How Powerful are Toa? All Powers and Abilities Explained | BIONICLE Deep Dive

[@Justario]

But can they beat Goku???

[@heroranuva8295]

All of them 1-shot UI Goku

[@Justario]

@@heroranuva8295 😩

[@bionic-tale4313]

​@@heroranuva8295 How? Maybe to bury him under piles of Elemental energy or somehow being unpredictable.

[@heroranuva8295]

@@bionic-tale4313 lol, I was making a joke, I don’t actually think they could beat ultra instinct Goku. Though there is actually an argument I’ve seen that they could beat Saiyan Saga Goku. Mainly from calculations on how much gravity Spherus Magna would have, it might have far greater gravity than Goku trained under in that saga. Though I don’t actually put much stock in that, the cosmology of the Bionicle world really doesn’t work under normal physics, so I don’t think about those calculations as canon, since it would break the story. But it is still fun to think about!

[@bionic-tale4313]

@@heroranuva8295 Yeah, I wasn't saying they would beat Goku in anyway to be honest. Just asking and inferring.

[@Mira_Mira_0n_The_Wall]

here's a theory: The Mask of Light movie implies that opposite elemental powers have healing capabilities. To heal Toa Tahu from his infection, Lewa specifically uses his (Tahu's) Magma Swords and Kopaka uses his Ice Blade. And if that's the case, it would act as a setup for Takutanuva reviving Jaller with the powers of Light and Shadow.

[@benjaminhuether3846]

I never thought of that. That also sort of works with all six Toa Metru working together to heal the Ash Bear, since that was a much worse injury than Tahu's.

[@wodan1537]

Imagine. At the end of the story, toa tahu is even more powerful because he can use powers of an makuta.

[@heroranuva8295]

Yeah true! Never explored, but Tahu really got an insane power-up

[@jacobcoleman8250]

Only as long as he wears the Golden Armor, because the armor itself held the powers inside. Were Tahu to remove the armor, he’d be as strong as an average Toa of Fire.

[@heroranuva8295]

@@jacobcoleman8250 Honestly I've heard conflicting statements as to whether or not the power became Tahu's or its just kept in the armor, though I fully prefer it being the armor. Keeps it relevant and prevents Tahu from become too overpowered. You know, come to think of it, a match up between Golden Armor Tahu and Nui Stone Tuyet would be super interesting!

[@jacobcoleman8250]

Greg Farshtey himself confirmed that the armor contains all the Rahkshi power.

[@heroranuva8295]

@@jacobcoleman8250 I’ve also seen statements from Greg that say it transferred to Tahu. Part of why I try not to put too much stock in Greg’s statements, though honestly I don’t believe that creator statements should be taken too seriously in general. Don’t get me wrong I think they should be taken into consideration, just not treated as absolute canon.

[@Lupinemancer87]

It always bothered me that the Toa Metru didn't know their mask powers. Sure they'd never used mask powers before so them not knowing how to activate them makes sense. But not knowing what mask they wear? Makes no sense. Kanohi Masks are literally a vital part of their culture, and each mask usually have a distinct shape to make it easy to identify. They should have all known the type of masks they wear. Especially Vakama who was a Mask Maker.

[@baronmachiavhell8677]

Thanks a lot because I admit I haven't been watching the movies or read the books for years, and I completely forgot how actually badass the Toa are! Even considering the Toa Mata/Nuva are even more powerful than average Toa because the were made this way by Arthaka, Toa Metru and Toa Inika/Mahri are still great!

[@heroranuva8295]

Yeah, they’re total badasses! And the fact that they struggle honestly just means their opponents are also crazy strong. Though I’m pretty sure as Toa Mata, they were the same power level as the Metru, Mahri, and other Toa, Artahka didn’t make them stronger. Though as Toa Nuva they got a lot stronger! We never get an exact ratio of how much stronger, but we definitely see them casually create more of their element, and have way better control

[@TyrannoNoddy]

I'm surprised you didn't mention more of the Inika's weirdness, didn't being transformed by the Red Star infuse lightning into their powers too? Also honestly, I feel like toa are pretty OP compared to most fictional heroes. I mean, no wonder they were initially presented as godlike.

[@heroranuva8295]

Yeah you're right, the Inika were definitely very interesting. I think I'll of do another video later on talking more about the various forms and transformations Toa have gone through, since all the various sub types of Toa almost deserve their own exploration. And yeah, they're very tough! They definitely earned their place as demi-gods in the Matoran mythology, though its also really cool that they were written so vulnerably, both in terms of their abilities, but also as characters. Fallible gods really are everywhere in Bionicle

[@andrewtimothy1937]

I’d love to see a deep dive of how powerful the Makuta are (not just Teridax but as a species)

[@Stormraven96]

The power level of Toa says a lot about their collective character. By the standards of most fantasy media, the array and scale of a Toa's abilities is ridiculous--maybe not to the same degree as Saiyans or Kryptonians, but you get the idea. Which says a lot, not just about the bonkers power scaling within the Matoran Universe, but also just how much Toa are really holding back when things get violent. The villains love to taunt them, yet if the gloves truly came off...

