"The people in this world 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
Teridax, the Makuta of Metru Nui, also known widely as The Makuta or simply Makuta, was the primary antagonist from the Matoran Universe, and the ancient enemy of the Babylon. The usurping leader of the Brotherhood of Makuta, he successfully orchestrated the takeover of the Great Spirit Robot while casting its former "God" Mata Nui from its body. For thousands of years, he held its inhabitants in his firm grip, his tyrannical rule being challenged by rebellion but never being put down. In modern times, he returned to the Milky Way Galaxy on the world of Osea, seeking to destroy his enemy for good and take over the Prime Universe, one planet at a time. Ultimately, he was killed by the Babylon in battle, who freed the inhabitants inside the Great Spirit Robot, ending Teridax's rule for the last time. His death contributed to the restoration of Osea as a reconstructed planet healed from its damages and fully restored of its life.
History[]
Early years[]
Approximately 100,000 years ago, Teridax was created by Mata Nui out of the substance known as Antidermis, along with 99 other beings just like him. Like all other Makuta, he was created to be a member of the Brotherhood of Makuta, an organization tasked with maintaining order in the universe and serving the will of Mata Nui. However, also like many of his brethren, he was "cursed" with an overly ambitious and deceptive nature which would influence him for his whole life. Despite this, Teridax was intended for a different purpose; take Mata Nui's place as the controller of the Great Spirit Robot, while Mata Nui was transferred to a lesser Robot, where the two would work in concert in repairing the fragmented planet of Spherus Magna. Neither of them were aware of this Destiny, however; nor were the Brotherhood of Makuta aware that they were actually living inside the body of their master, Mata Nui.
For the first few years, the Brotherhood operated on the island fortress of Destral, filling out their intended roles by protecting the Matoran and populating the environments within the Great Spirit Robot with biomechanical creatures known as "Rahi." Teridax created a number of these creatures, such as the Water Wraith. During this time, he spent so much time with Mata Nui, building a positive and happy bond, that the pair were considered "Brothers."
The League of Six Kingdoms[]
The first real threat to the inhabitants of the Great Spirit Robot came when a powerful and dangerous organization calling themselves the "League of Six Kingdoms" threatened to conquer the universe. Among the other Makuta's responses, Teridax prepared by gathering a considerable army composed of Rahi, Toa, robotic suits called Exo-Toa, and Rahkshi, to stop the League of Six Kingdoms. As a test of his ability, the original leader of the Brotherhood of Makuta, Miserix, put Teridax in charge of stopping the League's threat to the universe. Through a long campaign, cooperating with the other Makuta, Teridax lead the strikes against the League of Six Kingdoms and regained lost territories, essentially overwhelming the threat with his sheer intellect and the tremendous might of his army as well as personal powers.
In the aftermath of a pristine strike held in the heart of the League of Six Kingdom's territory, Teridax successfully captured all six warlords of the League. He planned on executing them, but they were teleported out of the area by an agent from the Order of Mata Nui, a secretive organization that remained undetected for centuries while serving the will of Mata Nui.
Due to the success of his leadership in the campaign against the League of Six Kingdoms, he became the most trusted lieutenant of Miserix, which essentially placed him as Second-in-Command. However, Teridax was influenced by the League's idea to overthrow Mata Nui; having grown jealous of the adulation the Matoran gave to Mata Nui instead of recognizing his work, he soon began to contemplate usurping the Great Spirit himself.
The Makuta of Metru Nui[]
When the Matoran Civil War broke out on Metru Nui, Teridax was ordered to stop the fighting. Seeing the war as an opportunity to show how the Makuta can impose order, he ended the war by locking the opposing armies in the Archives and unleashing the exhibits on them. In order to prevent further conflicts, Miserix assigned the Makuta to protect various regions across the Matoran Universe, and Teridax was assigned to the prominent location of Metru Nui as a reward for ending the war. Thus, he earned the title of "The Makuta of Metru Nui."
Usurping the Shadow Throne[]
Soon afterward, the mad scientist Makuta Mutran learned both the workings of the Matoran Universe and how to overthrow Mata Nui from the Great Spirit Robot's former overseer, the horrific entity known as Tren Krom. Mutran shared this knowledge with Teridax, who listened to Mutran's words without comment. The subsequent day, he called for a convocation and announced his plan to overthrow Mata Nui to the assembled Makuta. Miserix, scoffing off Teridax's suddenly outrageous plan and betrayal, as well as fearful of Mata Nui's reacting punishment, challenged and attacked Teridax, forcing the two Makuta to fight. Though the duel was long and destructive, and balanced at first, the favor started to tip towards the lieutenant. Teridax eventually emerged victorious, and all but a few of the Makuta supported him. Teridax claimed leadership of the Brotherhood and ordered the Makutas Krika and Spiriah to kill Miserix. He also had Miserix's supporters hunted down by the Makutas Icarax and Gorast. The Brotherhood, now corrupted by its new leader, began to enslave Matoran in secret.
