Makuta is a fictional character in Bionicle, a story and toy line created by Lego. Makuta is the primary villain of the Bionicle universe. He is the "brother of the Great Spirit Mata Nui"
Story
According to legend, Makuta was jealous of the Great Spirit Mata Nui, and cast him into an eternal slumber. Originally Makuta was a protector of the Matoran; however he turned against them for unknown reasons. On the island of Metru Nui, Makuta masqueraded as the ruler of the Matoran, Turaga Dume, plotting to secretly encapsulate them and awaken them as their saviour. He was defeated by the Toa Metru, and jhbgyhyyyyyyyy After the Matoran exodus to Mata Nui, Makuta escaped his confinement (he does not appear in the movie Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows, but the Toa Hordika freed him by defeating Roodaka, who had a fragment of his prison) and took up his reign of evil there. At stuipid poopoopoooooooooopooooooopoooooooooooooodriven by Kraata, the embodiments of his essence, nicknamed the "sons of the Makuta". They were created to counter a prophecy of a Toa of Light, which turned out to be the Matoran Takua empowered by the long-lost Mask of Light. In a duel, Makuta and Takanuva ended up forcibly fused into a single titanic being, and Takanuva, the Toa of Light's side, won control. A doorway to the island's surface was opened, and Jaller, a fallen comrade of Takua/Takanuva's, was revived. The loss of energy from this was enough to split them, and they were crushed under the door to the outside world. Takanuva (The Toa of Light) was also revived, from his mask that managed to survive the weight of the door. Makuta has not been seen since, nothing is known about his fate as of yet. However, the Piraka found his empty armor in the caverns that make up his lair, suggesting that he might still be alive.
In Bionicle Legends #2: Dark Destiny, Takanuva suggests that Makuta may have had bigger plans going on. According to book author 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. (Granted, he didn't expect to be crushed by a door, but hey, stuff happens.) This way, they would be a -- occupied with rebuilding for some time and b -- convinced the danger from Makuta was largely over, and thus ignore what he was REALLY up to." (Source, 28th post down) What those bigger plans are remains to be seen.
Powers
Makuta's most commonly-used power is his ability to shapeshift, allowing himself to take any form he desires. The only limitation on this power is that when changing into a bigger, stronger form, he cannot do it quickly unless he absorbs power and mass from somewhere.
He controls the element of shadows, allowing him to create spheres or beams of shadow energy. It's possible he can shoot shadow energy from his fingertips, as Roodaka can. This power is strengthened by his Kanohi Kraakhan, the Mask of Shadows, which can fill others with fear and anger. However, due to the fact that his powers are based in shadow; light-based attacks against him prove to be especially effective.
Like all members of the Brotherhood of Makuta, Makuta is capable of creating slug-like beings from his essence called Kraata, which can infect Kanohi Masks and enslave those who wear the masks to his will. When exposed to energized protodermis, Kraata transform into Rahkshi armor that another Kraata can control.
In addition to the powers described above, he also possesses all the powers of the forty-two different kinds of Rahkshi; which include teleportation, illusion, weather control, and magentism; see Kraata or Rahkshi for a complete list.
If Makuta has one weakness, it is that he needs his mask and armor to contain his dark energies; if his armor is breached, then his power will leak out and he will slowly weaken. It is unknown if lost energy regenerates over time.
Known Forms
Due to his shapeshifting power, Makuta has fought against Toa in several forms. Here are the ones we know about, in order of appearance:
Matoran: When first confronting the Toa "Mata", he took the form of an infected Matoran. He did this to confuse the Toa, claiming that he was "that which the Toa had sworn to protect." He quickly switched into a more formidable form (see "Vortex form", below).
Vortex form: A swirling mass of mechanical pieces that used shadowy tentacles to attack. The "face" of this form was the infected Great Hau mask that Makuta had worn in his previous guise as a Matoran.
Kolhii form: This is Makuta's best known form, from when he challenged Toa Takanuva to a mock kohlii match. It is that of a large, armored being equipped with a two-bladed staff, and this is the only form so far which features the Kanohi Kraakhan in its true shape.
Turaga Dume: Makuta 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": When the Toa Metru confronted the false Dume, Makuta changed into this monstrosity by absorbing Nidhiki, Krekka, Nivawk and Metru Nui's power supply into his body. It is a giant, skeletal form with a humongous fanged mouth, giant claws, and wings. In the movie Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui, this form is portrayed as his kolhii form with Nivawk's wings. Its name comes from toy advertisements, as Lego did not want to reveal "Dume's" true identity before the movie was released.
Takutanuva
In the final battle between Makuta and Toa Takanuva, Takanuva attempted to tear the mask off of Makuta's face and the two ended up falling into a pool of energized protodermis. They ended up merging into a single being - Takutanuva.
Takutanuva's benevolent personality was mainly influenced by Takanuva rather than Makuta, for a few reasons. The first was that Makuta was not wearing his mask at the time, putting him at a slight disadvantage to Takanuva mentally. The second reason was that fusing with Takanuva and/or his Mask of Light had "enlightened" Makuta, giving him a clarity of thought that pierced the many lies he had told himself over the centuries.
Takutanuva immediately saw the will of the Great Spirit; that the Matoran were supposed to return to the city of Metru Nui. To that end, he went over to a huge stone gate in Makuta's lair and forced it open, allowing the Matoran to go through. As they did, Takutanuva stopped Hahli, who was carrying the mask of her recently-deceased friend, Jaller; and he (specifically, the "Makuta" half of him) infused the mask with his own lifeforce, bringing Jaller back to life. Unfortunately, this drain of power proved too much for Takutanuva; he could no longer hold the gate open and it came down and crushed him.
But the Mask of Light was thrown clear of the impact, and Takanuva's body was quickly restored in a beam of light. However, there has been no sign of Makuta since; his fate is unknown but he is presumed dead.
Takutanuva one of the most powerful beings ever to exist, having light and shadow in perfect balance. He presumably had not only the powers of those two elements, but also the extensive list of powers that Makua possesses. In the short time that he existed, Takutanuva demonstrated two abilities:
- Immense strength: Takutanuva could, with effort, lift a stone gate so heavy that not even Makuta could move it.
- Resurrection: Takutanuva can give up a good deal of his own lifeforce to restore life to the recently-dead; this is something that not even the frighteningly powerful Ignika Mask of Life has the power to do.