Mata Nui (Being)

"I am Mata Nui. My original form was built on the world of Spherus Magna more than one hundred thousand years ago. I was built to bring order back to my world and its people, but I lost my way. With the help of new and old friends, I have one final chance to fulfill my duty, and my destiny."

- Mata Nui, Mata Nui Saga

Great Spirit =

Toa = Mata Nui was the Great Spirit created by the Great Beings of planet Spherus Magna, to explore and observe the galaxy. His physical form was that of a giant robot constructed by the Great Beings. For a time, he was condemned to an eternal slumber by the evil Makuta Teridax. Many Toa, warriors originally created to protect him and his Matoran inhabitants in such an emergency, embarked on journeys to revive him. Upon Mata Nui's death after the Toa Mahri ultimately failed to save the universe, Toa Matoro sacrificed himself, dying so that Mata Nui could live again. With Mata Nui alive once more, Toa Tahu and his allies journeyed to Karda Nui to finally awaken the Great Spirit, said to be the destiny of the Toa Mata. While they narrowly succeeded in doing so, Makuta Teridax took control of the Matoran Universe and trapped Mata Nui's spirit inside the Kanohi Ignika, the Mask of Life, before blasting it into outer space.

The Ignika eventually landed on Bara Magna, a remnant of the since-shattered Spherus Magna, where it unleashed Mata Nui's spirit and created a body for him. Now a fully physical being, Mata Nui earned the trust of the native Glatorian, warriors similar to the Toa, and together they allied with the inhabitants of the Matoran Universe to combat Teridax and his forces of Rahkshi, Skakdi and Skrall. Using an ancient Prototype Robot, Mata Nui fought Teridax on Bara Magna before finally managing to kill him, by impacting the head of the Great Spirit Robot against the falling moon, Bota Magna. With the threat extinguished, Mata Nui used the last of his power to make Spherus Magna whole once more, and this caused his spirit to return to the Ignika. As he said goodbye to Tahu and those surrounding him, he encouraged them to begin a new life on Spherus Magna.

Early Life
During the Core War on Spherus Magna, the Great Beings had made an attempt to create a robot similar to the Great Spirit, but their plan had failed. It was after this failure that they began construction of a new robot. Construction of the Spirit's physical form was done by the Matoran who labored inside, completely unaware of their labor's true purpose. These Matoran created the Matoran Universe, whose lands and species would serve "essential functions" to Mata Nui himself; however, the Great Beings were the ones who laid Metru Nui's foundations personally. During this time, the being Tren Krom maintained the universe from the "heart" of Mata Nui, the cavernous land of Karda Nui.

100,000 years before the present day, the robot was completed and activated. The Great Being Angonce, using the robot's programming language, dubbed their creation "Mata Nui", the phrase meaning "great spirit". Mata Nui's activation was heralded by the exile of Tren Krom, who was no longer necessary in running the universe now that Mata Nui was controlling it. Meanwhile, the Great Beings created the Kanohi Ignika, a mask which could heal Mata Nui's life-force if required. They also provided the being Artakha with the supplies needed to create the Toa Mata, whose destiny was a failsafe against the possibility of Mata Nui ever falling into a comatose state.

With his awakening, Mata Nui provided the Matoran Universe with light, gravity, heat, and essential forces of nature, as the Matoran would now labor just as unknowingly inside his body to continue his existence. Because of this, the Matoran came to venerate Mata Nui as the Great Spirit, building statues and temples in his honor. Meanwhile, in Karda Nui, the Energy Storms began, which occurred as long as Mata Nui was awake and distributed power throughout his body.

Mata Nui was given several tasks by the Great Beings, including the observation of other worlds. He was able to do this by use of the Red Star, another of the Great Beings' creations, which assisted him in traveling between planets. The Red Star also contained constructs called Kestora, whose duty was to repair any deceased inhabitants of the Matoran Universe and send them back to work. However, the latter function ceased to work properly after an incident involving the Matoran Gaardus; while beings were sent there, they did not return.