Evolution[]
Shortly after Teridax's claim of leadership, the Makuta evolved from normal organic beings to a greenish-black gaseous/energy substance, later known as Antidermis. Teridax, taking advantage of the evolution, ordered a mysterious expert group of constructors known as the Nynrah Ghosts to be brought to Destral to modify the Makuta's armor, making it better suited to their new form. A critical decision was made at this point by Teridax and the other Makuta: they shed out all of their moral light from their spirit, becoming creatures of pure darkness and evil by doing so, also amplifying their pre-existing powers of darkness.
To further protect themselves, the Makuta hand-picked select Toa that demonstrated great worth, assembling them into elite teams of personal bodyguards called "Toa Hagah." At least six Makuta had Toa Hagah teams, including Teridax. Teridax had mandated for most of the teams to be composed of Toa of Magnetism or Iron to keep a close eye on them, since their elemental powers were now a serious threat to the Makuta in their new armor which contained their Antidermis life essence.
Assault on Artakha[]
Rumors reached the Brotherhood of the creation of the Kanohi Avohkii, the Great Mask of Light, on Artakha; they also became aware of the tale that some day, a Toa of Light would be made with the Mask to oppose the Brotherhood of Makuta in the event that they became evil. Since the power of light was devastating to the shadowy Makuta, Teridax knew they would have to raid Artakha and steal the mask. He ordered a stealthy acquisition of the Avohkii. He had assigned Kojol, the Makuta of Artakha, to organize an infiltration operation; however, Kojol launched an armada, personally breaking into the fortress and making off with the Avohkii. Despite violating Teridax's order of secrecy, Kojol was praised by Teridax for getting the mask. However, Kojol and all those who knew Artakha's location were mysteriously killed, and the Brotherhood could never again find the island.
The leader of Teridax's Toa Hagah, Toa Norik, soon discovered that the Brotherhood of Makuta had stolen the Avohkii; therefore, Norik's team rebelled against Teridax and his Brotherhood. In the ensuing conflict, they defeated many of the Brotherhood's armies, including hired guards from the Dark Hunters mercenary/bounty hunter organization, and successfully retrieved the Avohkii. Teridax encountered them personally, and battled them to a stalemate. After the extended fight, he was badly weakened and forced to retreat. The Toa Hagah were eventually mutated by a servant of Teridax's named Roodaka, but they were still able to escape with the Kanohi Avohkii. Because of the failure of the Dark Hunters, Teridax wanted them executed. The Shadowed One, the Dark Hunters' leader, refused to allow such an event, and the Dark Hunters were removed from the base. Additionally, the other Toa Hagah teams were apprehended by the other Makuta in the event they would rebel as well; most of them were executed, churned into experiments for the Makuta's projects, or corrupted by shadow and becoming near-mindless servants of destruction.
Enacting The Plan[]
Shortly after the rebellion of Teridax's Toa Hagah team, he recovered enough to finally initiate The Plan's first step. The virus he and his other scientists had prepared was placed on Mata Nui, which would eventually cause him to slip into a coma-like sleep.
Legends of Metru Nui[]
Teridax continued his plot, preparing to round up the entire population of Matoran from his island city of Metru Nui and wipe their memory, to place himself in Mata Nui's place as their "Great Spirit." To capture the Matoran, he created a prototype plant creature which he named "Karzahni" (after a Matoran mythical character), where they would then be placed in capsules called "Matoran Spheres" which were designed to wipe memory and induce a deep sleep. Unfortunately, Karzahni proved too willful and independent of his control, so he had abandoned it.
He began his initial takeover by capturing the city's leader, Turaga Dume, and testing the memory-wiping effects of Matoran Spheres on him. It worked perfectly, with Dume appearing lifeless while in his coma-like sleep. Using his Shapeshifting powers, Teridax disguised himself as Dume, bringing in a pet bird he created named "Nivawk," which he used to spy on the city. He also hired three Dark Hunters, Nidhiki, Krekka, and Eliminator. Nidhiki and Krekka were ordered to patrol the city, and follow any requests made by Teridax, while Eliminator was stationed outside the city. Teridax sent most of Metru Nui's Toa outside the city on missions, and they were quickly exterminated by Eliminator, leaving only Toa Lhikan to guard the city. He also ordered them to intercept any requests of help sent by Toa Lhikan to other islands.
Still posing as Turaga Dume, Teridax ordered Metru Nui's best Mask Maker, Vakama, to forge the Kanohi Vahi, the Mask of Time, and present it to him. The Makuta was plotting to place all the Matoran in Matoran Spheres; over the course of a few years, their memories and strength would slowly be removed, but Teridax planned to use the Vahi to speed up the process. Once the Matoran awoke, he would claim himself as their rescuer and ruler.
