Bionicle TIMES TWO!
And in the same era, too; latter half of 2009. That's got to be unprecedented.

@beige said:
"The gold mace sticks out like a sore thumb. I think it should have been blue, white or grey"

Well, it's a projectile, not a mace head. They often tend to look very different from the weapon that shoots them.

"So, how many spikes does Gelu need?"
"Yes."

@Zordboy said:
""So, how many spikes does Gelu need?"
"Yes.""

But we want him to be cool, so make them Ice spikes.

@Zordboy: "Stick them out. All of them." "My lord, is that... legal?" "I will make it legal."

its the guy from yesterday quest'!
also, encase some people don't know, powers that be and yesterday quest are currently being continued by greg farshtey on maskofdestiny.com

@Endermen39 said:
"Doesn’t this guy get turned into a snake by the Mata Nui? Then helps the golden skinned being defeat the nightmare creature who drove the iron tribe insane.

Sorry if that was wrong, I don’t remember all the names. I’m sure @GSR_MataNui will probably fill in the rest eventually."

your thinking of metus

@Billbuilds said:
" @Endermen39 said:
"Doesn’t this guy get turned into a snake by the Mata Nui? Then helps the golden skinned being defeat the nightmare creature who drove the iron tribe insane.

Sorry if that was wrong, I don’t remember all the names. I’m sure @GSR_MataNui will probably fill in the rest eventually."

your thinking of metus"

Yeah I just looked it up. Your right. The mask almost looks the same though. That’s probably why I got it confused.

I love making myself look like a fool. Lol

I had one of those golden spike balls in a lot once. I didn't know what it was at the time, so I put it in the fake parts bin I was filling. When I later discovered what it was I went back to dig it out, but I must have gotten rid of that particular bin (I tend to fill up several boxes and then donate them). So somewhere, someone has a golden spike ball that was found in a sea of fake blocks.

Feels like Gelu was already RSotD once before...hmm.

For me, 2009 BIONICLE didn't wow me with the Ice-type characters. Strakk the Glatorian was ugly to me and revealed to have a minor role in the story. Gelu looked really cool, but he was a filler character that barely had any presence in the story at all, aside from those web serials some people mentioned above. After the highs of other "Ice" characters like Pridak and Matoro in 2007 and Kopaka and Krika in 2008, Strakk and Gelu were letdowns.

Still, like I said, Gelu looked cool, so I got him to complete my set of 6 Glatorian Legends by the end of 2009 (first full set of six canister sets in wave for me since the Toa Mahri in 2007). Plus, I wanted that sweet snowflake shield that also came with the Agori Metus.

Since Gelu didn't play really any major role in the BIONICLE story, it's fine to provide some context on what and where the heck he is. Gelu is a Glatorian, a large race of semi-biological entities that live on the ruined planet of Bara Magna. This planet exists apart from the Matoran Universe that was the location for the BIONICLE story up to 2009. Glatorian had no powers, aside from greater physical prowess than the diminutive Agori, and they wore armor. So those things on their heads were helmets, not masks. Since Bara Magna was pretty much a wasteland, all of the armor and weapons were cobbled together from relics and bones, leftovers from an ancient cataclysm that nearly destroyed the planet.

For the surviving Agori and Glatorian clinging to scarce resources and food, open warfare was untenable. A system was mutually agreed upon in which each community would have two Glatorian that would represent them in duels when resources were contested. The prime Glatorian was usually the best fighter, and the secondary was the backup, usually more inexperienced or training under the Prime Glatorian to someday ascend to that rank. For the village of Iconox, Gelu was the secondary Glatorian. Strakk was the prime Glatorian, but he brought exile upon himself for trying to kill an opponent in a match.

That opponent happened to be a stranger from another world who looked like a Glatorian, but instead of a helmet, wore a strange mask. And unlike the Glatorian, this stranger had power within him and the mask, power to change and empower the objects around Bara Magna, and even the Glatorian themselves! This stranger's name was Mata Nui, and once he got accustomed to the ways of Bara Magna, set out to find a way home to the Matoran Universe that he had been ejected from by the Makuta.

Over the course of his adventures, Mata Nui used the power of the mask to awaken elemental powers within certain Glatorian. This was in part to help them free themselves from the encroaching tyranny of the Skrall. Based on how weapons for the Glatorian changed to look more like the LEGO set versions (as seen in the movie, "The Legend Reborn"), I assume Gelu also received this empowerment and could access ice powers. This isn't shown in the movie or the comic books. So you can call me out on that being "fanon", but whatever. The story has been finished for over a decade as far as I'm concerned.

