Makuta Teridax

"Ah, the brave Toa of fire... now, no more than a match waiting to be extinguished beneath my heel. The plan is finished, Toa! The game is over. And with Mata Nui forever gone, will you fight the air you breath, Toa? The ground that you walked on? Understand, I no longer need to battle you in hopes of ruling the universe. I AM THE UNIVERSE!"

- Makuta Teridax taunting Toa Tahu after successfully taking over the Matoran Universe.

Makuta Teridax (better known simply as Makuta or Teridax) is the main antagonist of the BIONICLE series. He was the evil leader of the Brotherhood of Makuta, the brother-friend of Mata Nui and the once trusted lieutenant of Makuta Miserix. However, his jealousy towards Mata Nui drove him to overthrow the Great Spirit and rule the Matoran, the people he once swore to protect. He is also responsible for masterminding most of the story's events throughout the series and orchestrating everything behind the scenes to achieve his ultimate goal of overthrowing the Great Spirit and taking over the Matoran Universe.

He was voiced by Lee Tockar in the animated series, who also voiced Frieza in the Ocean Group's English dub of Dragon Ball Kai, and Ravage from Beast Wars.

Past
About 100,000 years ago, before the start of the series, Makuta Teridax was brought into being by the Great Beings via Antidermis. When Miserix founded the Brotherhood of Makuta and became the leader of the organisation, Teridax was appointed as the lieutenant of the Brotherhood's army following his complete training for some days and  was also tasked with maintaining order in the Matoran Universe. Like all the other Makuta, he also flfilled this goal by creating various Rahi to populate the planet, including the Water Wraith, Rahi Nui and Kinloka.

When Mata Nui and the Order of Mata Nui came into being, he encountered him, and they eventually became both best friends and brothers as they worked together to protect the universe from many threats. When Miserix learnt that the Vortixx had charged the price of the trade with the Matoran, he sent Teridax to ask Mutran to accompany both Icarax and his aide Pridak to travel to Xia to negotiate with the Vortixx to lower the price.

When Pridak left the service of the Brotherhood and formed the League of Six Kingdoms, Teridax hired Takadox to act as a spy for the Brotherhood to keep an eye on Pridak's activities.

He and Icarax later attended a meeting with Kalmah and Ehlek, two members of the Barraki as they came to Destral to demand that the Brotherhood continued to supply them with Rahi. When Teridax returned to report to Miserix, the latter then ordered his most trusted lieutenant to keep watch on the Barraki.

When the League of Six Kingdoms attacked the island of Metru Nui in an attempt to overthrow the Great Spirit, Teridax was ordered to assemble the Brotherhood's army and dispatched to Metru Nui as they were also joined by the alliance of the Toa Mangai and the Order of Mata Nui. When Teridax and his army arrived into Metru Nui, he saved Lhikan, Nidhiki and Naho, who was about to finished by Pridak and engaged the Barraki in the battle. When Pridak offered Teridax of joining forces with each other to overthrow the Great Spirit and conquer the universe, Teridax refused and engaged the warlord in the fight. The two fought in the brutal and vicious battle in the street of Metru Nui as

The Brotherhood's Corruption
Sometime after the Matoran Civil War, Miserix assigned all of the Brotherhood's members to protect various regions across the universe and Teridax was assigned to defend Metru Nui as a reward for stopping the war. Several months later, Teridax eventually became very jealous towards Mata Nui when he realised that he gained all of the praises from the Matoran. To make matters worse, he was influenced by the Barraki's attempt of overthrowing the Great Spirit and he began to contemplate on usurping the Great Spirit himself.

When Mutran returned to Destral after learning both the workings of the Matoran Universe and how to usurp the Great Spirit from a being named Tren Krom, he shared his knowledge with Teridax, who listened to Mutran's words without comment. The next day, Teridax called for a convocation and announced his plan to overthrow the Great Spirit to the assembled Makuta. When Miserix heard of this from the other Makuta, he confronted and attacked Teridax, forcing the two Makuta to fight. Despite Miserix's great strength and power, Teridax eventually emerged victorious after he defeated his leader and as a result of the scene, all but a few Makuta supported him as Gorast and Bitil were the first to approach Teridax.

