Icarax

Icarax is the Brotherhood of MakutaThe Brotherhood of MakutaAn organization of Makuta created by Mata Nui to police his universe and build Rahi, later seized by Teridax and turned into the instrument of the Plan that overthrew the Great Spirit.'s argument with itself. Every other MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate. in the organisation runs on patience, layered plans, and the long game that TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna. eventually perfects into a universe-sized con. Icarax thought all of that was weakness. His stated philosophy was that he believed in certainties, the strength of his own limbs and the edge of his own blades, and that trickery and complex strategy were what beings reached for when they were not strong enough to simply take what they wanted. He was the most dangerous warrior the Brotherhood had, and the canon's verdict on him is one of the most pointed things G1 ever did. It did not kill Icarax in a fair fight, because he would have won one. It killed him with a scheme.

The Brotherhood's blunt instrument#

Icarax was created out of AntidermisAntidermisAntidermis was the physical substance that composed every Makuta, a revelation that fundamentally altered how fans understood the brotherhood's origin. by the Great Spirit Mata NuiMata NuiBuilt by the Great Beings to restore Spherus Magna, Mata Nui sustained an entire civilisation inside his body, was deposed by Teridax, and reclaimed his purpose as a mortal on Bara Magna. around 100,000 years ago, and like every MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate. of that generation he joined a Brotherhood that still believed in its original job: maintaining order in the universe and building RahiRahiThe Rahi were the biomechanical wildlife of the Matoran Universe, built largely by the Brotherhood of Makuta, ranging from background fauna to engineered war beasts. to help the MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body.. What Icarax brought to that job is summed up by his first real assignment. MiserixMiserixThe deposed Makuta leader clawed back from exile to hunt the brother who stole his throne. sent him to XiaXiaA hostile island southeast of Metru Nui, home to the Vortixx and their brutal mercenary culture. alongside MutranMutranMutran is a Makuta of the Brotherhood of Makuta who serves as the Makuta of Voya Nui and is among the most prolific Rahi creators within the organization. Hailing from the Southern Islands, he wears the Great Shelek and commands the powers of Shadow and Silence alongside the full range of Kraata abilities, wielding a Shadow Blade, Shadow Spear, and Tridax Pod in combat. and an assistant named PridakPridakPridak was the most feared of the six Barraki, commander of a shark army and the dominant voice of the League of Six Kingdoms before its imprisonment in the Pit., to pressure the VortixxVortixxThe amoral weapons dealers of Xia who sold to anyone willing to pay. into charging the Brotherhood lower prices. The negotiation dragged on for days. Then Icarax lost his temper and started destroying buildings, and the VortixxVortixxThe amoral weapons dealers of Xia who sold to anyone willing to pay. agreed to the Brotherhood's terms immediately.

That is Icarax's entire method in one anecdote. Diplomacy as a countdown to the moment he stops bothering with diplomacy. He was present at a meeting with the League of Six KingdomsLeague of Six KingdomsThe League of Six Kingdoms was an alliance composed of various species, with ties to Xia and many other islands. Connected to both the Order of Mata Nui and the Brotherhood of Makuta, the League included Pridak among its ranks, and its members collectively held several powers of unknown scope. Its stated objective was the overthrow of Mata Nui. shortly after it formed, and after the Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive. civil war, MiserixMiserixThe deposed Makuta leader clawed back from exile to hunt the brother who stole his throne. assigned him to oversee the region of KarzahniKarzahniA region of the Matoran Universe built by the Great Beings as a Matoran repair facility, ruined by the failures of its overseer., the broken territory ruled by the being of the same name. It says something that the Brotherhood looked at Icarax and decided the right posting for him was the universe's worst place. He was the MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate. you sent where order had already failed and subtlety was no longer required.

The one who stayed silent#

When TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna. finally revealed his Great Plan to the assembled Brotherhood, the plan to overthrow Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. and seize the universe, Icarax did something out of character. He stayed silent.

The silence did not last, and the choice he made coming out of it is the one I would put at the centre of any honest read of him. Icarax sided with TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna.. More than that, he helped GorastGorastA Makuta defined by rage and ruthlessness, Gorast conquered the Visorak and became Teridax's most devoted enforcer. hunt down and execute the MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate. who had disagreed with the proposal, and then the two of them placed the dead MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate.'s KanohiKanohiMasks that grant powers and sustain life, they're the most vital artifact in the Matoran Universe. in the Convocation Chamber as a warning to anyone else considering dissent. Icarax, the MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate. who held scheming in contempt, personally enforced the franchise's biggest scheme at its bloodiest moment.

