Gathered friends, listen again to our legend of the BIONICLE...
—Turaga Vakama
LEGO's (surprisingly in-depth) Merchandise Driven storyline, originally based on its pre-existing LEGO Technic line. Featuring (Bio-)Mechanical Lifeforms in a Schizo Tech universe, the story mainly concerns the conflict between the followers of the Physical God Mata Nui and the forces of the Big Bad Makuta.The story is told through comics (Published by DC Comics that hit the high points of the story), a book series (that goes in-depth), Web Serials (side stories), and the occasional Direct-to-Video movie (by Creative Capers Entertainment
BIONICLE Chronicles: The Toa Mata arrive on the island of Mata Nui and begin their quest to awaken the Great Spirit. Their series of struggles against the evil Makuta are concluded (in the Mask of Light movie) by the arrival of a Toa of Light and the discovery of the lost city of Metru Nui.
BIONICLE Adventures: While the Matoran prepare to return to Metru Nui, tales are told of when Mata Nui fell asleep, showing how Metru Nui became lost. Each half included a movie, Legends of Metru Nui and Web of Shadows.
BIONICLE Legends: The Turaga have discovered that Mata Nui isn't just asleep, but that he's been dying. The Toa Nuva prepare for his final awakening, but first a new team of heroes must save his life first. However, it's revealed that Makuta has been running an Evil Plan the whole time that may ensure his ultimate victory. No movies for this one.
In the end, the Toa Nuva finally wake up Mata Nui - allowing Makuta to commit Grand Theft Me and usurp the Great Spirit, sealing Mata Nui's spirit into the Mask of Life and exiling it into space. Nice Job Waking It, Heroes.The story then picks up on the wasteland world of Bara Magna, where tribes of Glatorian and Agori compete in Gladiator Games for scarce resources. Mata Nui lands there and ends up making friends and uniting the tribes while he tries to find his way home. There was one movie called The Legend Reborn, while a web serial kept tabs on the Matoran.The series has Loads and Loads of Characters; check the Character Sheet for more info on them.The toyline ended in mid-2010. The storyline is being continued on LEGO's website with Bara Magna restored as Spherus Magna and its people forming a unified society with the Matoran, but how long it will be supported by the company without a toy line is in question. It has been replaced with the more sci-fi Hero Factory, which boasts "From the makers of BIONICLE!" on the label.One very notable feature about the storyline was that all of the comics and nearly all of the books and web material was written by one man: Greg Farshtey. Throughout BIONICLE's entire run, he kept in close contact with the fans, particularly the surprisingly large fan site BZ Power (check it out here). He answered questions, dropped hints about upcoming storylines, and stayed commendably dedicated to his work for all ten years it ran. Because of this, the fandom considers him My Real Daddy.
Adaptation Distillation: The movies, which seem to be partially aimed at a wider audience, especially the first one.
Adaptation Expansion: The movie novelizations can get into the heads of the characters, better explaining their motivations and providing links to continuity that doesn't appear in the movies. See All There in the Manual below.
Oddly enough, however, the movie "Web of Shadows", the novelization of the movie, by the same name, and the comics running at the same time all have somewhat different plots.
The plot differences between the books and the comics are common and generally glossed over.
All Deaths Final: There are a handful of Only Mostly Dead guys (see Matoran sections), but all those had special circumstances and everyone else who dies stays dead.
Always Chaotic Evil: There are several always-enemy races on both worlds. The Matoran Universe has the Makuta and their spawn, the Rahkshi; the Visorak, the Skakdi (which include the Piraka), and the Zyglak. Bara Magna has the Rock, Sand, and possibly Iron Tribes; the Bone Hunters, and the baterra.
Matoran saga: A Class 1 event occurs in Adventures, and two separate Class 4s are averted in Legends (The first of the Class 4s actually occurs in The KingdomAlternate Universe, but there are enough survivors to scrape it up to a Class 2.)
Spherus Magna suffered a Class 2 known as "The Shattering" a hundred thousand years previous, splitting the planet into three; a new planet called Bara Magna and its moons, Aqua Magna and Bota Magna.
Psychic attacks always escalate until they hit a damage cap, at which point the target realizes that "the pain can grow no worse" and "draws strength from the thought" to counterattack.
Big Bad: Makuta, though several arcs have other villains take the lead and push Makuta into a Bigger Bad role.
Built With LEGO: Well duh, it's a LEGO toy line. (But also subverted - with the exception of a few playsets, BIONICLE uses specialized pieces based on the TECHNIC line instead of the standard bricks.)
Casual Danger Dialog: Apparently, all Toa have the ability to make lame jokes while fighting.
Cataclysm Backstory: the Shattering, the Dreaming Plague, the Great Cataclysm
Cerebus Syndrome: A mild case, although one cannot deny that the peril and danger grew in each successive year, finally culminating in a battle for the entire universe.
Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Every major group has members colored red, blue, green, black, white, and brown, though orange or yellow are sometimes used in brown's place. in the case of Mooks there are six breeds in those colors. For Toa and Matoran and for Bara Magnans, the colors show the tribe they belong to; with Toa/Matoran this also indicates gender (or is supposed to) and Elemental Powers. Evil characters (the Makuta and Bara Magna's rock tribe) also favor black.
Doing in the Wizard : After the Mask of Light saga, all the mystical aspects (such as Mata Nui being a great spirit/deity) were gradually stripped away for more "logical" explanations. See main page for more.
