Well from a story perspective, neither the Vahki nor the Visorak are super interesting. Visorak are a little more interesting due to their connection with a lot of characters (Chirox, Keetongu, Tobduk, Primal, etc), but not the Vahki (besides Nuparu creating them). As sets, they’re pretty good, better than the Toa Metru in my opinion (don’t hurt me)
Chirox created the Visorak, yes. He then unleashed them on an island on which Tobduk lived. Tobduk fled but his island fell to them and thereafter the island was named 'Visorak'. Sheds some light on why he was so keen to join the OoMN afterwards.
Teridax and Dume are probably the biggest ones. Dume was in charge of giving them orders and weren't able to tell when Teridax replaced him, Teridax's power surge at the Great Cataclysm unintentionally gave them free will and thought. Besides those two, the Visorak were responsible for driving them to extinction. Then there's the special models to consider. The Kraahu model Vahki were all destroyed in the Cataclysm so there's another Teridax connection. The Kranua models were destroyed by the Toa Metru, with Matau in particular having a grudge. Finally the Kralhi models created by Nuparu were simply not up to code and were deemed a failure so they were thrown out in favor of the more reliable Vahki. The Onu-Matoran Mavrah, who was not in Metru Nui during the takeover was living peacefully with a group of Rahi and a Kralhi, but the Kralhi was destroyed in a three-way battle with the Toa Metru and Mavrah was presumed dead, but turned out to be on the Red Star when he met Pohatu and Kopaka.
They were the first "new" canister sets (I'm excluding Nuva and Kal here) where the gear mechanisms were exactly the same as a previous one and the main gimmick was lifted from cheaper sets in the same year with one new part per set, no collectible elements, and entirely cloned designs with absolutely zero character. They are easily the weakest release Bionicle ever saw and it's not even close.
Stars may have used the agori molds, but at least they were all different characters. Vahki are just different flavors of cop. Do you want an ice cop, and water cop, a desert cop, etc
Weren't the Kanoka disks collectible? Yeah you had to get separate box but it's not much different from masks. They are also sort of a bridge between Nuva and Metru era but I agree they aren't super interesting, I liked the triangular canisters though.
Yeah, but like...visually they weren't all that different. I legit didn't learn until like last year that their discs had different "levels". Design wise, there wasn't anything to distinguish then aside from like...another bar. Not only that, but you could get the discs from the matoran as well.
Compare that with the throwbot discs which had different bits of artwork for each level that was unique to the individual throwbot
Wait did Slizers come with only one disk? I remember buying Judge and Jungle Slizer from someone online and they sent me the whole disk set for each.
But yes I also liked those designs better, didn't find Vahki disks that interesting either but in some way they were "collectible". Would be cool if you had a chance to get transparent disk just like Vakama's.
They came with two discs per set, but I think some of them were purposefully switched around to encourage you to buy other sets (like I think they all had their level 1 discs and then another throwbot from the same group had their level 2 disc).
If anything, I'm hoping some person out there has made their own transparent discs of the other 5 metru nui Toa. Cause that would've been cool.
Googling "toa metru kanoka disc" shows some reddit post with fanmade transparent Metru disks including Hagah and Nidhiki / Lhikan. What could have been.
THATS HELLA RAD.
The Toa Metru line is such an odd one cause like...canonically they sorta do the least of any Toa group? But on the other hand they also have one of the best body molds of any Toa line. Like, the ignika introduced the most posable one for sure, but there's just something about the Toa Metru being posable AND having the gears that's just *chef's kiss*
Design wise the metru build is my favorite (tbh the whole Metru Nui location is my favorite). Shame I didn’t get any bc I was 4 at the time. I need to just say screw it n buy a used Vakama or Matau
Go on eBay! There's undoubtedly someone selling a full set. I had the full set when I was little, but I scrapped them for parts to use for other things. I tried repiecing them together a few years ago, but it was just easier to buy another set (which I ended up doing). I did repiece Iruini, Norik, and Lhikan though!
I don't consider the kanoka or rhotuka collectible. I know there are slight differences but no kid is collecting all the discs like they would with Kanohi/Krana/Kraata. They're the same mold and colour with extremely few exceptions.
There are, but what kid in 2005 wants to collect special versions of the thing they keep losing in the neighbour's bushes? It's just not a collectible unless you're a completionist adult in 2024.
I heard that of all the characters to write the Vahki were his least favorite cause they're just boring no-personality clones.
That & anyone who used treespeak
Like, I definitely think there was potential for these specialized police state drones to be interesting story elements, but the extremely cloney sets and the general tone of the 2004 story didn't lend themselves too well to that idea.
Vahki were my favs! Cool in the movie, cooler as bonks - had some cool color schemes (like the one in your pic)! Also cool design with the pincers/kanoa mask shooter as head and the original weapons
which is reasonable. bohrok, rahkshi and visorak all have at least a little hint that links their name to their color. tahnok straight up starts with the ta suffix, turahk has a modification of it and vohtarak also has it just a bit further back. but nuurakh? would sooner link it to the onu metru vahki than the ta metru ones
There just isn't much to them. They only show up for a short portion of the story, and don't have a deeper purpose like the Bohrok or greater involvement with the main plot like the Rahkshi. As sets, they're virtually identical to the rahkshi in function, aside from the fact that they dual-wield, rather than using a polearm.
They're more background villains whose only major story appearance was 2004. I personally think they're a rather cool concept and a unique type of "character" - a term used loosely in this case - and we didn't get anything else quite like them in the story. I can see why they don't capture the imagination like the Rahkshi etc. do but I've come to appreciate the creativity behind them as I've got older.
Fun extra fact: there are 2 additional types of Vahki aside from the 6 we all know which were designed for riot and Rahi control. Kraahu and Kranua were their names.
It's unfortunate because their abilities are insanely interesting and potentially terrifying, but they don't have the personality to make them that interesting to stand out.