Makuta and Barraki
Shortly after his awakening, Mata Nui saw fit to create a new species, the Makuta. Using a pool of Antidermis in the Southern Islands, he created one hundred Makuta. These Makuta formed the Brotherhood of Makuta, who became known as the brothers of Mata Nui and carried out his will of creating bio-mechanical Rahi and plantlife to populate his universe.

Five thousand years later, he created six species, choosing one member of each to withhold order. These six members became warlords known as the Barraki and allied into the League of Six Kingdoms. However, the Barraki were not entirely loyal to Mata Nui. By 15,000 years later, they had conquered most of the known Matoran Universe, and sought the overthrow of Mata Nui himself. This action prompted the Brotherhood of Makuta and the Toa to muster an army under Makuta Teridax and capture the Barraki, ending the League's rule.

500 years later, a Matoran dispute arose in Metru Nui, escalating into the Matoran Civil War. With the loss of workers, this had dire implications for Mata Nui. Even when Teridax ended the conflict, Mata Nui's life was endangered. Therefore, Toa Jovan and his team were dispatched to the Southern Continent to recover the Kanohi Ignika. They took the mask underground to Karda Nui, and, with a teammate's sacrifice, healed Mata Nui.

The Brotherhood's Betrayal
After Mata Nui had accomplished his mission of surveying other worlds, and was returning to the now-shattered Spherus Magna, Makuta Teridax began to formulate a dark plan, a coup to overthrow the Great Spirit. Teridax first conceived this plan following the Barraki's defeat, believing that while the League could not be the rulers of the Matoran Universe, surely the Makuta could. After the Matoran Civil War, many Makuta had similar beliefs, as Makuta Miserix assigned regions for the Brotherhood to watch over and govern. Additionally, the species' resentment grew as they became aware of the complete devotion, veneration, and love for the Great Spirit afforded by the Matoran and other inhabitants of the universe, and yet none for the Brotherhood, despite all the Makuta had done for them.

This spawned jealousy, hatred, and anger toward Mata Nui, until all the Makuta wanted to see was the Great Spirit "humbled", as Teridax once described. Therefore, when Makuta Mutran had returned from a mission to investigate Tren Krom, he informed Teridax of information such as Mata Nui's actual form and characteristics, who used the information to overthrow the Brotherhood's leader Miserix, and fill the Great Spirit with a virus to make him fall into a deep coma.

However, Mata Nui foresaw the coming attack, and manipulated events to make sure things could be made right. When new Toa Metru were about to be chosen by Toa Lhikan shortly before the cataclysm, Makuta Teridax wished to influence the choices to his advantage. Knowing this, Mata Nui and his Order falsified prophesies regarding the identities of the new Toa. Teridax believed these prophesies, and influenced Lhikan to choose others to become the new Toa. But as the initial candidates had not truly been "prophesied" to become Toa to begin with, the ones whom Teridax influenced Lhikan to choose were, in fact, the true destined Toa Metru.



After enslaving Metru Nui's Matoran in the guise of Turaga Dume, Teridax cast the virus upon Mata Nui, causing him to crash-land on the vast ocean planet Aqua Magna (which was formerly a part of Spherus Magna until The Shattering), and sink to the bottom of the ocean. The resulting crash, thereafter referred to as the Great Cataclysm, caused some islands of the Matoran Universe to float to the surface of the planet. Many beings were killed in the cataclysm. The Toa Metru managed to retrieve the Matoran from Metru Nui, and later retreated to an island on the surface, right above the city, which they named after the Great Spirit.

Ignition
More than 1,000 years later, Metru Nui's inhabitants returned, only to discover that the Great Spirit Mata Nui was not only asleep, but dying. The Toa Nuva were then sent to Voya Nui, another island that was now on the planet's surface, to find the Kanohi Ignika, the Mask of Life, that could save Mata Nui's life. Six Matoran followed them, determined to help, and were transformed into the Toa Inika. The Toa Inika retrieved the mask, after several struggles against rogue Skakdi ex-Dark Hunters calling themselves Piraka. However, it immediately flew away under its own power and plunged into the sea, heading for the undersea city of Mahri Nui that now rested on top of the Pit, the jail where the Barraki had been imprisoned, which it considered the most damaged place in the universe.

