Comic 1: If A Universe Ends...

"The island of Voya Nui was facing drought and famine when six mysterious canisters washed up on the shore. The island's Matoran villagers dared to hope that salvation had arrived. They were wrong."

- Narration

If A Universe Ends... was the first issue of the relaunched BIONICLE: Ignition series and the second comic of 2006. It was released with the March/April 2006 edition of the LEGO Club Magazine and was the first comic to feature Stuart Sayger as the artist. The comic was later collected in BIONICLE 5: The Battle of Voya Nui. This issue saw the Piraka take over Voya Nui as they sought the Mask of Life.

Opening
''The island called Voya Nui has always been a treacherous place to life, with rugged terrain, violent seas, and an active volcano. Now six evil begins call Piraka have invaded its shore, transforming it from an island of danger to an island of doom.''

''Six brave Matoran have banded together to save their enslaved people from the Piraka menace. But with no Toa heroes to aid them, do they have a chance against the multi-powered Piraka? And just why have the Piraka come to such a desolate place?

Puzzling questions--and the fate of the BIONICLE universe may depend on the answers.

Plot
Dalu runs away, scared and desperate to hide. She has just seen her friends and allies attacked and defeated. Now, without hope, she flees and tries to escape. Despite her best efforts, as she climbs to the top of a cliff, Dalu is greeted by Hakann and Zaktan, two of the merciless and cruel Piraka who have recently taken over the barren island of Voya Nui. Despairingly the Ga-Matoran thinks back to when the Piraka first showed up. The Matoran were desperate, and clung to any shred of hope which appeared, such as the new strangers. The mercenaries originally pretended to be Toa, heroes who possessed power over the forces of nature. However, their behavior was suspicious, such as forcing the villagers to build a fortress and drain the island's volcano. Eventually, the Matoran leader discovered the truth: the newcomers were murderers and thieves, come to steal, kill, and destroy. Armed with this knowledge, the villagers prepared to fight back against the vile Piraka, only to have the intruders move first. The Piraka attack the Matoran population with Zamor Spheres, turning them into nothing more than mindless slaves. Now, only six Matoran remained free of their influence. And with the capture of Dalu, make that five... Even though the Piraka are successful, the two somewhat-allies fall to bickering which quickly escalates to infighting. Hakann is unable to land a hit on his leader, so he resorts to a psychic attack. Initially succeeding, Hakann finds himself on the receiving end of a falling boulder when Zaktan switches tactics as well. The victorious leader gloats over his achievement, before scheming over his plans to steal the Mask of Life. Elsewhere on Voya Nui, the Piraka Thok and Reidak overlook Mount Valmai. Reidak can't understand what's so important about the island, so Thok gives him a quick history lesson. According to legend, the Great Beings crafted the Great Mask of Life at the beginning of the universe, and entrusted it to the Great Spirit Mata Nui for safekeeping. The mask was then hidden away under the island to prevent would-be thieves and criminals from stealing it. Reidak is still restless for action, but is unready for its arrival when it appears in the form of a rock slide beneath his own feet! Thok runs away from the site, unwilling to help and greedy for more gain. The Piraka of Ice is unpleasantly surprised when Reidak ambushes him, unwilling to be defeated that easily. And meanwhile the two remaining Piraka, Avak and Vezok, secretly meet up in the Green Belt to plot against their fellow scoundrels. Vezok suddenly attacks a tree, claiming he saw someone eavesdropping on them. His suspicions are confirmed when a massive tree almost crushes the pair. The two investigate, but cannot find anyone else. Continuing the search, Vezok ducks into a cave, where he discovers and destroys the historical records of the island. A rockslide traps the pair of Piraka in the cave, as outside the mysterious attacker speaks with the Ta-Matoran Balta. The ax-wielding giant reveals to the villager that far more is at stake than the Matoran's lives or even the safety of the island. Rather, the fate of the entire universe and the life of Mata Nui himself rests upon the fate of the Mask of Life!

Credits

 * Greg Farshtey - Writer
 * Stuart Sayger - Artist
 * Alex Breyaert - Colorist
 * Travis Lanham - Letterer
 * Toby Dutkiewicz - Art director/design
 * Daniel Lipkowitz - Plot assist
 * Jaye Gardner - Editor

Characters

 * Axonn - First appearance
 * Avak - First appearance
 * Balta - First appearance
 * Dalu - First appearance
 * Garan - First appearance
 * Hakann - First appearance
 * Kazi - First appearance
 * Mata Nui - Mentioned only
 * Other Matoran
 * Piruk - First appearance
 * Reidak - First appearance
 * Thok - First appearance
 * Velika - First appearance
 * Vezok - First appearance
 * Zaktan - First appearance