Soon one by one, Antroz, Mutran, Icarax, Chirox, Vamprah, Spiriah, Krika, Kojol, Tridax and the Makuta of Stelt sided with Teridax as he then claimed leadership of the Brotherhood. Later, Teridax ordered Icarax and Gorast to hunt down Miserix's supporters and execute them. He then ordered Miserix's execution to ensure that his former leader no longer opposed him, though Krika secretly disobeyed his order and instead imprisoned Miserix and Artidax. Soon after that, the Brotherhood secretly began to oppress and enslave the Matoran.

Metru Nui
A few days after the Toa Hagah's rebellion, Teridax's seal eventually resurfaced in the underground river in Po-Metru of Metru-Nui when he was confronted by the traitorous Po-Matoran named Ahkmou who unwittingly freed him from his prison. After exchanging words, the weakened yet determined Teridax then propose Ahkmou with his plot to capture the Matoran and take over Metru Nui to overthrow the Great Spirit himself. Before invading the city, he created the plant-like creature to get the Matoran in his grasp. He then named it Karzahni after a mythical ruler famed for his insanity. However, the beast was too willful, and Teridax abandoned it, before creating the Morbuzakh for his deadly plot.

He began his initial takeover by having Turaga Dume captured as he had Ahkmou to trick Dume into going into Po-Metru. When Ahkmou and Dume arrived in Po-Metru, Teridax hid in the shadows as Ahkmou then tricked Dume into getting stranded inside the tunnels. Teridax then attacked the Turaga and forced him in a deep sleep in the Matoran Sphere. Using his shapeshifting power, Teridax disguised himself as Dume and brought in a pet named Nivawk, which he used.

Mask of Light
Following the defeat of the Bohrok-Kal and at the same time in Mangaia, Teridax foresaw the discovery of the Avohkii and the coming of the seventh Toa. Fearing that his defeat will be inevitable, he immediately extracted Kraata from his body and fitted them into armours of Guurahk, Lerahk and Panrahk, thus awakening them. Teridax then ordered them to find the Herald of the seventh Toa and destroy the Avohkii to prevent the prophecy from coming true. The three Rahkshi then make their way to Ta-Koro where they razed the entire village, only to find both the Herald and the mask weren't there.

Teridax remained in his lair as he heard about the three Rahkshi's defeats in Ko-Koro. Disgruntled, Teridax then created three more Rahkshi; Turahk, Kurahk and

Quest in Voya Nui
Although the Toa and Matoran believed that Teridax is dead, his Antidermis managed to survive and was later seen floating in the shadows around his lair. Some time later, Hakann; a member of the Piraka informed his leader Zaktan about the rumor of Teridax's defeat at the hands of Takanuva. Zaktan then led the other Piraka; Hakann, Vezok, Avak, Reidak, and Thok to investigate Mangai, where they looked for treasures to loot. It was until Reidak found Teridax's shattered armor under the door.

Quest in Mahri Nui
Once inside Mahri Nui's black water, Teridax's essence crossed the ocean and eventually stumbled upon the body of a Maxilos robot lying on the seabed. He took control of its body and was then contacted by Gorast, who was relieved of his survival before informing him that the Brotherhood of Makuta have discovered the location of Karda Nui. He ordered her to tell Icarax to gather the most potent Makuta and their army to invade Karda Nui and transform as many Av-Matoran as possible into the Shadow Matoran in order to prevent them from becoming the Toa of Light.

Later, he travelled towards the Pit where he confronted Matoro, who was captured by Dekar-Hydraxon as he revealed his identity to the Toa Mahri of Ice before freeing him from the cell. They then made an uneasy alliance to find the Kanohi Ignika and made their move, just before they were confronted by the Barraki's army of Takea sharks as the two battled the army. Teridax chose to hide behind the rock while Matoro faced the Zyglak using the Kanohi Tryna as the Makuta did not want the Barraki to recognise him.

