Takatu

I feel I should mention that "Midak" was the name of the Phantoka Toa's light blasters first, and Greg later on retroactively named that particular Onu-Matoran that. The Midas reference still works, though, just in regard to the light blasts of the weapons as opposed to the lightstones way back when. Great work compiling this, though! I distinctly remember a lot of the Matoran names in MNOGII behind words from other languages, and it's nice to have that exact information all in one place. Neither one is a Matoran, obviously, but I recall the names "Puku" (before it was changed to Pewku for the legal renaming thing) and "Makuta" also have Maori roots, though I can't recall what exactly those roots are.

They didn’t have “inside information,” but we already knew the basic outcome of Revenge of the Sith: Anakin turns evil, Palpatine becomes Emperor, Jedi all die or go into hiding, and the twins are born and hidden. Most people who saw the originals knew all that, and if you paid attention to the Expanded Universe, it was even more obvious. Though while we’re on the subject, it’s well-known that Greg did slip a Revenge of the Sith reference into Time Trap. True, but I just didn't get the impression Vakama's whole turn to the dark side was an intentional reference to Revenge, specifically. That just seemed more coincidental to me, whereas other Star Wars references and influences came across as intentional.

The Bohrok in general are quite similar to the Xenomorphs - they have both have nests, in which they curl up when not active, and are led by a queen (or queens) that is/are larger than the good guys. The Krana latching onto Matoran/Toa faces is also quite similar to the facehuggers latching onto human faces. I mean... krana aside, I think it's more likely that the Bohrok and Aliens simply used the same inspiration: real world insects, namely ants. They are rather beetle-like in appearance, their hives are visually similar to bee hives... I feel like even the krana and facehugger similarities might be coincidental, as the krana were likely just the next step in the "collectibles" thing after infected Kanohi. I'm also not completely convinced Web of Shadows was an intentional reference to Revenge of the Sith. They came out so close together that, unless Lego had some inside information, I can't imagine they would have had time to make their movie in the brief time since ROTS released. Don't get me wrong, there are still Star Wars influences there. The big Vakama vs. Matau fight that a lot of people understandably compared to Anakin vs. Obi Wan, I felt like the tone, lighting, setting, and music of that scene reminded me a lot more of the Luke vs. Vader fight in Return of the Jedi.

I really, really wish we had gotten the Shadow Toa Ahkmou in 2008. I'm not sure where exactly he would've fit in the story, but man I wanted to see that set. Curious about the general color scheme and build they would've gone with for the first and only Shadow Toa. And the Baterra, based on what little we've seen of them in that one graphic novel. Those things were mean looking and I loved them.

I did like the lighter gold on Brutaka and others. Was quite appealing against darker colors. My favorite, though, is probably the old gunmetal that was used on Makuta. Great alternative for villains to straight up black, which had been used as an earth color. Gave the appearance of being armored and still pretty intimidating.

You've got a really good eye for perspectives, some great angles in these photos! My favorites are easily Vezon and Jaller, Gali in the rain (my #1), and krana-less Gahlok. Great work! Looking forward to more, if you add any!

Chronicles: Kind of a tie between "Tale of the Toa" and "Tales of the Masks". "Masks" was a great collection of little stories, almost like real-time fables with the lessons the Toa learned during each brief adventure. But "Toa" had great mysteries that came with being the introductory book to the whole thing, plus the wonderful first meeting of Pohatu and Kopaka. Adventures: This is extremely tough, as my favorite books came from the Metru Nui years. I'll have to go with "Time Trap", for many of the reasons already listed. I also really love "Maze of Shadows" though. Cool/creepy setting the Makuta's labs and I believe the first time we started getting hints at the wider world beyond Metru Nui. Legends: "Downfall". 2007 wasn't one of my favorite years overall, I found the middle of it to be kinda so-so. But man, did it have one heck of a finale. Everything finally came to a head in a satisfying and climactic way. Bara Magna: Kind of a no-brainer, since there were only two books, but "Raid on Vulcanus". It's basically a western, which makes me love it even more. And I have to give a shout out to the short story "The Many Deaths of Toa Tuyet". Awesome little side story that was pretty small scale for Bionicle. Just a good mystery with a good reveal and provided some further character development for Lhikan.

