"ThunderCats" (1985) Was Part Of My Escapist Childhood

 

There's always that desire for escapism. School can be boring but if facing danger involved learning newer stuff than just getting stuck in the classroom then why not? Part of my childhood was watching ThunderCats (1985) and I didn't watch that reboot. This show featured humanoid cats who escaped to the Third Earth. My favorite was Lion-O maybe because he was the leader or he endured the most hardship. I can't be sure why Lion-O was my favorite. There are times I preferred some sideline character like how Vegeta is my all-time favorite character in Dragon Ball Z or how Zero is my favorite in the Megaman X series. 

The orignal season had Tygra (who can become invisible and master of mind tricks), Panthro (whose design may have inspired Kintaro in Mortal Kombat II), Cheetara who was a female version of Flash, and the twins Wily Kit and Wily Kat. Lion-O started off as a child but due to some malfunction in the capsules - he became a man-child. It gets interesting how Lion-O must learn to cope up with his adult body while he was actually still a child when Thundera collapsed. Later, it was revealed that Thundera exploded because of the powerful Sword of Plun-Darr - a weapon that was used in Season 2. 

One of my memories of the show were the villains. Mumm-Ra is still one of my favorite villains. Okay, I did compare him to Apocalypse from the X-Men franchise. My first exposure to Apocalypse was from X-Men: The Animated Series by Haim Saban - not the comics. Apocalypse' first comic book debut was in 1986. I think it's more of a coincidence that Apocalypse was given an ancient Egyptian past. I believe Mumm-Ra's unholy origins were taken from a much-older film called The Mummy. Mumm-Ra was pretty much like Imhotep. Still, it was fun comparing Mumm-Ra to Apocalypse but the guy has the 1980s villain touch. Mumm-Ra's only real weakness was that he was actually subservient to the unnamed Ancient Spirits of Evil. Apocalypse was also subservient to the Celestials.

Mumm-Ra is forced to ally with the Mutants led by Slythe. Slythe, Jackalman, and Monkian were a terrible trio. Later, they were joined by Vultureman after Season 1. They had a temporary leader known as Ratar-O but the guy didn't last long. Ratar-O was a descendant of Ratilla. Ratilla was the original wielder of the Sword of Plun-Darr. Mumm-Ra would later acquire that sword. The Mutants were a comedic trio who always tried to defeat the ThunderCats. It was a very uneasy alliance. The Mutants only obey Mumm-ra out of fear and would betray him if given the upper hand.  

Since ThunderCats was obviously about toys - the additional members were added. Bengali, Pumyra (the healer), and Lynx-O (a blind martial artist) were added. I also liked Lynx-O for being an effective member despite his lost of sight. They were introduced in the "ThunderCats Ho!" story arc which was also turned into a cartoon movie. That kind of format was also used in Transformers: The Movie and G.I. Joe: The Movie when newer members of the superhero factions were introduced. I didn't find them all too memorable except for Lynx-O. Though, I did have a strange crush on Pumyra back then! Though, I really hate what ThunderCats (2011) did to Pumyra by making her Mumm-Ra's puppet! Oh good that accursed reboot FAILED!

The Lunatacs were also introduced as another comedic supervillain team. Luna was the leader and she rode on Tok the bull. Red Eye could see through the dark. Thug Mug is the incompetent overweight villain. Alluro was probably my favorite of this group. Chilla is also another of my favorites. I loved how Chilla not only choked Vultureman but also played a deadly role in the "Mask of Gorgon" episode. Luna was interesting. Luna did possess a taller form as long as she had the magic belt. That magic belt was taken away from her by Mumm-Rana - a female foil for Mumm-Ra. 

What disappointed me was that I never saw the ending "Book of Omens". Like most American TV shows - most of these shows rarely had a proper ending. It's a shame that some of them even get canceled BEFORE they can have a conclusion. I still hiss at the fact that Galtar and the Golden Lance and Pirates of the Dark Water never had a real conclusion. The final episode practically was left on a cliffhanger like most American shows. Just think that the 1980s Transformers cartoon ended up with a cliffhanger after the Rebirth arc. G.I. Joe never had a real final battle against COBRA either. Somehow, these events are rather understanable due to how American shows usually turn out.