After the battle, Teridax and Matoro later discovered the fragments of the Staff of Artahka as the former then used the power to restore the staff. Teridax then planned to use the Staff of Artahka to restore the Nui Stone and began to activate the staff's ability, but when Matoro tried to interfere, he froze the Toa in a stasis field. Before Teridax could proceed, however, he was stopped by a mutated Brutaka. During the fight, Brutaka successfully knocked the staff off from Teridax as the staff flowed towards the open water, thus ruining Teridax's plan. Brutaka told Matoro to return to the other Toa Mahri, and Matoro did, trusting Brutaka over Teridax.

Mata Nui's Reawakening
In his preparation of the Plan's final move, Teridax travelled to Metru Nui and accessed to the Core Processor, located beneath the Coliseum by slipping through the made cracks in the Coliseum's foundation. He eventually reached his planned destination, which was the former location of Mata Nui's spirit. Before Mata Nui's spirit could return to this location, Teridax arrived and took over the Great Spirit Robot. Believing that the other Makuta would challenge him for power after transforming into the Great Spirit, he then planned to get all of them eliminated by ordering them to enter into the war against their enemies. While Teridax remained in the chamber while waiting for the Great Spirit to be reawaken once more, the Toa Hagah, a mutated Zaktan and Miserix arrived into the chamber to look for him and defeat him. Just after Helryx, Keetongu, Axonn and Brutaka arrived into the chamber with the use of Brutaka's Olmak, Teridax unleashed a bolt of energy from one of the machine panels

Reign of Shadows
A weeks after Teridax successfully took over the Great Spirit Robot and the Matoran Universe, the Toa and their allies were forced to hide in the Archives' tunnels when Teridax summoned an army of Rahkshi to attack Metru Nui.

Journey's End
While contemplating conquering the rest of the universe, Teridax remembered Mata Nui, trapped in the Ignika as it flew through the universe, and considering finding and crushing his former friend and brother. He then called to the Red Star's power and departed for the planet called Spherus Magna to kill Mata Nui once and for all. After a few days, Teridax arrived on Spherus Magna and sent Nektann to find the few allies to aid him. While he began his search for Mata Nui, Nektann and their allies travelled to the Black Spike Mountains, where they confronted Stronius, a member of the Rock Tribe and Skrall as they offered them to conquer the entire universe in exchange of conquering Spherus Magna as Stronius agreed and formed the alliance of their two armies.

Later, Teridax and his allies began their full attack on Bara Magna to lure Mata Nui out so that he could kill him. Teridax unleashed the destructive energies of his robot body, laying waste on the area and attacked and killed the few Glatorian and Agori living there. It was until Tahu and the Glatorian named Gresh arrive into the scene. They then confronted Teridax and try to attacked him by penetrating his armor with their attacks in order to take him down but their efforts are proved too futile and eventually caught Teridax's attention. He then retilates by vaporizing one of the Black Spike Mountains and killing thousands of Skrall

Revival, Final Battle and Death
The Uniters somehow managed to locate Teridax in the Leva Bay of Po-Koro as they engaged him in the battle again. This time, the Uniters decided to plan of how to remove Teridax's mask. They attacked him to remove the mask from Teridax's face though the latter easily knocked them off. While the other five distracted Teridax with their attacks, Tahu jumped onto the Makuta and tried to unmask him. As Tahu was nearly succeeded in unmasking the mask, Teridax retilates by grabbing the Uniter of Fire and tossing him back towards the other Uniters. Teridax then continue to brutally attacked the Uniters, though the heroes refused to give up as Pohatu began to annoy Teridax with his stone element However, the Toa Uniters were able to destroy the Mask of Power along with Teridax's spirit as well, thus killing the Makuta once and for all.

Legacy
Although Teridax and the other Makuta were defeated for good, there are a few remaining Makuta who had survived in the universe; Miserix, the Alternate Teridax as well as Makuta the Mask Hoarder, who was trapped in the Shadow Realm though he still lives.

The other Makuta named the Overlord Makuta, who sought to conquer the universe by invading the dimensions, though he was defeated in the hands of the Toa Mata and the Alpha-1 Team.

Even after Teridax died for good, the universe was not yet freed from dangers, as more Makuta who had known to be still around, waiting for their chance of claiming the universe. When that happened, the heroes must prepared themselves for the other Makuta's future threats.

Personality
"I have no allies, for I have no equals."