I do not think that is a contradiction so much as the explanation for him. Icarax did not object to the Plan because it was a betrayal. He went along with the violence happily. What curdled in him came later, and it was never moral. It was tactical. He came to believe TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna. was running the universe through patience and indirection when brute force would have been faster and cleaner, and a being like Icarax cannot respect a leader whose main weapon is waiting.

The rebellion that went nowhere#

After the Great Cataclysm, with the Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive. MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. evacuated and TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna.'s Plan grinding forward at its glacial pace, Icarax stopped pretending he had faith in the leadership. He decided to conquer the Matoran UniverseMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control. himself, by force, the only way he had ever believed in.

He raised a small army of ManasManasManas are a species of Rahi that exist in two color variants, one black, grey, and yellow and the other white, grey, and orange, and are armed with claws. crabs and threw it at the Northern Continent, taking several villages. It worked well enough to get noticed, which was the problem. TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna. confronted him, and Icarax did exactly what Icarax does. He attacked, savagely, in a battle that ran for days, and he poured so much of himself into it that he wore himself down. TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna. simply took control of the ManasManasManas are a species of Rahi that exist in two color variants, one black, grey, and yellow and the other white, grey, and orange, and are armed with claws. army, turned it on Icarax, and used the full range of MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate. power to put him down without much difficulty. The brawler's whole case for himself, that strength beats strategy, got disproven by the most patient strategist in the story.

TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna. let him live. The MutranMutranMutran is a Makuta of the Brotherhood of Makuta who serves as the Makuta of Voya Nui and is among the most prolific Rahi creators within the organization. Hailing from the Southern Islands, he wears the Great Shelek and commands the powers of Shadow and Silence alongside the full range of Kraata abilities, wielding a Shadow Blade, Shadow Spear, and Tridax Pod in combat. Chronicles records the reasoning, and it is one of the coldest things in G1. Icarax's talents were still useful, and his warlike personality was, to TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna., amusing. TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna. told him plainly that one day he might grow tired of the posturing and the boasting, and on that day Icarax's armour would be a meal for metal-eating scavengers and his essence a wisp on the wind. Icarax got to keep existing on the explicit terms that he was entertainment with an expiry date. For a being whose entire identity was being too strong to need anyone, that is a worse outcome than dying.

Errand-runner for a god he despised#

What follows is the stretch of Icarax's story that I find the most quietly humiliating, because the canon makes the Brotherhood's proudest warrior into a courier.

TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna., working from Voya NuiVoya NuiAn island born from catastrophe and hiding the universe's most powerful artifact, Voya Nui was everything Bionicle 2006 promised: danger, mystery, and a race against time., telepathically ordered Icarax to retrieve the KraahkanKanohi KraahkanTeridax's Great Mask sees the darkness in everyone. That's how it conquered the Matoran universe. from the Silver Sea. Icarax did it, narrowly dodging a confrontation with TakanuvaTakanuvaHidden among the Ta-Matoran as Takua, the disguised Av-Matoran who became Takanuva was the sole Toa of Light produced in the Matoran Universe's full history., and started wearing the mask while he waited for TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna. to come claim it. Then TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna. sent him after the Staff of ArtakhaThe Staff of ArtakhaA restoration artifact forged by Artakha himself, used by Helryx to reverse the environmental damage of the Great Cataclysm. on Xia. Icarax fetched that too, beating OnuaOnuaOnua was the Toa Mata and Toa Nuva of Earth, a quiet, deliberate warrior whose patience and underground mastery anchored his team across the Matoran Universe. on the way out, then carving through the rest of 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. when they followed him to KarzahniKarzahniA region of the Matoran Universe built by the Great Beings as a Matoran repair facility, ruined by the failures of its overseer.. Only GaliGali, Toa of WaterThe Toa Nuva of Water and conscience of the Toa Mata, whose attunement to her element anchored the team across every campaign from Mata Nui to Karda Nui. stopped him, with a Nova BlastNova BlastA Toa's most destructive technique, releasing all elemental power at once at the cost of total power drain. of water so total it destroyed KarzahniKarzahniA region of the Matoran Universe built by the Great Beings as a Matoran repair facility, ruined by the failures of its overseer.'s domain in the process. Icarax survived even that, and carried the Staff to TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna. at Mahri NuiMahri NuiA matoran settlement that sank, survived, and was ultimately crushed beneath Voya Nui, leaving behind one of Bionicle's most poignant lost civilizations. like the errand it was. He also attacked TakanuvaTakanuvaHidden among the Ta-Matoran as Takua, the disguised Av-Matoran who became Takanuva was the sole Toa of Light produced in the Matoran Universe's full history. with a Shadow LeechShadow LeechMutated Kraata designed to drain light and corruption. Created by Mutran and allies, they transformed dozens of Matoran before the Energy Storm wiped them out. meant for the Po-MatoranPo-MatoranThe Stone-element Matoran of Po-Metru and Po-Koro, carvers and quarry workers, the most athletic of the Matoran types and the population behind the Kohlii and Akilini circuits. AhkmouAhkmouA Po-Matoran carver of Metru Nui, one of the six Great Disk holders, who collaborated with Makuta Teridax and later imposed false Turaga rule during Teridax's reign., turning the Toa of LightToa of LightThe sole Toa wielding the Element of Light through the Avohkii mask, singular and feared by Makuta itself. into a Toa of LightToa of LightThe sole Toa wielding the Element of Light through the Avohkii mask, singular and feared by Makuta itself. and Shadow both, which is genuinely one of the more consequential things any MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate. does in the late story.