Earth Drift: Of a sort, related to Doing in the Wizard above. The franchise was never set anywhere close to Earth, but the first few years were very influenced by Polynesian themes (set on a tropical island, everyone wears tiki-like masks, actual Maori terms were used, etc). Part of it was legally mandated (see "Meaningful Name" in the Matoran section), but the theme was pretty much lost by the time they found a lost city Beneath the Earth.
Arguably, also inverted with the relatively much less alien Bara Magna setting, which featured such Earth-inspired themes as characters wearing armor (as opposed to having it be part of their bodies), having romantic relationships, or eating with their mouths.*
To be fair, there is a line in the fourth Chronicles book about Onua and Whenua having a meal, but this is the only instance of non-Rahi characters eating in the Matoran Universe.
Elemental Nation: Mata Nui and Metru Nui were divided into seven regions, six of which corresponded to each element of Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Stone and Ice (the seventh was a central neutral zone). Bara Magna has all the trappings of this, but nobody actually has innate elemental powers.
Expy: Agori and Glatorian are basically powerless versions of Matoran and Toa (in-universe, it's the other way around)
According to Greg Farshtey, he based Barraki Takadox's personality on a character named East from one of his earlier novels.
Somebody noticed the resemblance, as seen in this video
Family Unfriendly Death: Most of these deaths were only described in the books or web serials, leaving exactly how nasty they were up to the reader's imagination. Still, for a Merchandise DrivenLEGO series, the deaths of characters were pretty graphic, including Icarax getting attacked mid-teleportation, scattering every piece of his body throughout the known universe, Botar being crushed by his armor while he's still wearing it, alternate-universe Tuyet getting hit by a Portal Cut, "Ancient" getting blown to atoms, the "Phantoka" and "Mistika" Makuta being incinerated (with the exception of Krika, who becomes so intangible that his atoms fly apart), and Makuta is on the receiving end of a Colony Drop.
Zaktan was also blown to oblivion by then-god Makuta.
Genre Busting: It has magical epic fantasy, cyber-city sci-fi, plenty of action (both regarding the usage of special powers, or plain hand-to-hand combat), a Cosmic Horror Story or two, war tales, crime and mystery, western-ish Desert Punk, some mild philosophizing, tells moral fables, and showcases various kinds of humor (sarcastic and dry verbal jokes, or visual Slapstick). Comes in the form of plastic toys, comic books and novels, 2D and 3D animations and Direct-to-Video movies, and its music ranges from rock and techno mixes of varying hardness to orchestral choirs, tribal drums and hums and almost rural-sounding chimes.
Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Inverted; rather than obscuring the face, headgear often is the character's face for all intents and purposes. And they're pretty cool.
Large and in Charge: Another common trope: The Bahrag for the Bohrok, Makuta for the Rahkshi, Sidorak and Roodaka for the Visorak, and Tuma for the Skrall. Avoided with the Brotherhood squad in Karda Nui; Icarax is larger than the others but Antroz is the leader.
Late to the Party: More or less the standard storyline, as it was used in Chronicles, the latter half of Adventures, Bara Magna, and all three parts of Legends.
Mutagenic Goo: Energized Protodermis is either this or an Acid Pool, depending on the destiny of whatever is exposed to it. The Pit Mutagen slowly mutates any being into Fish People, although the effect is much slower and less noticeable on organic creatures.
Unpredictable Results: Mostly; It's possible to find out if Energized Protodermis will transform someone or not; it's how they're transformed is what's unpredictable.
Myth Arc: for the first eight years - Awaken Mata Nui, defeat Makuta, and save the universe.
Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Extensive use of K-names; plus Scary Nouns (Brutaka - "brute"), "Mor" (Morbuzakh), and The Adjective One (The Shadowed One). A few Foreign Language Names, too, but they mostly belong to the good guys - see Meaningful Name entry in the next section. Bara Magna also has the option of invoking the Ancient Dead Language category via Canis Latinicus.
Never Say "Die": Averted; despite the line being mainly aimed for kids, characters rarely shy away from calling death what it is.
Except in the early years, anyway. The series really started averting this trope with Piraka saga.
No Blood For Phlebotinum: One of these wars is what led to the Shattering and what started this whole mess.
No Flow in CGI: Well, all the characters are robots, for all intents and purposes.
No Hugging, No Kissing: Handwaved for Matoran, at least, by the fact that they're mechanical beings with no need of romance for reproduction purposes. There was a Hewkii/Macku pairing and some Jaller/Hahli teasing in the flash cartoons of Chronicles, though they ended up being dropped as a result of this trope taking effect. Note: this trope has not stopped shippers in the slightest. (Does anything really?)
Promoted to Love Interest: The Adventures movies have Toa Matau flirting a bit with Toa Nokama and Sidorak offering a marriage proposal to Roodaka (the latter is handwaved that "marriage", here, is just a politically-motivated civil union).
Ship Tease: The last novel throws one in for good measure: Action GirlKiina hugs Mata Nui and tells him that he shouldn't make her cry just before he places his spirit into the Prototype Robot and goes to fight Makuta alone. Of course, given the No Hugging, No Kissing rule, it's officially wholly friendly and platonic, but it's also not hard to think it would've been written a bit differently if the series wasn't already canceled by that time.
