Teridax

​

"The people of this island are builders. But look into their hearts, and you will find that they also have the power to destroy. I am that power. I am destruction. And I will destroy you."

- Teridax to the Toa Mata, Mata Nui Online Game

Teridax, usually known as simply "Makuta" or the "Makuta of Metru Nui", was the leader of the Brotherhood of Makuta after overthrowing Miserix, and the ultimate antagonist of the BIONICLE saga. During the final battle on Bara Magna, he was finally killed by Mata Nui.

Early Life
One hundred thousand years ago Teridax was "created" by the Great Spirit Mata Nui as a member of the Brotherhood of Makuta, whose job was to create and alter Rahi as needed; the Brotherhood soon also took on the job of protecting Mata Nui's chosen people, the Matoran. Teridax was put specifically in charge of the city of Metru Nui and its surrounding region by the leader of the Brotherhood, Miserix. In this time, Mata Nui and Teridax were so close that they were considered "brothers".

At one point eighty thousand years ago, the Brotherhood had discovered through the traitor Takadox that a military alliance called the League of Six Kingdoms was plotting no less than the overthrow of Mata Nui himself. The Brotherhood, allied with Mata Nui's champions, the Toa, and Teridax led a preemptive strike against the League and their leaders, six warlords titled "Barraki." The operation was a complete success, and all six Barraki were captured, but as Teridax was about to execute them a stranger named Botar appeared. He and Teridax argued over the fate of the Barraki until Botar finally teleported away, taking the Barraki to the Pit with him. Though Teridax would occasionally wonder about the stranger and what he had done with the Barraki, he would more often consider the League's ultimate goal, and concluded that a Barraki was ultimately unworthy to replace the Great Spirit. However, he then began thinking about taking over the Matoran Universe himself.

Spurred on by this thought, Teridax (and eventually the rest of the Brotherhood) became jealous of the high regard that Mata Nui was given by the Matoran and began brooding on ways to overthrow Mata Nui, and with the information gleaned from Tren Krom by Mutran, he was able to formulate the Plan. Eventually, Teridax revealed to the other Makuta his plan, which was to put Mata Nui to sleep, intending to take his place in the minds of the Matoran as their savior. Miserix alone went against this, but no other Makuta supported him. After a short brawl, Teridax claimed leadership of the Brotherhood and ordered Miserix executed, though the execution never took place and Miserix was instead imprisoned on an island far to the south by Krika. Teridax then set his plan into motion. At some point, six Toa were selected to be Teridax's personal bodyguards; these Toa became known as the Toa Hagah.

The Great Shadow
"Too late, Toa. The shadow has arrived!"

- Teridax to the Toa Metru, BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui

Around this time, the Toa Hagah discovered the Brotherhood's corruption and treachery and rebelled. They struck by surprise, overpowered the Dark Hunters guarding Teridax's stronghold, and stole the Kanohi Avohkii. At some point during the battle, they confronted Makuta himself, and wounded him significantly. However, during their escape, they were ambushed by Roodaka, one of Teridax's servants, who used her Rhotuka to mutate them into Rahkshi-like creatures she dubbed "Rahaga". They managed to escape, however, and safely hid the Mask of Light, so that when it was time for it to be used, the Brotherhood couldn't stop it.

When the Plan was a year from fruition, Makuta kidnapped Turaga Dume, the leader of Metru Nui, and, posing as Dume, began sending the Toa that guarded the city to close the sea gates - a mission from which none of them ever returned. To aid in this, he hired three Dark Hunters: Nidhiki and Krekka, who helped inside the city, while the Hunter codenamed "Eliminator" stayed outside and killed the Toa who had been sent out to close the gates. He also brought in a predatory pet bird named Nivawk to act as a spy. Eventually, only Toa Lhikan was left. "Dume" also requested that the city's best mask-maker, Vakama, try to make the Mask of Time that would help in his plans, then created the Morbuzakh to drive the Matoran to the center of the city. During this time, Lhikan became suspicious and decided it was time to choose Matoran to become new Toa. The Makuta tried to subtly influence this decision so that Lhikan would choose Toa who would not be able to stop him, but Mata Nui, suspecting danger, influenced Makuta so that the Matoran chosen were the ones destined to succeed.

While the Toa Metru were able to destroy the Morbuzakh, Teridax instead had the city's Vahki enforcers continue to kidnap Matoran and put them into spheres that would erase their memory, allowing Makuta to "save" them from their imprisonment. By the time the Toa Metru discovered his plot, it was too late and the entire population of Metru Nui had been put into the spheres. In addition, Makuta had also infected Mata Nui with a virus that put him into a coma, causing him to crash onto Aqua Magna and bringing about the Great Cataclysm.

