Speed, I am Speed.

Lore incoming in 3, 2…

You say pohatu, I say potato

Pohatu in Maori means stone. But all I see is plastic!

Pohatu: "Knock knock."
Takanuva: "Who's there?"
Pohatu: "Orange."
Takanuva: "Orange who?"
Pohatu: "Orange you glad I'm not brown this time?"
Takanuva: "... No, Pohatu, you looked better in brown."

@WemWem said:
"Lore incoming in 3, 2…"

I'm not GSR, but I'll do the best I can.

So after the chicanery of the 2007 wave, the core of the planet opened up. The previous bad guy, Makuta, apparently has brothers and sisters, and they are the enemy residing in the core swamp. The previous 6 Toa from 2001 got flight suit facelifts to help combat the enemy, and Pohatu got the claw arms and half mask. They ditched the original brown since brown bionicle figures rarely sells well.

So before we get into the lore for this one, Christian Faber released an interesting video a while back, and I’ve been sitting on this breakdown of what happened in my Docs for a while.

Now before we get into the meat and potatoes there are a few things to keep in mind about Christian Faber. First: He’s best known as one of the co-creators of BIONICLE, with many considering him THE creator of the franchise because of how much he contributed. But this isn’t all that he did. He was involved in some way, shape, or form in just about every LEGO Original IP from the original run of Pirates through the ill-fated BIONICLE Gen 2 reboot.

Second: He is at his core a concept guy. A lot of information that comes from him is less a final product and more a possible path. He tends to come up with 3-10 potential stories or directions to take things. Actual story writers like Greg Farsthey then take this information to figure out how it would actually work and try and fit it into the narrative. This means that some of his ideas clash or contradict each other, as none of them are finalized. If any of you remember me talking about the Well of Time before and think this doesn’t mesh, that’s probably why.

Third: Faber has a very… fascinating mind. He has a unique way of looking at the world and philosophy on life that shaped things like BIONICLE and Rebel Nature in great ways. However, he’s also a bit of a nutter, and this video is probably the most tin-foil-hat-conspiracy-theory-like I have ever seen him. That said, if I’m understanding what he’s getting at right, it’s a very interesting story concept. I’m gonna try to simplify it and make it more logical, but I’m sure to some people this is still gonna sound like something Bruce Wayne would leave in the toilet at Arkham. I’d also like to specify that this is my understanding. He didn’t literally say a few of these points, but he threw out a bunch of concepts to get ideas flowing and inspire new ideas, so this is my idea.

And finally on a more personal note: As you guy’s know I’m a real LEGO lore nut. I’ve personally always had an interest in how LEGO original themes crossover and coexist. For example Solomon Blaze existing in both Galaxy Squad and Ultra Agents, or Chima being one of the 16 realms of Ninjago. For a while now I’ve been working on my own evidence and theories for trying to link all themes together, even making a more embellished and headcanon filled timeline, and this… this is a big piece of evidence.

So Faber had this concept he proposed for Gen 2 or BIONICLE that never really took off known as the Well of Time. The Well of Time never made it into the final product, but as his NDA’s with LEGO have expired and he’s found new platforms to share his ideas we’ve been slowly drip fed info on what the Well of Time was supposed to be. (And before we get into that properly, it’s worth noting Faber had a real love of melding the lines between story and toy. Toa Canisters are both in-universe vehicles and the toy’s packaging. Makuta is both an ancient eldritch evil and a representation of a loose pile of bricks in a drawer)

The Well of Time is essentially an ancient and sentient point of creation and destruction at the core of the LEGO universe/multiverse, and is meant to be a stand-in/representation of person playing with LEGO. The Well of Time dictates what ultimately happens in different LEGO worlds, and how they do or do not link together. Beings can even enter the Well of Time to travel to other worlds.

For a long time there’s been debate as to whether all LEGO themes are completely separate, if they coexist in one universe, or if they exist across a multiverse. The Well of Time essentially makes all of these viewpoints true. As the player you have the ultimate authority in deciding what does and doesn’t fit together and how. How can the Black Seas Barracuda both wind up stuck in a tree in LEGO Universe and on a deserted island in Ideas? That’s up to you. It is an in-universe link between our reality and their’s, and between any and all of theirs, that can twist spa

For a long time there’s been debate as to whether all LEGO themes are completely separate, if they coexist in one universe, or if they exist across a multiverse. The Well of Time essentially makes all of these viewpoints true. As the player you have the ultimate authority in deciding what does and doesn’t fit together and how. How can the Black Seas Barracuda both wind up stuck in a tree in LEGO Universe and on a deserted island in Ideas? That’s up to you. It is an in-universe link between our reality and their’s, and between any and all of theirs, that can twist space and time to its own desires. Its infinitude allows any and all interpretations to be simultaneously true, and any and all potential outcomes to happen.

