Summer Bionicle Set Info Revealed at Toy Fair

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

Not that many sets this summer! I might just get all of the sets released this year.

 

Sounds pretty exciting. Glad we are getting a bunch of new villains and the Mask Maker vs Skull Grinder set in particular sounds extremely intriguing. 

 

-NotS

[MechanicMustard]

Well, we could have Makuta in this set because there was a leaked image of the Mask of Ultimate Power in the LEGOClub magazine, but...

 

Probably not because we had to wait 3 years last time for a Makuta set!

 

 

But then, how would Ekimu be in a set? Canon conflict!

I'd say he probably got brought back to life somehow, and most likely is missing the mask of creation, as it was knocked off his face in the shockwave.

[Dallior]

Well, if the mask on LEGOClub isn't the MoUP, it's probably a spoiler to one of the Skull Basher/Warrior/Crusher/Splitter masks.

[user-402520536]

Well, if the mask on LEGOClub isn't the MoUP, it's probably a spoiler to one of the Skull Basher/Warrior/Crusher/Splitter masks.

You forgot Scorpio. Besides that, I'm thinking that the the Skull Grinder could very well be a vehicular character- kinda like the Turbo Slizer. Thoughts?

Edited January 21, 2015 by Gukko Lord

[Prowl Nightwolf]

 

Actually, the way Huw describes them, it sounds to me like they will all be black with brighter accent colors, kind of like how Lord of Skull Spiders was black with Tr. Flu. Reddish Orange accents. As he says, "Although they were each a different 'feature colour' there wasn't much of it used."

 

I'm definitely excited for these sets! I'm not really bothered by the names at all. I like descriptive names. And it's a little surprising how resistant so many people are to these kinds of names given how popular The Shadowed One seemed to be as a character.

 

I hope the action words in many of the names mean these sets will have some interesting action features.

 

Developing a good, interesting character and that character having an actual name are mutually exclusive. I do love The Shadowed One, but I never cared for his generic name.

 

These ones are much better than "Protector of ____" and actually descriptive. That's a plus for what they are.

 

But I still absolutely want names, not only titles or descriptors.

 

The Protectors following the format of the Toa, that is "____ - Protector of ___" would have been a fantastic solution. Or "___ the Skull Grinder." Yes, I get it, people found the excessive use of names confusing. I would never argue against that. But you definitely can get too generic and have it likewise be offputting.

 

~|ET|~

 

 

While I agree with this to a point. The reason maybe for the Protectors not coming out with names of their own may be because for now Lego wants the consumer to make up their own character as the Protector of whatever village instead of being told that so-in-so is the Earth protector and that is the end of it. You don't like it? Sucks to be you.

 

This time around though they are not doing that with this new "simplified" release. Now we do get actual names such as the Toa and Makuta though they may be just released so the consumer can recognize it as a Bionicle set release. The reason Ekimu has a name is because it didn't seem to make sense that one of the two mask makers had a name but the other did not. Right now we get to deside individually what the Protectors will be called. You want the Fire Protector to be named Vakama? Fine his name is now Vakama. You don't, then it is not.

 

On another note; Are these official set names or just placement set names? I ask this because they have released the names of the two Mask makers in the story so why release a generic "Mask Maker" set unless it was intended to/could be either Ekimu or Makuta? Otherwise not call it "Mask Maker Ekimu"? This makes me think that not only could these be end stage prototypes (Unless otherwise stated as official pre-releases) But the names themselves are not official just yet. Now this Is strickly speaking for the releases that could have names. If these other Villains are akin to Rahi (Skull scorpio?) Then they would not get specific names. 

 

 

Well, if the mask on LEGOClub isn't the MoUP, it's probably a spoiler to one of the Skull Basher/Warrior/Crusher/Splitter masks.

You forgot Scorpio. Besides that, I'm thinking that the the Skull Grinder could very well be a vehicular character- kinda like the Turbo Slizer. Thoughts?

 

Not sure how Vehicle related characters would work in this rotation due to not having any story yet to back it up. in Gen1 it was years before any actual vehicles were released. True we had the Ga-koro boat in MNOG but I don't think that was ever released as a set.