No Pronunciation Guide: Several; for example, is "Lewa" Leh-wa or Lee-wa and is "Onewa" Oh-new-uh, Oh-neh-wah, or Oh-nee-wah? And "Jaller" doesn't use an "er" sound, it's supposed to follow the original spelling of "Jala". (The BIONICLE Encyclopedias do include pronunciations, but variations are still out there. For the record, Mask of Light puts the example names as Lee-wa and On-uh-wa)
Off Model: Both movies and Comics exhibit this fairly often.
Only One Name: Pretty much everybody except Tren Krom and Mata Nui. In Tren Krom's case, that's probably to highlight his other-ness.
Only Six Faces: Thanks to the fact that Lego reuses parts often. Very extreme in Chronicles, were everyone had one of twelve masks. It was gradually being averted as the series went on (especially in Legends where we met more communities of Matoran with different masks), but never completely got free. Bara Magna had a similar problem.
This is even more hilarious if you consider that all of the "faces" are actually masks; Matoran, Toa and even Makuta possibly ALL have the exact same face. Ditto goes for almost all the residents of Bara Magna. Averted with everything else, since they usually have heads constructed of generic LEGO elements rather than a mask (subverted in the case of Hydraxon and Maxilos, who's faces are actually mask pieces, but are explicitly stated to be their actual faces, and Toa Ignika, who's whole existence is only a mask to begin with).
Schizo Tech: mentioned above; the rule of thumb in the Matoran universe is "no wheels, no paper", regardless of how high the tech can be otherwise. Taken to its extreme in Chronicles, where cyborgs are mining with high technology to trade gems for fish and torches. Justified in Bara Magna due to the place being a Scavenger World - actually, the major settings in Chronicles and Legends qualify as Scavenger Worlds, too.
Show Accuracy/Toy Accuracy: Falls on the Toy Accuracy side. The comics and books are fairly consistent with the toys, only needing occasional tweaks; but the Matoran-era movies are pretty inaccurate.
Invisible Anatomy: One of the main "tweaks" is adding fingers to hands, which don't show up on the toys until Bara Magna. The movies also had Heart Lights.
Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale: The Mata Nui Robot is supposedly 40 million feet tall. 40 million feet is the approximate diameter of the Earth.
It could be intentional, Mata Nui does have a whole world inside him, though it would make Bara Magna about as big as, say, Neptune, in the real world...
Shattered World: Spherus Magna was split into Bara Magna, Aqua Magna, and Bota Magna by an even that's even called "The Shattering".
Single-Biome Planet: Justified as all known planets were split from Spherus Magna's larger ecosystem. Aqua Magna (where the Matoran saga takes place) is an endless ocean, Bara Magna is a desert planet, and Word Of God says the last piece is mainly forest, called Bota Magna.
Sticks to the Back: common in animations, especially involving the Toa, as well as the Glatorian's weapons in The Legend Reborn. Justified for Takanuva (Mask of Light version) and the Toa Metru, as the toys had weapon mounts built into their backs.
Stock Subtitle: "Comic 13: Rise of the Rahkshi!", "BIONICLE 1: Rise of the Toa Nuva", BIONICLE Heroes
Team Shot: every year has at least one of these showing the new sets.
There's also a number of quasi-examples that aren't directly marketed, but are built from existing parts. A number, like Graalok the ash bear, the Shadowed One, and Botar, were designed by LEGO and alternate building instructions were included with the toys. Several others, mostly Rahi beasts and Dark Hunter mercenaries, were designed and built by fans and then canonized.
The Thunderdome: the Coliseum in Metru Nui, Atero Magna on Bara Magna.
Underground Monkey: the sets up to 2007. The Voya Nui Online Game also had these.
Villain Episode: The Legends book Legacy of Evil (featuring the Piraka), as well as web serials "The Mutran Chronicles" (the Brotherhood of Makuta), "Federation of Fear" (various villains in a Boxed Crook team), "Empire of the Skrall" (the Skrall), and "Sahmad's Tale" (Sahmad and the Iron Tribe).
Also, in the Voya Nui and Mahri Nui arcs, the hero toys got released in a later wave than the villain toys, so in the story keeps pace by focusing on the villains messing things up before the heroes come along to fix it.
Shrug of God: mostly of the "Follow the story and find out" variety. Farshtey also refuses to explain how new Matoran are made, in order to preserve some mystique - and to avoid the inevitable Squick that would come from such a revelation.
Sure, Why Not?: To the point where the fans(specifically, BZ Power) can actually vote what happens in the story.
World-Healing Wave: the Staff of Artakha does this to the Matoran Universe, save for Karda Nui, for all damage caused by the Great Cataclysm.
Mata Nui does this to repair the fragmented world of Spherus Magna. Effects include Terraforming, growing lage amounts of vegetation, and curing the effects of some Mutagenic Goo.
World of Snark: It would just be easier to list the number of characters who don't make a sarcastic or witty remark at least once in the story.
Wrap It Up: 2010 skipped over at least two arcs (one with the Element Lords and one on Bota Magna) to get to the final battle with Makuta.
Writing by the Seat of Your Pants: Farshety has said this is his preferred writing style, at least for the web serials that aren't as connected to the main plot threads.
Year Zero: Two. The first is "The Shattering" about a hundred thousand years ago that split Spherus Magna; it also marks the beginning of the Matoran world. The Matoran also have the "Great Cataclysm", one thousand years before the story starts, when Mata Nui fell asleep, causing numerous disasters.
