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Makuta Hatata!

Just warning everyone in advance, the inevitable lore posts for this guy will be *huge*.

He’s the main villain of the entire franchise.

As a set, I think he’s pretty cool. Lots of rare recolours and an intimidating design, but overall a very compromised figure in terms of articulation, especially in his lower half.

His waist joint is ridiculously loose and his legs have basically no useful movement whatsoever. Later Titan sets would improve on this with legs supported by pistons and friction-adding sockets with rubber inserts rather than cumbersome ratchet joints.

Oh boy, it's the big man himself. The lore post for this one should be interesting.

Is he really old (Ma-coot-ah) or is he really handsome (ma-cute-ah)? Well, you decide.

Plus I just bought a bin today that had him in it, I think.

I have the Instructions for this, but not the set. I found it at my old school's yard sale after it had closed and anything that hadn't been sold would be thrown away. I couldn't let it go, but I had no real reason to pick it up either since I didn't have the set, nor even really any of the parts. But hey, it's a cool thing to say I have, even if it's not nearly as special as the actual set. Or maybe it's just really lame to only have the instructions, I don't know.

This guy looks like he has some Lore to him.
Also, that mask is cool.

@MrBob said:
"Oh boy, it's the big man himself. The lore post for this one should be interesting."

I was going to comment something like that almost word for word! For all intents and purposes, Teridax is the main character.

@Monopoly said: "His waist joint is ridiculously loose and his legs have basically no useful movement whatsoever. Later Titan sets would improve on this with legs supported by pistons and friction-adding sockets with rubber inserts rather than cumbersome ratchet joints."

I was disappointed that the effect of his glowing red eyes was nothing but photoshop, so I improvised a brick with some trans-red pieces behind his mask.

I do remember being annoyed by his legs.

Even I know this is an important one

Honestly, I preferred the McToran version.

@PurpleDave said:
"Honestly, I preferred the McToran version."

I have recreated that one as a MOC. The coolest Makuta variant we ever saw, and it never got an official set.

"You cannot destroy me, for I am NOTHING."

Oh dear lord...

Okay so long story short, this guy is the main baddie of the entire franchise. I'm gonna be honest... I don't know if I can do him justice...

give me three hours and some caffeine

@xboxtravis7992 said:
"I have recreated that one as a MOC."

I did you one better. Not only did I make a stock version:

https://www.maskofdestiny.com/0001675

...I also made a custom deco version:

https://www.maskofdestiny.com/0001678

Wait, did I say I did you _one_ better? I also made a Mata Nui to match:

https://www.maskofdestiny.com/0001684

But wait, did I say I did you _two_ better? I did an entire month (May 2002) of McToran based mostly on actual characters from the Mata Nui Online Game, one from the comic books, and two original designs (not counting Mata Nui, of course):

https://www.maskofdestiny.com/news/whew

Somewhere these guys are all in a box, but I have no idea where.

@Monopoly said:
"Just warning everyone in advance, the inevitable lore posts for this guy will be *huge*.

He’s the main villain of the entire franchise."

Makuta Teridax was created by the Great Spirit Mata Nui alongside the other Makuta to oversee the creation of Rahi within the Matoran Universe. His ultimate destiny, however, was to take control of Mata Nui’s enormous robot body while Mata Nui transferred his consciousness into a second robot the Great Beings intended to produce. Together, the pair would reunite the fragments of Spherus Magna in order to recreate that long shattered planet. Teridax would come to serve as lieutenant to Miserix, leader of the Brotherhood of Makuta.

Teridax would eventually be called upon to crush the attempt of the Barraki to conquer their universe. Before he could execute the rebels, they were spirited away by the mysterious Botar. Though contemptuous of these would be conquerors, Teridax came to believe that a worthier being might be able to achieve what they had intended.

Ahhh... The memories.... Good ones, and of course, the frustrating lower half ones. I ended up modifying my set to have better legs. Eventually I reverted him back to normal set form, and just made a whole new MOC, one that resembled my modified version. I really ought to take pics of that someday.

Nothing Blacktron. Makuta is too powerful for Blacktron to have any say.

(Around 100,000 years ago)

Long ago, the Great Spirit Mata Nui came into being. One of his first acts as ruler of the Matoran Universe was to birth The Makuta. 100 powerful demigods who he considered his brothers. Their task was simple. The Makuta would combine chemicals, viruses, hunks of metal, and growths of flesh to create the many Rahi beasts of the land. Weather they walked, swam, or flew nearly every animal of the MU could be traced back to the Brotherhood of Maktua and their great laboratories.

But the Maktua had another secret purpose, to tie into Mata Nui’s own destiny. You see Mata Nui was not the first of his kind. Thousands of years before his creation, the Great Beings had experimented with creating another giant robot. This husk lacked the power and soul of Mata Nui, and exploded, scattering its remains across the universe. When the GSR and Matoran Universe within were built, the Great Beings designed Mata Nui and the Makuta’s “souls” to be compatible with both the Prototype and GSR. While Mata Nui explored the stars the Great Being planned to fix the Prototype robot, and when Mata Nui returned a chosen Maktua would be given the Prototype* as a new body and help him heal their broken homeworld. (See my discussion a few days ago on the Thornatus for Bara Magna’s lore.)

