Earthshock Drills
Whenua's Toa Tools
The earthshock drills were Toa Metru Whenua's paired Toa Tools, which could dig as shovels, drills or a jackhammer and made an ear-splitting noise when spun.

The earthshock drills were the paired Toa ToolsToa ToolsToa Tools were the implements every Toa carried as channels for elemental power and as physical fighting gear, with each tool specific to a wielder's element and form. of WhenuaWhenuaToa Metru of Earth and later Turaga of Onu-Koro, formerly an Onu-Metru archivist whose career in the Archives shaped his role across the rescue of Metru Nui and the long residency on Mata Nui., Toa Metru of Earth. He used them to channel his earth power, to dig and to fight. (BIONICLE Adventures 1: Mystery of Metru Nui; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)
Origin#
The Toa Metru received their Toa Tools from the Toa suva in the Great Temple after their transformation. Whenua's were the earthshock drills. (BIONICLE Adventures 1: Mystery of Metru Nui)
Function and design#
The drills had several ways to dig. They could be used as basic shovels, as drills when their ends spun at high speed, or as a jackhammer when Whenua fitted the two together. (BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui; BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire)
Spinning as drills, they made an incredibly loud noise. (BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire; BIONICLE 17: Disks of Danger)
Service in Metru Nui#
That noise saved Whenua and NujuNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro.. When an angry mutant Ussal crab grabbed the two Toa, Whenua spun his drills to make a loud sonic hum, and the crab dropped them. (BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire; BIONICLE 17: Disks of Danger)
Web of Shadows shows the drills' digging modes on screen too. (BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows)
Mutation into the Thumpers#
When the Visorak's venom turned the Toa Metru into Toa HordikaToa HordikaToa mutated by Visorak venom into bestial hybrids, forced to fight their primal nature and hunt for a cure., their tools mutated too. Whenua's earthshock drills became a pair of thumpers. (BIONICLE Adventures 7: Web of the Visorak)
Restoration and legacy#
KeetonguKeetonguThe legendary Rahi who broke the Visorak siege and lived to prove he was worth the legend.'s cure undid the mutation, and the tools went back to their original forms along with the Toa. (BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows)
When Whenua gave up his Toa power and became a TuragaTuragaFormer Toa who fulfilled their destiny and transformed into leaders. Turaga wield Noble Kanohi masks and weakened elemental powers, guiding their communities., the drills changed once more, into the drill staff he carried as his badge of office. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)
Position among Toa 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. tools#
Among the Toa Metru tools, the drills stand out as working tools as much as weapons. Their three digging modes suited an Onu-Metru archivist, and their noise gave Whenua an option no other tool on the team had. (BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire; BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui)
Frequently asked questions
- What were the Earthshock Drills?
- The paired Toa Tools of Whenua, Toa Metru of Earth. He used them to channel his earth power, to dig, and in combat.
- What did the Earthshock Drills do besides channel Earth?
- They had several digging modes: basic shovels, drills when their ends spun at high speed, and a jackhammer when the two were fitted together. Spinning as drills, they made an incredibly loud noise.
- How did Whenua use the Earthshock Drills on Metru Nui?
- In Trial by Fire and BIONICLE 17: Disks of Danger, an angry mutant Ussal crab grabbed Whenua and Nuju, and Whenua spun his drills to make a loud sonic hum that got it to drop them.
- What happened to the Earthshock Drills when Whenua became a Toa Hordika?
- Like all the Toa Metru tools, they mutated with him. Whenua's drills became a pair of thumpers. Keetongu's cure later restored them.
- What did the Earthshock Drills become after Whenua became a Turaga?
- His drill staff, the badge of office he carried as Turaga of Onu-Koro.
Sources
- BookBIONICLE Adventures 1: Mystery of Metru Nui, Greg Farshtey, Scholastic, 2004
- BookBIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire, Greg Farshtey, Scholastic, 2004
- ComicBIONICLE 17: Disks of Danger, Greg Farshtey, DC Comics for LEGO, 2004
- FilmBIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui, Miramax and the LEGO Group, 2004
- FilmBIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows, Miramax and the LEGO Group, 2005
- BookBIONICLE Adventures 7: Web of the Visorak, Greg Farshtey, Scholastic, 2005
- BookBIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated, Greg Farshtey, Scholastic, 2007
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry

Metru
In 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.

Toa Tools
Toa Tools were the implements every Toa carried as channels for elemental power and as physical fighting gear, with each tool specific to a wielder's element and form.

Nuju
Nuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro.

Whenua
Toa Metru of Earth and later Turaga of Onu-Koro, formerly an Onu-Metru archivist whose career in the Archives shaped his role across the rescue of Metru Nui and the long residency on Mata Nui.

Keetongu
The legendary Rahi who broke the Visorak siege and lived to prove he was worth the legend.

Turaga
Former Toa who fulfilled their destiny and transformed into leaders. Turaga wield Noble Kanohi masks and weakened elemental powers, guiding their communities.
Mentioned in9 entries
Badge of Office
The Badge of Office was the staff or tool carried by a Turaga to symbolize experience and authority, most often the transformed Toa Tool the elder had wielded in their days as a Toa.
The Hydroblades
The Hydroblades were the paired Toa Tools of Nokama, Toa Metru of Water, used to channel her elemental Water, propel her through Protodermis canals, deflect attacks by spinning, and dig in to hold her fast at need.
The Quest for the Great Disks and the Burning of the King Root
The Toa Metru's hunt for the six Great Kanoka Disks across the districts of Metru Nui and their assault on the Morbuzakh's central core in the Great Furnace of Ta-Metru.
Toa Metru: Heroes of Metru Nui
The Toa Metru were the six Toa transformed from Matoran of Metru Nui by Toa Lhikan's Toa stones, who defeated the Morbuzakh, sealed Teridax after the Great Cataclysm, survived mutation into Toa Hordika, and carried the city's Matoran to the island of Mata Nui before becoming Turaga.
Toa Tools
Toa Tools were the implements every Toa carried as channels for elemental power and as physical fighting gear, with each tool specific to a wielder's element and form.
Ussal Crab
Ussal crabs were the riding and cargo Rahi of the Onu-Matoran, used as transport in Onu-Metru and as the mainstay of the Onu-Koro Ussalry.
Whenua
Toa Metru of Earth and later Turaga of Onu-Koro, formerly an Onu-Metru archivist whose career in the Archives shaped his role across the rescue of Metru Nui and the long residency on Mata Nui.
Drill of Onua
Turaga Whenua's detection staff, forged from his Earthshock Drills when he ascended from Toa to protector.
Thumpers
Whenua's mutated Earth tools that could summon subterranean Rahi before Keetongu restored them.
Get new articles in your inbox
No spam. New lore drops, canon conflicts, and deep dives only when they’re worth reading.
Some links on Lore Fortress are affiliate links. If you buy through them we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.