There, the mask was found by a Ga-Matoran named Kyrehx, who passed it on to a Po-Matoran named Dekar. The Barraki, who had long since escaped the Pit, went after it as soon as they learned of it, and the waters of the Pit were slowly destroying it. The Toa Inika pursued it down to Mahri Nui through the Stone Cord linking Mahri Nui and Voya Nui. They encountered a tribe of Zyglak, and a giant venom eel which cracked through the Stone Cord and attacked them.

However, they were suddenly transformed by the Ignika into the Toa Mahri, allowing them to breathe underwater. From that point, they only had about 24 hours to heal Mata Nui before he died, and then it would only be a matter of days before life in the universe would cease to exist. Unfortunately, they failed, and shortly after the Toa Mahri recovered the Ignika and cut the Stone Cord in preparation for Mata Nui's awakening, he died, causing the Mask of Life to go dark (it did not, however, lose its powers). The universe then slowly began to die, but the Toa Mahri did not give up. After falling into Karda Nui, Matoro put on the Ignika. He died, and the Ignika used his energies to resurrect Mata Nui, saving the universe. However, the Great Spirit remained asleep and began having terrible nightmares.

After arriving in Karda Nui, the Toa Nuva discovered that there were six fragments of a keystone that told of how to awaken Mata Nui. From the first three stones they acquired, they learned that the secret to reviving the Great Spirit was in the Swamp of Secrets.

The Toa Nuva and the newly created "Toa" Ignika eventually found the Codrex, the structure from which the Toa Mata originated and which also powered the Energy Storms. It was Gali who told the Ignika that, by using the Ignika's power, they would be able to awaken Mata Nui much faster than the Codrex could. Toa Ignika eventually accepted the consequences and sacrificed his body to finally reawaken the Great Spirit, so that it could be a hero like Matoro.

However, this great victory was not to last. Mata Nui's mind was invaded by Teridax at the exact moment when the Ignika first revived him from death, and the Makuta usurped the Great Spirit Robot while Mata Nui was recovering. Teridax then banished Mata Nui's spirit into the Ignika itself, and banished the mask from the universe soon after it was used to awaken him.

Bara Magna
"My home is far from this place; on another world entirely. I was once its protector, until I lost everything to a powerful evil that has enslaved my people. That is why I must find a way back."

- Mata Nui to Ackar, BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn.

Arrival
After drifting through space, Mata Nui eventually crash-landed on the desert planet of Bara Magna during one of its nights. Soon, the Ignika formed a body for him, in order to stay protected. He walked unsteadily at first, as he was used to walking a great distance every step. He almost squashed a Scarabax, if not for its quick cry. The beetle then crawled up his arm to his face, touching the Ignika. It then transformed into a new weapon, the Scarabax Shield.



Mata Nui was suddenly attacked by a native Vorox. As he had just gained his weapons, he found it hard to fight, but also found it easy to learn. Mata Nui won by cutting the end off of the Vorox's tail as it attempted to strike him. Soon after, he picked up the tail of the Vorox and encountered an Agori of the Ice Tribe, Metus, and asked if the latter could share his Thornatus vehicle as transport. The Agori agreed, and Mata Nui introduced himself as the two set off.

At the village of Vulcanus, they watched an arena match between the Glatorian warriors Strakk and Ackar. After admitting defeat, Strakk attacked Ackar when he wasn't looking; Strakk threw his Ice Axe and knocked Ackar out, breaking the arena's code of honor. Mata Nui criticized this, describing Strakk as dishonorable. Raanu explained that it was far easier to simply be lenient, as it could be difficult enforcing the law on a Glatorian. Then, when Strakk was about to finish off Ackar, Mata Nui entered the arena to stop him. During the fight, the Ignika transformed the Vorox tail into a sword. Mata Nui then fought and defeated Strakk. Later, Mata Nui and Ackar went to Ackar's room, and Mata Nui saw how many shields he had won. Mata Nui told Ackar that he was from "another world entirely", and that he would start to search for a way back. He also told Ackar what had happened to his home. The Glatorian Kiina then appeared and told them she had been talking about there being other worlds for years, and that there existed a massive cavern underneath her village; she believed Mata Nui could find something of use there.