But that’s not all the Well of Time does. As the center of the LEGO reality it extends its will into the different LEGO worlds. A lot of LEGO themes have similar concepts and aesthetics that cross over with each other. While in real life this is just designers falling back on concepts they know work to keep things marketable, in-universe this is the Well of Time exerting the same will in different locations in slightly different ways (IMO, similar to how the Force is often depicted in Star Wars.)

The main example Faber gave himself was the Energy Crystals (the sources of power that first appeared in Aquazone and later in things like Rock Raiders and Power Miners,) Quaza (the crystalized powersource that severed as hearts for the HERO Factory,) and Protodermis (the living metal through which the Matoran Universe was built/grown) are all manifestations of the Well of Time’s creative vision and imagination, used to drive the world forward.

And by drive forward he means that in many ways. In the LEGO reality they drive how the world functions and works as power sources. In story they function as things for our characters to desire and fight over and move the plot forward. In real life they function as incentive for people to buy the sets and something to have your toys compete for. They pump life both figuratively and literally into the world.

I’d like to add on to that thought of Faber’s with 4 of my own. 1. I always assumed Imagination from LEGO Universe was the same thing as Chi from Chima. Faber referring to these magic substances as the Well of Time’s imagination adds credence to that and implies Crux is an entrance to the well. It always bugged me that the Energy Crystals in Aquazone were all silver while in every other theme they were transparent and colorful. Perhaps the Aquazone Crystals are closer related to Protodermis while the others are closer to Quaza. Something that didn’t bug me as much but I still found strange was that the Voltstones from Insectoids had the same color and story purpose as the Energy Crystals in Mars Mission and Rock Raiders, despite being shaped by the native bug’s eggs. Maybe the “inner world” or more specifically the “inner sun” of Holox is another portal into the Well and its lifeforce? Similar to Protodermis being living metal, perhaps these Volstones are trying to match local lifeforms, or vice-versa. Finally it’s worth noting that a lot of Energy Crystal-looking objects have been used to open portals over LEGO’s history. The Atlantis Keys, the Moonstones, the Realm Crystal. If entering the Well of Time allows space-time travel, it makes sense if crystals that grow from it’s portals could be used to make a new portal.

I did also leave out one little thing Faber mentioned. While listing the different forms this energy could take he also mentioned Lightstones. This is a little odd because in the canon Lightstones are just a form of Protodermis, so specifically signaling them out implies there is something special about them compared to Protosteel or Liquid Protodermis. To get into personal speculation, most BIONICLE fans consider Lightstones to be in the same family as Heatstones, Knowledge Crystals, and (albeit less often) Toa Stones. The potential of Knowledge Crystals and Quaza being the same thing gives extra credence to the longstanding fan theory that the

The potential of Knowledge Crystals and Quaza being the same thing gives extra credence to the longstanding fan theory that the “eyestalks” on BIONICLE characters were actually their crystalline brains.

Crystals aren’t the only form Faber mentioned of this cosmic will coming into fruition. He specifically called out the similar environments of Aquazone and HERO Factory: Invasion from Below as being the type of geological formation that forms around sources of this imagination/life energy where the crystals grow. IMO the base of the Silver Sea in BIONICLE also resembles this. Maybe this association with hexagons and the origin of life is what (in-universe) inspired the near-religious prevalence of the number 6 in BIONICLE?

An example I can personally think of that Faber doesn’t mention. I always thought The Maelstrom, The Overlord, Von Nebula, and Antimatter all felt similar, either aesthetically or powerwise, but none of them were identical. Perhaps “swirling purple vortex that can mind control people or transport things through space” is just the way the concept of “evil” manifests through the Well? And I’m gonna cut that conversation off there ‘cause I could keep listing odd parallels between themes for days.

To tie things back to BIONICLE, alongside this reveal was a planned retcon Faber had for Gen 1. The Codrex (Mata Nui’s heart) was going to be an attempt by the Great Beings to create an artificial Well of Time, in order to provide infinite power and creativity to their own creation.

One of the core story elements of BIONICLE is people overthrowing or playing god, resulting in a world overseen by fallible gods, leading to the common man breaking free from their control to fix their mistakes. The idea of the Great Beings full on recrecreating god because they needed a *power plant* is an excellent example of their hubris.

So uhm… yeah. Ramble over. I'll get Pohatu's lore done soon. It's largely the same as Tahu's from like a week ago so I'll try to focus more on personality than story details.

Faber is a bit wild, but when he gets creative you can see why he was crucial to spurring ideas in stuff like Bionicle. I do wonder how much is lost in translation though, I gather English is his second language and wish I knew Danish to grasp the concepts in his native tongue.

