Exo-Toa

The Exo-Toa were Toa-sized powered armor units used by the Brotherhood of MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate.. Capable of housing a pilot or running on autopilot, the suits guarded Brotherhood fortresses, were briefly worn by the Toa MataWho are the Toa Mata?Six warriors built to order by Artakha, stored in canisters, dropped into the ocean. This is the origin story of Bionicle's heroes and why their first week of work was entirely amnesiac. against the BahragBahragCahdok and Gahdok were the twin queens of the Bohrok, sealed in a protodermis cage by the Toa Mata and later released to finish their cleansing of Mata Nui., and were destroyed by 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.. Later, under TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna., Exo-Toa rounded up the people of the Matoran Universe during the Reign of ShadowsReign of ShadowsThe year Teridax ruled the Matoran Universe from inside Mata Nui's body, and the scattered resistance plots that ran against him until the Great Spirit returned from Bara Magna.. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated; BIONICLE 8: The End of the Toa?; BIONICLE 11: A Matter of Time...; Reign of Shadows)

Origin and design#

The Brotherhood of MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate. used the Exo-Toa to guard its fortresses, and placed six in the Bohrok NestBohrok NestThe subterranean chamber where the Bohrok slumbered beneath Mata Nui until Makuta's machinations awakened them. to deal with any early release of the BohrokBohrokHive-minded mechanical creatures designed to reshape worlds, the Bohrok represent a threat the Toa Mata never expected.. The suits had an autopilot mode, so they could act without a Toa inside. Each was armed with an electro-rocket launcher on one arm and an extending claw on the other, and the armor greatly boosted the wearer's strength and endurance. The 2002 set could hold a Toa figure as its pilot. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated; BIONICLE 8: The End of the Toa?; Exo-Toa)

The Brotherhood used them well before the Toa Mata ever saw one. Makuta Kojol took Exo-Toa on his raid on Artakha, and when the Brotherhood began its war on the Matoran Universe, Exo-Toa guarded the fortress on Destral, where 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. and Iruini destroyed many of them. Dark Hunters such as the future PirakaBionicle Piraka: the Six Skakdi Thieves Who Hunted the Mask of LifeThe Piraka were six Skakdi who quit the Dark Hunters, took over Voya Nui by posing as Toa and went after the Mask of Life in 2006. Here's who they were, how the Voya Nui story played out and what happened to them afterwards. Reidak could tear them apart with relative ease. (The Mutran Chronicles; BIONICLE 25: Birth of the Rahaga; BIONICLE Legends 4: Legacy of Evil)

Use by the Toa Mata#

The Toa MataWho are the Toa Mata?Six warriors built to order by Artakha, stored in canisters, dropped into the ocean. This is the origin story of Bionicle's heroes and why their first week of work was entirely amnesiac. found the six Exo-Toa deep in the Bohrok NestBohrok NestThe subterranean chamber where the Bohrok slumbered beneath Mata Nui until Makuta's machinations awakened them. while hunting the BahragBahragCahdok and Gahdok were the twin queens of the Bohrok, sealed in a protodermis cage by the Toa Mata and later released to finish their cleansing of Mata Nui.. Placing the krana they had gathered into slots in a circular chamber opened doors around its walls, and behind them were the suits. The Toa put them on and went after the Bahrag, but when TahuTahu (2001)Tahu was the Toa Mata of Fire and leader of the team, from his first landing on Ta-Wahi Beach to the destruction of Teridax's Rahkshi army on Bara Magna with the Golden Armor. fired an electro-rocket, the Bahrag's barrier stopped it. (BIONICLE 7: What Lurks Below)

Tahu then realised the armor was blocking their elemental powers and told the others to shed it. The Exo-Toa had built-in inhibitors that cut off a Toa's elemental energy, which would otherwise have damaged the machine. Free of the suits, the Toa beat the Bahrag with their elements. (BIONICLE 8: The End of the Toa?)

Destruction during the Bohrok-Kal crisis#

When 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. went to free the Bahrag, the Toa NuvaToa Mata and Toa NuvaSix biomechanical heroes created by the Great Beings to awaken Mata Nui and defeat the Brotherhood, transformed once and tested across an entire age. followed them into the Bohrok NestBohrok NestThe subterranean chamber where the Bohrok slumbered beneath Mata Nui until Makuta's machinations awakened them. and found the empty Exo-Toa fighting the Bohrok-Kal on autopilot. The six elite Bohrok destroyed them and carried on. Later, when the Bohrok-Kal's powers were overloaded, pieces of the wrecked suits were magnetised to Gahlok-Kal and crushed it. (BIONICLE 11: A Matter of Time...; BIONICLE 12: Absolute Power)

After the Toa Nuva learned of Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive., the inventor NuparuNuparuAn Onu-Matoran engineer from Metru Nui who built the Boxor and rose to become a Toa of Earth despite no warrior destiny. quietly salvaged pieces of the Exo-Toa and took them to the city, but left on Jaller's quest to Voya Nui before he could study them. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

Autonomous enforcers under Teridax#

After TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna. seized the Matoran UniverseMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control., he used Exo-Toa to round up its people and send them to Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive. to work. In the Reign of ShadowsReign of ShadowsThe year Teridax ruled the Matoran Universe from inside Mata Nui's body, and the scattered resistance plots that ran against him until the Great Spirit returned from Bara Magna. serial, twelve Exo-Toa found TahuTahu (2001)Tahu was the Toa Mata of Fire and leader of the team, from his first landing on Ta-Wahi Beach to the destruction of Teridax's Rahkshi army on Bara Magna with the Golden Armor., Johmak, Lariska, Kopeke and Krahka in Karzahni and ordered them back to Metru Nui in Teridax's voice. Onua arrived and dropped the suits into a chasm with his earth powers. (Reign of Shadows)

The Exo-Toa had their own artificial intelligence, heat sensors and a speech function, but Teridax could command them in legions and speak directly through them. Makuta had long been able to do more than that: in The Mutran Chronicles, Chirox takes over an empty Exo-Toa to play a joke on Mutran, and after the Great Cataclysm a Makuta's essence was kept in one while his armor was repaired. (Reign of Shadows; The Mutran Chronicles)

Status#

Teridax was killed in the Battle of Bara Magna, and with his death the Exo-Toa were freed from his control. (BIONICLE: Journey's End)