Abandoned Mine: in the Mata Nui Online Game 2, the Great Mine was abandoned due to flooding by Gahlok in the previous arc. Hahli, a Ga-Matoran and experienced swimmer, has to dive through the mine to retrieve tools and materials for the Onu-Matoran miners.
A.I. Is a Crapshoot: the Matoran and Mata Nui's other races. Designed to be essentially "nanotech" in Mata Nui's body, they turned out sentient and developed their own cultures and such.
Anatomy of the Soul: Spiritual light and darkness, and losing the former, are a major part of the Karda Nui arc. Destiny is also a big deal to the Matoran.
Because Destiny Says So: The Toa Mata/Nuva are destined to revive Mata Nui (technically everyone has a destiny, but the Mata/Nuva are one of only a few to know theirs before it happens).
Code Name: the descriptive kind; most Dark Hunters have them (because stuff like "Silence" and "Darkness" don't have to be cleared through Lego's legal department; unlike, say, "Lariska")
Combining Mecha: The theory behind the Toa Kaita, shown with the Toa Mata (Wairuha being formed of Lewa, Gali, and Kopaka, and Akamai being formed from Tahu, Pohatu, and Onua.) It's stated that most Toa groups are able to form Kaita forms, but never comes up in canon beyond the Toa Nuva. The Toa Metru were implied to be able to do it (but didn't know how), whereas the Toa Hordika were one of the few groups that could not (due to the Visorak infection that turned them into Rahi Zoo Robots).
Meanwhile, there are other fusions, but very few have come about in the storyline, such as a Matoran Nui and Bohrok-Kal Kaita.
Conditional Powers: Kanohi grants the wearer powers as long as it is worn.
Domed Hometown: the Matoran world is located in underground domes (actually Mata Nui's body cavities)
Egopolis: The lands of Artakha and Karzahni are named after their rulers.
Eldritch Abomination: Tren Krom. Subverted in that, while powerful and immeasurably ancient, he is not an alien - he was created by the Great Beings like everything else in the Matoran world. Written as a Shout Out to Lovecraft.
Also the Energized Protodermis Entity, who existed within Spherus Magna even before the Great Beings discovered Energized Protodermis.
Fictional Sport: Koli Kolhii (a lacrosse-like game), Ignalu Lava Surfing, Huai Snowball Sling, Ngalawa Boat Racing, Kewa Bird Riding, Great Ussal Race on Mata Nui, Akilini, Kanoka Toss, and Disk Surfing on Metru Nui.
Genius Loci: the Matoran world is actually inside Mata Nui's submerged body, with the island of Mata Nui perched on his face.
The Ghost: Mata Nui, until around the end of Legends
Ghost City: Metru Nui for a thousand years after the Great Cataclysm, the island of Mata Nui after the events of Mask Of Light.
The Gods Must Be Lazy: Something has to be really wrong in the world to grab Mata Nui's attention. Makes sense when you consider the Womb Level nature of the world - do you think of your stomach when you don't have indigestion? Of course, once he does start paying attention, his hands get tied.
Gods Need Prayer Badly: Mata Nui suffers if the Matoran don't do their jobs. Eventually explained as his robot body will shut down if not maintained and kept working.
Handy Helper: in the Mata Nui Online Game, Takua becomes Pohatu's eyes when the latter was blinded by a Nui-Jaga.
The Phantoka Makuta were permanently blinded by the light after the Ignika fell into Karda Nui. Thus, they have Shadow Matoran to be this for them.
Heart Light: All the people of the Matoran Universe have these, at least according to the books and movies. They're even called heartlights.
The Heavy: Usually the arc Big Bads are the Heavy to Makuta's Bigger Bad, though sometimes even the arc Bads stay mysterious and leave Heavy duties to a lesser villain.
Hufflepuff House: Any tribe outside the main six and Light, really.
Humans Through Alien Eyes: no humans around, but once in a while there's an item that's strange to the characters; the list includes roller skates, eggs, and a scroll
Humongous Mecha: Mata Nui. He's about 40 million feet high and contains the Matoran world.
Island Base: Odina (Dark Hunters), Destral (Brotherhood of Makuta), and Daxia (Order of Mata Nui); Destral is able to teleport to any location in the Matoran Universe thanks to a device on the island.
Kansas City Shuffle: Everyone thought Makuta's plan was just to knock Mata Nui unconscious and then stay in power while he can't do anything about it. That was his original plan, but he eventually revised it with bigger prizes in mind...
La Résistance: Matoran tend to form these when they're taken over, with the Voya Nui and Karda Nui ones being the best examples. The Toa Hordika and Rahaga also formed one against the Visorak. One also formed against the Toa Empire in the "Dark Mirror" alternate universe.
Letter Motif: Each element has a syllable representing it: "ta" for fire, "ga" for water, "le" for air, "po" for stone, "ko" for ice, and "onu" for earth. These show up in some variation in the names of the Toa Mata/Nuva, the Bohrok, the Rahkshi, and the Visorak; as well as in reference to the Matoran tribes (the fire Matoran are called the Ta-Matoran, for example).
The Legend Of Chekov: In most cases, the Matoran consider most of the Turaga's stories as mere fairy tales. But most of them wind up becoming painfully true, from giant Manas to the hellish Karzahni.
Living Ship: In a sense. Word Of God states that Mata Nui wandered space with the Matoran world inside - not that the Matoran were aware of where they were (either in space or inside their Great Spirit).