[Lyichir]

 

 

Well, if the mask on LEGOClub isn't the MoUP, it's probably a spoiler to one of the Skull Basher/Warrior/Crusher/Splitter masks.

You forgot Scorpio. Besides that, I'm thinking that the the Skull Grinder could very well be a vehicular character- kinda like the Turbo Slizer. Thoughts?

 

 

Not sure how Vehicle related characters would work in this rotation due to not having any story yet to back it up. in Gen1 it was years before any actual vehicles were released. True we had the Ga-koro boat in MNOG but I don't think that was ever released as a set.

 

I think they meant a character who WAS a vehicle—Turbo was a Slizer/Throwbot who literally had four wheels like a car. The closest Bionicle had to that were probably the Manas—crab-like creatures with dual treads instead of legs, which were occasionally treated as almost robotic.

 

I certainly think something like that could be interesting... perhaps some sort of monster/machine constructed with the power of the Mask of Creation?

Edited January 22, 2015 by Lyichir

[Jobber]

 

 

 

Well, if the mask on LEGOClub isn't the MoUP, it's probably a spoiler to one of the Skull Basher/Warrior/Crusher/Splitter masks.

You forgot Scorpio. Besides that, I'm thinking that the the Skull Grinder could very well be a vehicular character- kinda like the Turbo Slizer. Thoughts?

 

 

Not sure how Vehicle related characters would work in this rotation due to not having any story yet to back it up. in Gen1 it was years before any actual vehicles were released. True we had the Ga-koro boat in MNOG but I don't think that was ever released as a set.

 

I think they meant a character who WAS a vehicle—Turbo was a Slizer/Throwbot who literally had four wheels like a car. The closest Bionicle had to that were probably the Manas—crab-like creatures with dual treads instead of legs, which were occasionally treated as almost robotic.

 

I certainly think something like that could be interesting... perhaps some sort of monster/machine constructed with the power of the Mask of Creation?

 

We don't know the full extent of G2's MoC. 

[Lenny7092]

I love the names for the sets! The ones with "Skull" sounds menacing. I can see that they don't have any real names, which these names are great. I hope that the "Mask Maker" must mean Ekimu while "Skull Grinder" must mean Makuta, and hopefully they have the Masks of Creation, Control, and Ultimate Power because I am looking forward to see these things and the Mask Makers. It sounds like that the Makers are hanging a crude with each other, so that's makes me think of that, and hopefully, when they are revealed, they must be themselves. Anyway, I am looking forward to these sets.

[Prowl Nightwolf]

Well in defense of the Manas being remote controlled they needed reliable means of motion. Being of the technic age Treads seems the most viable option. Though why some of the other Rahi had treads perplexed me. Such as the Muaka, Kane-Ra, or Kuma-Nui who's hindquarters are treads.

[Latrodectus]

I love the names for the sets! The ones with "Skull" sounds menacing. I can see that they don't have any real names, which these names are great. I hope that the "Mask Maker" must mean Ekimu while "Skull Grinder" must mean Makuta, and hopefully they have the Masks of Creation, Control, and Ultimate Power because I am looking forward to see these things and the Mask Makers. It sounds like that the Makers are hanging a crude with each other, so that's makes me think of that, and hopefully, when they are revealed, they must be themselves. Anyway, I am looking forward to these sets.

I'm getting the feeling Skull Grinder isn't Makuta. Lego already has a several year plan for the line, and since the Mask Maker is most likely Ekimu, Makuta is probably one of the things they're holding back for year 2. Skull Grinder in that case would be an original character.

 

I'm definitely excited for these sets! I'm not really bothered by the names at all. I like descriptive names. And it's a little surprising how resistant so many people are to these kinds of names given how popular The Shadowed One seemed to be as a character.

To be fair, "The Shadowed One" is a pretty silly title. 

Edited January 22, 2015 by Latrodectus

[Aanchir]

Well in defense of the Manas being remote controlled they needed reliable means of motion. Being of the technic age Treads seems the most viable option. Though why some of the other Rahi had treads perplexed me. Such as the Muaka, Kane-Ra, or Kuma-Nui who's hindquarters are treads.

