 - Rise of the Warlords | Part 5 - A Busy Matoran | Part 6 - The Dark Time | Part 7 - Proving Grounds | Part 8 - A Rude Awakening | Part 9 - The Battle of Giants

My Bionicle Fanfiction  (Google Drive folder, eventually planned to have PDFs of all of it)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really dont know which animal the tarakava was based on... Some say its based on a lizard, tho Lizards walks with their chests on the ground. Others says its based on a snake, tho snakes dont have arms. I assume it's a crazy mix between the two.

Edited by HoloTheWise
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really dont know which animal the tarakava was based on... Some say its based on a lizard, tho Lizards walks with their chests on the ground. Others says its based on a snake, tho snakes dont have arms. I assume it's a crazy mix between the two.

 

It's a Tarakava bro, do you even know? Like fo shizzles I can't believe you've never seen a real life tarakava before. Noobz.

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...