Teridax became aware of Lhikan's growing suspicions, and anticipated that Lhikan would attempt to create more Toa. He ordered Nidhiki and Krekka to capture the Toa of Fire, and manipulated Lhikan's mind so that he would pick the wrong Matoran to be Toa, in case Lhikan was able to fulfill his destiny. In secret, Mata Nui, aware of this manipulation attempt but still unknowing of the Makuta's betrayal, ended up tricking Teridax by changing the stars to make him pick the correct Matoran for Lhikan to pick; thus, Teridax ended up with false information on his end, and had changed Lhikan's mind to selecting the right Matoran in the end. These Matoran were Vakama, Nokama, Matau, Whenua, Onewa, and Nuju.
Believing himself to have ended the threat of more Toa, Teridax created a second plant creature named "Morbuzakh," which proved much more subservient, and placed it in the Great Furnace of Metru Nui. The Morbuzakh plant's purpose was to drive the Matoran into the Coliseum in Metru Nui's center, where the Vahki, order enforcement squad of Metru Nui, could capture them. Teridax was also told that the Dark Hunters had captured Lhikan, but not before the Toa had managed to deliver Toa Stones to the Matoran. He then used Nivawk to spy on the newly-formed Toa Metru. Teridax learned that the new Toa were planning to collect the Great Disks to defeat the Morbuzakh, and to stop them, he told Nidhiki and Krekka to find the Great Disks before the Toa could succeed. They were unsuccessful, however, and the Toa managed to both collect the Great Disks and defeat the Morbuzakh.
The Toa Metru then arrived at the Coliseum to give the Great Disks to Turaga Dume as a gift. However, "Dume" rejected the disks, and proclaimed the Toa were impostors who had captured Lhikan. He managed to capture three of the Toa: Onewa, Whenua, and Nuju, but the others escaped. He deployed the Vahki, as well as Nidhiki and Krekka, after them.
Teridax after absorbing Nidhiki, Krekka, and Nivawk
Despite the Toa on the loose, Teridax continued with his plan, broadcasting a message to the Matoran to gather at the Coliseum. Once there, he had the Vahki place them all at once in Matoran Spheres. Shortly after the Matoran were imprisoned, all six Toa Metru and Turaga Lhikan arrived at the scene. Teridax revealed to them his true identity, and initiated the Great Cataclysm, which spawned numerous disasters across the Matoran Universe, including activating the virus that put Mata Nui to sleep. While the Toa Metru fled, Teridax consumed the city's power supply, becoming a massive vortex. He then absorbed Nivawk, Nidhiki and Krekka, using their mass to fuel his own transformation, although conquering their wills was difficult for him. While he absorbed them, the Toa Metru took six Matoran Spheres and fled the city on a Vahki Transport.
Teridax pursued them and cut the Toa off, engaging in a sea battle against the Toa. Proving too strong to defeat, Teridax nearly overwhelmed the team until Vakama split off with the completed Mask of Time, drawing Teridax away and buying his team time to recuperate. Alone with Vakama, the Makuta offered him a place in the Brotherhood for the mask; instead, Vakama tried to use it to defeat Teridax, though he was unable to control the raw power of Time and was affected by its energies as well, merely slowing both of them down, finding himself incapable of evading a death blow from Teridax. However, Turaga Lhikan jumped in the way, taking the hit which broke Vakama's concentration; this launched the Mask of Time away, and Teridax pursued it while Vakama mourned Lhikan's loss.
Vakama then pursued Teridax using his newfound power of invisibility, knocking the Mask of Time from Teridax's grasp while he was gloating about its power into the sea. Teridax furiously tried to destroy Vakama, finding himself frustrated by Vakama's invisibility, though eventually pinpointing him using his sensory powers.
At this moment, Vakama had Teridax crush himself against the "Great Barrier," the interior lining of the Great Spirit Robot's body, tricking him into smashing a massive rock face against himself and smashing him against the barrier. Vakama's team rejoined the Toa of Fire, and together they trapped Makuta Teridax in a Protodermis Cage, sealing him there with no way to escape.
Web of Shadows[]
Knowing that he could only free himself with the same elemental powers that imprisoned him, Teridax let his mind wander, and eventually reached Roodaka, his former servant and now viceroy of the Visorak spider Horde, and Sidorak, King of the Visorak. He mentally ordered them to take control of Metru Nui, and instructed Roodaka in secret to free him from his prison. The Visorak horde took over the abandoned city easily, and Roodaka carved a small shard from the Protodermis prison in preparation for freeing Makuta. The Toa Metru, having left Metru Nui behind to find a new, safer home for their people, returned to Metru Nui to rescue the rest of the Matoran. Unfortunately, they were captured and mutated into Toa Hordika by the Visorak.
Roodaka managed to seduce Vakama to join her side, and persuaded Sidorak to give him command of the Visorak. The other Toa, with the legendary Rahi enemy of the Visorak Keetongu, and the Rahaga, Teridax's mutated Toa Hagah team, attacked the Coliseum in an attempt to rescue Vakama. In the ensuing battle, Sidorak was killed by Keetongu. The battle abruptly ended when a giant Kahgarak, ridden by Roodaka, fired an energy blast that stunned the Toa Hordika long enough for the Visorak to close in. Vakama later appeared after being redeemed by Matau, turning over the Hordika of Air, whom he had been fighting, to Roodaka, under the false pretense that he still served her. Following Matau's lead, Vakama and the other Hordika fired elemental blasts at Roodaka. Vakama reaffirmed his loyalty to his friends, saving his blast for last which seemingly killed Roodaka; however, their elements made contact with the shard, and Teridax was set free. He then used his shadow powers to teleport the unconscious Roodaka away. Keetongu, recognizing the Toa were worthy of his gift, used his healing powers to restore the Toa Metru to their original state, and the Toa left the island with the remaining Matoran.
