Bionicle

Bionicle is a line of toys created by the Lego Group that is marketed towards those in the 5-12 year old range. The line was launched in January 2001 in Europe and June/July 2001 in the United States.

The Bionicle idea originated from Lego Group's earlier theme Slizers (also known as Throwbots in the U.S.A.) and Roboriders. Both of these lines had similar throwing disks and characters based on classical elements.

"Bionicle" is a portmanteau constructed from the English words "biological" and "chronicle" (not "biomechanical" as in the common belief).

Franchise

The toys are posable, articulated characters and share some pieces with the Lego Technic line. Characters in the toy line are based on a set of classical elements and Polynesian mythology. The line usually focuses on groups of six, with each member of a group being one of six recurring colors. In addition, members of heroic groups – primarily Toa warriors, Turaga elders, and Matoran commoners – are also matched to one of six elements (most villainous groups have different elements or none at all):

• Red characters are usually identified with fire
• Blue characters are usually identified with water
• Green characters are usually identified with air
• Brown characters (or other earth colors, like yellow or orange) are usually identified with stone
• Black characters are usually identified with earth
• White characters are usually identified with ice

Though the Lego Group had previously created building sets based on Lucasfilm's Star Wars films, the Bionicle line was the first Lego project to get a story developed in-house, being officially credited to Bob Thompson and Martin Andersen of Lego (although Thompson has since left to form his own company, Good Story Productions), freelance UK writer Alastair Swinnerton and Christian Faber of Danish advertising company Advance. Bionicle was also the first in the company's history intended to last for multiple years - in fact, Lego is currently following a plan involving seven multi-year story arcs, providing a framework for roughly twenty years of storyline. It was also the first Lego product to have its own direct-to-video movies: Bionicle: Mask of Light, Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui, and Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows.

The Bionicle storyline is told mainly in the book series and comics, which are written primarily by Greg Farshtey. Greg is also a member of the BZPower fan community and often answers questions from forum members about Bionicle. Through his responses (which are posted in the Official Greg Discussion thread) and other posts, he often gives advance details of upcoming storyline points; as well as clarification about current or past storylines, and the occasional quote from an upcoming book.

Story

The story of Bionicle is a science fantasy set in a world that is inhabited predominantly by biomechanical (part-organic, part-machine) beings. This world and its multiple races was once protected by a Great Spirit named Mata Nui, but he has since been cast into an unnatural sleep by his loathsome brother Makuta,and the universe has begun to decay.

The following groups are the main characters in the Bionicle mythos; a summary of all of Bionicle's major groups can be found at Characters and groups in Bionicle:

• The Toa: Mata Nui's destined heroes and the main protagonists of the franchise. All Toa wear Masks of Power and can control elements of nature.
• The Matoran: The most widespread and influential race in the Bionicle universe, the Matoran are not the strongest people but will often make brave stands against oppressors. The Matoran, along with the ex-Toa elders (called Turaga) who lead them, make up most of the franchise's supporting cast.
• Makuta: The one who attacked Mata Nui and made him fall unconscious, Makuta is one of the most powerful beings in the universe and the primary villain of Bionicle. It has since been revealed that he leads a Brotherhood of similar beings, all of whom share the goal of usurping Mata Nui.
• The Dark Hunters: The Dark Hunters are an organization of bounty hunters and mercenaries. Though secondary villains to Makuta and his Brotherhood, they wield enough power to drastically affect the plans of the Brotherhood and the Toa alike.
• The Order of Mata Nui: A secret society dedicated to serving the Great Spirit. A more recent addition to the story than other major groups; Order members have begun to appear as major supporting characters (though, for various reasons, sometimes as enemies of the Toa instead of allies).

2001–2003: Bionicle Chronicles

Main article: Bionicle Chronicles

For a thousand years, ever since the Great Spirit Mata Nui had been put to sleep, the tropical island of Mata Nui had been in the dark grip of the evil Makuta. The Matoran living there had defended themselves against Makuta's constant attacks for years, but one day, six heroic Toa arrived and began to challenge Makuta. However, they would have to deal with clashing personalities, ever-growing threats like Bohrok and Rahkshi, and a legend of a "Seventh Toa" before the island could be freed.

