Toa Zaz

Why does Evo Xl Machine's arm attach to Stormer Freezer Machine? Animation goof, I guess. Actually, these new videos are very cool. Definitely a lot more action-packed than the previous episodes. I'm still not crazy about the new animation (I don't care for the faces, or the reused elements, or how the beasts seem kind of weightless for their size), but it definitely looks exciting, which is something that I haven't described Hero Factory episodes as for a long time.

So, by "not a tragedy" does that mean it has to be humorous, or it just has to have a happy ending? What do you mean, basically?

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=89322 Maybe a return to form?

So, uh, who won?

-I totally agree, that completely ruined the movie for me. But remember, China helped fund this movie. Therefore, a Yellow Peril Mandarin (as in, the awesome, very Chinese Mandarin) would have severely upset their funders, and therefore, they had to be creative. And that's why it sucks. -Supposedly so he can focus on Pepper...except every single person in this world and arguably all the other worlds know that Tony Stark is Iron Man. Regardless of the presence or lack thereof of his suits, they will try their darndest to kill him. So yes, his brain is totally busted, thanks to a certain redhead. -Yes, this is a blatant disregard for what the other movies said. However, it is the more realistic option. There's very little medicine can't do, but the universe already established that they were irremovable. What I want to know is what they did with the gaping hole in his chest. His sternum would be in two pieces, so he'd need pretty much a new ribcage, as well as several square inches of skin. But it didn't kill Iron Man. The suits are almost entirely self-powered. The early ones may have connected to his chest reactor, but all later ones are self-sustaining. That's how they operate on their own, or on someone without a reactor. -It's PTSD from nearly dying in New York, that's what the flashbacks make clear. He's haunted by the events of the Avengers, and he keeps having flashbacks. He feels insecure without his armor, which is an interesting throwback to one storyline I remember, where Rhodey falls in the water in a powerless War Machine, and he almost drowns. From then on, he feels completely insecure while he's IN the armor. -That's an excellent question, I can't remember them being in the movie at all. Maybe Captain America 2 will answer that for us. But it could be that terrorism isn't SHIELD's field, just like the FDA doesn't deal with cars or buildings. -It's clearly a throwback to Rescue, but making Tony the damsel in distress that Pepper saves was a really poor move. In the end, Iron Man 3 neutered every single awesome character, from the Mandarin to Tony, Rhodey to Pepper...I'll rewatch it on DVD, but I doubt I'll like it any more. ...Incidentally, Iron Man 3 is a pretty flawed movie. No, a racist caricature of a Chinese man as a villain, like in the comics, would offend any sensible person, not just Chinese audiences. But, they still could have done like other Iron Man adaptations and had a politically correct incarnation of the character that resembled the supervillain version; so I agree what they did in the movie was bad.

Seems hypocritical, then, considering (not a criticism) Lego is a huge company primarily interested in making money.

I find the Hero Factory voice acting quite good myself. But then again a lot of people seem to dislike certain character voices for the most arbitrary reasons (I still can't get over how many people I've read dislike Applejack from My Little Pony because they "hate southern accents" ).Anyway, I think it's plausible that the Hero Factory TV show might be scaling down, but that doesn't tell us how long it has left, really. We do know that Advance and Ghost (the guys who have been doing the BIONICLE and Hero Factory commercials from day one) will be producing a 22-minute episode for next year. So perhaps it's just a matter of the LEGO Group finishing up their contract with Tinseltown Toons. On the other hand, perhaps the LEGO Group is bringing in the big guns to come up with an epic finale for the theme as a whole. Anything's possible and I don't enjoy playing the game of predicting just what will happen next. I'd rather just go with the flow and enjoy new developments as they come. I agree that it isn't (generally) the voice actors' faults and they do a fine job, the problem is poor dialogue and lousy characterization. Hopefully a new animation company means a bright future for Hero Factory. In any case with Ghost doing it the overall quality is likely to be superior.

