8748 Rhotuka Spinners

8748 Rhotuka Spinners is a 5 piece BIONICLE set released in 2005. It includes five Rhotuka spinners. Rhotuka spinners are objects from the BIONICLE storyline, particularly the second half of the Adventures story arc. When used with special launchers using a ripcord they will fly into the air.
== Background ==
Rhotuka spinners are propeller-like wheels of energy that can be launched at others to achieve a certain effect. A Rhotuka's power is determined by the identity of whoever launches it, and its flight path is controlled telepathically. If one's body is mutated then their personal Rhotuka power is changed as well. Many creatures have Rhotuka launchers built into their anatomy; those that don't must use a mechanical launcher, but this does not affect the power of the resulting Rhotuka. Due to the Rhotuka's magnetic field, which holds the spinner together to a certain degree, the Rahaga and Toa Hordika are able to "hook" their tools into the field and then ride the Rhotuka through the air.
=== Rhotuka Powers ===
;Toa Hordika
All Toa Hordika have spinners with the powers of the Toa's elements; with the Toa being able to choose the exact effect. The Toa can charge these spinners with their tools, strengthening the effects - but it is possible to overcharge and create a larger effect than intended.
* Vakama's fire spinner unleashes flames of varying strengths
* Nokama's water spinner makes anything from a stream of water to a raging tidal wave to a rainstorm
* Matau's air spinner can unleash blasts of air, from wind to cyclones
* Onewa's stone spinner can create stone in any form
* Whenua's earth Spinner can create earth in any form and trigger earthquakes
* Nuju's ice spinner can create ice of any form and can freeze objects
;Rahaga
* Norik has snare spinners that trap a target in ropes of energy
* Gaaki's floater spinners can make underwater targets rise to the surface
* Iruini's snag spinners tangle a target's limbs in an energy net
* Pouks' lasso spinner flies low and can tangle up target's legs, leaving them stunned on their backs
* Bomonga has silent spinners that can paralyze a target
* Kualus' boomerang spinners attach to flying targets and bring them back to him
;Toa Hagah
* Norik's slowness spinners trap an opponent in slow-motion
* Iruini has healing spinners that can repair injuries
* Toa Gaaki, Pouks, Bomonga, and Kualus were presumably also equipped with Rhotuka Launchers, but their powers are unknown.
;Visorak and AlliesBIONICLE: Rahi Beasts guidebook
* Sidorak's obedience spinners makes any target follow his commands for 24 hours
* Roodaka's mutation spinners can instantly and permanently change the form of anyone they hit into a creature of her choosing - but Krahka is unaffected
* In addition to their unique spinner powers, all Visorak can fire paralysis spinners
** Vohtarak's spinners cause the target to feel nothing but burning pain
** Boggarak has two unique spinner powers: underwater targets will inflate and float to the surface, while targets on land will dehydrate and become piles of dust
** Keelerak's acid spinners can eat through any substance
** Roporak's disruptor spinners can drain energy from a target
** Oohnorak has spinners that can make a target completely numb
** Suukorak's spinners cause a slowly-shrinking electrical stasis field to trap a target
* Kahgarak's spinners can envelop a target in a field of darkness, or open a gateway to the Zone of Darkness where Zivon lives
* Zivon has four different spinner launchers on its body:
** The spinner on its head makes a target blind
** The one on its right claw makes a target deaf
** The one on its left claw makes a target mute
** And the spinner on its body robs a target of its sense of touch
* Venom Flyers have grounding spinners that can negate a target's flying ability
* Colony Drones have energy spinners; these are what the Visorak hordes "feed" off of
* Gate Guardians are also equipped with spinners, but their powers are unknown