Locations

 * Voya Nui - First appearance
 * Cavern of Historical Records - First appearance
 * Mount Valmai - First appearance
 * Lake of Lava - First appearance
 * Piraka Stronghold - First appearance
 * The Green Belt - First appearance
 * Voya Nui Bay - First appearance

Objects

 * Giant Axe - First appearance
 * Kanohi
 * Great Hau - Picture only
 * Great Rode - First appearance
 * Legendary Mask of Life - First appearance
 * Powerless Huna
 * Powerless Komau
 * Powerless Mahiki
 * Powerless Mask of Sensory Aptitude - First appearance
 * Powerless Mask of Adaptation - First appearance
 * Powerless Mask of Incomprehension - First appearance
 * Powerless Mask of Conjuring - First appearance
 * Powerless Matatu
 * Powerless Rau
 * Powerless Ruru
 * Kanohi Nuva
 * Hau Nuva
 * Matoran tools
 * Echo Forks - First appearance
 * Power Carvers - First appearance
 * Pulse Bolt Generators - First appearance
 * Shredder Claws - First appearance
 * Twin Chargers - First appearance
 * Twin Repellers - First appearance
 * Piraka tools
 * Buzzsaw - First appearance
 * Ice Gun - First appearance
 * Lava Launcher - First appearance
 * Seismic Pickaxe - First appearance
 * Three-Blade Scissor - First appearance
 * Water Harpoon - First appearance
 * Zamor Launcher - First appearance
 * Toa Canister
 * Zamor Sphere - First appearance

Organizations

 * Great Beings - Mentioned only
 * Great Spirit - Mentioned only
 * Matuka
 * Matoran
 * Ga-Matoran
 * Ko-Matoran
 * Le-Matoran
 * Onu-Matoran
 * Po-Matoran
 * Ta-Matoran
 * Order of Mata Nui - First appearance
 * Piraka - First appearance
 * Rahi
 * Protodites
 * Rahkshi - Mentioned only
 * Skakdi - First appearance
 * Toa - Mentioned only
 * Toa Mata/Toa Nuva - Indirectly mentioned only
 * Toa of Sonics - Mentioned only
 * Voya Nui Resistance Team - First appearance

Miscellanea

 * Antidermis - First appearance
 * Elements/Elemental Powers
 * Water
 * Matoran Language
 * Protosteel - First appearance

Quotes
"Her breath exploding from her lungs, the Matoran called Dalu runs for her life. Running is not natural to her. She is a fighter. But she has seen her island invaded...most of her friends enslaved...her hope and the heroes crushed. So Dalu can be forgiven if she wishes she were somewhere else right now...Anywhere else."

- Narration

"The enslaved Matoran and the other Piraka are hunting for the mask even now, never dreaming of its true potential. The power of life...and so, the power of death as well...all in one Kanohi. And so close to being in my grasp! The Mask of Life must be found!"

- Zaktan

"Not "when" he wakes up, Balta..."If." Mata Nui has slept for more than a thousand years. His symbol, the Kanohi Hau, has stood for hope for all Matoran. But I tell you now, Balta...If the Piraka are not stopped...If they find the Mask of Life they seek...Mata Nui shall die!"

- Axonn

Extra Features

 * Comic middle: Advertisement for BIONICLE Piraka sets Avak, Zaktan, Hakann, Vezok, Thok, and Reidak.
 * Comic end: Advertisement for upcoming web content to BIONICLE.com; Creatures of Voya Nui section discusses Rahi combination models built from the 2006 Matoran sets; advertisement for the "BIONICLE Piraka Trivia Contest."
 * Rear cover: Advertisement for the summer 2006 titan sets Axonn and Brutaka.

Continuity

 * This issue sees the introduction of the Mask of Life, an important plot device that would go on to play an increasingly large role over the course of the next three year's worth of story.
 * This comic also sees the re-introduction of Toa Canisters, after being absent since the very first comic of the original series.
 * This comic takes place after BIONICLE Legends 2: Dark Destiny, with a flashback to some of preceding events.
 * On page 22, a nameless Matoran appears, whose Kanohi was used as the basis for the fan-canonized Mask of Conjuring.
 * This issue also see the comic debut of Antidermis, a substance hinted at the previous year in BIONICLE Adventures 10: Time Trap and was believed to be connected to Makuta somehow.
 * On page 6, a nameless Matoran appears, whose Kanohi was used as the basis for the fan-canonized Mask of Sensory Aptitude.
 * On page 14, two nameless Matoran appear,whose Kanohi were used as the basis for the fan-canonized Mask of Incomprehension and the Mask of Adaptation, respectively.

Errors

 * On pages 5 and 6, Hakann is mistakenly colored blue in some panels (that or Vezok was mistakenly drawn with Hakann's Lava Launcher).
 * On page 16, Reidak appears to blast Thok with laser beams. This was merely artistic license, and was actually intended to show the impact of a physical attack.

Other Trivia

 * This issue was twice the size of a normal comic.