Honestly I think it’s probably because of the long-term fandom misconception that he’s a robot. A big, central (usually red), cycloptic eye is one of the go-to aesthetics for robot enemies.
Dang that’s pretty hardcore
Ooh, quite like this actually.
I’d imagine it at least partially originates from the misconception about Marendar being a robot. Those tend to be one-eyed purple people eaters.
Snap, I remember that BZPower Marendar! It appeared in that guy’s continuation story as well I believe.
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Unless I’m misremembering, wasn’t that contest originally supposed to be a robot inside the Great Maze but was later repurposed for Hero Factory? Or was it always supposed to be HF?
But yeah, Marendar was created by Greg for the serials, it had nothing to do with that moc.
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I remember TTV talking about it in one of their podcasts, saying something along the lines of it being made for BIONICLE, and then being co-opted for Hero Factory. Can’t remember the exact specifics though, unless someone drags up the exact podcast episode I’m thinking of.
Or someone can just “@” Var, seeing as how he originally made it. Not me though, I’m too much of a coward.
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I hadn’t heard anything about a robot inside the Great Maze, but according to HEROsector01:
“Silver” was created by BZPower member Varderan for their BIONICLE Based Creation Contest 53
I didn’t say it did. I wasn’t involved in the community that early on and honestly don’t remember this contest, but I’ve seen people attribute this MOC to Marendar and develop headcanons around it, whether they are correct or not to do so. It still could be the inspiration for a lot of the one eyed Marendar MOCs.
EDIT: Greg said he had no idea what the BBC 53 contest was for.
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Concept. Marendar looks just like big Toa. So no one can really get right away that he’s what it is
I’ve always imagined Marendar as a being whose power is understated but instantly recognizable when you see it in action. Broad and imposing, but in a kind of elegant way that’s not super flashy. No giant guns or lasers or anything, just some strong fists and maybe a single melee weapon. I’d assume some kind of elemental power-negation is build into its armor, letting it basically tank any attacks from Toa and respond by just completely physically overpowering them. I don’t think we’ve ever had a character quite like that and it would be pretty chilling if he was just designed to kill Toa through sheer brute force.
Also, I think he’d look neat with a Krana for a face and anyone who agrees is free to steal that idea lol
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That model - Silver from Hero Factory - is the embodiment of what I DON’T want to see from Marendar contest.
It is exactly because of that misconception you mentioned, that the current view of most people unfortunately seems to be a big hulking mech or a mindless brute.
And even though the misconcpetion has been debunked many times in the past, people still hold this view, even if subconsciously.
I will never miss an oportunity to remind others that Marendar is not some gaint automaton like an oversized Exo-Toa, but a highly specialized hunter and assasin.
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First off he is not a robot in the first place. Marendar is biomechanical just like MU inhabitants.
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He is at least roughly humanoid shape - greater in stature than a Toa, but not towering over them.
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He is a fully sapient and inteligent being.
Once the Marendar contest comes around in a couple of years, each entrant should have a very clear idea of how their own Marendar functions, how he deals with the Toa, what inspired them to make it that way, etc. I wish to see entrants put a lot of thought into their creations - not just make a random mech and call it a day.
Luckily I see more and more people actually making more creative Marendar’s.
The fact that many aspects of Marendar are left for individual interpretation, offers an amazing plane of opportunities for very creative and exotic visions.
It would be sad to see it all bleached in favor of something as mundane as a walking tank.
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I think part of why a lot of people believe this misconception is because they hear that it’s a “living weapon” and want to slap machine guns and such all over it for this reason.
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(i’m just gonna ignore all of those)
But you can’t… remember canon contest?
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I feel like the best direction for Marendar is one with more of a horror slant. No cannons, no blades, just the Bionicle Terminator. No matter what you throw at him, whatever powers you wield, he just keeps coming, always marching towards his prey until there’s nowhere left to run. There was one drawing posted here, I forget by whom, of a Marendar with a rectangular head, some claws, but an otherwise normal figure. It made him scary in the way Omni-Man is scary, to an extent: shaped like a man, but an unstoppable god underneath. That’s #mymarendar. If you want a giant mechanical titan, we’ve already got Maxilos to fill that niche–but I think the potential end of all our childhood heroes deserves something more ominous.
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It was by @NOTaHFfan
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Yep, I think you’re describing my Marendar drawing from a while ago!
I’m glad that you like it, since my Marendar MOC was heavily inspired by that drawing and has a similar vibe.
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Yes, Marendar is the Bionicle Terminator.
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As a bionicle fan who first read the serials back in 2013, I always felt Marendar would be the one character in the story who could fit using CCBS, if only to fit the meta angle of the “Toa Killer” being built out of the “Bionicle Killer” system.
GSB could work too I suppose, since he’s so wack.
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My Marendar, at the moment, uses only pieces released during Gen 1. This is partly because I own mostly gen 1 pieces. Other reason is, I like the tought that someone could have build it back in 2010.
But the custom head and misc other things cause problems so I will probably use gen 2 parts in the end.
I think Hero factory was the “toa killer” construction method since it came after Bionicle. Marendar using hero factory pieces could be intriguing since they were the next step to bionicle and Marendar is meant to be a very advanced.
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