Starfish (Rahi)

Starfish occupied a weird corner of Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years.'s ecosystem. They're organic 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., which puts them in the company of countless other creatures, but beyond that basic classification, the canon record on starfish is thin. They appear on Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. and that's about all we know for certain. No powers. No role in the larger story. Just starfish, existing in the ocean where they belonged.

Appearances#

Starfish showed up in Comic 11: A Matter of Time during the early canon years. Beyond that mention, they don't feature in any major narrative beats. They're background fauna, the kind of creature that existed in 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.'s ecosystem without playing a role in the conflicts between Toa and MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate..

The fact that we don't know much about them is kind of the point. Bionicle's world was built with countless species that weren't central to the story. The starfish remind us that 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. had an ocean and beaches, ecosystems that existed apart from the drama of heroic Toa.

Fate After Mata Nui#

What happened when Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. was destroyed? The canon is silent on the starfish, completely silent. We know Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. sank into the sea and was revealed to be a massive mechanical being. We know many of the 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. survived the cataclysm through evacuation or transport. But the starfish left no record of their fate.

Given they were organic creatures tied specifically to 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.'s ecology, the implication is they didn't survive the destruction. That's a reasonable read of the evidence. But it's not confirmed anywhere in canon. The actual answer is that Bionicle canon never followed up on this question. The starfish vanished into the same obscurity they'd always inhabited. Their appearance in Comic 11 was their entire story, and honestly, that's fine. Not every 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. needs an arc.

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Compiled from primary sources by Lore Fortress editorial. Reviewed by Joe Garratt, Editor-in-Chief.