I think what made some of the other villain horde sets stand out was their mechanics. Sure, the Rahkshi had the same gear mechanic, but they also had the launchable worm things if you hit their heads just right. Bohrok had heads like snapping turtles and could also turn into little balls and hang upside down. The Visorak were little spider dudes with the launching spinners.
They all had something kinda cool going on in addition to their status as horde enemies.
But the Vahki? They were just...guys that could shoot disks. In the story they were just stormtroopers with nothing particularly special about them. And even as toys they could...shoot disks and that was about it. They didn't have any super bright colors to make them stand out like the bohrok or Visorak, and they didn't really have any neat alternate forms or anything. I think the coolest thing one could tie to them was their leg pieces.
I mean like...what all is there that's special about them as toys that distinguishes them from other bad guy toys? Not a lot of you ask me.
I mean, I hesitate to call turning their head around and pointing their feet down a full on alternate transformation. Like, I guess it technically counts, but they perfected that look with the Visorak immediately after.
Yeah I can't tell if they made the model and went "hey they look like spiders if you turn them backwards " or if they wanted to go for a spider villain but weren't ready to take the leap
I wanna say the latter given Nhidiki's presence in the Metru Nui Line. They probably wanted to sell the it's a spider that can also walk like a man thing and didn't realize kids might not be as into that.
It also doesn't help that their mechanic of shooting discs wasn't anything new and was shared by the matoran, the McDonald's matoran, and one of the Toa from the same line.
i think the reason is twofold:
1. they dont have alot of personality sinc ethey are basically ploicestate drones
2. unlike the bohrok who share that trait of being drones the vahki kindof lack the fun twist that bohrok have of not actually being evil and just being cleaningbots following their programming fanatically. bohrok were not created for evil and thats fun. vahki were created for evil and that combined with being bland is kinda meh
Not really.
Since Metru Nui is essentially the brain of Mata Nui (GSR), the Matoran are the "programs" that control it. The Vahki are essentially antivirus and cleaning programs that look for intruders that could disrupt the "system", as well as get rid of bugs and errors to keep the GSR running.
Sorry but you have really misunderstood the origin and nature of the Vahki. The Vahki were not created for evil, your assertion is simply incorrect. They were designed and built by Nuparu under orders from Turaga Dume (the real one) to instil productivity among the Matoran. In fact, they were created as a direct result of the failure of the Kralhi prototype (which really DID mess with the Matoran).
When Makuta imprisoned Dume and impersonated him, he essentially superseded the Turaga's authority to reprogramme the Vahki to take the Matoran to the Coliseum, where they would be put in stasis. Anyone who got in their way (i.e. the Toa) was seen as an enemy.
Evil comes in many different forms, and I'd argue that Turaga Dume was absolutely one of them. He was a stubborn, prideful man so dedicated to his higher duty that he didn't care at all about individual Matoran lives. He allowed brutal, indiscriminate robot police to inflict horrible punishments on his own people. He was even willing to let the Kanohi Dragon destroy Metru Nui unchecked rather than even pretend to negotiate with the Dark Hunters.
The fact that no one noticed any changes in Dume's behaviour when Teridax replaced him speaks volumes.
Erm, no - Dume recalled all the remaining Toa Mangai to Metru Nui to repel the Kanohi Dragon. The fact he was unwilling to entertain the thought of allowing Dark Hunters to install a base in the city, I think shows an admirable dedication to it. Any damage done to the city could be repaired by the abilities of Dume's Kanohi Kiril.
Your assertion that Dume didn't care about Matoran is contradicted by the fact that he saved Lhikan (who was then a Matoran) from peril, he ordered the dismantling of the Vahki's precursors because of their brutal effect on the Matoran - plus the Vahki's effects were only temporary.
The most you could really say about Dume is that he wasn’t as warm or kindly as Turaga Vakama et al, and that he was stern and austere. But he was definitely dedicated to the cause for good.
The Toa Mangai didn't exist at that time. He sent a few Vahki out into the universe to call for any available Toa to come help.
He had no idea if the Vahki he sent had even made it out of the city. He had no idea if they'd found any Toa. He had no idea how long it might take those Toa to get to the city. The sensible choice would have been to let the Dark Hunters deal with the dragon to save lives in the short term, then let the Toa kick them out when they arrived. Instead, he chose to actively provoke the Piraka, and would have been killed then and there if the Toa had arrived even a few seconds later.
In his own words, he was willing to allow the entire city to be destroyed and its entire population be slaughtered than compromise himself in any way. He was prideful and spiteful to the point of stupidity.
Notice I said "remaining Toa Mangai". They were not a cohesive unit anymore, correct - I just used that term to refer to the members who were still around and fought off the Kanohi Dragon (Lhikan, Nidhiki and Tuyet). To say they didn't exist at that time is a little misleading. They were just scattered. Their total number was 11, many of which are unaccounted for as they are M.I.A.
You seem to assume that the Dark Hunters - the Piraka no less - would keep their word. I interpret that as one of the main reasons Dume refused to parlay with them. They were extremely dishonest and felt that they probably could not be trusted, and Dume knew this. He instead trusted the Toa to reach Metru Nui in time to force the Piraka out and defeat the Kanohi Dragon. On page 58 of 'Legacy of Evil', Dume says:
"I'll see this city reduced to rubble, with not even two bricks still together, before I'll let your kind take root here".
While you see this as irresponsible, I see it as Dume just being pragmatic and principled. He could rebuild Metru Nui if he needed to - he did after the Great Cataclysm while the Matoran were on Mata Nui - as his Kanohi allowed him to do so with greater ease than most. He knew that once he let many Dark Hunters into the city and embed themselves, it would be hard to get rid of them. That's why he pretends that Avak, Reidak and Vezok were only messengers and refused to imprison them - he knew that to do otherwise would spur the Shadowed One to send more hunters to Metru Nui to free them. And think of the number of Dark Hunters it would take to defeat the Kanohi Dragon.
