Comic 4: The Bohrok Awake

"We have known the legends of the Bohrok for centuries, and we prayed they were only that: legends. But the Bohrok are real... all too real. It is said the Bohrok sleep an eternal sleep, waiting to hatch. Once awakened, the swarms are unstoppable...a force so powerful, they can reduce mountains to rubble...and turn life-giving rivers dry as the desert sands!"

- Turaga Vakama

The Bohrok Awake was the fourth issue of the original BIONICLE comic series and the first part of The Bohrok Saga storyline. It was initially mailed with the January/February 2002 edition of LEGO Mania Magazine, and was later collected in BIONICLE: Volume 1 and BIONICLE 1: Rise of the Toa Nuva. This comic introduced the new threat of the Bohrok swarms after the apparent defeat of Makuta.

Opening
''The Toa have won a great victory in their first confrontation with Makuta. At last, they believe Mata Nui and its people to be safe...but they are wrong.''

''It all begins with the appearance of small, scurrying creatures called Bohrok Va, scouts and heralds for a more powerful species. As the Toa ascend to the surface, they can hear the sounds of chaos coming from up above. Mata Nui is threatened anew by swarms of strange creatures, whose dark secrets whose dark secrets will change life on the island forever.''

''Even a Toa can know fear... when the Bohrok awake.''

If you wake one...you wake them all.

Plot
The six Toa stand at the Kini-Nui, having defeated Makuta. Despite their victory, the island shakes with the sounds of destruction all around them. A Ta-Matoran bursts through the undergrowth, shaken with fear and muttering only one word over and over again: "Bohrok." Tahu immediately decides to return to Ta-Koro to confront this new threat. The other Toa travel with him as well for support. As they race back, Pohatu has only one question: "What's a Bohrok?" The Toa quickly discover the attackers' identity when they arrive at the village. Tahu commands Turaga Vakama to stay safe as the heroes spring into battle. Lewa lunges toward one group of attackers, only to be unexpectedly frozen in mid-air. Tahu melts the ice attack and drives the intruders back. Onua and Pohatu hesitate, confused. The invaders ignore the Toa and Matoran; they only cause destruction for unclear reasons. Even as the Toa wonder aloud at this unusual behavior, another group uses their stone powers to cause an avalanche. Onua pushes Pohatu aside, and the two escape danger. Tahu instructs Gali and Lewa to combine their elemental powers to create a thunderstorm.

The might of the storm causes the swarm to retreat for the time being, but they leave a victim behind. Upon closer examination, Pohatu notices something embedded in the creature's head. It is at this point that Vakama speaks up: he knows exactly what's going on. The mysterious attackers are known as Bohrok, powerful creatures which exist only to annihilate the island. In addition, each Bohrok possesses a krana inside it, a type of controlling brain. Each version of Bohrok is tied to an element: Pahrak, Bohrok of Stone; Kohrak, Bohrok of Ice; Gahlok, Bohrok of Water; Tahnok, Bohrok of Fire; Nuhvok, Bohrok of Earth; and Lehvak, Bohrok of Swamp. Now that the Bohrok are awake, only one hope remains. The Toa must collect one of each breed of krana from each elemental swarm. As the Toa depart, Vakama gives them a final warning: the krana is capable of controlling minds, and even Toa are not immune to their powers. As Lewa returns to his village, he finds Turaga Matau and the Le-Matoran waiting for him, all possessed by the krana.

Credits

 * Greg Farshtey - Writer
 * Carlos D'Anda - Penciller
 * Randy Elliott - Inker
 * Ken Lopez - Letterer
 * Peter Pantazis - Colorist and separator

Characters

 * Gahlok - First appearance
 * Gali
 * Kapura - First appearance
 * Kohrak - First appearance
 * Kopaka
 * Lehvak - First appearance
 * Lewa
 * Matau
 * Nuhvok - First appearance
 * Onua
 * Pahrak - First appearance
 * Pohatu
 * Tahnok - First appearance
 * Tahu
 * Vakama

Locations

 * Mata Nui
 * Kini-Nui
 * Le-Wahi
 * Le-Koro
 * Ta-Wahi
 * Ta-Koro

Objects

 * Badge of Office
 * Firestaff
 * Kau Kau Staff
 * Bohrok Shields - First appearance
 * Acid Shields - First appearance
 * Earth Shields - First appearance
 * Fire Shields - First appearance
 * Ice Shields - First appearance
 * Stone Shields - First appearance
 * Water Shields - First appearance
 * Kanohi
 * Golden Kanohi
 * Great Akaku
 * Great Hau
 * Great Kakama
 * Great Kaukau
 * Great Miru
 * Great Pakari
 * Noble Huna
 * Krana - First appearance
 * Toa Tools
 * Air Axe
 * Earth Claws
 * Feet Additions
 * Fire Sword
 * Ice Shield
 * Ice Sword
 * Water Hooks

Organizations

 * Bohrok Swarms
 * Bohrok - First appearance
 * Bohrok Va - First mentioned
 * Matoran
 * Le-Matoran
 * Ta-Matoran
 * Toa
 * Toa of Air
 * Toa of Earth
 * Toa of Fire
 * Toa of Ice
 * Toa of Stone
 * Toa of Water
 * Toa Teams
 * Toa Mata/Toa Nuva
 * Turaga

Miscellanea

 * Elements/Elemental Powers
 * Acid - First appearance
 * Air
 * Earth
 * Fire
 * Ice
 * Stone
 * Water

Quotes
"A few hours ago, Mata Nui was peaceful and quiet. Now the ground shakes and the air is heavy with the smoke of a thousand fires. From every side come the sounds of ancient trees falling, rivers boiling away, and mountains crumbling to dust."

- The narration goes ominous on us

"They're gone...for now. They left us a prisoner, too. But what's that in its head?"

- Pohatu, upon noticing a Krana

"Each Bohrok carries within it a krana, their greatest strength. Also their greatest weakness. Even the mightiest of Bohrok can be humbled, if parted from their krana."

- Turaga Vakama

Extra Features

 * Comic middle: Section discussing new enemies the Bohrok and Bohrok Va.
 * Comic end: Advertisement for the updated BIONICLE.com website; Tale of the Toa section summarizing what happened in between Comics #3 and #4.
 * Rear cover: Advertisement for the BIONICLE: Quest for the Masks trading card game's Bohrok Swarm expansion pack.

Continuity

 * This issue sees the first appearance of the Bohrok swarms, a threat which would dominate the storyline for the next year and a half.
 * This comic picks up shortly after the events of the Mata Nui Online Game, where the Toa finally defeated Makuta and the Bohrok began to awake.
 * The traumatized Ta-Matoran who appears at the beginning of the comic to warn the Toa is none other than a mis-colored Kapura, making his comic debut after his appearance in the Mata Nui Online Game last year.
 * Both Turaga Vakama and Matau reappear after their previous appearance in Comic 2: Deep Into Darkness.
 * This comic's end pages recap the events which took place between this issue and the previous one, explaining how the Toa obtained their Golden Kanohi and defeated Makuta.

Trivia

 * This issue was released with two covers in two sizes; one a normal-sized comic featuring Tahu confronting a Tahnok, and the other a smaller edition displaying a victorious Tahnok with Tahu's Golden Kanohi.