Long ago, the Agori people of Spherus Magna lived in in eight elemental tribes. One of these tribes, the Iron Tribe, fell victim to the "Dreaming Plague" in which the Eldritch beast Annona fed on their minds and drove them to insomnia driven madness. Before Annona fled to slumber once more, she sensed a number of strange minds on the planet. Around a dozen or so.

She feared the power these minds could possess, and attempted to flood their brains with visions of madness. Instead they were blessed with intelligence beyond all others. This group set out to experiment, driven by an endless desire to create, and thanks to their great inventions eventually became known as the Great Beings.

The people of Spherus Magna came to treat the Great Beings as kings, even receiving cybernetic implants form them, but the scientists had no desire to rule. They chose a warrior from the seven remaining tribes and imbued them with the power of the land they lived in. These Elemental Lords would rule the land in the Great Beings stead, while they returned to their tinkering, one of their notable experiments being a giant robot that exploded across the desert.

But this neglect would prove fatal. The Elemental Lords were driven by a desire to conquer and rule. While fragile peace remained for the time, blood simmered under the surface, and each was waiting for their moment to strike.

Soon that moment came. The Elemental Lord of Earth*, in tune with the ground, sensed great power at its core. Energized Protodermis. Unbeknownst to her (and most) this sentient fluid was a god of its own right, who's powers kept the world intact. The Lord of Earth forged a sinister plan. She used her powers over the dirt and plates to worm the EP up from its home. The Protodermis sprung up in the Elemental Lord of Ice's domain.

EP quickly drew eyes from across the globe. It was a mysterious substance. Some who touched it were granted god-like powers, others were mutated into hideous beasts, and some were destroyed entirely. No matter what it did to people though, one thing was obvious about it. It was a near infinite source of power, and if harnessed could let the Lords surpass even their creators.

Debate quickly sprung across the Lords over the substance. Six of them declared war, while the Lord of Earth abstained from battle, planning to kill the victor after he was weak from the others. The people of Spherus Magna were forced into battle and marched to their deaths, attempting to win any drop of the silver liquid they could, and the Lords lost what little love they had for each other, determined to be the last one standing.

Gelu here was drafted into the Lord of Ice's troops. He had no loyalty to the massacre, and attempted to desert multiple times. At once point he lost his best friend Surel in the drifts and assumed him dead.

The Great Beings came out of their hiding to witness the chaos. How could their creations go so wrong? They decided to study the Energized Protodermis to learn more of its functions, and came to a horrifying discovery. If the Lords continued draining it as they were, and the core went empty, the planet itself would rupture and explode.

The Great Beings desperately tried to convince the combatants to cease their bloodshed. To put aside their endless lust for profit and power to protect their world's future. But they wouldn't listen. The war raged on, soldiers marching through forests of comrades corpses.

The Beings forged a new plan. A colossal machine that would travel the stars, based on their giant robot prototype of old. It would study the cultures and customs of other planets to learn how to resolve conflict and make peace prosper, to return once the dust settled and both literally and figuratively reform their world. The vessel was named Mata Nui, as it would carry the "Great Spirit" of the Agori to the heavens beyond. Little did the Great Beings know the "nano-bots" operating Mata Nui would form a culture of their own.

Just as Mata Nui was finished, disaster struck. The war reached its peak, and as the other trib

Just as Mata Nui was finished, disaster struck. The war reached its peak, and as the other tribes marched on the Lord of Ice's spring, and boosted siphoning, the world began to shake. In an instant, and an eternity, the very elements of Spherus Magna tore itself asunder. The Great Forest of Bota Magna burst off to become a jungle moon, and crops withered. The Black Waters of Aqua Magna burst away to become an ocean moon, and the rivers went dry. What remained was mostly the (now larger) desert of Bara Magna.

The Lord of Earth and her Tribe were trapped on the jungle moon. The Great Beings went into stasis as the shattering trapped the other six Lords. The Rock Tribe of the Skrall fled north into the Black Spike Mountains. The Sand Tribe of the Vorox were driven mad and reverted to savage beasts that roamed the wastes. That left the tribes of Fire, Water, Ice, and Jungle, alone in the desert, to forge a new future.

These four quickly decided that war got them into this mess, and no more good could come from it. Instead they developed the Glatorian System. Each village would train a handful of Glatorian warriors. Whenever there was a dispute over land or resources, each tribe would send a Glatorian to engage in non-lethal combat. The winner's tribe would take the spoils, and the Glatorian themselves handsome pay.