- Makuta Teridax to Helryx.

Teridax was outright obsessed with absolute power, and in his efforts of obtaining it for himself, made him into the evil leader he is today. He was a very treacherous and irredeemable narcissist, as he was willing to commit his actions with the lack of remorse and empathy. Teridax was also very manipulative, traitorous and deceptive, as he easily deceives other beings into helping his cause and to get what he wants.

At first, Teridax appeared to be very polite and charismatic towards the other beings. However, this hid his real personality as he was an egocentric, sadistic, and ruthless megalomaniac, that viewed his allies and enemies alike as his pawns to be manipulated and disposed of when they outlived their usefulness. He even went so far at betraying them and left them to their fates also if they aided him.

Teridax also proved to have a unique and extraordinary intellect, even for a Makuta. He was capable of studying and analysing every possibility that would occur when he began rising his plan and manage to fit together the victories of his enemies, the ambitions, his allies and even his setbacks into a project that never seemed to fail.

Teridax was also described as a sociopath as he usually tried to justify his actions and always claimed that it was for the good of the universe. He also proved to be charismatic and ambitious as he demonstrated by convincing the other Makuta of the Brotherhood to join his cause. Following his defeat in Spherus Magna and his survival despite being defeated by Tahu, Teridax became more bitter, vengeful and vindictive. He also became increasingly paranoid and demanding, as he did not tolerate his allies' failures and was also determined to destroy the Toa Mata once and for all.

Powers and Abilities

 * Shadow Element: Like all Makuta, Teridax was able to manipulate the element of Shadow for an untold number of applications, from enshrouding his enemies in pitch blackness to unleashing bolts of shadow energy, and even projecting his own spirit through shadows. This could also be shaped into the form of a giant and ethereal hand, which Makuta could use to capture enemies, absorbing them into his essence and becoming more powerful as a result.
 * Master Manipulation: Being the most powerful being in the universe, Teridax's weapon of choice is his manipulation skills. He can also manipulate and control others into doing his bidding. For example; he manipulates the Makuta into defying Miserix's rule and join his cause.
 * Kanohi Kraahkan: This is the Great Kanohi that Teridax wore just before his reign. In addition to as well as filling the hearts of other beings with fear and anger. After his battle with Takanuva, he abandoned the mask along with his body. The mask was eventually destroyed when Icarax was killed in the final battle with Toa Ignika.
 * Shapeshifting: Like the rest of his race, Makuta is able to assume the form of any being or creature he desires, be it a frail Turaga, a savage beast or a swirling void of severed limbs.
 * Kraata Powers: Like all Makuta, Teridax has the ability to channel through the powers of the 42 Kraata powers.:


 * The staff of Darkness: He wields a magical staff that harnesses the power of darkness.
 * Antidermis: Like all Makuta due to their evolution, Teridax evolved into an energy-based being comprised of Antidermis, housed in protosteel armor to keep from dissipating. Individuals exposed to this substance became highly suggestible, which the thuggish Piraka used to their advantage when enslaving the Matoran of Voya Nui. Ironically, the gang were unaware that they themselves were being manipulated themselves by Teridax's essence.

Trivia

 * Despite being irredeemably evil, Teridax is stated to be Greg Farshtey's favorite character to write about. He also appeared in toyline as one of the toys which were geared by children.
 * Makuta Teridax is the only evil character from Bionicle to reach his goal and being a Successful.
 * Most beings in the Matoran Universe referred to him as "The Makuta", although he was more formally known as The Makuta of Metru Nui until his original name was revealed in the 2008 storyline - even then, he was rarely referred to by the name, except by fellow Makuta and a handful of others.
 * In Bionicle: The Game, Teridax was voiced by Sean Schemmel.
 * According to Greg, Teridax was to take over the Great Spirit Robot and Mata Nui would take over another Robot, but the Makuta's evil intentions caused him to take over the robot early and misuse it.
 * Teridax also happened to be voiced by the Japanese male actor named Daisuke Gori, who also voiced as the various villains such as; Heihachi Mishima from Tekken, The Fallen from Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, King Cold from Dragon Ball, and other villains as well.

Navigation
Teridax