With the Matoran gone and the Visorak dispersed, Teridax had only one remaining item left to take from Metru Nui: the Vahi. He searched the Great Barrier for it, but instead found an unconscious Vakama. He decided to create an illusion around Vakama to trick him into revealing the location of the mask. The illusion contained Vakama as a Matoran, and the Matoran who knew the locations of the Great Disks as Toa. Teridax also disguised himself as Turaga Lhikan, and tricked Vakama into teaming up with a Visorak that appeared as Nokama. Vakama eventually reached Teridax's base in Po-Metru where Vakama had a vision of Krakua, a future Toa of Sonics. Realizing he was within an illusion when Teridax arrived as Turaga Lhikan, he shot a Kanoka Disk at Nokama, ending the spell. Teridax learned that the Mask of Time had been taken by Voporak, an associate of the Dark Hunters. Teridax and Vakama made an alliance to save the Vahi, until it was out of the hands of the Dark Hunters. Trailing the Shadowed One, the Dark Hunter leader who had come to Metru Nui to investigate the disappearance of Nidhiki and Krekka, they sought to reclaim the Vahi from him. While Vakama entered the Great Temple to battle with the Shadowed One's bodyguard, Sentrakh, Teridax fought Keetongu, who had sensed his presence and came after him to destroy him. The mighty Rahi was unable to defeat Teridax, though Vakama's battle caused an explosion that knocked Teridax away.
The Shadowed One arrived with the Vahi and Voporak, and the two dictators argued over ownership rights of the Vahi. Vakama took advantage of the animosity between them to point out Teridax's new appearance to the Shadowed One. Recognizing parts of Nidhiki and Krekka in Teridax, the Shadowed One declared war on the Brotherhood of Makuta in revenge. In the ensuing battle, the Shadowed One used his eye beams to sever the wings from Teridax's body. The Brotherhood of Makuta leader disabled Voporak by rendering him unconscious through suffocation, then overpowered the Shadowed One and threw him at Voporak, causing him to age rapidly. During the battle, Vakama stole the Vahi, and flew to the ruined Great Furnace using his disk launcher. Teridax opened pursuit, and eventually caught up with the Toa of Fire. Vakama revealed that the Vahi was not actually a Great Mask, but rather a Legendary Mask containing a fundamental force of the Matoran Universe: Time. He threatened to destroy the Vahi unless Teridax agreed to allow him to leave with the Vahi and not attack the Matoran for one year. If the Vahi was destroyed, all time would end, leaving Teridax no choice but to agree to leave the Matoran alone for a year. The two agreed to the deal, and Teridax teleported Vakama to the island the Toa Metru found as a new home for the Matoran, named after the Great Spirit Mata Nui. Teridax, having scanned Vakama's mind during the conflict, traveled to the site of Toa Metru's battle with Mavrah, and recovered the Matoran Sphere they had lost. The Matoran inside, Ahkmou, soon awoke, and Teridax fabricated a tale of the lies and deceit of the Toa, gaining the Matoran as an ally.
Shortly afterward, Teridax left Metru Nui to confront Icarax, who had chosen to rebel against the Brotherhood and take over the Matoran Universe on his own. Engaging in a one-on-one duel, Teridax let Icarax gain the upper hand, allowing the Makuta attack him continuously for hours. However, once Icarax became too exhausted to continue, Teridax retaliated by first turning Icarax's Manas army against him, and then attacking viciously himself. After the battle, Teridax chose to let Icarax live because he still required his abilities. Teridax then retreated to his new lair Mangaia, to await the time he could plague the Matoran on the island of Mata Nui.
Tales of the Toa Mata[]
True to his word, Makuta waited one year before his attack on the Matoran. Traveling to the island of Mata Nui, he found that the Toa Metru had sacrificed their Toa energy to awaken the Matoran, transforming into Turaga. With the island defenseless, Teridax used Kraata to infect masks, which in turn he used to make the island Rahi his servants. He used these Rahi to harass the Matoran and keep them in fear and to prevent them from returning to Metru Nui until it served his interests.
Teridax continued to assault the Matoran for almost a thousand years, until Takua, an Av-Matoran disguised as a Ta-Matoran, found Toa Stones, which summoned the Toa Mata to Mata Nui. The Toa Mata learned of Mata Nui's situation, and quickly collected the Great Masks. Additionally, they collected pieces of the Makoki Stone, which they used to enter Mangaia, Teridax's lair. The Toa fought both the Makuta's Manas and the Shadow Toa he created, until they reached Teridax himself. He disguised himself as a Matoran, the one thing the Toa had a duty to protect. After a short exchange during which Kopaka saw through his disguise, Teridax transformed into a swirling mass of rusty parts and tendrils of darkness. The Toa Mata managed to survive his onslaught only by combining their elemental energies against him, forcing an exhausted Makuta to retreat.
