Comic 7: Mask of Life, Mask of Doom

"The waters of this sea turned us into creatures who cannot breath air. But the Mask of Life can undo that. We'll be free to reclaim our empires and rule all that lives, as we once did."

- Barraki Kalmah

Mask of Life, Mask of Doom was the seventh issue of the relaunched BIONICLE: Ignition series and part two of the Sea of Darkness sub-series. It was originally mailed with the March/April 2007 edition of the LEGO Club Magazine, and was later collected in BIONICLE 6: The Underwater City. This comic revolved around the Barraki's attempts to find the Mask of Life.

Plot
The Barraki have gathered together at the Razor Whale's Teeth. Pridak insists that they group find the Mask of Life for themselves. Carapar doesn't see the point of acquiring the mask, but Takadox dismisses him. Kalmah reminds the others that with the Mask of Life's power, they will be able to reverse the mutations done to them. Ehlek and Mantax suggest the group split up to cover more ground. However, what the warlords don't realize is that someone else has already found the mask...a Po-Matoran named Dekar. Afraid of its power, the Matoran resolves to destroy the Kanohi. Looking for answers, Takadox visits Nocturn, a fellow escaped prisoner. The four-armed brute threatens him, but the blue Barraki simply uses his hypnotic ability to gain an ally in his search. Pridak interrogate captured Matoran to learn about the mask's location. Meanwhile, Ehlek uses the search as an excuse to launch an attack on the Matoran community of Mahri Nui, even as Takadox looks for something very different on the sea bottom. Kalmah catches and confronts him, demanding to know why the Barraki isn't looking for the Mask of Life. Takadox reveals that every night Mantax secretly investigates a subterranean chasm. The two villains him, suspicious that their ally may have already found and hidden away the Mask of Life. Once inside, someone seals off the entrance, trapping all three within the wreckage of the Pit. The bad situation rapidly grows worse as Kalmah reveals that the monstrous Zyglak also live within these ruins, and with the landslide, they have come to investigate as well, and kill the intruders!

To be continued...

Credits

 * Greg Farshtey - Writer
 * Stuart Sayger - Artist
 * Alex Bleyaert - Colorist
 * Phil Balsman - Letter
 * Toby Dutkiewicz - Art director/design
 * Jessica Numsuwankijkul - Asst. editor
 * Michael Wright - Editor

Characters

 * Carapar
 * Defilak - First appearance
 * Dekar
 * Ehlek
 * Kalmah
 * Mantax
 * Nocturn - First appearance
 * Pridak
 * Takadox

Locations

 * Mahri Nui
 * The Pit
 * Razor Whale's Teeth

Objects

 * Electro-Blades
 * Kanohi
 * Legendary Ignika
 * Powerless Kiril
 * Powerless Kualsi
 * Shark Tooth Blade
 * Squid Launcher
 * Tri-Talons
 * Twin Knives

Organizations

 * Barraki
 * Matoran
 * Aqua Hunter
 * Le-Matoran
 * Leader of the Mahri Nui Council - First appearance
 * Po-Matoran
 * Rahi
 * Squids
 * Venom Eels
 * Zyglak - First appearance

Miscellanea

 * Elements/Elemental Powers
 * Life
 * Matoran Language
 * Mutagen
 * Protosteel

Quotes
"I don't know what this mask is, or where it came from. But even I can sense its incredible power...too much power. If it fell into the wrong hands...It's too dangerous. If could just as easily be our doom as our salvation. This mask must be destroyed...and I have to do it."

- Dekar

"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 down there...the Mask of Life, perhaps?"

- Kalmah and Takadox

Extra Features

 * Comic middle: Revenge of the Barraki! section discusses sets 8916 Takadox, 8917 Kalmah, 8918 Carapar, 8919 Mantax, 8920 Ehlek, and 8921 Pridak.
 * Rear cover: Darkness Waits in the Deep section advertises the Wal-Mart-exclusive Nocturn set.

Continuity

 * This issue takes place concurrently with BIONICLE Legends 6: City of the Lost.
 * This comic marks the first appearance of the Barraki's lieutenant, Nocturn.

Errors

 * On page four, one of Takadox's dialogue lines is mistakenly attributed to Pridak instead.

Trivia

 * While this comic was originally advertised in the previous comic as Mask of Life, Mask of Death, its final title was changed instead to Mask of Life, Mask of Doom.