Bionicle facts for kids
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| Parent theme | Lego Technic (2000–2003) |
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| Availability | 2000–2010, 2015–2016 |
Bionicle (pronounced Bye-ON-ick-ull) is a super popular toy line from the LEGO Group. It was made mostly for kids aged 5 to 16. The toys first came out in Europe in late 2000, and then in Canada and the United States in mid-2001.
The name "Bionicle" is a mix of two words: "biological" (meaning living things) and "chronicle" (meaning a story or history). This name fits because the Bionicle world is full of characters that are part-robot and part-living creature.
Bionicle toys were first linked to Lego Technic, which is about building complex models. But Bionicle quickly became its own big thing! After many years, LEGO decided to stop making new Bionicle sets in 2010. However, the amazing story continued online. Bionicle was later replaced by another cool LEGO line called Hero Factory.
The Bionicle story takes place in a science fantasy world. It's told through many different ways, like books, comic books from DC Comics, and even four animated movies! The main story was later published online for everyone to follow.
From 2001 to 2008, the Bionicle story was set in a huge underground world. This world was home to beings that were part-organic and part-machine, like the Matoran. In 2009, the story changed. The hero, Mata Nui, was sent to a new, empty planet called Bara Magna. There, he made new friends and tried to save the Matoran from the evil Makuta Teridax.
Contents
How Bionicle Was Made
The idea for Bionicle came about in 2000. At that time, LEGO was having a tough period. They had lost money and even had to let some employees go.
When Bionicle was first suggested, some people at LEGO weren't sure about it. LEGO had never really made toys that had such a deep story and were sold in so many ways (like toys, books, and movies). Also, the Bionicle characters looked a bit like warriors, which some felt went against LEGO's values of peaceful play and imagination.
But Bionicle quickly became a huge success! It was one of LEGO's biggest hits and their number one product in 2003. The story started online in December 2000. By 2004, Bionicle sets made up a lot of LEGO's sales.
LEGO used its website to tell more of the Bionicle story. They added character details and adventure games. A team of eight people from around the world worked together to create the main story. They decided which parts of the story would go into toys, books, comics, or movies. The website helped put all these different parts together.
To get kids to visit the website, LEGO even used "Kanoka points." Each toy package had special codes. Kids could use these codes online to earn points, which were like a loyalty program. These points could then be used to play web games.
The Bionicle Story
The Bionicle story from 2001 to 2008 happened in a science fantasy world. It was mostly underground, in huge domes. This world was called "The Matoran Universe." A powerful spirit named Mata Nui protected it. But an evil being named Makuta Teridax and his group, the Brotherhood of Makuta, put Mata Nui into a deep sleep. The Matoran world started to fall apart. But a special Mask of Life, which was inside Mata Nui, was sent into space to find a new planet. It landed on Bara Magna and created a small body for Mata Nui.
In 2009, the story took a new turn. Mata Nui, after being kicked out of his own body by Makuta Teridax, crashed onto a dry planet called Bara Magna. He became the main hero there. He made new friends and tried to find a way to save the Matoran and the Toa from Makuta Teridax's evil rule.
2001 – Quest for the Masks
The story began with six heroes called Toa Mata. Their names were Tahu, Lewa, Gali, Kopaka, Pohatu, and Onua. They arrived on an island called Mata Nui, remembering only their names. They found out that the local villagers, the Matoran, were being attacked. Wild beasts called Rahi were controlled by the evil Makuta Teridax. This war had been going on for about 1000 years!
The Toa searched for special Kanohi masks. Each Toa found a powerful Golden Kanohi mask. They then went to face Makuta himself. After fighting fierce Manas crabs and Shadow Toa (evil copies of themselves), the Toa faced Makuta. They defeated him by combining their elemental powers.
2002 – The Bohrok Swarms
After his defeat, Makuta released ancient robots called Bohrok. These Bohrok were designed to "cleanse" the island of Mata Nui. They started destroying villages, forcing the Matoran to run away. A clever Matoran of Earth named Nuparu built a powerful vehicle called the Boxor. He made it from damaged Bohrok parts to fight the swarms.
