Makuta Teridax

Makuta Teridax
Biographical Information
Real Name	Teridax
Aliases	Makuta of Metru Nui Master of Shadows
Homeworld	Great Spirit Robot
Physical Information
Species	Makuta
Gender	Male
Chronological / Political Information
Affiliation(s)	Brotherhood of Makuta
Base of Operations	Makuta Fortress, Destral The Coliseum, Metru Nui Mangaia, Mata Nui
Fictional Information
Created by	Christian Faber Greg Farshtey

“	Little Toa, you have not yet begun to see even the barest outlines of my plans. I have schemes within schemes that would boggle your feeble mind. You may counter one, but there are a thousand more of which you know nothing. Even my ... setbacks ... are planned for, and so I shall win in the end.	”
–Makuta Teridax, to Toa Vakama

Makuta Teridax was a member of the Matoran Universe species known as the Makuta. Alongside his brethren, Teridax was created by the deity Mata Nui as part of the planned Brotherhood of Makuta- a force for good to assist Mata Nui in maintaining peace and order in the universe. Teridax served as the most trustworthy lieutenant to Makuta Miserix, leader of the Brotherhood, and created many Rahi beasts to maintain the population levels of the universe.

In the following 20,000 years of his existence, Teridax was granted the Kanohi Kraahkan by the master smith Artakha. Teridax was assigned to lead the armies that would suppress the League of Six Kingdoms, and successfully brought the treacherous rebellion to a halt. However, Teridax was influenced by the Barraki's scheme, and began planning how to supplant Mata Nui and receive the worship of the Matoran. To this end, he crafted a virus that would put the Great Spirit into an unending slumber. Unaware of his treacherous intentions, Miserix dispatched him to protect the island of Metru Nui as a reward for ending the Matoran Civil War, though the Matoran population of the city despised him for having caused the Archives Massacre to do so.

After deposing Miserix following a trial by combat, Teridax assumed control of the Brotherhood with an iron fist, unaware that Makuta Krika had refused to carry out his order to kill Miserix. During the next ten to twenty thousand years, the Makuta evolved into beings of pure energy known as Antidermis. Teridax commissioned the Nynrah Ghosts to build armor for the surviving Makuta, and some millennia later received word that the Kanohi Avohkii, the Mask of Light, had been crafted on Artakha. Teridax dispatched Makuta Kojol to steal the mask. Kojol invaded the island outright and seized the mask, before being killed by operatives of the Order of Mata Nui. Shortly thereafter, Teridax's Toa guardians, the Toa Hagah, learned of the theft and rebelled. They stole the mask, managed to battle Teridax to a stalemate, and escaped. The other Toa employed by the Brotherhood were systematically hunted down and exterminated in retribution, before Teridax unleashed his virus upon the Great Spirit.

Eighteen months before the Great Cataclysm, Teridax took the place of Turaga Dume, and began engineering events in Metru Nui. He dispatched the Toa Mangai on tasks outside of the city, where they were killed by the hired Dark Hunters Eliminator, Nidhiki. and Krekka. The latter two pursued Toa Lhikan, who feared what would become of the city without any protectors. The Toa sought out six Matoran to take the place of the decimated Toa Mangai, all the while unaware that he was being mentally influenced by the Master of Shadows to pick out the most discordant and disunited Matoran that could be found. Teridax himself was unaware that he had also been influenced by the ailing Mata Nui, who made certain that destiny was not averted while leaving Teridax none the wiser. The Makuta then unleashed the gargantuan plant called the Morbuzahk, intending for it to spread unchecked across the city, forcing the Matoran to take refuge in the Coliseum. The newly transformed Toa Metru collected the Great Disks and slew the Morbuzahk. When the Toa arrived at the Coliseum to present the Kanoka disks to the Matoran population and Turaga Dume, the disguised Teridax declared them impostors and ordered their capture. Onewa, Whenua, and Nuju were captured, while Nokama, Matau, and leader Vakama escaped. While Teridax arranged for the Matoran population to be sequestered and placed into suspended animation in the Coliseum by the Vahki, the six reunited Toa Metru and Turaga Lhikan appeared to challenge who they believed was a mad Turaga. Teridax chose then to reveal himself, and began absorbing the energy of the Coliseum, as well as absorbing Nidhiki, Krekka, and Nivawk with a shadow hand. While the Great Cataclysm raged across Metru Nui and the entire Matoran universe, the Toa and Lhikan absconded with six of the Matoran in their stasis pods and sailed across the Silver Sea towards the Great Barrier. Teridax arrived and began raising colossal protodermis pillars from the sea floor in an attempt to destroy the Toa's craft. In an effort to save the ship's passengers, Vakama confronted Teridax with the newly-forged Kanohi Vahi. Recognising Vakama's skill as a mask maker, Teridax tried to tempt him with joining the Brotherhood while he tried to quell the minds of the absorbed Dark Hunters. Vakama refused, and Teridax opted to deploy his shadow hand against the Toa. Vakama attempted to use the Vahi against Teridax, but the mask's time control powers were too much for Vakama to handle. Lhikan was forced to intervene, and the hand absorbed the Turaga's shield. The shadow energy was too potent and killed the Turaga. While Vakama mourned over his fallen mentor, Teridax recovered the Mask of Time. While gloating and before he could use it, Vakama launched a Kanoka, knocking the mask out of Teridax's hands and into the sea below. Enraged and still attempting to suppress his absorbed victims, Teridax was led through a game of cat and mouse while trying to absorb the invisible Toa. In his distraction, Teridax was baited to launching his shadow hand at the Great Barrier itself. Unable to absorb the geography, Teridax slammed into the barrier. While attempting to recover, the six Toa united and used their elemental powers to trap him behind a Toa Seal. Temporarily stymied, Teridax widened the scope of his plans to subjugate the Matoran universe.