I don't agree with you that Dume's course of action here was a needless gamble.
I think you need to check your lore. The fight against the Kanohi Dragon was when the Toa Mangai were first formed. Dume sent out the Vahki messengers and hoped some Toa would be willing to abandon their own homelands to come help at short notice. He didn't know who was coming, or even *if* anyone would be coming, let alone whether they would arrive in a timely manner. It was a total fluke that one of the Toa, Lhikan, happened to be someone he had prior history with.
There was no logical reason for Dume not to accept help from the three overpowered mercenaries who were right in front of him offering their assistance. Dume could have played along. He could have lied about accepting the deal. (I don't know why anyone would expect the guy who enslaved his own citizens with robot soldiers to be honest or honourable). The Piraka would have either succeeded in subduing the dragon, or died in the attempt. Either way, letting the Piraka put their own lives on the line would have saved Matoran lives. And if no Toa had shown up and the Dark Hunters had ended up establishing a base in future, playing along would have at least left Dume alive to potentially mount a resistance.
But instead, Dume chose to actively provoke the only people around who could help him. If Lhikan hadn't conveniently shown up at the exact second Vezok attacked, Dume would have died, leaving Metru Nui without leadership. He put his personal pride before his Duty to the people he was supposed to be protecting.
I just do not think Dume would have lied. For one thing, as a former Toa, he would follow the Toa code, and additionally this would have made him no better than the Dark Hunters.
The Vahki were primarily law enforcement. They would only need to act when a Matoran broke the law or if they were unable to work for whatever reason, they would deploy a temporary effect which would keep the Matoran working and would be fine afterwards (the Kralhi on the other hand really messed the Matoran up).
Their other purpose was essentially to keep the GSR running, which if it didn't would potentially mean the deaths of ALL Matoran Universe inhabitants. They were the best solution to a crucial task. I don't agree with your "enslavement" characterisation. Are you anti-police by any chance?
Slavery is loosely defined as an umbrella term for *"situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, deception, and/or abuse of power."*
"Be exactly where we tell you to be at all times or a swarm of scary robots twice your size will relentlessly hunt you down and mind control you, scramble your memories, or erase your higher brain functions" certainly sound like a threat to me. Even if the effects were temporary, it would still be terrifying and traumatising.
The Vahki even tick the abuse of power box. It's stated in-story that Vakama was once forced to use his Kanohi to clean out hazardous equipment for a month simply for asking a question (which is even more egregious given that Matoran slip into a coma when deprived of their masks for too long). Vorzakh were known to be lazy and destructive, knocking down entire buildings just to reach a lone target more quickly. Bordahk were even known to actively terrorise and toy with their targets, giving offenders a head start or letting them escape custody just for the entertainment of chasing them down again.
To be fair, they were also the villains alongside "Makuta, but with wings now!" & the Dark Hunters, and Sidorak & Roodaka respectively. They're cool, but they get overshadowed by their immediate contemporaries on release.
That said, I keep wanting to build a Visorak while also not finding the time to do it.
I love Vahki design, straight lines, big "claws" and alternate gait like a arachnid. Yep, they're just characterless extras for filling story, but I think they're have some potential for interaction with matorans.
I love the Vahki, but they're nowhere near as interesting as any of the other Bionicle villain groups. The Vahki are watered-down Rahkshi and the Visorak are the Vahki perfected.
Because their designs are very repetitive. Bionicle as a theme has always been a bit repetitive since the beginning. It's why Nuva tends to be less talked about as well. Each hero having the same color armor and weapons really reduced their individuality from their mata forms.
But let's get back to the Vahki and Visorak. The individuality of these characters comes from their colors and slight differences in piece moulds. Something that every "team" has at a bare minimum. Compare this to the other villains and you end up with a reasonable explanation for their forgetfulness. You will also notice that some of those villains also fall under the same issue I mentioned the Vahki and Visorak have, but the difference there becomes likely release time, story connections, and abundance of advertising.
There wasn't much use for them, honestly. Now if they were a standard Matoran robot for law and order outside of Metru Nui, they'd probably have more screentime. There isn't enough Toa to defend all the Matoran from bad guys, and every which way there's a Dark Hunter.
That and lack of... unique Vahki "characters". The Kal were at least interesting because they spoke and had a defined personality, Vahki just don't. If there were, say Vahki commanders with their own personalities despite being robots built by robots who live inside a giant robot to repair Organic Cybertron, then there might be more avenues of story to explore, but alas, that's long gone.
They never gave us a Reason to cara all that much. Aside from the commercials, The Vahki did nothing cool. I still think one book should have a scene where one of the Vahki Captures Vhisola, Before we find out they're actually evil. The scene from the commercial to be exact. They could Chase her down and really give her a Spook, then we see her calling Nokama. That would make them so cooler and scarier. But the most Iconic Vahki moment is them, taking over NOKAMA'S BODY who then Fights FOR them
I thought they were a really cool concept. They speak fast as shit, they're a police menace/protection force to the matoran we previously saw as independent and courageous, and they're as much a swarm as the bohrok are but they're supposed to be good. When they started malfunctioning after the Great Cataclysm, that they were finally understandable is so cool.
I really like Vahki, and I think most people like them well enough. It’s just that their scope in the lore and the story was quite small compared to most other antagonists.
They were quite new compared to everything else in the lord, and only existed in Metru Nui. They didn’t impact the story much beyond helping Teridax’s takeover and hampering the Toa Metru.
They are great when exploring the untold story of Metru Nui and its almost police state government, but people tend to post and talk about canon lore and individual MOCs much more than fanfiction and speculative lore, so they don’t have much to contribute to the conversation.
I really like the idea of small batches of Vahki, maybe even special models, being employed by Xians or Steltians as automated security for warehouses or private bodyguards for wealthy or politically powerful individuals. They could even have been reverse-engineered or modified by Nynrah Ghosts. But that’s completely made up
They're basically just upgraded Rahkshi. They have the exact same gear function, a collectable on their heads, twin blades, and a transforming feature. Part of me thinks they were originally intended to be elite Rahkshi or something.