I think that was mainly just to emphasize the biomechanical nature of the universe — fusing creature and machine motifs. Even though this started to seem weird in later years as we started to see more naturalistic-looking creatures, in 2001 it didn't feel nearly so out-of-place — it was just the way some BIONICLE creatures were.

[Munty]

I love the names for the sets! The ones with "Skull" sounds menacing. I can see that they don't have any real names, which these names are great. I hope that the "Mask Maker" must mean Ekimu while "Skull Grinder" must mean Makuta, and hopefully they have the Masks of Creation, Control, and Ultimate Power because I am looking forward to see these things and the Mask Makers. It sounds like that the Makers are hanging a crude with each other, so that's makes me think of that, and hopefully, when they are revealed, they must be themselves. Anyway, I am looking forward to these sets.

 

I don't think the Skull Grinder will be Makuta, and I certainly don't think that it MUST be him... I agree that the Mask Maker will be Ekimu but the Skull grinder will likely be a creature manifested by the MoUP to claim the MoC from a recently revived Ekimu.

 

An alternate theory that would surprise a lot of people would be if the Mask Maker is actually Makuta (as he WAS a mask maker too!) and the Skull Grinder could be a minion of the MoUP trying to revive Maukta by bringing him the MoUP. IF Ekimu has already been revived though, Makuta could be as well and therefore the good that is still inside him (if he isn't inherently evil again this time around) could actually try to fight off the Grinder and it's attempts to reunite him with the MoUP which he now realises in incredibly evil and will gain a tremendous amount of power from him donning it again.

 

Of course there are points against this as if Ekimu is already awake then why would we not get a set for him? Also as has been mentioned, Makuta would likely be called the mask HOARDER but this could be clever misdirection on Lego's part to give us a vague set name that we will all assume is Ekimu and then reveal it's Makuta! The following set that would inevitably include Ekimu (at some point) would not need to have such a misleading name as he would be the only mask maker left unaccounted for and so the set could be Ekimu vs skull serpent' or something.

 

Just a thought

 

Well in defense of the Manas being remote controlled they needed reliable means of motion. Being of the technic age Treads seems the most viable option. Though why some of the other Rahi had treads perplexed me. Such as the Muaka, Kane-Ra, or Kuma-Nui who's hindquarters are treads.

 

I also agree with Aanchir on this, Bionicle was a Biomechanicl universe where essentially everything was an undetermined mix of livng and mechanical. Having treas on the Manas, M+KR and Tarakava never seemes even remotely strange to me. In fact I missed such interesting sets as the franchise developed and became more conventional and in my opinion a little boring... Besides doesn't anyone remember the Skopio set? It was the best set to come out of Bionicle's concluding years by a long shot, when other options were things like the Toa Mata Nui set... The Skopio was very much a creature but it was a tracked one. Admittedly those tracks were added by the GBs but a tracked creature it remains! And let's not forget, the Rahi were created by the Makutas who were in turn created by the GBs so if their 'dads' had a thing for tracked creatures it only stands to reason that they would too. 

 

I personally would have loved to see new Rahi sets every year, they were so diverse and unique, later sets were pretty much just big humanoid warriors.

[Tarvaxx]

 

I love the names for the sets! The ones with "Skull" sounds menacing. I can see that they don't have any real names, which these names are great. I hope that the "Mask Maker" must mean Ekimu while "Skull Grinder" must mean Makuta, and hopefully they have the Masks of Creation, Control, and Ultimate Power because I am looking forward to see these things and the Mask Makers. It sounds like that the Makers are hanging a crude with each other, so that's makes me think of that, and hopefully, when they are revealed, they must be themselves. Anyway, I am looking forward to these sets.

 

I don't think the Skull Grinder will be Makuta, and I certainly don't think that it MUST be him... I agree that the Mask Maker will be Ekimu but the Skull grinder will likely be a creature manifested by the MoUP to claim the MoC from a recently revived Ekimu.

