Brander

Brander was a Ta-MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui. native to Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive., a Crafter by trade and a co-worker of the mask-maker NuhriiNuhriiNuhrii was a Ta-Matoran mask-maker of Metru Nui, one of the six finders of a Great Disk, who later served in the Ta-Koro Guard on Mata Nui. in the forges of Ta-MetruTa-MetruThe fire district where Ta-Matoran perfected their craft and powered Metru Nui's industry for thousands of years.. He survived the Great CataclysmThe Great CataclysmThe day Makuta Teridax put the Great Spirit to sleep, the Great Spirit Robot fell from the sky, Metru Nui flooded, and Voya Nui tore loose from the Southern Continent., the millennium of dormancy in a Matoran SphereMatoran SphereRound containers that wiped memories and hid Makuta Teridax's manipulation of the Matoran., the years on Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. as a Crafter in Ta-KoroTa-KoroTa-Koro was a settlement located in Ta-Wahi, home to the Ta-Matoran, Tahu, and Vakama, and formerly connected to Teridax. The settlement was ultimately destroyed., and the eventual return to Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive.. (BIONICLE Adventures 1: Mystery of Metru Nui; BIONICLE Adventures 4: Legends of Metru Nui; Mata Nui Online Game II: The Final Chronicle)

Early life in Ta-Metru#

Brander's first life was spent in Ta-MetruTa-MetruThe fire district where Ta-Matoran perfected their craft and powered Metru Nui's industry for thousands of years., the fire-working district of Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive., where he worked in one of the foundries. There he knew NuhriiNuhriiNuhrii was a Ta-Matoran mask-maker of Metru Nui, one of the six finders of a Great Disk, who later served in the Ta-Koro Guard on Mata Nui., the mask-maker who turned out to be one of the six MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. tied to the Great DisksThe Great Disks: six Kanoka of level nineThe Great Disks were six Kanoka of Metru Nui, each at the maximum power level of nine, one hidden in every district. The Toa Metru recovered all six.. (BIONICLE Adventures 1: Mystery of Metru Nui)

During the MorbuzakhMorbuzakhA sentient plant monster created by Teridax to terrorize Metru Nui and control its population through fear. attacks, VakamaVakamaA Ta-Metru maskmaker transformed into the Toa Metru of Fire, leader of his team through the Visorak war, and Turaga of Ta-Koro for a thousand years., newly transformed into a Toa MetruToa Metru and Toa HordikaSix Matoran elevated by Lhikan to save their city, mutated by Visorak venom, and restored in time to deliver the population to safety., came to the foundry asking about Nuhrii. Brander didn't believe the tall Toa in front of him was the Vakama he knew, so he set a test: pick out the mask with a flaw. Vakama passed easily, earned Brander's trust, and left with the information he needed to follow Nuhrii's trail. (BIONICLE Adventures 1: Mystery of Metru Nui)

The Great Cataclysm and the Sphere#

Like most of the city's Matoran, Brander was captured by the VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. on the orders of TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna., who was posing as TuragaTuragaFormer Toa who fulfilled their destiny and transformed into leaders. Turaga wield Noble Kanohi masks and weakened elemental powers, guiding their communities. DumeDumeDume is a Turaga of Fire and the former ruler of Metru Nui, distinguished by his red and black coloring and the Noble Kanohi Kiril, the Mask of Regeneration. As a member of the Turaga of Metru Nui, he wields a Staff of Office and commands a weakened mastery of Fire. He later resides on the reformed Spherus Magna., and sealed in a Matoran SphereMatoran SphereRound containers that wiped memories and hid Makuta Teridax's manipulation of the Matoran.. The Toa MetruToa Metru and Toa HordikaSix Matoran elevated by Lhikan to save their city, mutated by Visorak venom, and restored in time to deliver the population to safety. later rescued the spheres and carried them to the island of Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years., where Brander woke on the shores of Naho Bay. (BIONICLE Adventures 4: Legends of Metru Nui; BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui)

Brander came out of the sphere smaller and weaker than his Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive. self, with no memory of his life before. Every Matoran rescued from the city woke the same way, and Brander took his place among the fire villagers of Ta-KoroTa-KoroTa-Koro was a settlement located in Ta-Wahi, home to the Ta-Matoran, Tahu, and Vakama, and formerly connected to Teridax. The settlement was ultimately destroyed.. (BIONICLE Adventures 4: Legends of Metru Nui; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia)

Life in Ta-KoroKoroThe Koros were the six elemental villages built on Mata Nui after the Great Rescue, on sites the Toa Metru had chosen, each tied to one element and one Turaga.#

On Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years., Brander worked as a Crafter in Ta-KoroTa-KoroTa-Koro was a settlement located in Ta-Wahi, home to the Ta-Matoran, Tahu, and Vakama, and formerly connected to Teridax. The settlement was ultimately destroyed., the fire village inside the volcano, rather than as one of the Ta-Koro GuardTa-Koro GuardThe Ta-Koro Guard was the largest standing Matoran fighting force on Mata Nui, captained by Jaller and active from the early Rahi conflicts through the return to Metru Nui. under JallerJallerJaller served as Captain of the Ta-Koro Guard, led the Toa Inika to Voya Nui, and commanded the Toa Mahri through the recovery of the Mask of Life.. HahliHahliA Ga-Matoran scholar who rose to become Chronicler of Mata Nui, then Toa Inika, then Toa Mahri of Water during the final crises of the Matoran Universe. met him there during her travels around the island. (Mata Nui Online Game II: The Final Chronicle)

After the defeat of the Bohrok-KalBohrok-KalSix elite Bohrok designed to free the imprisoned Bahrag, they nearly defeated the Toa Nuva before the Toa turned their own powers against them., Brander and the other MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. were rebuilt into stronger forms like the ones they had before the spheres shrank them. (Mata Nui Online Animations)

When the RahkshiBionicle Rahkshi: the Sons of Makuta from Mask of LightRahkshi are armoured hunters made from kraata, the slug-like creatures of the Makuta. Six of them chased the Mask of Light across Mata Nui in 2003. Here's what they are, the different kinds and where they turn up in the films, books and comics. attacked Ta-KoroTa-KoroTa-Koro was a settlement located in Ta-Wahi, home to the Ta-Matoran, Tahu, and Vakama, and formerly connected to Teridax. The settlement was ultimately destroyed., the village was destroyed and sank into the lava. Brander was evacuated with the rest of the villagers. (BIONICLE: Mask of Light; BIONICLE: Mask of Light (novelisation))

Return to MetruMetruIn the Matoran language a metru was a single district of Metru Nui; the city was divided into six such districts, one for each element, and the term covered both the place and the elemental community that lived in it. Nui and the Reformation#

Brander helped build the boats that carried the MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. back to Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive., then joined the mass effort to rebuild the city. He briefly stopped work when JallerJallerJaller served as Captain of the Ta-Koro Guard, led the Toa Inika to Voya Nui, and commanded the Toa Mahri through the recovery of the Mask of Life. ordered a halt to force the TuragaTuragaFormer Toa who fulfilled their destiny and transformed into leaders. Turaga wield Noble Kanohi masks and weakened elemental powers, guiding their communities. to reveal where the Toa NuvaToa NuvaThe form the Toa Mata took after stepping into the Energized Protodermis beneath the Bahrag, with new masks, new tools, and the elemental scale to fight Karda Nui. had gone, then went back to it. (BIONICLE Adventures 1: Mystery of Metru Nui; BIONICLE Legends 1: Island of Doom)

After the Battle of Bara MagnaThe Battle of Bara MagnaTeridax brought the Great Spirit Robot to Bara Magna, and Mata Nui rose to meet him in the ancient Prototype Robot, in the battle that ended the Matoran Universe and reformed Spherus Magna. and the death of TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna., the inhabitants of the damaged Great Spirit RobotThe Great Spirit Robot, explainedBionicle's whole universe lives inside a 40-million-foot robot built by the Great Beings. Here is what it is, why it was built, and how it ended. left it for the restored Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint.. Brander isn't named in that story, but writer Greg Farshtey later confirmed he made the move too. (BIONICLE: Journey's End)

Powers, equipment, and naming#

Like every Ta-MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui., Brander was tied to the element of fire, though Matoran can't wield their element the way Toa do. He had no recorded weapon or Kanoka launcher. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia)

Legacy#

Brander is a typical case rather than an outlier. He walked the same path from Ta-MetruTa-MetruThe fire district where Ta-Matoran perfected their craft and powered Metru Nui's industry for thousands of years. to Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. and back that every rescued Ta-MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui. walked, and he's remembered mainly because VakamaVakamaA Ta-Metru maskmaker transformed into the Toa Metru of Fire, leader of his team through the Visorak war, and Turaga of Ta-Koro for a thousand years. needed information from his foundry during the Great Disk hunt and because HahliHahliA Ga-Matoran scholar who rose to become Chronicler of Mata Nui, then Toa Inika, then Toa Mahri of Water during the final crises of the Matoran Universe. met him in Ta-Koro. (BIONICLE Adventures 1: Mystery of Metru Nui; Mata Nui Online Game II: The Final Chronicle)