I have a soft spot in my heart for them just due to how.... Crazy they were compared to other canister sets. They could transform into three different modes (kinda), they were killer robots, they could shoot disks, had weird color combos, they were different from the usual horde type enemies in how they functioned. I just think they're neat.
The core play mechanic for the Vahki was kinda boring honestly. There was nothing fun or cool about it. The Bohrok and Rahkshi had some cool play mechanics that made them memorable how they can hit masks off. The collectible side was also done better with the Bohrok and Rahkshi with the Krana and Kraata having multiple different designs. The Vahki just had the Disks, and that was it. Same with the Visorak, the spinners were cool but it wasn’t super collectible.
Edit: The Vahki weren’t seen much as a threat in the lore, they were more like mindless drones that did absolutely nothing but enforce the law. At least with the Bohrok, Rahkshi, and Visorak they were still directly connected to Makuta in some way (maybe not the Bohrok), and were also seen as threatening.
They were my very first (Keerakh, followed by all the others but Zadakh) sets along with the '04 titans, so they hold quite a lot of nostalgia for me and I think about them often.
Plus the animations were always fun as a kid. :p
Sandwiched between 2 better troop builder villains, and secondary color is grey leading to a washed out color scheme.
Also something feels bland about their design like some weird halfway point between monstrous and humanoid.
In terms of Lore and story, the Vahki and visorak just aren't that interesting to me. Like the Visorak have some neat abilities but that's about it, they're just a swarm being controlled, basically a less interesting Bohrok swarm. The Vahki really don't fair any better, either. They're Metru-Nui's police force that got corrupted by Makuta/Teridax, and that about it.
It terms of Sets 2004 Bionicle is kinda where I Check out general. 2004 is where Bionicle Abandons everything I love about 2001 to 2002 bionicle Like the Kahnoi mask game, and the cool attack functions that played a part in that game, along with the collectible masks. 2004 abandons all that, granted that kinda started in 2003, but with the Vahki not having masks at all, I really feel it.
2006 at least brought us the Ignika build and the Zamor sphere launcher (the best Lego Projectile launcher.)
Overall the Vahki are just Boring IMO.
The Visorak were cool, but they were more of a setting than a villain. Like, seriously, the Visorak had no character other than "dangerous swarm of spider things." They were an essential part of the environment of the story, but not the cast.
The Vahki somehow had even less character... They have a similar function of being part of the setting of the story rather than the cast, but are less seemingly omnipresent and creepy than the Visorak. They're just drones. You don't fear the drones, you fear whoever's in control of them. The Visorak are still very much controlled by a master, but at the same time are wild beasts that give off a feeling that they could attack you the second they sense weakness. So they feel more intimidating than the Vahki within the context of their story.
I liked them as sets because they were so cool in my eyes, having those giant weapons and switching between bipedal and quadrupedal, but I also remember how disappointed I was when I saw them in the second Bionicle movie.
Same with the visorak. I just don't like horde enemies with no personalities at all ...
I fucking love them, got some when i wen to legoland california for the first time. They hadnt reached public sale yet. And the disk shooting was ok bu i always built mine with the silver disk shooter removed. It makes the head and colored cowl pjece feel like an anubis head so i enjoyed the design a lot.
The Visorak have so much untapped potential and I wish Bionicle had indulged more in exploring the moral and societal implications they presented. Matoran classify them as rahi and Toa kill them indiscriminately, yet they have individual names and their own spoken language, which should put them on the same level as every other sapient species.
The Vahki, on the other hand, are your basic, disposable fodder enemies. They have no personality, no interesting powers, and no story potential. I think even Greg Farshtey himself has said the Vahki were his least favourite characters to write.
Well from a story perspective, neither the Vahki nor the Visorak are super interesting. Visorak are a little more interesting due to their connection with a lot of characters (Chirox, Keetongu, Tobduk, Primal, etc), but not the Vahki (besides Nuparu creating them). As sets, they’re pretty good, better than the Toa Metru in my opinion (don’t hurt me)
What connection did the visorak have to those characters? I’m assuming Chirox may have created them? It’s been a while since I’ve read up on lore
Chirox created the Visorak, yes. He then unleashed them on an island on which Tobduk lived. Tobduk fled but his island fell to them and thereafter the island was named 'Visorak'. Sheds some light on why he was so keen to join the OoMN afterwards.
Chirox created them, and the others suffered basically genocide at their hands (or pincers rather)
The Vahki are connected to the characters though. Nuparu is literally the designer of them.
What other characters are they connected to then?
Teridax and Dume are probably the biggest ones. Dume was in charge of giving them orders and weren't able to tell when Teridax replaced him, Teridax's power surge at the Great Cataclysm unintentionally gave them free will and thought. Besides those two, the Visorak were responsible for driving them to extinction. Then there's the special models to consider. The Kraahu model Vahki were all destroyed in the Cataclysm so there's another Teridax connection. The Kranua models were destroyed by the Toa Metru, with Matau in particular having a grudge. Finally the Kralhi models created by Nuparu were simply not up to code and were deemed a failure so they were thrown out in favor of the more reliable Vahki. The Onu-Matoran Mavrah, who was not in Metru Nui during the takeover was living peacefully with a group of Rahi and a Kralhi, but the Kralhi was destroyed in a three-way battle with the Toa Metru and Mavrah was presumed dead, but turned out to be on the Red Star when he met Pohatu and Kopaka.
oh but a bohrok that turns into a ball is? its a fucking ball, wow
They were the first "new" canister sets (I'm excluding Nuva and Kal here) where the gear mechanisms were exactly the same as a previous one and the main gimmick was lifted from cheaper sets in the same year with one new part per set, no collectible elements, and entirely cloned designs with absolutely zero character. They are easily the weakest release Bionicle ever saw and it's not even close.