Battling the Skrall
While traveling through the sand-ray canyon towards Tajun, the three were ambushed by a Skopio and Bone Hunters. Mata Nui broke the side of the canyon and crushed the Skopio and the hunters. Mata Nui, Ackar, and Kiina soon found that Tajun had been destroyed, but the native Agori had escaped, and they found the Glatorian Gresh injured. Gresh informed them that the Skrall and Bone Hunter tribes had united. They then delved into the secret cavern that Kiina had discovered. They encountered the Agori Berix, who asked if he could help Gresh, who soon recovered. Meanwhile, Mata Nui discovered a lab which originally belonged to the Great Beings, and inside they found carvings picturing Mata Nui's old body.



Later, Mata Nui used the Ignika to give Ackar, Kiina and Gresh elemental powers. They then traveled to Gresh's village. When Kiina and Berix were captured by the Skrall, Mata Nui went alone to rescue them. He fought against the leader of the Rock Tribe and the Skrall, Tuma, in an arena for his friends' freedom. At first, Tuma had the obvious advantage, but Mata Nui discovered a weak spot in Tuma's armor and used it against him. On the final strike to Tuma's weak spot from his sword, Tuma fell down, unconscious. After defeating Tuma, Mata Nui claimed his shield in victory. However, at that point, the Agori Metus reappeared, having engineered the alliance between the Skrall and Bone Hunters for his own benefit. He told Mata Nui to drop his weapons and surrender to the Skrall. Mata Nui dropped his sword and told Click, the Scarabax beetle that was transformed into the Scarabax Shield, to save himself.

However, the other Glatorian appeared, and Metus ordered the Skrall and Bone Hunter army to attack. He tried to get away amidst the confusion, but was stopped by Mata Nui, who then used the Ignika to turn Metus into a serpent, stating that everybody would now see him for what he truly was. Metus slithered away, telling Mata Nui that he may have defeated him, but that he would never defeat his united army, which gave Mata Nui an idea. He then combined his powers with the other Glatorian, which created a massive beam that instantly defeated the oncoming army of Skrall and Bone Hunters; those that stayed conscious retreated. Later, on a hill overlooking the villages, Berix revealed a coin that had the Skrall shield pattern on one side, and the Aqua Magna and Bara Magna symbols on the other, with a figure that looked the same as the figure on the Ignika on both sides. Mata Nui then realized that the pattern on the Skrall shield was actually a map, and he decided to follow the map. The other Glatorian insisted on coming with him, and Mata Nui agreed to this.



The Valley of the Maze
On their way to the Valley of the Maze, Mata Nui and his allies ran into a rogue band of Skrall and, during the fight, Berix was injured. Mata Nui told the rest to turn back and decided to continue on his own.

He then discovered a fortress in the desert, which asked him, "What do you seek? What is your burden? What gives you life, and death?" Mata Nui quickly figured out that the answers were the three virtues, Unity, Duty, and Destiny, and he gained entrance. After traveling through the fortress for a while, he found Tarduk hanging in chains. He freed the Agori, and together they found something of interest to Mata Nui: his history. Then he realized something: if the Great Beings had meant to build another robot, then there might be another power source.

He later arrived from the Maze carrying a cube. Mata Nui used the cube to provide the energy to power the Prototype Robot he had discovered. Then he removed his mask, causing his body to be destroyed. His spirit then wandered outside of the Ignika, making its way into the Prototype Robot. But not far away, Teridax had arrived on Bara Magna.

The Final Battle
The two soon dueled against each other in a massive battle for the fate of the Matoran Universe and Spherus Magna. Teridax quickly gained the upper hand and, after blasting Mata Nui to the ground, claimed Bara Magna as his own.

Using a split second's opportunity, Mata Nui informed Tahu about the legendary Golden Armor through the Ignika. The mask then successfully created the armor, which Teridax promptly scattered across the desert. Teridax then decided to use his gravity powers to fold the planet in on itself, killing everyone on it. At the last moment, Mata Nui was able to deflect the blast, which instead pulled the two moons of Bara Magna back towards their original positions.

