Comic 11: Death of a Hero

"In his last moments, Matoro feels no fear. He know he has succeeded--the Toa Mahri are safe, able to resume their lives in Metru Nui. The Turaga and Matoran will know that they became true heroes. Matoro does not see himself as a hero. As a Matoran, a Toa Inika, and a Toa Mahri, all he ever tried to do was his duty. Now that duty has led him to his destiny."

- Narration

Comic 11: Death of a Hero was the eleventh issue in the relaunched BIONICLE Ignition comic series, and the final comic in the Sea of Darkness sub-series. It was packaged with the November/December 2007 edition of the LEGO Club Magazine, and was later collected as part of the graphic novel BIONICLE 6: The Underwater City. It was published by DC Comics and LEGO. This issue saw the Toa Mahri Matoro sacrifice his life in order to save Mata Nui.

Plot
Matoro stares at the Mask of Life, despondent. Despite their best efforts, the Great Spirit Mata Nui is dead! Hewkii and Kongu are pessimistic about their chances, but Matoro pulls himself together and insists that they have to do something. Jaller gives Matoro his blessing, and the Toa of Ice swims off in pursuit of the rapidly retreating Voya Nui. Catching up to the island, Matoro realizes that the "island of doom" originally came from a larger landmass, and that it is now about to seal up the opening. The Toa races to overtake the runaway island, passing it and sliding into the gap just before the Voya Nui reunites with its home. Elsewhere, Hydraxon comes across the damaged repairs of the the Maxilos robot; Makuta is nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile, the Toa are surrounded by the Barraki's armies. Pridak taunts them, claiming that there is nothing they can do to stop the warlords. Rising to the challenge, Jaller prepares to unleash a Nova Blast, using up all of his Fire powers at once--an attack capable of vaporizing an ocean.

Beneath Voya Nui, Matoro falls, unsure of what to do next. Suddenly, a voice echoes in his head, instructing him to actually put on the Ignika. Doing so, Matoro experiences an epiphany: he knows the powers and past of the mask, and he understands what is about to happen to him. The mask will transform his body's matter into energy, using that as a pulse to revive the Great Spirit. He can now see his friends, and the danger they are in. Using the mask's power, he transports his teammates back home, saving their lives. Pridak is astonished at this trickery, and Jaller just barely manages to avoid annihilating the entire city of Metru Nui. Alone and at peace, Matoro now prepares to meet his end. He has no fear or regrets, only determination. The Mask of Life consumes the entirety of the Toa, bringing the Great Spirit back to life and saving the entire universe. Vakama welcomes the Toa Mahri home and gently informs them of their friend's fate.

'''Coming 2008: The original heroes return! Toa Nuva!'''

Credits

 * Greg Farshtey - Writer
 * Stuart Sayger - Artist
 * Alex Bleyaert - Colors
 * Rob Clark Jr. - Letterer
 * Toby Dutkiewicz - Art director/design
 * Jessica Numsuwankijkal - Asst. editor
 * Michael Wright - Editor

Characters

 * Carapar
 * Ehlek
 * Hahli
 * Hewkii
 * Hydraxon
 * Jaller
 * Kalmah
 * Kongu
 * Makuta - Mentioned only
 * Mantax
 * Mata Nui - Mentioned only
 * Matoro
 * Maxilos
 * Nuparu
 * Pridak
 * Takadox
 * Vakama
 * Various Matoran

Locations

 * Core of the Universe - First appearance
 * Metru Nui
 * The Pit
 * Voya Nui

Objects

 * Cordak Blasters
 * Kanohi
 * Great Arthron
 * Great Faxon
 * Great Garai
 * Great Tryna
 * Great Volitak
 * Great Zatth
 * Legendary Ignika
 * Noble Huna
 * Powerless Mask of Biomechanics - First appearance
 * Powerless Mask of Fusion - First appearance
 * Powerless Mask of Rebounding - First appearance
 * Squid Launchers
 * Toa Tools
 * Aqua Warblade
 * Electrified Chains
 * Power Sword
 * Protosteel Talons
 * Razor-Edged Protosteel Shield
 * Twin Cutter
 * Twin-Bladed Black Fire Sword
 * Twin Knives

Organizations

 * Barraki
 * Great Beings - Mentioned only
 * Matoran
 * Chronicler - Mentioned only
 * Ko-Matoran - Mentioned only
 * Makuta - Mentioned only
 * Rahi
 * Spinax
 * Order of Mata Nui
 * Toa
 * Toa of Air
 * Toa of Earth
 * Toa of Fire
 * Toa of Ice
 * Toa of Stone
 * Toa of Water
 * Toa Teams
 * Toa Inika/Toa Mahri
 * Turaga

Miscellanea

 * Duty
 * Destiny
 * Elements/Elemental Powers
 * Fire
 * Life
 * Matoran Language
 * Nova Blast
 * Protosteel

Quotes
"Since the day the Mask of Life chose him as its bearer, all roads have led to this moment. Matoro's energy mingles and merges with that of the mask...only to be released in an incredible explosion of light and power and life that surges through the Great Spirit. In that instant, Matoro, Toa of Ice, truly dies so that Mata Nui can live again! No one can explain the wonderful feeling that sweeps across the universe, but all know the reason for it."

- Narration

"All of us owe him a great deal more than that. I have seen Matoro's fate...felt his thoughts...there is nothing we can do for him now but grieve for him. [...] Come, my friends--let us go and celebrate a Ko-Matoran who became a Toa...and a Toa who saved a universe."

- Turaga Vakama

Extra Features

 * Comic middle: War Beneath the Waves! section discusses the Toa Terrain Crawler, Toa Undersea Attack, and Barraki Deepsea Patrol playsets.
 * Rear cover: Advertisement for the January 2008 Phantoka sets.

Continuity

 * This issue and the previous one adapt the novel BIONICLE Legends 8: Downfall.
 * Before Matoro dies, ghostly images of his past selves appear, in his Tohunga and rebuilt Matoran forms respectively.
 * On page 14, three Matoran appear, whose Kanohi were used as the basis for the fan-canonized Mask of Rebounding, Mask of Fusion, and Mask of Biomechanics, respectively.
 * Page 14 also sees the reappearance of Vakama for the first time in two years. His last appearance was as a Toa Hordika in the final BIONICLE: Metru Nui issue Comic 27: Fractures. His previous chronological appearance was as a Turaga, waaaay back at the start of the Metru Nui sub-series in Comic 17: Disks of Danger.

Errors

 * On page 11, Hewkii and Jaller accidentally have their dialogue bubbles switched around.

Trivia

 * This was the last issue of the regular comic series that Stuart Sayger did for the BIONICLE. He would later return to provide the artwork for the comic story All Our Sins Remembered in the graphic novel BIONICLE 8: Legends of Bara Magna.