Going back to the storyline, there was a time that the Toa came to Mata Nui to defeat the Makuta, then the Bohrok came and after the defeat of the Bahrag queens the Toa became Toa Nuva and had stronger powers than their normal selves. They also gotten adaptive armor to make them adapt to the environment during the Phantoka/Mistika saga against the Makuta. And in the end, Tahu was transformed by the Mask of Life back to a Toa Mata but was given his Golden Armor to defeat the Rahkshi. After the end of the story, Tahu did not turn back to a Toa Nuva. There is a question I would ask myself, should Tahu revert back to being a Toa Nuva or not? Well I believe he should as there are many reasons as to why.
It was hinted by HeroraNuva that the Toa Nuva was the strongest in the series in “Toa: All Transformations and Power-Ups Explained | BIONICLE Deep Dive”. Another thing to point out is that the transformation via Energized Protodermis granted the Toa extra armor for defense as well as enhanced tools/weapons they could use as a mode of transportation to the Toa’s corresponding elements. The elemental powers are also increased more unlike the standard Toa’s elemental power. Not only are they strong in raw power, but Toa Nuva have a finer degree of control, as well as coordinating their elemental attacks. The Kanohi Nuva is an upgraded version of the Kanohi masks as it offered stronger versions of the mask’s powers. For example, the Kakama Nuva, Mask of Speed, granted the ability to control the vibration of the user’s molecules, granting the user to phase through solid objects similarly to how Flash from DC comics was able to phase through objects as well. Furthermore, the Kanohi Nuva can grant the user to share the power with those nearby, which is beneficial to aiding the allies.
After being turned back to a Toa Mata, Tahu was nerfed, which would make him a liability to being attacked not only by Dark Hunters, but also the Marendar as well. But with the Golden Armor, he could be able to obliterate an entire Rahkshi army destroying all the Kraata.
Should Tahu go back to being a Toa Nuva or not? If I had to make a decision, I would rather have him go back to being a Toa Nuva to join back his Toa Team. But that is my Opinions. What do you guys think? Let me know down in the comments.
Tahu may no longer be a Nuva, but I’m sure he’s still considered to be on the team. Takanuva is considered an honorary member, and he was never a Nuva.
Also, he may have been nerfed concerning his Nuva powers, but he also absorbed at least three (I still think it should be all of them) kraata powers through the golden armor. A full array of kraata powers and full control of an element is pretty formidable- just take a look at the Makuta.
Plus, most Toa can hold their own against a Dark Hunter without a power upgrade. It was standard Toa who won the war on Metru Nui, after all.
Greg has both confirmed and denied the possible number of Rakhshi types in the Battle of Bara Magna, so Tahu could potentially be as powerful as a Makuta.
I recently read through the entire Tahu article on BS01 just for fun, and it makes the claim that Tahu is actually more powerful currently than he was as a Toa Nuva thanks to the Kraata powers he absorbed.
And I’m inclined to agree. He might have lost some strength in his innate elemental abilities, but he now has at least Heat Vision and Quick Healing. And while he ditched the Golden Armor, he does still have the Adaptive Armor, so he can keep up with the Nuva at least on that front.
It also mentions that even if Tahu were to somehow come in contact with Energized Protodermis again, there’s no guarantee at all that he would become a Toa Nuva again. The first time was a stroke of luck and destiny. If he isn’t destined to become a Nuva again, he can’t just go for a swim and be fine.
As for the loss of the Kanohi Nuva, I don’t see that as a major nerf. Tahu hasn’t been able to use anything other than his Hau Nuva since '03 since his Suva and masks were destroyed. Any of his other teammates can just as easily swap to their Hau Nuvas and shield multiple people. And considering how much better Tahu is now in working together with his team, I’m sure he’d see that as perhaps more valuable than him alone.
So, should he go back? Even if he could, I don’t think so. He’s just as strong, if not stronger, than before, and above all he’s the quintessential leader of Toa. What he might lack in strength, he makes up for with his teamwork.