Mechanical Lifeforms: Mata Nui. All the other races he looks after - which have a few organic parts (save the Bohrok, though they may not be "alive") - qualify as well.
Clockwork Creature: Everyone's mechanical parts are this kind, not electronic.
Wetware CPU: We don't know if the brains are organic or not, but it otherwise fits the trope. Actually, the Bohrok and Rahkshi can be said to play this dead straight.
Miniature Senior Citizens: when a Toa completes his/her destiny, he/she is transformed into the shorter Turaga, serving as the elder for Matoran.
One Steve Limit: Averted somewhat; Mata Nui, Artakha, and Karzahni all have locations named after them, and a plant creature also has Karzahni as a namesake.
"Makuta" and "the Makuta" also sounds confusing, but there's a reason for it: it's a title, and one character prefers the title to his actual name. It's like a group of Dukes, one of which likes being called "Duke".
Also averted when it comes to soundalikes; the series includes characters named Krekka, Krahka, Krakua, and Krika.
One-Winged Angel: Makuta (subverted in that his true form is just energy that can't do much without a shell; played straight in that he's made the shell bigger and nastier in a couple fights)
Our Souls Are Different: Disembodied spirits (including the Makuta's energy forms) can possess robots or soulless-but-still-alive bodies. Makuta can dispossess their bodies at will, but others need to use Applied Phlebotinum (like a Mask of Spirit). And souls depart to whatever afterlife at death, but the death can be reversed and the soul restored if done quick enough (though woe to you if some other soul gets to your body before you do!)
Personal Dictionary: Farshtey used "universe" to mean the Matoran world, not the entire cosmos, as from the Matoran perspective that is their universe and they are aware of very little outside it.
Phlebotinum: Protodermis, the substance that makes up the entirety of the Matoran world - metal, water, living tissue, everything.
Phlebotinum Handling Equipment: as Energized Protodermis either transforms or destroys whatever it touches, there are special containers that are able to hold it.
The Savage South: The southern edge of the Matoran Universe are said to be so dangerous that not even Makuta go there.
The Starscream: Deliberately invoked by the Shadowed One, who encourages his minions to constantly observe him, and, should he show signs of weakness, kill him.
Thou Shalt Not Kill: The Toa hold this view but it's dealt with rather pragmatically; this code of conduct was officially adopted on the grounds that they need to keep the trust of the Matoran, but they are willing to waive it (or at least just consider killing) if necessary, such as in wartime or when facing extreme threats. And one of the Order's reasons for existing is to allow the Toa to have this code, doing the Dirty Business in their place.
Time Dilation Field: The Vahi Mask of Time. Damaging it causes... problems, and destroying it utterly would cause a Time Crash.
Averted and even inverted in Mahri Nui, as Toa Hahli had a Mask of Kindred that let her copy abilities of animals. Since she was quite knowledgeable about sea creatures and what they could do, she used this mask to great effect.
Blade Brake: Tahu uses his Magma Swords to slow his descent down a wall in Mask of Light
Kopaka uses his Ice Blades in the same fashion when the Bohrok-Kal steal his Elemental Powers.
Brainwashed: the Rahi of Mata Nui though Makuta's infected masks, and threatened against its Matoran twice (originally by the infected masks, then by Bohrok Krana).
Cave Mouth: The entrance to Po-Koro and the Ice Gate in the Mata Nui Online Game.
The entrances to the Temple of Courage and Temple of Creation in the Mata Nui Online Game II.
Changeling Fantasy: everyone, audience included, thought that Takua was part of the Fire tribe - until he became a Toa of Light (even then, there's enough Phlebotinum thrown around that him originally being a Fire character was a possibility, until we learned that a tribe of Light did exist)
Moses in the Bullrushes: the Order of Mata Nui secretly spread Matoran of Light throughout the world so the tribe wouldn't be wiped out if their homeland came under attack.
Creation Sequence: The formation of the Toa Kaita in the Mata Nui Online Game and The Legend of Mata Nui.
"Did You Actually Believe? I would let them return to their homes?" (Makuta in Mask of Light, after Takanuva summoned the Matoran to his lair)
Executive Meddling: Averted with the first movie. A number of companies were approached by Lego, but said companies insisted on having the plot involve a human kid in the world, as they thought that would appeal more. Lego instead listened to Greg Farshtey, who hated the idea, and kept looking until they found a company willing to work without human characters.
Gondor Calls for Aid: The climax of the Mata Nui Online Game has Takua's team surrounded by Rahi, only for Matoran armies to arrive just in time to save the day.
Gotta Catch Them All: First with Kanohi Masks, then again with Krana, then Kanohi Nuva again; though each one had less emphasis placed on it than the one before.
Grappling-Hook Pistol: the Volo Lutu Launcher from the Quest for the Toa video game.
Hammerspace: The Toa Mata/Nuva's extra masks are explained as being stored in their Suva shrines (and later, Metru Nui's Great Temple) when not in use, with the Toa able to mentally switch them at will. They couldn't switch in Karda Nui because the place's special properties interferes with this.
Herald: Takua was "the Herald of the Toa of Light" before finding out he was to be the Toa of Light.
I Know Madden Kombat: The final battle of Mask of Light pits Takanuva against Makuta... in a game of Kolhii. However, the sequence plays out somewhat like an actual fight, and ends with Takanuva using his special technique to slam Makuta into a wall.
