Toa

Toa were the biomechanical race of heroes in BIONICLE. They each had a power over an element, and they wore Kanohi Masks of Power that provided them with additional "powers".

Toa each had a specific destiny that they had to try to fulfill in their lifetime. Toa, however, were not predestined to fulfill a certain destiny, and they could fail trying to complete their destiny. Most Toa also held a moral code that upholds justice and kept one from killing opponents, those who betrayed such codes are no longer considered "Toa".

Each Toa had a destiny to fulfill in their lifetime, though whether or not they fulfilled it depended on them. For the most part, members of Toa Teams all had the same destiny, but in some special cases, such as Matoro, Lhikan, and Lesovikk, a certain Toa has a very different destiny than the rest of his or her team, which usually resulted in all of the team dying or becoming a Turaga before this Toa or the Toa dying or becoming a Turaga before the rest of his team.

Toa traditionally worked in teams of six, with each member controlling a different element. However, Toa had been known to work alone (such as Lesovikk) or in larger groups when necessary (such as in the Toa/Dark Hunter War).

Toa were usually transformed from Matoran, but some of the early Toa (namely Helryx, Orde, and the Toa Mata) were created as Toa by the Great Beings. After fulfilling their destiny, Toa will become Turaga for the rest of their lives.

The way a Matoran looked when they became a Toa depended on their idea of how a Toa looked--Takua the Av-Matoran imagined Toa to look like the Toa Nuva did, and thus looked like a Toa Nuva when he became a Toa. The Toa Metru imagined Toa to look like Lhikan, and thus looked like him.[1] (The Toa Inika, because they believed Toa looked like Toa Nuva, would have looked like Toa Nuva, except for their unique transformation by means of the Red Star.)

At the peak of the Toa's existence, they numbered around 3,000. But as of Spherus Magna's reformation, the number had fallen to around 50. [2] Of these, 26 are known so far: Tahu Mata, 5 Toa Nuva, 5 Toa Mahri, 6 Toa Hagah, Takanuva, Lesovikk, Krakua, Tuyet, Helryx, Zaria, Chiara, Orde, and a captured Toa named Varian in suspended animation on Odina. Toa Ignika was a Toa-like being, but not considered a Toa due to being a body created by an intelligent Kanohi. This also includes Mata Nui. There were also an untold number of Toa revived on the Red Star but it is unknown how many. They also do not count as the Toa alive on Spherus Magna.

Powers and Equipment
Toa were best known for their elemental powers, allowing them to have tremendous control over an aspect of the universe such as Fire or Gravity. This included creating the element out of nothing, absorbing it into themselves, and manipulating it in almost any shape or form.

However, Toa had a limited amount of elemental energy--it would recharge eventually, but not for several hours after a large amount of energy had been expended. Though there is a mask, which has lost its name in history, that can recharge the Toa's elemental powers instantly. This mask is known as the Mask of Elemental Energy. This mask has made an appearance in BIONICLE: The Game and also is available in BIONICLE Heroes as a trophy. A Toa was capable of performing a Nova Blast, using all of their elemental energy in one blast. This tended to be a last resort attack, because generally, depending on the element in question, a Nova Blast could cause widespread destruction and death.

Each Toa was also equipped with a Great Kanohi Mask that granted them an additional power. While a Toa could have multiple masks stored away in a Toa Suva that they could switch at will for a variety of powers, most Toa only had one mask that they wear constantly.

Toa were also equipped with personal tools, which were most often swords and other bladed weapons. Although they could use these weapons for melee combat, they were not allowed to kill another being with them. A lot of the time these weapons are used to channel the elemental power of a Toa (such as Kopaka being able to freeze things in place with his Ice Sword) rather than firing it from their hands.

Most Toa also wore protodermic armor that protected them in battle, usually matching the color that represented their element (Toa of Earth wore black armor; Toa of Plantlife wore blue and green armor; etc.). An exception seems to be Toa of Stone, who have been seen with brown, yellow, gunmetal, black, and orange armor. A few Toa, such as the Toa Hagah and Toa Nuva, wore metallic-colored armor, denoting their elite status.

Members
Below is a list of the three main Toa teams in the story and their members.
 * Toa Mata\Toa Nuva - The first Toa team in the story, featured in BIONICLE Chronicles and BIONICLE Legends.
 * Tahu - Toa Mata/Nuva of Fire
 * Gali - Toa Mata/Nuva of Water
 * Lewa - Toa Mata/Nuva of Air
 * Onua - Toa Mata/Nuva of Earth
 * Pohatu - Toa Mata/Nuva of Stone
 * Kopaka - Toa Mata/Nuva of Ice