The Toa didn't know the Bohrok's true purpose. They collected the Bohrok's brains, called Krana. Then they faced the Bohrok Queens, Cahdok and Gahdok. The Toa sealed the defeated Queens in a prison using their elemental powers. After this, the Toa Mata were changed by a special substance. They got new armor and weapons and became the "Toa Nuva."
2003 – The Bohrok-Kal Strike and the Mask of Light
With the Bohrok Queens sealed away, the Bohrok Swarms stopped. But then, six new elite Bohrok, called the Bohrok-Kal, appeared. Their goal was to free the Queens. They stole the Toa Nuva's powers, which were needed to break the seal. The Toa were almost defeated. But they forced all their remaining power into the Bohrok-Kal, which overloaded and destroyed them.
Soon after, two Matoran, Takua and Jaller, found the special Kanohi Mask of Light. They were given the task to travel across Mata Nui to find the Toa of Light. Meanwhile, Makuta created six creatures called Rahkshi. He sent them to find the mask and stop the Toa of Light from appearing. The Rahkshi caused a lot of destruction, destroying villages. The Toa stopped the Rahkshi, but Jaller was killed.
Jaller's death made Takua realize that he was the Toa of Light. He put on the mask and became Toa Takanuva. Takanuva went to fight Makuta. During their battle, they both fell into a pool of energized protodermis. This silvery substance could change or destroy a being. They fused together into one being called Takutanuva.
Takutanuva opened the door to the city of Metru Nui. He used some of his life energy to bring Jaller back to life. But using so much energy was too much. Takutanuva was crushed by the door, seeming to kill both Takanuva and Teridax. Only Takanuva's Mask of Light remained. Takanuva was brought back to life when his mask was used to activate a signal to Metru Nui. After this, the Matoran got ready to go back to Metru Nui.
2004 – Legends of Metru Nui
As the Matoran prepared to travel to Metru Nui, the Turaga (village elders) told them a secret. They revealed that they used to be Toa themselves! They had fought dangers in Metru Nui, like the Morbuzakh plant and the Vahki robots controlled by Dume.
As Matoran, they were turned into the Toa Metru by special Toa stones. Their mission was to find six Great Disks and defeat the Morbuzakh, a plant that threatened the city. But after they did this, they were betrayed by Dume, the city's leader. They later found out that Makuta Teridax had disguised himself as Dume. He had taken control of the Vahki robots. His plan was to put the Matoran to sleep, erase their memories, and then wake them up as their new ruler.
The Toa tried to escape but were attacked by Teridax. They combined their elemental powers and managed to trap Teridax in a prison of crystallized protodermis. The Toa then traveled to a new island, which would later be known as Mata Nui. They promised to return and save the Matoran.
2005 – Web of Shadows
The Toa did return to Metru Nui. However, an evil king named Sidorak and his helper Roodaka were ruling the island. They had vicious spider-like creatures called Visorak. The Toa were captured and changed into beast-like Toa Hordika. To turn back to normal, the Toa looked for the legendary Rahi Keetongu.
But Toa Vakama betrayed the others and joined Sidorak, who made him the leader of the Visorak. The other Toa fought the Visorak in a big battle. They convinced Vakama to rejoin them. Vakama then ordered the Visorak to be free. Keetongu then killed Sidorak, who Roodaka and Vakama had betrayed. The six Toa then defeated Roodaka using all their elemental powers.
However, this had an unexpected effect: it freed Makuta because Roodaka carried a piece of his prison. The Toa attacked her for this. After being restored by Keetongu, the Toa Metru brought the Matoran to a new island. When they gave up their power to wake the Matoran, they became Turaga. They then built new villages on this island, which they called Mata Nui.
2006 – Island of Doom
The Toa Nuva learned that Mata Nui was not just asleep, but dying! To save him, they had to go to the island of Voya Nui. There, they needed to find the mysterious Kanohi Ignika, the Mask of Life.