 

An alternate theory that would surprise a lot of people would be if the Mask Maker is actually Makuta (as he WAS a mask maker too!) and the Skull Grinder could be a minion of the MoUP trying to revive Maukta by bringing him the MoUP. IF Ekimu has already been revived though, Makuta could be as well and therefore the good that is still inside him (if he isn't inherently evil again this time around) could actually try to fight off the Grinder and it's attempts to reunite him with the MoUP which he now realises in incredibly evil and will gain a tremendous amount of power from him donning it again.

 

Of course there are points against this as if Ekimu is already awake then why would we not get a set for him? Also as has been mentioned, Makuta would likely be called the mask HOARDER but this could be clever misdirection on Lego's part to give us a vague set name that we will all assume is Ekimu and then reveal it's Makuta! The following set that would inevitably include Ekimu (at some point) would not need to have such a misleading name as he would be the only mask maker left unaccounted for and so the set could be Ekimu vs skull serpent' or something.

 

Just a thought

 

Well in defense of the Manas being remote controlled they needed reliable means of motion. Being of the technic age Treads seems the most viable option. Though why some of the other Rahi had treads perplexed me. Such as the Muaka, Kane-Ra, or Kuma-Nui who's hindquarters are treads.

 

I also agree with Aanchir on this, Bionicle was a Biomechanicl universe where essentially everything was an undetermined mix of livng and mechanical. Having treas on the Manas, M+KR and Tarakava never seemes even remotely strange to me. In fact I missed such interesting sets as the franchise developed and became more conventional and in my opinion a little boring... Besides doesn't anyone remember the Skopio set? It was the best set to come out of Bionicle's concluding years by a long shot, when other options were things like the Toa Mata Nui set... The Skopio was very much a creature but it was a tracked one. Admittedly those tracks were added by the GBs but a tracked creature it remains! And let's not forget, the Rahi were created by the Makutas who were in turn created by the GBs so if their 'dads' had a thing for tracked creatures it only stands to reason that they would too. 

 

I personally would have loved to see new Rahi sets every year, they were so diverse and unique, later sets were pretty much just big humanoid warriors.

 

The thing is, it seems Makuta is the real villain behind it all. His official title is "Makuta the Mask Hoarder" and guess what the skull spiders are doing? They're taking masks, and their main objective is searching for the three powerful ones. Makuta wasn't the good guy we make him out to be. Before he put the MoUP on he was already jealous, already filled with evil. What the MoUP did was bring out and amplify what was already inside of him.

 

Let's think about it this way. Teridix was jealous of Mata Nui, does that mean he wasn't evil and was the same person he was before he felt envy for his creator? Nope. You could even look at Loki and Thor to a lesser extent. At the end of the day, jealousy is an evil characteristic, and once you let it control your actions and motives, you look into the abyss, and the abyss looks back into you. It doesn't swallow YOU, you simply become IT. The new Makuta, through his jealousy, which lead to hatred, which lead to a lust for power, has became evil incarnate.

[Prowl Nightwolf]

The thing is, it seems Makuta is the real villain behind it all. His official title is "Makuta the Mask Hoarder" and guess what the skull spiders are doing? They're taking masks, and their main objective is searching for the three powerful ones. Makuta wasn't the good guy we make him out to be. Before he put the MoUP on he was already jealous, already filled with evil. What the MoUP did was bring out and amplify what was already inside of him.

 

Let's think about it this way. Teridix was jealous of Mata Nui, does that mean he wasn't evil and was the same person he was before he felt envy for his creator? Nope. You could even look at Loki and Thor to a lesser extent. At the end of the day, jealousy is an evil characteristic, and once you let it control your actions and motives, you look into the abyss, and the abyss looks back into you. It doesn't swallow YOU, you simply become IT. The new Makuta, through his jealousy, which lead to hatred, which lead to a lust for power, has became evil incarnate.

You know I am not sure how much I agree with this but I also don't know how much I disagree. I seen an ad on TV just this morning where it showed the Skull spider collecting the Mask of Creation to create the Skull spider swarms. It was even holding the mask in question. With this post here I got this weird feeling in my brain and what triggered it was the first few lines above. I mean we know Ekimu has a Protector style look to him so it is not unheard of he may be a Protector build Makuta's original pre-MoUP incarnation was identical to Ekimu shy of mask and secondary color choice. Yet what of his "transformed" state. He was turning black and a color that could be seen as red or maybe even orange. Well what colors are the LoSS? Black and what...?

