Aanchir

I'm not sure how many more sci-fi elements the series might add, to be honest. I do not necessarily think shifting Bionicle G2 to a more high-tech setting would be appropriate. But that doesn't mean technology couldn't be implemented tastefully. I would certainly not mind if they were to introduce vaguely high-tech equipment like the Exo-Toa armor or vaguely high-tech vehicles like the Ussanui. I say "vaguely" because these are elements of the story that, despite being mechanical, could have just as easily been magic. If they had been armor and a sled that were merely enchanted to move on their own, rather than mechanical, it would not have substantially changed their role in the story — much like how if the Toa's normal armor were not mechanical in design it would not have a huge impact on the story.

 

And honestly, I think this is a good example of how tone and language impact the feel of the Bionicle story. To keep the story from feeling too overtly sci-fi, it can help to just try and describe things in ways that don't feel overly scientific. So instead of saying "mutated", depending on context, you might opt for "transformed" or "corrupted". Instead of saying "mech", you might say "armor" (or, if you must, "powered armor"). Instead of "Toa of Psionics" you might say "Toa of Mind". Conversely, if you were writing a purely sci-fi story like Hero Factory, you might want to lean hard into the technobabble, using sciencey words like "plasma", "disruptor", "mass driver", "nanobots", and "radioactive".

There's a 1x1 round corner tile? What set/sets was it released in?

None yet, to my knowledge. It'll be appearing in some Friends sets like 41130 (as watermelon slices) and 41126 (as a pie) this summer. I'm not sure where else it might be expected to show up.

Huh... It makes you wonder if lego's stooping so low because they're oblivious, or if they're secretly part of the illuminati...

You mean by making Disney characters? I hate to tell you, but LEGO started making Disney-themed products over half a century ago.

Good review!

 

One correction: Ariel's hair in the Disney Princess sets is not an "appropriated Friends recolor". It was designed specifically for her, and it was over a year before it was used again on Livi from LEGO Friends. So it's surprising to me that LEGO designed yet another new hair piece for her appearance in this series. Maybe they decided the silhouette of the Friends hair piece over the classic minifigures' much chunkier shoulders didn't look quite right for the character, maybe they thought the "glitzed up" look of the Disney Princess version of Ariel wasn't appropriate to a figure based on her original animated appearance, or maybe they just figured a different hair piece was justified here because this one is specifically for her underwater look while the Disney Princess version has to do double-duty as the "mermaid" and "human" versions of the character. The new hair piece is not bad but I'm surprised LEGO considered it necessary/worthwhile.

 

The duck tail piece may be specialized, but I've already seen several people on Facebook repurpose it as an upgrade for their Series 9 Chicken Suit Guy!

The all-caps, matter-of-fact topic title feels a bit needlessly confrontational to me. It'll be tough to keep things civil if people who prefer G1 come into the topic already feeling attacked. :/

 

I'm definitely as frustrated as you are with so many topics being derailed with G1 vs. G2 debates, but at the same time, I'm not sure a topic like this is the solution.

Trust me that would be nice, but that's not going to happen as Lego doesn't seem to care a thing about villagers this time around. Also the end of every year will be: "Ekimu swoops in and saves the day for the toa"

You're getting your causality backwards. LEGO didn't have sets of the villagers back in G1 because they cared more about them back then. Rather, they cared more about them back then because there were sets of them. Therefore, if the set designers decided they wanted to release villager sets for 2017 or 2018, the villagers of Okoto would be written into the story in a greater capacity.

 

On another note, the writers of the Mata Nui Online Game and Bionicle Game Boy Advance game wrote them about the villagers because they didn't want them to conflict with the PC game, which was a much bigger investment. Like the comics, the PC game would have been squarely focused on the Toa. So the fact that 2001 Bionicle ended up with more media focusing on the villagers than on the Toa was largely accidental, due to one of the main pieces of media that year, the PC game, being cancelled.

 

Later on, the 2004–2010 Bionicle story media focused much less on villager characters and much more on the theme's main heroes and villains. So villagers not getting a lot of emphasis in the 2015 and 2016 storylines is not really something new or surprising. It's just prioritizing the characters who were meant to be the main characters in the first place.

As cool and hilarious as this might be, as part of getting George Lucas's permission to parody Star Wars, Mel Brooks had to agree not to produce any actual Spaceballs merchandise (despite using it as a running gag in the film). I don't know what the specific terms of that agreement might've been or whether they might be able to change at any point, but the fact that to this day I've never seen any officially licensed Spaceballs merch suggests to me that it's still off the table.

