Why isn't Umbra so loved?

[justifaiz_555]

Umbra is an interesting set, it is supposed to be the third Titan set from the first part of the Ignition Saga, now, the thing is...

I have seen that some people (not all) do not have much appreciation for it, it is a somewhat bland set due to its reuse of pieces (Metru mask mainly)

It's not such a bad set either, the pieces it comes with are quite good for MOCs, I personally find the wheels quite useful.

 

But tell me your opinion

[Nato G]

Honestly... what's to like? Almost every Bionicle set of canister size and above includes at least one new part, unique to that set (usually a mask and weapon). By contrast, Umbra is a janky mess with a chaotic colourscheme who features zero unique elements and genuinely looks like he was thrown together out of spare parts. Story-wise, he only appears in a single brief fight scene where he's effortlessly defeated, and is never seen or mentioned again beyond that point. 

[Master Inika]

He looks like a MOC

His storyline appearance is intriguing but severely underexplored.

[Taria Pakari]

Basically what Nato and Master said. It just feels like a slapdash build made to fill a slot for sets produced that year. Like, the build itself is fine, but not interesting. The wheel feet are a neat idea but then stability of the figure becomes an issue for displaying. It'd get just a few more points if the colour scheme was a bit more consistent, like something more light themed given that he's a being of light. Gold parts certainly weren't in short supply in 2006, but maybe they didn't want another gold titan to clash with Brutaka. Honestly, I'd only buy the set for collection completion's sake.

And as a character, well, his whole thing is being a guardian for the Ignika and that's it. There's nothing that makes him compelling in any way, he was just an obstacle for the Toa Inika and after he was dealt with, he just got ignored (Hydraxon; both the original and recreation, got more going for them as just a guard). There wasn't even anything with him during Teridax's takeover, and you'd think someone who was associated with both the Ignika and light would be an issue for the big bad.

[Toa_Kralich]

I honestly forget that Umbra exists a lot of the time. The build is just very uninteresting. A unique mask would've been nice, but given how sparse Metru recolours are I also would've taken a Metru recolour if he really needed to have a Metru mask (in gold, with a gold armour/colour scheme? Yes please!). The one positive association I have with him is that as a kid I had neither Matoro or Hewkii Inika, but did have Umbra, so I got their weapons through him for MOCing. 

[That Matoran with a Vahi]

I mean, I don't hate him or anything; I always enjoyed getting a new titan set back in the day, and Umbra was no exception when I caught up with him in early 2007. I don't fully hold having no new pieces against him either, since I seem to recall that he was a retailer exclusive set and they often didn't have the same budget for new parts the way the more widely-available sets did. (That said, Karzahni the following year was also retailer-exclusive, and his fantastic part recolours were probably the best thing about him, so...?)

But that said, I do get why this guy doesn't have too many fans. His colour scheme is, as others have said, probably the main reason: it has one too many colours in it to feel coherent, with the chosen shades of green and yellow not really mixing well, and Bionicle silver just being a bland colour in general. That his mask didn't get a unique recolour is not only a shame in its own right (Keetorange Ruru could have been neat...!), but also adds black prominently into the mix too, leaving him with four main colours, none of which are clearly the dominant one for him. Bionicle usually had pretty clearly-defined colour schemes, making Umbra an awkward outlier on that count.

Additionally, while his skates are a unique design feature, they're not particularly useful for standing the figure in poses; nor were they utilised to much effect in the story either. The fact that the book introduces his wheels as something that Jaller and co. have never seen before and are baffled by, too, is also a bit bemusing to fans of the original Mata Nui Online Game which had Matoran using wheeled carts as if they were a part of everyday life.

From what I've seen, the lack of coherence behind a character who has exclusively light-based powers having a name that means "shadow" is something which has never particularly helped his case either... 🤣

[Taria Pakari]

1 hour ago, That Matoran with a Vahi said:

The fact that the book introduces his wheels as something that Jaller and co. have never seen before and are baffled by, too, is also a bit bemusing to fans of the original Mata Nui Online Game which had Matoran using wheeled carts as if they were a part of everyday life.

Matoro especially, considering he went up against a Muaka.

[InfinityStuffBionicle]

It’s cool, but the points about him not having new pieces and looking like a moc are correct. My opinions of him would have increased if he hadn’t used silver, and instead used more black. And a recolor or new mold for the mask.

Edited August 4, 2025 by InfinityStuffBionicle