Ikki o' Moopyville

Please make Vezon die soon. Mutt wasn't half as annoying as he is. >_> -Ikk

Vakama looks like something out of a tribal petroglyph in that picture. His mask is a little messed up, but aside from that, I love it. -Ikk

Aw, Vakama looked awesome there... at least he didn't just copy a movie picture like Leigh did. >_> Sayger remains my second favorite Bionicle artist, almost up there with good ol' D'Anda. This one looks rather good too, though! -Ikk

According to his own site, so it is! DAMN he is good! -Ikk

What I like about the current Bionicle mythos is that there are sort of two levels of depth to the story, one main plot that's easy to follow, and then all the extra from the serials and the like. Take this year, for instance. Toa versus Makuta in Karda Nui, save Matoran, find Keystones, awaken the Great Spirit. Even the Makuta's grand scheme could be explained in a line or two. Then, if you're into the deeper universe, the books and serials offered tales from the birth of the Toa Mata to the new adventures of Toa and Matoran all over. I do wish all serials and side-stories would be at the same pace as the Mata flashbacks and BIA, though -- Dark Mirror and Destiny War are just all over and with pretty much none detail. Even so, I love the simple outline of this year. That's where particularly 2005 and 2007 suffered IMO, and somewhat the latter half of 2006 too (I remember reading Island of Doom, though -- agreed with Gunnar, the year started off on a fantastic note, save some aspects of the Piraka! =P). I'm hoping for a straightforward story next year too -- something along the lines of the opposing tribes each sending their best warriors, the Glatorian, to fight off Tuma's rock tribe legions. For serials, anything that delves into Agori culture would be a most welcome thing! Having said that, I hope a lot of the mythical feel that was lacking during teh first half of this year returns to glory in 2009. It would fit right in. -Ikk

All right, back to 2009. XD I am most curious as to the nature of the Bara Magnians -- if they are fully or partially mechanical, someone would have had to either create or modify them at some point. And since we know it was not the Great Beings, as well as the fact that Greg has stated there are no plans of introducing a new pantheon, the most likely option is that these beings are organic. Likely with some shells though, since they have pistons, and look mechanical. Possibly exoskeletons built from the leftover parts of the construction of Mata Nui? -Ikk

Fun debate here. Let's see if I can explain some more of my views -- 2001 - this year started in February for us lucky Europeans, plus we had no comics. Maybe it's just that I love this story so much and see so many possibilities for tales within it... it's the one year for whose story I keep creating stories of my own. And yes, 2001-era written stories would be awesome. 2002 - The Nuva looked all right, and the Bohrok are to this day my favorite sets -- and the mystery of energized protodermis was definitely a good one. Still seemed a bit too much a like a rehash of 2001... a good rehash, though. 2003 - Great movie animation, I'll admit that, and a nice story idea... just way too repetitive for a story in its third year. 2004 - totally forgot Lhikan, Kikanalo, and Nivawk! The titans were not too shabby at the time, and the L&K set still remains my favorite. The lack of colorful sets worked this one time because all the colors were new, which rocked. 2005 - forgot the timeline confusion, since I never paid much attention to comics in those days, probably due to the horrible art. =P Reading only the books made for a really epic year, actually, and a staggeringly dark one too. Plus, the Hagah rocked. =D 2006 - I actually did love a lot of the story, but it seemed like a lot of the characters were trying too hard to break the mold. Some more exploration of Voya Nui would have been great too. And I really don't like humor in villains. =P Found it just plain cheesy. Many fantastic aspects of this year though, mainly in story and set colors. 2007 - Best sets since the Metru, the Mahri and especially Barraki ROCKED. The confusing storyline was mainly due to the serials, I think, but it's not too clear in my mind. The whole development of the action, the insight in Matoran culture, and the godlike conflicts at the end came together with greatly innovative sets to form one of my favorite overall years. Plus, the story feel was much more like that of an Ancient Greek tale than one of Polynesian mythology. Nice change, actually. 2008 - I loved some of the Makuta, mainly Icarax, Krika, and Gorast. There was little to no Matoran involvement though, which was a waste of potential. Also, this year had without a doubt the most bland setting in the history of science fantasy. When I hear of a 'world that feeds the world', I want to see a golden subterranean sea lit by suns in every color, dotted with volcanic isles with mysterious forests. Or, in fact anything other than mud and rocks. Serials rock this year though. 2009 - It's like 2001, only with more story! =D -Ikk