Chief among these Makuta was their leader, Miserix, and his chief lieutenant Teridax (pictured here.)

Shortly after their creation, the Maktua were visited by Artakha, the greatest craftsman and forger of the Matoran Universe. Artakha granted the Maktua many great gifts from his forge. Miserix was given the Mask of Mutation to help him better mold his animal creations and guide the Brotherhood on their mission. Even in these early days, Mata Nui had chosen a favorite. Teridax he felt a strong bond and kinship for. He was the chosen Makuta to be his true brother and help heal Spherus Magna.** Artakha presented Teridax with the Kanohi Kraakan, the Mask of Shadows. As beings with the element of Shadow, the Kraakan served as the ultimate representation of the Makuta race. Based on what we see from the Melding Universe, the Kraakan was intended to help Teridax sense the fear, anger, and uncertainty in people so that the user could help them feel better and heal. But Teridax abused its power. Over time the mask would drive Teridax to madness, fueling his jealousy and ambition. It whispered dark nothings into his mind.**

But Artakah did not trust the Maktua. He sensed the evil and darkness in their hearts, and so created a failsafe in case they turned evil. The Kanohi Avohki, the Mask of Light. This mask could create a Toa of Light if need be, the perfect counter to a being of Shadow.

The Makuta’s love of the dark and preference for isolation sent each member to the furthest corners of the universe. They took up residence in the many dark chambers of Mata Nui’s body, beyond the domes where most called home and where sunlight never shone. They set up grand layers and mazes of experiments and studies, closed off from much of the universe.

(95,000-80,000 years ago)

Time would pass and Mata Nui would become more occupied with his task of studying the stars. He soon greeted the Six Ruling Species and Barraki Warlords to rule the land in his stead. The Barraki’s ambitions quickly grew and soon the six planned a coup against Mata Nui himself. The Brotherhood of Maktua caught wind of this plot, and Teridax was sent personally to stop them. The Barraki were banished to the prison of The Pit. Teridax briefly celebrated disbanding the coup, before an insidious thought snuck into his mind. A king couldn’t possibly kill god. But an angel? An angel just might…

(79,500-79,100 years ago)

Some time later and the city of Metru Nui was wracked with a catastrophic event. The Matoran Civil War. Trade disputes had driven the villagers of the island to citywide conflict, the people slaughtering each other in the streets. Metru Nui functioned as the “brain” of Mata Nui, and when the Matoran stopped their labor his health began to deteriorate. Sensing the ripples the war was causing, Miserix sent Teridax to Metru Nui to end the conflict. Makuta did so by taking the major military leaders of the war and sealing them in the cities zoo-like Archives, setting loose the monstrous animals within to kill all major combatants. This “Archives Massacre” put a stop to the war, but from then out Matoran looked to the Makuta race with fear and disgust.

Realizing the danger of this happening again, Miserix decided that the Brotherhood should take over the job the Barraki had failed to do. They would govern the Matoran Universe and monitor its people to make sure a war like this never happened again. Teridax was awarded the City of Metru Nui to watch over, putting him in charge of the most important island of the MU.

Even before the Barraki’s betrayal, the Maktua had begun to leave their lairs and watch the world around them more and more. Being placed in charge as governors only heightened this observation of the people. Jealousy quickly claimed the Makuta’s hearts. The Matoran treated Mata Nui with nothing but reverence and praise, while they considered the Maktua disgusting and vile. The Makuta had made nature beautiful and populated. The Makuta had kept the worst of storms and quakes at bay. Now the Maktua were maintaining peace and communication across the land. For the last 20,000 years Mata Nui had done nothing but keep his head in the stars. He rarely spoke to his own brothers anymore, and didn’t even seem to care what his people did until death was on his doorstep. Why should he get all the praise and admiration? The Makuta returned to their now extra work full of envy and resentment.

During the Civil War, Makuta Mutran had been sent on a special mission. Long had the people of the MU heard rumors and legends of the mysterious Tren Krom. Krom was Mata Nui’s original heart, a sack of blood and viscera that kept the Universe Stable before Karda Nui was built. He was a hideous creature, who’s very visage could drive anyone to madness. Long ago he had been sealed away on barren rock. To most of the people of the MU though, Krom was but an ancient fairytale. Miserix feared the power Krom may have, and sent Mutran to verify if he was real and if so if he was a threat.

Mutran did not find Tren Krom until after the Civil War was finished, though by how many years is unknown. When he arrived Tren Krom was curious of what was happening in the outside world. He chose to probe Mutran’s mind, and as he did Mutran probed back. What Mutran saw nearly tore his mind apart. Unlike most of the MU, Tren Krom knew what Mata Nui really was, and now Mutran did too. Their entire world was inside of the body of a giant robot, and they were but cells to keep it running. He saw many of the machines' functions. Its failsafes, its heart system, the computers that held its AI. After Krom broke the connection many of the finer details were forgotten, but the fractured Mutran held onto whatever information he could. One important detail held out in his mind. A detail he knew not the purpose of, but kne

One important detail held out in his mind. A detail he knew not the purpose of, but knew the mechanics. A Makuta could control the GSR. A Makuta could replace Mata Nui. He brought this information to Teridax.

