The Biological Chronicle
Real world History
In the late 1990’s, THE LEGO GROUP was in a difficult spot. They had attempted to make a profit with “Lego Star Wars,” despite it being a hit, the Lego Company had to pay royalties to Lucasfilm which diminished profits. They Needed another Theme to make profits.
They turned to the “Technic” Line of Lego, which substituted the traditional LEgo Bricks for plastic rods and Gears and axles. At first they created two lines, the first was “Slizers,” also known as “Throwbots” released in 1999. The next year was “RoboRaiders.” Both sets are featured in the museum first thing you walk in.
It was during this time that multiple things were occurring at the same time that ended up contributing to a once in a generational masterpiece. Christian Faber, the originator of the idea of action figures with attachable limbs and ball-and-socket joints recalled a bout with cancer, and specifically remembered the pills he took to combat his benign brain tumor. Then, the first seed took place, in which he imagined a hero inside the pill going down to defeat the evil cancer that threatened his life. And thus the idea of the “Biological chronicle” was conceived.
Then called “BoneHeads of Voodoo Island,” Faber, alongside Lego Employees Bob Thompson, Martin Riber Anderson, and outside Writer Alastair Swinnerton revised the ridiculous sounding concept, adding in classic mythological tropes as well as references to the indigenous Culture of Aotearoa (New Zealand) into something more serious than any theme by Lego before. In the midst of other themes in the likes of “Alpha Team,” “Jack Stone,” “Lego Studios,” “Lego Dinosaur,” bionicle stood out with its epic saga of six mighty heroes, known as the Toa, exploring the mysterious Island of Mata Nui, while battling an unseen all-seeing entity known as Makuta.
From 2001 onwards, children worldwide were treated to an timeless story of chosen heroes battling a great and powerful evil. As it grew, the story matured into an gigantic transmedia multi-generational epic saga under writer Greg Farshtey, who wrote the books as well as the comics that regularly came with the Lego Magazine, rocketing the theme to the #1 Lego Theme in terms of sales and popularity from 2003-2006.
At the time, there were bionicle board games, video games (including the iconic “Bionicle Heroes”), even a series of Direct-to-video movies that still hold up as cult classics even two decades later! And yes, there were shirts, bags, posters, and other merchandise, many of which are also featured in the museum.
Such was its impact that a few years after its initial cancellation in 2010, the franchise was resurrected again in 2015, with our classic heroes battling giant spiders and vicious hunters before being cancelled again the following year.
Since then, fans who have grown up with found memories of the franchise have celebrated its influence through several community-based fan projects, including “810NICLE DAY” Online Streaming events that occur around August 10, shown below
In many ways, it seems like the Legend of Bionicle has never ended. Popularity has remained strong, even as other toy lines such as “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” and Lego’s own “Ninjago” series have risen in Bionicle’s Wake.
Twenty years after its original release, Lego has honored the theme three times, first as part of the “90 Years of play” set, next with a free with order set using lego systems, and most recently with a “Bionicle Cosplayer” Minifigure as part of Series 29’s line of Lego minifigures. All of them features the Brave Toa of Fire, The iconic Tahu.
The Universe of Bionicle
Gathered Friends, Listen Again to the LEgend of The Bionicle:
In the Time Before Time, before the Great Spirit Mata Nui even existed, there was a planet called Spherus MAgna, there lived a race of mysterious geniuses known as The Great Beings. residing over Spherus Magna and it’s organic-mechanical inhabitants, The Glatorian and the smaller Agori, The Great Beings created the elemental Lords, territorial and power hungry entities, to oversee the planet while The Great Beings went on with their other ideas,, alongside one project involving a gigantic robot the size of a planet.
A little over 100,000 years ago, Energized Protodermis was discovered from the core of Spherus Magna. In their greed The elemental Lords divided spherus magna into six factors, based on their element, and fought over the protodermis in a conflict known as THE core War. Meanwhile, The Great Beings were building their planet sized Robot, mata nui, with the tasks to observe Alien Species and societies and to head the damage the Core War. Meanwhile, the Core War reached it’s apocalyptic end in THe Shattering. the struggle for Protodermis caused a chain reaction that broke Spherus Magna to the core, right as the Great Spirit Mata Nui launched off.
