Lewa (2001)

"If we leave our Toa friends to die, we are not worthy of the trust Mata Nui has placed in us. We quick-save them, if we have to tear these Piraka apart to do it."

- Lewa, BIONICLE Legends 1: Island of Doom

Lewa was the light-hearted and clever Toa Mata/Nuva of Air.

Early Life
Lewa and the rest of his team came into being on Artakha. They were then sent to Daxia, where they were then informed of their destiny by Helryx: to be the guardians of the Great Spirit Mata Nui. Lewa was then trained in the art of combat by Hydraxon. One of these exercises involved Hydraxon taking their Kanohi and hiding them across the island. Lewa spent all day trying to figure out how to get his Kanohi Miru out of a lake. He then realized that Hydraxon wanted them to work together. He then helped Gali get her Kanohi, who in turn retrieved his.

After their training, the Toa Mata were then sent to Karda Nui to protect the Av-Matoran from Avohkah, sentient lightning bolt Rahi, that appeared in Karda Nui. After that, Tahu and Kopaka led the others to the Codrex, the strange, spherical building embedded in one of the stalactites. There, Lewa inspected the Keystones that stopped the energy field surrounding the Codrex, and pulled one of them off. Unaware of the energy field, Lewa approached the Codrex, only to be blasted backwards by the now enabled energy field. Kopaka then took the Keystone from his hand and replaced it back into the niche where the other Keystones were. The Toa then entered the Codrex, and the hatch sealed them in after they entered. Tahu and Kopaka were forced to explain everything to the others and that they could not leave, because the energy storm that now filled Karda Nui would turn them to ash. They then entered their separate Toa Canister, where they remained for thousands of years. Takua collected the Toa Stones, creating a beacon for Lewa and the other Toa. Lewa then washed up on the shores of Le-Wahi.

Quest for the Masks
"One Kanohi Kaukau, as ordered. Hope it fits, because I'd sorry-hate to have to return it."

- Lewa

Lewa wandered into Le-Koro, where he met Matau. Matau told him about The Legend of Mata Nui and the other Toa Mata. Lewa then departed Le-Koro to meet up with the other Toa.

Lewa met up with the other Toa shortly, and then left to find his Kanohi masks. On the way, he ran into Gali, and rescued her when she fell into the swamp. He learned from Matau the location of his first mask, the Kanohi Kakama, The Mask of Speed. Unfortunately for him, it was hidden in an underwater cave.

On the way to the mask, he was attacked by a Nui-Jaga, but he buried it under trees and entered the cave. After some difficulty, he was able to recover the Kanohi and sped out of the underwater cave using the newfound powers the Kanohi granted him. Shortly afterward, he was swinging on vines high up in the canopy when he was attacked by a Nui-Rama. It knocked his mask off, and he plummeted down, towards the waiting jaws of a Muaka. Fortunately, he was saved by Onua, who had created a hole in the ground beneath the Rahi. Lewa met up with the other Toa again when Onua called them together for a meeting. However, Teridax had been watching this, and caused the Mangai Volcano to erupt. Lewa used his Kakama to help Onua dig a trench that stopped the lava. Lewa had soon collected all of his masks, but he was captured by Rahi under Makuta’s control. His mask was replaced with an infected Miru and he was forced to oversee the Le-Matoran, who had been enslaved and made to work in the Nui-Rama hive. He was found by Onua, who fought with Lewa and managed to remove the mask.

Lewa and the other five Toa later descended into the underground tunnel that led to Teridax's lair. Here they encountered two Manas crabs and defeated them by merging into two Toa Kaita, Wairuha and Akamai. The two Toa Kaita split apart back into the six Toa Mata (Although they were not trying to, Gali explained that the Toa Kaita could not exist in Makuta’s lair) and soon found themselves fighting the Shadow Toa, dark essences of themselves. Lewa was unable to defeat the Shadow Lewa by himself until assisted by Onua, and a chain-reaction helped Kopaka defeat his shadow double, as well as Teridax himself.