Aside from just mechanical considerations - his power level potentially being higher now thanks to his absorption of the Makuta powers, the fact that more energized protodermis may not even make him a Nuva again - I think Tahu being turned back into a Mata is ripe for character drama. He is the stubborn, headstrong, and fierce Toa of Fire. Of all of the Nuva to be defined by their elements, Tahu is likely most so. Even though he has definitely matured since the days of Mata Nui, imagine the shock of being reduced in an instant to not only a shadow of what you once were, but a mirror image of the force you originally intended to fight. One of my big headcanons and a story I would really like to write is that Tahu becomes despondent and lost thanks to his new status, as not only no longer a Nuva but now also part Makuta. Being objectively less powerful, less connected to his element than his siblings, could be a massive blow to his ego, and a chance for not only lots of character growth and development but also development of his powers. I’ve had an outline for this fic kicking around in my head for awhile but a scene I’d really like to end it on would be to tease Tahu developing powers based on his inner light, and even inner shadow. To make peace with his new self could be an avenue to accessing those powers.
Anyway, I don’t think Tahu should go back to being a Nuva. Because then he’d probably be back in his Mistika form again, which was honestly a pretty lame design.
The Toa Nuva are enhanced by Energized Protodermis, Takanuva was not. He is a Toa of standard power level - he only changed his name to Takanuva to honor his heroes.
Likely, Tahu would not look like his Mistika form again unless he entered a swamp environment; that appearance was an iteration of his adaptive armor, and not permanent.
I remember people asking Greg about that way back on BZP, I think he gave the usual answer for it: “it was the model the artist had available at the time.” Same reason the Stars model looks different even though it’s Mata form in story, and why Tahu didn’t adapt to a desert form in comics. One of those non-canon elements we just have to dismiss because “sets come before story.”
Tahu is confirmed to be way more powerful now than he was in his Nuva days. In fact he is considered the most powerful Toa to ever exist in his current state. His OVERALL power is greater than Tuyet with the Nui Stone, but elementally speaking he is less powerful than the other Nuva.
There are two things contributing to this amazing power:
Tahu has all 42 kraata powers - this is of course not explicitly confirmed, but the opposite is statistically impossible. There were tens of thousands of Rahkshi in the final battle and we know there were many different colors and while yellow (heat vision) was predominant, it was not exclusive. It also wouldn’t make tactical sense for Makuta to not send some of the Rahkshi types into battle.
Even disregarding the abilities granted to Tahu, he still absorbed the energy of an entire army of Rahkshi. In this case, we are talking about physical energy, not elemental energy. When we realize a single level 6 kraata is comparable to a Toa, this becomes a tremendous boost. It is even more impressive because we know from previous story (2006) that boosts in physical energy increase the power of all abilities that rely on it (in this case kraata powers).
So essentially, current Tahu is Makuta on steroids, but with elemental fire power of only a regular Toa.
But that’s also ignoring the fact that Tahu would have to probably ask the Ignika, or more specifically Mata Nui (since Mata Nui now dominates over the mask’s original personality), to be transformed into a Nuva again. But since Mata Nui neither wants to interfere with Matoran/Agori lives or reform his own body, it’s likely he wouldn’t use the mask’s power just for Tahu’s benefit.
Of course, that’s also assuming Tahu, or anyone, could even reach a dormant Mata Nui.
Wait so what you are telling me is that it is really possible for Tahu to be back to his Toa Nuva self again so that he could be joining back his Toa Team and be accepted as a Toa Nuva?
Tahu never left his team; he is still the leader of the team known as the Toa Nuva, he just isn’t physically a Toa Nuva with extra powers.
It gets a bit tricky because “Toa Nuva” has multiple meanings; it generally refers to an extra-powerful type of Toa that has been exposed to Energized Protodermis, but it can also refer specifically to the Toa Team that dubbed themselves the “Toa Nuva”.
It gets extra complicated because the “Toa Nuva” team just so happens to consist of every Toa Nuva that has ever existed.
But just as Tahu can be a member of the “Toa Nuva” without being a Toa Nuva, the opposite could also be true: if, hypothetically, some random Toa were to be exposed to Energized Protodermis and gain the special powers, they would be a Toa Nuva, but they wouldn’t be a member of the “Toa Nuva”.