And thus Begins the Biological Chronicle.
Inside the Mata Nui Robot, many different Biomechanical species were created by the Great Beings, from the Matoran, small beings devoted to building and maintaining their Great Spirit, to the Makuta, arrogant beings made from Antidermis tasked with the creation of animalistic Rahi to populate the , and many others.
Over the next hundred thousand years many cultures grew, many wars passed, alliances changed, and history went its course until Mata Nui was ready to restore the far away planet of Spherus Magna, And this is where our story finally begins (from a certain point of view).
In the Brain City of Metru Nui, the Makuta Teridax had taken over and disguised himself as the local Turaga Dume and started his slow plan to take over the entire Matoran Universe. Thankfully, a noble Toa by the name of Lhikan foresaw this great evil and brought six Matoran to the Ga-Metru Temple, where they were transformed into the Toa Metru. From there, Vakama and his new Toa Team unveiled a great conspiracy involving putting the Great Spirit to sleep via a virus. In the end, they were powerless to stop The Great Cataclysm. They were, however, able to save the sleeping matoran and bring them to the island above, The great spirit robot’s camouflaged face they called Mata Nui. The toa metru became the new turaga, leaving the matoran to the paradise, before the Makuta followed them from below, corrupting the Rahi into his mindless slaves against the matoran, And for a thousand years, they Endured. And this is where the story of Bionicle Began.
Six Mighty Heroes, Tahu, Gali, Lewa, Pohatu, Kopaka, and Onua, the original Bionicle Sets, landed upon the shores of Mata Nui. Aiding with the turaga and matoran and battling Rahi, Bohrok, Bohrok Kal, and finally the Makuta’s Sons, Rahkshi, before they overcame the wrath of Makuta Himself. But the story wasn’t finished yet.
When newer, direr challenges came upon new islands, the heroes of the next generation, the matoran who have watched their heroes and decided it was their duty to follow the toa Mata’s footsteps, and become toa themselves. This intrepid group, which included Jaller, Hahli and Matoro, were close to some of the most critical chapters of the Bionicle.
The Great Spirit actually died during The Battle of Mahri Nui. AFter much deliberation, Matoro took on the Kanohi Ignika, the Mask of Life, sacrificing his life so that the Great Spirit could live. And thus our original Toa could achieve their destined task…
But when the Great Spirit arose, a calamity was revealed, The MAkuta Teridax had taken over the Great Spirit Robot and Banished Mata Nui from the Matoran Universe. However, there is a silver lining to this dark twist…
The planet that Mata Nui had landed on, a water planet called Aqua Magna, was one of two fractures that orbited a broken desert world called Bara Magna. Here, The Glatorian and Agori survivors of the Great Cataclysm adapted to the harsh desert by adopting a Gladiator-type system of conflict resolution. Here, the organic beings lived on until the Exiled Mata Nui landed on the Desert.
Just as the save Skrall were spreading through Bara MAgna, MAta Nui united the Agori and Glatorian Tribes under one banner against not just one enemy, but many others as the FINAL BATTLE FOR BARA MAGNA took place.
Mata Nui, piloting an ancient massive Prototype Robot, went up against Teridax in the Great Spirit Robot, and the many Heroes and Villains from two worlds collided together. In the great Struggle, Mata Nui was able to defeat Makuta Teridax, causing the end to the Tyrant’s Reign as the two broken fractures that orbited Bara Magna were reunited, and Spherus Magna was finally reformed again at last.
His task done, Mata Nui collapsed, the Prototype robot he piloted collapsed to dust. The united Toa and Glatorian gathered to the site, where they found The Kanohi Ignika, with Mata Nui’s Spirit still inside. The Great Spirit MAta Nui decided to remain within the Mask of Light dormant, allowing new life to grow and go on without The Great Spirit looming above, leaving the future in your hands…