Notice the shape of all that. Icarax is, in raw terms, performing at an extraordinary level. He beats Toa NuvaToa NuvaThe form the Toa Mata took after stepping into the Energized Protodermis beneath the Bahrag, with new masks, new tools, and the elemental scale to fight Karda Nui.. He survives a Nova BlastNova BlastA Toa's most destructive technique, releasing all elemental power at once at the cost of total power drain.. And every bit of it is in service of fetching objects for the leader he thinks is a coward. So eventually he did the Icarax thing again. He went to the Brotherhood's headquarters and sat down on TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna.'s Throne of Shadows, and declared the leadership his. Gali's own account of fighting him, recorded in the Toa NuvaToa NuvaThe form the Toa Mata took after stepping into the Energized Protodermis beneath the Bahrag, with new masks, new tools, and the elemental scale to fight Karda Nui. Blog, is worth holding onto here, because it is not a MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate. talking up another MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate.. She describes a warrior more skilled and more ferocious than the one they had faced before, felling her teammates with swift, sure blows. The threat was completely real. The judgement behind it was the part that never caught up.

Karda NuiKarda NuiThe vast inner cavern at the core of the Matoran Universe, original home of the Av-Matoran, site of the Codrex and the final battle that decided the fate of Mata Nui., and the scheme that killed him#

When the entrance to Karda NuiKarda NuiThe vast inner cavern at the core of the Matoran Universe, original home of the Av-Matoran, site of the Codrex and the final battle that decided the fate of Mata Nui. was found and TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna. ordered the MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate. to seize the universe's core, Icarax refused to go. He thought the orders were close to insane. It took a negotiation through the MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. VicanVicanVican is a mutated Le-Matoran who previously served as a Shadow Matoran and as an assistant to Mutran. He wears a powerless Shelek, wields claws, and bore the black and lime coloring of his time as a Shadow Matoran. Connected to the element of Air, Vican resides on Spherus Magna., and Icarax's own condition that AntrozAntrozMakuta commander who led the Phantoka assault on Karda Nui and pilot of the Jetrax T6, ultimately outmaneuvered by Kopaka's superior strategy. would not be allowed to control his actions, before he finally flew down to the core to, in his own framing, simply destroy the Toa NuvaToa NuvaThe form the Toa Mata took after stepping into the Energized Protodermis beneath the Bahrag, with new masks, new tools, and the elemental scale to fight Karda Nui. and be done with it.

It went wrong fast. Icarax attacked the Toa IgnikaThe Mask of Life (Kanohi Ignika), explainedA failsafe forged by the Great Beings to recharge a god. It curses everyone who touches it, and by the end of Bionicle it had learned how to be a hero., and the mask defended itself by devolving him into his original biomechanical form. His armour had been built for a gaseous MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate.. Forced back into a body, the change was agonising, and it left him unable to possess other organisms. He was captured by the Toa Ignika, talked his way into being abandoned by mocking the mask about its own doomsday countdown, and then made his way down into the Swamp of SecretsSwamp of SecretsThe Swamp of Secrets was the mutagen-saturated wetland that filled the floor of Karda Nui after the Great Cataclysm, serving as a Brotherhood stronghold until the Energy Storms., where he found KrikaKrikaThe cautious Mistika leader who survived by never taking unnecessary risks, until Teridax's Plan forced his hand. near the energy field around the CodrexThe CodrexA spherical vault built by the Great Beings beneath Karda Nui to house the Toa Mata in stasis and control the final phase of Mata Nui's reawakening.. Here Icarax did the one genuinely strategic thing of his life. He talked KrikaKrikaThe cautious Mistika leader who survived by never taking unnecessary risks, until Teridax's Plan forced his hand., a MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate. he disliked, into the plan to stop Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years.'s reawakening: KrikaKrikaThe cautious Mistika leader who survived by never taking unnecessary risks, until Teridax's Plan forced his hand. would phase through the Codrex shield and deactivate it, and Icarax would crush the structure, and the Toa inside it, with his gravity powers.