That question was already answered, in the worst possible way. To quote Greg, they were "a glitch."Thaaaats....... Not the worst possible way it could have been answered. It's marked down in a way to seem maybe a bit cryptic, and it may have ultimately been lazy, it's not uncommon for Greg to have been lazy with his story writing in the past, but the whole concept of 'A Glitch' happening in the BIONICLE Universe is actually intriguing to me. I think, on its own, it does sound like a fairly interesting concept. The problem I had with it was that, throughout the second movie and pretty much the whole of the 2004 story, Vakama's whole development revolved around his visions NOT being a glitch. When others accused him of basically being nuts and that there was something wrong with him, he lost confidence. When he learned to trust his visions as something more than faulty wiring, that they were real, he got his confidence back and evolved as a character. For Greg to later go back on that and say, "Yeah, it really was a glitch," kind of negates his whole arc for that year. At least for me.

It is really, really good. So many great uses of strings and deep brass. I never noticed it in the movie itself, but there's one slightly recurring motif that reminds me a lot of the Emperor's theme from Star Wars. And oh man, that unused Roodaka theme is soooo good. Suits her character so perfectly. Shame it never made it into the movie, but I have no idea where it could've fit.

Nathan Furst has solidified himself as the greatest holiday gift-giver of all.

Heh I've been listening to it rather thoroughly today. It's so, so good to finally hear the soundtrack clean. Easily my favorite of the three movies, and listening to it now, it's even better than I remember. I don't think I could pick just one favorite track, of course, so I'll list some of my favorites: - "Faithful Matoran to Mighty Toa" Still one of my favorite scenes in the movie, and this track is a huge reason why. Such a beautiful, triumphant rendition of the main theme. Perfectly captures the sense of wonder of the transformation. - "Bad Things Happen in the Desert" This one has a great collection of tracks, including the kikanalo theme and that awesome piece that plays while the Toa ride them across the sand, but this is among my favorites because of the very beginning. So moody and eerie in the best way. - "Heart of Metru Nui" Another one that has music from a number of scenes, all great -- escaping the Vahki in the tunnels, the Matoran being forced into pods, dramatic return to the Coliseum. It's just great from start to finish, and it has a really, really fantastic and somewhat chilling rendition of Makuta's theme at the very end. That creepy guttural vocalization in the last few seconds (reminds me of the Emperor's theme from Star Wars) is awesome. - I'm going to lump "Follow the Light/Mask of Time" and "Lhikan's Death/Vakama's Power Found" together, since they flow pretty well into each other. And they both include some of my favorite pieces from the soundtrack -- Vakama's final vision, and when the Mask of Time is being used. The actual Vakama vs. Makuta battle music is great, and so is the lead up to it, when the Toa are trying to escape and avoiding Makuta's pillars. - And of course, "The Island of Mata Nui". It has that beautiful piano rendition of the main theme that never fails to tug at my heartstrings. Such a perfectly subdued, quiet piece for a great ending. I am a little surprised the chute escape music wasn't included, or the Great Temple bridge scene from the end escape. No huge losses, though, in my opinion. I love what we've gotten so much. Can't wait for the Web of Shadows release!

Oh, I agree, recurring themes aren't really necessary at all. I'd rather the music fit the scene it's playing in perfectly, that will always trump pretty much any kind of theme. But maybe I'm a bit biased, as I'm a sucker for themes and character motifs. I didn't even catch the original Thor theme in Ragnarok, although that's likely because it's been a long time since I last saw that first movie, and I couldn't remember what the music really sounded like heh. That's actually something I really appreciated in the Bionicle trilogy, though, especially from Mask of Light into Legends of Metru Nui. Furst brilliantly reworked the theme from the first movie into a new version that fit the entirely new setting. In the first, that main theme music had a lot of brass and drums to fit the tribal vibe Mata Nui had. In Legends, it was a much more techno-ish sound to better fit the city of Metru Nui, but it was still very much the same recognizable tune. I loved that so much. Regarding Makuta's music, I'm pretty sure I know what sound you're talking about, and I adored that. But I was thinking of that low, oboe-esque music that I've come to associate with him. For example, in Web of Shadows, it plays right at the beginning when we see him in the crystal prison, when Roodaka speaks to him through the stone right after Sidorak's death, and I believe at the end when we see the empty prison. I'm relatively certain it played for a few of his scenes in Legends, too. But I'm rambling, I think we were somewhat spoiled by Nathan Furst on those movies. Those kinds of recurring themes, character motifs, and such were beyond anything I would have expected from a direct-to-video movie series. Really went a long way to making those movies pretty special. Edit: Oh, and for what it's worth, the Russo brothers confirmed that Alan Silvestri is coming back for the next two Avengers movies, so we'll be getting that great music back from the first one.