The Bohrok War
After the Toa came up from defeating Makuta, they saved Ta-Koro from the Bohrok swarms. The Toa decided to separate to their own villages, and Lewa returned to Le-Koro. However, the Lehvak swarm got there first. The whole village was controlled by Krana, He was told that the Matoran needed the power of a Toa. Before he could react, his mask was taken off him and replaced by a Krana. He lurked in the jungles of Le-Wahi, none of the other Toa knowing what had happened. Onua discovered his fellow Toa was in trouble by intercepting a group of Lehvak Va carrying Lewa's Golden Kanohi. After retrieving the mask, Onua set off in search of his friend, eventually encountering him deep in the jungle. With Onua's encouragement, Lewa resisted the swarm's control and ripped the Krana off his face. He returned with Onua to the rest of the Toa. Tahu was wary, not believing that Lewa was fully free of the Krana's influence. He was right.

When the Toa braved their way into the Bohrok nest, Lewa heard telepathic calls of the Bahrag. He also experienced a vision of the Exo-Toa armor, hidden behind doors. When the Toa were threatened by an unbreakable wall on one side and lava (created by Tahu, who was separated earlier) coming on the other, Lewa reasoned that the wall was just an illusion of the Bohrok nest and led the group through to safety. The Bahrag were taunting Lewa by calling him Toa of nothing. He then donned a suit of Exo-Toa armor and fought the Bahrag, eventually taking it off and combining his powers with the rest of the Toa, opening up the six vats of Energized Protodermis. Being exposed to the Energized Protodermis, Lewa was transformed into Lewa Nuva, Toa Nuva of Air. In addition to his new title, Lewa, along with the other Toa, were granted new light-weight armor and Kanohi Nuva masks with enhanced powers. Lewa's axe was replaced with two Air Katana, when placed on his back allowed him to glide on air currents.

Invasion of the Bohrok-Kal
After their transformation, the Toa Nuva decided to go their separate ways. Lewa was showing off his new abilities by flying above the village, when suddenly, he could no longer use his elemental powers, and plummeted towards the ground. Fortunately, he was saved by Kongu on his Gukko bird. He soon discovered that his Nuva Symbol, along with the other Toa Nuva's, had been stolen by creatures known as Bohrok-Kal, who wished to use the elemental energies in the Nuva Symbols to free the Bahrag. They tried to get their Symbols back, but the Kal quickly defeated them. Lewa teamed up with Tahu to search for the Kanohi Nuva, and, after some struggles, they recovered them all.

Shortly afterward, Lewa was tracking Kohrak-Kal through the jungle, and attempted to steal it's Krana-Kal. However, the Kohrak-Kal created a powerful sonic wave, which Lewa tried to jump over. However, the wave moved and engulfed him, which left him in shock. After he recovered, he merged with Gali and Kopaka to create Wairuha Nuva, and attacked Kohrak-Kal, Lehvak-Kal, and Gahlok-Kal. However, the three Bohrok-Kal merged into their own Kaita, Bohrok-Kal Kaita Ja, and defeated Wairuha.

Shortly afterward, the Bohrok-Kal found where the Bahrag were, and the Toa Nuva rushed to stop them. The Bohrok-Kal were close to placing the Symbols on the Nuva Cube, when Tahu used the Vahi, the legendary Mask of Time, which he had received from Vakama after his transformation, in a last attempt to stop them. It failed, but bought the Toa Nuva enough time to find a way to stop the Kal. On Gali's advice, they tapped into the power of their Nuva Symbols, which caused the Bohrok-Kal to lose control of their powers and destroy themselves. The Toa Nuva returned their stolen symbols to their villages and hid them.

Mask of Light
After a Matoran named Takua found the legendary Mask of Light, he and his friend Jaller set out on a journey to find its destined wearer, the Toa of Light. Shortly after they began searching the two Matoran (and Takua’s pet Ussal crab, Pewku) were attacked by an Ash Bear. Luckily, they were rescued by Lewa, who offered to escort them on their journey. They accepted, and followed Lewa by air on the back of a Gukko bird. They made it to Ko-Wahi before Lewa heard drum messages coming from Le-Koro indicating that Ta-Koro had been destroyed by Makuta’s Rahkshi. Needing to be with the other Toa, Lewa left for Ta-Wahi

Soon after, he arrived at the former site of the village of fire, and met up with Tahu and Gali. They then made their way to Onu-Koro and helped Onua, Pohatu, Kopaka, and Takua battle the Rahkshi. Lewa managed to save Takua from a Rahkshi and told him to find Jaller, (who Takua had fought with, and separated from earlier) and warn him. At roughly the same time Tahu had been blasted by Kurahk, and was forced into a murderous rage. The combined forces of Gali and Kopaka managed to subdue (subdue as in freeze him solid) Tahu and rush him out of the underground cavern before it caved in.

