Why did nobody ever use a Suva after 2003?

[flynn58]

It's like, why? Literally no Toa is seen using a suva after 2003, and that seems pretty stupid. Why limit yourself to only one kanohi?

 

Worse, why did Artahka never create Golden Kanohi Nuva? We know he created the original Golden Kanohi, and he created additional Kanohi Nuva that were scattered across Mata Nui and the Adaptive Armor versions for 2008. So why not create Golden Kanohi Nuva so that they could use all six of their powers? It's not like they're going to be around each other all the time, teams have to divide into smaller groups sometimes, and they actually do so in the serials. So why make them go through that entire stupid mask fetch quest again in 2003 after they had already done so in 2001? Especially when time is of the essence and they need to defeat the Bohrok-Kal.

[Pomegranate]

The story never called for it. Technically the Toa Metru were at a Suva when they were transformed. After the Metru Nui stuff, the Toa Nuva left for Voya Nui, and later traveled all over the MU, and the Toa Inika were on Voya Nui for a short time before plunging below the sea and then getting teleported back. I'm pretty sure a Suva's range is limited-- enough to accommodate a whole island is still a lot, so it's not like they were wholly impractical. After the Mata Nui years, nobody really had the time to go build an entire Suva and collect 60 masks (11 different non-legendary great masks in circulation in 2004 for 6 Toa if you already count the ones they're wearing). That would be a bigger waste of time. Artahka didn't need to create Golden Kanohi Nuva because the Kanohi Nuva already share their power with teammates, and working together is kinda their biggest strength. It's also possible he didn't have the resources at the time to create a new set of insanely powerful masks on short notice. He definitely had his hands full around the time the Adaptive Armor came into play. They needed to go on a fetch quest during the Bohrok-Kal threat because the Kal stole their elemental powers-- they clearly could not defeat them on their own, as they tried and failed, and so they had to go get new masks so they weren't completely useless the next time.

Bionicle is a living breathing world, not a roleplaying game where everyone is sitting around a table and making stuff up for their character sheets and being extremely genre savvy and looking for the easiest way out, focusing on having all the weapons available and knowing in advance everything that's gonna happen. It would be a pretty boring story too, and a more cluttered one, if everyone is switching between an arsenal of different masks to suit every situation all the time.

Edited November 16, 2014 by Pomegranate

[Sir Kohran]

The limit of one mask to a character and the disappearance of Suva collections pretty much all comes down to a clear shift away from huge numbers of collectibles after the early years, in which Matoran/Toa/Turaga and even Rahi had Kanohi, Bohrok had Krana, and Rahkshi had Kraata. But from 2004 Vahki, Dark Hunters, Hordika, Piraka and Barraki had no masks at all, though Matoran/Toa/Turaga weren't deprived of their 'default' masks. The role of masks from late 2003 onwards changed to a single extremely powerful and valuable one each year, the possession of which was crucial to the story chapter's outcome.

 

The two reasons I can think of are that collectibles didn't sell as well as expected, and multiple masks granting such a wide array of powers led some characters too powerful for effective situations of danger in the story.

Edited November 16, 2014 by Sir Kohran

[user-402520536]

I never liked the idea of Tahu wearing a Kaukau, for example. TLG probably just thought that what they were going for wasn't working out well, so they scrapped it.

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

Well, the mask collecting gimmick disappeared after 2003. So really, there was no reason for the story team to be compelled to bring the Suva back into the story. I assume that the writers probably had no interest in revisiting the idea of switching Kanohi and so they scrapped it as soon as they were able to.

 

-NotS

[Toa Malachives]

They must have wanted to make ways for more collectibles, like kanoka.

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

Also to add to this list of points -

 

After 2003, the Toa Nuva, the only Toa in the story that actually collected masks, always stuck together. The Kanohi Nuva's ability to share mask powers with those in close proximity pretty much undermines the whole concept of Mask switching in that regard. In 2008, there were no mask packs so I am certain LEGO was not allowed to have mask switching as they cannot/shouldn't feature a gimmick they are not selling.

 

For individual stories/serials where the Toa are on their own or with only another, it's beyond me. 

