Theory: Pohatu's Left Arm

[J46 Nui]

So you know how the new Pohatu's arms are not symmetrical? His right arm is brown and more heavily armored while his left is completely silver and lacks the transparent bone pieces of his other arm? I have a theory why his arms are not symmetrical.

 

Pohatu's left arm is completely robotic. Back in Gen 1, Lariska also had a completely silver limb that was a robotic replacement for one that she had lost. This theory also explains why his left arm is not as heavily armored; it does not need to be since it does not have any organic parts to protect.

 

I personally think my theory is pretty silly and probably not the case, but I did want to share it. What do you think?

[bonesiii]

Possible, yeah. I just figured they wanted some asymmetry. Besides Kopaka's mask.

[The 1st Shadow]

Makes me think of my theory a bit.

 

It's entirely plausible. Or, it could just be like the Breakout Furno set. Part of his upgrade to fight Jawblade (shark villain) included extra-tough armor on one arm so that he would have some protection against his opponent's teeth. That's how I imagine Pohatu is. He's got extra heavy armor on one arm for defensive means, and the other one (green and brown) is left mostly bare so that he can throw his boomerangs better. The fact that the gears only move his right arm give me the idea that he's right handed. I know I can't throw as well with my left arm due to being right-handed, and I assume Pohatu might be the same way. Wants to keep his throwing arm light and loose.

Edited January 6, 2015 by ~T1S~

[fishers64]

If you have a robot arm, couldn't you program it to throw stuff better/stronger than your regular arm? I guess they could ditch that trope and say that the robot arm is harder to control, so he uses his right...

 

Somehow, armoring your weaker side like a tank seems to make more sense than that, though. 

Edited January 7, 2015 by fishers64

[The 1st Shadow]

If you have a robot arm, couldn't you program it to throw stuff better/stronger than your regular arm? I guess they could ditch that trope and say that the robot arm is harder to control, so he uses his right...

 

Somehow, armoring your weaker side like a tank seems to make more sense than that, though. 

You could, yes. But look at how his lower legs are also silver. Would we say those are fully robotic, too? I think it's just easier to say that his body is consistent throughout, and he has armor covering key points. The silver on his legs being boots, the silver on his torso being some sort of stomach guard, and the silver arm being extra padding.

 

i'll use me as an example again. I have more precise control with my right hand/arm, but my left arm is the stronger one. If I'm gonna hit something, it'll be with my left. So as not to ruin the skin and bones, I'd wear padding if I knew I'd be doing that often. 

 

In any case, Pohatu does have that detail plate on his right shoulder, so he has some protection over there.

[Rooster Nui]

That is an interesting theory, but I think for the most part it is just asymmetricality, which I quite like.

[Pohatu: Uniter of Stone]

Actually, my normal arm is my left arm. It is actually less heavily armored because it is just a normal arm. If you've noticed, I've got a gear function for my right arm. After beating up so many Skull Spiders with nothing but my fist, my right arm became energized with power and started to glow. My lower legs glow cause I walk everywhere, and when I'm not walking I'm riding on flying boomerangs. I added the armor piece to my upper right arm to make it more armored and so it would be heavier, and slam Skull Spiders with more force. The spike things, those were Protector of Stone's idea. 

 

There you have it from Pohatu himself!

[J46 Nui]

I'd think that Pohatu would want to add extra armor to his weakest points, because they are his weakest points.

 

I am assuming that Pohatu can throw with both arms, because he arms both of his hands. But him only having a gear function on one side is interesting, and does imply he has a dominant, or much stronger right arm. So here are two theories: Maybe his silver left arm is encased in some sort of robotic brace that allows him to use his boomerangs in that hand just as easily and powerfully as he does with his right hand. Or maybe after losing his original left arm, he did not get it replaced for a while and he had to increase the use of his right arm, making it stronger and bulking it up. Maybe he was originally left-handed and had to teach himself to be ambidextrous because of this incident.

[Munty]

I like this theory and it led me to The 1st Shadow's skin colour theory too which is something else to be grateful for. I think it would be strange for the designers to make Pohatu asymmetrical just for the same of making Pohatu asymmetrical. They haven't don it with any other set have they? And there is the fact that he only has a gear function for his right arm too which I agree suggests it is his stronger arm. I imagine he is still fully capable of throwing with both (or why choose to arm yourself with dual boomerangs instead of one and a shield?!) but perhaps the right is his preferred choice and he only throws with his left when he wants to launch both together. Also, I guess he HAS to have two 'rangs as he needs one for each foot in adrenaline blergh mode...

 

My Pohatu is currently in a pose I really like which sees him leaning heavily on his left foot/side while preparing to launch a 'rang with his right arm. The one in his left had is almost creating a natural shield in this pose (try raising your right arm as if to throw something and you'll see where your left wants to naturally go when you really wind up!) If this is his actual attack stance then it makes sense that the offhand 'rang could be used as a backup weapon (incase the former doesn't return immediately), a shield or maybe even something entirely different... I like the idea of a dualarang power attack when he launches them both personally.

