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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.

By Joe Garratt
Earths Drill

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.

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