@SearchlightRG said:
" @LEGOFanInPJ said:
"Need lore and confirmation that the Skull Spider (as named in product description) is a literal facehugger. >.>"

So it is. Though instead of doing that to make its victim a living incubator, it takes control of their bodies."

“My name is Skull Spider, and I like warm faces.”

This would probably be an easier sell if the character was someone a little more Frozen, like 70782.

The Protectors are a system of leaders that have long guarded Okoto. Each Protector wore a set of thick armor, wielded powerful weapons, and possessed Masks that provided them limited Elemental Powers. Each generation the Protectors would pass their gear onto their children. They were the leaders and elders of the tribes, as well as warriors who would defend them from threats.

The Protector of Jungle wore a Mask of Jungle that, while weaker than a Toa's allowed them to control plantlife and the wind. They carried a long-range bow weapon that would fire concentrated blasts of heated air. The vines curling around their ankles were actually a pair of sensory tails that let them (mildly) predict the future. They guarded the vast swaths of rain forests and swamp lands on the south-east of Okoto

1,000 years ago Okoto lived in harmony. Much of their lives revolved around two powerful brothers who lived in the center of the island. The Mask Makers, Ekimu and Makuta. For ages the two would craft great Masks of Power, serving as Protectors in their own right. Agarak, the Protector of Jungle of the time, was a close friend of Ekimu, as were their teammates.

As the years went by, jealousy grew in Makuta’s heart. Ekimu’s masks were always more praised than his own, and so he set out to craft something new and captivating. It was an ancient tradition that a mask could not contain more than one elemental power, but Makuta set out to create a mask with all six. The Mask of Ultimate Power.

When Makuta put on the Mask of Ultimate Power he was corrupted by its dark power. The mask transformed him into a giant twisted form and drove him mad. Ekimu, seeing his brother's strife, rushed in and smacked the mask from Makuta’s face with his great hammer. An explosion rocked the land. The Mask of Ultimate Power splintered into six shards, Maktua was banished into the Shadow Realm, and Ekimu’s lifeless body was left at the bottom of the crater.

As Ekimu’s lifeforce faded a prophecy whispered from his lips. He told the gathered Protectors of visions he had received long ago. In times dark, when all hope seems lost, they were to look to the sky. When the stars aligned they would gather in the Temple of Time and recite an incantation to summon six powerful heroes to the island, the Toa, who would liberate it of evil.

Agarak and their team would scatter the Masks of Power across the island, including Ekimu’s Mask of Creation and Makuta's Mask of Control. They buried Ekimu in a tomb nearby his old forge, and the City of the Mask Makers was abandoned.

1,000 years later Vizuna would take up their ancestor’s mantle as Protector of Jungle. Under their watch, terror would descend upon the land. Mysterious Skull Spiders began raiding the Okotan villages. They would latch onto people’s faces, warping and twisting their minds to listen to their dark lord. These hypnotized villagers would wander into the wilderness, never to be seen again.

The Protectors knew what they had to do. The six gathered in the Temple of Time and recited the Prophecy of Heroes, channeling their will through the Mask of Time. Six comets came blazing from the sky and crashed. The Stars themselves had been sent to liberate Okoto. Each Protector set off to find their Toa

Vizuna eventually located Lewa, the jovial and un-serious Toa of Jungle. He guided the hero deep within the woods in search of the Golden Mask of Jungle, which they eventually located in a mess of tangled brambles. When a horde of Skull Spiders descended into the group, Lewa took flight, gliding through the thorns to claim his prize. With his newfound strength he was able to summon great gusts of wind and blow the creatures away. It was then Vizuna revealed to Lewa his task was not finished. He was to travel alone to the City of the Mask Makers in the center of the island to unite with the other five Toa and recover the legendary Mask of Creation. Initially Vizuna was going to stay behind to guard his villages from the remaining Skull Spiders.

But the Protectors' minds quickly changed. They feared what would happen if the Toa failed their quest, and even if they succeeded they may need further guidance. When they arrived at the city they found the bridge had been destroyed, and so sought out an alternate path in. They entered a series of underground catacombs.

