I love the idea of Makuta being born out of Mata Nui’s subconscious and literally just being part of him that he tries to repress! Can’t wait to see how his character arc gets resolved.
I also really like how the Shadow Toa’s armor/masks are inspired by Makuta and the Kraahkan. Maybe it’s just because he’s the most obscured in that last panel, but it’s interesting that Shadow Kopaka looks the least warped, seeing as how Kopaka was the only one to be infected.
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Also notice Shadow Pohatu’s shape in the first panel, how he still looks sorta like the real one. If that was animated, I’d imagine they’d appear as the Toa’s normal shapes for half a second, then change into how they look in the next panel.
And yes, keeping in mind Mata Nui’s true nature, I guess this would make Makuta… a subroutine? Extension?
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The ultimate clash begins, and we get a bit more insight into Makuta’s resentment. He really does believe he’s a more deserving master of the Matoran.
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because I read the books even before I was heavily into bionicle I like the shadow toa, and because of mnog I like makuta’s dialogue.
Im exited to see how the rest plays out
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Pretty crazy, huh? When I realized that’s what the surface of that rock layer at the bottom of The Great Mine was in MNOG, that the Onu-Matoran had dug all the way down to the Great Spirit Robot… it really put those early years into perspective.
…Welp. No going back now.
Wish him luck. And, y’know, everyone else. Since they’re still ON the island in this continuity, they’re going to need it.
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Buckle up kiddos
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Aww, they get along so well now.
This comic’s been running so long, some early readers might not catch Makuta’s callback to page 30.
Yeesh. It’s been 150 pages since then.
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I like the poses in panels 2-5. Especially Gali and Onuas’ panels, Shadow Onua’s claw grip looks outright brutal.
I love the way you’ve reinterpreted the Shadow Toa–it’s essentially the same as their role in the original story, but it feels far more organic here, as they don’t come out of nowhere like they did in the original. Their designs are great.
The “conspiracy theory” conversation between the two miners made me chuckle–a very clever way to call out that detail.
Seeing the Toa battle Makuta in the ruins of Metru-Nui makes me wonder how cool it would’ve been if that had actually happened in 2001. For someone encountering BIONICLE for the first time, seeing a massive, underground city like that would be a HUGE mystery, and then to progress onward to the 2004 story, where we get to see the city in its prime, would’ve been really great.
The one flaw I think BIONICLE’s story ended up having was that–while it is remarkably cohesive as a narrative–the fact that it was largely planned-out on the fly prevented a good deal of the continuity you’re employing here. You’re doing such a great job of weaving together all of these threads that I almost wish they had been woven together like this from the start, that perhaps LEGO could’ve made the story even more epic by planning it out in detail before even starting.
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Just finished reading it, straight up amazing! I love the way you have intrepid those first years, especially the our incarnation of Makuta and the shadow toa, I love that the final battle is in Metru nui. Keep up the great work.
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I haven’t been able to log in for about a month due to tablet not working, had a lot to catch up on reading+what’s going on with the contest. I love the changes you’ve made to the showdown and just wanted to say I still value your comic, keep up the good work dude!
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Well, dang. Makuta just roasted them. More ways than one.
I’ve gotta admit, even after seeing the original outline for the Shadow Toa’s mocking our heroes, it wasn’t easy retooling the scene to fit THIS very different version of these characters. But then… with each jeer, each jab by Makuta, I began to notice a trend.
Can you see it?
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In trying to be unified, they’ve become overly self conscious. They know they have to be a team, but they’re so worried about how the others would think of them that they’re accidentally making things worse by not accepting their flaws. It’s similar to how Mata Nui shunned his destructive tendencies and they got the better of him in the form of Makuta.
It’s kind of like they’re all wearing masks.
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hmmmmmmm
I’m sorry, everyone. I’m trying to upload the next few pages, but the site isn’t letting me. I don’t know what’s wrong.
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Image uploads have always been buggy, but recently a lot of things have been a bit wacky with the site. If all else fails you could try uploading them to brickshelf and link them here.
This is something I’ve long struggled with. Being able to critique yourself is important. Too many people don’t, and just think the world of themselves much to everyone else’s expense. But it’s easy to think TOO negatively of yourself, and what you see may not reflect reality.
I almost made Pohatu reach out, touch and absorb his dark counterpart like Greg did, but… these Shadow Toa are literally Makuta this time. Probably not the best idea to take him in. Everyone has a little darkness in them, yeah… but it’s not always some evil force, unleashed upon the world. Sometimes it’s just directed towards oneself.
Originally, I was going to have them seemingly wake up back in the colosseum, like the entire battle with the Shadow Toa was in their heads as they just… stood there. Which let’s be honest, would’ve been cooler, but I wanted to be able to tie Takua into the battle as it’s happening, so I added this shot and the previous one of him on the elevator with the fighting in the distance.
Miramax Makuta is so much fun to draw. Seriously, he’s like a fallen angel with those wings. Alien and elegant.
But… what now? Despite their apparent “win” in that first round, the Toa are kind of at a loss.
Anyway… discuss. This is a lot for one post, I know.
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Gee you should really make a video on how you come up with the story and come up with the character design and the sketching of the characters, really like the way you have taken the first few years and changed it but you have still kept it recognisable as that.
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