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I just recently started reading up on Bionicle again after years of being removed from the series. Like I have the entire Glatorian series (from an unusually long subscription to LEGO magazine) and still haven't gotten around to reading it after the fist issue. And I'd like to start over from the beginning and experience all the elements of the story of Bionicle from the beginning.

 

So I have a few questions. What is and is not canonical in the Bionicle storyline? Are their "tiers" of canon in the Bionicle canon as there are in many others? I'd assume anything coming from the mouth of Mr. Farshtey is king in the fandom, am I right? Are the books from C.A. Hapka "lesser" canon?

 

Just general questions about what is and is not a part of the official story. Thanks for the help. ^_^

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In general, whatever was designed in the original "story bible" by Bob Thompson and made it to a final released version, whatever was decided by the story team, and later whatever Greg says is the "fully canon". Whatever is in books, serials, or movies is the next "layer" (yes, there are layers to it), with some commonsense exceptions. Yes, Hapka's portrayals were meant to be canon but have some contradictions that might not be canon (it's not entirely clear in all cases). And with movie artistic license, whatever doesn't match what the sets stand for is non-canon (like the helicopter blades of the Rahaga), and a few other minor things.

 

Then, comics and some other things are canon, but in a less accurate style of art.

 

Finally, there is some semi-canon like the MNOGs and web updates from the early years, which is "canon unless contradicted by other canon".

 

There's also a lot of stuff produced by LEGO for Bionicle that is simply not canon at all, like Bionicle Heroes.

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)

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What do you mean by "layers"? I can only assume something like what I meant by there being tiers, but I'm not sure.And how exactly are the comics less accurate? From what I can tell/remember the comics are actually rather faithful to the toy designs. To the point of not even giving the characters proper hands until the sets featured them.

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Yes, layers/tiers.

 

Less accurate to story canon, precisely because of the set style. As you say, that style doesn't show hands (except in the later years when sets did), etc. The sets were merely representations of appearances; in reality they have muscles, etc. Movie form and book descriptions were more canon than set/comic forms except when they clearly deviated from what the sets represent.

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)

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As bones said, the "layers" probably go, from most- to least-canon:

 

Story-wise:

- Word of Greg, direct from the story team, etc.

- Book series (Chronicles, Adventures, Legends, Bara Magna)

- Comics

- Movies

 

Character appearance-wise

- Direct descriptions from Greg et al

- Sets

- Comics

- Movies

 

 

Correct me if I'm wrong.

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As bones said, the "layers" probably go, from most- to least-canon:

 

Story-wise:

- Word of Greg, direct from the story team, etc.

- Book series (Chronicles, Adventures, Legends, Bara Magna)

- Comics

- Movies

 

Character appearance-wise

- Direct descriptions from Greg et al

- Sets

- Comics

- Movies

 

 

Correct me if I'm wrong.

I think the movies were supposed to be what the characters actually looked like with the exception to the Rahaga's flashlights and helicopter blades and maybe the Hordika's tool-for-a-hand.

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As bones said, the "layers" probably go, from most- to least-canon:

 

Story-wise:

- Word of Greg, direct from the story team, etc.

- Book series (Chronicles, Adventures, Legends, Bara Magna)

- Comics

- Movies

 

Character appearance-wise

- Direct descriptions from Greg et al

- Sets

- Comics

- Movies

 

 

Correct me if I'm wrong.

I think the movies were supposed to be what the characters actually looked like with the exception to the Rahaga's flashlights and helicopter blades and maybe the Hordika's tool-for-a-hand.

I think I read somewhere that the sets are technically more accurate as far as canon goes. Although there are many cases where I think the movie forms make perfect sense if we want to immerse ourselves in the story without reading through reams of paper.

Current (still-living) BZRPG Characters:
LITOZEN (Toa of Sonics) SANCHII (Toa of Air)
THENTYLE (Toa of Earth) MALKAN (Ta-Matoran)

CELITE (Turaga of Lightning)

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Again, it's like I said -- Movies are higher, except when they contradict what the sets represent. :) The sets are less accurate in general, being designed to be plastic toys, but movie forms were designed to be "the story appearance". There's no simple "one is higher than the other" -- it's a matter of common sense on a case-by-case basis, and of course highest is Greg, who has in some confusing cases clarified which is right (like the Rahaga Rhotuka).

Edited by bonesiii

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)

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I'd say the books end up being less canonical than the comics, due to Hapka's somewhat controversial modifications to the story. The comics were, as a whole, written by Greg F and his story team.

 

The movies end up least in my book. They are mostly canonical, the problem arising with character appearance, some dialogue, some implied romance, and the skipping or total rewriting of some events (search for the Great Disks, no fight against the Morbuzakh).

Undergoing Renovations...


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I'd say the books end up being less canonical than the comics, due to Hapka's somewhat controversial modifications to the story. The comics were, as a whole, written by Greg F and his story team.

 

The movies end up least in my book. They are mostly canonical, the problem arising with character appearance, some dialogue, some implied romance, and the skipping or total rewriting of some events (search for the Great Disks, no fight against the Morbuzakh).

Hapka only wrote a few of the books, though. The majority were written by Greg. So maybe it's best to say "Hapka's books" and "Farshtey's books". :P

 

Not sure what you mean about movie character appearance problems. Off the top of my head I can only think of a few possible issues; for the most part character appearance is most canon in movies. The romance is interpreted as close friendship and in Roodaka & Sidorak's cases a political alliance.

 

I'm also not sure what you mean by "skipping". There's nothing non-canon about skipping something that other sources have already done. You're incorrect technically about the Morbuzahk. It was briefly cameoed, though not by name. It was simply already told about the comics. Likewise the comics skipped over most movie events for the same reason.

 

Foggy on the Great Disks, but you're probably right about those ones. Also, IMO some of the action should be considered a bit less canonical for cheesiness. :P Even so, the movies are far closer to portraying the canon than other media could do, simply because it has more to it.

 

Hope that helps. ^_^

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)

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I wouldn't say "butchered" at all -- unless anyone had really unrealistic expectations to begin with. (Which would miss the point; it's for fun. :P) I don't even remember off the top of my head what the inconsistencies were, but they were minor. You probably wouldn't notice them unless you scrutinized the other sources closely.

 

It's better to think of it, IMO, as an alternate version of events, one that simply happens not to be considered most canon (apparently :P). For the most part they fit other canon, though.

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)

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What I remember was the how the Shadow Toa thing went down; Greg wanted the Toa to reabsorb the Shadow Toa back into themselves, while Hapka had the Toa fighting each other's Shadow Toa. (Greg's version is canon.)

 

I can't remember all the inconsistencies between the comics and Hapka, but I think the controversy was over the differences between those books and MNOG. It doesn't bother me that much, but apparently it did bother some. :shrugs:

Edited by fishers64
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Also, in the Hapka novelization of Mask of Light, mercury is the substance in Mangaia instead of energized protodermis.

 

Also, when Kopaka first dons his Kanohi Hau in Hapka's Tale of the Toa, the narration says he can still feel he can use his Akaku. However, in the actual canon, only one Kanohi can be accessed at a time.

"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

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