The Point of the Exo-Toa

[Kopekemaster]

After re-reading some of the Bionicle comics, I realized that during the fight against the Bahrag, the Exo-Toa were completely useless.

 

Basically, the Toa discovered them and made it look like THIS IS THE ANSWER TO OUR FIGHT, but then they try fighting the Bahrag for a few pages, give up, get out of the Exo-Toa, and just fight how they usually do.

 

So why did the Exo-Toa come up at all? I know they play roles in later Bionicle stories, but in that part of the story, they seemed rather useless.

[Relapse]

A sales gimmick. They needed a titan- one you could put your favorite Mata figure in (or all six if you were privileged/wealthy) was pretty lucrative a toy. After all, what kid doesn't what the robot that makes their robot a better robot? I suspect Executive Meddling forced this into the story for that purpose.

[<Reverb>]

Really, the Exo-Toa wasn't really necessary in that arc of Bionicle. To quote BS01:

 

 

The Toa entered to discover the Exo-Toa, which they then used in an attempt to defeat the two Bahrag. Tahu fired an Electro-Rocket at the Bahrag, but it was stopped by the Bahrag's barrier. Tahu realized that the Exo-Toa hindered their Elemental Powers and the Toa shed their armored suits.

 

 

The Exo-Toa was in the Toa's minds, a liability and wasn't needed. The reason is because when the Toa were in the Exo-Toa, the Exo-Toa blocked the use of their elemental powers, which was essentially the only way to defeat the Bahrag.

 

I guess TLG found it a gimmicky way to fit in another set for BIONICLE, somehow squeezing it's way into the story.

[boston100]

i always thought they were tampered with by the baragh

[Relapse]

i always thought they were tampered with by the baragh

 

You mean the sleeping Bahrag, a few chambers away?

[Kopekemaster]

Really, the Exo-Toa wasn't really necessary in that arc of Bionicle. To quote BS01:

 

 

The Toa entered to discover the Exo-Toa, which they then used in an attempt to defeat the two Bahrag. Tahu fired an Electro-Rocket at the Bahrag, but it was stopped by the Bahrag's barrier. Tahu realized that the Exo-Toa hindered their Elemental Powers and the Toa shed their armored suits.

 

 

The Exo-Toa was in the Toa's minds, a liability and wasn't needed.

 

I'm not quite sure what you're saying here. Do you mean that they subconsciously knew where the Exo-Toa were before actually discovering them?

[<Reverb>]

 

Really, the Exo-Toa wasn't really necessary in that arc of Bionicle. To quote BS01:

 

 

The Toa entered to discover the Exo-Toa, which they then used in an attempt to defeat the two Bahrag. Tahu fired an Electro-Rocket at the Bahrag, but it was stopped by the Bahrag's barrier. Tahu realized that the Exo-Toa hindered their Elemental Powers and the Toa shed their armored suits.

 

-snip-

 

I'm not quite sure what you're saying here. Do you mean that they subconsciously knew where the Exo-Toa were before actually discovering them?

 

 

No. I'm trying to say is after they discovered them, which was in the caverns of Mata-Nui during the Bohrok swarms, when they activated the Exo-Toa, they found out that they couldn't use their elemental powers, which was essential is defeating the bohrok. They discovered the Exo-Toa, they didn't know where the Exo-Toa were before they discovered it.

[slifer3000]

Well I personally would have liked for them to come in handy later, *cough* *cough* against the bohrok-kal, instead of a cheesy "beleev in yor powirs!!!" win, I would have liked for the Nuva to have used the Exo-Toa to beat them... *cough* *cough*.

 

Yeah, they were useless. But made a good set.

[alpha123]

Out of world, they were just a really cool set that TLG needed to fit into the story.

 

In world, they where probably either a mental test for the Toa - "Hey look, these are powerful, let's use these," when what they really needed was unity - or perhaps guardians of the Bahrag that recognized the Toa needed to capture the Bahrag and hence didn't try to stop them? I would say guardians that broke and ceased to function autonomously, but in 2003 we saw them fighting unmanned against the Bohrak-Kal.

[fishers64]

I remember a confirmation somewhere that the Brotherhood designed Exo-Toa to protect the Bahrag. Given what the suits ended up doing, it makes sense.

[The Legendary TNT]

The suits were placed there to protect the Bahrag by the Brotherhood. Also, they were used to protect Brotherhood bases and fortresses.

[bonesiii]

Unfortunately, this was a case of a decision from higher-ups in the real world impacting story; Greg was ordered not to focus much on the Exo-Toa, which he always said disappointed him because he thought it was an awesome set. That was probably why the story team or Greg came up with the idea to have them hamper the elements and not end up being used after that (as suits), then get destroyed by the Kal. That was how they moved them away from being a major story-time focus.