Gelu went into training under the legendary martial artist Certavus. When Certavus passed, Gleu became the Second Glatorian of the Ice Tribe. While he didn't see as much action as Prime Glatorian Strakk, he still won his fair share of arena matches.

Eventually the Skrall returned, driven south by a threat far greater than themselves. They begrudgingly joined the Glatorian system, but secretly forged an alliance with the nomadic Bone Hunters to sow division among the tribes and concur them.

These Bone Hunters began attacking trade caravans, risking Tribes not receiving their winnings from matches. When the Tribes gathered for their annual celebratory tournament and Arena Magna, the Skrall attacked, slaughtering many of those present.

Gelu had faced much in his years. The disappearance of his best friend, the Shattering of his world, the death of this mentor, and this was the final straw. He retired from the role of Glatorian, choosing instead to become a body guard for caravans in these trying times to protect those who couldn't protect themselves.

As a guard Gelu frequently came into contact with the Bone Hunter Fero. After one close fight he ended up snagging a scroll from Fero that detailed plans for a full scale raid on the Fire Tribe's village. Eventually Gelu managed to convince the Glatorian of the other Tribes to put aside their differences and help the Fire Tribe defend itself. Tuma, the leader of the Skrall, hand banked on the other tribes not bothering to help each other without a profit incentive. Instead he learned their bonds were stronger than expected, and the Bone Hunters were driven off.

100,000 years after his launch, Mata Nui returned to Bara Magna, not as a giant robot, but as the Mask of Life. He had been cast out of his own body by one of his servants, Makuta Teridax, who had converted his "Matoran Universe" into a violent regime of Rahkshi and Visorak.

Under Mata Nui's guidance the Glatorian uncovered the Skrall and Bone Hunters' alliance, defeated the Skrall in combat, and united the Fire, Ice, Water, and Jungle tribes together as one Mega Village.

While there Mata Nui learned a shocking truth about his origin. He wasn't meant to be the only one. The Great Beings planned on making Mata Nui a brother who would assist him in fixing the planet, but the Shattering occurred before it was finished. But another giant body remained, the Prototype Robot, now serving as shelter for the Agori villages. This Prototype was far weaker that Mata Nui's old body, and if even that was only half of what was required to fix the world, there wasn't much hope. But he had to try.

With much difficulty Mata Nui convinced the Agori to let him use the Mega Village as his new body, and began

With much difficulty Mata Nui convinced the Agori to let him use the Mega Village as his new body, and began drawing the moons closer to the world, but Makuta caught wind of his efforts. The villain landed on the world and hell broke loose. Armies of Rahkshi and Skakdi poured from the GSR, and joined forces with the scattered remnants of Skrall. Heroes of the Matoran Universe, like the Toa, also emerged to protect the Glatorian and Agori. Mata Nui and Makuta went to blows in the sky. Mata Nui tried to convince Makuta to help him in his task, that it wasn't to late for redemption, and together they could fulfil their destiny's and save everyone, but Makuta would not listen.

Eventually Maktua fell. A fragment of the jungle moon crashed into his skull and sent the colossus toppling. Mata Nui's own body crumbled from the strain, but he managed to reform the world. With his dying words Mata Nui asked his old servants and new friends a final wish. Seek out the Great Beings, and tell them his task was finished.

Gelu was one of the ones chosen for this task. He was teamed up with Orde, Toa of Psionics, Chiara, Toa of Lightning, and Zaria, Toa of Iron to head into the now returned Jungle of Bota Magna and seek out their creators. Along the way the crew was ambushed by a tribe of Bota Magna Vorox. These Vorox had not been driven to the beastial state of their Bara cousins, and as revenge for the desert Vorox's treatment tried to hunt the Glatorian and Toa for sport.

Yesterday's Quest actually ended on a cliffhanger back in 2013 and went unfinished. Just recently Greg has resumed the book, though since he no longer works for LEGO the new chapters technically aren't canon. I haven't read any of the new content yet, I want to wait 'till a decent amount of chapters are out, but it's cool we'll finally learn what happened to Gelu's crew.

*Because I'm sure someone will complain about it, the Lord of Earth and her story was revealed after the BIONICLE's cancelation and never appeared in any actual comics, books, ect. Despite this, Greg Farsthey has insisted it is canon.

Also, people have already mentioned this, but getting two sets not just from the same theme, but the same WAVE back to back is bloody mental.

Bro looks pretty sick and spiky. Also bless GSR_MataNui for the usual lore updates!!