The Toa tried to escape the city with a few spheres, intending to return for the rest, but Makuta gave chase; boosting his power by absorbing the city's power supply into his body, along with Nidhiki, Krekka, and Nivawk, killing them and becoming a monstrous amalgamation of their bodies. Teridax then chased down the Toa until Vakama appeared to face him on his own. The Makuta offered him a position within the Brotherhood and as part of his essence, but Vakama refused and tried to use the Vahi against him; however, Vakama's inexperience led to both of them getting caught in the mask's time-slowing effect. Teridax fired a Shadow Hand at Vakama, though Turaga Lhikan intercepted the attack, killing him in the process. Inspired by Lhikan's sacrifice, Vakama began to truly challenge Makuta, and with the help of the other Toa Metru, sealed Makuta in a prison of solid protodermis.

The Dark Time
"There are a thousand ways I could destroy you right now. And 941 of them hurt."

- Teridax to Vakama, BIONICLE Adventures 10: Time Trap

After his imprisonment, Makuta telepathically summoned Sidorak and Roodaka, two of the Brotherhood's lieutenants, to bring their Visorak armies to Metru Nui. Once there, Roodaka cut away a small shard of the Toa Seal, intending to absorb the Toa's elemental powers and use them to break the seal. During the battle in the Coliseum, Roodaka and the shard were struck by elementally-charged Rhotuka spinners from the Toa, which still had the effect of freeing Teridax. Makuta's first action after being freed was to teleport Roodaka away from the Toa, who thought she had been killed. The prison shard was claimed by the Toa Metru, who later used it to represent Teridax when telling their tales as Turaga, becoming known as the Makuta Stone.

A short time later, Teridax began searching for the Vahi, the Mask of Time, which had fallen into the protodermis sea during his fight with Vakama. However, Vakama was also looking for the mask, as was a mutant named Voporak, who searched on behalf of the Dark Hunters. Makuta found Vakama and trapped him in an illusion, hoping to trick Vakama into giving him the Vahi - but Vakama broke free of the illusion, and Teridax was furious to learn that Voporak had taken the mask. He offered Vakama a truce until they got the Vahi back, and he kept his word - until the Dark Hunter leader, "The Shadowed One", showed up, hunting the Toa that he was sure was responsible for Nidhiki and Krekka's deaths. Teridax started bartering with the Shadowed One over the Vahi, but Vakama cut negotiations short when he pointed out that it was Makuta who had killed Nidhiki and Krekka. Enraged, the two Hunters attacked Teridax, breaching his armor; however, Makuta was able to knock Voporak out and make the Shadowed One age prematurely in Voporak's defensive field. Because of this incident, the Shadowed One declared war on the Brotherhood of Makuta. In the confusion, Vakama snatched the Vahi and began flying away.

Teridax soon tracked down Vakama and demanded he give the Vahi, but Vakama threatened to destroy the mask - and with it, the entire space-time continuum. Reluctantly, Teridax agreed to give the now-free Matoran a year of peace and to leave Vakama's allies in Metru Nui alone.

He then returned to Destral and challenged Icarax to make him stop terrorizing Matoran with his Manas. Interestingly enough, he let Icarax live for the time. He then went to one of his many lairs, this one called Mangaia.

In that year, Vakama and the other Toa Metru brought the Matoran to the Island of Mata Nui, became Turaga, and led them in constructing villages. Teridax, meanwhile, located a lost Po-Matoran named Ahkmou they had inadvertently and unknowingly left behind and used seductive lies to make him an ally.

Once the year was up, he began to harass the Matoran by creating Kraata and using them to enslave the local Rahi wildlife with infected Kanohi, forcing them to attack the villages. His goal was to intimidate the Matoran into surrendering, but more importantly to keep them away from Metru Nui. However, the Matoran fought back, driving off the Rahi and freeing some from Makuta's control. Nevertheless, Makuta would keep on enslaving more Rahi, and the stalemate would continue for nearly a thousand years...

The Coming of the Toa Mata
"You cannot destroy me, for I am nothing."

- Teridax, Mata Nui Online Game

Finally, a wanderer named Takua was able to find six Toa Stones that were scattered around the island, created and hidden back when the Turaga were the Toa Metru. Bringing these together at the Kini-Nui Temple summoned the Toa Mata to Mata Nui. At first, The Makuta tested these beings to make sure they were real Toa, including using Ahkmou's help to spread an epidemic among the Po-Matoran. He even went so far as to fight them directly. After his supposed defeat, he retreated and awakened the Bohrok swarms for the Toa to deal with. He held no illusions that the Bohrok would be able to defeat the Toa, but they would keep the heroes busy; and once the swarms failed, there was the chance that the elite Bohrok-Kal could be a threat to the Toa.

Eventually, the Toa prevailed against the Bohrok threats, and subsequently transformed into more powerful Toa Nuva in the process. Whatever schemes the Makuta was plotting during this time were abandoned a short while after the Bohrok-Kal crisis when a Matoran named Takua found the legendary Mask of Light. Legends stated that the mask's wearer, the Toa of Light, would appear in a time of darkness, and Makuta quickly sent out Rahkshi to keep the prophecy from coming true. He also appeared to Takua, warning him that the consequences could be fatal for his friend Jaller if he didn't give Teridax the mask. But these attempts failed, as Takua realized his destiny to become the Toa of Light, renaming himself Takanuva - though Makuta's warning rang true, as Jaller did indeed die in the last battle with the Rahkshi.

