Pohatu's Personality Change

[Banana Gunz]

With the release of the new 2015 sets and story, many have begun praising the reboot, especially for the many call backs to the original and re-introduction of the beloved original toa from 2001.

 

While it's been seen that Lego has added little character quirks such as Onua being "very sleepy" and Gali being "unable to crack a good joke," a huge appreciable aspect of this reboot is how Lego has remained true to these classic characters by keeping their personalities basically what they were before. Although Onua likes to take a good nap more often nowadays, he's still the quiet and wise toa we knew before. Same with Gali who hasn't been changed to be hot headed or something else, but rather stays as a smart and peaceful character.

 

But despite how close Lego has stayed to the originals, it is noticeable that one of the toa has in fact been changed, quite drastically in fact. As seen from the title, it is Pohatu. Our classic toa of stone used to be portrayed as fun, friendly and easy-going. In the Mask of Light animated film, Pohatu tries even harder than Gali to re-establish peace and unity among the toa during the kolhii match at the beginning, trying to bridge the gap between Tahu and Gali's widely varying personalities and views (it is note-able that the Mask of Light film isn't quite known for being true to the characters in it but it is still considered canon to my knowledge).

 

But now look at Pohatu's new personality. In January's Lego magazine, a thin booklet made to advertize the line was included with every issue. Inside is a short bio for each of the toa. Pohatu's calls him "unyielding, fearless, and the toughest of all the heroes. His stamina is second to none and he often takes the lead when advancing into a potentially dangerous area. He can be extremely stubborn which sometimes leads him to butt heads with Tahu and Kopaka." From what we're seeing here, Pohatu is being re-written into a stubborn and nu-friendly character, which is precisely the opposite of what we once knew him as. In the old gen 1, Pohatu kept Kopaka company despite constantly being pushed away, but stayed because he was willing to be his friend, no matter how cold Kopaka was and treated him. Now, Pohatu is arguing with him, joining in on the fights usually held solely between Tahu and Kopaka. It seems in a way the stubbornness once seen in Lewa has been moved to him, and Lewa has simply made adventurous and care free.

 

Is this illogical? In some ways, it actually kind of makes more sense for him to have this kind of personality. It draws more parallels to his element, stone, which is known for being hard and unmovable. But this is still a largely controversial change that I can imagine may not bode well with many fans. Is it really right or okay for a character's general personality and attitude to be changed like that? And it's not like this is a slight or small change- this is a pretty major one that completely flips around the type of character he is seen as to the audience and how he reacts to situations and grows with the team will be completely different.

 

What do you think? As a fan of the old Bionicle, how does this change bode with you? Is it bothersome to those of you who have always loved Pohatu as a fun and friendly character? Tell why!

 

[Dorek]

Anything to prove that this is actually a reboot and not a continuation. I thought at times they adhered a little TOO close to the tropes of the previous Toa Mata, but Pohatu's description gave me hope.

[Pomegranate]

It's the same as Tahu starting out all reasonable and confused and innocent, instead of waking up and immediately getting so angry that he wanted to incinerate everything in sight. It's a new story, new characters-- the names and other similarities are just homages. I love it, I wanna see some new, I don't want a rehash of the same old.

With Pohatu specifically, I do miss our old cheery pal, but for all we know that's just hiding beneath the surface. As long as he and Kopaka get along, all is well

Edited January 21, 2015 by Pomegranate

[xccj]

I dunno, it depends if Pohatu ever gets a speaking role in the story. So far the webisodes seem very Tahu-centric.

 

On topic, it doesn't quite bother me that the Toa are slightly different, since it's a reboot. If they do the characters well, I'm fine with that. Still, I did prefer the more friendly Pohatu. Must be nostalgia.

 

[Aanchir]

It's not as drastic a change as people make it out to be. He's always been sturdy, stubborn, and near-fearless. Just look at his original bio. It's just a slightly different interpretation of those traits.

 

In the old story, Pohatu's stubbornness was expressed by him reaching out to even Toa like Kopaka who were bound and determined to shut others out. But it's easy to see how such a stubborn character could also get a little cheesed off at his teammates. Even in the first comic, Pohatu teases Kopaka when told that he works alone: "By choice, or just 'cause no one can stand you?"

