Catcher Claw

The catcher claws were the natural tools of RoodakaRoodakaShe spent the entire Visorak arc letting everyone think they were using her, then walked away having beaten the Brotherhood and the Toa at their own game., Viceroy of the VisorakVisorak (Rahi)Spider-like Rahi employed by the Brotherhood of Makuta whose name meant 'Stealers of Life' and whose swarms threatened the Matoran Universe. horde. With them she could snatch RhotukaRhotukaRhotuka were wheels of pure energy generated by living beings, shaped by the user's nature, and launched through natural or artificial launchers. spinners out of the air, add her poison power to them and throw them back at whoever had launched them, and she could also fire bolts of Shadow energy. Her most famous use of them came during the battle for Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive., when she blasted KeetonguKeetonguThe legendary Rahi who broke the Visorak siege and lived to prove he was worth the legend. off the Coliseum wall. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia; BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows; Roodaka, LEGO set 8761)

Two functions#

The catcher claws had two uses. The first was defensive: catching RhotukaRhotukaRhotuka were wheels of pure energy generated by living beings, shaped by the user's nature, and launched through natural or artificial launchers. spinners in flight, poisoning them and sending them back. That mattered in a period when Rhotuka launchers were everywhere. The VisorakVisorak (Rahi)Spider-like Rahi employed by the Brotherhood of Makuta whose name meant 'Stealers of Life' and whose swarms threatened the Matoran Universe. fired mutating spinners, the Toa HordikaToa HordikaToa mutated by Visorak venom into bestial hybrids, forced to fight their primal nature and hunt for a cure. carried Rhotuka launchers, and the RahagaToa Hagah and RahagaThe Toa Hagah were appointed to guard Makuta Teridax, mutated into hybrid warriors, and mysteriously restored. used spinners of their own. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia; Roodaka, LEGO set 8761)

The second use was offensive. The claws could fire bolts of Shadow energy, strong enough to knock KeetonguKeetonguThe legendary Rahi who broke the Visorak siege and lived to prove he was worth the legend. from the wall of the Coliseum during the battle for Metru Nui. (BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows; BIONICLE Adventures 9: Web of Shadows)

No story explains exactly how the catch-and-return trick worked. The claws were part of Roodaka herself, and no one else is ever shown using them. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia)

The Coliseum confrontation#

The claws' big moment came during the battle at the ColiseumThe ColiseumCentral tower of Metru Nui, serving as government seat, akilini arena and, during Teridax's masquerade, the place from which the city's Matoran were rounded up into spheres. in Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive.. The Toa HordikaToa HordikaToa mutated by Visorak venom into bestial hybrids, forced to fight their primal nature and hunt for a cure. and Rahaga NorikNorikToa of Fire and leader of the Toa Hagah, who broke with the Brotherhood of Makuta to recover the Avohkii and led his team through a thousand years of mutation as a Rahaga before being restored. attacked the Visorak's base there, and KeetonguKeetonguThe legendary Rahi who broke the Visorak siege and lived to prove he was worth the legend. climbed the Coliseum wall. When SidorakSidorakHe took credit for someone else's idea, called it leadership, and spent his whole reign as the Visorak's king certain he could not be out-played. missed him with his own blasts, Roodaka fired and hit him, and Keetongu fell to the battlefield. (BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows; BIONICLE Adventures 9: Web of Shadows)

Roodaka urged Sidorak to go and check whether Keetongu was really dead. When they reached him, Sidorak realised he was still alive and ordered Roodaka to kill him. She refused and walked away. (BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows; BIONICLE Adventures 9: Web of Shadows)

Keetongu then killed SidorakSidorakHe took credit for someone else's idea, called it leadership, and spent his whole reign as the Visorak's king certain he could not be out-played., and Roodaka became Queen of the VisorakVisorakSpider-like Rahi created by Makuta Chirox, conquered for the Brotherhood by Gorast, broken at Metru Nui, and ultimately destroyed in a volcanic eruption on Artidax.. She had never cared for the king, and his death left the horde in her hands. (BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows; BIONICLE Adventures 9: Web of Shadows)

The fight was the climax of the VisorakVisorakSpider-like Rahi created by Makuta Chirox, conquered for the Brotherhood by Gorast, broken at Metru Nui, and ultimately destroyed in a volcanic eruption on Artidax. occupation of Metru Nui. (BIONICLE Adventures 9: Web of Shadows)

A weapon suited to its wielder#

RoodakaRoodakaShe spent the entire Visorak arc letting everyone think they were using her, then walked away having beaten the Brotherhood and the Toa at their own game. was a VortixxVortixxThe amoral weapons dealers of Xia who sold to anyone willing to pay. who served as Viceroy of the VisorakVisorak (Rahi)Spider-like Rahi employed by the Brotherhood of Makuta whose name meant 'Stealers of Life' and whose swarms threatened the Matoran Universe. under SidorakSidorakHe took credit for someone else's idea, called it leadership, and spent his whole reign as the Visorak's king certain he could not be out-played., who had been made king after taking credit for her mutation of the Toa HagahToa HagahElite Toa teams appointed by the Brotherhood of Makuta to serve as personal guardians, later rebelling against their creators.. Her own Rhotuka spinner could mutate its targets. She used it to turn the Hagah into RahagaToa Hagah and RahagaThe Toa Hagah were appointed to guard Makuta Teridax, mutated into hybrid warriors, and mysteriously restored., and later, under pressure from the Toa Nuva, to restore them on XiaXiaA hostile island southeast of Metru Nui, home to the Vortixx and their brutal mercenary culture.. (BIONICLE 25: Birth of the Rahaga; Toa Nuva Blog)

Claws that could catch, poison and return other people's spinners suited a fighter whose own power ran through Rhotuka. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia)

Unlike a weapon, the claws couldn't be handed over or lost in battle, so they stayed with Roodaka through her later career. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia)

Operational legacy#

The catcher claws are best remembered for one fight: the shot that brought KeetonguKeetonguThe legendary Rahi who broke the Visorak siege and lived to prove he was worth the legend. down and set up Sidorak's death. (BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows)

That moment fits Roodaka's wider record. She mutated the Toa HagahToa HagahElite Toa teams appointed by the Brotherhood of Makuta to serve as personal guardians, later rebelling against their creators. and later reversed it on XiaXiaA hostile island southeast of Metru Nui, home to the Vortixx and their brutal mercenary culture. when the Toa Nuva left her no choice, she let SidorakSidorakHe took credit for someone else's idea, called it leadership, and spent his whole reign as the Visorak's king certain he could not be out-played. die to take his place, and she worked for both the Brotherhood of MakutaThe Brotherhood of MakutaAn organization of Makuta created by Mata Nui to build Rahi and keep order in his universe, later seized by Teridax and turned into the instrument of the Plan that overthrew the Great Spirit. and the Dark HuntersThe Dark HuntersA band of mercenaries and thieves founded on Odina by the Shadowed One and Ancient, hired out across the Matoran Universe, and left a battered ruin by the time Teridax ruled the universe. until both organisations turned on her. (BIONICLE Adventures 9: Web of Shadows; Toa Nuva Blog)