In order to distract the Toa and regain his power, Teridax activated a signal to awaken the Bohrok. The Bohrok were eventually defeated, while the Toa Mata were exposed to Energized Protodermis and became the Toa Nuva. Subsequently, specialized Bohrok called Bohrok-Kal appeared and stole the Toa Nuva's elemental powers, forcing the Toa Nuva to begin searching for Kanohi Nuva in order to compensate for their loss of powers. During a trip made by Gali, Tahu, and Kopaka, Teridax manipulated the terrain around them, creating illusions to deter them from reaching the Kanohi. He also appeared to them, having sufficiently recovered his energies, while they tried to defeat his Toa-hunting Rahi called "Rahi Nui,", allowing them to leave once they defeated it. The Bohrok-Kal were later defeated by the Toa Nuva, and Makuta had fully recuperated.
Mask of Light[]
The Kanohi Avohkii was then discovered by the Matoran Takua. Remembering the prophecy of a Toa of Light and knowing the threat this posed to him, Teridax unleashed three Rahkshi, Guurahk, Lerahk, and Panrahk, to find and retrieve the Herald of the Seventh Toa and the Mask of Light. The three Rahkshi destroyed Ta-Koro, though Takua and Jaller had already left with the mask.
The Rahkshi caught up with them in Ko-Koro, but were frozen in a lake of ice due to Kopaka's intervention. The Makuta then sent an additional three Rahkshi to find the Matoran, a Vorahk, Kurahk, and Turahk. Teridax appeared to Takua in a dark tunnel in Onu-Wahi, demoralizing the Matoran and frightening him into abandoning the quest. However, despite Teridax's best efforts, during the Battle for the Kanohi Avohkii Takua realized he was the destined Toa of Light, and eventually placed the Avohkii on his face to transform into Takanuva.
Teridax against Takanuva
Takanuva easily destroyed the Rahkshi, and the Toa Nuva built the Ussanui out of the remains. The newly-christened Toa of Light used the vehicle to descend into Teridax's lair to confront the Master of Shadows. Playing with the Toa, Makuta mockingly challenged him to a harrowing version of the popular Matoran sport of Kolhii, in which each contestant attempted to hit his opponent with a ball of Energized Protodermis. Teridax willingly allowed himself to be defeated, deeming it an appropriate time to let the Matoran return to Metru Nui. Takanuva attempted to unmask his foe, but he resisted, and they both fell into a pool of Energized Protodermis. What emerged from the pool was a being comprised of both Takanuva and Teridax - Takutanuva. He lifted a massive stone door, revealing a small chamber which led to Metru Nui. As all the Toa Nuva, Turaga, and Matoran hurried in, Takutanuva stopped Hahli, and then used a portion of his power on Jaller's Hau to revive the Ta-Matoran. This weakened Takutanuva, however, and he was crushed by the gate he was still holding up.
Takanuva was revived after the encounter, but Teridax remained beneath the door, his armor shattered and his essence left to float. The Matoran took this to believe that Teridax was dead, and returned to Metru Nui.
Ignition[]
Some time later, a Dark Hunter by the name of Hakann soon heard a rumor that Teridax had been killed by a Toa of Light. He took with him five other Dark Hunters of his species: Zaktan, Vezok, Avak, Reidak, and Thok, to Teridax's abandoned domain.
There they found the remains of the door, and the Piraka, as they called themselves, cleared the door's remains until they found Teridax's shattered armor. With his body exposed, he released his essence into the air. He then planted information into all of the Piraka's minds of the Kanohi Ignika, the Mask of Life, which was hidden on the island of Voya Nui. The Piraka decided to travel to Voya Nui to steal the Mask of Life, and Makuta's essence followed them there.
Once the Piraka arrived on Voya Nui, they claimed to be Toa. Even this claim could not help them reach the Mask of Life, however, and the Makuta planted into Zaktan's mind the secret of his essence and the idea to build a crystal vat. Teridax's essence was collected in the vat and transformed into a greenish-black viral substance, which the Piraka called Antidermis. The essence was placed in Zamor Spheres, forcing anyone hit by them to do the Piraka's bidding. Teridax allowed only Zaktan to approach the vat to place Antidermis in the spheres.
Teridax waited inside the vat, until a pair of Order of Mata Nui members designated as the Mask of Life's guardians, Brutaka and Axonn, battled inside the chamber of the vat itself. Axonn smashed the vat near the end of the fight, releasing Teridax into the air. During this time, the Ignika had fallen into the depths of the Voya Nui bay. The Toa Inika went down the Cord to the Pit where the Mask of Life had gone and the Makuta's essence followed them there. When Matoro used his Iden to unleash his spirit, Teridax took over the Toa's body. He then used his power to plunge the tunnel into complete darkness and stole Hahli's Elda to prevent her from seeing Matoro's spirit outside of his body. However, Hewkii exposed Teridax's trick, and the Inika threatened to destroy Matoro's body rather than let Teridax occupy it, driving him out.
