Hook Blade

The Hook Blade was a curved cutting weapon carried by the upper ranks of the Skull ArmyThe Skull ArmyThe undead host raised by Kulta beneath the City of the Mask Makers, drawn from the corpses of fallen Okotans, organised into tiers of Skull Basher, Skull Slicer, Skull Warriors, and Skull Scorpios, and aimed at the destruction of the Mask of Creation. on OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors., in the 2015 reboot continuity. KultaKultaKulta was the leader of the Skull Creatures, a group native to the island of Okoto, and operated from the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a Mask Stealer Staff and Hook Blade, he possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and once held both the powerless Skull Mask and the Mask of Creation. carried one beside the Mask Stealer StaffThe Mask Stealer StaffThe Mask Stealer Staff was the signature weapon of Kulta the Skull Grinder, the staff that snatched masks from their wearers' faces and drained the power bound up in them, and the central instrument of the campaign to break the Mask Makers' work. that served as his principal weapon, and Skull SlicerSkull SlicerA former arena victor who drains masks of their power as Kulta's lieutenant., guardian of the Arena in the City of the Mask Makers, carried three. (Skull Slicer; Mask Maker vs. Skull Grinder; BIONICLE Webisodes)

Form and cutting capability#

The Hook Blade was a single-piece weapon with a long curved edge and a pronounced hook at the working end. Skull Slicer's blades were described as razor sharp and able to cut through solid stone, putting them in the same family as the Hook AxesHook AxesSkull Basher's paired axes capture the 2015 reboot's approach to weapon design: visually distinctive but narratively sparse, where function speaks louder than lore. carried by Skull BasherSkull BasherA Skull Creature guardian of Okoto's Temple of Creation, armed with mask-draining powers and hook axes.. (Skull Slicer)

The hooked tip gave the weapon a second role. Like most of the Skull Army's tools, the Hook Blade is listed as useful for grabbing masks as well as for melee combat. The story never shows exactly how a Hook Blade took a KanohiKanohiMasks that grant powers and sustain life, they're the most vital artifact in the Matoran Universe., and the dedicated mask-taking was left to tools such as the Mask Stealer StaffThe Mask Stealer StaffThe Mask Stealer Staff was the signature weapon of Kulta the Skull Grinder, the staff that snatched masks from their wearers' faces and drained the power bound up in them, and the central instrument of the campaign to break the Mask Makers' work. and Skull Slicer's Mask Grabber. (Skull Slicer; Skull Warrior)

Kulta's side arm#

KultaKultaKulta was the leader of the Skull Creatures, a group native to the island of Okoto, and operated from the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a Mask Stealer Staff and Hook Blade, he possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and once held both the powerless Skull Mask and the Mask of Creation., as the Skull GrinderSkull GrinderThe title borne by Kulta after his alliance with Makuta, marking his role as the wielder of the Mask Stealer Staff, the mask-burner at the Mask Makers' forge, and the first foe to defeat the Toa in single combat on Okoto., carried the Mask Stealer StaffThe Mask Stealer StaffThe Mask Stealer Staff was the signature weapon of Kulta the Skull Grinder, the staff that snatched masks from their wearers' faces and drained the power bound up in them, and the central instrument of the campaign to break the Mask Makers' work. as his primary weapon. The staff was the most feared weapon on the island, able to steal masks from unsuspecting beings and drain them of energy. The Hook Blade was his secondary weapon. (Mask Maker vs. Skull Grinder; BIONICLE Webisodes)

The pairing gave KultaKultaKulta was the leader of the Skull Creatures, a group native to the island of Okoto, and operated from the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a Mask Stealer Staff and Hook Blade, he possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and once held both the powerless Skull Mask and the Mask of Creation. a long weapon and a short one. How he split their use in a fight is not described; the staff dominates every account of him, and the Hook Blade appears mainly as part of his equipment. (Mask Maker vs. Skull Grinder)