 

Of course, later he was freed up to explain their origins and have huge numbers involved in Brotherhood armies and the like.

 

I suspect Executive Meddling forced this into the story for that purpose.

It was actually the other way around. Of course, all sets (other than a few obscure promos) are forced into the story by definition (so that goes without saying ), but the meddling was what forced this mostly out of the story.

 

 

 

I think the main purpose they did serve well despite this was to add to an air of mystery prior to the Bahrag battle, and in the end result, actually may have helped the story be more realistic. It's not realistic that everything a hero happens to encounter will work out as a useful tool to help gain victory. It did provide conflict in the battle in more than the usual cliche ways due to that, so I'm fine with how it ended up.

 

I remember a confirmation somewhere that the Brotherhood designed Exo-Toa to protect the Bahrag. Given what the suits ended up doing, it makes sense.

Was that stated as a primary purpose? Given that only six were put to that job while hundreds guarded Destral and the like, I'd think it was just a side goal.

 

While we're on the subject in case anyone's curious why the Brotherhood thought of them in the first place, my theory is that this was long ago when they were still doing their best to pretend to be good guys and/or somewhat were still good (I put it under Miserix's reign in my history retelling although off the top of my head I forget if (offline) BS01 said that or not, and said that some forces in the Brotherhood that were more nefarious than him thought of this idea without him necessarily realizing it).

 

So, I say that they thought of it as a way to sneak an army of obedient robots into existence, by making it sound like their primary purpose was to help Toa out. But only after being mass-produced (in my theory) did the Toa realized they hampered elemental powers and decide only to wear them as last resorts for physical strength aiding when they ran out of EE for other reasons. So the Brotherhood just kept making them mainly as robots, which was what they really wanted all along, and the Toa assumed it was somewhat accidental.

 

Of course, they probably still had in mind guarding the Bahrag but I'm talking in terms of "Why Exo-Toa" versus some other random robot design.

Edited June 27, 2013 by bonesiii

[Toa Zaz]

As far as what purpose did their presence in the Bohrok nest serve, as they were inanimate armor designed for use my Toa, until they inexpicably came alive to defend the nest against the Kal? No idea. Reasoning didn't matter as much at the time, I suppose. As far as why give the Toa exo-suits in the first place if they ended up being useless? Lazy writing and plot convenience.

Edited June 27, 2013 by Toa Zaz

[Makuta_of_Oz]

Apparently the point of the Exo-Toa in the Bohrok's nest were put there to protect against a premature unleashing of the swarms, or so I heard.

[bonesiii]

As far as what purpose did their presence in the Bohrok nest serve, as they were inanimate armor designed for use my Toa, until they inexpicably came alive to defend the nest against the Kal? No idea. Reasoning didn't matter as much at the time, I suppose. As far as why give the Toa exo-suits in the first place if they ended up being useless? Lazy writing and plot convenience.

It just doesn't work like that -- the story writers had nothing to do with the decision to make the set, and then they were of course required to include it, and then required by the execs not to feature it much. They're the last people you should be blaming for this one.

 

Also, they were portrayed from the start in set form as having a robotic head that could fold forward to operate on its own. If you mean why they decided to help the Toa instead of the Kal, they must have been smarter than any of the Bohrok in terms of able to tell that the Bohrok were awakened too early -- they would have had to be smart to work as efficient parts of the Brotherhood armies after all. Also, they are designed to work with Toa.

[Dralcax]

They inhibit Toa Power... Maybe the Bahrag put them in there in hopes that the Toa would put them on (Worked), not be able to significantly hurt them due to the elemental power blocking (Worked) and therefore be swiftly eliminated (Failed, the Toa Mata lasted long enough to realize that they were better off without the Exo-Toa).

[Toa Chuck]

I think they were put there to prevent an accidental release of the bohrok. The Exo-toa would be powerful enough to stop the bahrag, but the toa forced them together, causing their symbiosis to make them too powerful for the exo-toa. If the bahrag were separate, then the suits could have stopped them perhaps.

[slifer3000]

Sounds very likely.

[-Jaller-]

Sounds to me like they are a fail safe for toa. We know that Mata Nui was also a fail safe, same as the Toa Mata. So it would seem likley that in a compleate worse case situation the Exo-toa would be located on the island to help the Toa in this sort of last stand effort to stop the villans that are threating Mata Nui.

[Hexann]

In world, they where probably either a mental test for the Toa - "Hey look, these are powerful, let's use these," when what they really needed was unity - or perhaps guardians of the Bahrag that recognized the Toa needed to capture the Bahrag and hence didn't try to stop them? I would say guardians that broke and ceased to function autonomously, but in 2003 we saw them fighting unmanned against the Bohrak-Kal.

To make it sound like it's a storyline-related theory....let's just go with this one.