During this time, the pieces of the Golden Armor were recovered, and Tahu was able to bear them. Using the power of the armor, he instantly destroyed Teridax's remaining army of Rahkshi. Teridax sensed this, and was temporarily dazed. While he was stunned, Mata Nui saw the shadow of one of the great moons of Bara Magna, and wasted no time in shoving Teridax and the head of the Great Spirit Robot into the path of the moon. The core processor of the robot was destroyed, and Makuta Teridax was finally killed for good.



Afterward, Mata Nui used not only the last of his robot's power but also the Kanohi Ignika to bring life back to Spherus Magna. The mask believed it wouldn't survive the process either, but Mata Nui was able to convince it to aid him. When the process was done, the Prototype Robot disintegrated, but the Ignika, which once again contained Mata Nui's spirit, survived.

As the survivors mourned for his demise, they found that he was still alive within the Mask of Life. With a few words of thanks, Mata Nui gave his last wish: to have the Great Beings return to the planet. His spirit then went dormant inside the mask.

Alternate Universes

 * In the alternative-universe story The Kingdom, Toa Mahri Matoro failed to save Mata Nui's life in time.
 * In the alternate-universe story Dark Mirror, Mata Nui was never put to sleep by Teridax. He continues to watch over the Matoran Universe.
 * In an alternate universe seen by Vezon, Teridax and Mata Nui were switched, so that Mata Nui, a Makuta-like being, was plotting against Teridax, a giant robotic Great Spirit.
 * In another alternate universe seen by Vezon, Teridax and the other Makuta never rebelled against Mata Nui. This allowed him to fulfill his destiny sooner: to reunite Aqua Magna, Bara Magna and Bota Magna.
 * In "the Melding" alternate universe, Mata Nui was never created in the first place, as the Great Beings prevented The Shattering from occurring.

Personality and Traits
"[...] Once, I made the mistake of ignoring others because they weren't part of my mission, taking for granted they would always be there to do what I needed them to do. [...]"

- Mata Nui, Journey's End

When he controlled the Matoran Universe, Mata Nui stood forty million feet tall. He only focused on his mission of collecting knowledge and restoring Spherus Magna, never paying much attention to what happened in the universe inside him; he figured that, because the Toa and Makuta could control whatever situation went on inside him, he could finish his mission without interference, seeing none of the Matoran Universe inhabitants as a friend or ally. It was this assumption that led to his downfall, as Teridax had implanted a virus within Mata Nui that put him into a deep sleep for the next one thousand years.

Mata Nui had learned his lesson after being banished from his universe. On Bara Magna, he learned not only to pay attention to his surroundings, but also the value of trusting and befriending others. He began to care about others and not just himself. He stopped thinking of the Toa and Matoran as workers and began to think of them as allies and friends, and showed an urgent need to return to the Matoran Universe to save it from Teridax's reign as soon as possible.

Powers and Equipment
While controlling the Great Spirit Robot, Mata Nui possessed several abilities. The robot possessed the ability to fly, fire blasts of energy from its palms, and manipulate gravity.

After being cast out of the Matoran Universe, Mata Nui wore the Ignika. When he landed on Bara Magna, the Ignika created a body for him. After touching the Ignika, the Scarabax Beetle, Click, gained the ability to transform between the Scarabax Shield and its natural form. Later, Mata Nui defeated a Vorox by smashing the tip of its tail off and later took the stinger to use as a weapon, which was eventually transformed into a sword.

Trivia

 * During his slumber, Mata Nui was still, on some level, aware of what was going on in the universe.
 * Before Mata Nui existed, the universe was kept in order by an entity called Tren Krom from inside Karda Nui.
 * Mata Nui's true appearance was foreshadowed seven years before its first appearance, in the Mata Nui Online Game; at the base of the Great Telescope, one of the carvings representing prophecies depicts his face.
 * Mata Nui's original body was 40 million feet high, or 12,000 km high (7,575.56 miles high). His Toa-like body, however, was about 7 feet tall.
 * In the movie BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn, Mata Nui was voiced by Michael Dorn. Michael Dorn also voiced Mata Nui in the Mata Nui Saga.
 * His Toa-like body's design is similar to Toa Ignika's body, due to the fact that both bodies were created by the Ignika.