Back in the 1980's ThunderCats were one of my absolute favorite shows, with the news of a NEW one hitting Cartoon Network I thought it would be appropriate to do a nice blog about it.
The Original Show's Intro:
Are you hearing The Magic, or feeling the roar? I sure did as a fledgling Kindergartener! This Rankin/Bass cartoon ran for five years with the characters created by Tobin "Ted" Wolf. Eventually Rankin/Bass got bought by Warner Bros. Of course it had many toys and other merchandise that I just HAD to have.
Now onto the characters! The Main ones anyway...
Lion-o is the Leader and King of the ThunderCats. Lion-O is but a child, stuck in a man's body due to a Hyper-sleep accident that happened on their way to Third-Earth. His mentor is Jagga, who later dies. Even though he is dead he Haunts Lion-o Much like a Jedi Master. I think they made him a kid so kids watching the show can relate to him. He's only a kid in the first couple of episodes anyway and they don't really reference his inexperiance or anything.
He also controls the eye of Thundara and the Mystical Sword of Omens. This tool allows him to have "sight beyond sight" or a limited ESP to see unseen dangers, or troubles that may, or are, affecting his comrads. Also he is able to broadcast a signal that unifies all the ThunderCats who see it. His other Weapon is a claw like gauntlet that can be used to Scratch, as a shield, and also has grappling hook knuckles.
Panthro is the Thundercats's mechanic. Much like Donatello of Ninja Turtles fame, he's the one who creates all the vehicles and gadgets that they use, His most proud achievement is The Thundertank! He was also my favorite Character as a kid because he didn't take any crap from anybody and had those Battle Sticks (nunchukus)! He was also one of the more Physical fighters and was always ready to go!
Tygra is the archetect and scientist of the group. He tends to keep to himself. His weapon of choice is a bolo-whip that has the ability to turn him invisible. He's the one who designed and helped build Cat's Lair, which is the base in which the ThunderCats operate. He tends to be shy and has High Morals.
Cheetara is the Speedster of the group. Some would argue she's also the Sex appeal. Don't let the fact that she's female let you think she's weak. She can kick butt with the rest of 'em. Her weapon of choice is a bo-staff that she can extend. Also due to her speed she has limited psychic abilities.
WileyKit and WileyCat are twins, Sometimes refered to as the ThunderKittens. Wileykit is sort of a Know-it-all character, where as Wileycat is more impulsive. The thing is, they are technically the same age as Lion-o. Except they actually ACT like Kids, unlike Lion-O. His whole "Kid in the body of a man" is kinda convoluted and not really that important, or really mentioned anyway. But back to the ThunderKittens...They have these Airboard things, that are pretty awesome, and their Bag of tricks. The Tricks are Pellets of various things such as itch powder, or sleeping gas or other random things like that. They are very curious and tend to get into trouble quite a bit.
Snarf is pretty darn annoying. He was Lion-O's nanny back on Thundara, so he kinda tended to smother him a bit. He's not really all that useful on the team, but they keep him around for some reason. He does provide some Comedy relief however.
The Thundercats even had a Comic series in 2002 By Wildstorm and DC comics. A cross over with Superman was also made. Good Luck Finding them however.
I can't Make a Blog about ThunderCats without any mention of Mummra The Ever Living.
Mumm-ra is the main nemesis in the show. Sure there's other bad guys, but Mumm-ra is in almost every episode. He appears to be a very decrepit old mummie. In actuality he is an agent to the Ancient Spirits of Evil, who wish to spread their darkness over Third-Earth. Mumm-ra's only weakness is his reflection. Once he is defeated or runs out of energy he must return to his sarcophagus to rest. Later on in the show he got a bull dog like pet named Ma-mutt. He also employed The mutants.
The Mutants included a lizardman named Slithe, Monkeyman, Jackleman, and Vultureman. They were Similar to Bebop and Rocksteady from Ninja Turtles, as they weren't to bright. Slithe, the leader, was actually very cold and Calculating.
In Closing I'm going to leave you with the trailer and an image to The NEW show that will be on Cartoon Network.
