Bionicle

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BIONICLE is a line of toys created by the Lego Group that is marketed towards those in the 7–17-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 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 is the common belief).^[1]

Contents 1 Franchise 2 Story 2.1 2001-2003: Bionicle Chronicles 2.2 2004-2005: Bionicle Adventures 2.3 2006-2008: Bionicle Legends 3 Alternate reality game 4 Controversy 5 Notes 6 See also 7 External links

[edit] Franchise

The toys are poseable 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. Most characters – primarily hero Toa, elder Turaga, and everyman Matoran – are matched to one of six elements, commonly identified by a certain color or prefix:

• Red characters are usually identified with fire, which use the prefix "Ta-"
• Blue characters are usually identified with water, which use the prefix "Ga-"
• Green characters are usually identified with air, which use the prefix "Le-"
• Brown and yellow characters are usually identified with stone, which the prefix "Po-"
• Black characters are usually identified with earth, which use the prefix "Onu-"
• White characters are usually identified with ice, which use the prefix "Ko-"

Although every major group of six so far follows the color scheme, most individual "bad guy" sets have different elemental affiliations or none at all. The prefixes are mostly used to identify kinds of Matoran and where they live (such as fire villagers being referred to as Ta-Matoran or the ice region being called Ko-Wahi), though the Toa Nuva and several kinds of enemies include the prefixes or variations of them in their names (like Gahlok, Lerahk, or Roporak).

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.

[edit] Story

[edit] 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, under the leadership of the wise Turaga, continued to defend themselves against Makuta's constant attacks. One day, six heroic Toa arrived and began to challenge Makuta, but 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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" tried to claim the mask for their own gain, and now it has fallen into the hands of Barraki warlords. The Toa Nuva attempted to get the mask to save Mata Nui, but they recognized that it is the destiny of new heroes, the Toa Inika, to save Mata Nui before they can do their job and awaken him.

[edit] Alternate reality game

In 2006, the Lego Group created an alternate reality game featuring the All-American Rejects to be Bionicle's American national promotion for the summer of 2006. It started with a website called Free the Band, which stated that the All-American Rejects (AAR) had disappeared, that the main suspects in the disappearance were the Piraka, and that the Toa Inika were trying to rescue them. Since then, two more sites have been discovered: Inika Unite!, a blog made by two kids who are following the events of the game, and Rock Yachts, apparently the front company the Piraka used in the game to kidnap the AAR. Lego also used the All-American Rejects' song, "Move Along," in their television advertisements for the Toa Inika (viewable here).

[edit] Controversy

In 2001, Lego faced legal action by Māori activists from New Zealand for trademarking Māori words used in naming the Bionicle product range.^{[2] [3]} Lego agreed to stop commercially using the Māori language, ^[4] which included a number of existing Bionicle words being changed or removed:

• "Huki" means "hammerstroke", "quaking", or "convulse"; it was used as the name of a stone character and changed to "Hewkii",
• "Jala" was used as the name of a fire character and changed to "Jaller",
• "Kahu", meaning "cape" or "cloak", and "Kewa" were used for types of birds; they became one and the same as "Gukko birds",
• "Koli" was used as the name of a sport and changed to "Kolhii",
• "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".
• "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.^[5]

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

However, a number of Māori 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:

• "Toa" is the Māori word for "champion" and is the title held by Bionicle's main heroes,
• "Turaga" is a Fijian title for village chief and used similarly in Bionicle,
• "Kanohi" is the Māori word for "face" and is the Bionicle word for "mask",
• "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,
• "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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[6]

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 "axe", which the character is noted for carrying and Brutaka could be related to the word "brute."

[edit] Notes

[edit] See also

• List of Bionicle toys
• List of Bionicle media
• Bionicle timeline
• Bionicle society
• Characters and groups in Bionicle
• List of objects in Bionicle
• List of places in Bionicle
• Rahi - Bionicle wildlife and creatures

[edit] External links

• BIONICLE.com Official Bionicle Website
• BIONICLEstory.com Official Bionicle.com subsite to feature storyline information
• BZPower Bionicle fansite with news and forums
• BIONICLESector01 Wiki BIONICLE Reference Wiki
• Piraka.com Official Piraka Website (Note: not considered canonical, storyline-wise)
• StuartSayger.com Personal site of Stuart Sayger, artist for the Bionicle: Ignition comics.