BIONICLE 24: Shadow Play

	BIONICLE 24: Shadow Play
	Comic
Outside/alternate title	Reign of Darkness
Author	Greg Farshtey
Illustrator	Randy Elliott

"The time is drawing near. Almost all of my threads have been spun, and I wait only for my prey to rush headlong into the trap. "
— Roodaka

"Shadow Play", also known by its title text "Reign of Darkness", is issue #24 of the BIONICLE series of comic books and the ninth in its "Metru Nui" story arc. It was packaged with the May/June 2005 LEGO Magazine.

Plot Summary

Roodaka is talking to a Boggarak when she turns to look at a table with statues of the Toa Hordika and Sidorak. She explains to the Visorak how the Hordika want to save the Matoran and themselves as she picks up Sidorak's statue and crushes it with ease. Roodaka continues to explain that, where she came from, there is a Rite of Passage, in which two have to climb a mountain. In her land, the sky rains fire, the grasses are filled with acid, and the Mountain tries to devour beings. In her rite of passage, Roodaka explains, she was almost to the summit when her partner cried out because his foot was caught in a crevice. Roodaka, knowing that the mountain was distracted, made her first crucial decision by ignoring her partner and letting him become food as she reached the top. She asks the Visorak rhetorically which one of the Hordika will make a similar bargain for their lives.

Meanwhile, Bomonga and Whenua are in the Archives. Bomonga warns Whenua that Rahi are free and hiding in the Archives. Whenua suddenly hears a noise, and then Nuju blasts through the wall. Kualus jumps in, warning the others that the creature that threw Nuju is not far behind. The Kahgarak enters and Kualus tells everyone to run, but the Visorak launches its Rhotuka at them. Nuju has already charged one of his own Rhotuka, and at the last second, he creates a wall of ice with his Rhotuka, which reflects the Kahgarak's Rhotuka back at itself. The Rhotuka hits the startled Visorak and it gets transported into the Zone of Darkness.

Whenua leads Bomonga, Nuju, and Kualus deeper into the Archives. Once they reach a safer place, Nuju closes the door behind them and Whenua demands to know what the Visorak are doing on Metru Nui. Bomonga explains that he witnessed the Visorak attack an island. Then when he saw Sidorak and Roodaka, he knew who was behind the Visorak army, and it was not either leader of the horde. Before Kualus can explain who was truly behind the horde, Visorak barge into the room through the ventilation system. Nuju launches multiple Rhotuka as the Visorak do the same, and Whenua opens the door for them to escape, only to find a Kahgarak in the way. Frustrated, he charges up his Rhotuka and launches it at the Visorak. Unable to listen to reason, and giving in to madness, Whenua launches many Rhotuka wildly, bringing down the ceiling, causing them all to be trapped by the rubble.

Characters

Movie Adaptation

The comic is shown in a modified form on the DVD version of BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows. In it, the voice actors from the film provide voice-overs of the characters in the comic, with Kualus' actor being unknown as he did not speak in the film.

Trivia

In some parts of the world, a small Visorak figure was included in the poly-bag that the comic was shipped in.^{[citation needed]}
The first six pages of this comic were included as a mini-comic in other DC Comics titles.^[1]
An advertisment for the Dark Hunter Building Challenge is included at the end of the comic.

References

↑ http://www.bzpower.info/story.php?ID=2432

External links

View
View it on BIONICLE.com (archive)

[1] ttp://www.bzpower.info/story.php?ID=2432

citation needed

[1]

Comics
BIONICLE (2001-2005)	2001	"The Coming of the Toa" \| "Deep into Darkness" \| "Triumph of the Toa"
	"The Bohrok Saga" (2002)	"The Bohrok Awake" \| "To Trap a Tahnok" \| "Into The Nest" \| "What Lurks Below" \| "The End of the Toa?" \| "Divided We Fall"
	2003	"Powerless!" \| "A Matter of Time..." \| "Absolute Power" "Rise of the Rahkshi!" \| "At Last -- Takanuva!" \| "Secrets and Shadows"
	"Metru Nui" (2004-2005)	"Toa Metru!" \| "Disks of Danger" \| "Seeds of Doom" \| "Enemies of Metru Nui" \| "Struggle in the Sky" \| "Dreams of Darkness" "Monsters in the Dark" \| "Vengeance of the Visorak" \| "Shadow Play" \| "Birth of the Rahaga" \| "Hanging by a Thread" \| "Fractures"
see full list