The 1st Shadow

Years ago, when I was still kinda new to having an account on Lego.com, I was browsing the gallery on the Bionicle site, and often found images of unreleased sets and strange creations, with tags or comments relating to some weird thing I'd never heard of called "BZPower." As I got into the Message Boards more often, I started to get involved in the discussions and saw some people talking about things they saw over on that same site. So, in summer of 2006-ish, I ventured across the interwebs to this strange land. It was there that I found everything from stories to MOCs to hilarious combinations of pixels by some of the Legendary Comic Makers (or so I like to call them), including Wise One, Varderan, Lavaside Rahi, Akano, and Dark709. What a wondrous place this was! So, I decided to lurk for a few years. In the early summer of 2010, I decided to make an account and share in the conversation and share some of my own works. Been here ever since.

Ooh, excellent question. Let's see. For Chronicles, I'd have to go with Tales of the Masks. It was the first Bionicle book to really develop the characters rather than just telling a story. (The jokes were also a lot better.) Beware the Bohrok is probably next on my list, but Tales takes the top spot here. Adventures has a lot more to choose from, unfortunately. I liked so many of the books from that period that it's hard to choose a favorite. Time Trap was obviously one of the better ones, but Maze of Shadows and Voyage of Fear also stand out to me. The Darkness Below was good, too. I think the reason those stand out to me is that they happen "outside" of the main story for those years. They gave us a chance to experience more of the world beyond what the comics and movies had to offer. Time Trap would be the easy answer, but I'm gonna go with Voyage of Fear. It was a good transitional point between 2004, 2005, and the 2001 story. Legends is also tricky. Most of 2007 kept me on my toes through City of the Lost to Downfall, but I feel like those read better as a single story, rather than three separate books. I enjoyed all of 2008's books, as well. But the one that really stands out to me among the Legends lineup is Legacy of Evil. The world through the eyes of the Piraka. It was another one of those welcome glimpses into the world outside the main story, and it did an excellent job of capturing the characters of the Piraka and developing them into the villains we faced in '06. Raid on Vulcanus wasn't half bad, either, but I've only read that one once, whereas I've read all the other books multiple times over. --------------------- tl;dr Chronicles: Tales of the Masks Adventures: Voyage of Fear Legends: Legacy of Evil

Need to add an "other" option, because my personal feelings on this matter aren't reflected by any of them. (Quick note: I'm only talking about sets from the Ninjago line, not the Movie sets, as those are a category all their own) To explain, I agree with your point about the sets becoming more detailed and refined. They have. But, I feel that, while the quality of sets generally improved since its inception, the last two waves have been nothing but a downward slope for me. Sets like the Dragon's Forge were good, but the rest of the sets just felt bland and wasted to me. The SoG sets are..... Not appealing. Before, I liked to collect at least one good set from every wave of Ninjago. But, this time around, I don't like any of them. The colors, the designs, the action features.... Something about their implementation in these sets makes them all completely undesirable for me. I can only hope at least one of the summer sets redeems this year, but I just can't bring myself to say anything good about the recent wave of sets. This may have to do with how the Movie and show have merged, and the sets reflect that in the worst ways possible. There was a time when I would have sang the praises of the Ninjago sets. But now, I almost want them to just stop. (Onto the Movie sets, just for the heck of it) TLNM sets are alright. Nothing spectacular, with three major exceptions: Ninjago City, Destiny's Bounty, and the Green Ninja Mech Dragon. Maybe the Quake Mech, but all the other sets just look like filler to me. Nothing really special there. Good parts packs? Absolutely. Good sets? Ah, no. (Seriously, why the aquatic animal theme for bad guys? That was so stupid. Made for some neat parts and designs, sure, but there was no reason for it.) ------------------------------------------------ The story. The story has had its ups and downs, but I'd say it follows a pattern similar to the sets. The last year or so has been a bit of a downward slope. Last season had a lot of potential, but there's a lot of things that got ignored or swept under the rug. As for this year..... Yeah, this one is a mess. My main complaints for this year are: 1) Why is everyone acting like resurrecting Garmadon would be a bad idea? The Overlord and all the darkness was wiped from him back in season 2. He was fine up through his apparent demise in the Cursed Realm in the Possesion arc. There's no reason anyone should think bringing him back is a bad thing. 2) They spend part of the first episode looking for Wu, and then start to put that whole endeavor on the back-burner all too quickly, especially since they ended last season with the tagline "Where is Wu?" Wasted potential if they're not going to develop it further. This and the first one seem to be due to them merging the Movie and TV show universes, as things like the layout for Ninjago City and the Destiny's Bounty and the Ninja's outfits have all suddenly changed without any explanation. (Really, if they've been spending the last year looking for clues as to what may have happened to Wu, when did they find time to redesign their uniforms and completely rebuild the Bounty into something that only partially resembles the previous iterations? Some consistency, please.) 3) Less important than the other two, but still annoying: The First Spinjitzu Master being part Dragon and part Oni, with Wu taking on the nature of the Dragon from his father and Garmadon taking on the more vile nature of the Oni? That's a total retcon to their characterization! Previously, Garmadon had the darkness forced upon him, but now we're learning that he was always evil and was destined to always be the ultimate bad guy? Like I said, consistency, please! I won't comment any further on the current season, as there are still more episodes to go, and hopefully they can start to redeem themselves. But if some of these issues are not fixed, or at least addressed, I don't see it reaching a high note any time soon. Unless, of course, they find a way to explain that this current story is happening in an alternate universe and leave it at that as a sort of soft reboot. I can live with that. But with no other reasons or explanations given, I don't see any of these issues getting fixed any time soon. ------------------------------------ tl;dr -- I used to love everything about Ninjago, story and sets. But lately, it's become a huge mess and I don't see any way of repairing it. I'd like to see it reah a high note again, but it probably won't happen.