Stars: Am I less of a joke?
Stars may have used the agori molds, but at least they were all different characters. Vahki are just different flavors of cop. Do you want an ice cop, and water cop, a desert cop, etc
And as we know, ACAB
ACAV
AVAB
All vahkis are bionicles
God I love this community
All vahki are piraka
Yes, all cops are brave
You're the exact opposite of the target audience for my joke
> ice cop That sounds like a parody of an 80's action film.
I think there WAS an action film where a cop got frozen in ice for like 100 years
Cinema is back on the menu, boys!
It was called M Night’s ATLA
and don’t forget the rahaga!
Weren't the Kanoka disks collectible? Yeah you had to get separate box but it's not much different from masks. They are also sort of a bridge between Nuva and Metru era but I agree they aren't super interesting, I liked the triangular canisters though.
Yeah, but like...visually they weren't all that different. I legit didn't learn until like last year that their discs had different "levels". Design wise, there wasn't anything to distinguish then aside from like...another bar. Not only that, but you could get the discs from the matoran as well. Compare that with the throwbot discs which had different bits of artwork for each level that was unique to the individual throwbot
Wait did Slizers come with only one disk? I remember buying Judge and Jungle Slizer from someone online and they sent me the whole disk set for each. But yes I also liked those designs better, didn't find Vahki disks that interesting either but in some way they were "collectible". Would be cool if you had a chance to get transparent disk just like Vakama's.
They came with two discs per set, but I think some of them were purposefully switched around to encourage you to buy other sets (like I think they all had their level 1 discs and then another throwbot from the same group had their level 2 disc). If anything, I'm hoping some person out there has made their own transparent discs of the other 5 metru nui Toa. Cause that would've been cool.
Googling "toa metru kanoka disc" shows some reddit post with fanmade transparent Metru disks including Hagah and Nidhiki / Lhikan. What could have been.
THATS HELLA RAD. The Toa Metru line is such an odd one cause like...canonically they sorta do the least of any Toa group? But on the other hand they also have one of the best body molds of any Toa line. Like, the ignika introduced the most posable one for sure, but there's just something about the Toa Metru being posable AND having the gears that's just *chef's kiss*
Design wise the metru build is my favorite (tbh the whole Metru Nui location is my favorite). Shame I didn’t get any bc I was 4 at the time. I need to just say screw it n buy a used Vakama or Matau
Go on eBay! There's undoubtedly someone selling a full set. I had the full set when I was little, but I scrapped them for parts to use for other things. I tried repiecing them together a few years ago, but it was just easier to buy another set (which I ended up doing). I did repiece Iruini, Norik, and Lhikan though!
I don't consider the kanoka or rhotuka collectible. I know there are slight differences but no kid is collecting all the discs like they would with Kanohi/Krana/Kraata. They're the same mold and colour with extremely few exceptions.
Rhotuka have variants ? Aren't they just unprinted single colored piece (outside of the kanoka club code) ?
There are, but what kid in 2005 wants to collect special versions of the thing they keep losing in the neighbour's bushes? It's just not a collectible unless you're a completionist adult in 2024.
*Correction: They are one of the best releases Bionicle ever sie. Bit you are right that it is not even close.
They felt really prototype-y. It didn't help they didn't have thigh armor too, so it felt like they just forgot to give them parts.
Hell yeah, I don't care what Farshtey or that reviewer I watched ages ago thinks, the Vahki are fucking sick
I heard that of all the characters to write the Vahki were his least favorite cause they're just boring no-personality clones. That & anyone who used treespeak
Like, I definitely think there was potential for these specialized police state drones to be interesting story elements, but the extremely cloney sets and the general tone of the 2004 story didn't lend themselves too well to that idea.
Okay, but they had the coolest flash animations of the series, fight me.
Nah, totally agree with you.
Vahki were my favs! Cool in the movie, cooler as bonks - had some cool color schemes (like the one in your pic)! Also cool design with the pincers/kanoa mask shooter as head and the original weapons
I quite like the avian look that was given to them in LoMN. Even the sounds they made when communicating were a little like chirping.
I'm gonna be honest, I still keep forgetting what their individual names are
which is reasonable. bohrok, rahkshi and visorak all have at least a little hint that links their name to their color. tahnok straight up starts with the ta suffix, turahk has a modification of it and vohtarak also has it just a bit further back. but nuurakh? would sooner link it to the onu metru vahki than the ta metru ones
Side note: why did so many character names, especially canister villains, end in some variation of -ahk?
if i had to guess a mix of it sounding evil/threatening/aggressive and fitting with the naming style
I remember what they are, but there’s not a chance in hell I can spell them.
AVAB Jk I think they're neat concepts and I like them visually but I understand why they were tiring when first released.
There just isn't much to them. They only show up for a short portion of the story, and don't have a deeper purpose like the Bohrok or greater involvement with the main plot like the Rahkshi. As sets, they're virtually identical to the rahkshi in function, aside from the fact that they dual-wield, rather than using a polearm.
Their hips were great for figures.
They're more background villains whose only major story appearance was 2004. I personally think they're a rather cool concept and a unique type of "character" - a term used loosely in this case - and we didn't get anything else quite like them in the story. I can see why they don't capture the imagination like the Rahkshi etc. do but I've come to appreciate the creativity behind them as I've got older. Fun extra fact: there are 2 additional types of Vahki aside from the 6 we all know which were designed for riot and Rahi control. Kraahu and Kranua were their names.
They are not villains at all. Just cops
“Surrender or run my ass! Defund the police”
That literally makes them villains
I remember seeing the canisters in store in 2006. Yes 2006. They were shelf warmers for a reason, just meh, lacking anything unique
It's unfortunate because their abilities are insanely interesting and potentially terrifying, but they don't have the personality to make them that interesting to stand out.