Mask Of Light
"And for your final failure... Perhaps a simple game of Kolhii will suffice."

- Teridax to Takanuva, ''BIONICLE: Mask of Light

The next day, Takanuva went to challenge Makuta alone; though once he got there he told his friend Hahli (who had stowed away on his Ussanui) to go back and bring all the Matoran. While she was doing this, Makuta challenged Takanuva in the Matoran sport of kolhii, and the ensuing "game" damaged much of the lair. When the Matoran arrived, Makuta took out the lair's last remaining pillar, causing a cave-in and cutting off the Matoran's escape route. Takanuva then tried to rip Teridax's Mask of Shadows off of his face, causing the two to fall into a pool of energized protodermis and emerge as a single being, Takutanuva(see Takutanuva section below). Takutanuva opened the way to Metru Nui, and the Teridax side (being enlightened by the Mask of Light piercing the lies he had told himself over the centuries) even helped bring Jaller back to life, but the energy spent on the resurrection made Takutanuva too weak and the gate he was holding fell and crushed him. Takanuva was quickly restored from his mask, but Teridax was believed by the world to be dead.

Despite the apparent victory, Takanuva had some suspicions that Teridax let the Matoran win to further some grander plan. According to series writer Greg Farshtey, "My feeling has always been that Makuta knew that the Toa and Matoran would make it back to Metru Nui eventually – so he intentionally lost the fight to Takanuva, allowing them to go back there thinking they had won. This way, they would be occupied with rebuilding for some time and convinced the danger from Makuta was largely over, and thus ignore what he was truly up to."

Voya Nui
Unknown to all, Makuta still clung to life as a mass of liquid antidermis, though the loss of his physical body severely weakened him. A few weeks later, a gang of thieves calling themselves Piraka heard rumors of Makuta's death and went to investigate. They found his crushed armor and one, Reidak, tried to claim his mask, but it hit him with energy pulses until he let go and threw it into the energized Protodermis at the center of the lair. Seeing them as perfect pawns, Teridax used his telepathy to plant knowledge of the powerful, cursed Ignika Mask of Life in their heads; Makuta hoped to gain control over the Ignika, which would give him control over when and if Mata Nui's life was saved as well as the ability to take life from enemies, believing that he could control the Ignika without dying because of his immense power. He also specifically influenced Zaktan's behavior, as he was the Piraka leader and had some authority over the others.

On Voya Nui, the Piraka constructed a vat centered around a crystal that collected Teridax's substance, in the form of a virus called "antidermis". Only Zaktan knew the antidermis' secret, that it was really a form of Teridax; and he was the only Piraka that could approach the virus collection vat without becoming physically ill. While the vat kept Makuta's energy collected so that he wouldn't dissipate, the Piraka infected the island's Matoran with small amounts of the antidermis, enslaving them to the Piraka's will. The Piraka's ally, Brutaka, also found that absorbing some antidermis into his system gave him a temporary boost in strength and aggressiveness.

In Brutaka's last fight with his ex-friend Axonn, he tried to get to the antidermis vat so he could become stronger. However, Axonn destroyed the vat before he could get there - and as the virus dissipated he swore he heard a second scream besides Brutaka's. During this time, the Ignika had fallen into the depths of Voya Nui bay. The Toa Inika went down the Cord down to Mahri Nui where the Mask of Life had drifted, and the Makuta's essence followed them there.

Mahri Nui
"I could just kill you, Matoro, take the mask, and do the job myself, but it's so much more amusing this way."

- Teridax to Matoro

In Mahri Nui, Teridax took over the body of the Pit Robot Guard Maxilos. In this form, he persuaded Matoro to reanimate Tuyet, attempting to use her to recreate the Nui Stone. However, he was stopped by Karzahni, who heard him speak of the Staff of Artakha. The two started fighting and Karzahni summoned an army of Manas, only for Makuta to make half of them turn against the other half using his powers of Rahi Control. Karzahni then got angry and used his powers, showing Teridax the future with the Toa Nuva awakening Mata Nui.

However, Makuta quickly recovered, and after he damaged Karzahni's mind and hurled him out of sight, Icarax arrived with the Staff and Makuta told Matoro that if another Toa went corrupt and fell under his sway, he could use the Nui Stone to increase his power a thousandfold.

Matoro attempted to stop him, but was put in a stasis field. Teridax then was attacked by none other than a mutated Brutaka, who now had spikes coming from his armor and a dorsal fin on his back. Then Brutaka snatched the Staff of Artakha and called for Botar to take it away, ruining Makuta's plan. Brutaka and Teridax began to fight. Brutaka told Matoro to return to the other Toa Mahri, and the Toa complied, trusting Brutaka over Makuta. Teridax then attacked Brutaka, who easily countered Teridax's attacks. Brutaka convinced Teridax to leave and retrieve the Mask of Life, which was now in the hands of Hydraxon. Makuta left, knowing Hydraxon was likely to destroy the Ignika, but not before promising Brutaka that their battle wasn't over.