Kopaka: Your Turaga speaks in riddles. I hate riddles.
Various: Tunnels. Why does it always have to be tunnels?
Laser-Guided Amnesia: subverted with the Toa Mata; the Laser Guide was off a bit so they forgot more than intended.
Levitating Lotus Position: Gali has a similar pose to this while meditating in the first movie, managing to levitate despite not having psychic powers of any sort, other than telepathy between herself and Takua.
While this troper is sure you could explain it away with something like "there was water in the air and she used that...", the Bionicleverse tends stop a little bit short of that much detail. It could be a function of the shrine, but it's probably just there to emphasize that Gali is the wise Toa, and when you have a magiccyborgwho uses magic, wisdom-is-power has to be over-the-top to be even noticeable. That said, it was probably just because it was cool.
Mage Killer: the Rahi Nui was created to hunt Toa, and one of its abilities was feeding on Elemental Power, thus being invulnerable to it.
Meaningful Name: Most names and terms introduced in the first year were actual Māori words. Lego stopped the practice and switched to Foreign Sounding Gibberish when Māori activists criticized Lego for the use of Māori words as a trivialization of their culture (though most of the original names still survive).
A lot of the Matorans' names in Mata Nui Online Game 2 were foreign words that were in the theme of the place they were in (example: in Ko-Koro, names meant things like winter and snow). At least Hungarian, Finnish, Chinese and Czech words were used.
My Nayme Is...: some of the source words got changed to alternate spellings: "Jala" to "Jaller", "Huki" to "Hewkii", "Hali" to "Hahli", "Maku" to "Macku", "Puku" to "Pewku", "Koli" to "Kolhii"
Monumental Damage: in-universe example: the Pahrak destroying Naho Falls (which gets rebuilt later, and destroyed again).
Mythology Gag: In Mask of Light, the Matoran begin their kolhii match by wishing each other "Play well". The name "Lego" comes from the Danish phrase "leg godt", which translates to "play well".
Real Life Writes the Plot: Naming Day was introduced as a way to change characters' names to non-Maori words (see "Meaningful Name" above).
Sealed Evil in a Can: The Bohrok play with this; it seems to be played straigt before it turns out (six real-world years later) that they're just doing their Great-Beings-given job (and therefore Sealed Neutral).
The Worf Effect: Three Toa merge into Toa Kaita Wairuha and corner three Bohrok-Kal. The bug-monsters fuse into their own giant monster which proceeds to kick Wairuha's butt in five seconds.
Worf Had The Flu: The Bohrok had already neutralized the Toas' elemental powers, leaving both the individual Toa and their fused form at a disadvantage.
Discontinuity Nod: Rahaga Kualus insists that "Gukko" is the incorrect name for some bird species and may even be an insult in their language (the original names got retconned out due to legal issues).
Don't Think. Feel: How Turaga Lhikan trains Toa Whenua, Nuju, and Onewa to use their mask powers.
From a Certain Point of View: The legends the Turaga created about how the Matoran got to the island of Mata Nui. Adventures is them admitting this and telling the truth.
The Mockbuster: There were several instances of a bootleg line called "Invincibility Robot", which often featured toys that different quite a bit from the packaging, which were ripped straight from the Bionicle toys. There was also "SOLDIER", which included the Rahaga with oddly-shaped Darth Vader heads and a barely functional spinner launcher.
Narrative Profanity Filter: In Time Trap, Toa Vakama is once mentioned muttering "something that would get him thrown out of Ga-Metru school", which seemed to amuse Makuta.
Oh Crap: Sidorak in Web of Shadows, realizing he has to face a very angry Keetongu alone.
Rapid Aging: Anything that gets too close to Voporak suffers this fate, including an armyof Rahkshi and the Shadowed One, though the latter is a rare example of being alive after the aging.
Secret Legacy: The Turaga of Mata Nui were once Toa themselves, while their Toa Nuva charges had forgotten that other Toa besides them even existed.
Shattering the Illusion: in "Time Trap", Vakama shatters the illusion by stopping to believe it after firing a Kanoka disk at "Nokama", which just phases through "her".
You Have Failed Me: One of the Shadowed One's Dark Hunters has the specific task of killing any Hunter that fails its mission, and take up the mission himself.
You Mean Xmas: Naming Day, an otherwise completely generic holiday, has an associated myth about Mata Nui coming through the transport chutes to deliver gifts
The Alcatraz: the Pit (though they skip the common "good guys have to break out" plot; the prison was long destroyed and nearly abandoned (it's been fixed since then))
After the End: "The Kingdom": The heroes failed to save Mata Nui's life in Legends; a number escaped the doomed "universe" by making their way to the planet surface
Bizarro Universe: appears in "Brothers in Arms"; Mata Nui never had to be built and roles of Toa and Matoran are switched. Oh, and the Makuta embraced the light instead of the shadows.
Mirror Universe: "Dark Mirror": Toa have become Knights Templar, and the Makuta and Dark Hunters are part of La Résistance (though calling them the "good" guys would be a stretch)
All The Myriad Ways: "Dark Mirror" kills off more characters in the space of one episode than total deaths in the entire series
Ascended Extras: The Toa Inika/Mahri, who were Matoran supporting characters back in Chronicles
Atlantis Is Boring: Averted with the Mahri Nui arc, which often considered to be a high point for the series and packs plenty of action, from mutated fishmen to psychotic robots and all manners of sea monsters.