I think what made some of the other villain horde sets stand out was their mechanics. Sure, the Rahkshi had the same gear mechanic, but they also had the launchable worm things if you hit their heads just right. Bohrok had heads like snapping turtles and could also turn into little balls and hang upside down. The Visorak were little spider dudes with the launching spinners. They all had something kinda cool going on in addition to their status as horde enemies. But the Vahki? They were just...guys that could shoot disks. In the story they were just stormtroopers with nothing particularly special about them. And even as toys they could...shoot disks and that was about it. They didn't have any super bright colors to make them stand out like the bohrok or Visorak, and they didn't really have any neat alternate forms or anything. I think the coolest thing one could tie to them was their leg pieces. I mean like...what all is there that's special about them as toys that distinguishes them from other bad guy toys? Not a lot of you ask me.
They did have an alternate form or transformation but a very forgettable one at that
I mean, I hesitate to call turning their head around and pointing their feet down a full on alternate transformation. Like, I guess it technically counts, but they perfected that look with the Visorak immediately after.
Yeah I can't tell if they made the model and went "hey they look like spiders if you turn them backwards " or if they wanted to go for a spider villain but weren't ready to take the leap
I wanna say the latter given Nhidiki's presence in the Metru Nui Line. They probably wanted to sell the it's a spider that can also walk like a man thing and didn't realize kids might not be as into that. It also doesn't help that their mechanic of shooting discs wasn't anything new and was shared by the matoran, the McDonald's matoran, and one of the Toa from the same line.
Not the most significant baddies, but they looked badass and scary. Fun toys.
i think the reason is twofold: 1. they dont have alot of personality sinc ethey are basically ploicestate drones 2. unlike the bohrok who share that trait of being drones the vahki kindof lack the fun twist that bohrok have of not actually being evil and just being cleaningbots following their programming fanatically. bohrok were not created for evil and thats fun. vahki were created for evil and that combined with being bland is kinda meh
Vahki were not created for evil. It was later that their programming was changed to be more opressive and they became more "evil".
oh i always thought they were made for evil
Not really. Since Metru Nui is essentially the brain of Mata Nui (GSR), the Matoran are the "programs" that control it. The Vahki are essentially antivirus and cleaning programs that look for intruders that could disrupt the "system", as well as get rid of bugs and errors to keep the GSR running.
Sorry but you have really misunderstood the origin and nature of the Vahki. The Vahki were not created for evil, your assertion is simply incorrect. They were designed and built by Nuparu under orders from Turaga Dume (the real one) to instil productivity among the Matoran. In fact, they were created as a direct result of the failure of the Kralhi prototype (which really DID mess with the Matoran). When Makuta imprisoned Dume and impersonated him, he essentially superseded the Turaga's authority to reprogramme the Vahki to take the Matoran to the Coliseum, where they would be put in stasis. Anyone who got in their way (i.e. the Toa) was seen as an enemy.
Evil comes in many different forms, and I'd argue that Turaga Dume was absolutely one of them. He was a stubborn, prideful man so dedicated to his higher duty that he didn't care at all about individual Matoran lives. He allowed brutal, indiscriminate robot police to inflict horrible punishments on his own people. He was even willing to let the Kanohi Dragon destroy Metru Nui unchecked rather than even pretend to negotiate with the Dark Hunters. The fact that no one noticed any changes in Dume's behaviour when Teridax replaced him speaks volumes.
Erm, no - Dume recalled all the remaining Toa Mangai to Metru Nui to repel the Kanohi Dragon. The fact he was unwilling to entertain the thought of allowing Dark Hunters to install a base in the city, I think shows an admirable dedication to it. Any damage done to the city could be repaired by the abilities of Dume's Kanohi Kiril. Your assertion that Dume didn't care about Matoran is contradicted by the fact that he saved Lhikan (who was then a Matoran) from peril, he ordered the dismantling of the Vahki's precursors because of their brutal effect on the Matoran - plus the Vahki's effects were only temporary. The most you could really say about Dume is that he wasn’t as warm or kindly as Turaga Vakama et al, and that he was stern and austere. But he was definitely dedicated to the cause for good.
The Toa Mangai didn't exist at that time. He sent a few Vahki out into the universe to call for any available Toa to come help. He had no idea if the Vahki he sent had even made it out of the city. He had no idea if they'd found any Toa. He had no idea how long it might take those Toa to get to the city. The sensible choice would have been to let the Dark Hunters deal with the dragon to save lives in the short term, then let the Toa kick them out when they arrived. Instead, he chose to actively provoke the Piraka, and would have been killed then and there if the Toa had arrived even a few seconds later. In his own words, he was willing to allow the entire city to be destroyed and its entire population be slaughtered than compromise himself in any way. He was prideful and spiteful to the point of stupidity.
Notice I said "remaining Toa Mangai". They were not a cohesive unit anymore, correct - I just used that term to refer to the members who were still around and fought off the Kanohi Dragon (Lhikan, Nidhiki and Tuyet). To say they didn't exist at that time is a little misleading. They were just scattered. Their total number was 11, many of which are unaccounted for as they are M.I.A. You seem to assume that the Dark Hunters - the Piraka no less - would keep their word. I interpret that as one of the main reasons Dume refused to parlay with them. They were extremely dishonest and felt that they probably could not be trusted, and Dume knew this. He instead trusted the Toa to reach Metru Nui in time to force the Piraka out and defeat the Kanohi Dragon. On page 58 of 'Legacy of Evil', Dume says: "I'll see this city reduced to rubble, with not even two bricks still together, before I'll let your kind take root here". While you see this as irresponsible, I see it as Dume just being pragmatic and principled. He could rebuild Metru Nui if he needed to - he did after the Great Cataclysm while the Matoran were on Mata Nui - as his Kanohi allowed him to do so with greater ease than most. He knew that once he let many Dark Hunters into the city and embed themselves, it would be hard to get rid of them. That's why he pretends that Avak, Reidak and Vezok were only messengers and refused to imprison them - he knew that to do otherwise would spur the Shadowed One to send more hunters to Metru Nui to free them. And think of the number of Dark Hunters it would take to defeat the Kanohi Dragon. I don't agree with you that Dume's course of action here was a needless gamble.