The Pit[]
Once in the black waters, the Makuta took over the body of a Maxilos robot. While he was in the ocean, he was contacted by Gorast, who informed him that they had found a way into Karda Nui. He ordered the most powerful Makuta to occupy it and transform as many Av-Matoran as possible into Shadow Matoran. After this, he sensed his first enemies, the warlords of the League of Six Kingdoms (now known as the Barraki) were still alive and escaped their imprisonment in the Pit.
Disguised as Maxilos, he revealed himself only to Matoro, freeing the Toa when he was captured by Dekar-Hydraxon, and stayed with him as a companion. He deserted the robotic body temporarily when Matoro faced Pridak's army of Takea sharks using his Tryna, as the Makuta did not want the Barraki to recognize him.
Teridax discovered the remains of an alternate Toa Tuyet while searching the remnants of the Pit. Believing it to be the armor of the real Tuyet, and that fragments of the Nui Stone were embedded in it, he brought Matoro to the area, claiming it would answer some of the Toa's questions. Teridax forced Matoro to use his mask power and reanimate Tuyet's corpse so that he could claim what he believed to be Nui Stone fragments embedded in her armor. With the shards accessible, he planned to use the Staff of Artakha to restore the Nui Stone. He used his power of telepathy to tell Icarax to bring him the Staff of Artakha, but the fabled tyrant Karzahni was also in the area with his own goals of universal conquest.
Overhearing the discussion about the staff, Karzahni attacked, shattering Tuyet's remains and defeating Matoro easily. Teridax fought back and gained the upper hand, until Karzahni used his Kanohi Olisi. Teridax saw Mata Nui awaken and bring vengeance on those who dared to rebel against him - vengeance terrible enough to make the Makuta scream.
Teridax managed to recover from his vision and struck Karzahni: Standing over his downed opponent, he used his power of telepathy to tear through Karzahni's mind. He then finished the fight by using his magnetic energy to send the tyrant flying out of sight. Soon after a dispute between Icarax and the Toa Nuva, Icarax delivered the Staff of Artakha to Teridax. He began to activate the staff's power, and when Matoro tried to stop him, he was frozen in one of his stasis fields.
Before the Makuta could reconstruct the Nui Stone, however, he was stopped by a now-mutated Brutaka. During their fight Brutaka grabbed the Staff from Teridax and summoned Botar, who then took the artifact and teleported away, ruining the Makuta's plan. Brutaka told Matoro to return to the other Mahri and he did, trusting Brutaka over Teridax. The Makuta then attacked Brutaka, who easily countered Teridax's attacks. Brutaka convinced Teridax to leave and retrieve the Mask of Life, which was at the time in the hands of Dekar-Hydraxon. He left, knowing Dekar-Hydraxon was likely to destroy the Ignika, but not before promising Brutaka that their battle was not over.
Teridax was next to Matoro after the short conflict between Hahli, Dekar-Hydraxon and Mantax. Wanting to get rid of Teridax/Maxilos, Matoro suggested to the Toa Mahri that Maxilos would track Dekar-Hydraxon down. Without a choice, the disguised Makuta headed off in search for the jailer, with Spinax alongside him. After a brief search, Teridax managed to track down the Pit jailer.
Dekar-Hydraxon, thinking that Maxilos was still the Pit robot, asked the guardian to go with him in search of Mantax. When Teridax tried to persuade Dekar-Hydraxon to stop following Mantax and capture the Toa Mahri and the other Barraki, and failed, Teridax/Maxilos attacked the jailer. Realizing for the first time that Maxilos was no longer a robotic guardian, Dekar-Hydraxon summoned Spinax to attack Maxilos, only to see the Energy Hound swiped away by the powerful being. Keeping in mind how powerful a Makuta would be, Dekar-Hydraxon attacked Teridax using daggers, which he stuck directly into Teridax's legs. Ripping the daggers out, Teridax roared at Dekar-Hydraxon, and the sound blast knocked Hydraxon off his feet. Dekar-Hydraxon managed to aim his Cordak Blaster at an undersea mountain, causing boulders to rain on Teridax.
By the time Teridax got out of the avalanche, he had already drifted off to the Razor Whale's Teeth. There, with the Maxilos body badly damaged, Barraki Takadox attempted to hypnotize Teridax into killing Mantax. Swiping Takadox aside, Teridax was attacked by Matoro, who froze him in a block of ice. The sudden decrease of temperature caused cracks to appear on the body, and Teridax's essence began to freeze. Later, during a fight against Dekar-Hydraxon, Jaller's flames melted his prison, and Teridax advanced toward the Mask of Life. Before he could reach it, however, Jaller slapped at the mask, and it spiraled upward into Matoro's hands. Makuta did not launch any form of attack on Matoro, and simply watched as the two Toa disappeared, expressing pride at the actions of the Toa.