 

I'm sure once the Toa start to get over their inevitable initial frustrations with one another, Pohatu will become more of the dependable foe we've always known him to be.

[Takuta-Nui]

Yes to Aanchir. It's a bit of interpretation, and honestly, we all know that personalities are very complex. That's why the idea of a flat character in a story is widely considered a flaw on the writer's part if they claim their story is realistic. Pohatu may very well be a more argumentative person this year, and then in the coming years his experiences shift him toward a gentle and friendly nature. Or perhaps he will get more argumentative and worse than G1 Tahu ever was.

 

I won't mind whichever direction the characters go as long as it makes sense and doesn't seem to be forced in order to create tension and conflict.

[The 1st Shadow]

Wait, where'd this arguing thing come from? Where does it say/show Pohatu getting involved in arguments? Or have I just ignored something glaringly obvious?

[bonesiii]

What you have to remember is that it's completely plausible that alternate versions of a universe could exist in which a person by the same name, similar roles, and similar appearance to another universe exists, and the same goes for multiple characters and even basics like masks and the like, without actually being direct alternate "what if this choice had gone differently in G1 Pohatu's early life?" universes. This is a different kind of alternate reality.

 

The normal type is like finding a parking lot with a specific set of cars, and changing out a car here and there. This is like looking at ALL parking lots, and picking out one that happens to have very similar cars in similar arrangements, but isn't actually related to the original parking lot.

 

Why choose that one? Because we presuppose that the act of creating a reimagination is like a dimensional traveler picking a universe that looks much like home, or in this case... much like the dimension originally visited.

 

We don't consciously think of it like this necessarily unless we've thought about those topics a lot, but intuitively we do get that, pretty much everybody. So no, it isn't illogical or wrong at all. (Also, Aanchir completely stole my thunder so yeah. )

[aldero]

Maybe his personality corresponds to his element more. Check it. Kopaka is quiet and cold, like the ice, Tahu is hotheaded and brave, like the fire, and Lewa is free-spirited and impulsive, like the air. Or... jungle. Whatever. Since the desert would be more harsh and unforgiving, Pohatu's new personality is more akin to the attitude of a desert.

[Pohatu: Uniter of Stone]

There is a simple explanation for my change: No Koli. Now I have Stormerangs, and I'm actually kinda missing my old feet additions. I can wear my Stomerangs on my feet, but its just not the same. And all the efforts to return my gear function have been complex or ugly.

[DatNerdyKid]

If Professor Turnip hadn't posted pretty much the exact same thing as I was thinking, I would be saying the same thing. It would make sense, in a rebooted world, to tie the Toa to their respective elements, and making Pohatu more stubborn and coarse is better representative of stone and desert.

[Adventurer]

Since we don't really know the link to the original Pohatu this isn't really an issue of any sort of issue in that sense, so the thing more to consider is whether this personality suits his role and element. Element? Definitely fits as far as I'm concerned - not necessarily better than the old personality personally (he was one of if not my favourite personalities in the Mata). As for his role in the team I think it also works quite well since it does't seem to double up too much with the other personalities and it is a fairly common archetype to have. Furthermore having a stalwart hard kinda character is probably appealing to a decent portion of the target demographic - moreso than the chilled relaxed personality.

 

Additionally as mentioned before, I haven't really seen him actually speak or show his personality much yet - so it's possible he still retains elements of his old personality (if so though would have to be rather subtle). For example he may have an action/stressed/battle persona and his more relaxed out of action persona. Overall I'd say I prefer the original (but I'm biased ), but am not against the current one and hopefully it works.

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

If they do go the route of having Pohatu develop from being kind of a jerk to the friendly Pohatu we all know and love, I'll be 100% okay with this.

 

As it is now though... I don't know how I feel. Pohatu is definitely one of my favourite characters in the whole franchise and having him carry traits the original Lewa had towards Kopaka and Tahu really bugs me. It's just so weird that the changes to the other Toa's personalities are so minimal yet Pohatu seems to have gotten a complete reversal.

 

Regardless, it will be tough to judge until we really see Pohatu's personality within the story. I'll reserve judgement until then.

 

-NotS