 

-NotS

[bonesiii]

First, a Suva was present in 2004 story, so it's not quite after 2003 that they "disappeared", but it wasn't really used by that time, so close enough.

 

Basically the Suvas worked in 2001 story because there was a set-based reason to explain them to new fans at the time. There wasn't in later years.

 

There's also the "been there done that" factor.

 

And not many of the later years logically fit with Suva usage, actually:

 

2004 -- Okay, Lhikan could have used it briefly, but the Toa Metru were just learning their own mask powers; they weren't likely to learn others too.

2005 -- Masks were fused to their faces.

2006 -- They were far from established civilization, and their Turaga had died; no reason to make one or expect they had the knowledge for how to do so. By the time the 12 Toa arrived, they were way too busy to be making Suva, although the Toa Nuva probably could have called on their own at the time. But they were active in the story forefront for only a short time.

2007 -- Again, no really plausible scenario for a Suva to be involved, and time was even shorter.

2008 -- Again the Matoran wouldn't have made any, and the shield surrounding Karda Nui makes sense to prevent Toa Nuva from using the Metru Nui one.

2009 -- Toa only present in a side story, and Makuta might have destroyed or disabled Suva.

2010 -- Perhaps it would make sense for Tahu and/or Takanuva in the final battle, but can they work over that kind off range? And Makuta still might have destroyed/disabled.

 

By contrast, in 2001 story, the Turaga had reason to make Suva for themselves, and had visions from Vakama telling them to make some for the Toa Mata. The most likely places for other Suva would be more routine "guard-style" Toa of less interesting places in the MU. Our occasional sighting of Toa like that may have included Suva they owned, but just didn't happen to use in those features. I think it's best to see the 2001 usage as indicative of a very unusual situation, at least for "main story" (which tends to be fast-paced and travel to obscure places from the POV of the normal inhabitants of the MU).

[Zidonaro]

Well, pre-Toa Metru teams probably had a bunch of other masks for them to use, seeing that there is a giant suva there. And seeing that there's a huge mass production of masks being made in Metru Nui, I think this practically confirms it.

 

The Toa Metru just didn't had the time to use them. The Toa Inika and Mahri didn't have time as well, seeing they were in a hurry to save the Great Spirit.

[Aanchir]

"So why make them go through that entire stupid mask fetch quest again in 2003 after they had already done so in 2001?" Easy. There were Kanohi Nuva packs that needed to be advertised in the story. However, there was no room in the comics or webisodes to cover yet another mask quest (and as you rightly point out, it would be tedious and repetitive), so a chapter book was used instead.

 

Since the post-2003 sets didn't have any emphasis on collecting multiple masks for each character, there was no longer any need for the characters to collect multiple masks or switch between them during their adventures. Also, there was already barely enough room in the story for all of the characters' default masks to be showcased effectively. Even in 2008, having to establish for new readers that the Toa Nuva all had the same six mask powers to choose from would have both reduced their perceived uniqueness and individuality and bogged down the storyline by having to re-introduce the concept of Suva and mask-switching in the middle of a climactic moment.

 

For what it's worth, Gali did switch her Kaukau Nuva for an Akaku Nuva in the Toa Nuva Blog back in 2007.

[Pranciblad]

"So why make them go through that entire stupid mask fetch quest again in 2003 after they had already done so in 2001?" Easy. There were Kanohi Nuva packs that needed to be advertised in the story. However, there was no room in the comics or webisodes to cover yet another mask quest (and as you rightly point out, it would be tedious and repetitive), so a chapter book was used instead.

 

The mask hunt worked in 2001 because it was the main focus of the story, which at that point was more open ended. By the end, one could safely assume the Toa will have collected all the masks without having to see them do it. The comics showed them getting only a few masks, so there was still a whole bunch of adventuring for you to fill in yourself. In this way, it was sort of a less frustrating equivalent to HF's cliffhangers, since it left wiggle room for your own stories while not undermining the main plot.

 

I will agree that 2003 botched it, not just because there were new masks out of nowhere, but because they made absolutely no difference in the end.

Edited November 18, 2014 by Pranciblad

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

Eh, I feel like the story team knew people didn't really care about a mask quest again which is why they put it off to the side until Chronicles #4 late in that year.

 

-NotS