 

Just saying....

[Lyichir]

 

 

I love the names for the sets! The ones with "Skull" sounds menacing. I can see that they don't have any real names, which these names are great. I hope that the "Mask Maker" must mean Ekimu while "Skull Grinder" must mean Makuta, and hopefully they have the Masks of Creation, Control, and Ultimate Power because I am looking forward to see these things and the Mask Makers. It sounds like that the Makers are hanging a crude with each other, so that's makes me think of that, and hopefully, when they are revealed, they must be themselves. Anyway, I am looking forward to these sets.

 

I don't think the Skull Grinder will be Makuta, and I certainly don't think that it MUST be him... I agree that the Mask Maker will be Ekimu but the Skull grinder will likely be a creature manifested by the MoUP to claim the MoC from a recently revived Ekimu.

 

An alternate theory that would surprise a lot of people would be if the Mask Maker is actually Makuta (as he WAS a mask maker too!) and the Skull Grinder could be a minion of the MoUP trying to revive Maukta by bringing him the MoUP. IF Ekimu has already been revived though, Makuta could be as well and therefore the good that is still inside him (if he isn't inherently evil again this time around) could actually try to fight off the Grinder and it's attempts to reunite him with the MoUP which he now realises in incredibly evil and will gain a tremendous amount of power from him donning it again.

 

Of course there are points against this as if Ekimu is already awake then why would we not get a set for him? Also as has been mentioned, Makuta would likely be called the mask HOARDER but this could be clever misdirection on Lego's part to give us a vague set name that we will all assume is Ekimu and then reveal it's Makuta! The following set that would inevitably include Ekimu (at some point) would not need to have such a misleading name as he would be the only mask maker left unaccounted for and so the set could be Ekimu vs skull serpent' or something.

 

Just a thought

 

Well in defense of the Manas being remote controlled they needed reliable means of motion. Being of the technic age Treads seems the most viable option. Though why some of the other Rahi had treads perplexed me. Such as the Muaka, Kane-Ra, or Kuma-Nui who's hindquarters are treads.

 

I also agree with Aanchir on this, Bionicle was a Biomechanicl universe where essentially everything was an undetermined mix of livng and mechanical. Having treas on the Manas, M+KR and Tarakava never seemes even remotely strange to me. In fact I missed such interesting sets as the franchise developed and became more conventional and in my opinion a little boring... Besides doesn't anyone remember the Skopio set? It was the best set to come out of Bionicle's concluding years by a long shot, when other options were things like the Toa Mata Nui set... The Skopio was very much a creature but it was a tracked one. Admittedly those tracks were added by the GBs but a tracked creature it remains! And let's not forget, the Rahi were created by the Makutas who were in turn created by the GBs so if their 'dads' had a thing for tracked creatures it only stands to reason that they would too. 

 

I personally would have loved to see new Rahi sets every year, they were so diverse and unique, later sets were pretty much just big humanoid warriors.

 

The thing is, it seems Makuta is the real villain behind it all. His official title is "Makuta the Mask Hoarder" and guess what the skull spiders are doing? They're taking masks, and their main objective is searching for the three powerful ones. Makuta wasn't the good guy we make him out to be. Before he put the MoUP on he was already jealous, already filled with evil. What the MoUP did was bring out and amplify what was already inside of him.

 

Let's think about it this way. Teridix was jealous of Mata Nui, does that mean he wasn't evil and was the same person he was before he felt envy for his creator? Nope. You could even look at Loki and Thor to a lesser extent. At the end of the day, jealousy is an evil characteristic, and once you let it control your actions and motives, you look into the abyss, and the abyss looks back into you. It doesn't swallow YOU, you simply become IT. The new Makuta, through his jealousy, which lead to hatred, which lead to a lust for power, has became evil incarnate.

 

Yes, yes, yes. Well said. I've seen a lot of people wanting Makuta not to be evil. But while a redemption similar to Garmadon's is possible, I don't see it as likely. And while he could potentially be replaced by a different "big bad" (also unlikely), even that doesn't guarantee that he'd stop his wicked ways.