Yeah, since Teridax created the Morbuzahk and was using it as a distraction for the Matoran and Toa, it was following his orders. The missing Matoran were almost certainly captured and placed in the pods, assuming they didn't die trying to escape the vines.

As jchavoya said, the comics were packaged with each of the LEGO Magazines, which were indeed free. Anyone on LEGO's mailing list got one, so I would say that qualifies. Whether or not the comics were read by everyone that received one is another story, but being the most widely distributed comic series is entirely plausible due to the means by which LEGO offered the issues, as well as putting them up online. So, mailed free of charge to everyone on LEGO's mailing list and available online. Most widely distributed? Easily.

First of all, it's possible that Velika didn't know the Ignika was there. Two GBs hid the thing in secret, so it's possible that only those two knew its location. But he probably figured it out in all the years he was there. That said, it's most likely just a fluke stemming from retroactively making him a Great Being. Because a lot of it doesn't add up, you're right. Unless he was really given over to his charade, and had no interest in actually being helpful to the MU as a whole instead of just looking after the interests of the Voyatoran, then I really have no explanation for it.

Someone has a birthday? And it's GSR? Well, then Happy birthday, my good sir! Don't party too hard!

Krahka can be explained easily. She started out as just a clever creature (like a cat or raccoon), defending her territory by mimicking the forms and abilities of other creatures she'd encountered. However, every once in a while, a Matoran might wander down into her home. She was able to learn from each new form she experienced. That's why when the Toa Metru arrived, and she started copying their forms, she could only repeat words she'd heard them say before. It took her about three or four Toa to learn how to speak in complete sentences. By then, she was learning how to strategize and deceive. If she'd never encountered Matoran or Toa, she probably would have stayed as she was: a creature with little to think about besides "stay safe" and "find food." The Tahtorak wasn't as intelligent as it seems. Remember, in both the books and comics, it was only capable of speaking in broken sentences, using a few basic words to get its point across. It was probably less intelligent than Krekka, which is saying something. Same goes for Keetongu--he was able to understand various concepts, but still relied mostly on instinct and could only speak in broken sentences. Of the three, Krahka was the only one that truly surpassed her bestial nature and became more of a sapient being, in my opinion.

Quite a collection you've got there! My own collection consists of about 256 sets, according to my list on Brickset, and even then I still only have about 83% of the total number of sets released. Like you, I had little interest in the playsets, but ended up with one as a birthday present. My collection does include a lot of the promotional small sets, like Good Guy and Bad Guy, though I scrounged them together from spare parts rather than purchasing the packages. I'd take pictures of mine, but I'd have to dig half of them out of storage.