Teridax was next to Matoro after the short conflict between Hahli, Hydraxon, and Mantax. Wanting to get rid of Makuta/Maxilos, Matoro suggested to the Toa Mahri that Maxilos track Hydraxon down. Without a choice, Makuta headed off in search for the jailer. When he finally tracked down Hydraxon, the jailer - thinking that Maxilos was still an obedient robotic guardian - asked the robot to go with him in search of Mantax. When Teridax tried and failed to persuade Hydraxon to stop following Mantax and capture the Toa Mahri and the other Barraki, Makuta/Maxilos attacked the jailer. Hydraxon summoned Spinax to attack Maxilos, only for the Rahi to be swiped away by the powerful being. Hydraxon then attacked Teridax using daggers, which stuck directly in the leg armor of the Maxilos robot. Ripping the daggers out, Teridax roared at Hydraxon, and the sound blast knocked Hydraxon off his feet. Hydraxon managed to aim his Cordak Blaster at an undersea mountain, causing boulders to rain on Makuta.

Later on, after Makuta got out of the avalanche, he had already been drifted off to the Razor Whale's Teeth. There, with Maxilos' body badly damaged, Barraki Takadox attempted to hypnotize Teridax into killing Mantax. Swiping Takadox aside, he was then attacked by Matoro, who froze him in a block of ice. The sudden and drastic decrease of temperature caused cracks to appear on the robotic body, and Makuta's essence, the Antidermis, began to freeze. Later, during a fight against Hydraxon, Jaller's flames melted Maxilos' prison, and Makuta advanced towards the Mask of Life. However, Jaller slapped at the mask, and it spiraled upwards into Matoro's hands. To Matoro's surprise, Makuta did not launch any form of attack on the Toa of Ice, and simply watched as the two Toa disappeared.

Teridax then turned to confront the Barraki, revealing that he was not Maxilos and was actually the Makuta who had led to the Barraki's defeat. Anguished, the Barraki attacked Teridax, only to have four of their members defeated. Takadox then attempted to get out of the attack by showing Teridax the Betrayal Contract. Makuta then cast Takadox into a vision, displaying the Barraki's destiny. Unknown to Teridax, however, the other Barraki were slowly gathering their armies. By the time Teridax stopped casting the vision, the Barraki had already assembled their armies and revealed to Makuta that they were merely feigning defeat. They then summoned their troops of over 100,000 underwater Rahi against one.

Maxilos' body was greatly damaged after being attacked by the Barraki's armies. Pulling himself up from the fight, Teridax simply let the Barraki go, only wanting to delay them and not destroy them. He felt the abrupt change when Mata Nui died, and knowing that it could not be the end, he hoped that the Toa Mahri would continue their task to revive the Great Spirit so that his plans can succeed. Teridax later left the shattered remains of Maxilos.

The Plan's Completion
"You know?" "If you knew, you would be fleeing in panic, Toa warrior."

- Helryx and Teridax, Dwellers In Darkness

Teridax, freed from the robotic body of Maxilos, traveled to Metru Nui to carry out the final stages of his plan. He reached his destination, Mata Nui's dormant mind, and possessed it.

Shortly after his arrival, the Toa Hagah arrived with Zaktan as an escort, with Miserix later coming, and two portals opened with Axonn, Brutaka, Helryx, and Keetongu emerging. After the Makuta shattered Brutaka's Olmak to prevent them from escaping, he killed Zaktan with a sonic hum that shattered Zaktan's water sphere and its occupant. Teridax then proceeded to teleport Axonn, Brutaka, and Keetongu to the Southern Islands, manipulating the minds of the Toa Hagah to think they won the battle, and kept Helryx to live with him and Miserix, who turned into a painting that hung on a wall in Teridax's mind. When the Toa Nuva woke up Mata Nui, they awoke the Great Spirit's body along with Teridax's mind, unwittingly giving him omnipotent power over the Matoran Universe. The Matoran, Toa and Turaga all rejoiced, thinking that all was well at last, but celebrations were cut short when Teridax appeared above them in the night sky as a constellation of the Kraahkan and announced the beginning of his reign of shadows. Teridax then proceeded to kill off all the remaining Makuta to stop them from overthrowing him, and unleashed a horde of Rahkshi on the Toa and Matoran of Metru Nui. After that, he destroyed Daxia and killed many members of the Order of Mata Nui, then sent another group of Rahkshi to overrun Odina. Finally, Makuta bound Mata Nui's spirit to the Ignika, and ejected it into space so that it wouldn't pose a threat to his newly-gained body.

Reign of Shadows
"Citizens of the Makutaverse, you are in an unauthorized area. You will accompany these Exo-Toa to Metru Nui, where you will be... retrained for new work that will benefit all my people. You will live out your lives there, in peace and prosperity, wanting for nothing... or you die, now."