[@jr9529]

So... How tall are matoran? They seem so small and stubby that I've never realized the toa are supposed to be seven feet tall XD

[@RoadieDoh]

They seem knee height with the toa. So probably two feet tall?? Thats my guess

[@oblivion715]

4'6"

[@thanoseid2883]

they're about above knee height but below waist height. so about nearly 3 maybe 4 foot tall. these are just guesses though as some matoran like the metru nui or karzahni matoran have canonically had their height changed

[@Luka1180]

Greg said that they can’t absorb more of their element to gain more elemental energy. One of many instances of him being wrong IMHO.

[@thanoseid2883]

they can recharge from their element though. but yes they have a limit.

[@trogglemorphtrystopmotion1887]

I been thinking that Hau Nuva can be use as a weapon If the user shrink the force fields around a target to crash or snap neck or something

[@heroranuva8295]

That could be a cool idea, kinda like Invisible Woman from Marvel. Though at least in canon, we only ever see the shield expand out from the user, so it might be hard to trap or crush someone without crushing themselves. And it would definitely have to be someone who doesn't follow the Toa Code who does that

[@trogglemorphtrystopmotion1887]

@@heroranuva8295 well it will depend on how much the user can change the shape of the shield. If they have a dome that is around them, It can still be dangerous. If they are able to open part of the shield so part of the attacker limb go through and the just close up the shield so either the limb is cut off or stuck

[@trogglemorphtrystopmotion1887]

@@heroranuva8295 or if the force shield can not have holes then maybe if they bends around someone weapon or something

[@trogglemorphtrystopmotion1887]

@@heroranuva8295 also Gali Nuva when she release her Nuva blast, she mentioned she shared water breathing mask power to her teammate. I don’t know consider the waves and they being on the ground all over the place, I assumed she have a bubbles of her mask power around her teammate individually So assume It can appply to another Nuva mask

[@heroranuva8295]

@@trogglemorphtrystopmotion1887 that’s true, though it could also be a blanket area of effect around her and her team, we never got specifics on that, or how far away they were. When Kopaka Nuva tried to use the Hau Nuva to protect Pohatu from an avalanche, it started as a bubble shield around Kopaka, and it took time to expand to Pohatu, not even fully reaching him in time.

[@Kaiser-Nuva]

Amazing

[@heroranuva8295]

Thanks!

[@raulvidal2343]

Do only destined Matoran have that inactive Toa energy, or any Matoran could be transformed into a Toa if the one that gave them their power so chooses? I say it because that may explain why some traitorous Toa, like Tuyet or Nidhiki, were chosen, or why some Toa perish without ever accomplishing their destiny, like Lesovikk's team.

[@heroranuva8295]

Interesting question! Kinda up in the air, there are a few interpretations, depending on how you choose to look at destiny, which is its own bundle of interpretations. Its never been definitively shown that Matoran who aren't destined can become Toa, though it is an interesting idea. However, with Nidhiki and Tuyet, I actually enjoy the interpretation that they were in fact destined to become Toa, but they just went away from their destiny. In Bionicle its shown in some places that completing one's destiny is not preordained, and that someone actually fulfilling their destiny is dependent on their choices, and if they made the wrong choices they wouldn't complete their destiny. In spite of destiny, choice matters a great deal in the Bionicle universe. They were given the power and the opportunity, but their choices shaped their path.

[@cathleenmoyle1476]

So Toa armor is basically the metal/metallic protodermis equivalent of a honey badger's skin?

[@heroranuva8295]

Lmao! Yeah I guess it is!

[@cathleenmoyle1476]

@@heroranuva8295 I wonder how a fight between a Toa and a honey badger go?

[@heroranuva8295]

@@cathleenmoyle1476 heh, hard to say. Toa are objectively more powerful, but Honeybadgers never back down, and have zero qualms with murder

[@cathleenmoyle1476]

@@heroranuva8295 Or themselves dying. Honey badgers have zero qualms about themselves dying.

[@heroranuva8295]

@@cathleenmoyle1476 Tru!