Did you happen to make any pictures of that interceptor? Sounds interesting. The reason the TIEtan's limbs don't fold up as you say is because it isn't meant to fly, and can't. I doubt from a mechanical standpoint it would be possible for it to even jump, even if the pilot does the motion, due to the weight. I did, but I need to take some better ones. I'll upload them eventually. I just think it would have been cool for it to transform a little. It's impressive enough as it is, however.

Dude, that is awesome! I just recently finished my own take on a Jedi Interceptor, and have been toying with ideas for my own TIE fighter. This blows my ideas out of the water! The shaping and colors make it immediately recognizable. My only major gripe is that it doesn't seem to be able to fold up its limbs for flight. That would be really cool, even though it's already a unique and interesting design. The turret on the shoulder feels a bit too big and blocky, but doesn't feel out of place.

Yes. It was established in the books that the Okotans do engage in relationships and reproduce biologically. Well, heavily hinted at a couple times, but since they are technically aimed at a younger audience and are trying to tell a fun story with concepts that are integral to the plot, they kinda just glaze over it. After all, it's a story about magical warriors with awesome powers fighting bad guys, not a love story. In short, yes, but they don't talk about it a lot.

I always figured the Freeze disks would just translate into a Mask of Ice, giving the same basic control over the element as the Garai does over Gravity. On the Reconstitutes at Random, I've theorized that it might work better as a Mask of Mutation (or Shapeshifting, but that one is already kinda covered by the Great Mahiki, so maybe not). We know the Mask of Mutation allows the user to mutate other beings, but there seems to be a greater degree of control over the outcome than the disk allows. Perhaps it's because the disk just causes a random change without a mind guiding it? Maybe the mask-making process refines the disks powers a bit to allow for its shortcomings. That's just my thinking.

Three things. Number 1: This is the wrong forum for this. Should go under General Discussion or COT. Number 2: Greg is no longer active on BZPower, and wouldn't be able to answer this even if he was. He's not on the Story Team for Bionicle, and wouldn't have any control over this kind of thing. Number 3: Kind of a pointless question, since LEGO would have to purchase the rights to those characters and stories from their respective companies, and the amount they would have to pay is more than a random crossover is worth. However, if you so desire, you can write as many of your own stories about it to share with the fan-community. ------ To answer the question: None of the above. Optimus Prime or General Grievous would be much better candidates for a crossover.

Your opening post made it sound like you were comparing the Mask of Light movie to Moana. I see that it says "life" now, so I apologize for that (like I said, I replied at 2 in the morning). On that note, they technically didn't need the Ignika to awaken Mata Nui. The Nuva could have sacrificed all their power to achieve the same result, but the Ignika was their shortcut. So, you're close, and I can see where you're going with that.

The similarities are certainly obvious, yes. But there's a few points that make no sense. (I can write a lot when I'm tired, so bear with me for a bit ) 4. Uh, no. The Mask of Light did not have to be restored to Mata Nui. It was destined to transform Takua into a Toa so that he could later aid the Toa Nuva in awakening Mata Nui. The Avohkii plays no part in the actual restoration of the Great Spirit Robot. "Giant being disguised as an island" is the only similarity there. 5. "Te Ka," not "Ta." 6. When did that happen? The only times Moana goes to any "ancient" places would have been the cave full of ships, the Realm of Monsters, and Te Fiti. None of those qualify as "shrines" or involve "powerful stones." Unless you mean restoring the Heart to Te Fiti, in which case, that's one stone, and I wouldn't call the chest of an island-sized goddess a "shrine." 7. No, it doesn't. Moana has literally nothing to do with the Three Virtues. Self-discovery, absolutely. Compassion and understanding, of course! But Unity and Duty? Nope. For Maui, they might, but in terms of Moana's personal journey, they are irrelevant. When I think of Moana, the only major theme that comes to mind is concerning "legacy"--Moana wants to restore a big part of her people's culture, a part of herself. Maui, who has existed for so long, helps to teach her some of what her people lost. That's what the movie was about. Not "Unity, Duty, and Destiny." Unity with whom? A Duty to what? What Destiny do they hope to achieve? Bionicle answers those questions with no problem: Heroes representing the diverse elemental tribes need to come together and learn to work as a team (Unity) to defeat the evil Makuta (Duty) in order to awaken the Great Spirit and free the Matoran from Makuta's dark reign (Destiny). Moana's journey makes it clear that she only needs Maui to help her restore life to the ocean, as she lacks the skills and knowledge and power needed to do so. The world could have been saved without them becoming friends. That has no relevance to the goal of the story, as Moana is able to discover Te Ka's true identity on her own. No theme of "Unity." The Ocean gives Moana a choice. When she chooses to give up the Heart so that someone else can restore Te Fiti, the Ocean obliges and takes it from her. It was her acknowledgement of her legacy and what her the actions of her ancestors means to her that helped change her mind, but she didn't have to do it. No theme of "Duty." And, since in Bionicle, the theme of Destiny depends on Unity and Duty being fulfilled, we can rule out that one from this lineup as well. That said, I think a better approach would have been to focus on how Takua and Moana were similar, as characters. Think back to Mask of Light. He was chosen to carry the Avohkii to the Great Temple, where he would put it on and fulfill his destiny. However, along the way, he made the choice to leave Jaller to carry out the task on his own, because he didn't want to risk Makuta following through on his threat. When he later saw what was happening with or without him, he jumped right back into the journey and finished the mission even when his friend was taken out. In a similar fashion, as I already mentioned, Moana is given the choice to go forth with the journey, or risk letting her people suffer. She makes the right choice in the end, and she finishes the mission even when Maui is stripped of his magic fishhook and is powerless to help her in the fight against Te Ka. See what I mean? That's a big similarity right there, and that's what I'd go with.