Teridax then turned to confront the Barraki, revealing that he was not Maxilos at all and was actually the Makuta who had led to the Barraki's defeat. Enraged, the Barraki attacked Teridax, only to have four of their members defeated. Takadox then attempted to get out of the attack by showing Teridax a Tablet of Transit, but instead was cast into a vision, displaying the Barraki's fate. Unknown to Teridax, however, the other Barraki were slowly gathering their armies. By the time Teridax stopped displaying the vision, the Barraki had already assembled their armies and revealed to Teridax that they were only pretending to be defeated. They then summoned their troops of over 100,000 underwater Rahi against Teridax.
Maxilos' body was greatly damaged after being attacked by the Barraki's armies. Pulling himself up from the fight, Teridax let the Barraki go, knowing that his job was only 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 prayed to himself in his mind that the Toa Mahri would continue their task to revive the Great Spirit so that his plans could succeed.
Setting up Universal Takeover[]
Teridax later left the armor of Maxilos and traveled back to Metru Nu. The Makuta traveled to the Core Processor, located underneath the Coliseum, which he accessed by slipping through the recently-made cracks in the Coliseum's foundation. He eventually reached his planned destination, which was the former location of Mata Nui's spirit. Before Mata Nui's spirit could return to this location, Teridax arrived and took over Mata Nui's body. Using the Great Spirit's senses, he noticed that Jaller, Hahli, and Nuparu were in danger on the island of Artidax. He spoke telepathically to Jaller and then prodded him awake with a jolt of pain.
While Teridax waited for Mata Nui's body to awaken, the Toa Hagah, a mutated Zaktan, and Miserix arrived in the chamber, looking for him. Seconds later, Helryx and Keetongu came through a portal created accidentally by Vezon's Olmak, and Axonn and Brutaka then arrived using Brutaka's Olmak. Realizing why they were there, Teridax unleashed a bolt of energy from one of the panels of machinery that shattered Brutaka's Kanohi Olmak and prevented the crew from leaving. After a few moments of conversation, he seemingly killed Zaktan by shattering him and his globe with a sonic whine; however, Zaktan survived. Miserix attempted to destroy the machinery of the room, hoping to kill Teridax. Teridax retaliated by creating a powerful illusion, which convinced everyone assembled (Miserix included) that Miserix had been transformed into a portrait of himself. Teridax then placed the Toa Hagah in another illusion, in which they had faced and defeated him, allowing the Matoran to live in peace and happiness. After the Toa Hagah had departed, Teridax teleported Axonn, Brutaka, and Keetongu to the southernmost edge of the universe. He chose to keep Helryx with him as permanent council, so that he could share with her all of his thoughts and ambitions.
The Plan Succeeds; Makuta takes over the Matoran Universe[]
Some time later, the Toa Nuva awoke Mata Nui's body from Karda Nui. Teridax finally claimed dominance over the Great Spirit's body, and subsequently the entire Matoran Universe. He quickly exercised his newfound powers by stirring up a storm in the Silver Sea, sinking the Brotherhood ships assailing Metru Nui.
During the celebration on Metru Nui, Teridax revealed himself to the Toa, Turaga and Matoran, arranging the stars above Metru Nui into the shape of the Kanohi Kraahkan and announcing that he had obtained domination over the universe. He also bound Mata Nui's spirit to the Ignika and ejected the mask into space, removing their last hope of salvation.
Teridax imprisoned the last surviving Makuta and forced them to create armies of Rahkshi before eliminating them. He soon sent a group of Rahkshi after the Toa and Matoran of Metru Nui, and then turned his attention to the island of Daxia, destroying it. Afterward, he sent another troop of Rahkshi to seize the island of Odina and a group of Exo-Toa to capture and "retrain" various rebels. He also sent a large army of Rahkshi to seize Artakha.
At some point, Teridax observed that a Vortixx, a Steltian laborer, a Zyglak, and the Piraka were destined to fuse into a powerful being if thrown into energized protodermis together. He planted the idea in the minds of a Skakdi tribe on Zakaz, who obtained the designated component beings and created the fusion.
While contemplating his potential to conquer other worlds, Teridax remembered Mata Nui, trapped in the Mask of Life as it flew through the universe, and considered finding and crushing the former Great Spirit. However, his attention was diverted when he sensed another Makuta entering from an alternate dimension with Mazeka. Teridax unleashed a cyclone that forced both into an abandoned Ba-Matoran village riddled with Visorak corpses. Speaking through the dead Rahi, Teridax offered a "proper introduction" to his counterpart by teleporting three Shadow Takanuva to face him.
Here, many thousands of more conflicts would erupt in the Matoran Universe, with Teridax quelling all threats and nearly destroying the rebellion desperately attempting to fight for their freedom.
Modern Era[]
Eventually, Teridax remembered how he expelled Mata Nui from his body after imprisoning him in the Mask of Life. He decided to extend his conquest to the remaining outside universe, tracking Mata Nui to the Milky Way Galaxy due to him still being a potential threat.