The Toa Nuva started their journey but were quickly captured by six new, powerful enemies called the Piraka. These were Zaktann, Hakann, Vezok, Thok, Reidak, and Avak. They wanted the Mask of Life for their own evil plans. When the Toa didn't return, a group of six Matoran followed them. Jaller, Hahli, Hewkii, Nuparu, Kongu, and Matoro escaped to the island in Toa canisters. As they traveled, lightning from the Red Star changed them into the Toa Inika.
When they arrived, they learned about the Piraka. The Piraka had tricked the local Matoran by pretending to be Toa. They made the Matoran build them a fortress. With help from a small Matoran Resistance and an ancient guardian named Axonn, the Toa Inika freed the Toa Nuva. They found the temple of the mask and fought the Piraka and other creatures guarding it. They won and got the Kanohi. But the Mask of Life had a mind of its own. At the last moment, it escaped them all and rushed into the sea.
2007 – Sea of Darkness
The Toa Inika followed the Mask of Life into the water. They had received a mysterious clue: "save the sunken city." This clue came from an unknown Matoran who saved Hahli from drowning, but died himself. A burst of energy from the Mask of Life changed the Toa Inika into water-breathing forms.
They found a village called Mahri Nui. It had broken off from Voya Nui and sunk a thousand years ago. The village was threatened by ancient warlords called Barraki. These warlords had been changed by mutagenic waters nearby. The Toa, now called Toa Mahri, fought the Barraki to survive.
However, by the time the Toa got the mask, the Great Spirit Mata Nui had died. Realizing there was still hope, Toa Matoro rushed to the core of the universe. He sacrificed his own life to bring Mata Nui back to life. In his last moments, Toa Matoro used the Mask's power to send the Toa Mahri back to Metru Nui and let them breathe air again. The Great Spirit's life was saved, but he still needed to wake up.
2008 – The Final Battle
After getting new armor and weapons, the Toa Nuva arrived at Karda Nui, the core of the universe. There, they faced the Makuta. The Makuta were trying to turn the Av-Matoran (Matoran of Light) into Shadow Matoran. The Toa Nuva got help from Takanuva, who could now control both Light and Shadow. They also got help from Toa Ignika, who was the Mask of Life itself! The Kanohi Ignika had made a body for itself because it wanted to know what it was like to be alive.
With their combined strength, they reached a structure called the Codrex in Karda Nui. Toa Ignika had to sacrifice his new body to wake up Mata Nui. Takanuva, with the help of the remaining Av-Matoran, changed the Shadow Matoran back to their normal selves. Soon after, the Toa escaped the core before an energy storm, caused by Mata Nui waking up, could destroy them. The Makuta, however, could not escape and were all killed.
Back in Metru Nui, everyone celebrated Mata Nui's awakening. But the celebration was cut short. It was revealed that Teridax had taken over Mata Nui's body, which was actually the entire Matoran universe! Teridax trapped Mata Nui's spirit in the Mask of Life and sent it flying into space. This way, Mata Nui couldn't stop him from controlling the universe.
2009 – The Legend Reborn
The Bionicle story continued after Mata Nui was banished from his body by Makuta Teridax. He landed on a planet called Bara Magna. Bara Magna was mostly a barren desert with few resources. So, each tribe on the planet had warriors called Glatorian. These Glatorian battled for resources like food and water, which were then shared. The villagers of this world were known as Agori. There were six different Agori tribes, each linked to a region.
After the Mask of Life landed on Bara Magna, it created a body for Mata Nui to use. Mata Nui then teamed up with some Glatorian. He wanted to defeat the combined forces of the Skrall and Bone Hunters, who were big threats to the villages. He also looked for a way to return to his own body. With the help of his new Glatorian and Agori friends, he exposed a traitor named Metus. He defeated the Skrall and Bone Hunters. He helped the villages unite, connecting giant robot pieces into a huge prototype robot body, similar to the one the Matoran Universe lived in.
2010 – Journey's End
After defeating the Skrall and seeing the villages unite, Mata Nui prepared to take back his old body from Teridax. He learned that he was created by powerful beings on a planet called Spherus Magna. This planet was now split into a jungle moon (Bota Magna), an ocean moon (Aqua Magna), and the desert planet (Bara Magna). This happened because of a big war. Mata Nui also learned that before he was built, there was an older robot, which the Agori used as their home. An Agori named Tarduk helped Mata Nui by showing him an ancient power source for the old robot.