@SearchlightRG said:
" @Billbuilds said:
"its the guy from yesterday quest'!
also, encase some people don't know, powers that be and yesterday quest are currently being continued by greg farshtey on maskofdestiny.com"

To @GSR_MataNui and anyone else, be warned. The new literature is, shall we say…intense."

... intense how? Gory? Suddenly full of death? About extremely heavy themes? So dense in Greg's retconning and writing quirks that even long-time fans will find it incomprehensible?

All of the above?

@Binnekamp said:
"So dense in Greg's retconning and writing quirks that even long-time fans will find it incomprehensible? "

I feel like all of late-era Bionicle is just that.

When I was a kid, I dropped out of Bionicle collecting in 2007 and only followed the story from a distance in 2008, 2009 and 2010. I like the broad strokes of those stories, 2008 with the Toa Nuva reunited to awaken the Great Spirit Robot fighting the Makuta, 2009 with Mata Nui wandering a new planet, and 2010 with that big punching robots finale.

But... the dense-ness of Greg's ever expanding side fiction still eludes me. I have gone and read some of the serials he has written as an adult and even then they really don't just stick to me. 2009 suffered a lot from that in trying to introduce so many characters at once, there is a reason 2001 has only six canister sets, six impulse sets, six gift-with-burger sets, and the rest of the villains are generic beasts; try making sense of 2009's 12 canister sets, six impulse sets and multiple "vehicle" characters and titans in comparison. Then remember on top of the ACTUAL toys that Greg by that point was writing fiction about characters like Lariska, Helryx and Artakha who never had toys during the ACTUAL Bionicle run.

I like Greg a lot, but there is a point where it becomes clear that as the "LEGO Club Magazine editor" he really was starting to stretch his own talent a bit to far in his attempt to create a wider Bionicle universe.

I guess to expand further, I understand why Greg embraced the world of Bionicle with enthusiasm with his love of science fiction, fantasy and comic books. He was basically the "right nerd in the right place" to take up this job of pumping out fiction for a children's story that was always more high brow than it really needed.

While Greg is a serviceable writer though, it becomes apparent that the constraints of writing for children mixed with rushed timelines to produce LEGO Club, Bionicle comics, serials and novels all at once were pushing his skills. Then he leans into all of the most gimmicky comic book tropes you can imagine, and it is hard to tell sometimes if Greg really just wanted to turn his characters into Lex Luthor, Doctor Doom, Deadpool and The Punisher all playing a biomechanical "World of Warcraft."

Bionicle almost needed a science fiction author who could play with pop-culture material while bringing a bit of a higher brow tone to it, like Greg Bear or Timothy Zahn to be honest. Bionicle has a scope that sometimes matches Larry Niven's Ringworld, a density of lore and allegory like Frank Herbert's Dune, and a cast large enough to contend with Stan Lee/Jack Kirby/Steve Ditko's Marvel creations. Listening to Christian Faber talk about his art concepts and pitches for the Bionicle story now always makes me feel that something was "lost in translation" from the initial visualization process of the story on Chris and other artist's drawing boards, through the LEGO design process into a toy then down to Greg to write material for. The franchise would have benefitted from somebody who was separated from the LEGO Club/Comics stuff Greg was already working on, and could just focus on writing hard science fiction books for the franchise.

Putting it that way though certainly explains why LEGO as a company seems to hesitant to do anything real with the property beyond the occasional tribute set/sticker/hat. By design Bionicle is a confusing mess to understand, and the additions Greg built upon it are even more shaky.

With that said though, I can't fault Greg either. He had an amazing attitude towards fan communication that was unrivaled at the time, facing fans in message boards as early as 2004 to answer questions and talk with them. Waiting to see a new Bionicle book on the Scholastic Book Fair shelf was a pivotal thing in making me love to read (more-so than Rowling's Harry Potter series was despite being a contemporary in the book aisle for children at the time). While I can wax on saying that Bear, Card, Zahn, etc. are all better science fiction writers than Greg... I honestly don't know if I would have had the gusto as a kid to try and read stuff like Ender's Game, The Lord of the Rings or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea if I hadn't already been reading a steady diet of Greg's Bionicle books leading up to that point. So for all of Greg's quirks as an author he might be single-handedly responsible for introducing countless kids to the "joy of reading" through his regular releases of Bionicle books under the LEGO brand.

His first name is Elmers.
Elmers Gelu

just woke up, now there is a whole conversation on writers and various book series. this certainly wasn't what I expected when gelu became random set of the day.