Detected by the UCR[]
Teridax was eventually detected by the UCR; a war council was organized to discuss the threat. When Mata Nui, known widely as the Babylon, recognized Teridax, he went to Osea to make preparations for his Destiny while the UCR organized a battle fleet to at least delay Teridax.
The force of ships attempted to surround and contain Teridax in quarantine; however, he used a tiny fragment of his gravity and laser powers to obliterate any scout ships that came too close, forcing the fleet commander to ensure any vessel remain a safe distance away, deciding to instead pursue Teridax and at least keep him under guard.
Arriving at Osea/The Final Battle[]
Teridax finally arrived on Osea shortly after Mata Nui had possessed a new robot, and confronted his brother. Mata Nui revealed that they were intended to work together to repair Spherus Magna, and not to fight each other. After vaporizing one of the Black Spike Mountains and killing thousands of Skrall, Teridax instead offered Mata Nui the chance to join him on his conquest of the known universe. When Mata Nui refused, Teridax unleashed the destructive energies of his robot body, striking Mata Nui's robot body.
Mata Nui continued to insist that they work together, and Teridax struck him down with his hand. He mockingly called for the Great Beings to reveal themselves, if his destiny was truly to reunite the planet, and told Mata Nui that he should abandon his own efforts. Mata Nui refused to do so, having a strong connection to the inhabitants of the planet. Disgusted by his brother's new sense of caring, Teridax located the population of Agori and Glatorian inside a sheltered mountain cave and tore the mountain away, threatening to drop it on them. Mata Nui became enraged and struck him before he fired a beam of energy that shattered the mountain to dust. During their confrontation, Teridax reminded Mata Nui that his body was host to the Matoran Universe, and that striking him could mean harming the innocent beings inside of him.
Futile efforts from the Glatorian attempting to penetrate his armor finally caught Teridax's attention, and he unleashed a wave of energy toward the Glatorian resistance and set loose a number of waiting armies onto Osea. After pummeling Mata Nui with lasers, Teridax claimed Bara Magna as his own.
Teridax witnessed the formation of the Golden Armor and scattered the pieces with an explosion. After being physically harmed by Mata Nui, he sent squads of Visorak to repair the inside damage. Finally realizing his brother and allies could never be controlled, Teridax angrily summoned a burst of gravitational energy, intending to use it to destroy Osea. Mata Nui desperately managed to deflect the blast toward Este and Galli, drawing them back into the gravity well of the damaged planet. Tahu, who had by then recovered the pieces of the armor, used it in conjucntion with Blade's mass attack to obliterate the Rahkshi, which surprised and weakened Teridax. With a final shove from Mata Nui, Teridax was pushed into the oncoming path of Galli, which struck his head. The damage to his systems ultimately killed him, finally felling the tyrant and ending his reign. As Osea was re-formed immediately following his death, Makuta unknowingly completed his destiny to take over the Matoran Universe and aid Mata Nui in finally repairing the Shattering.
Personality[]
"I have no allies, for I have no equals."
Teridax was realized as the ultimate personification of pure evil in the Matoran universe. He was arrogant, proud and narcissistic, 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, a UCR analyzer 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 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."
Powers/Abilities[]
"There are a thousand different ways I could destroy you right now. And 941 of them hurt."
Although once biomechanical, like almost every other Makuta, Teridax later evolved into a form that was 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.
Makuta possessed a genius-level intellect that surpassed that of some of the most intelligent beings alive, save Tren Krom, nearing him to omniscience.
Teridax wore the Kanohi Kraahkan, the Great Mask of Shadows, which amplified his powers over darkness as well as granting him the ability to fill others with anger and/or fear without the use of his shadow, anger or fear Rahkshi powers.
As a natural shapeshifter, one of Teridax's native 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. 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. 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. Teridax possessed all 42 powers of each type of Kraata, listed below.
- Accuracy
- Adaptation
- Anger
- Chain Lightning
- Chameleon
- Confusion
- Cyclone
- Darkness
- Density Control
- Disintegration
- Dodge
- Elasticity
- Lightning
- Fear
- Fire Resistance
- Gravity
- Heat Vision
- Hunger
- Ice Resistance
- Illusion
- Insect Control
- Invulnerability
- Laser Vision
- Magnetism
- Mind Reading
- Molecular Disruption
- Plantlife
- Plasma
- Poison
- Power Scream
- Quick Healing
- Rahi Control
- Shapeshifting
- Shattering
- Silence
- Sleep
- Slowness
- Sonics
- Stasis Field
- Teleportation
- Vacuum
- Weather Control
Great Spirit[]
After Teridax possessed Mata Nui's body, he controlled the entire Matoran Universe. Inside the body, he was essentially God; able to create anything, manipulate anything, and destroy anything. He could extend his will through any substance in the Matoran Universe, appearing anywhere to find his foes. Outside the body, he was capable of manipulating gravity, generate lasers, and fly through space with the assistance of the Red Star as an anchor.