The next day Teridax did something unthinkable. He called a convocation. The Brotherhood rarely assembled all together, and even when they did only Miserix was allowed to give the order. The Maktua arrived at their home of Destral confused, with Miserix enraged Teridax would call a meeting without his permission. Teridax laid bare his plans for conquest and control. While he didn’t give every detail, he gave vague notes on how they could overthrow the Great Spirit. Miserix found this suggestion madness, and soon realized Teridax’s true intent with the meeting. The Brotherhood held a vote for who their leader would be. 5 voted to keep Miserix. 93 voted to give Teridax control.

Teridax ordered Miserix’s execution. He entrusted this task to Krika and Spiriah, but they secretly snuck Miserix away to a prison on a volcanic island. The media were informed that Miserix was slain in a tragic Rahi experiment, and that with a heavy heart Teridax would be taking his throne. Over the next few years Makuta Gorast and Icarax were sent out to slaughter the 5 who had voted for Miserix.

It was around this time a delusion of grandeur struck Teridax. He wasn’t just Maktua Teridax. He wasn’t just The Maktua of Metru Nui. Hell he wasn’t even just A Makuta. He was the leader of the Brotherhood. He wore the Mask of Shadows! From then on he was THE Makuta. The embodiment and perfect specimen of his race to whom all other races should bow.

Sometime after this the Maktua species went through a strange transformation. They mutated from beings of organics and metal into sentient clouds of gas, capable of infecting and controlling suits of armor. They quickly adapted.

Teridax also eventually got himself a team of personal bodyguards known as the Toa Hagah.

(2,500 years ago)

The Brotherhood of Makuta soon learned of the existence of the Mask of Light. Teridax decided to send Kojol, the Maktua of Artakha, on a secret stealth mission to steal the mask. Makuta had many powers such as invisibility, intangibility, and teleportation. A theft like this should be easy.

Kojol in all his wisdom decided to stage an all out raid on the island of Artakha, landing many ships of Rakshi and Visork on the island shores to siege the island. He got the Mask of Light to the Brotherhood, but at a terrible cost.

Attacking what was essentially their world's version of heaven wasn’t exactly a good PR move. The other governments and organizations of the MU quickly realized what the Brotherhood had become. The Order of Mata Nui began sending out agents to murder anyone who knew of Artakha’s location, including Kojol himself, to prevent any future attacks.

Maktua’s own bodyguards even caught wind of this. The Toa Haga stole the Mask of Light from Destral and fled to Metru Nui to hide it, along the way being mutated into the strange and shrunken Rahaga by the mischievous Roodaka.

But soon, Teridax’s plans would come to fruition.

(1,000 years ago)

For years now the people of Metru Nui looked up to their elder, Turaga Dume, for guidance. He was one of the most beloved and trusted political figures in the entire Universe. Unfortunately for Teridax, he also lived directly above Mata Nui’s Core Processor.

Teridax stole Dume away, locking him away in a hibernation sphere. He stole Dume’s mask and used his shapeshifting powers to take on the elder’s form. Over the next few months, he began a strict regime in the city of Metru Nui. Ramping up production of Vahki Law Enforcers, increasing work and labor hours, cutting off trade and communication routes out of the city. Soon Metru Nui was completely isolated from the rest of the MU, and the people’s wills were being slowly broken. A giant sentient plant known as the Morbuzahk was planted beneath the city, the extra Vahki and stricter curfews marketed as methods to avoid the beast. This stripping of rights didn’t happen all at once, but slowly step by step to maintain their trust in their once great Turaga.

Around this time Teridax also reached out to the bounty hunter gang of Dark Hunters. Two Hunters named Nidhiki and Krekka were brought to the city to hunt down and kill all of the city's Toa guardians. Eventually, all but one were slain. Toa Lhikan.

Lhikan used his last moments of freedom to sacrifice his Toa Power and transfer it into six brave souls. These “Toa Metru” would become the new defenders of Metru Nui, killing the Morbuzahk and saving the (now Turaga) Lhikan.

But the Metru’s mission to save Lhikan was not his intent, and it distracted them just long enough. The False Dume ordered all the Matoran of the City to gather in its center, where he and the Vahki marched them into Matoran Pods. These Pods put the Matoran into a comatose state, and wiped their memories. Maktua planned to awaken the amnesiac Matoran and lie to them to claim he was their one and only god.

As the last few Matoran entered their pods, Maktua’s “spell” finished. He had planted a virus in Mata Nui’s mind some years ago, and it was finally taking full effect. In a sudden instant, Mata Nui went offline. The Great Spirit fell into an endless slumber, and his titanic body fell and crashed into the Ocean Moon of Aqua Magna.

This Great Cataclysm sent devastating earthquakes across the universe. It had many effects but the most important was a camouflage system malfunctioning and creating a fake island on Mata Nui’s face, and the Toa Mata failsafe releasing six canistered heroes onto the ocean surface.