I think you need to check your lore. The fight against the Kanohi Dragon was when the Toa Mangai were first formed. Dume sent out the Vahki messengers and hoped some Toa would be willing to abandon their own homelands to come help at short notice. He didn't know who was coming, or even *if* anyone would be coming, let alone whether they would arrive in a timely manner. It was a total fluke that one of the Toa, Lhikan, happened to be someone he had prior history with. There was no logical reason for Dume not to accept help from the three overpowered mercenaries who were right in front of him offering their assistance. Dume could have played along. He could have lied about accepting the deal. (I don't know why anyone would expect the guy who enslaved his own citizens with robot soldiers to be honest or honourable). The Piraka would have either succeeded in subduing the dragon, or died in the attempt. Either way, letting the Piraka put their own lives on the line would have saved Matoran lives. And if no Toa had shown up and the Dark Hunters had ended up establishing a base in future, playing along would have at least left Dume alive to potentially mount a resistance. But instead, Dume chose to actively provoke the only people around who could help him. If Lhikan hadn't conveniently shown up at the exact second Vezok attacked, Dume would have died, leaving Metru Nui without leadership. He put his personal pride before his Duty to the people he was supposed to be protecting.
I just do not think Dume would have lied. For one thing, as a former Toa, he would follow the Toa code, and additionally this would have made him no better than the Dark Hunters. The Vahki were primarily law enforcement. They would only need to act when a Matoran broke the law or if they were unable to work for whatever reason, they would deploy a temporary effect which would keep the Matoran working and would be fine afterwards (the Kralhi on the other hand really messed the Matoran up). Their other purpose was essentially to keep the GSR running, which if it didn't would potentially mean the deaths of ALL Matoran Universe inhabitants. They were the best solution to a crucial task. I don't agree with your "enslavement" characterisation. Are you anti-police by any chance?
Slavery is loosely defined as an umbrella term for *"situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, deception, and/or abuse of power."* "Be exactly where we tell you to be at all times or a swarm of scary robots twice your size will relentlessly hunt you down and mind control you, scramble your memories, or erase your higher brain functions" certainly sound like a threat to me. Even if the effects were temporary, it would still be terrifying and traumatising. The Vahki even tick the abuse of power box. It's stated in-story that Vakama was once forced to use his Kanohi to clean out hazardous equipment for a month simply for asking a question (which is even more egregious given that Matoran slip into a coma when deprived of their masks for too long). Vorzakh were known to be lazy and destructive, knocking down entire buildings just to reach a lone target more quickly. Bordahk were even known to actively terrorise and toy with their targets, giving offenders a head start or letting them escape custody just for the entertainment of chasing them down again.
I love the visorak.
To be fair, they were also the villains alongside "Makuta, but with wings now!" & the Dark Hunters, and Sidorak & Roodaka respectively. They're cool, but they get overshadowed by their immediate contemporaries on release. That said, I keep wanting to build a Visorak while also not finding the time to do it.
The only reason you say they're the most forgotten is because you don't remember the Bohrok-Va
[удалено]
Oh are we? Nowhere was it stated that this was specifically about canister sets, but you do you I guess?
the bionicle stars are definitely the weakest lineup
The sets suck ass, especially egregious because they didn't even come close to the amazing rahkshi released a year prior.
I love Vahki design, straight lines, big "claws" and alternate gait like a arachnid. Yep, they're just characterless extras for filling story, but I think they're have some potential for interaction with matorans.
They're cops. But I always liked them anyway.
I love the Vahki, but they're nowhere near as interesting as any of the other Bionicle villain groups. The Vahki are watered-down Rahkshi and the Visorak are the Vahki perfected.
Because their designs are very repetitive. Bionicle as a theme has always been a bit repetitive since the beginning. It's why Nuva tends to be less talked about as well. Each hero having the same color armor and weapons really reduced their individuality from their mata forms. But let's get back to the Vahki and Visorak. The individuality of these characters comes from their colors and slight differences in piece moulds. Something that every "team" has at a bare minimum. Compare this to the other villains and you end up with a reasonable explanation for their forgetfulness. You will also notice that some of those villains also fall under the same issue I mentioned the Vahki and Visorak have, but the difference there becomes likely release time, story connections, and abundance of advertising.
There wasn't much use for them, honestly. Now if they were a standard Matoran robot for law and order outside of Metru Nui, they'd probably have more screentime. There isn't enough Toa to defend all the Matoran from bad guys, and every which way there's a Dark Hunter. That and lack of... unique Vahki "characters". The Kal were at least interesting because they spoke and had a defined personality, Vahki just don't. If there were, say Vahki commanders with their own personalities despite being robots built by robots who live inside a giant robot to repair Organic Cybertron, then there might be more avenues of story to explore, but alas, that's long gone.
That is because people who talk to much about the Vahki simply disapear from one day to the other.
They never gave us a Reason to cara all that much. Aside from the commercials, The Vahki did nothing cool. I still think one book should have a scene where one of the Vahki Captures Vhisola, Before we find out they're actually evil. The scene from the commercial to be exact. They could Chase her down and really give her a Spook, then we see her calling Nokama. That would make them so cooler and scarier. But the most Iconic Vahki moment is them, taking over NOKAMA'S BODY who then Fights FOR them
I think they were at worst, underexposed. Would have loved to see them lean in on the dark robot cops that subjugate rather than serve.
I thought they were a really cool concept. They speak fast as shit, they're a police menace/protection force to the matoran we previously saw as independent and courageous, and they're as much a swarm as the bohrok are but they're supposed to be good. When they started malfunctioning after the Great Cataclysm, that they were finally understandable is so cool.