BIONICLE IS pretty nostalgic... but I see what you're saying. I would want some kind of reboot down the line, but a while from now. And if LEGO is now doing Simpsons, then why can't BIONICLE be more mature? Simpsons is PG13 from what I've seen, so I think a PG13 BIONICLE would work (or at least a high PG ) There's a difference though between creating something with the specific goal of selling toys and creating toys based on an existing property. In more specific terms it's the difference between creating an enthusiastic audience and taking advantage of one that already exists.I'm not saying higher ratings on the media would be out-of-the-question (PG would certainly not be out-of-the-question as far as age-appropriateness is concerned, even though it's risky narrowing your audience like that), but there's not any particular reason that would make the media more desirable. I always think back to the Mata Nui Online Game as a good example of a story that has depth and gravity yet is still decidedly lighthearted and kid-friendly. There is a pervading sense of ominousness to some of the story chapters, and a real sense of suspense and urgency to certain tasks you have to perform. But it also doesn't avoid jokes, and they're more than just easter eggs hidden in the background. You have characters like Taipu, a lovable dunce, or Hafu, an artist with an inflated ego, whom people of all ages can find funny. You have very dynamic fight scenes, but one of the darkest ones is resolved in a very humorous fashion by Onua throwing a lightning bug at his opponent. And the game as a whole never tries to apologize for its vibrant colors or cartoony animation. This balance of seriousness and humor was continued in Templar's Bohrok and Bohrok-Kal animations... who can forget the time when several Mahi were magnetized to Pohatu Nuva?The Ninjago books and cartoon have come closer to this balance of seriousness and silliness than most other LEGO-related media has been able to manage (sadly, there has never been another LEGO online game that could compare to this kind of exciting open-world adventure). There are many very real moments of myth and mystery, suspense and danger, sorrow and triumph. But they are tempered by a healthy amount of humor and lightheartedness. And there are some very dynamic fight scenes, helped out greatly by a powerful musical score and awesome cinematography, but they never push it to a level of violence that would be inappropriate for the target audience of the toys. Given what a tremendous success the Ninjago toys, TV show, and merchandise alike have been, I don't see any reason why BIONICLE couldn't be successful while keeping things lighthearted and kid-friendly. Good point. Of course every time you appeal more towards a certain audience, another will feel isolated. Ninjago, I think, while balancing themes enough to be a quality show for the most part, leans a little more to the light-hearted side, and an approach like that might not work for Bionicle. But I think Bionicle has leaned towards both ends of the spectrum enough that they could go either way with it.

I think it's too soon. Bionicle is too familiar and a reboot would likely be too similar to later Bionicle and/or Hero Factory (building system, etc) or be too heavily scrutinized by fans for them to enjoy it. It needs to be remembered and have a fan base and all, but it should also have a nostalgia factor going for it that I think it lacks now. Like in the Lego movie, with the space guy and NBA all-stars minifigures they show that were from years ago; it wouldn't have been as amusing if they had used Chima or something instead, because it isn't old enough (and Chima sucks, but that's besides the point). Maybe they should bring it back ten years or so after Bionicle's over with; maybe even make a movie out of it like they might be doing with Ninjago and Hero Factory.

They're fire drones. They mention them a couple times in the books. I guess they're robots, like the Vahki. But yeah, for the movie I think they just designed them as a shrunk-down Bohrok with a Matoran head.

This actually sounds like something I'd like (although the whole workings of it sound hopelessly impractical what with stolen and broken parts, etc). But I wish they'd charge for individual rentals, and not a monthly fee.

What makes me wonder about The Simpsons is if the line may not be so popular in other countries, due to both the satire on American culture present throughout and the various questionable cultural and racial stereotypes.

Some gracious opportunity, if we have to pay such an exuberant price for it. If I were him I'd draw darn near anything if someone offered me that kind of money.

Greg's decision to solely release very occasional, random, tiny pieces of trivial information in lieu of concrete story updates is infuriating. Oh, well, better than nothing, I suppose. EDIT: I take that back. Inconsequential story trivia is worse that nothing because it reminds me of the story back when it was still around and solidifies Greg's decision to quit writing it.

A peek at the so-called chauvinist's profile might answer your question. Fine, but to the casual observer it comes off as just intolerant.