Love it! Too many favorite parts, but one major standout was Couldn't stop laughing at that one.

That's actually a really cool concept that I would love to see brought to life. Everything about it sounds absolutely perfect: simple enough to be easy for a young audience, and yet intricate enough that I imagine the older crowd would jump right into it. Hats off to you and your wonderful idea!

How the heck did I forget Lhikan? Yeah, he'd easily be able to lift it.

Hm.... That's actually a really good question. I don't think all of the Mata/Nuva would be able to lift it. Tahu's arrogance might get in the way, and Kopaka.... just doesn't have the right personality. Lewa probably couldn't, either, due to him rarely taking things seriously. Remember, in the first Thor film, Odin banished Thor because he was arrogant and didn't take his role as the future king seriously. Gali, possibly, but I think she lacks some of the warrior mentality. Onua and Pohatu might be the best candidates. I also have a feeling that Axonn might be able to lift it. Jaller would be my next choice. I'd have to look into it some more, but I really can't think of any other major characters that would be able to lift it.

Happy birthday, you little goofball! Enjoy your special day!

Nope. Have sent him three PMs about my order over the past week and a half and have heard nothing, starting to worry a bit :/ Hopefully he replies soon! Hasn't replied to my PM's, either. However, a package from one Josef Nemec from Czechia did arrive in my mailbox today, filled with nothing but some assorted parts, a couple masks, and some fake pink sand. Fruger ripped me off and has flown the coop. Probably ripped us all off. What did you order from him and what did you get instead? Honestly, I'm just hoping I'm wrong and that the real package is on its way, because what did arrive almost fits the description of the gifts he mentions at the end of the first post. But, to answer your question, I ordered one set of Manas, the Bahrag, and the 90% complete Toa Mata Nui. Instead, received Tahu Mata torso, head, two legs, a foot; Kongu's mask; an orange Ruru; a solid-black Skrall shield; one Nuva chest armor; and one of Kopaka's Ice Blades. All packaged in a shoddy box filled with what looks like pink and yellow Pop Rocks.

Nope. Have sent him three PMs about my order over the past week and a half and have heard nothing, starting to worry a bit :/ Hopefully he replies soon! Hasn't replied to my PM's, either. However, a package from one Josef Nemec from Czechia did arrive in my mailbox today, filled with nothing but some assorted parts, a couple masks, and some fake pink sand. I get the sinking feeling Fruger ripped me off and has flown the coop.

I remember your comics! I don't see why you'd want it removed, though. You were younger then, and it was one of your passions. Who would ever see the harm in that? However, should you choose to continue, all you have to do is report your opening post in the topic and explain what you want done with it.

I'll just leave these here. Seriously, there's a lot of cool characters out there in the world of superheroes and even Star Wars that I would love to see immortalized in ABS. This would be a perfect opportunity.