 

 

*snip*

The upper half of the G2 Vahi has been used for two things: seeing images of the future (which Ekimu did in this latest graphic novel in a flashback, showing a betrayal and six Toa and prompting him to create golden masks for those Toa to claim in his absence), and for summoning the Toa (which the six Protectors did in the first graphic novel and chapter book by all channeling their power into the mask as part of a ritual). The lower half of the G2 Vahi has not been seen yet, not even in-universe. My personal theory is that the ritual to summon the Toa worked similarly to the G1 Vahi's power—all six Protectors using the mask in unison managed to slow down time around the island of Okoto to preserve the island until the prophecied Toa's arrival. But there's no real confirmation of the mechanics of that.

 

Either way, it has been more useful so far in the story than the G1 Vahi ever was, which was never shown to be controllable by any of its wearers in-story and thus was only really used productively once—as a threat of mutually assured destruction in Time Trap.

 

 

Just to confirm, that image of the G1 vahi was a placeholder for the upper half right? I've been missing out on some small details like these lol.

 

And I'm not sure why the mask of time would be able to summon the toa unless it was through time. Maybe they were ancient heroes of long ago (not a G1 connection theory lol) since we don't really know where they came from either, unless this is a Mask of Life deal where anything goes cause it's just a real important mask.

 

Yep, the Mask of Time in the first graphic novel is supposed to be the same top portion as the one in the second.

 

Some people have theorized that the Toa being sent to Okoto may have been an automatic process tied to the planetary alignment mentioned in the Prophecy of Heroes, and the Mask of Time could have been used to "fast forward" that planetary alignment so that it happens "ahead of schedule". Adjusting the flow of time would have been well within the power of the G1 Vahi, so it's not outrageous to think that the G2 Mask of Time might be capable of that as well.

 

Of course, back when that theory first emerged we didn't know the full extent of the Mask of Time's powers, and arguably we still don't — it's clear that it can do things the G1 Vahi could not, like offering visions of the future, but it's not totally clear what else it can do. The Toa being described as "timeless heroes" could also mean that time travel is a possibility, but I have to wonder if the top half of the Mask of Time would be capable of that on its own. Unless maybe somebody from wherever/whenever the Toa came from were also using the bottom half, allowing it to "sync" across time with the top half that the Protectors were using?

Looks like an over-complicated game to me.

In what way? Honestly curious, because usually the main criticisms I hear of LEGO games are that they're too simplistic and formulaic.

Trying to combine parts from two or three specific sets can often be a good place to start! That way you'll get a better sense of the different ways the parts you already have can be used.

That's not a bad idea, though the creatures of this year already serve as the "armor" but also that would be a bad idea because what if nobody had ever bought a uniter? Then they would have armor with no toa... Though I would like to see some more love given to the villagers.

Agreed with this! And actually, next year would be a good year to have some new villager sets. Doing the Protectors one year and villagers the next might've felt a bit repetitive because they're both short humanoids, but having the creatures in between should be enough to make it so villager sets can still feel fresh.

 

Who even started the Bionicle is dying rumour?

 

The moment I saw it I researched the sales of Bionicle and Lego as a whole and found out that Bionicle in global sales has past the profit mark Ninjago had in its first 2 years.

So Bionicle is doing okay I'd say.

I really, really would like to know where that statistic is coming from. I try to keep an eye on business news related to Lego, and have never heard any such information. And even as a Bionicle fan, I can't help but find it really, really hard to believe. Ninjago was an absolute phenomenon in terms of sales, and was Lego's most successful product launch EVER when it was first introduced. Even if Bionicle HAS been successful I can't imagine it coming close to that, and if it had it would surely be a huge deal.

 

If it's comparing Bionicle's all-time sales with Ninjago's then it's possible Bionicle comes out ahead, simply due to having been around for so much longer. But just comparing sales in 2015 and 2016, I don't think Bionicle outselling Ninjago sounds realistic, considering that Ninjago was one of the LEGO Group's five top-selling themes last year and Bionicle was not (and sales figures for this year probably wouldn't even be available at this time). Needless to say, Bionicle's all-time sales figures wouldn't really tell us anything about how Bionicle G2 is doing.

Ugh, the beast's lower legs are a mess. They would have looked great if they'd just added some proper covering. So much wasted potential...

I kind of think the spindly lower legs actually sort of add to their beastliness. Kind of like how wolves' lower legs are pretty thin compared to their bodies.

 

I definitely don't think all of the lower leg builds are equally well designed, though. Storm Beast's and Quake Beast's are alright but I'm not really sold on Lava Beast's.