The duel at the Mask MakersThe Mask MakersThe two legendary craftsmen of Okoto, Ekimu and Makuta, who forged the island's Kanohi and whose rivalry ended in the cataclysm at Capital City.' forge turned on the Mask of CreationThe Mask of CreationThe signature Kanohi of Ekimu the Mask Maker, the source of his creative craft. Stolen by Kulta the Skull Grinder, reclaimed at the Mask Makers' forge, and worn again in the final defence of Okoto., Ekimu's mask, which KultaKultaKulta was the leader of the Skull Creatures, a group native to the island of Okoto, and operated from the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a Mask Stealer Staff and Hook Blade, he possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and once held both the powerless Skull Mask and the Mask of Creation. put on to strike down all six ToaThe Toa of Okoto: The Six Heroes Summoned to Save the IslandThe six elemental heroes summoned by the Protectors of Okoto, who recovered the Golden Masks, woke Ekimu, fought the Skull Army, and twice banished Makuta to the Shadow Realm. with one blow before EkimuEkimu the Mask MakerEkimu is the Mask Maker of Okoto in the 2015 BIONICLE reboot, brother of Makuta, who knocked the Mask of Ultimate Power from his brother's face and slept for thousands of years before the Toa woke him. knocked it from his face with the rebuilt Hammer of Power. The Hook Blade plays no recorded part in that fight. After his defeat Kulta was separated from his gear and imprisoned, and his blade was confiscated. (BIONICLE Webisodes; BIONICLE: Revenge of the Skull Spiders)

Skull Slicer and the triple loadout#

The Hook Blade reached its highest concentration in the hands of Skull SlicerSkull SlicerA former arena victor who drains masks of their power as Kulta's lieutenant., a famed Hammer Flush champion of OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors. whose body had been reanimated after his death under the control of the Lord of Skull SpidersLord of Skull SpidersAn oversized Skull Spider that guarded the ancient City of the Mask Makers and commanded the rest of its species through the Golden Mask of the Skull Spiders.. He had four arms and carried three razor-sharp Hook Blades. LEGO Club material described the blades as fused to his arms, but the Webisodes show him carrying them on his back and dropping them when disarmed. A Mask GrabberMask GrabberSkull Slicer's compact blade, a Jungle tribe melee weapon built for seizing masks in close combat. and a single Bone SpikeBone SpikesThe paired spike weapons wielded by Skull Slicer, one in each hand, suited to brutal close combat. completed the loadout. (Skull Slicer; BIONICLE Webisodes)

Four arms and three blades made Skull SlicerSkull SlicerA former arena victor who drains masks of their power as Kulta's lieutenant. a hard opponent to close with. In the City of the Mask Makers he stalked LewaLewaToa of Air, member of the Toa Mata and Toa Nuva, whose career was marked by repeated possession, body theft, and aerial campaigns from Le-Wahi to Karda Nui., threw his Mask GrabberMask GrabberSkull Slicer's compact blade, a Jungle tribe melee weapon built for seizing masks in close combat. through a sign to take Lewa's Golden Mask of Jungle, and led the other Toa into the Arena. There he wore the stolen mask to drain it and leapt between the raised pillars, forcing the ToaThe Toa of Okoto: The Six Heroes Summoned to Save the IslandThe six elemental heroes summoned by the Protectors of Okoto, who recovered the Golden Masks, woke Ekimu, fought the Skull Army, and twice banished Makuta to the Shadow Realm. to learn the rules of his old game from the weakened Lewa. (BIONICLE Webisodes)

Pohatu's Stormerangs pinned and disarmed him, but he used his extra arms to grab TahuTahu, Toa of FireTahu served as Toa Mata, Toa Nuva, and Toa Mistika of Fire, leading his team from the first landing on Mata Nui to the destruction of the Rahkshi army on Bara Magna. as a shield until Kopaka punched him and recovered Lewa's mask. Onua then won the game by smashing a lever, and the floor dropped out from under Skull SlicerSkull SlicerA former arena victor who drains masks of their power as Kulta's lieutenant. as the whole Arena collapsed. His blades were lost with him, and whether he survived the fall is unknown. (BIONICLE Webisodes)