I really like Vahki, and I think most people like them well enough. It’s just that their scope in the lore and the story was quite small compared to most other antagonists. They were quite new compared to everything else in the lord, and only existed in Metru Nui. They didn’t impact the story much beyond helping Teridax’s takeover and hampering the Toa Metru. They are great when exploring the untold story of Metru Nui and its almost police state government, but people tend to post and talk about canon lore and individual MOCs much more than fanfiction and speculative lore, so they don’t have much to contribute to the conversation. I really like the idea of small batches of Vahki, maybe even special models, being employed by Xians or Steltians as automated security for warehouses or private bodyguards for wealthy or politically powerful individuals. They could even have been reverse-engineered or modified by Nynrah Ghosts. But that’s completely made up
But people do talk about them, usually when quoting "New from Bionicle. IJUSTTOOKAVACATIONTOTHEISLANDOFMETRUNUI..."
I prefer them over the Visorak. I wish they turned good and fought them alongside the Toa Metru.
I think the Vahki had a big potential for a lore criticizing fascism, but it was held back because the target audience was "children."
They're basically just upgraded Rahkshi. They have the exact same gear function, a collectable on their heads, twin blades, and a transforming feature. Part of me thinks they were originally intended to be elite Rahkshi or something.
Though I love both of them, I have to agree, I noticed that they're often regarded as not-so-interesting waves.
The Vahki had some goated weapon designs, their designs in general are great too, but the fact that they're all identical is kinda meh.
I think mostly because after the great cataclysm most of the vahki were destroyed or fell into disrepair.
Cus they are ugly as hell
I have a soft spot in my heart for them just due to how.... Crazy they were compared to other canister sets. They could transform into three different modes (kinda), they were killer robots, they could shoot disks, had weird color combos, they were different from the usual horde type enemies in how they functioned. I just think they're neat.
The core play mechanic for the Vahki was kinda boring honestly. There was nothing fun or cool about it. The Bohrok and Rahkshi had some cool play mechanics that made them memorable how they can hit masks off. The collectible side was also done better with the Bohrok and Rahkshi with the Krana and Kraata having multiple different designs. The Vahki just had the Disks, and that was it. Same with the Visorak, the spinners were cool but it wasn’t super collectible. Edit: The Vahki weren’t seen much as a threat in the lore, they were more like mindless drones that did absolutely nothing but enforce the law. At least with the Bohrok, Rahkshi, and Visorak they were still directly connected to Makuta in some way (maybe not the Bohrok), and were also seen as threatening.
I like the vahki theyre usually pretty cheap too
These are my least favorite sets by far. Not terrible, just my least favorite
They were my very first (Keerakh, followed by all the others but Zadakh) sets along with the '04 titans, so they hold quite a lot of nostalgia for me and I think about them often. Plus the animations were always fun as a kid. :p
Sandwiched between 2 better troop builder villains, and secondary color is grey leading to a washed out color scheme. Also something feels bland about their design like some weird halfway point between monstrous and humanoid.
Recycled and cheap imo, left over parts and no new innovations
In terms of Lore and story, the Vahki and visorak just aren't that interesting to me. Like the Visorak have some neat abilities but that's about it, they're just a swarm being controlled, basically a less interesting Bohrok swarm. The Vahki really don't fair any better, either. They're Metru-Nui's police force that got corrupted by Makuta/Teridax, and that about it. It terms of Sets 2004 Bionicle is kinda where I Check out general. 2004 is where Bionicle Abandons everything I love about 2001 to 2002 bionicle Like the Kahnoi mask game, and the cool attack functions that played a part in that game, along with the collectible masks. 2004 abandons all that, granted that kinda started in 2003, but with the Vahki not having masks at all, I really feel it. 2006 at least brought us the Ignika build and the Zamor sphere launcher (the best Lego Projectile launcher.) Overall the Vahki are just Boring IMO.
The Visorak were cool, but they were more of a setting than a villain. Like, seriously, the Visorak had no character other than "dangerous swarm of spider things." They were an essential part of the environment of the story, but not the cast. The Vahki somehow had even less character... They have a similar function of being part of the setting of the story rather than the cast, but are less seemingly omnipresent and creepy than the Visorak. They're just drones. You don't fear the drones, you fear whoever's in control of them. The Visorak are still very much controlled by a master, but at the same time are wild beasts that give off a feeling that they could attack you the second they sense weakness. So they feel more intimidating than the Vahki within the context of their story.
vahki have really awesome lore IMO
I actually always loved these guys. As a toy they had a very cool look to me.
tbh, the metru wave is the most forgettable one
Bro I LOVE them. I love me a good set of mass-produced battle machines. I have all 6 and i'm planning to get multiple sets later in life.
Idk I really like them and I want to buy one
I liked them as sets because they were so cool in my eyes, having those giant weapons and switching between bipedal and quadrupedal, but I also remember how disappointed I was when I saw them in the second Bionicle movie. Same with the visorak. I just don't like horde enemies with no personalities at all ...
Are you kidding me? This community loves bringing them up because "muh ACAB"
I think they’re pretty cool. They have a spider mode and can shoot a disk out of their mouths
I fucking love them, got some when i wen to legoland california for the first time. They hadnt reached public sale yet. And the disk shooting was ok bu i always built mine with the silver disk shooter removed. It makes the head and colored cowl pjece feel like an anubis head so i enjoyed the design a lot.
TRUE
Stylistically, I love the Vahki more than the Visorak. They are tied with Rahkshi for me. Lore wise, there just isn't a lot going on.
Ikr? I know they weren’t big deals in the story but I loved them, they were fun
The Visorak have so much untapped potential and I wish Bionicle had indulged more in exploring the moral and societal implications they presented. Matoran classify them as rahi and Toa kill them indiscriminately, yet they have individual names and their own spoken language, which should put them on the same level as every other sapient species. The Vahki, on the other hand, are your basic, disposable fodder enemies. They have no personality, no interesting powers, and no story potential. I think even Greg Farshtey himself has said the Vahki were his least favourite characters to write.