- Teridax, Reign of Shadows

Makuta, now ruling the universe, sent Exo-Toa to hunt down the fugitives trying to overthrow him. One such group was discovered in Karzahni, a group consisting of Tahu, "Guardian", Kopeke, Lariska, Johmak, and Krahka. Guardian left the team, hoping to find a way out of Teridax's body, but Makuta had the ground open and swallow him whole. The rest of the team was left to fight a team of Exo-Toa. As the Toa were about to give up, Onua came up from beneath the Exo-Toa, using his Earth powers to cause them to fall into a deep chasm. Teridax then thought of Mata Nui and debated on killing the former Great Spirit. However, he then sensed his alternate self and decided to destroy him instead.

Bara Magna and Death
"Now, say good-bye to your sand pile."

- Teridax to Mata Nui

Makuta spent months learning to control the body of Mata Nui and crushing attempts at rebellion by the inhabitants of the Matoran Universe. His attention was drawn by a conflict between Miserix, Artakha, Helryx, Axonn, Brutaka, and Tuyet within the Core Processer, and requested that the group leave the chamber. They refused, and he teleported them himself, along with two Matoran present, out of the Matoran Universe and into space. Teridax could still sense the presence of the former Great Spirit out in the cosmos, and he felt that now was the perfect chance to destroy him. Feeling he was ready, he left Aqua Magna, with the intentions of hunting down and killing Mata Nui.

On Bara Magna, Makuta found Mata Nui in a smaller robotic body. A huge battle ensued, during which Gresh found a hatch in Teridax's robot. Once opened, it released numerous Rahkshi of Heat Vision and Skakdi, as well as the Toa Takanuva and Tahu. While the Rahkshi overcame Mata Nui's Glatorian allies, Mata Nui realized both that his robot was weaker and more likely to be defeated, and that if he damaged Makuta in any way, he ran the risk of killing Matoran trapped inside. Teridax then claimed Bara Magna for his own.

When Tahu defeated Nektann's legions and the hordes of Rahkshi, Makuta was left dazed. While distracted, Mata Nui took advantage of this and pushed him into the path of a fragment of Aqua Magna coming back to the planet. The fragment struck the side of his head hard, and the impact tore off the top of his robotic head and killed the Master of Shadows, bringing his reign to a final end. Makuta's stolen body then began to tilt toward Mata Nui, who had to push him back up until the corpse fell onto the Black Spike Mountains, destroying him. Moments later, the inhabitants of the Matoran Universe began to evacuate the robot.

Dark Mirror
In the Toa Empire, Teridax and other surviving Makuta, Krika and Kojol, lurked in the Archives. Teridax wore an Infected Kanohi Hau as his Kraahkan was kept in another area of the Archives. Takanuva had encountered him in the form of Tuyet while searching for Krahka. He and the two other Makuta there agreed to help Takanuva to find Brutaka, provided that the Toa retrieve the Vahi from Jaller.

Teridax joined in the battle against Tuyet at the Coliseum. After a Toa of Iron and Toa of Plasma killed Kojol, he was forced to retreat. Soon after, however, he and his forces charged back into the battle.

The Kingdom
In this alternate universe, Matoro failed to save Mata Nui and the Matoran Universe was destroyed. Teridax, along with the rest of the Brotherhood of Makuta, was prevented by Toa Takanuva and the Order of Mata Nui from evacuating. Afterward, Teridax started killing off and absorbing his fellow Makuta, starting with Icarax, in order to gain their power and knowledge to take revenge on those who exiled him.

10,000 years later, by the time the main universe Takanuva arrived in the Kingdom, Teridax had started sending Rahkshi through the light barriers surrounding the Bohrok tunnels in Po-Wahi, wearing armor made of shadow to prevent their Kraata from being vaporised. Takanuva, Matoro, and Tanma discovered this and fought off his Rahkshi until they were confronted by Teridax himself, now a disfigured melding of all the other Makuta he had hunted down and absorbed. In the ensuing battle, Teridax had his mask knocked off and destroyed by Tanma, but managed to kill Tanma with the Rahkshi Power of Shattering. Matoro then allowed himself to be absorbed into the Makuta's body. However, Matoro's will was too powerful for him to overcome; the 10,000 years of waiting coupled with the failure of his plans had rendered him weak willed with nothing truly left to live for, and both Teridax and Matoro died.