I haven't seen Firefly and know very little about it, but my guess is that Lego really turned it down because it wasn't as marketable to a younger demographic. In that regard Simpsons would be a safer decision.

In my mind, the MU gender imbalance is justified. * * * There is one point of contention that might get me, though. I haven't seen any female GBs in the story. If the GBs are organic, there should be some, right? I just imagine if those are revealed to be all male there will be no end to the cries of "gender bias!". :wince: It might be implied much by the Vorox tail incident - some bleeding heart GBs honoring the Vorox's request. But story evidence would seem to indicate a male dominated society there - did I miss the giant robot and shapeshifting killers they invented? Unless all the females act like me or something but I tend to doubt that. Are you a chauvinist, or are you just kidding? As far as the Great Beings thing goes, it probably is because of an inherent bias that superior beings are all or mostly white males. This is present in a lot of fiction. Doesn't excuse it, though...

So, I had beaten all the Piraka levels and the Vezon level, and fully upgraded all the Toa, and I'd gone through and completed the first level 100%, when it said something like "override previous save" and I though I was saving my new progress, but I ended up losing everything. Is there any way to recover all that progress or do I have to play through all over again?

Pros: A line aimed at a presumably older audience, instead of just little kids. This is a good start. In fact, maybe this could affect the demographic other lines are aimed at, too (less pandering towards kids in Hero Factory, etc). Let's get Lego South Park next.Probably some interesting new pieces. Maybe Lego alcohol, maybe a new minifigure to represent overweight people, etc.Something less action-oriented is a nice change of pace, I guess. Cons: The Simpsons is absolutely horrendous now and very, very few people watch or like it. This might have been a good idea maybe ten years ago, when the show was better, or maybe when the movie came out, but definitely not now. This whole idea reeks of a desperate bid for relevancy.Translating the Simpsons into Lego sets is a bad idea, too. Very little in that show screams to be made into a toy to play with. Maybe you could make their house, and the tavern, and the nuclear plant, and maybe the Krusty burger, but not a whole ton else. I mean, it sounds a little boring.I'm afraid that Lego will hold out on anything remotely adult (not that, all things considered, The Simpsons is really that adult or whatever like some people are making it out to be. Come on, grow up), and won't make Moe's Tavern or Duff man or Barney or even the nuclear plant. So, their options are even more limited and the sets will probably be worse.Long-running licensed property probably means expensive sets.

The problem is transitioning from a crowded, populated urban area to a much more open setting, and expecting us to believe that both are roughly the same size and house the same number of Matoran is absurd. No number would make much sense for either of them.

...And Hahli freezes up while fighting the Muaka illusion.

In Power Play, Hahli freaks out about using protodermis-filled Zamor spheres, and then she and Dalu have this big discussion about how Ga-Matoran are normally peace-loving or whatever. Also, in A Cold Light Dawns and maybe Inferno, Hahli says that all the violence for the mask is insane. And she's the one who cries when Matoro temporarily dies.

I disagree with this statement. There's Helryx. Helryx is insanely evil and ambitious. Edit: I meant Tuyet. Actually, kind of, yeah. As I recall, Helryx was willing to sacrifice the entire universe in order to stop Teridax. Even with the justification, it seems pretty crazy to me. I don't really recall Gali being so gentle and peace-loving in her early portrayals. Her urging the Toa to unite seemed more out of being more rational than Tahu or Lewa, as did not charging into battle without a plan. But she was portrayed as powerful and willing and able to throw Rahi across the whole island, etc. I think it was Nokama, being the teacher archetype, and then Hahli, etc, that really started the trend.

Yeah, I think the other problem with the suddenly chauvinistic Great Beings was, aside from being too subtle, making the Great Beings despicable instead of benevolent like they had been portrayed for so long was jarring because it wasn't given proper dramatic weight. It wasn't clear enough whether or not we should have been on board with them or not.

Probably a little under the 1,000 that were on Metru Nui. In Mata Nui Online Game Jaller mentions that some Matoran were killed or something....