It was working. Icarax had the shield down and was slowly crushing the Codrex when GorastGorastA Makuta defined by rage and ruthlessness, Gorast conquered the Visorak and became Teridax's most devoted enforcer. and VamprahVamprahVamprah hunted in absolute silence, but silence wasn't enough when Tahu outmaneuvered him in the swamp. arrived to stop him, and he held both of them off without much trouble, because of course he did. Then MutranMutranMutran is a Makuta of the Brotherhood of Makuta who serves as the Makuta of Voya Nui and is among the most prolific Rahi creators within the organization. Hailing from the Southern Islands, he wears the Great Shelek and commands the powers of Shadow and Silence alongside the full range of Kraata abilities, wielding a Shadow Blade, Shadow Spear, and Tridax Pod in combat. arrived, and the fight stopped being a fight. GorastGorastA Makuta defined by rage and ruthlessness, Gorast conquered the Visorak and became Teridax's most devoted enforcer. had MutranMutranMutran is a Makuta of the Brotherhood of Makuta who serves as the Makuta of Voya Nui and is among the most prolific Rahi creators within the organization. Hailing from the Southern Islands, he wears the Great Shelek and commands the powers of Shadow and Silence alongside the full range of Kraata abilities, wielding a Shadow Blade, Shadow Spear, and Tridax Pod in combat. flood Icarax's mind with a babble of stray thoughts to break his focus. She taunted him that the Toa were close to their destiny, and the moment Icarax decided he had to teleport away and stop them, she grabbed him and triggered her KanohiKanohiMasks that grant powers and sustain life, they're the most vital artifact in the Matoran Universe. FelnasFelnasA Great Kanohi that destabilised a target's active power on contact, turning elemental control into a weapon against its wielder., which threw his teleportation power into chaos. VamprahVamprahVamprah hunted in absolute silence, but silence wasn't enough when Tahu outmaneuvered him in the swamp. hit the malfunctioning teleport with a blast of raw energy, and Icarax's atoms were scattered across the universe. He was dead instantly.

Read the mechanics of that death back against the being. Three MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate., a distraction, a mask power, and a piece of timing, coordinated. Icarax was not overpowered. He was out-schemed, by his own faction, using precisely the kind of layered manipulation he had spent a hundred millennia calling a crutch for the weak.

Why the franchise needed its worst MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate.#

Icarax is not a fan favourite and he was never built to be one. He is something more structural than that. He is the control case the Brotherhood arc needs to make its point about TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna..

Every other MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate. of consequence is a planner. TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna. is the planner. Drop a being into that organisation who openly despises planning, who wins through pure applied violence at a level nobody can match in single combat, and you get a live test of the franchise's actual thesis. The Karda NuiKarda NuiThe vast inner cavern at the core of the Matoran Universe, original home of the Av-Matoran, site of the Codrex and the final battle that decided the fate of Mata Nui. invasion runs that test in front of you. Icarax is, by any measure of raw capability, the strongest piece on the board. He beats Toa NuvaToa NuvaThe form the Toa Mata took after stepping into the Energized Protodermis beneath the Bahrag, with new masks, new tools, and the elemental scale to fight Karda Nui., survives Nova Blasts, holds off two MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate. at once. And he loses, completely and permanently, because strength was never the resource that decided anything in G1. Information was. Patience was. Knowing which mind to break and when.

There is a temptation to call Icarax a tragic figure, and I would resist it. He helped murder the MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate. who voted their conscience and hung their masks up as a threat. He felt nothing about that. What he is instead is a clean, brutal piece of authorial argument. The Brotherhood gave him every physical advantage a character can have and then had his own side erase him with a trick, in the universe's core, at the exact moment his strength might have changed the outcome. The MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate. who believed in certainties got the least certain death in the story. His atoms are still out there, spread thin across every dimension, which is about as far from the strength of his own limbs as a being can get.