The Toa Metru attempted to flee the city, but Makuta planned to stop them. Teridax sent out a shadow hand and grabbed his pet Nivawk, and grabbed his hunters of Krekka and Nidhiki. He absorbed the three into his own body transforming himself into a colossal winged titan. In the ensuing battle Lhikan was killed and Teridax was locked in a Protodermis seal.

The Toa Metru would eventually find the fake island on the surface above and named in Mata Nui after the fallen Great Spirit. They returned to Metru Nui to retrieve the Matoran Pods only to find the city overrun by Makuta’s Visorak horde. Eventually Roodaka tricked the Metru into freeing Teridax from his seal.

The Toa Metru took all the Matoran Pods to the surface and sacrificed their Toa power to wake the Matoran up, becoming Turaga themselves.

(Also there’s the Mask of Time and Time Trap and I forgot to talk about them that’s a whole thing but I’m tired and its 11 at night so we’re skipping them. We’re also skipping Maze of Shadows I’m sorry)

(1 year ago)

Over the next 1,000 years the Matoran built up villages on the island of Mata Nui. Teridax used Infected Masks to mind control the Rahi of the island to do his evil bidding (also there’s Ahkmou but we’re skipping him too.)

Eventually the Toa Canisters containing the Toa Mata finally arrived on the island after 1,000 years of malfunctioning. The six heroes emerged on the island and went on a quest to collect Masks of Power and challenge the Makuta.

Eventually the Toa entered Teridax’s very layer, fighting off his giant Manas Crabs and shadowy clones of the Toa themselves. Makuta confronted them in the form of a tiny rusty Matoran beneath one of his creations. The Void. The Void was a swirling mass of dismembered and rotting body parts. Perhaps from failed experiments, perhaps from fallen foes. He waxed poetry for a while, but when the Toa insulted his form he summoned the Void to tear him apart and consume him, lashing out at the Toa with its many putrid tentacles. Eventually the Toa (somewhat unwittingly) nearly created another protodermis seal around Makuta, and so he slunk away from the battle with a sinister “you can’t defeat me, for I am nothing.”

In his time in the Maze of Shadows, Makuta had discovered many things over the years. Chief among them were the Bohork, a swarm of insects who were a part of Mata Nui’s cloaking system. When Mata Nui wanted to leave a planet, the Bohrok would destroy the island on his face to help him stand up easier.

Makuta mimicked Mata Nui’s call, and awoke the swarm. The 2002 and first of 2003 story involve the Bohrok a lot but Makuta’s not really there so we’re skipping it.

Fast forward to the end of 2003 and the Matoran of Mata Nui are holding a grand Kohli Tournament. Before the final match, the Matoran Takua ended up find the fabled Mask of Light. Sensing the danger of a Toa of Light, Makuta released his most fearsome creations, his own children, the Rakshi onto the island above to hunt down Takua and take the mask.

Eventually Takua donned the mask and became Takanuva, Toa of Light. He headed down to Teridax’s lair where Makuta taunted him with another game of Kohli. If Takanuva won he could “try” to open the heavy gate that led to Metru Nui.

In the end Maktua and Takanuva fell into the vat of Energized Protodermis in the center of the room. They fused together into Takutanuva, a being of light and shadow. While fused Teridax briefly saw the error of his ways, and Takutanuva lifted the great door to let the Toa, Turaga, and Matoran through. Eventually the strain became too much. Takutanuva split, Takanuva was thrown into the room with his friends, while Teridax was crushed under the door.

In the coming months the Matoran built ships to travel to the city of Metru Nui. During this time a group of thugs known as the Piraka caught wind of Teridax’s “death.” The showed up to raid his layer only to find his mutilated armor under a pile of rubble, and they accidentally tossed the Mask of Shadows into the sea. In his gaseous antidermis form, Teridax convinced the Piraka to travel south in search of the Mask of Life where he used his mind control powers to help them enslaved the people of Voya Nui.

Long story short the Toa also want the Mask of Life, they show up and break the vat holding Makuta, but the Maktua and the Mask of Life flee into the sea, and Makuta possess a Maxilos robot.

As Maxilos Maktua encounters the Toa Matoro and there’s this whole fall to the dark storyline between the two that’s super cool but anyway…

In the end the Toa ended up being to late. Mata Nui died. The Mask of Life turned gray. Refusing to give up, Matoro grabbed the Mask of Life and raced to Karda Nui, using the mask to give his own life to revive Mata Nui.

During this brief period of Mata Nui being dead and his soul leaving his body, Maktua snuck back to the Core Processor and invaded the computer. This means that Matoro brought Mata Nui’s body back to life… but with Makuta’s mind.

2008 story. Maktua sends a bunch of top generals to Karda Nui to delay the Toa in restarti

2008 story. Maktua sends a bunch of top generals to Karda Nui to delay the Toa in restarting the Codrex. Karda Nui Is basically a giant nuclear generator that powers the GSR. Unknown to the other Makuta, restarting the Codrex would disintegrate everything inside of Karda Nui. Eventually the Toa succeed in restarting the Codrex and fulfilling their goal of reawakening Mata Nui, only for the Makuta to learn too late that Teridax double crossed them. Basically all the Brotherhood is dead now.