 

I'd love for the theory to be like that, with the twist of Ekimu being the true villain, but such a deep character twist wouldnt be ideal for a kids toy line, sadly.

 

If you ask me, it would be the best way to go if the Bionicle team wants us to take this story seriously. To elaborate on your proposal, I'd postulate that Ekimu is unknowingly suffering from a god complex. I don't think that this would cause a huge shift in the story, per se, but it would provide so much more dramatic tension to the characteristic and near-archetypal conflict between Ekimu and Makuta. Knowing that Makuta's act of forging the Mask of Ultimate Power was more of an act of unbridled anger and jealously in spite of Ekimu's potential egotistical attitude and ignorance would bring both brothers into a delicious grey area.

 

I don't think derailing Ekimu's characterization just to gray things up would be good storytelling. The idea of a highly revered leader suffering from a god complex is not outrageous, but not one of Ekimu's appearances has characterized him that way. In fact, his appearance in the latest graphic novel makes it fairly clear that aside from Makuta's occasional rashness, he considers him an equal, he has intense gratitude for the service of the Protectors and villagers of Okoto, and he sincerely regrets not realizing how jealous the villagers' praise for his masks made his brother was before it was too late. No stories so far have presented him as any more egotistical than any of the Turaga from G1.

 

Also, in the latest graphic novel, it's revealed that Makuta's forging of the Mask of Ultimate Power was done out of jealousy, but not really out of anger.

 

 

From where I'm sitting, twists that come out of nowhere and contradict previous stories would make it HARDER to take the story seriously, not easier. Even if it were a story for adults, upending Ekimu's previous characterization just to stir up cheap drama would be a bad move.

Wasn't there another page from one of the graphic novels where the Mask of Time was shown too?  I think it was the part where the Protectors were summoning the Toa.  Anyhow that mask looked a lot like the Gen1 Vahi, but I seem to recall people saying that was just a placeholder image.  Did anyone ever find out if that was true or not?  Because, if not, it seems sensible that that mask was the other half.  Though then I wonder how it got lost.

 

Also, the Looking Glass Wars.  Thank you, good sir, I now know what to raid the library for next =P

Canonically, the Mask of Time in both graphic novels is the upper half which is kept in the Temple of Time, so that more or less confirms the appearance of the one in the first graphic novel was merely a placeholder. The lower half has yet to make an appearance in G2, but legend tells of its existence (and we all know how legends are in Bionicle). So we will probably see it at some point.

I think the latest graphic novel kind of quashes the notion that Ekimu has been evil all along.

 

 

 

 

However, does that mean Ekimu is perfectly honest, with no ulterior motives? Not necessarily. And it makes me rethink one piece of evidence that's been presented in favor of an evil/deceitful Ekimu:

 

After destroying the skull spider "taken over" skull warriors in Journey to One, Gali says "and then we can destroy it!" to Ekimu (regarding the mask of control). Ekimu's voice seems to darken, and he says "You have much to do first. Go. I have masks to make." It almost seems like he does not want the mask destroyed.

That is sort of curious, isn't it? Instead of agreeing to destroy the Mask of Control — something that would surely help to keep Makuta from using its power against him — Ekimu changes the subject. So let's suppose he doesn't want to destroy the Mask of Control. How come? Some people are assuming this means he wants the Mask of Control for himself, but what if he doesn't? What if he wants it for Makuta? Let's not forget that Makuta, back when he wore the Mask of Control, was not evil — simply jealous of the adoration Okoto's people had for Ekimu's masks. Maybe Ekimu still has hope his brother can be saved from the Mask of Ultimate Power's corruption, and wants to have his mask ready for him when that happens.

 

Ekimu might not want the Toa to know this — yet. It would not be good for Okoto if the Toa were to hesitate in battle because they're not sure whether or not to think of Makuta as "the enemy". But while Ekimu surely wishes to stop his brother's evil plans, he hasn't committed to destroying his mask the way Makuta was prepared to have Skull Grinder destroy the Mask of Creation. Maybe that is a sign Ekimu still loves his brother and isn't ready to give up on him just yet.

In 2009 I thought the hero Agori from the My LEGO Network Bionicle campaign might be transformed into the new body for Mata Nui, similarly to how the Mask of Life turned Dekar into Hydraxon and Click into Mata Nui's shield. But then it turned out that the Mask of Life was able to just make Mata Nui a new body from... sand, somehow.

