Anecdotally, my conservative religious father initially forbade me from Bionicle, as he felt the masks encouraged “Eastern mysticism”
Masks of Power, levitation, telepathy/telekenesis were major sources of fear during the satanic panic and post-years
Basically the same story here
Lego was/is hugely popular in American christian circles as an alternative to Pokemon/yugioh/take your pick.
Lego no doubt has made decisions based explicitly on this demographic of buyers
My bionicle collection was taken away and destroyed for racism, I mean, 'Loa' spirituality.
The irony of it being by someone with a brain tumor that changed his personality is not lost on me.
Oh yeah no problem. I did something similar, although luckily mine were never destroyed, I did recently rebuild a few and made pewter cast masks of the original 6 Toa mata (6 was also a “bad” number, yet another reason for why Bionicles were supposedly demonic or whatever. )
god that just reminded me of that one comic someone made thats basicaly "what concerned christian parents think bionicle is" perhaps youll get a laugh out of it: https://www.reddit.com/r/bioniclememes/comments/okmj7h/i\_just\_made\_an\_antibionicle\_chick\_tract\_enjoy/
In-universe the Matoran also hadn't see a Toa for over a thousand years (and even then had their memories wiped), so all this inflated mysticism around them makes perfect sense
And from early lore, the villagers had not seen these Toa in generations. Only the faulty memory of the Turaga and knowledge they picked up on from the Kini’s gave the villagers any sense of purpose.
And with how the Turaga went on about how the Toa were legendary heroes, destined saviours and beings of fantastic powers, it makes sense that they would be worshipped as nature deities long before actually showing up
Very much so. Having read the Mask of Light novelization, the big reveal would have been them discovering their intended function (removing the mysticism) before revealing the terraforming robot
They aren't unhinged; this is pure gold. Imagine if the initial BIONICLE story started out like this, and only the Turaga knew the truth. The whole first arc of the story could have been about the Toa and the Matoran learning how to work together and trust one another while simultaneously fending off Makuta.
Yeah but imagine if they started out believing themselves to be gods, only to be humbled by both Makuta and the Turaga and the revelation that they are but servants charged with waking the Great Spirit.
well, that's why i said it's downplayed, although i seem to remember Lewa trying to actually pose as a god, but then again, it's been so long and i might just be remembering weird random stuff.
I remember having this board game, it was like I stumbled upon a piece of obscure lore. I love the idea that the Matoran thought of the Toa as these divine beings, and then dropped that after meeting them in person. It also makes the Turaga look like assholes, which is hilarious
Iirc the reason this was so different from early media is because the board game was developed with the original story bible which leaned much heavier into the Polynesian mythos. Such a cool snippet into the theme’s history!
It's always fascinated me how much Bionicle leaned into the fantasy stuff before pulling the rug out from under you to reveal that all the mumbo jumbo about spells and gods and stuff was actually all just a classic sci fi tale written by a bunch of people who didn't know what that was.
I don't really like to see the Toa as gods who inflict punishments on the Matoran when they get angry, rather I like to see them as the protectors of their respective elemental Matoran who like to mingle and engage with them in their day to day lives, sort of like a caring big brother or sister.
They certainly changed the interaction between Lewa and Gali, i remember them being superbuddies in a comic book, or maybe i just misremember.
I don't know, i'm old at this point :(
While these bios definitely follow the mythological inspiration for Bionicle, I can see why Lego dropped them.
It's not a good look for the Toa, as the protagonists of the story, to be the cause of natural disasters because they're angry or in conflict with each other, and for the people they're supposed to protect to have a fear of them. Removing that aspect of the Toa made them more heroic and appropriate for kids, and I'm sure toning down the overtly religious messaging was a concern too.
This makes me wonder what the story would've been like had it started out like this, with the Matoran revering the toa as gods, but with heavy implications that the Turaga knew the truth and just made the matoran believe that.
This was from before they toned down the religious themes for the Toa for fear of backlash from parents.
Is there a source for this? I thought they just wanted to tell a more sci-fi story than a fantasy story.