Big Bad Wannabe: The Piraka. Yes, they're considered the main villains for an arc, but they got put in their place real fast.
Big Damn Heroes: Onua arriving just in time to give Tahu and crew back up against a group of Exo-Toa in "Reign of Shadows".
During Makuta's reign, Artakha manages to intervene right before Toa Helryx tries to destroy the universe in order to stop him before showing up in person to berate her for her methods.
Boxed Crook: in "Federation of Fear" and other Karda Nui web serials
Break Out The Museum Piece: A variation; instead of technology, it's dangerous wildlife in the Archives. It's revealed that long ago, (then-"good") Makuta did this to end the Metru Nui Civil War. The results were gruesome.
Brick Joke (dramatic variant): In Legends, Makuta disappears at the end of the Mahri Nui arc, and remains almost completely absent while the Brotherhood is waging war in Karda Nui. Then comes the final book's epilogue... (Undermined just a little by the fact that a web serial features a search for him, but played straight concerning the other media.)
Brown Note: A Klakk's sonic scream can cure Shadow Matoran.
Cain and Abel: Axonn and Brutaka also count during Brutaka's brief Face Heel Turn, though they don't refer to each other as "brother."
Cataclysm Climax: In Karda Nui. The end of Mahri Nui has a bit of this as well.
The Charmer: According to Jerbraz, he was one of the Order of Mata Nui's "most handsome and dashing" members, before he was rendered permanently invisible following an accident. Now he has to get by on just charm.
Chekhov's Gun: Makuta's ability to take spiritless bodies.
Cursed with Awesome: some of the Mask of Life's curses end up being this (and once or twice it actively tries to do its bearer a favor instead, leading to Blessed with Suck).
Darkest Hour: When Makuta pretty much assumes control of the universe, rendering all the Toa's previous battles and struggles rather moot.
Death by Irony: Makuta Mutran thinks of a way to try and control Karda Nui's energy storm, only to be zapped to dust after declaring he figured it out.
Doing in the Wizard : At the end of Legends, a number of mythological aspects got explained away. The biggest one is that Mata Nui, revered as a mystical Physical God by the Matoran, was actually a giant robot that they lived inside. About the only things that didn't were the Great Beings - we learned more about them here and on Bara Magna, but they're still mysterious Precursors.
Drama-Preserving Handicap: the Makuta invading Karda Nui. The "Phantoka" team was blinded, the "Mistika" team suffered Shape Shifter Mode Lock and lost some of their multiple powers, and Icarax was painfully devolved back into a physical being. (Mutran was unaffected, but was more of a Mad Scientist than a fighter anyway.)
Egopolis: Makuta renamed the Matoran world the "Makutaverse" upon taking it over.
Evil Twin: inverted - the good "Anti-Makuta" from the Bizarro Universe has been recruited to help fight the main universe's evil one
Evilutionary Biologist: Every last Makuta has at least a little background in creature creation, as that was their original job; with Chirox and Mutran still focusing on it.
It's warranted, though. He lost the Mask of Life and pretty much any other power he had. He's smart enough to know that he doesn't have nearly as much of an advantage as he had, so he is likely to be at least partly Obfuscating Stupidity.
Getting Smilies Painted On Your Soul: the first Toa of Psionics, Orde, was created by the Great Beings to do something like this to the Zyglak. Unfortunately, due to Orde's violent temper, he made them in an Unstoppable Rage. Thus, the Great Beings made the rest of the Toa of Psionics female from then on.
Giant Spider: The big-enough-to-ride Fenrakk (which incidentally gets...
The Great Flood: Gali unleashed a Nova Blast that completely flooded Karzahni.
Grievous Harm with a Body: Reidak breaks up a squabble among the other Piraka by throwing Hakann at Avak. Hakann pays him back in the same way (to Avak's displeasure) during his A God Am I phase.
Missed the Call: Word Of God suggests Makuta was destined to replace the Great Spirit at some point, but he did it at the wrong time for the wrong reasons.
Misterious Mist: the Akaku Nuva is unable to pierce through the mist in the Swamp of Secrets of Karda Nui.
Narrative Profanity Filter: Used for the Piraka, like when Avak flips Reidak out of a boat. His response is strongly implied to be the Matoran version of a Cluster F-Bomb.
Neck Lift: Kalmah does this to Jaller with his tentacle, although this is done underwater.
Noodle Incident: Invasion, a canceled (but still canon) Legends book bridging Voya Nui and Mahri Nui. We know it involved a Body Snatcher plot and Vezon.
Place of Power: Karda Nui to Matoran of Light, which is why they're much bigger than other Matoran. Takanuva, a Toa of Light, also became much larger in Karda Nui.
Punny Name: used increasingly in Legends; for example, the axe-wielding Axonn, the stingray-like Barraki Mantax, and the energy-sucking Makuta Vamprah.
Real Song Theme Tune: All American Reject's song "Move Along" was used as the theme for the Toa Inika. There was even a non-canon Alternate Reality Game with the storyline of the band being kidnapped by the Piraka.
Isn't It Ironic: "Move Along" is about talking someone out of suicide - not very appropriate for a preteen franchise.
The song can be interpreted as not giving up in the face of adversity, so it kind of works in that way given the situation in their miniverse when the Inika stepped up.
