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| “ | 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.
History
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 and tasked with maintaining order in the universe. Like all the other Makuta, he also fulfilled this goal by creating various Rahi to populate the planet, including the Water Wraith, Rahi Nui, and anyone else.
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.
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 and the Order of Mata Nui.
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 at 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 and Krika 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 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.
Quest in Voya Nui
After Teridax's defeat, a group of Skakdi Dark Hunters called Piraka heard of the Makuta's supposed demise and searched for his lair to loot anything valuable. Zaktan already knew that Teridax was still alive in his essence of Antidermis, and used his telepathic powers to reveal the location of the Mask of Life to the Piraka, in Voya Nui. Zaktan made all the preparations for his overlooking ally, and after they arrived on the island, revealed themselves as Toa, and enslaved the Matoran population. The first step was to make a crystal recipe for Teridax, who gave part of his essence to the Piraka in the form of Zamor Spheres, that physically drained all individuality in a Matoran, were useless against Toa and were particularly benefactory for Brutaka's species. During the events in Voya Nui, Teridax was just a spectator; communicating only with Zaktan and supplying him with Zamor spheres, until a battle with Axxon and Brutaka broke his crystal receptacle, and he moved forward with his plan, entering Mahri Nui and abandoning the Piraka.
Quest in Mahri Nui
Teridax possessing a Maxilos robot.
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 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.
Teridax freeing Matoro from a cell in the Pit.
Later, he travelled towards the Pit where he confronted Matoro, who was captured by the second 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 Zyglak and Takea sharks as the two attacked 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
As the Brotherhood of Makuta began their invasion on the universe, 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 after transforming into the Great Spirit, he then planned to get all of them eliminated in the war.
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.
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 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, escorted by the few Rahkshi of Heat Vision to find the new allies. 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, vaporizing one of the Black Spike Mountains and killing some of the Skrall there. He then proceed to lay waste on the area and attacked the few Glatorian and Agori 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.
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 remove Teridax's mask, though the latter at first 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 pulling off the mask, Teridax somehow grabbed and tossed him to the other Uniters. However, the Toa Uniters were able to destroy the Mask of Power (and Teridax's spirit as well), thus killing him once and for all.
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.
