Mantax

"I have no friends, only enemies I haven't killed yet."

- Mantax to Toa Hahli, BIONICLE Legends 7: Prisoners of the Pit

Mantax was one of the six Barraki, warlords who established the League of Six Kingdoms and rebelled against the Great Spirit Mata Nui himself, only to be defeated and imprisoned in the Pit for thousands of years. After the appearance of the Mask of Life, he and the other Barraki sought to use the mask's power to restore themselves, only to fail. He was later freed by the Order of Mata Nui to fight the Brotherhood of Makuta.

Biography
Mantax was one of the six leaders of the League of Six Kingdoms. He led many attacks with his army, all of them successful. He and the other members of the League, along with their armies, led an attack on the Great Spirit Mata Nui, but were stopped by the Brotherhood of Makuta and were about to be executed when Botar came and transported them to the Pit.

The Pit
Mantax and the other Barraki spent a long time there, until the Great Cataclysm, which shattered the jail, allowing him and the other Barraki to escape. They then roamed around the pit separately, though still working together. Mantax formed an army of rays.

Their opportunity for revenge came when the Ignika floated down to Mahri Nui. Mantax did not know about this until later, when he was taken by Kalmah to try and stop Dekar, who had the Mask of Life. They discovered Dekar in a cave, and Kalmah went in close while Mantax waited behind. Then the Ignika created a 300-foot Venom Eel to stop Dekar from destroying it, and it slammed into Kalmah, the force knocking him out. Mantax reported to Pridak what happened, and they both went to investigate. The other Barraki were there too, as well as Brutaka, but he was taken away by a Giant Squid.

Mantax and the others went in and got the mask from Dekar, setting off a bright light that enveloped all of Mahri Nui. Later, when everything was settled, Mantax continued his daily work of looking for the Betrayal Contract that told which Barraki betrayed them to the Brotherhood of Makuta. However, Takadox and Kalmah found out and went to see more, but all three Barraki were found by a group of Zyglak. Luckily, Takadox tricked them and they all got away in time for the arrival of the Toa Mahri.

Once they took the Toa Mahri away, they put them in a confined cell, but they all got out. The Barraki came up with a way to solve this problem-to split up and find them. Mantax found Toa Mahri Hahli, and defeated her using stealth and his paralyzing head spikes. Later, Hahli escaped, and fought Mantax again, but this time managing to trick him into thinking that the other Barraki were allying and going against him. This caused Mantax to promote Hahli to his general.

Later, Mantax and Hahli went to stop Hydraxon from destroying the Ignika. What followed was a complex battle that left the mask in the claws of Mantax, giving him the power to take away energy from others close to him and give it all to him. He stopped Hahli and Hydraxon by using this power, and told them to get the other Barraki ready for a meeting. He then left and got ready, bringing the Ignika and the Betrayal Contract with him.

At the meeting, he told the Barraki about both the Betrayal Contract and the Ignika, and was about to give them a list of demands when an avalanche hit, causing Mantax to dive for cover, only to be stopped by Takadox in the chaos, who announced that he was the betrayer, and that Mantax was about to die. However, Jaller and Matoro arrived and stopped Takadox from killing Mantax. However, this gave Mantax a chance for revenge, and he jabbed his head spikes into the blue Barraki's abdomen, not killing him, but severly wounding him. But with Takadox out of the way, it was easier for the two Toa Mahri to knock him out. When Mantax, woke up, the Barraki had gathered together for a final attack on the Toa Mahri, but Teridax, disguised as a Maxilos, got in the way, easily defeating the six of them, but their armies had gathered by now, and destroyed the Maxilos, though Teridax had managed to escape.

The six Barraki then headed for the Toa Mahri. They found them, and commanded their armies to attack with as much force as possible. However, the Toa Mahri were transported away to Metru Nui by the Ignika before the Barraki's armies could destroy them.

Post-Pit
After the Toa Mahri escaped, Mantax and the other Barraki had one goal only - to evade recapture by Hydraxon. He and Pridak were the last two of the remaining four Barraki to be recaptured (Takadox had been outcast after being exposed as the agent of the Brotherhood of Makuta who had betrayed them to Teridax, and he and Carapar had since gone missing). Before being recaptured, Mantax found the real Hydraxon's helmet in the Pit and presented it to Pridak, who used it to confront the new Hydraxon, before being re-arrested.

Mantax and the others were later freed on the condition that they fight with their former captors - the Order of Mata Nui - against the Brotherhood of Makuta, with the alternative being relocated to somewhere even worse than the Pit. The four accepted and helped the Order of Mata Nui storm a Brotherhood of Makuta fortress.

Following the defeat of the Brotherhood of Makuta and Makuta Teridax's takeover of the Matoran Universe, Mantax and the other Barraki headed to Xia, where they began to gather followers and became militarily strong once more.

After Teridax's death, he, his fellow Barraki and his forces evacuated the Matoran Universe to Spherus Magna. Upon Mata Nui's use of the Kanohi Ignika to rejuvenate the deserts of Spherus Magna, the mutations of all who were in the Pit were undone, including Mantax's deformities.

Abilities and Traits
Mantax was secretive and mysterious by nature, and no one except his most trusted servants knew even the least bit about him. He was the best Barraki at hiding and ambushing--a tactic he put to good use in combat. As a Barraki, he spent most of his time buried in the sea floor, waiting for some possible prey to arrive. When he wasn't doing this, he was in the original Pit, searching for the evidence of a traitor amongst the Barraki.

After touching the Ignika, Mantax gained the ability to drain others of their energy, giving it to him. However, he had to be holding on to the mask to do this. This power was lost when the Ignika was taken away from him by Takadox.

Tools
Mantax's weapons and powers before his mutation were unknown. After his mutation, he gained a natural pincer, head spikes with a paralyzing venom, a tentacle on the back of his head that conducted lightning, and a Squid Launcher.

Mantax's army included a large number of organic undersea rays. He also ruled an army of Mantax Fish.

Quotes
"Whoever finds the mask will signal the others...or else."

- Mantax, Comic 7: Mask of Life, Mask of Doom

"What possible reason could Mantax--or any of us--have for wanting to go there? There's nothing below but the prison in which we were held for thousands of years" "Ah, dear Kalmah, try using your head for something besides scaring small animals. Perhaps he's hidden something there...the Mask of Life, perhaps?"

- Kalmah and Takadox discuss Mantax's eccentricities, Comic 7: Mask of Life, Mask of Doom

Set Information

 * The most mysterious of all the Barraki, none of his allies know just what Mantax is thinking or planning. Half-hidden on the sea floor, waiting patiently for prey to swim by, he is as silent as the shadows he dwells within.


 * Mantax was released in 2007 as one of the six Barraki canister sets. His set number was #8919, and consisted of 58 pieces.

Trivia

 * Mantax has been known to eat squid brood.
 * Mantax's appearance was based on a real-world creature: a manta ray.

Appearances

 * Comic 6: Web Comic - First appearance
 * ''BIONICLE Legends 6: City of the Lost
 * Barraki: Creeps From the Deep - Non-canon
 * Comic 7: Mask of Life, Mask of Doom
 * Comic 8: Sea of Darkness
 * BIONICLE Legends 7: Prisoners of the Pit
 * Comic 10: The Death of Mata Nui
 * BIONICLE Legends 8: Downfall
 * Destiny War