I felt Alistar Swinnerton was the grounding rod for Bionicle in the early years though, the writer who could take the wild visions and ground them in a usable Story Bible guys like Greg Fashtey, Templar Studios and Henry Gilroy could reference. I feel like Swinerton leaving the team and Greg climbing the ranks within LEGO becoming the main voice of Bionicle's finished products lost some of the magical tone the early years had.

Of all the "adaptive armor" Toa Nuva, the "Phantoka" set of Kopaka, Lewa, and Pohatu had the most resemblance to their original Nuva forms. Granted, I never expected the Toa Nuva to look exactly the same as they had since 2002-2003, but I would've appreciated some new armor molds so they didn't look like totally recycled and recolored parts. In Pohatu's case, this is minimized by the newfound dominance of orange in the color scheme and the distinctive, streamlined Kanohi Kakama, not to mention those Kodan climbing claws transformed into piton propellers! And like previous incarnations of Pohatu, he is shorter and squatter than the rest of the Toa Nuva.

With the return of the Toa Nuva to the main storyline in 2008, I looked forward to the continued friendship of Kopaka and Pohatu. This was a foundational part of BIONICLE to me, going back to their introduction in the very first BIONICLE comic book in May 2001. With the Toa Nuva's teleportation to Karda Nui, the core of the universe, by Arthaka, Tahu decided they should split up to search for the Mask of Life and the way to awaken Mata Nui. Tahu took Gali and Onua into the swampy bottom of the core, while Kopaka, Lewa, and Pohatu stayed to aid the Matoran of Light surviving in the upper levels of the Karda Nui ceiling. There, they engaged three nasty (but blinded) Makuta named Chirox, Antroz, and Vamprah. Collectively, "Phantoka" referred to both Toa Nuva and Makuta of these aerial regions, and as such, literally means "spirits of the sky".

With the arrival of Makuta Icarax and Mutran's increased involvement, the three Toa Nuva realized they were outgunned. Only the arrival of Toa Ignika, the Mask of Life in physical form, helped to turn the tide of battle and allow the Toa Nuva to reunite to form a dedicated assault on all of the Makuta in Karda Nui that were trying to gain access to the Codrex, the device that would reawaken Mata Nui once and for all.

Thanks to certain hidden keystones, the Toa Nuva were able to enter the Codrex. There they discovered massive aerial vehicles. One of these, the Rockoh T3, was piloted by Pohatu in an attempt to take down the Makuta Antroz, who stole the Jetrax T6. After the Codrex was activated and Mata Nui began to awake, Pohatu and the other Toa Nuva used the vehicles to rescue any remaining Matoran and take them outside the Codrex before the energy storm obliterated everything within Karda Nui.

While successful, the Toa Nuva were deceived, for the battles in Karda Nui were all a massive feint to allow the leader of the Makuta to transfer his mind into Mata Nui's planet-sized body. Therefore, as Makuta exerted his control over every land inside the Matoran Universe, Pohatu and the other Toa Nuva became leaders of resistance against the Makuta and his armies of Rahkshi and other foul things that multiplied as the dark spirit sought to fully exert his control over all existence. Pohatu and the other Toa Nuva (sans Tahu, who had a special mission of his own) battled the forces of evil as Mata Nui himself dueled Makuta. In the apocalyptic aftermath of Makuta's defeat, Pohatu and the others found a new paradise in the reunified world of Spherus Magna.

Pohatu was one of the six Toa Mata/Nuva, the "Spirit Heroes" destined to reawaken Mata Nui if anything happened to him. He was a Toa of Stone. Friendly and easy-going, Pohatu was a lot more pacifist than his brothers, and if he did get involved in combat he usually preferred to not use a weapon and instead engage with them fist to fist. He was often bad at taking hints, attempting to befriend or show kindness to people no matter how many times they insist he go away, which can often make him pestering or overbearing.

As the Toa of Stone he was cable of controlling rocks and boulders, and he had a personal fondness of looking for fracture points in stone structures to crumble them to dust. He loved to play the Po-Koran sport of Kohlii.

According to (non-canon) Matoran Legend, Pohatu was the twin brother of Onua, Toa of Earth. The two were born second to Tahu, formed from the magma of the world cooling into a hardened surface. In truth, he was forged by the crafter Artakha.

Like his brothers Pohatu participated in the Quest for the Masks, Bohrok War, Bohrok-Kal's strike, Search for the Toa of Light, the Voyage to Voya Nui, completing the Scroll of Preparations, the fight in Karda Nui, and Journey's End.

