Toa Inika and Toa Mahri
The Six Who Weren't Chosen
Six ordinary Matoran transformed by lightning from the Red Star into heroes who ultimately revived the Great Spirit itself.
Six MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. from Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive. weren't supposed to matter much at all. JallerJallerJaller served as Captain of the Ta-Koro Guard, led the Toa Inika to Voya Nui, and commanded the Toa Mahri through the recovery of the Mask of Life., KonguKonguKongu captained Le-Koro's Gukko Force before lightning from the red star turned him into a Toa of Air, who later served among the Toa Mahri., HahliHahliA Ga-Matoran scholar who rose to become Chronicler of Mata Nui, then Toa Inika, then Toa Mahri of Water during the final crises of the Matoran Universe., NuparuNuparuAn Onu-Matoran engineer from Metru Nui who built the Boxor and rose to become a Toa of Earth despite no warrior destiny., MatoroMatoroA quiet Ko-Matoran translator who became a Toa Inika and then a Toa Mahri, Matoro gave his life with the Mask of Life to restore Mata Nui., and HewkiiHewkiiHewkii rose from Po-Metru Matoran to Mata Nui's foremost kolhii player, then served as Toa Inika and Toa Mahri through the late wars of the universe. were skilled, but no prophecy named them. When they set out for 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. on a dangerous mission, lightning from the Red StarRed StarThe Red Star was an orbiting facility that revived the dead and enabled the Great Spirit Robot's cosmic travels. struck them mid-journey and changed everything in an instant. They became Toa. But they didn't look like Toa. Their armor was organic, gold-rimmed, and visually foreign in every way.
From MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. to Toa#
The transformation happened in seconds. One moment they were MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body.. The next, they were something else entirely. The speed was strange. How utterly different they looked was stranger. When inhabitants of the islands encountered the Toa InikaToa Inika: six Matoran struck by lightningSix Matoran of Metru Nui chased the Toa Nuva to Voya Nui and were struck by lightning from the red star. That strike made them the Toa Inika. for the first time, confusion set in immediately. Per BIONICLEBIONICLE: Matoran AdventuresA 2002 GBA platformer where you play as one of six Matoran fighting Bohrok across Mata Nui's islands. Legends 3: Power Play, some people questioned whether these new heroes were Toa at all. The Inika had to prove themselves through action, not appearance, facing skepticism even as they fought to save lives.
Mahri Nui and the Great Spirit#
The true test came when the six journeyed deeper, descending to the underwater region of 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.. There, the Ignika (the Mask of Life itself) transformed them a second time. The ToaThe Toa: Heroes of the Matoran UniverseThe Toa were biomechanical guardians sworn to protect the Matoran, bound by a strict code and defined by sacrifice across every age of the universe. Inika became the Toa Mahri, gaining new powers suited to the ocean depths and the nightmares that inhabited them. But their new form was just preparation for what lay ahead.
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. was dying. Only the Ignika could save him, and the Toa Mahri had to carry the mask into the abyss itself, facing creatures and environments that shouldn't exist. They succeeded where countless others would have fallen. Using the Ignika, they revived Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years.. The cost, though, was absolute: the Toa Mahri faded from the main universe, their forms scattered across the dimensional void. It was heroism at its most final, a sacrifice that defined one of the saga's darkest chapters and proved that the most important victories were the ones that cost everything.
Compiled from primary sources by Lore Fortress editorial. Reviewed by Joe Garratt, Editor-in-Chief.
Sources
- BookBIONICLE Legends 3: Power Play, Novel by Greg Farshtey. Introduces the Toa Inika and their arrival on Voya Nui.
- BookBIONICLE Adventures 10: Time Trap, Novel by Greg Farshtey. Contains Toa Krakua's prophecy about the Inika's coming trials.
- WikiToa Inika, BS01 wiki entry on the Toa Inika form and the six Matoran who became them.
- WikiToa Mahri, BS01 wiki entry on the Mahri transformation and the underwater saga.
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry

Toa Inika: six Matoran struck by lightning
Six Matoran of Metru Nui chased the Toa Nuva to Voya Nui and were struck by lightning from the red star. That strike made them the Toa Inika.

The Toa: Heroes of the Matoran Universe
The Toa were biomechanical guardians sworn to protect the Matoran, bound by a strict code and defined by sacrifice across every age of the universe.

Mata Nui
Built 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.

Red Star
The Red Star was an orbiting facility that revived the dead and enabled the Great Spirit Robot's cosmic travels.

Metru Nui
The city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive.

Matoran
The most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body.
Mentioned in139 entries
Airweed
The underwater plant of the Fields of Air whose bubbles let the Matoran of Mahri Nui breathe beneath the sea.
Bio
The smallest of the three Matoran units of length, equal to 4.5 feet or 1.37 metres, from which the kio and the mio are built.
Bomonga
Bomonga was the Toa Hagah of Earth, mutated by Roodaka into a Rahaga, later restored to Toa form and resettled on Spherus Magna.
Brutaka
Brutaka guarded the Kanohi Ignika on Voya Nui, betrayed the Order during the Piraka incursion, was mutated in the Pit, and later led the Order's strike team to free Miserix.
Cavern of Historical Records
The underground chamber on Voya Nui that held the written history of the island and its Matoran until the Piraka Vezok destroyed it out of spite.
Chamber of Life
The Chamber of Life was the vault beneath the Lake of Lava of Mount Valmai on Voya Nui where the Kanohi Ignika, the Mask of Life, lay hidden.
Chronicler's Staff
The staff carried by the Matoran Chronicler as the mark of the office, lost by Kodan of Metru Nui and remade by Nokama for Takua on Mata Nui.
City of the Lost
The first appearance of Mahri Nui in the Quest for the Mask of Life, the airweed harvest that kept the underwater city alive, Defilak's submarine expedition into the Black Water, and the arrival of the Barraki on the doorstep of the Matoran settlement.
Cordak Blaster
A six-shot revolving launcher made on Xia that fires explosive mini-rockets, and works underwater as well as in air.
Cyclone Spear
The Cyclone Spear was the Toa Tool of Toa Hagah Iruini, a spear that let him call up huge windstorms, though using that power left him weakened.
Dwellers In Darkness, the Toa Hagah Online Serial
Dwellers In Darkness was the 2008 online serial in which the Order of Mata Nui drafted the Toa Hagah to hunt Teridax beneath Metru Nui, only for them to find him already in control of the Great Spirit's mind.
Electrified Chains
The electrified chains were a tool of Toa Mahri Hewkii, laced with lightning strong enough to stun a Takea shark. He used one to bring down the giant Gadunka.
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