There are a couple reasons armor packs like this would not be a good idea. First of all, because much like mask packs or other accessory packs, they would not be a complete play experience unless you also owned the Toa to go with them. Second, because as Rahkshi Lalonde points out, this year's Toa would not be reliably available at retail by that point. Making room for new Bionicle sets on store shelves generally means stores have to start clearing out older sets. So if the story is still focused on the Toa sets from last year, with or without new armor, it'd be effectively promoting sets that are no longer widely available.

 

It's an imaginative proposal for sure, but it just doesn't seem like it would work anywhere near as well as complete buildable figures. Accessory packs in general are a risky proposal due to their lack of completeness, even more so if they're meant to be accessories to sets that are on the brink of retirement.

 

The notion of villagers with animal steeds is not outrageous, but that wouldn't really work in place of new Toa if the Toa are still the focus of the storyline.

I wouldn't be entirely surprised if there were SOME connection between G1 and G2, but I still think it'd be much more likely to be as some sort of alternate universe scenario than as a straight far-flung past or future connection. The new details about the Mask of Time seem to support that.

 

 

 

 

The way I see it is this.

 

They are two seperate universes. G1 and G2. The Toa are from G1,

and the Vahi, since it is two pieces, when combined would allow for beings from other dimensions to be summoned to Okoto. Most likely.

 

 

To put it simply...

 

Connection =/= Continuation.

 

 

 

But I agree that a connection is possible without one generation being a continuation of the other.

Thank you for this thread man, thank you. I hope this sheds light on the fact that alot of us are displeased with the new bionicle.

I don't think that's news to anybody. A lot of people have been displeased with pretty much EVERY era of Bionicle, and quite vocal about that. There's nothing making the gripes people have about the Okoto sets and story any worse than the gripes people in the past had about the Metru Nui or Voya Nui sets and story.

I'm not super confident about using Transformers as a measure for Bionicle's long-term film potential, either. In fact, unless I'm super mistaken, it didn't take 25 years for Transformers to hit theaters, it took only two.

 

Bionicle was inches away from taking 3 years, but considering that didn't happen I'm not terribly optimistic that a feature could ever happen, period - especially considering Bionicle now isn't nearly as big as it was when it failed back then.

 

And Transformers as a brand seems to have a lot more staying power in public consciousness than Bionicle ever did. Ask any person on the street and they'll know what a Transformer is; its a toss-up whether they recall Bionicle.

Oh, really? I wasn't around for "Transformers: The Movie" so didn't realize it had been in theaters. I probably should've thought enough to look into that. But I guess I learned something today. Of course, say what you will about the quality of the more recent Transformers movies, but they were much more successful in the box office than the original animated movie was. So yeah, I think studios wanting to make a toy-based movie might hope for something with a little more pop culture notoriety and brand power than what Bionicle presently has to offer.

I think one thing that would limit the chances of a Bionicle cinematic film right now is that it'd be a lot harder to integrate into the "LEGO Movie Cinematic Universe" than themes based on minifigure characters.

 

It's true that not all the characters in The LEGO Movie are minifigures, but I'm thinking more about how the characters would emote in The LEGO Movie's stop-motion-esque style. With minifigures they can just animate the decorations on the minifigure face the same way they'd animate the faces of any 2D cartoon character, but with solid-molded faces and masks it'd be a lot harder without breaking the illusion of stop motion.

 

Additionally, Bionicle doesn't have as great a comedy element as the LEGO brands that are currently slated for cinematic movies. Comedy was one of The LEGO Movie's big selling points, so Warner Bros might consider a movie of something that's more strictly an action-adventure series a riskier proposition.

 

With all that said, that doesn't mean it could never happen. I mean, Transformers was nearly 25 years old by the time it got a theatrical film. But of course, it had experienced no small measure of TV success prior to that. It's tough to pin down just what circumstances would be needed for a cinematic Bionicle movie to have a shot. For the time being I don't think it's in the cards, but who knows how things might change in the future.

Very very excited for G2!

 

 

 

Will the Protectors get updated forms next year because of the new Masks?

Really digging the airship and can't wait to see more

The top of the Vahi looks amazing!

 

 

 

 

Obligatory reminder that Uwe Wabra was once a Bionicle set designer. I don't know what sets he worked on, though.

Huh... Wu is a ghost in the Ultrasonic Raider redo, while Cole seems to be back to normal. I wonder how that will play out in the show...

The ghost in the Ultra Stealth Raider isn't Wu, he's Sensei Yang from season five (the deceased sensei whose statue appears outside the Temple of Airjitzu).

 

Cole also isn't 100% normal — some of the minifigure pics from the various Toy Fairs (and the pic at the top of the boxes) show him with a green scar across his yellow face. But he does appear like he's found a way to become "more human" somehow.