Question about Jaller and Noble Hau

Ask Ask Greg
1

So, at the end of Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui, there was a scene that really confused me.
When Jaller came out of his matoran canister, his original mask had been damaged. By the looks of it, it had been a Noble Komau, the same mask that Turaga Onewa wears.
Then, Turaga Vakama gave Jaller the Noble Hau that Turaga Lhikan had once worn. But when it was put on Jaller’s face, the mask suddenly transformed, reverting back to what I assume is a Great Hau, based on Jaller’s set.
So, this scene left me with a lot of questions:

  1. Why did the Noble Hau revert when Jaller wore it? It has been previously stated that matoran are capable of wearing noble masks, and it was shone that Jaller was wearing a noble mask prior. Was this due to Creative License, or was it for the sake of continuity to Jaller’s design in the sets and movies that took place later in the timeline?

  2. Did the Noble Hau revert to a Great Hau? In Jaller’s set, he seems to be wearing a Great Hau. However, it has also been previously stated that it is impossible for matoran to wear Great Kanohi. Is Jaller capable of wearing Great Masks, or is it just a matoran Hau designed to look like a great Hau?
    A response would be greatly appreciated.

By the way, this was the scene I was talking about, for reference:

2 Likes
2

Okay, a few things:

  • Jaller’s original mask was presumably a Matoran/powerless Komau - there’s no reason to assume it was a noble one just because it was in the shape of one.

  • Lhikan’s mask was still a noble Hau when Jaller wore it; it’s referred to as such in the 2006 books (specifically Inferno).

  • Is there a source for Matoran not being able to continually wear Great masks? We know they can at least put them on briefly, as Hewkii does so in Island of Doom - though Matoran can’t access any kind of mask powers.

  • As for your main question: Lhikan’s Hau did indeed change to the shape of a Great Hau when Jaller put it on, but it was still a noble Hau. There isn’t any official story reason for why this happened, though, so I’d be interested to know if Greg has an answer.

4 Likes
5

But also in that movie, the Matoran version of Onewa wore a matoran Komau, and it looked nothing like the mask that Jaller originally wore.

1 Like
7

Matoran/powerless masks can be any shape. There are plenty of Matoran that wore powerless masks in the shape of Noble masks - Macku, the main 6 Metru Matoran (Nuhrii, etc.), most of the background Matoran in the movies, the Av-Matoran, and probably others that aren’t coming to mind right now.

5 Likes
8

Krakua has a Suletu in the shape of a hau… Despite it being a great Suletu.

2 Likes
9

Yeah, technically any mask can be any shape. It’s uncommon for Great masks to not have the typical shape for their power, though.

What I should’ve said earlier is: Matoran masks don’t have a separate “default” shape from the Great/Noble versions - Matoran masks are always just carved in the shape of Great or Noble masks.

4 Likes
11

Masks are in the shapes they are in for the same reason street signs are in the shape they are in – for easy identification. But they do not have to be in any particular shape. You could have a Great Hau that looked like a Great Suletu.

As for B2, I didn’t work on the movie, so my knowledge of why they did things they way they did is limited.

5 Likes