The Melding Parallel Universe
Mazeka was allowed to bring back one person from that universe in exchange for Vultraz. He decided that the one person who could help him fix his universe was Teridax, and so he brought him back to his universe. This Teridax controlled Light instead of Shadow and he wore white armor instead of the corroded greys, blacks and reds of Mazeka's Makuta. They appeared in the Southern Continent, and as they investigated, the two came across a valley of malicious living grass, and Teridax demonstrated his power over Light to the Ko-Matoran by killing the plants. The two eventually came upon a ridge overlooking a deserted Ba-Matoran village, where they discussed how, had he been in his situation, the alternate Teridax may have been just as ruthless as his counterpart. The Teridax of the main universe then created a maelstrom which blew the pair down to the village. Through the mouths of the dead Visorak scattered around the village, the Makuta spoke to them, saying that a weaker version of himself could never defeat him. The alternate Teridax stated that he was stronger because he resisted the temptations his counterpart could not. As a response, and to end the threat posed by another Makuta, the Teridax of the Matoran Universe teleported three Shadow Takanuva to the village. This version of Teridax carried a Warhammer and wore a golden Mask of Shadows.

Great Spirit Alternate Universe
In another alternate universe, the Great Beings had built a forty-million-foot-tall robot they named Makuta. He had a "brother", Mata Nui, who was plotting to rebel against him.

Personality
"I have no allies, for I have no equals."

- Teridax to Miserix, Dwellers In Darkness

Makuta Teridax was portrayed as the ultimate personification of pure evil. He was arrogant and proud, desiring praise and devotion and becoming jealous when others got it instead of him. At the same time, though, he did not seem to consider himself evil, rationalizing his actions as being for the good of the universe. Upon being called a monster for his actions in the Great Cataclysm, he asked "I, a monster? For knowing my spirit brother, Mata Nui, required a good, long rest after his many labors? For offering my benevolent leadership to the Matoran in his absence? For saving Metru Nui from the threat of Nidhiki and Krekka?" - leaving out that Mata Nui had not agreed to "rest" and that the Dark Hunters were only in the city at Teridax's invitation. Despite Makuta's apparent self-justification, series writer Greg Farshtey has described Teridax as a sociopath: "He has no conscience, he has no ability to feel remorse, and he feels no emotional connection to any other living thing. He would [notice Greg Farshtey was speaking about the "Makuta ruling the world" hypothesis] have been benevolent to the Matoran if he needed something from them, and then the next moment, he might have killed half a dozen just to break up the day."

Like many of his fellow Makuta, Teridax displayed traits of extreme sadism and cruelty, taking considerable pleasure in the suffering and the deaths of others. One of his more prominent demonstrations of this trait was when he taunted Toa Takanuva over the death of his friend Jaller, calling him a failure and blaming him for his friend’s death before proceeding to challenge him to a game of Kohli, calling it “his next great failure” and being willing to kill many of the Matoran in front of him, chuckling in amusement at the thought. In fact he was known to cultivate lifeforms purely for the eventual purposes of killing them. His sadism was such that having overthrown Makuta Miserix, he chose to taunt and mock him before using Shadow magic to trap him consciously in a paint-ing rather than killing him so that he could watch helplessly as Teridax carried out his plan. He later demonstrated similar behaviour whilst using his mental powers to destroy the mind of Karzahni. Another Makuta trait Teridax possessed was a dry, sardonic sense of humour. A narcissist, Teridax envied the admiration that the Great Spirit received from the other races of the universe and identified himself as the living embodiment of destruction. He boasted that he had no true allies because he had no equals and demonstrated an unshakable belief that it was his right to take control of creation and remake it in his own image; his ego was such that he chose to refer to himself as "the" Makuta, as opposed to using his given name. Upon taking over the Matoran Universe, he bragged "I AM the Universe!"

Speaking to Vakama while pretending to be Nokama, Makuta revealed his decidedly elitist perspective when he said, "We [Matoran] have to trust that those with more power know what is right for us all." When Vakama questioned whether wisdom came to Toa along with power, "Nokama" continued: "I was talking about real power, Vakama. Not the raindrops and wisps of breeze Toa produce. The power to shape the future ... the power to rule ... the power to change the lives of others for all time ... that is what I mean. ... It makes no difference what [those others] want. They will live in whatever world their superiors create for them, because it's all they know how to do. If Mata Nui had not wanted them herded, he would not have made them so easily led."

Greg has also said: "I think there was a time when Makuta was inspired and truly did want to help others -- but for the wrong reasons. I think that, just as Matau initially saw being a Toa as all about the fame and the glory, Makuta saw what he was doing as something that would earn him the gratitude and devotion of Matoran. And it did, to a point, but nowhere near what they felt for Mata Nui. And that sparked jealousy and resentment in him that only grew worse as time went on."

Powers
"There are a thousand ways I could destroy you right now. And 941 of them hurt."

- Teridax to Vakama

Although once biomechanical, like almost every other Makuta, Teridax later evolved into a form that was, as Thok put it, "just armor and energy - no organics, not anymore." Makuta needed his armor in order to hold his Antidermis energy together; if the armor was damaged, then the Antidermis would leak out and weaken him. Since his armor was completely destroyed, Teridax then existed merely as a mass of energy; but should too much time pass this energy would dissipate and he would die.