The Toa throw a big party in Metru Nui for saving the universe, including a memorial for Lhikan and Matoro, only for Makuta to interrupt and reveal the truth. He is now the Matoran Universe itself. Mata Nui’s soul is sealed in the Mask of Life and fired into space.

And That’s how the story ends :)

Just kidding! That’s how the first “half” of BIONICLE ends, but IMO the second half is kinda rushed and complicated so that’s where I recommend most people stop reading. Alas I’m the lore guy… lets finish this.

Mata Nui lands on Bara Magna and builds a new body for himself using the Mask of Life’s powers. Now as small as the Toa that used to inhabit him, he goes on this quest where he has this newfound respect for all forms of life and regrets how little he listened to his body over the years. He saves the people of Bara Magna from a bunch of Skrall bandits, and eventually with the help of the Agori rebuilds the Prototype Robot.

Makuta catches wind that another giant robot just woke up with Mata Nui in it and is like “oh no can’t have that” and rushed to Bara Magna. Meanwhile Mata Nui starts using his robots powers to pull Bota Magna and Aqua Magna back toward the planet and try to meld it back together.

This leads to, as the fandom likes to call it, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em with giant robots. Mata Nui and Makuta have this big fistfight above the clouds. It’s actually a bit emotional and I’m sorry I’m rushing through it but essentially Mata Nui apologies to Maktua for ignoring him and tells him he forgives him. Mata Nui says that it’s not to late for redemption, and together they complete their TRUE destiny of reforming the planet together.

Maktua refuses, convinced Mata Nui’s trying to manipulate him, ect ect. Eventually Maktua’s had enough of the fight and raises his foot up to step on the people below and crush all the combatants. All the time this is happening the main plot has a bunch of Rakshi (Makuta’s kids remember) fighting Tahu (the like main protagonist) down on the planet’s surface. Tahu uses this suit of magic armor to evaporate all the Rakshi at once just as Makuta lifts his foot to crush them.

Sensing that all his kids just died, Makuta has this moment of confusion and freezes up. Mata Nui pushes Makuta back to get him away from everyone and Makuta sort of stumbles off balance. Remember, all this time Mata Nui has also been pulling the two moons back to the planet. As they re-enter the atmosphere a chunk of Bota Magna breaks off the moon and starts hurtling toward Makuta.

Mata Nui shouts out a warning for Makuta too look out behind him as his recovering from the push. Instead Makuta shakes off he discombobulation, takes a single step toward Mata Nui to continue the fight, and then.

SMASH

A huge rock takes out the entire back of Maktua’s head.

Fires erupt in the Core Processor, burning Makuta’s Antidermis to nothing.

The GSR collapses to the floor below.

The red glow of his eyes dart around in fear for a few seconds, then they go dark.

Maktua is dead.

Mata Nui has a moment of silence staring at his dead brother. He raises his two hands to the moons above and begins pulling and unfurling them toward the desert. Grass and trees bloom. Water and rivers run again.

Mata Nui falls to his knees. Jungles long gone are reborn. Mutants from 100,000 years of battles are healed. Wildlife chirps and whistles with joy not felt in millennia.

The crowds cheer, the battle now over. And the Prototype Robot falls completely over and starts crumbling at the seams.

The Mask of Life flies out from the wreckage. Mata Nui’s voice echoes out from it one final time before he goes into endless sleep once more.

“The time has come. All journey’s must come to an end, but this time, there is a new beginning as well. There will be challenges to face and enemies to fight, but I know you will overcome. All that has gone before, my friends, has only served to give birth to this new day. “Let unity, duty and destiny be your guides. Be well, be strong, care for this world and for each other. Farewell.”

And THAT’s how BIONICLE ends. I got a bit rushed at the end there sorry but it's hard to talk about what Maktua does in the main story without just telling the whole main story. I also may have embellished some things to make his character more consistent, that is a rant for another day.

*Well technically Mata Nui was supposed to take over the Prototype and a Makuta given the GSR, but I think that's stupid and overly complicated and hard to explain so take my cop out description.
**Okay this is never stated explicitly, but fro

*Well technically Mata Nui was supposed to take over the Prototype and a Makuta given the GSR, but I think that's stupid and overly complicated and hard to explain so take my cop out description.
**Okay this is never stated explicitly, but from the vague statements made by Greg this is roughly what the fandom has agreed upon for explaining why Teridax gets the Mask of Shadows if he’s NOT the leader yet and how he “[his] duty is to the Mask of Shadows.”

This whole thing is probably full of typos but I’m not proofreading it. Good lord, it's 9 pages. I'm going to go play Mario Maker.

I've still got more to say but its more of meta stuff about Maktua than lore stuff so maybe come back tomorrow idk

The mythical big bad from the beginning, finally got his set and was one half of the coolest BIONICLE sets to get for Christmas 2003, remained prominent in the next 2 year's flashbacks then vanished into the background, then reappeared possessing a robot, vanished, returned to possess the biggest robot that was actually mata nui himself, ultimately dying in a big robot brawl where a moon crushed his head.