After arriving somewhere in Le-Wahi, Gali, Lewa, and Kopaka were able to cure Tahu of the Rahkshi poison. Kopaka then left to find Onua and Pohatu. Later Tahu, Lewa, and Gali found Jaller and Takua trapped by the six Rahkshi at the Kini-Nui. They were joined by Onua, Pohatu, and Kopaka moments later. The two forces clashed fiercely until Turahk was the only Rahkshi left. It killed Jaller, but was moments later defeated by Takua in the form of Takanuva, Toa of Light.

The next morning, Takanuva traveled to Makuta's lair in a vehicle made from the Rahkshi armor and began to battle him. The Toa Nuva, along with the Turaga and Matoran, traveled to the lair. Takanuva managed to defeat Makuta and open the gateway to Metru Nui. For the next few weeks the Toa Nuva, Takanuva, Jaller, and Hahli the Chronicler listened to the Turaga's tales about Metru Nui and its defenders, Toa Metru.

Ignition
After learning about the news that Mata Nui was dying, Lewa and the other Toa Nuva arrived on Voya Nui to find the Kanohi Ignika. Lewa and the others fought the Piraka. During an encounter with Reidak, Reidak snapped one of his katana in half. Lewa was later defeated, along with the other Toa, during the battle. Zaktan, the Piraka's leader, ordered the five other Piraka to throw Lewa and the other Toa into Mount Valmai, however a volcano eruption postponed the Piraka's plans and they left the Toa by the volcano, believing that they would be killed by the lava anyway, but luckily, the Nuva managed to escape at the last moment.

Just when they thought they were safe, they met the Voya Nui Resistance Team, who began to attack them. The Resistance didn't believe they were real Toa, but that they were more Piraka. Luckily, Balta, who had just learned the truth from Axonn, told the others that they were real Toa. The twelve soon allied and formulated a plan to sneak into the Piraka's Stronghold. Lewa and the other Toa manage to retrieve their Kanohi Nuva and Toa tools, but they were attacked by Brutaka. All six Toa and all six Matoran were defeated. While the Toa Nuva were taken captive, they were enslaved by the Piraka's antidermis and ordered to drain themselves of all their elemental energy. They were later rescued by the Resistance Team and were reunited with their masks and tools. A matoran inventor, Velika, even fixed Lewa's broken Air Katana.

After meeting Axonn and his associate Botar, the Toa Nuva met the Toa Inika, who had reached the Mask of Life only for it to fly away and dive underneath the ocean. The Inika were worried that they would be sent back to Metru Nui while the Nuva continued the mission, but the Nuva recognized that destiny had chosen the Inika for the task of saving the Great Spirit's life; and Tahu told the Inika that the Nuva would be waiting in Metru Nui for their safe return. However, after the Inika left, he admitted to Axonn that he lied; the Nuva were departing on a new mission that the Inika could not be a part of.

World Tour
Though the Toa Nuva still doubted Axonn and Botar's motives, they entered Metru Nui's Great Temple, sneaking in so that they would not start an endless debate with the Turaga. They found the object that the Order members directed them to (a scroll) and were perplexed at the strange, uncarved writing. Their doubts also increased when they saw the list of tasks they were expected to do. Nonetheless, they got to work; beginning with the closest task: freeing the Bahrag and allowing the Bohrok - the swarms that had tried to destroy their home - to run free once more.