One of Teridax's most commonly-used powers was his ability to shapeshift, allowing him to shape his armor to any form he desired. The only limitation on this power was that when changing into a bigger, stronger form, he couldn't do it quickly unless he absorbed power and mass from somewhere. If what he absorbed was a living being, then their body was incorporated into his and their mind and spirit utterly destroyed (though not always immediately - Teridax blamed his defeat in Metru Nui on having to suppress the minds of Nidhiki, Krekka, and Nivawk at the same time: "I disagreed with something I ate"). In his energy form, Makuta still had some limited shapeshifting power, capable of making his energy liquid, gaseous or even viral.

He controlled the element of shadows, allowing him to manipulate shadow energy into different shapes such as spheres, beams, or hands. This power was strengthened by his Kanohi Kraahkan, the Mask of Shadows, which could fill others with fear and anger. However, due to the fact that his powers were based on shadow; light-based attacks against him proved to be especially effective.

Like all of the Makuta, Teridax was capable of creating slug-like beings from his essence called Kraata, which could infect Kanohi Masks and enslave those who wore the masks to his will. When exposed to energized protodermis, Kraata transformed into Rahkshi armor that another Kraata could control.

In addition to the powers described above, he also had 40 other powers. The strength of a stage-six Kraata should be considered the bare minimum when compared to a Makuta's strength.

After Teridax possessed Mata Nui's body, he controlled the entire Matoran Universe.

Finally, Makuta possessed a genius-level intellect that surpassed that of some of the most intelligent beings alive, save Tren Krom, nearing him to omniscience.

List of Powers

 * Accuracy - Could strike the smallest target at a great distance or in any environment or condition.
 * Adaptation - Instantly adapts to take maximum advantage of any condition or situation.
 * Anger - Had the power to turn even the Toa Nuva against one another in anger
 * Chain Lightning - Controlled devastating bolts of chain lightning that leaped between multiple targets.
 * Chameleon - Had the ability to become completely invisible in any environment.
 * Confusion - Extended proximity could reduce even a Toa Nuva to mindless babbling.
 * Cyclone - Had the power to create and control powerful cyclones at will.
 * Darkness - Had the power to consume all light in a large area; only Takanuva's light was stronger
 * Density Control - Complete control over own density and that of any object in physical contact
 * Disintegration - Had the power to reduce even protodermis to dust.
 * Dodge - Impossible to physically strike, no matter how swiftly or powerful.
 * Elasticity - Could stretch incredible lengths in the blink of an eye.
 * Electricity - Powerful electrical field could be controlled to surround or stun distant objects or creatures
 * Fear - Had the power to bring fear to the hearts of even the Toa Nuva.
 * Fire Resistance - Strong enough to withstand the heat of Tahu Nuva’s magma swords
 * Gravity - Used gravity control to crush any object in visual range
 * Heat Vision - Powerful long-range heat vision that could ignite any object within sight
 * Hunger - Had enough strength to drain the energy of a Toa Nuva
 * Ice Resistance - Impervious even to the cold of Kopaka Nuva’s ice blade.
 * Illusion - Could create and control multiple realistic illusions anywhere within sight.
 * Insect Control - Powerful enough to control and command an entire hive of Nui Rama.
 * Intangibility - Could go in and out of a ghost form.
 * Invulnerability - Absolutely invulnerable to physical harm of any kind.
 * Kraata Creation - Could create Kraata at anytime.
 * Laser Vision - Fired powerful eye-beams that could burn through solid protodermis.
 * Magnetism - Possessed magnetic powers strong enough to tear a slab of protodermis in two.
 * Mind Reading - Powerful enough to invade the mind of a Turaga or Toa Nuva.
 * Molecular Disruption - Had the power to utterly disintegrate any inorganic object with a touch.
 * Plant Control - Had total control over any plants in the area.
 * Plasma - Had the power to instantly melt any object into vapor.
 * Poison - Dangerously toxic even to a Toa Nuva.
 * Power Scream - Could shatter stone and could be heard all across the island.
 * Quick Healing - Almost indestructible;could be used to heal the injuries of others.
 * Rahi Control - Had absolute control over every living Rahi in the near area.
 * Shattering - Could reduce even Protodermis to rubble.
 * Silence - Aura of silence was powerful enough to temporarily deafen a Toa Nuva.
 * Sleep - Had the power to instantly put an entire village into deep sleep.
 * Slowness - Able to rob even a Toa Nuva of all speed as long as it remained nearby.
 * Sonics - Blasted distant objects with powerful waves of sonic force.
 * Stasis Field - Had the power to freeze a creature in near-permanent stasis through eye contact.
 * Teleportation - Had the power to teleport itself through any wall or other structure.
 * Vacuum - Had the power to create gale-force winds or instantly reverse their flow.
 * Weather Control - Could manifest powerful, dangerous thunderstorms and blizzards at will.

Of these abilities, the only powers that Teridax could use when in his Antidermis form were the mental ones; he needed to have a physical body to access the rest.

As Great Spirit
After taking control over the Matoran Universe, Makuta could access the powers of the Great Spirit Robot.