Also probably could lead into a debate btw. early year lore by Bob Thompson & Christian Faber vs the later ones when Greg Farshtey basically had sole control of writing the prose details for 5-6 years. Both provide rather different understandings of Makuta himself. Either way though, doesnt' diminish the good memories of getting this set back in the day. Thanks, grandma.

*Sigh* I don’t know why I bother trying to snipe GSR on these things…

Oof, rest your fingers there @GSR_MataNui, that must have been an awful lot of typing

Buy this set, leave it disassembled and put his mask in the middle of the parts to represent his void form from the MNOG finale!

You know when a lore entry starts "(Around 100,000 years ago)" it's going to be epic. Nice work @GSR_MataNui

Also, is it me or has there been a lot of bionicle recently?

I didn't actually expect to get this guy, at the time. He was cool, but in my mind he was completely overshadowed by Takanuva (MYSTERIOUS! GOLD! TOA!), as well as by Takua and Jaller who were characters I already loved but had only just got physical set forms (or at least easily obtainable ones, in Jaller's case, since the McDonalds promotion never made it to the UK), so I immediately prioritised the three of them. Makuta instead sort of got pushed to the 'eh, maybe someday' pile in my mind, since it wouldn't be until the following year that I fell into my "collect 'em all" mindset regarding Bionicle.

And then, in about Summer 2004, just when I was starting to think about becoming a completionist, this guy showed up in the summer Argos catalogue, not only still around despite being a year later, but with the added bonus of 'buy him, get 8578 Gahlok-Kal free!'. Having a huge soft spot for the Bohrok-Kal, but only owning two of them, that just seemed to me too good an offer to pass up and I leapt at the chance to get them both.

Makuta here definitely cuts an imposingly bulky figure, although he would come to be somewhat dwarfed by the much taller later titans like Roodaka or Brutaka. Still cool, though ^^

@GSR_MataNui said:
"I've still got more to say but its more of meta stuff about Maktua than lore stuff so maybe come back tomorrow idk "

I thank you for the sacrifice of your fingers in the quest to describe the epic backstory of Makuta. I salute you @GSR_MataNui !

Okay so lets talk more power and conceptual stuff here.

The Makuta species are some of the most powerful beings in the entire Matoran Universe. They're equipped with all 42 Rakshi powers including things like being able to teleport, or shapeshift, or phase through walls, or stretch their bodies. They're also masters of the Shadow element, allowing them to view people through darkness. Teridax himself was fan of illusions, creating a pair of sinister red eyes in a void of dark to communicate with others from a distance. They also possessed the powerful shadow hand, a giant red claw made of smoke that would burst from their chest. The shadow hand could grab nearly anyone or anything and pull it back to the Makuta, "eating" them and absorbing their mass.

Maktua themselves were clouds of sentient green gas known as Antidermis. This Antidermis could be used to possess and mind control objects, creating the infamous rusted appearance associated with Teridax. This also made them near impervious to damage, simply floating away if you broke or damaged their armor. However, Antidermis would dissipate if left out of a suit for too long, and it was highly flammable.

Teridax wore the Kraakkan, the Mask of Shadows. This amplified Makuta's latent Shadow abilities allowing him to amplify feelings of fear and anger in others far more than other Makuta could. The Kraakkan seemed to have a mind of its own. Teridax described himself as having a "duty" to the mask, and when Rediak tried to steal it it pelted him with energy until he let go.

In this set Teridax wielded a giant spear-like staff. He used this as a Kohli stick when challenging Takanuva to a sports match.

Personality wise is where things get complicated. Let's talk origins!

Long story short. Makuta is cancer.

One of the co-creators of BIONICLE (and lets be honest, THE creator) was Christian Faber. During his time working for the LEGO Group, Faber was plagued with a brain tumor. This tumor was begin in the sense that it wouldn't kill him, but if left untreated it would make him go blind. He was given medication to cope, medication that racked his gut microbiota and made him feel weak and frail.

Being an artist at a children's company, during this time Faber began making up stories to cope with the treatment. He pretended that his pills were filled with tiny soldiers and that they were fighting a giant monster in his head. He was also reading a lot of books at the time on the beauty of nature, the human body, and machinery. Eventually, this idea birthed BIONICLE.

Buildable warriors inside of plastic "pill" containers setting out to fix a giant body... which was also a planet.

Maktua's exact depictions have varied a lot over the years (and don't worry we'll get to that) but one constant has been his adherence to being a brain tumor. He was a disgusting morphing mass within Mata Nui's head, and his many Infected Masks and Zamor Spheres function as a way to create more "cancer cells" by corrupting and twisting others from their jobs. Even his later origin fit this theme. He was supposed to create Rahi and rule over people, but he became overly ambitious and started creating full on monsters and conquering people. Even evil as he was, Makuta never stopped doing his job... he just did it too much and ruined everyone's lives, much like how cells are *supposed* to divide... but sometimes they multiply too fast.