I'm not at all a music expert, so feel free to dismiss this. But regarding the Marvel music, I think one of the possible issues is that there isn't much in the way of recurring themes, the Avengers theme being the exception. Since they basically have different composers for each movie, you never really get a consistent Iron Man theme, or a Thor theme, etc. The Iron Man movies have three entirely different soundtracks, for example. The original Bionicle trilogy actually does have recurring music throughout all three movies -- the main title theme, obviously, but there's definitely a specific tune for Makuta that's in all three, among others. Regardless, I'm unbelievably psyched for these soundtracks to be released! I almost can't believe it's finally happening, after all these years!

If I had to guess, I'd say combining a disk of levitation and speed together would emulate flight. Although that combo might already exist which totally disproves the theory You do have a point though, it is odd that of all the Great and Noble masks the Turaga bring to Mata Nui are basically six each of only twelve different masks *coughcollectablescough* You'd think that the city with and *entire* district dedicated to making masks would know how to make more than just the standard 12. (Makuta wanted Vakama to make a mask of time, which had never existed before) In-universe, you could just go with the simple explanation that most other masks were destroyed during the Great Cataclysm and the subsequent Visorak occupation. Still not a real great reason, but I can live with it ha.

I like the idea that there are multiple characters that could only lift it after some development, like Thor himself. Tahu, Takanuva, and Mata Nui all come to mind regarding that. Otherwise, like others said already, Lhikan and Matoro would probably be the most likely. Jaller, too. Gresh is definitely the top contender from the Bara Magna story. Maybe Tarix and Vastus, too. Back to the Matoran Universe, while I think of it, Axonn and Norik probably could, too.

I feel like the Rahkshi and Vahki are a bit of a stretch on that. It's also discounting numerous other non-insect Rahi, the Morbuzakh, Karzahni, the Piraka, most of the other Makuta, the rest of the Barraki, and all sorts of titan-sized sets like Sidorak, Roodaka, Brutaka, Maxilos, Krekka, etc. To stay on topic, most of the stuff with Click in The Legend Reborn was a little too cheesy for me. I mean, I get that I definitely wasn't in their target demographic when that movie came out, but even that stuff was a little much.

Takadox does have that freaky, lipless smile going on, but I always found Pridak and Mantax to be a bit creepier. Maybe it's those wide-set eyes they have. That being said, I agree that it really depends on what an individual person finds scary. If we're talking straight up horror-scary, I don't think there was much in Bionicle. Tren Krom, maybe, being the Lovecraft shout out. If it's more "this person/thing could very easily kill whoever they want" kind of scary, there's quite a few. Pretty much any Makuta, although I think Icarax has the matching personality to fit that kind of terrifying killer. I always found his efficient and brutal killing of Botar to be pretty chilling. It's too bad that he never really reached that level in the main 2008 story, but I can see why that kind of brutality had to be toned down for a Lego toy line. And then of course there's the all too real world scary of good intentions leading to tragic results, which was realized pretty darn well in the Dark Mirror story.

And see, that may be true; since it's never been unequivocally described in a forward-facing manner, I always assumed that he essentially filled a role similar to Vakama and Co. on Mata Nui; acting as arbiters of small-scale disputes and serving as "priests" while Matoran such as Jaller and Onepu ran the army. It's pretty clear, at least as far as I can see, that that was the role of the Turaga on Mata Nui. Sure, but as I was writing in the opening post, I suspect that the Matoran probably weren't worried; if anything, it would be other leaders and the OoMN. Regarding your first point, the Makuta were assigned their positions as overseers so that they could be, like xccj said, a kind of National Guard. Remember, Makuta couldn't even be bothered to involve himself in any capacity in the Toa-Dark Hunter War. In fact, the sole event we know he put an end to was the Matoran Civil War, and that was because it was affecting Mata Nui's health directly. Dume most certainly took care of the vast majority of the responsibilities of running a city. I don't know the exact time frame Makuta disguised himself as Dume, but roughly a year or so sounds about right. He was the one, pretending to be Dume, that sent the members of Lhikan's team to seal off the sea gates (and get killed by a waiting Dark Hunter in the process). I'm not 100% on this, but I think he sent them to do that one by one, so it didn't seem as suspicious that almost the whole Toa team left on a simple mission and never came back. Even then, Lhikan was smart enough to figure out something was going on with that anyway. Point is, though, that probably took some time, so he was probably in disguise for a good bit of time before the Morbuzakh showed up.