 * Creation - Can create almost anything.
 * Control - Can control the Matoran Universe.
 * Weather - Can control the weather.
 * Earth - Can control the ground.
 * Stars - Can change the appearance of the stars in the night sky.
 * Destruction - Can destroy anything in the Matoran Universe.
 * Sight - Can see almost all things going on in the Matoran Universe.
 * Teleportation - Can teleport any being in the Matoran Universe to any other location in the Matoran Universe.
 * Flight - Can fly, with the help of the Red Star.

Known Forms
Due to his shapeshifting power, Teridax fought against Toa in several forms (chronological order):


 * Turaga Dume: Teridax secretly kidnapped Metru Nui's leader, Turaga Dume, and impersonated him for about a year and a half. This deception was not discovered until the Great Cataclysm.
 * Ultimate Dume: Created after Teridax absorbed Nidhiki, Krekka, Nivawk, and Metru Nui's power supply into his body. He was turned into a giant, skeletal form with a large fanged mouth, enormous claws, and wings. In the movie he is just simply his Shadow titan form with Nivawk's wings.
 * Matoran: When first confronting the Toa Mata, Teridax took the form of a Matoran who wore an infected Hau, and whose entire body appeared to also be infected. He did this to confuse the Toa, claiming that he was "that which the Toa had sworn to protect." After briefly speaking with them, Makuta quickly switched into a more formidable form.
 * Void form: This was a swirling vortex of mechanical pieces that used tentacles to attack. At the center of the black mass was the disembodied head and mask of Makuta's previous form.
 * Shadow Titan form: This is Teridax's most known form, from when he challenged Toa Takanuva to a mock Kolhii match. It was that of a large, armored being with glowing red eyes that wielded the Staff of Shadows, and was the only form to feature the Kanohi Kraahkan in its true shape.
 * Makuta Nui: A form of Teridax that never made any appearances in the storyline, but has been confirmed by official sources to have existed. This model is also used as Graalok the Ash Bear.
 * Antidermis: After his body was destroyed in the battle with Takanuva, Teridax existed only as a mass of energy. After telepathically influencing a gang of thieving Skakdi called Piraka who were raiding his lair, he shifted his energy to a viral form that the Piraka collected and called "Antidermis" (though most of the Piraka were unaware of the virus' true nature). Matoran infected by Antidermis were enslaved to the Piraka's will, similar to how infected Kanohi Masks once enslaved their wearers; while Brutaka temporarily became stronger and fiercer when he absorbed the virus. Antidermis had two notable weaknesses: infected Matoran could be cured with energized Protodermis, and the Toa Inika's innate electrical energies protected them from infection.
 * Matoro: During the Toa Mahri's descent into the Pit, Teridax managed to possess Matoro's spiritless body when the Toa used his astral projection power. Teridax was later driven out by the rest of the team.
 * Maxilos: To make sure everything was going as planned, Teridax took over the body of a Maxilos robot. In the end the robot guard was nearly destroyed, and so Teridax left Maxilos.
 * Great Spirit: When Mata Nui was reawakened, it was Teridax's mind which was inside his body. Teridax imprisoned Mata Nui in the Ignika and launched him out into space. And so, Teridax became the ruler of the universe, controlling everything from Mata Nui's body.

Experiments & Rahi
This is a list of notable objects and Rahi created by Teridax.


 * Karzahni (Plant)
 * Morbuzahk
 * Spear of Fusion

Set Information

 * Teridax was released in 2003 under the name Makuta.
 * Teridax's set number is 8593 and had 199 pieces.
 * Teridax's claws are made from two silver Avohkii. These have no storyline appearance.
 * Teridax was also released under the name "Ultimate Dume", as a combiner of Nidhiki, Krekka, Dume & Nivawk sets, likely to keep his involvement in Bionicle 2 a secret until its home video release.
 * He could also be combined with Takua & Pewku and Jaller & Gukko sets to make "Makuta Nui." He could also be combined with Takanuva to make Takutanuva.

Quotes
"Oh. My goodwill refused. My noble sons bound in ice. So my hand is cast. Now, I must pierce that which the Toa hold dear. Anger amongst them will threaten their precious unity. Hunger will consume their duty. And fear will keep them from their destiny. They will not disturb you."

- Teridax, Mask of Light

Gallery

 * Gallery:Teridax

Trivia

 * Teridax is one of Greg Farshtey's favorite characters to write about.
 * Most beings in the Matoran Universe referred to him as "The Makuta," although he was more formally known as "The Makuta of Metru Nui" until his original name was revealed in the 2008 storyline - even then, he was rarely referred to by the name, except by fellow Makuta and a handful of others.
 * In BIONICLE: The Game, Teridax was voiced by Sean Schemmel.
 * In the movies, Teridax was voiced by Lee Tockar.
 * According to Greg, Teridax was to take over the Great Spirit Robot and Mata Nui would take over another Robot, but the Makuta's evil intentions caused him to take over the robot early and misuse it.

​​

Teridax Teridax Teridax