User blog:Ethans3000/PE Proposal: Makuta Teridax

Hello everyone. This is my second PE proposal, and it is about a character who is already in Pure Evil. But I have seen characters like Mola Ram and Harold Attinger that were already in PE be proposed for the category, and later approved. So I decided, hey, why not do that for Makuta Teridax?

Who Is He/What Has He Done?
Teridax originates from the beloved Lego toyline Bionicle. A short history of him is as follows: he was created by the Great Spirit Mata Nui to help create and alter creatures, as well as protect the Matoran people living inside his robotic body. Teridax and his brothers did so at first, but they felt that they didn't get the respect they deserved. Teridax especially felt this way. So he devised a plan to take over the Matoran Universe and become the Matoran's Great Spirit.

Teridax went to the city of Metru Nui, which functioned as Mata Nui's brain. He hid away the city's leader Turaga Dume and posed as him to gain the Matoran's trust. He plotted to put the Matoran into an endless sleep, wipe away their memories, and awaken them so he could convince them he was their rightful leader. His plans were (partially) thwarted by the Toa Metru, who took the Matoran to the island above Metru Nui to start a new life.

Of course, this did not stop Teridax. He went to the island of Mata Nui and began to corrupt the native Rahi to do his bidding. He used the Rahi, and later the Bohrok, Bohrok-Kal, and Rahkshi, to terrorize the Matoran. His intent was not only to imtimidate them into surrendering, but also to keep them away from Metru Nui. The Matoran were able to resist, especially when the Toa Mata showed up.

Eventually, when it looked like the prophecy of the Toa of Light would come true, Teridax created Turahk, Guurahk, Lerahk, Vorahk, Kurahk, and Panrahk to stop the Matoran Takua from becoming the Toa of Light. They were unsuccessful, and Takua became Takanuva. During their final battle, Teridax and Takanuva merged into one being named Takutanuva. Takutanuva opened the gate to Metru Nui for the Matoran and resurrected the dead Matoran Jaller. But this made Takutanuva weak, and he was crushed by a wall. However, Takanuva was resurrected as well, and Teridax survived.

When the Piraka came to Mata Nui, Teridax ingrained their minds with knowledge of the Mask of Life and tricked them into going to the island of Voya Nui to steal it for him. The reason for this was because Teridax had discovered that the Great Spirit Mata Nui was dying, and he wanted to revive him as part of his plan.

Zaktan later solidified Teridax' essence into a crystalized vat to hypnotize the Matoran of Voya Nui. This vat was destroyed by Axonn, though Teridax survived this as well.

Teridax then went down to Mahri Nui and possessed an old Maxilos robot. He forged an alliance with Toa Matoro to find the Mask of Life. Unfortunately, Hydraxon got the Mask of Life first. Teridax went to Hydraxon and fought him until Matoro came and froze him in a block of ice. Soon after, Maxilos was attacked by the Barraki, forcing Teridax to abandon the Maxilos robot and let the Toa Mahri revive Mata Nui on their own.

While his brothers Antroz, Vamprah, Chirox, Krika, Gorast, and Bitil went to Karda Nui to build an army of shadow Matoran (Kra-Matoran?), Teridax went to Metru Nui and took over the Core Processor. Later, the Toa Nuva used the Mask of Life to awaken Mata Nui. Teridax was able to intercept Mata Nui's spirit and prevent him from taking control of his body.

Teridax banished Mata Nui to Bara Magna, but he wasn't prepared for what Mata Nui would find there. Mata Nui managed to find the prototype Great Spirit robot and take control of it. Teridax went to Bara Magna and battled Mata Nui. In the end, Mata Nui killed Teridax and allowed the inhabitants of his former body to colonize Bara Magna.

Mitigating Factors
There is no doubt that Makuta Teridax is one of the most evil characters to come from any Lego theme. He wants really badly to be respected for what he's done, and he's willing to go to some extremes to accomplish his goals. He was ready to usurp Mata Nui, who he had a relationship that was tantamount to that of a brother. It is clear that he sees the Matoran, Dark Hunters, and even Toa as inferior beings to him. He talks down to them all the time, and he mocks their power.

Also, Teridax was so devoted to his plan, he was willing to annihilate his brothers in the Brotherhood of Makuta. He sent them to Karda Nui to build an army of Kra-Matoran (has a nice ring to it :P)...at least, that's what he said. In reality, he knew that Karda Nui would be engulfed in a raging storm when Mata Nui awoke, and anyone and anything inside this storm would die. Why did Teridax send his brothers to their deaths? Because he was afraid they might rebel against him in the way he had rebelled against Mata Nui, and he didn't want to be usurped.

Heinous Standard
As stated above, Teridax went to great lengths to prevent anyone from rebelling against him in the way he had rebelled. This indicates that he has at least some degree of self-awareness, but he took his own evil in stride. He made no effort to change his ways, and instead continued his villainy.

The book Time Trap may shed some doubt on this, as Teridax made good on his bargains in that book. But here's the thing: Vakama had threatened to destroy the Mask of Time if Teridax didn't honor his end of the bargain. If the Mask of Time were to be destroyed, it would basically shatter the Matoran Universe. That would've put the kabosh of Teridax' plans, so he had no choice but to accept.

It seems like every PE proposal I see has something about whether the villain cares about anyone (apparently Maleficent was rejected simply because she cared about her raven). But Teridax has no care for anyone besides himself. Even before he turned evil, I'm not sure if he really felt sympathy for anyone. So...yeah, Teridax doesn't care about anyone.

Final Verdict
Makuta Teridax qualifies for Pure Evil in my book. He's selfish, and power hungry, and he goes to great lengths to accomplish his goals.