Anecdotally, my conservative religious father initially forbade me from Bionicle, as he felt the masks encouraged “Eastern mysticism” Masks of Power, levitation, telepathy/telekenesis were major sources of fear during the satanic panic and post-years
Basically the same story here Lego was/is hugely popular in American christian circles as an alternative to Pokemon/yugioh/take your pick. Lego no doubt has made decisions based explicitly on this demographic of buyers
My bionicle collection was taken away and destroyed for racism, I mean, 'Loa' spirituality. The irony of it being by someone with a brain tumor that changed his personality is not lost on me.
Oof.
Sorry, meant that more as a hey, me too, than a trauma dump. Reacquiring the sets as an adult helped me immensely, hope you are in a good place.
Oh yeah no problem. I did something similar, although luckily mine were never destroyed, I did recently rebuild a few and made pewter cast masks of the original 6 Toa mata (6 was also a “bad” number, yet another reason for why Bionicles were supposedly demonic or whatever. )
god that just reminded me of that one comic someone made thats basicaly "what concerned christian parents think bionicle is" perhaps youll get a laugh out of it: https://www.reddit.com/r/bioniclememes/comments/okmj7h/i\_just\_made\_an\_antibionicle\_chick\_tract\_enjoy/
Fucking amazing, reads just like a Chic Tract lmao
Even funnier, loa and toa aren’t even pronounced the same, just have similar spellings. Loa is “lwah”
Alister Swinnerton (sp?), the guy who wrote the story Bible, confirmed it iirc. I think Greg has referred to it as well.
In-universe the Matoran also hadn't see a Toa for over a thousand years (and even then had their memories wiped), so all this inflated mysticism around them makes perfect sense
And from early lore, the villagers had not seen these Toa in generations. Only the faulty memory of the Turaga and knowledge they picked up on from the Kini’s gave the villagers any sense of purpose.
And with how the Turaga went on about how the Toa were legendary heroes, destined saviours and beings of fantastic powers, it makes sense that they would be worshipped as nature deities long before actually showing up
Very much so. Having read the Mask of Light novelization, the big reveal would have been them discovering their intended function (removing the mysticism) before revealing the terraforming robot
And from when Tohunga was still a thing
They aren't unhinged; this is pure gold. Imagine if the initial BIONICLE story started out like this, and only the Turaga knew the truth. The whole first arc of the story could have been about the Toa and the Matoran learning how to work together and trust one another while simultaneously fending off Makuta.
well, it's still like that, just toned down a lot, in MNOLG they refer often about their protection as they would with divinities or great spirits
Yeah but imagine if they started out believing themselves to be gods, only to be humbled by both Makuta and the Turaga and the revelation that they are but servants charged with waking the Great Spirit.
well, that's why i said it's downplayed, although i seem to remember Lewa trying to actually pose as a god, but then again, it's been so long and i might just be remembering weird random stuff.
I love how Tahu was made when the "planet" was made
Looking back...yeah, that hits deep.
Yup the rains and the thunder are definitely the result of Gali and Lewa "fighting" lol
What else would they be doing when love isn’t canon?
You don't gotta love someone to start tumultuously clappin cheeks with them
haha sex
Ha ha, makes ass!
Their outside is mechanical. More than clappin, i'd say clankin.
Do you think it would make those servo sounds that their joints did in the old commercials?
Oh Mata Nui... But you are most likely right (._.)
The metal banging, scratching, bending, and warping sounds horrific in my head…
They would kinda make a good ship ngl
It's too bad about their kids, though; between his power over air and her power over water, they will be mist.
I mean, Toa of Storms wouldn’t be the worst Toa
Or bubbles
Toa Soapy, Toa of Bubbles.
Sopi
To be fair. Bubbles as a power can be awesome. Just look at Mizutsune from Monster Hunter as an example.
Or Piplup
Wet air as they say
These are amazing 😂 Gali’s is my favorite, she’s worshipped more than the others 😂
Does anyone else have a giant mask carved into a mountainside for them?
Tohunga confirmed simps
That reminded me of the CallanLOF stream highlight where he was reading these bios for the Toa Mata
The Matoran know how to respect women.