 

What I like about the new Makuta is that while he IS evil, he's also vulnerable. His story begins with him biting off more power than he can chew. Compared to the hypercompetent schemer that the original Makuta developed into, the new Makuta has so far been defined by petty resentment and rash decision-making. Ultimately, I think that could make him a more compelling villain in the long run—less predictable, at the very least.

[Munty]

Good points above but I think they seem to be very much a black and white assessment of where the story could take us. He was good then jealousy made him bad but he could be redeemed and then good again. That's not what I'm suggesting and certainly not something I'd like to see. I think what would be more interesting is seeing Makuta playing a far more middle-ground, grey character. Watching him fight against not only the bad but often the good as well. It's very likely he didn't anticipate the consequences of his actions as he was only jealous and wanted RESPECT, not control. Although ironically he wears the mask of control already so technically he should already have that...

 

When Makuta wakes up in this world of destruction he's (probably) helped to create, it's just as possible that he will regret his actions as it is that he'll embrace the chaos and become full-on evil. He doesn't have to flat out choose either of those options though. He can hate the SS as much as everyone else but still be somewhat controlled by the jealousy that drove him to break the rules i nthe first place. He'd essentially be standoffish but essentially neutral to the war raging around him. Plus, with the mask of control (if he still has it) he could be safe from the SS anyway so why get involved. He could feel that leaving Ekimu to his fate is the best way to resolve his own issues with his brother. Leave it to fate, or 'destiny' if you like

 

Of course such a neutral antagonist would be super dull as it would basically remove him from the story. Perhaps there could be various scenarios revolving around Makuta pursuing temporary 'alliances' with several different factions simply for his own benefit. It could then be revealed in the end that while he appeared totally removed from the story he was actually enacting his own grand plan the whole time. Perhaps he could team up with the spiders to kick the villagers out of important historical locations, use the Toa to defeat some LoSS so he could take over their hordes of SS himself with his mask of control and trick the villagers into becoming his unwitting workforce on some great ssecret project. Then we'd all get a surprise at the end when he finally accomplishes some hidden goal. IT could be something that frees the island from the spiders and earns him the respect he always wanted, but he'd have been looking like a 'manipulative villain' right up to that point so it would be an interesting turnabout without making him particularly good OR evil for the entire duration of the first years story.

 

By the way, I get a cookie if that's the exact chronology of the 2015 story

[user-402520536]

Uh, yeah, never mind this...

Edited January 26, 2015 by Gukko Lord
Leaked information removed.

[Lyichir]

Umm, my friend has just shown me some leaked images of the new sets...

That's nice, but BZP's leak policy hasn't changed. You're not supposed to link to leaks or even discuss their content.

 

Only one month left until New York Toy Fair, when we'll get legitimate pictures. Surely you can hold off until then.

[Prowl Nightwolf]

By the way, I get a cookie if that's the exact chronology of the 2015 story

 

Alright all right we are busted. what kind of cookie would you like?

 

Removed.

Lalalala don't want to hear it, no, nope I can't here you. nananan...

Edited January 24, 2015 by Tufi Piyufi
Quoted discussion of leaked info removed.

[Toa Chuck]

 

Umm, my friend has just shown me some leaked images of the new sets...

That's nice, but BZP's leak policy hasn't changed. You're not supposed to link to leaks or even discuss their content.

 

Only one month left until New York Toy Fair, when we'll get legitimate pictures. Surely you can hold off until then.

 

What about Nuremburg toyfair? isn't that coming sooner?

[Jobber]

 

 

Umm, my friend has just shown me some leaked images of the new sets...

That's nice, but BZP's leak policy hasn't changed. You're not supposed to link to leaks or even discuss their content.

 

Only one month left until New York Toy Fair, when we'll get legitimate pictures. Surely you can hold off until then.

 

What about Nuremburg toyfair? isn't that coming sooner?

 

Yeah, next week actually. And pics are allowed there.

[Munty]

I was just talking to Specsowl about this and that's what he said. Why would they go to so much trouble to prevent photography in london if they're going to then allow it everywhere else? After all, Lego is still Lego no matter which convention you go to right???