There they met the Lord of Skull Spiders, licking his wounds from his recent fight with the Toa. The arachnid king attacked the Protectors. In the ensuing duel the Protectors brought down the ceiling on the beast, killing him.

They arrived in the City of the Mask Makers to find Ekimu, brought back to life by the Toa. The Toa themselves had been knocked unconscious, but Ekimu was quickly nursing them back to health.

When the Toa left on their quest to find the Elemental Creatures the Protectors stayed behind to help rebuild the City of the Mask Makers.

Vizuna and Lewa also had a slight combiner model where the Protector would give the Toa his bow and shoulder pads. This played no role in the story.

Vizuna is a personal favorite of mine. I was always a sucker for the little guys of OG BIONICLE and so loved the Matoran. The Protectors were a great successor line. While a little pricier I loved that they (mostly) had full articulation! A massive step-up over the Matoran and Agori of old. Of the six Vizuna had one of the more pleasing color schemes, and the two handed bow weapon was just epic. The little vines on his feet also give him a tad extra flare. He's not as bulky as the Protectors of Fire and Earth, doesn't have the stumpy arms of the Protector of Ice, and his weapon was just a tad more interesting to me than Stone or Water making him a great all-rounder for the line.

The protectors are pretty good sets IMHO. They're vibrant, poseable, lightweight and they were a decent price when the toa ranged more towards the expensive side. I prioritized the toa though. The protectors do really miss story characterization. The lore above wasn't really a thing until later in the line. Or at least, it was obscure back in 2015. Coupled with all having the same mask mold and the same energy effect pieces, this made them appear to be a lot more samey than the sets really were.

The bow here for example is a unique take on the shooter that would be expanded upon in larger sets like the skull warrior and Umarak the Hunter. But in the lineup it stands out :)

The Protectors were definitely a fun group of sets, they occupied an interesting middle ground between the Turaga and Matoran in terms of price and functionality/articulation and I think that if the alternative was cheaper but less poseable and playable figures we got the better outcome with these. I do wish they each had unique masks to further evoke the 2001-03 aesthetic but it's still cool that we even got them and I just need to track down a Protector of Ice to complete my 2015 collection; I honestly think that 2015 is a top 3 year for BIONICLE in terms of sets, and if 2001 didn't have the Rahi it would be a bit higher.

Love the stud shooter part 6100488, can see plenty of potential. The picture could be viewed as protecting the spiders from the jungle destroying outsiders.

I loved the protectors so so much, brilliant small sets

So if I understand correctly, the Protectors are just decultured Turaga. No longer called Turaga, no longer former Toa, no longer village shaman, no longer followers of Mata Nui, and basically any other reference to Maori culture that can easily be stripped away has been. Obviously some of the Toa still used Maori names, and it would be tricky to explain why some got renamed and others didn’t. And obviously the main term that caused all the problem in the first place (Tohunga) had long ago been abandoned, so it wasn’t like anyone was going to be taking up arms against them a second time.

The Keetongu Orange was an inspired color choice, but always felt a bit robbed that they failed to include any solid bright green parts with him. (Of course classic green never even showed up in Bionicle Gen 2, which I also felt was an insult to everybody who liked the original Lewa color scheme.)

3/4 of this set was my first Gen 2 Bionicle--and remains about 1/4 of the collection. I found Vizuna, mask-less, and without the spider, used.

It's a solid, well-articulated figure and the bow is, indeed, "epic," and on that end, Gen 2 did Bionicle well. But... as a story with lore? It's trapped between doing something new and having to echo what came before. The identically-masked Protectors particularly suffer that: inevitably compared to the Turaga of 2001 because they "have" to fill their niche, but never going to to be able to match the story or nostalgia (or wild early 2000s part-molding uniqueness).

@Brickalili said:
"The first wave of the reboot really was amazing, even the little sets like this guy all had unique builds that made them feel different and helped characterise them. "

They had to make up for the masks and names, I guess.

@Aloa_of_AGL in response to your comment from the previous set: technically Bara Magna DID have an Ice Region or two…

I actually have this, and you know what? Its a step up from the Matoran of old, the articulated joints are a big improvement.