* Visorak assigned to man the Coliseum's giant Rhotuka launchers are specially mutated by Roodaka to have explosive spinners (seen in the Battle for Metru Nui toy set)
;Dark HuntersBIONICLE: Dark Hunters guidebook''
* Ancient's launcher is upgraded to have rapid-fire capabilities, and his spinners cause targets to lose all physical coordination
* Conjurer's spinners can temporarily steal an opponent's power and channel it back to him
* Firedracax has spinners that absorb thermal energy from the environment and direct it as a blast of flame
* Guardian's spinners are stone- and earth-powered
* Savage has paralysis spinners
* The Shadowed One's spinner causes temporary insanity in a target
* Sentrakh has a spinner that causes targets to briefly dematerialize, making them ghostly and immaterial
* Spinner has two launchers for spinners that make targets lose their sense of balance; combining the two creates a spinner that sends the target into a coma, though doing this is draining for Spinner
* Vengeance's spinners can become solid for split-seconds; during which they are able to slice through anything
* Voporak's spinners make a target temporarily out of sync with time, leaving them a few seconds behind the rest of the world
* The Hordika Dragons appear to have Rhotuka launchers, but their spinners' power is unknown
;RahiBIONICLE: Rahi Beasts guidebook
* A Cable Crawler's vertigo spinners cause targets to lose all sense of balanceConfirmed as Rhotuka power in Official Greg Discussion p. 198 at BZPower forums, 20th post down
* Keetongu's shield array can absorb any power thrown at it; he can then fire a spinner with the exact same power
* Ice Vermin have seismic spinners that cause earthquakes; living beings hit by these spinners will vibrate so violently that they'll shake themselves apart
* Sea Spider spinners can send a target into stasis
* The following Rahi have Rhotuka launchers as part of their bodies, but the spinner powers are unknown: Chute Lurkers, Frosteluses, Gate Guardians, Parakrekks, Protocairns, and Rock Raptors
;Other
* Umbra's spinners make hard-light projectionsOfficial Greg Discussion p. 230, post #6884
== Collectibility ==
Most 2005 sets, including the Rahaga, Toa Hordika, Visorak, Toa Hagah, "titan" sets (Sidorak, Roodaka, and Keetongu), and the Battle for Metru Nui playset included Rhotuka; Toa and Visorak had two each, Rahaga and titans had one each, and Battle for Metru Nui had three. The majority of these were basic silver, with the following exceptions:
* Rahaga Norik had dark red Rhotuka
* Rahaga Iruini had gold Rhotuka
* Rahaga Pouks had brown Rhotuka
* Rahaga Bomonga had black Rhotuka
* Rahaga Kualus had white Rhotuka
* Keetongu had bright red Rhotuka
* Toa Norik had one silver and one dark red Rhotuka
* Toa Iruini had one gold and one green Rhotuka
* Battle of Metru Nui had two silver and one glow-in-the-dark Rhotuka
Rhotuka packs included 12 additional colours, all half-silver: bright red-and-silver, dark red-and-silver, orange-and-silver, bright blue-and-silver, dark blue-and-silver, light blue-and-silver, green-and-silver, lime green-and-silver, brown-and-silver, yellow-and-silver, black-and-silver, and white-and-silver.
* In a Nestle cereal offer, the mini Kongu,Hahli and Jaller toys each had a trans-neon green Rhotuka. Whether there are others is to be unknown.
This makes a total of 24 Rhotuka colours to collect.
In each set, including Rhotuka packs but with the exception of Battle for Metru Nui, one Rhotuka was printed with a code in Matoran lettering that could be entered at BIONICLE.com's Kanoka Club for points.
The following year, the Umbra set included two green-and-silver Rhotuka.
== LEGO.com Description ==
== See also ==
* 8613 Kanoka Disk Launcher Pack
* 8719 Zamor-Spheres
* 8934 Squid Ammo
== References ==
General information comes from the BIONICLE Adventures book series.
== External links ==
* Bricklink
* Rhotuka article at BIONICLEsector01 Wiki
Category:2005 sets
Category:8000 sets
Category:BIONICLE
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