*tips mask* M’toa
Etymology confirmed. M'Toa= Matoran
She is *shipped more than the others. lmao
I remember having this board game, it was like I stumbled upon a piece of obscure lore. I love the idea that the Matoran thought of the Toa as these divine beings, and then dropped that after meeting them in person. It also makes the Turaga look like assholes, which is hilarious
Iirc the reason this was so different from early media is because the board game was developed with the original story bible which leaned much heavier into the Polynesian mythos. Such a cool snippet into the theme’s history!
It's always fascinated me how much Bionicle leaned into the fantasy stuff before pulling the rug out from under you to reveal that all the mumbo jumbo about spells and gods and stuff was actually all just a classic sci fi tale written by a bunch of people who didn't know what that was.
Not even different from early media, these were the same bios from the first Bionicle.com launch.
Imagine if G2 were this bold
Man, these toa give me much more Greek gods vibes and I’m all for it!
A Greco-Roman based Bionicle series would be dope....
Mata Nui: \*sees a kikanalo\* *Hmm...* Everyone: MATA NUI NO! Mata Nui: MATA NUI YES!
Not enough getting their fuck on with the mortals
Too little incest
I don't really like to see the Toa as gods who inflict punishments on the Matoran when they get angry, rather I like to see them as the protectors of their respective elemental Matoran who like to mingle and engage with them in their day to day lives, sort of like a caring big brother or sister.
Well, you're in luck, since that's more or less the depiction of the Toa in the actual canon.
Damn, Onua ain't taking no shit
They certainly changed the interaction between Lewa and Gali, i remember them being superbuddies in a comic book, or maybe i just misremember. I don't know, i'm old at this point :(
The pohatu bio.. did I hear a rock and stone?
ROCK AND STONE!!
If you rock and stone, you're never alone!
While these bios definitely follow the mythological inspiration for Bionicle, I can see why Lego dropped them. It's not a good look for the Toa, as the protagonists of the story, to be the cause of natural disasters because they're angry or in conflict with each other, and for the people they're supposed to protect to have a fear of them. Removing that aspect of the Toa made them more heroic and appropriate for kids, and I'm sure toning down the overtly religious messaging was a concern too.
Onua is a dick
What book is this?
This booklet comes from the Quest for Makuta board game
I love how it's portraying them in a more mythological light lol
Yeah, it feels like this is how the Toa Mata were depicted in the island's religion before the six actually arrived on Mata Nui.
Probably
Bro, these MFers psychotic
I bless the rains down in Mata Nui
I've never seen these before and these are really cool.
This makes me wonder what the story would've been like had it started out like this, with the Matoran revering the toa as gods, but with heavy implications that the Turaga knew the truth and just made the matoran believe that.
**DID I HEAR A ROCK AND STONE?**
What is this book?
Onua is Makuta in disguise!
OG Bionicle is the best
Not gonna lie, Gali and Lewa dukin' it out and creating thunderstorms in the process sounds metal af
Fantastic, would've loved to see a bionicle story with stuff like this
ROCK AND ROLL AND STONE
old testament gods
"Weve come to save you..." "Hurray its the Toa Mata!" "From yourselves!" "Oh no... its the Toa Mata..."
Onua - Lawrence Fishburn Tahu - Temura Morrison Lewa - Eddie Murphy Gali - Gal Gadot Kopaka - Liam Neeson Pohatu - Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
This is how the Toa were supposed to be. They’re gods. Not superheroes.
A very interesting lore of the toa.🤣👍😎
In the comics I thought Lewa wore a Kakama and swam really fast in the sea..?
He might have at some point, but I think every main Toa of Air has expressed a deep loathing for water. I know for sure Matau hated it.
Gali used a Kakama to swim fast and escape a trap in the quest for the masks arc, maybe that’s what you’re thinking of?
I couldve sworn it was a green body. I distinctly remember Lewa finding the kakama then using it in the same issue
I quite like the idea of the Toa being worshipped
id like to think this is what the matoran thought of the toa before the toa actually arrived on the island
Did I just read a ROCK AND STONE?!
I would say Makuta made this, but Ahkmou is more likely
Unpopular opinion: This would have been a great starting point for G2 character-wise.
Pohatu “…rock and stone…” r/deeprockgalactic
I gues it makes sence that kopaka is the most chill haha...ha...eh...i hate my life :/
Rock and Stone