I'd say that over BIONICLE's run we had three versions of Makuta. The Eldritch, The Corrupted, and The Sympathetic.

The Eldritch Makuta is how he was depicted at the end of the 2001 story in the Mata Nui Online Game. What the original plans were for Void Makuta is unknown, but we know how he changed for the final cutscene and why.

MNOG was developed by Templar Studios, a small group of gamedevs working out of a tower in New York City. That September, two skyscrapers a few blocks away burst into flame and smoke. In the aftermath of 9/11, and the political-religious turmoil America entered, with many Americans branding an entire race of people "evil" thanks t

MNOG was developed by Templar Studios, a small group of gamedevs working out of a tower in New York City. That September, two skyscrapers a few blocks away burst into flame and smoke. In the aftermath of 9/11, and the political-religious turmoil America entered, with many Americans branding an entire race of people "evil" thanks to one insurgent squad. Templar Studios came to a realization that what they were doing with Makuta wasn't good enough. Good and evil aren't absolutes, the world isn't black and white. Just having Makuta be the bad guy and nothing but a bad guy isn't how the world works. Everyone has a reason or logic behind their acts of villainy.

And so Makuta, even more so than in the story bible, became not a character, but a force of nature. In Templar's own words, from then-on-in they viewed Mata Nui as the process of building a LEGO set, and Maktua as the process of taking apart a LEGO set. His Void form was just meant to be the contents of a part drawer. Disassembling a set isn't inherently evil, nor is destruction. Both must exist for creation to exist and its how you go about destroying or disassembling that creates problems. As a force of destruction Makuta knowns nothing but disassembly, and its his unchecked overreach for breaking things that makes him evil (again, he's cancer.) But as the manifestation of a force of nature, Makuta is also a level above everyone else. To quote the scene:

"You cannot destroy me, no more than you can destroy the wind, or the sea, or the Void."
"You are like the sea? The sea bears life. The sea bore us."
"I bore you for I am nothing. And it is out of nothing you came, and into nothing you shall go!"

Void Makuta, or The Eldritch, has always been my favorite version of the character. He is simultaneously apathetic and engaged. Conniving and mindless. What he is and what his goals are are beyond our understanding... and that's terrifying! He's only on screen for like 2 minutes but might be my favorite antagonist in anything ever.

That leads us to The Corrupted. Makuta's depiction at the end of the 2003 film The Mask of Light by Miramax.

The Corrupted Makuta is more of a confused fellow, or perhaps a lost cause. During the entirety of his fight with Takanuva, Makuta has delusions that he is the hero of the story. In his own words, he views Mata Nui's endless coma and possible death as a mercy. "And now I will protect Mata Nui from you. ... Sleep spares him pain, awake he suffers."

He also mentions having a duty to the Mask of Shadows, as if his own Kanohi was guiding him along and toying with him. When he fuses with Takanuva at the end of the film, he sees the light and agrees that Mata Nui must be awoken.

While this Corrupted Makuta is now seen by the community as a ploy to toy with Takanuva and possibly gain his trust, it is worth noting that the MoL film was originally going to be the end of BIONICLE. This was originally it. This is how his story ended and how he died. A man who believed he was in the right all along, and that ruling over people is a curse to be avoided. Perhaps there was some sort of sick view of life going on in his head, that death is a mercy and he was helping people. Perhaps the Mask of Shadows function as The One Ring and drove him to madness.

And once more, this still fits with the cancer theme. Maktua believes he is still doing his job as intended, unaware that killing his host is having a ripple effect on all of those around him.

That then brings us to The Sympathetic. Around 2004 Greg Farshtey took over as chief writer of the BIONICLE books and was responsible for most of the story decisions form there-on-out. A lot of BIONICLE fans think Greg ruined Makuta during this time.

The general consensus is that Makuta became a Megatron type villain under Greg. Becoming evil for the sake of evil. He becomes more boisterous and violent, seeming to take joy in the suffering of others and rising to power just because he wants to. And as much as I love lines like "There's 1,000 ways I could destroy you right now... and 941 of them hu

The general consensus is that Makuta became a Megatron type villain under Greg. Becoming evil for the sake of evil. He becomes more boisterous and violent, seeming to take joy in the suffering of others and rising to power just because he wants to. And as much as I love lines like "There's 1,000 ways I could destroy you right now... and 941 of them hurt" I gotta agree the dude became more generic big bad in this era.

That's not to say he was completely one dimensional. We got new bits of personality for Makuta to make up for ditching his old one. His a big planner, and he's a sympathetic villain.

A defining characteristic of Makuta throughout the rest of the story is that he's the kind of guy who has "backup plans for his backup plans." We see a complex web of allies, missions, and plots from the guy to try and keep everything running as intended and keep him on top. While this can come across as a little cheap, making your big bad responsible for everything, it does make the final plots twist that he *wanted* them to wake up Mata Nui the whole time all the more satisfying. He played them all like a fiddle.