Skull Warriors and the rank-and-file pattern#

The Skull WarriorsSkull WarriorsThe undead ice-armed footsoldiers raised from the giant skeletons buried beneath the City of the Mask Makers, deployed by Kulta the Skull Grinder as the numerical backbone of his assault on the abandoned capital of Okoto. were armed differently, with the Freeze Bow and Ice Spear rather than Hook Blades. Across the army, almost every tool could be turned against a mask in some way, from the stinger blades of the Skull Scorpios to Skull Slicer's Mask GrabberMask GrabberSkull Slicer's compact blade, a Jungle tribe melee weapon built for seizing masks in close combat. and Kulta's Mask Stealer StaffThe Mask Stealer StaffThe Mask Stealer Staff was the signature weapon of Kulta the Skull Grinder, the staff that snatched masks from their wearers' faces and drained the power bound up in them, and the central instrument of the campaign to break the Mask Makers' work.. (Skull Warrior; Skull Slicer; Mask Maker vs. Skull Grinder)

That focus made sense. KultaKultaKulta was the leader of the Skull Creatures, a group native to the island of Okoto, and operated from the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a Mask Stealer Staff and Hook Blade, he possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and once held both the powerless Skull Mask and the Mask of Creation. had been ordered by MakutaMakuta: species, title, and TeridaxMakuta means three things in the Matoran Universe: the Antidermis species Mata Nui created, the Brotherhood rank, and most often Teridax himself. to destroy the Masks of Power, and the Skull ArmyThe Skull ArmyThe undead host raised by Kulta beneath the City of the Mask Makers, drawn from the corpses of fallen Okotans, organised into tiers of Skull Basher, Skull Slicer, Skull Warriors, and Skull Scorpios, and aimed at the destruction of the Mask of Creation.'s creatures could drain energy from the masks they took. The Toa's near defeat at the Mask MakersThe Mask MakersThe two legendary craftsmen of Okoto, Ekimu and Makuta, who forged the island's Kanohi and whose rivalry ended in the cataclysm at Capital City.' forge, though, came from Kulta wearing the Mask of CreationThe Mask of CreationThe signature Kanohi of Ekimu the Mask Maker, the source of his creative craft. Stolen by Kulta the Skull Grinder, reclaimed at the Mask Makers' forge, and worn again in the final defence of Okoto. rather than from any blade. (BIONICLE Webisodes)

Place in the Skull Army arsenal#

The Hook Blade sat in the middle of the Skull Army's arsenal. The Mask Stealer StaffThe Mask Stealer StaffThe Mask Stealer Staff was the signature weapon of Kulta the Skull Grinder, the staff that snatched masks from their wearers' faces and drained the power bound up in them, and the central instrument of the campaign to break the Mask Makers' work. was Kulta's alone and the Mask GrabberMask GrabberSkull Slicer's compact blade, a Jungle tribe melee weapon built for seizing masks in close combat. was Skull Slicer's specialty tool, while Skull BasherSkull BasherA Skull Creature guardian of Okoto's Temple of Creation, armed with mask-draining powers and hook axes. carried the Hook AxesHook AxesSkull Basher's paired axes capture the 2015 reboot's approach to weapon design: visually distinctive but narratively sparse, where function speaks louder than lore. and the Skull Warriors their bows and spears. (Skull Slicer; Mask Maker vs. Skull Grinder; Skull Warrior)

Both known Hook Blade bearers lost their blades. Skull Slicer's went down with the Arena, and Kulta's was taken from him after his defeat at the forge. When KultaKultaKulta was the leader of the Skull Creatures, a group native to the island of Okoto, and operated from the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a Mask Stealer Staff and Hook Blade, he possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and once held both the powerless Skull Mask and the Mask of Creation. escaped and fought again at the Skull RaidersSkull RaidersThe ancient pirate band that plagued Okoto before the Mask Makers, was driven into the mountains, allied itself with Makuta, was trapped beneath the island by the cataclysm at Capital City, and dug its way back as the Skull Creatures under Kulta.' underground city, he carried a large rapid shooter instead, and EkimuEkimu the Mask MakerEkimu is the Mask Maker of Okoto in the 2015 BIONICLE reboot, brother of Makuta, who knocked the Mask of Ultimate Power from his brother's face and slept for thousands of years before the Toa woke him. defeated him there by bringing the city down on the Skull Raiders. (BIONICLE Webisodes; BIONICLE: Revenge of the Skull Spiders; BIONICLE: Escape from the Underworld)