When the Toa arrived on Mata Nui, Pohatu and Kopaka met each other separately from the other four's meeting. Kopaka was the loner of the group, but over time would form a begrudging friendship with the Toa of Stone, and the two would become the closest duo of the team.

Once during the Quest for the Masks Pohatu followed Takua when he was investigating a plague harming Po-Koro. They traced the plague to infected Kohlii Balls inside a Nui Jaga cave. The scorpion used it's venom to blind Pohatu, so Takua guided his shots as he kicked rocks into support pillars to collapse the cave.

During the Bohrok War the carver Taipu agreed to knock down the statues and monuments he had spent years carving to block the entrance to Po-Koro and keep the Bohrok out of his village. Pohatu rescued the carver last minute.

During the Bohrok-Kal's strike they stole the Toa's elemental power. At one point Pohatu had a run in with Gahlok-Kal, the Bohrok of Magnetism, who used their power to attach a bunch of goats to Pohatu and slow him down. He wished Takua not to Chronicle this adventure.

During the Search for the Toa of Light Pohatu was visiting Onu-Koro when the Rahkshi attacked, searching for the herald of the Mask. Pohatu and Onua would up buried in a cave-in during the fight, but were rescued by Whenua (or Kopaka. '03's timeline is whack.) Whenua taught them about Kraata worms and how they controlled the Rahkshi.

While completing the Scroll of Preparations Pohatu used his powers to collapse the Dark Hunter's Fortress (who are essentially the BIONICLE mafia.)

This set depicts Adaptive Pohatu. After completing the Scroll of Preparations, the Toa Nuva were gifted suits of Adaptive Armor that could alter their shape to fit their environment and were teleported to Karda Nui, the core of the Universe. There the Adaptive Armor provided them with the power of flight. The Toa split up in two teams of three. Pohatu, Kopaka, and Lewa stayed in the skies to protect the Matoran villagers, where Pohatu befriended the Matoran Photok. Pohatu and Lewa's jovial and take-nothing-seriously personalities often ground down Kopaka's patience. At one point Pohatu used his Mask of Speed to move so fast he could phase through rock in order to free his brothers when they were captured.

At the end of their tenure in Karda Nui the Toa learned that activating the Codrex would result in energy storms that would wipe out all life in Karda Nui. However, the Codrex had three vehicles that could help people escape its storms. Pohatu chose the Rockoh T3, and used it to help his brothers escape.

Pohatu assisted in the many rebellions of the Reign of Shadows and the final battle of Journey's End. During the series epilogue, he and Kopaka teamed up to solve a murder mystery where Karzahni (basically BIONICLE Satan) was seemingly murdered by Toa Lesovikk. Du

Pohatu assisted in the many rebellions of the Reign of Shadows and the final battle of Journey's End. During the series epilogue, he and Kopaka teamed up to solve a murder mystery where Karzahni (basically BIONICLE Satan) was seemingly murdered by Toa Lesovikk. During the investigation they ended up uncovering the murder of Tren Krom (essentially BIONICLE Cuthulu.) This epilogue story was never finished, but the last officially released chapter involved Kopaka and Pohatu discovering the Red Star was actually a space station full of zombies. It's a whole thing.

Pohatu wore the Kanohi Kakama, the Mask of Speed, which allowed him to move at supersonic speeds. As a Toa Nuva he could move even faster and share his power with his brothers. His Adaptive Armor gave him a pair of gauntlets that could function as propellers to fly or drills to brake through stone. He wore a shoulder mounted Midak Skyblaster which allowed him to fire sphere's of solidified light. Pohatu helped name the weapon, naming it after the Onu-Matoran Midak, who unlike most Matoran of Earth actually enjoyed sunlight and helped maintain relations and facilitate travel on the Onu-Po-Koro Highway.

I'm not the only one who still calls this guy Toa Potato, right?

It would appear that Male Pattern Baldness is canon in Bionicle...

@rople said:
"Also, he was an Imperial Inquisitor, before it was cool."
People dog on the Inquisitors for flying around with the lightsabers, but I just thought of it like Aang and his staff since Dave Filoni worked on the first season of Airbender. Now according to the lore, the lightsabers do have repulserlift tech, but I always just assumed they were using the force to pull air through the lightsaber to create some sort of lift, even if that makes no sense when you start thinking about it. The point is, everyone thinks it's lame except for me, and I wait for the day it's used in a live action movie or show. It will still be hated by many, but I'll shed a tear for how bold they were to go through with it.

@GSR_MataNui:
Wait, so someone murdered Bionicle Satan and Bionicle Cthulhu, and they were investigating these incidents? What were they planning to do, arrest them or pin a medal on them?

@AndyB1 said:
"You say pohatu, I say potato "

An Idaho exclusive set.