Room 101: the "Chamber of Truth" in the Piraka Stronghold
Set a Mook to Kill a Mook: Used in the climax of "Destiny War", pitting Bohrok against Rahkshi. (Adventures also had a Vahki/Visorak scuffle, though not triggered by the heroes)
Smash The Symbol: On Voya Nui, Axonn carves a picture of a Hau on a rock to represent Mata Nui, then destroys it to represent how much danger the Great Spirit Mata Nui is in.
Split Personality Takeover: in the Kingdom Alternate Universe, Matoro does this to Makuta when the latter absorbs the former into his armor.
Someone Has to Die: used regarding the Mask of Life, though subverted in one instance.
Soul Jar: the Mask of Life is one for Mata Nui at the end.
Strange Bedfellows: Makuta forces an alliance with Toa Matoro in Mahri Nui.
Tuckerization: Order members Jerbraz, Johmak, and Tobduk, who were credited as providing pictures for the Order's atlas, were named for the guide's real-life illustrators Jeremy Brazeal, John McCormack, and Toby Dutkiewicz respectively.
Twist Ending / Wham Episode: two in the Matoran saga's conclusion: the books and comics first show that Makuta wins, then the web content adds the revelation that the Matoran world is inside Mata Nui.
Unpredictable Results: Kongu Mahri's Mask of Summoning; you never know what will be summoned.
Upgrade Artifact: as mentioned in Amplifier Artifact, Antidermis strengthens Brutaka's species, but when Brutaka fell into a pool of Antidermis, he gained increased power along with many abilities of the Makuta, in addition to physically strengthening his body to the point that his muscle cracked his armor at several places.
Water Is Air: Consciously averted in Mahri Nui, where characters like Jaller and Kongu had tremendous difficulty using their powers, and combat took place in a 3D environment. (Kongu decided just to go with more guns.)
Weapon Of Mass Destruction: the Ignika, which can suck all the life in the Matoran Universe in cases such as war, plague, etc.
Jaller's team was to have the starring role the whole time, but it was agreed that the heroes who started the saga should finish it, so the Toa Nuva were brought back for Karda Nui.
Also in Karda Nui, they would've taken the shadow corruption to its logical extreme and introduced a Toa of Shadow, but the plans for a toy set fell through so there was little reason to include one in the story.
What If?: Karzahni can show other characters what would have happened if a significant event in their lives played out differently. For negative results, it results in a Mind Rape, but if it has a positive outcome, it turns into a Lotus-Eater Machine
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Both Hewkii and Kongu in the Mahri Nui arc, as they both come from tribes that don't like deep water (Stone and Air, respectively). In an interesting inversion, the Toa of Fire was relatively unperturbed by the environment.
The Worf Effect: The Toa Nuva got beaten pretty bad by the Piraka in Legends...
You Are Too Late: Sixth kind of use - By the time some of the heroes catch on to what Makuta has been planning and try encountering him at the place he needs to finish his Evil Plan they discover Makuta has already taken over Mata Nui's body.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Makuta sent Brotherhood members into Karda Nui without telling them the place would become a death trap once the Evil Plan played out.
Bavarian Fire Drill: The novelization suggests that this is part of the reason the Agori traitor is able to take control after Tuma's defeat; the Skrall are so panicked by the thing attacking them that they'll listen to anyone giving orders.
Big Bad: Rock tribe leader Tuma was this before Makuta asserted himself. The Element Lords were going to be Big Bads before their story arc was scrapped. There are a few new bad guys emerging since Makuta's defeat, but so far none are ascending to Big Bad.
Conservation of Ninjutsu: Averted with the Skrall, rather noticeably. Strakk even gives a perfect setup with "We could barely beat one, how do we beat an army?" Answer: They don't.
Continuity Nod: the Hero Agori from the My LEGO Network game is briefly mentioned in the first book.
Early-Bird Cameo: The baterra and the Element Lords appeared in the '09 web serials and would have showed up more prominently in the original 2010 story.
Eldritch Abomination: As noted in the Matoran section, the Energized Protodermis Entity that existed within the planet until it was moved to the Mata Nui robot. There's also something that looks like a miniature sun that feeds on dreams.
Field of Blades: or rather it's called the "Forest of Blades", only the corpses are still holding their weapons and being fused with trees, some jutting halfway out.
Flawed Prototype: The giant broken robot on Bara Magna; a prototype to Mata Nui himself. He fixed it up to fight Makuta, but it still has a lot of problems.
Foreshadowing: An early and possible hint to Metus' betrayal? In the My LEGO Network BIONICLE Campaign, he's friends with Atakus of the Rock Tribe!
Grim Up North: The rock tribe (and even they were driven south by the baterra)
Hate Plague: The Dreaming Plague's first symptoms included irritability, which then grew to hatred and violent behaviour, finally leading to complete insanity followed by death.
Hollywood Cyborg: unlike the Mata Nui races, the Bara Magnans are mostly organic but have a few cybernetic implants
Serious Business: The arena matches. Explained that rather than waste precious supplies on armies to fight for resources, it's better for all sides to settle disputes with Combat by Champion.
Zerg Rush: The Skrall's attack on the Grand Tournament, though unlike most examples of the trope the Skrall are actually stronger than their Glatorian oppenents, not weaker.
). He answered questions, dropped hints about upcoming storylines, and stayed commendably dedicated to his work for all ten years it ran. Because of this, the fandom considers him My Real Daddy.
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