He also got a more sympathetic reason for being evil other than "he's supposed to destroy things and doesn't understand that he's doing it too much." Especially through the Mutran Chronicles we see how the Makuta used to be pretty chill guys, but after being constantly overshadowed by their older brother and having their gifts to the people denied they became jealous and bitter. That's not to say Makuta's in the right, getting your feelings hurt doesn't justify mass genocide and killing god, but it makes it clear that Mata Nui wasn't a wholly good person. He was distant and uncaring for the plights of his own people. But what makes Mata Nui "good" and Makuta "bad" is that when Mata Nui actually becomes aware of a problem he shows kindness and compassion in fixing it, while Makuta doesn't bother actually sitting down to explain the issue with anyone, he just kills a bunch of people to make them listen.

I also have to say I love Makuta's death. Throughout the story he's the kind of guy who's always trying to outsmart and double cross people. He's out to get everyone, and assumes that everyone else is out to get him. He's so lost in his own anger that he doesn't realize genuine compassion and care exist in the world. That's why he murders all the other Makuta even after he's won. What if one of them tries to pull what he just did? When Mata Nui tries to burry the hatchet, Makuta is so convinced he's being tricked that he doesn't even listen to Mata Nui's warnings until it's too late and he takes a moon to the back of the head. If he had ever been willing to put his faith in someone else, or try to empathize with others, maybe he'd still be around. But pushing people away led to his downfall.

@ambr said:
"Does anyone have the limited edition two box set 3287 : Takutanuva, which includes this set and 8596 plus a unique mask?"

Hehehehe. 'Maku'ta. Brilliant!

@GSR_MataNui you are an absolute treasure! That character analysis is spot-on and wonderfully summarizes the complex multi-interpretation character of Makuta Teridax in a concise and clear manner. Relating everything back to the hidden cancer symbolism sheds a lot of light on the character's intricacies I didn't even consider to that extent before. Bravo!

@ambr said:
"Does anyone have the limited edition two box set 3287: Takutanuva, which includes this set and 8596 plus a unique mask?"

That’s actually a fairly egregious error with the Brickset database. 3287 includes only the two sets, while 10201 includes both sets plus the mask (which is advertised on the box). For whatever reason, the Brickset descriptions are reversed, claiming the mask is included in 3287, when really the opposite is correct.

I do own Takutanuva. It’s an alright combiner, but it’s pretty much just this guy with random parts from Takanuva slapped all over him. The Movie Edition Kraahkan, while exclusive and very rare, isn’t *that* different from the standard Kraahkan.

A similar error seems to have been made with the description for 8626 Irnakk, erroneously claiming that he includes “the parts for 3 Bionicles and 21 Zamor spheres”. Irnakk does not include any extra spheres, only the 12 contained in the three sets he is built from. This note also fails to mention that he includes 5 other pieces that are not found in any of his component sets, namely his spine and the four hoses that connect to it.

These errors have been bugging me ever since I first saw them, so I just thought I’d bring it up.

@GSR_MataNui wow, that did not disappoint! Even for characters and plots I know quite well, you always manage to bring together some extra details and really round it out.

The meta look at the 3 renditions of the characters was enlightening too. I do wonder how the story would have progressed if they stuck with a more elderitch interpretation.

However, post-"BIONICLE: Mask of Light", I could tell the shape-shifting aspect was never truly abandoned. Though the movie made Makuta act less like an all-powerful force of entropy personified, more like a deluded mad scientist, as the years (and BIONICLE movies) rolled on, a more expansive take on the character came to dominate. Some chose to see the differences and accept there were "different" Makutas. I just saw it as continuing revelations as the story progressed. By the end of 2008, Makuta (or Teridax, a late, Greg Farshety addition that's biggest impact was bracing a generation of nerds for a truly pointless name revelation to come regarding the Emperor from "Star Wars") had become truly Lucifer, the fallen angel who rebelled against Mata Nui and took the other Makuta with him down the dark path. In that fall, he deluded himself into grandiose visions of standing side by side with Mata Nui as his brother and successor. He was Machiavellian, a hyper version of the Emperor Palpatine, who was actually successful in his plans to take down Mata Nui and rule a universe. And that runaway ego and victory (initially) over the Great Spirit caused him to considering ruling all of reality itself.

The concept of "power" was always central to BIONICLE. From the first year slogan, "Find the Power!" (of the Kanohi Masks) to the "Battle for Power" at the end, the Toa who opposed Makuta had great power, but used it responsibly. Makuta was the most powerful being in the universe after Mata Nui, and yet he used it to tear down and destroy. He never saw beyond himself, even when Mata Nui pleaded with him to turn back. Perhaps there, at the end, all versions of Makuta were reconciled--the shapeshifting mastermind had everything and Nothing. He had made a Void of his heart. Is it not surprising, then, that his final defeat seemed both colossal and pathetic?

It may be the story to children's toy, but there is a potent lesson there to all people. You may be a LEGO collector and not own this set, yet Makuta is there every time you take a set apart. Makuta is there every time you see LEGO as a specific thing for you and no one else. And even if you do none of these things, the spirit of destruction and shadows can always find another form, another guise, to tempt you down the same dark path.