Weapons and Abilities

“	We both know that there are a thousand ways I could destroy you right now. And 941 of them hurt.	”
–Makuta Teridax, to Toa Vakama

Inherent Abilities

• Shadow Hand: Teridax had the ability to deploy a massive hand composed of shadow energy from a tool or his own body, that could absorb living entities of the Matoran universe as a way to gain energy, mass, and the physical attributes of those absorbed.
  • Once unleashed, the Shadow Hand could not be controlled. It would continue forth until it grabbed something and then return it to Teridax.
  • Those absorbed still had their minds, and could resist the absorbtion. The Makuta would need to obliterate their willpower or risk being overwhelmed.
• Intelligence: Teridax possessed a genius level of intellect in the fields of chemistry, engineering, strategy, tactics, and genetic engineering.
  • In a brief span, Teridax was able to plan out 1000 ways in which he could kill Toa Vakama at their current place and time, and was able to say with certainty that 941 of those manners of death would be painful.
• Shapeshifting: Teridax could shapeshift as any other member of his race could. Unlike the Rahkshi of Shapeshifting, Teridax's mass would change if he were to shapeshift to a smaller size; excess mass would be shunted to another dimension.
  • Their shapeshifting was unable to repair damage to their armor, as the same damage would occur in whatever form they assumed.
  • Any bodies Teridax possessed that weren't designed for shapeshifting would be unable to.
• Umbrakinesis: Teridax was able to manipulate the element of Shadow through will.
  • Teridax could plunge areas into darkness, leaving his opponents blind.
  • Teridax could wield destructive bolts of shadow energy.
  • Teridax could create a solid mass of shadow that could encapsulate and trap beings within.

Assets

• Authority: As the second-in-command and later leader of the Brotherhood of Makuta, Teridax commanded the combined armies and allied factions of the Brotherhood.
• Life Experience: Teridax possessed the life experience of over 100,000 years of living.
• Willpower: Teridax's willpower was sufficient to wield the Vahi.

Skills

• Mastery of Manipulation: Teridax was a master at manipulating both his peers and those he considered his lessers. Teridax's skills were so great that he could easily cause his enemies to achieve his goals while they believed themselves to be resisting him.

Technology

• Protosteel Armor: Teridax, like the other members of the Brotherhood, had specially built armor designed by the Nynrah Ghosts made out of protosteel, one of the most durable substances in the Matoran universe.
• Kanohi Kraahkan: Teridax used this protosteel mask designed in Artakha, that allowed the wearer to wield Elemental Shadow, incite anger and fear in an opponent, and to see the moral darkness in others.
  • The mask did not boost Teridax's elemental powers.
  • The mask automatically sent out bolts of shadow to attack non-Makuta who attempted to wear it.
• Staff of Darkness: A large, bladed staff that Teridax used to channel his Shadow energy. The staff was also able spheres of pure Light and Energized Protodermis into Shadow.

Notes

Behind the Scenes

• Teridax was the overarching villain of the "Bionicle" franchise, and was voiced by Canadian actor Lee Tockar in the first two films. Teridax was one of author Greg Farshtey's favourite characters to write about. Farshtey's favoured novel was "Time Trap", because it allowed him to do a soft reboot of the character that transformed him from a supposedly threatening figure that was frequently and easily defeated, into a chessmaster with numerous plans layered upon other plans and would allow himself to appear to have been defeated in favour of advancing another of his secret agendas. Farshtey felt that Teridax having always been in control made him a far more interesting character to write for.
• The twist that Teridax would take oveer Mata Nui's body was only plotted around 2007.
• Composer Nathan Furst recalled conversations of making a Makuta origin film, that ultimately went nowhere.

References

• Teridax's death was listed by the TTV Channel as the third best in the franchise.

Links

• Teridax on BIONICLEsector01
• Makuta Teridax on the Villains Wiki