Ah, that's right, thought I might have mixed things up. You're right, the Karzahni plant was the only one that knew about the Order member. Maybe the Order did know about Makuta's betrayal before the public reveal and were ordered to let things play out, since they're the ones that planted false evidence on Mata Nui's behalf, I think.

Actually, that's the thing, I don't thing Turaga Dume was a ceremonial figure at all. It's never explicitly said, as far as I'm aware, but Dume's role absolutely did encompass things like trade commerce, immigration, and the like. I got the impression that Makuta himself only got involved when the Turaga requested new Matoran be created for the city (and don't ask me how that works, Greg wasn't willing to get into the creation process) or when something on the scale of the civil war happened. The day-to-day stuff was strictly Dume's territory, Makuta was largely absent and doing his own thing (like creating Rahi) 99% of the time. Regarding the Order of Mata Nui's lack of knowledge, wasn't there some point where someone (I think it was the Karzahni plant) said that Makuta intercepted, interrogated, and killed an Order informant? That's how he knew to change the Toa Metru's names in the prophesies? I imagine that was before he replaced Dume, so if he knew of the Order's presence, he could have enacted his plans without their knowledge.

Oh man, so many. Emotionally speaking, probably the original Tahu Mata. First one I ever saw in a magazine, fell in love with it, kinda became the defining "face" of the franchise for me. Technically, there are a few I love: Maxilos, number one. Full articulation, two joints in each shoulder and his neck, and just overall looked good. Gresh was probably the best use of the Inika build. Extremely aesthetically pleasing and consistent, and actually had some bulk to him. That paper-thin torso design for a lot of those builds drove me nuts. I love the Mata Nui canister set for pretty much the same reasons. Lesovikk is a nice runner-up, too, he actually looked armored. Vezon had a great but simple design, too. There's one that I always felt like didn't get enough love, and that was Icarax. He was basically an improved Sidorak. Great color scheme, no colors that were blatantly out of place, and he actually looked like a warrior. Not the usual "strength = super bulky" designs associated with other similar characters. Icarax looked powerful without being over the top. The four wings were cool, too, although they do look a little small on him.

I pretty regularly alternate pronunciations for Lewa, between LEE-wa and LAY-wa. I consider the latter the official pronunciation, though. Early on, trying to figure out the difference between Onua and Onewa was a nightmare for me. In fact, I'm pretty sure I didn't figure it out until I heard Onewa's name pronounced in Mask of Light. Ehrye had me frowning every time I saw it written out, too.

I'm gonna go with the Rahkshi. The Visorak were pretty cool, as unlike other "horde" minions, they were the only ones that were still individuals instead of an all-consuming hive mind. Vahki designs were cool, and the whole "robot police that can't be bargained" with aspect was sufficiently intimidating. But man, the Rahkshi... First, I still love their design so much. Tall, imposing, with the perfect mix of humanoid and beast. They were elite soldiers in the story, and they felt it. They were powerful and relentless, and as someone said above, they were one of the only minion villains to go toe-to-toe with Toa on their own. I've never been a fan of the "conservation of ninjustu" trope, and although the Rahkshi did kinda fall for that a couple times, for the most part I was impressed that they largely remained as individually dangerous as when they were introduced. They're fantastic elite minions.

Well, Matoro turned out to be super important in the story, even though we didn't know that at the time. I think Hahi and Lewa's prominence in the 07/08 promotional stuff can be explained by the environments there were in for those years. Swimming around the bottom of the ocean and flying around in the sky would lend the Toa of Water/Air some serious time to shine. I don't remember if it was that catalogue specifically, but I do remember thinking that Onua was the Toa of Air, while Lewa was Earth because of that particular image of him. He looked more silver than black to me, so I figured silver would be a decent air/sky color (clouds, I guess), and "earth" just meant "nature" to match with Lewa's green. It made sense in my little ten-year-old brain.

Did... Did you actually set Tahu's sword on fire for that one shot? I really love your use of environments and perspective. As Inary said, the ones in the rain (Hahli Inika and Iruini in particular) are fantastic, easily my favorites. A very close second is the shot of Takadox in the water. Very nice work!