Okay, here are my problems with each year, story-wise -- just my thoughts. ;-) 2001 - too short, wanted more of that awesome world. =D 2002 - a tad repetitive and the ending seemed like a silly power upgrade in a game. Nuva fail. 2003 - way repetitive with the Kal, plus Mask of Light. Enough said, I should think. 2004 - secondary colors would have been nice, and so would good titans. 2005 - had much potential that was not explored, but still one of the best years in terms of story. Sets are horrendous for the most part. 2006 - horrible humor, too many powers, horribly simplified builds with not even variety to make up for it. Too much rubber and gimmicks. 2007 - again with the humor, though less. Squids. Bit of a confusing / convoluted plot, though not that bad. 2008 - the fantasy/mythology aspect entirely lacking until the Awakening. Up 'til then it was mostly random battles. 2009 - none so far! -Ikk

2005 had a fantastic story. It was '03, '06, and part of '08 that failed. And the end of '02, come to think of it. =P -Ikk

www.bioniclestory.com now has the all the videos in one uncut, narrated version! Despite their individual brevity they together make for a smashing closure to this saga. =D Well done, Ghost & Bink. Also, DID6 is up... seems like The Makuta is gaining control of his new shape. -Ikk

XD at hands. It may also mean they are organic, though for the story to match the sets, the Bara Magnians would at least have to wear exo-skeletons of some sort. Actually, that would be a fantastically cool thing. ^_^ -Ikk

I vote for a Bionicle game in classic 90s platform style, much like the Mata Nui-esque Donald Duck in Cold Shadow seen above. -Ikk

The Binkopter goes fail fail fail fail fail. >_> -Ikk

Looks good, except for the fact that the Island of Mata Nui is seven times the size of Metru Nui. XD But the map is obviously disproprionate still -- just look at Voya Nui! A hole the size of that letting water in for a millenium would sure have flooded the entirety of the universe. Then there is, of course, the piston problem, since there is hardly space for twin continents in Mata Nui's upper body, and his waist is too small as well. Probably stems from the fact that Ghost had no idea MN had a universe inside him, while the mapmakers were unaware of MN having pistons in his mid-section. Porblem can easily be fixed by moving that section a bit lower, though, giving room for both continents in his upper body. -Ikk

Throughout the last couple of years, the Great Beings have seemed to me more and more like aliens -- if any of you are familiar with ancient astronaut theories, this would be a similar case. Otherwordly lifeforms that some time in the distant past initiated the construction of modern civilization, and in return were portrayed by man as gods. If that's the case, dang awesome. -Ikk

They're for holdin' the life-counters. -Ikk

I KNEW IT. 1) Very good, T. 2) I can't discuss the cosmology of the universe, as that is dealt with in future storyline ~T11~ Man, this is fantastic! -Ikk

http://biosector01.com/wiki/images/1/1b/Matoran_Universe.png Not sure if this was already posted in full, but here comes the still humorously disproportionate Map of the Great Spirit! And I don't know WHY Lego insists on using this new type of CGI. It makes the sets look absolutely terrible. <_> -Ikk

Yes, it looks very cool. Alas, the proportions are so badly off that the entire Matoran universe could fit inside Mata Nui's neck if we were to adhere to this version. Ghost's portrayal isn't much better though, what with the HUGE piston-filled gap that leaves to room for a Southern Continent. Still gives a nice, if very rough idea, though. -Ikk

SEVERELY disproportioned map. Original topic. -Ikk

YES. SAND. My dream has come true. Now, we just need for the other tribes to be Metal, Wood, Lava, Crystal, and Mist. -Ikk

To be blunt, anything else would be unnatural. Bionicle's target group is boys ages 7-12, so naturally those are going to make up the majority of a fansite dedicated to the series. My only issue is the intelligence of those kids. At least Omi is gone now XD -Ikk

Sounds like three planets to me -- Bara Magna, Spherus Magna, and Endless Ocean Magna. Oddness. -Ikk

Have anyone in this community read any of Matthew Reilly's novels, more specificially the stories involving Jack West? I picked up Seven Ancient Wonders and the Six Sacred Stones this summer, and only just now finished the last bit of SSS -- having always loved stories of treasure hunting, mystery, and ancient relics, these books rank alongside Tolkien's tales to me! Reilly justr recently announced a lot of goodies about the third -- and from the sounds of it, final -- book in the Jack West series, the Five Greatest Warriors. It's a long wait, but sounds like it'll sure be worth it. Any fellow MR fans out there? =D -Ikk

Due to the partial uproar over names such as Teridax, Helryx, and so on in the recent years of Bionicle, people have contributed with their own suggestions for what would be suitable names for various characters. Unlike the Maori patterns of the first year, Bionicle has in later years moved over to English-based words, which has sparked some 'Maorification' of names such as those of the Makuta. I already opted for Taërokha instead of Teridax. So, I'm curious, which Bionicle characters' names would you change -- and to what? -Ikk