It appeared that the list of tasks would send the Toa Nuva all over the world. Their next goal was the Staff of Artakha, stolen from the Metru Nui Archives by the Dark Hunters and kept in their headquarters on Odina. Possibly in connection to the staff, there was word that the legendary ruler Artakha (Being) had invited the Toa into his realm. And in addition to their list of tasks, they would be taking a side trip to the realm of Karzahni in order to reclaim the masks that the Toa Inika wore as Matoran; mainly because one of them used to belong to the famous hero Toa Lhikan. After the Toa destroyed the realm of Karzahni, Lewa vanished. But he was teleported as well as the rest of the Toa Nuva by Botar to see the Staff of Artakha being activated to repair the universe except for one place beyond repair, the Universe Core. After that the Toa discussed about what they have done during their separation. Lewa explained that he heard a voice that told him to grab the sundial in the Onu-Koro Mines on Mata Nui as seen in the first MNOG game and to bring it to Metru Nui, he then brought the Sundial to the Archives. After learning what the others had accomplished, an unknown Matoran approached them and invited the Toa Nuva to Artakha and they accepted. Then all of a sudden, they were teleported to Artakha. There they met Artakha (although he didn't show himself), to begin their final task. Artakha gave the Toa special armour (that adapts to their environment) and teleported them to the Universe Core. The Toa Nuva witnessed a battle in the sky and Artakha communicated them a few last words, "Go, Toa Nuva, go at last and find your Destiny!"

Shadows in the Sky
"What's in here? New masks? New armor? A Matoran marching band?"

- Lewa, Swamp of Secrets

In Karda Nui, Lewa battled Makuta and forced them into retreating. Tanma and the other Av-Matoran then had the Toa return to their shelter so as to explain the situation. After being told of the Makuta in Karda Nui, the Toa Nuva decided to split into two teams. Kopaka would later capture Kirop in the hopes that he would lead them to the Makuta's base. Kirop managed to escape, and the Toa followed him back to Mutran's Shadow Leech Hive. Once they arrived at the hive, Kopaka said that he and Solek would challenge Mutran and the others were to search for the shadow leeches. Mutran created an illusion by making them see the hive as long tunnels and making Toa Ignika looking like a monster. They attacked, unknowingly that it was really Toa Ignika and the Toa used his powers to accelerate their ages, but was stopped by Pohatu. Then he and his fellow Toa were knocked out and later chained. Mutran held up a leech and it almost drained Lewa but Pohatu used his powers to knock Mutran and Antroz off of their feet. Once they were outside, Lewa, Kopaka, and Pohatu combined their powers to knock down the hive but the stone was organic, healing its damage. Toa Ignika came up and used his powers and snapped the cord that held the hive.

Later, the Makuta attacked the last village but he and his Toa were already gone, retrieving the third keystone. After a fierce battle, the Makuta retreated to the swamp below. Lewa and the rest of the Toa followed them. When they arrived, they reunited with the other Toa, and prepared for a final battle. Lewa found the Axalara T9 and Pohatu found the Rockoh T3, but when Kopaka found the Jetrax T6, Makuta Antroz took it and flew out of the Codrex.

The Awakening
The Toa Nuva made it back to the Coliseum and were with the Turaga when they announced that Mata Nui was finally awake. However, they quickly found out that, after Matoro put on the Mask of Life and saved Mata Nui, Makuta slipped into Mata Nui's body and put Mata Nui's soul into the Mask of Life. Lewa headed into the Archives with the other Toa Nuva. There, they met up with Krahka, who helped them escape Metru Nui.

Reign of Shadows
Lewa met up with an Order of Mata Nui agent who told him to try and convince Artakha (Being) to join the battle. When he arrived at Artakha, he discovered that Rahkshi had already taken over the island and it wouldn't be long until the island was completely destroyed as well as Artakha himself. Artakha sent Lewa to the island of Tren Krom (Being). Tren Krom said he would help if Lewa freed him. Lewa agreed and had his soul placed in the body of Tren Krom. Tren Krom, now in Lewa's body, went to go help overthrow Teridax.

Later, Artakha (Being) transferred his soul back into his body, making Tren Krom go back to his. However, this caught the attention of Makuta Teridax and he teleported the others in the room that Tren Krom was in into orbit around the Matoran Universe. Teridax did not choose to teleport Lewa out of his body, but Lewa grabbed onto Brutaka's leg and was likewise teleported. Even though Lewa used his power of Air to allow himself and the others to breathe, they would have died had it not been for a dimensional vortex that teleported them to Bota Magna.

Bota Magna
They arrived at a fortress, in which they met a being in chains who claimed to be a Great Being. While the others debated on whether to free him or not, Lewa became bored and instead just left the fortress. After flying around Bota Magna for some time, as well as witnessing a battle between a giant bio-mechanical creature and a smaller one, he spotted some villagers on the ground approaching the former creature. He decided to land and warn them of the huge beast in front of them. Although he couldn't understand their language, he understood that they wanted to know where he came from. Lewa pointed towards the fortress, which somehow angered the villagers. They suddenly regarded him as dangerous, and pointed their weapons at him. Lewa was later captured by the Agori, and carried away.