In this final journey, two heroes returned: Tahu, back in his original form to wear the powerful Golden Armor, and Takanuva. Gresh also helped them. They fought the Skakdi Warlord, Nektann, to defeat Makuta and his army. Makuta's army included many Rahkshi with heat vision, and Skrall.
The story continued as the forces from the Matoran Universe and the Glatorian faced the attacks from the Skakdi, Rahkshi, and Skrall. Makuta's blast scattered the golden armor. Tahu, Gresh, and Takanuva collected it from their many enemies. Tahu defeated the Skakdi warlord Nektann. Then, Tahu put on the armor, which destroyed every Rahkshi Kraata on Bara Magna.
Teridax claimed he would destroy Bara Magna with gravity energy. But Mata Nui forced Teridax's arm upwards, making him send the energy wave towards the moons above. Mata Nui pushed Teridax back into one of the rushing moons, the green moon of Bota Magna. The impact destroyed Teridax's core processor, killing him. Mata Nui then felt sad for the brother he could have had.
The story ended when Mata Nui used his strength and the power of the Mask of Life to bring Spherus Magna back together. He healed those who were changed by the Pit Mutagen. He brought life back to the planet and rebuilt destroyed places. This effort caused his power core to disappear, destroying the prototype robot. When the Glatorian and Toa found the Ignika (Mask of Life) unharmed where Mata Nui had been, Mata Nui spoke to them from inside the Mask of Life. He told them that the future was theirs to build. He then stayed dormant inside the Ignika. The Agori, Matoran, Toa, Glatorian, and everyone else began a new life on the reunited Spherus Magna.
Future of Bionicle
The Bionicle toy line ended in late 2009, after the 2010 sets were ready. It was replaced in the summer of 2010 by Hero Factory. Hero Factory was a LEGO theme that could even be used with Bionicle sets. But even though the toys stopped, the story kept going! New parts of the story were written online by Greg Farshtey.
Māori Language Issue
In 2001, some Māori groups from New Zealand were upset with LEGO. They felt LEGO had used Māori words for Bionicle names without permission. LEGO said they had only trademarked the name "Bionicle." After meeting with Māori representatives in New Zealand, LEGO agreed to stop using Māori words for commercial products.
Some Māori terms used by LEGO were changed. For example, "Huki" became "Hewkii," and "Tohunga" became "Matoran." In the Bionicle story, these changes were explained by a "Naming Day" holiday. On this day, heroes had their names spelled differently to honor them, but the pronunciation stayed the same.
However, some Māori words like "Toa" (meaning "warrior"), "Kanohi" (meaning "face"), and "Kopaka" (meaning "cold") were not changed. Since this issue, LEGO has tried not to use common words from other living languages for their names, except for a few like "Umbra," which is a Latin word.
Bionicle's Impact
Bionicle's quick success had a big effect on the LEGO company. According to Stephanie Lawrence, a global director at LEGO, Bionicle became a very popular and lasting brand. She said that more and more companies wanted to be part of the Bionicle world.
Bionicle changed how kids thought about and played with LEGO toys. It combined the fun of LEGO building with the exciting stories and adventures of action figures. One source said that 85% of American boys aged 6–12 knew about Bionicle, and 45% owned the toys.
Music
Paul Hardcastle and Simon Fuller created the first music for Bionicle commercials from 2001 to 2003. The music for the first three Bionicle movies was more classical. This was different from the techno-like music used in the ads.
In 2005, the first official Bionicle songs were released. They were made by the rock band All Insane Kids. The songs were called "Hero" and "Caught In A Dream" (which was the theme for Bionicle 3). Later in Bionicle's history, more songs were used to advertise the sets. Most of these were made by the Danish band Cryoshell. Other artists also contributed songs, like "Crashed" by Daughtry and "Move Along" by The All-American Rejects.
Images for kids
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A promotional image of the original Tahu set (2001).
See also
In Spanish: Bionicle para niños