[@robinmartin2818]

I think it's impossible to say since they don't really have any guidelines as to what there powers can do. They can absorb, generate, and control an element but that says nothing as to the scale. Could Gali just absorb an entire planets worth of water in an instant? Could Tahu make a flaming fist so hot it could melt all 8 planets in the solar system at once? Seems unlikely but there is not much saying they could or couldn't. The only instance we have of limits that I know are the Toa Metru but there is no way to know if it's a permanent limitation inherent to all toa or if that limitation can diminish over time and the level of output can grow with more practice much like a muscle. The limits of other powers is completely arbitrary too. Most Rahkshi powers in the guide book give their limits in comparison to a Toa Nuva but since they are not really normal toa in that they are mutations and not transformations, it's still nigh impossible to tell what anyone can't do. The one thing I have never been able to get my head around is the Makuta. Most characters in fiction have 1 or 2 abilities at most and they can be the most overpowered people in fiction, and yet the Makuta have 42 (44 if you count the antidermis properties and their own mask powers)! I have never in my life seen such an impossibly overpowered race in my life. There is not a single reason a Makuta should ever lose a fight.

[@heroranuva8295]

While true they don't have explicitly spelled out limits on what they can do, I'd say Bionicle is pretty good at being fairly consistent with the scale of their abilities. You always have a good sense of what they are and are not capable of and the story never strays far from those consistencies without a solid explanation, like Nova Blasts for instance. And from that I'd say we do have a decent idea of what they can and can't do. Honestly I think that's a very good way of writing powers. You don't have to give hard numbers describing their limits as long as you're fairly consistent with their feats. The audience still has a good idea of what to expect, but you also don't have a strict rule to go off of, meaning you don't have to be held back by previous statements if you want to explore new capabilities. And on the Makuta, oh yeah, they are definitely overpowered, and that's always the point to them. But that said, they're definitely not invincible. While they have many powers, all of them have limits, like you said. The Makuta are frankly more dangerous due to variety and unpredictability more than raw power, though they do have raw power in spades. I still find it realistic when they do lose though, as many times its due to their overconfidence or the Toa's creativity and intelligence. Especially since most of the time, the Toa have other objectives than just overpowering the Makuta they're fighting, and they manage to achieve those objectives even though the Makuta still have the upper hand. In fiction, and in real life, conflicts are determined less by relative power, and more by the decisions each side makes. More power essentially gives them more options, but even with plenty of options they can still be out thought.

[@jennieesaltzgiver2925]

Can a Makuta become a toa and if so with element

[@heroranuva8295]

At least as far as canon is concerned, a Makuta can't become a Toa, they're very different species. Though they could very easily shapeshift into a very convincing disguise as a Toa. As far as element, they'd probably be shadow, since they identify with darkness more than anything. Though they did have access to other secondary elements, and could probably do a good disguise as that

[@jennieesaltzgiver2925]

In avatar the last Airbender there are benders that bend the elements with martial arts. You with training from bending masters like toph they will be more powerful and skilled

[@heroranuva8295]

Oh yeah, I love Avatar! There are a lot of interesting parallels between Avatar and Bionicle, especially with how they use elemental powers, I hope to explore them one day in the future

[@hunter17835]

Benders are generally a lot more limited than Toa are though. As they actually need a supply of their element on hand to actually bend anything. Take away water from a waterbender or get an Earthbender away from any dirt and earth, and they're effectively powerless (firebenders are the exception, but even they can be stymied by simply shoving them in a cold location). Toa don't have that limitation, as they're capable of summoning their elements from nothing and generating it from within themselves, even in locations where their element doesn't exist, like fire underwater or air in the vacuum of space. They're also effectively immune to their own elements, something Benders can't claim. Firebenders can still be hurt by someone else throwing fire at them, but a Toa of Fire can simply absorb the flames with ease. Also, while some Benders are certainly powerful, none of them can match the sheer level of power and control a skilled Toa can output. Most Benders certainly aren't capable of outputting nuclear levels of destruction by themselves. The Avatar is admittedly the exception, but it says something that the closest thing the setting has to a God is needed to match what a single Toa is capable of.

[@bionic-tale4313]

I wonder if they can beat the Ninja from Ninjago? Though the Ninja has been on more adventures, the Toa seem to have more control over their element, as well as being stronger and more durable. Though Nya as the actual spirit of water(before being turned back to normal in crystalized) would stomp any Toa of Water.

[@heroranuva8295]

Honestly that would be a really interesting match up! I haven’t seen enough of Ninjago yet to say for myself, but I think it would be really cool

[@bionic-tale4313]

@@heroranuva8295 You could go to the respect threads for their feats in comparison.

[@heroranuva8295]

@@bionic-tale4313 yeah true. And I also plan on eventually watching the show, it sounds good and I also wanna see how Lego’s storytelling has evolved

[@Phantom-hopper]

@@heroranuva8295 ninjago is cool and it took some story elements from bionicle which is also cool I think you will enjoy ninjago if you watch it