At the villagers camp, Lewa discovered that they blamed the Great Beings' technology for the disaster that befell their home world. He was able to awe them with his elemental air power, since it was not produced by a machine, and the villagers decided not to kill him immediately.

Dark Mirror
In the Dark Mirror universe, Lewa and the other Toa Mata were summoned to Metru Nui by Tuyet, who discovered she could through a system in the Coliseum. From there, she convinced them, except for Pohatu, to follow her in her dictatorship.

During the battle in the Coliseum, Lewa participated in the battle, where his air powers proved useless against Krika and his Vacuum powers. This distraction gave Teridax enough time to summon a bolt of lightning and disintegrate the Toa of Air.

Personality and Traits
As with most of air Toa, Lewa used humor to lighten up a situation. Being from Le-Wahi, he would sometimes combine words while speaking to form a new word, which fits the meaning of what he is talking about, a trait that all Le-Matoran shared. At first he preferred to work alone, but experience led him to understand the importance of unity. He could be very impulsive at times, often getting himself in trouble (at one time getting his Air Katana broken). As time went on, he began to mature, but still retaining his adventurous nature. He was a good friend to all the Toa.

Powers and Equipment
Lewa’s abilities as a Toa of Air included the power to control the wind, summon air currents, create windstorms and twisters, unleash gusts of air, and combine his powers with Gali’s to form a storm. Legends said that the storms on Mata Nui were caused by them, and the sound of thunder was when their weapons made contact.

Lewa's mask was a Kanohi Miru, a Great Mask of Levitation, allowing him to levitate in the air. Lewa Nuva's Miru Nuva allowed him greater power, and he can combine this power with his wind manipulation in order to glide. He could also share his power of levitation with his Kanohi Nuva.

After he ripped off his Krana, he still could communicate with the Bohrok. It is unknown whether or not he lost this ability over time.

As a Toa Mata, Lewa carried an Air Axe, which he could use to channel his air powers and cut through the foliage of Le-Wahi. They were later transformed into twin Air Katana that could be tucked under his arms to make glider wings. One of these Katana was snapped in half by Reidak during the search for the Kanohi Ignika on Voya Nui, but Velika later crafted a replacement for him. In Karda Nui, Lewa's adaptive armor activated, providing him rocket boosters for flight, an Air Saber, and a Midak Skyblaster.

Quotes
"I am a Toa-hero, here to save you from... whatever it is you need saving from."

- Lewa, Shadows in the Sky

Lewa Mata

 * The set number is 8535.
 * The set contains 36 parts.
 * The set could also be merged with Kopaka and Gali to form Toa Kaita Wairuha.
 * He, along with Tahu, Gali and Kopaka, could fit into the Exo-Toa set released the year later in 2002.

Lewa Nuva

 * The set number is 8567.
 * The set contains 36 parts.
 * The set could also be merged with Kopaka and Gali to form Toa Kaita Wairuha Nuva.

Toa Lewa (Phantoka)

 * The set number is 8686.
 * The set contains 52 parts.
 * Tanma can fit on Lewa's Back.
 * The set could also be merged with Antroz, Radiak and Tanma to form Makuta Spiriah.

Lewa Mistika (Axalara T9)

 * The set number is 8943.
 * The set contains 693 parts, 36 of which are used to construct Lewa.

Trivia

 * During the prototype stages of BIONICLE, Lewa was named Axe.
 * In BIONICLE: Mask of Light, Lewa is voiced by Dale Wilson, who also voiced Onewa.
 * Lewa Phantoka Nuva was BIONICLE Comic Illustrator Leigh Gallagher's favorite character to draw.
 * Lewa is the only known Toa who is able to hear the telepathic communication of the Bohrok swarms.
 * Lewa is the only Toa to have worn both an Infected Mask and a Krana during his lifetime.
 * Also in Mask of Light, Lewa's mask, unlike the other Toa Nuva, is shown to have teeth-like structures.
 * The pronunciation of Lewa's name has often been debated being as it was originally said to be pronounced "Lay-Wuh", in the Game as "Loo-Wuh" and in the movie as "Lee-Wah".