2004–2005: Bionicle Adventures

Main article: Bionicle Adventures

After Makuta's defeat, the lost city of Metru Nui had been found. The Turaga began to tell the Toa Nuva tales of the city's fall, a time when they were the Toa Metru: they spoke of the Morbuzakh plant monster that threatened to take over Metru Nui, of the Great Cataclysm when Mata Nui had been cast into endless slumber, and of the Great Rescue when the ruined city was conquered by the Visorak and the Matoran were evacuated away from danger.

2006–2008: Bionicle Legends

Main article: Bionicle Legends

Once the tales of Metru Nui have been told, it is soon discovered that the Great Spirit Mata Nui is not only asleep, but dying. Only the Mask of Life can save him, but a number of dark forces want the mask for themselves: A group of thugs calling themselves "Piraka" have tried to claim the mask for their own gain, as have disgraced warlords called Barraki. While new Toa heroes are attempting to retrieve the Ignika Mask of Life, their race will send the Toa Nuva into a final confrontation with Makuta and his Brotherhood.

Controversy

In 2001, Lego faced legal action by Māori activists from New Zealand for trademarking Māori words used in naming the Bionicle product range. Lego agreed to stop commercial use of the Māori language. This resulted in changes being made a number of existing Bionicle words, while others were removed. Māori terms involved included:

• "Huki" means "hammerstroke", "quaking", or "convulse"; it was used as the name of a stone character and changed to "Hewkii".
• "Kahu", meaning "cape" or "cloak", and "Kewa" were used for types of birds; they became one and the same as "Gukko birds". (However, a recent advertisement for the Toa Mahri mistakenly listed Kongu as a "Kahu" bird rider.)
• "Maku" means "wet"; it was used as the name of a water character and changed to "Macku"
• "Puku" means "stomach", "belly", etc.; it was used as the name of a pet crab and changed to "Pewku"
• "Tohunga" means "craftsman", "expert", etc.; it was used for the race of villagers and replaced with the term "Matoran"

Non-Māori words included:

• "Jala" was used as the name of a fire character and changed to "Jaller"
• "Koli" was used as the name of a sport and changed to "Kolhii"
• "Hoi", "Kuna", and "Vako" were used as names of different Rahi animal species; Kuna are now called "bog snakes" and Hoi are now "shore turtles", but Vako have not been seen since.

(Also see "Holidays" under Bionicle society for "Naming Day", the in-story explanation for some of these name changes.)

However, a number of Polynesian and Melanesian terms still remain the same, specifically ones introduced early in the storyline during Bionicle Chronicles. Here are some examples, though this is by no means a complete list:

• "Akamai means "clever" in Hawaiian, and is the name of a Toa Kaita
• "Kanohi" is the Māori word for "face" and is the Bionicle word for "mask"
• "Toa" is the Māori word for "champion" and is the title held by Bionicle's main heroes
• "Kopaka" is the Māori word for "cold" or "ice" and is the name of a Toa of Ice
• "Onewa" is the Māori word for "basalt" and is the name of a Turaga of Stone
• "Pohatu" is the Māori word for "stone" or "rock" and is the name of a Toa of Stone
• "Tahu" is the Māori word for "burn" and is the name of a Toa of Fire
• "Turaga" is a Fijian title for village chief and used similarly in Bionicle
• "Whenua" is the Māori word for "earth" and is the name of a Turaga of Earth.

Since this controversy, Lego has been careful to make sure that all new Bionicle names are not common terms in other languages. The closest exception to this is the character named "Umbra". The use of "umbra", at least, was considered acceptable because of Latin's status as a dead language.

It should also be noted that an increasing number of made-up Bionicle names have English-language roots; for instance, the name "Axonn" is based on "ax", which the character is noted for carrying, and Brutaka could be related to the word "brute" or "brutal".

External links

• BIONICLE.com Official Bionicle Website
• BIONICLEstory.com Official Bionicle.com subsite to feature storyline information
• BIONICLEsector01 Wiki Fansite BIONICLE Wiki
• BZPower.com BIONICLE fansite
• Mask of Destiny.com BIONICLE fansite