Can Calyx

This was at my Wal Mart. Have we gotten confirmation that Gresh was once Vastus?

I had considered buying Toa Ignika for the mask alone- knowing I can now get it in a canister, with new pieces, (for more than the discount on S@H though...), but in GOLD... Thank goodness.

Started with Axonn. He was shorter than the Toa Inika... I have not revealed it and have not used it. What, you think Heroes isn't ripping off all it's atrocious storyline from better sources? Most fiction (even good fiction) follows familiar tropes. As long as it's done well, stylistically, and brings something new to the idea, then it's not really a problem. I mean, The Dark Knight was God vs Satan (and all stories/myths similar to that which came *before* the Bible).

I like Tarix more than Gresh, in pretty much every way. Mostly that damn claw-as-armor stuff...

My Toys'r'us, which had the Glatorian on December 13th (including Tuma), was completely sold out of almost every bionicle set aside from an entire two shelves of Mahri. Terrible sets anyway, but if they ever marked Hahli down to $5, I'd grab her.

The person in the shadows is Berix. Dwellers in the Darkness #9 was excellent, if not just a huge cliffhanger for Reign of Shadows (which should be weekly...given the amount of threads left).

Destiny War #9 was the worst written of the series, despite the fact that it lived up to the "war" title the most. As excellent as this year's summer serials have been, I think they intertwined a little too much. I can't wait for Reign of Darkness (despite the overusage of Darkness in Bionicle titles).

Agreed. Skrall (and Vorox) are the only two I won't be getting (Malum, Gresh, and Tarix for Christmas, maybe Strakk later on).

Aside from his new parts, Malum's pretty lame. His shoulder armor is just plain stupid. I do, however, love the new launchers. It's the way a launcher should be: small, easy to ignore. Standing him next to all the previous red sets (the only colour I've ever bought every one of), he's still lower on my list than either Jaller set (especially Mahri, my personal favorite red toa), but leagues better than that tepid excuse for a Tahu Nuva we were given in 2008. The best part about 2009 is that the sets are exactly what we deserved in 2008. The worst part is that 2008 wasted the return of Bionicle's original characters. God, 2008 sets were rancid. It still irks me, however, just how silmilar the builds are for the Glatorian to the previous three years. Everyone used to whine about clone sets (on bzp especially; it was like a fad), and I used to explain to them that we'd just end up with (essentially) clone years. Three years later, I was totally frigging right.

It means Mata Nui will be released in the slot reserved for the January 2009 Tan set- not that he'll be a tan set. Remember Avak being brown with Hewkii yellow, or Pohatu Orange with Bitil Yellow? In the section once reserved for Brown (which, honestly, I never understood in the first place), it seems there is always room for shifting colors.

I learned not to get my hopes up for long-awaited sets when I saw the bastardizations of my beloved Nuva. As we've seen from 2006 (the Matatoran-Toa) and the 2008 Nuva, sets arn't designed with a character in mind. Sigh. I'll have to get the Ignika some time, if only to have the *real* Mask of Life.

(A worthwhile point to make- after the Bohrok we haven’t really had a year with totally new pieces.) 2004 was quite a shift in pieces used. Anyway- 2001 is, for you, the best year- because of nostalgia. For any fan, the first year is usually the best, because Bionicle still had that magic. Though I started in 2001 (and have, since I saw the first teaser, questioned the use of Rock instead of Electricity), 2006 is my favorite year, because that was when I got back into it in a major way after 2005. I'm not saying you're wrong about 2001 being the best year- it was certainly one of the most innovative. But the storyline now, beyond nostalgia, is much deeper, much more interesting than the mystery we were originally confronted with. Mixing this with new mystery, like we had in 2001, is the perfect move for the series.

Bah. 2005 was one of the worst years. 2001, 2004, and 2006 were all top-notch stories. Coincidentally, they're also the starter years for their respectful sagas... heh. I have high hopes for 2009, despite the woeful lack of redesign when it comes to the sets.

I'm glad Greg managed to bring us into this universe fluidly, as opposed to a cold restart. The knowledge of Mata Nui becoming a character later in the year helps me love this new universe while not mourning the loss of the old..

He's going to turn all the Toa into Cupcakes.

1) The impetus was the feeling that the "wake Mata Nui" had 1) dragged on so long and 2) gotten so complex that it had become almost impossible for new fans to walk in and figure out what was going on -- a potential barrier to them getting into the franchise. So it was decided to wrap up this chapter and start a new one. 2) Since 2000. Mata Nui's appearance and nature was specified in the original story bible. 3) I can't discuss this Damn. It's been in the works since 2000? Awesome.

The reason he revealed the Nuva wouldn't die is because it wasn't part of this year's big twist at all. In fact, saying the Nuva survive leads most people to infer that they win- which is not the case.

Why bother?

I'm very pleased with the 2009 sets. If only their basic builds weren't still the exact same pieces as the last two years. Perhaps I'll get Maium, though, and the small green one. Interesting masks/ pieces. And the White canister set- nice nice nice armor. Best white set since Thok.

I'm very pleased with the 2009 sets. If only their basic builds weren't still the exact same pieces as the last two years. Perhaps I'll get Maium, though, and the small green one. Interesting masks/ pieces. And the White canister set- nice nice nice armor. Best white set since Thok.

These sets certainly arn't worth $13 to me. But then, the dollar is losing value- take solice in the fact that you're paying $13 in 2008 dollar value, as opposed to 1990s dollar value. Still sucks. Ah well, I would've only purchased Onua and Jetrax anyway.

I myself dislike the new Nuva because they're constructed of entirely old pieces. We've had the same building instructions for three years now, and it's getting old. They're not worth my $10, because I already paid as much for them two years ago. It would have been nice to have new pieces for the heroes most of us grew up with. It's not that the Toa Nuva don't look like themselves- they just look no different from every other Toa now. Which is a shame.