 

Back on topic a bit though, sorry I drifted there! I think it's clear that only the left arm is armoured/robotic based on the 'skin colour' theory which I think seems like a good one. It would make his lower legs organic but armoured, contrary to T1S previous suggestion (funny seeing as the skin colour theory is yours ) 

 

Personally, I'm in favour of the robotic arm theory but not sure how likely it is that Lego would ever make a mention of him having lost an arm in order to require it. How did they handle it with Lariska? I don't remember that name at all... Of course if he throws right handed and uses the 'rang in his offhand primarily as a shield then it makes perfect sense for this arm to just be heavily armoured as he'll be hiding behind it while he's attacking with his right. It would also explain the lack of armour on his throwing arm as it would need to be as unrestricted as possible in combat...

[Mjolnitor]

 I think it would be strange for the designers to make Pohatu asymmetrical just for the same of making Pohatu asymmetrical.

Strange? Not by any degree.

[Pohatu: Uniter of Stone]

I enjoy having a more heavily armored, powered up arm. It makes smashing Skull Spiders easier. I'd rather have one arm super-powered up than two midly powered up, wouldn't you? The detail plate is there for armor. The teeth, as I said, were not my idea. They make no sense.

[Toa of Gallifrey]

The silver arm struck me as robotic from the beginning, which is why I think it should be the geared arm (but the explanation of it being harder to control makes sense too). He lost that arm punching LOSS between the fangs, he swears on his biomum.

[The 1st Shadow]

 

Back on topic a bit though, sorry I drifted there! I think it's clear that only the left arm is armoured/robotic based on the 'skin colour' theory which I think seems like a good one. It would make his lower legs organic but armoured, contrary to T1S previous suggestion (funny seeing as the skin colour theory is yours ) 

 

Yeah, I realized that when I made the post.

 

In another topic, I theorized that the Toa are wearing something like UnderArmour, well, under their armor. This idea stemmed from the silver/black mesh-like detail on their chests and Kopaka's thighs. If that is the case, then perhaps Pohatu's black thighs are just covered by their equivalent of UnderArmour shorts, leaving his lower legs exposed, and wearing heavy-duty boots. Just a thought.  

[Munty]

I'd like to think of them more as shinpads as a homage to his Gen1 incarnation

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

I feel like they would have brought this up in his character bio if that were the case. It's just a design choice.

 

-NotS

[Latrodectus]

The asymmetry is an interesting design choice. It gives Pohatu a ragged and wild look, especially when combined with the weird brown spiked armor that is reminiscent of animal hide. 

[Banana Gunz]

Huh, interesting theory. I actually quite like it! It kind of goes with Pohatu's new personality (his seems like the only one that has had actual changes to it, slightly to my disappointment, slightly not) where he's all tough and resilient. It's very possible he's lost a limb some time in the past...

[MrSciFiGuy]

Cool idea, but just probably a nice design aspect. 

[Regitnui]

Meta: Brown didn't sell well in Gen1, so they're trying to hedge their bets by making Pohatu silver as well.

 

IC: The 'animal hide armour' idea works well. They're going for a more 'desert traveller' look, so one 'bare' arm is contrasted by the 'covered' arm.

[Pomegranate]

Makes sense to me, that's what I assumed was the case at first, but I feel like if that was the case they'd have mentioned something about that somewhere, seems like too interesting and obvious of a trait not to make mention of. Could just be an asymmetrical design. An alternate theory of mine is that Pohatu is actually supposed to be completely silver, but has been skipping out on his baths and is thus extremely filthy and covered in dirt. #bathepohatu2015

[Tuuli]

Pohatu lost his arm in the Teridax's reign saga, remember? They had to give him a new arm and I guess they really made it in set form!

[fishers64]

Pohatu lost his arm in the Teridax's reign saga, remember? They had to give him a new arm and I guess they really made it in set form!

He did? I'm pretty sure by the time he got to The Powers That Be, he had two functioning arms...

[Voltex]

I'm on board for the robotic left arm idea.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

I think that it could be possible that Pohatu has a robotic left arm. It would be interesting to have one of the main characters in the story have such a limb, as it could add to the development of that character. And it would also be really cool for him to have his arm like that IMO.

[The 1st Shadow]

I think that it could be possible that Pohatu has a robotic left arm. It would be interesting to have one of the main characters in the story have such a limb, as it could add to the development of that character. And it would also be really cool for him to have his arm like that IMO.

It is possible for someone to have character development without losing a body part, you know. Besides, if they did take that route, then you'd just have Anakin or Luke Skywalker all over again.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

 

I think that it could be possible that Pohatu has a robotic left arm. It would be interesting to have one of the main characters in the story have such a limb, as it could add to the development of that character. And it would also be really cool for him to have his arm like that IMO.

It is possible for someone to have character development without losing a body part, you know. Besides, if they did take that route, then you'd just have Anakin or Luke Skywalker all over again.

 

I didn't mean that he couldn't get character development if he didn't have a robotic limb. I just meant that it would be interesting to have a main character with such a limb in the story, because we've haven't had a main character with a robotic limb in the official story before. (I know Lariska had a robotic left arm, but I think of her as a supporting character in the Gen 1 story.) It could also lead to some interesting backstory, like how he lost his arm and how he got his robotic one. 

 

But regardless if Gen 2 Pohatu's arm is robotic or not, I do think that he will get development as the story goes on.