In the wildly famous Thundercats cartoon from the 1980s, aliens with cat-like heads battled evil forces on the planet Third Earth. The ThunderCats, the show’s major protagonists, were from the planet Thundera. They had to depart Thundera for Third Earth nevertheless, since their home planet’s core destabilized and threatened to explode.
The ThunderCats engaged in battle with the Mutants, Lunataks, and Mumm-Ra the evil sorcerer on Third Earth. They constructed structures like the Cats’ Lair and the Tower of Omens, as well as gaining a lot of allies along the road.
We shall discuss the characters from this venerable series in this video.
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Lion-O
He is the character who commands the story’s attention. The archetypal hero is Lion-O. After his home planet Thundera was destroyed, he ended up on Third Earth. He grew older inside a suspension capsule on the Royal Flag Ship, which somewhat slowed down his aging. So instead of being extremely old when he arrived on Third Earth, he was twenty-four.
Although Lion-O was the ThunderCats’ leader and was expected to be mature, he was essentially a youngster trapped in an adult body, so he was frequently rather obstinate. But his aptitude enabled him to develop into a great leader.
As refugees, Lion-O and the Thundercats settled on Third Earth. The Mutants, or the barbarians from World Plun-Darr, and the dead sorcerer Mumm-Ra, on the other hand, ruled the planet in a despotic manner, which the Thundercats fought. Lion-O was always powerful enough to defeat his evil foes thanks to his immense strength, the Sword of Omens, and the Eye of Thundera (the Thundercats’ greatest source of power). He was also really attractive (Cheetara said it herself).
But his genuine concern for his supporters and friends was his strongest quality. In the event that they were in danger, he would stand his ground without resorting to violence unless it was absolutely necessary.
Jaga
Jaga was once the greatest and the wisest warrior in Thundera. He used to be the true master of the Sword of Omens and the Lord of the Thundercats. He was also a mentor to the Thundercats.
He was the one who had founded the philosophy that prompted the Thundercats to uphold peace and justice above all. He had inherited the Sword of Omens after becoming the Lord of the Thundercats which was later passed on to none other than Lion-O, who Jaga treated like his own son. He also protected the Thundercats during the destruction of Thundera as he flew the Royal Flag Ship to Third Earth but unfortunately, he died on the way. He was aware of the fact that he would not make it but he facilitated the survival of the other Thundercats over his own safety. He later appeared in his spirit form to mentor a grown up Lion-O.
However, this is where things got interesting. Jaga was the one who had indirectly caused the destruction of Thundera. During a battle with an antagonist known as Ratilla, Jaga cast Ratila’s Sword of Plun-Darr into the deepest canyon of the planet. As the sword tried to escape from the core of the planet, it destabilized that very core and led to Thundera’s destruction.
Mumm-Ra
Mumm-Ra, the undead sorcerer and the demon priest, was the primary antagonist in the show. He served as the undead medium for four god like entities who were known as the Ancient Spirits of Evil. These entities required Mumm-Ra to interact with the physical world outside the Black Pyramids that existed on Third Earth and New Thundera (which was a smaller version of the older Thundera).
The Thundercats often had to go against this force of evil who had mastered magic. But Mumm-Ra was immortal, thanks to the Ancient Spirits who had gifted him with this boon in return for his perpetual servitude.
Even though Mumm-Ra had a corpse-like form, he could turn into a muscular force to be reckoned with by chanting, “Ancient spirits of evil, transform this decayed form to Mumm-Ra, the Ever-Living”. However, he was often defeated, which drove him back to the sacrophagus that prevented him from dying. He had also entered into the minds of the Thundercats via their dreams to control them.
As he ruled over Third Earth and intended to steal the power from the Eye of Thundera, he used the Mutants of Plun-Darr as his pawns. Mumm-Ra was pure evil with his sadistic and ruthless nature. He was not one to stray from betraying the Mutants who helped him but even he had compassion for his pet Ma-Mutt. He also had a weakness – his own ugly reflection.
Cheetara
Cheetara was a female Thundercat who was also nobility in Thundera. She was present on the Royal Flag Ship that was attacked by the Mutants. Later, she went into the suspension capsule while Jaga piloted the ship from an unstable Thundera to Third Earth.
She was notable for her incredible speed which outclassed the likes of Lion-O. In fact, during Lion-O’s Anointment Trial to become the Lord of the ThunderCats, he had to go against Cheetara in a battle of speed. But Lion-O himself was aware of Cheetara being way faster than him so he finessed the situation by taking a different route.
She was also very honorable. When Lion-O assumed that Cheetara had let him win the race, she was quite offended as it was against Thundera’s code and she was not the type to break such a code.
Her jogging speed alone clocked in at a hundred and twenty miles per hour. When she ran in full speed, she could maintain her form for two miles.
Cheetara also had a super cool trick up her sleeve – her sixth sense. It allowed her to look into past and future events, unfortunately at the cost of her mental well being since these visions often came to her at unprecedented hours and took long to recover from.
Tygra
Just like Cheetara, Tygra was also a noble member of the ThunderCats. He was the Council leader of the ThunderCats and second-in-c0mmand after Lion-O.
Not only did Tygra counsel Lion-O, he was also the architect and scientist behind the ThunderCat structures existing across Third Earth such as the Tower of Omens and the Cats’ Lair. He had created the devices the ThunderCats used during their exploration of New Thundera. He could also create lifelike illusions in the minds of others and used a whip-like bolas to turn invisible. The invisibility was not foolproof however and strong detectors could detect him.
But his skillset did not end there. Tygra happened to be a great pilot and a shooter as well. What truly set him apart was his integrity and his intellectual mind which allowed him to assess a situation from every angle before forming a conclusion. But there was a flip side to everything and in case of Tygra, it was his vulnerability to addiction, inability to swim while visible, and low self confidence.
Panthro
Another noble member of ThunderCats, Panthro was the primary pilot, mechanic, and engineer for his team. He was also present in the Royal Flag Ship that brought the ThunderCats to Third Earth and was the one who was initially piloting it.
Jaga had given Panthro a new set of nunchuks to fight with which added to his already formidable strength. He had also objected to Jaga piloting the Royal Flag Ship to Third Earth instead of entering the time suspension capsule. But soon he realized that it would be a terrible idea to let auto pilot to take the reigns in such a perilous situation.
On Third Earth, he always fought alongside his fellow ThunderCats and was noted for his thin temper. He was the strongest when it came to physical abilities. He excelled in the martial arts and was quite cunning. As a mechanic and an engineer, he had built the vehicles for his team, namely the Feliner, ThunderTank, HoverCat, ThunderStrike, and the ThunderClaw. However, he was terrified of bats and hated spiders.
Lynx-O
The oldest ThunderCat on Third Earth, Lynx-O had tried to board the Royal Flag Ship that took the other ThunderCats to Third Earth for his survival. Even though he got too late, he was rescued alongside his friends Bengali and Pumyra by a pair of Berbils. He had also been blinded by fire before Thundera’s explosion but as a result of that, he enhanced his other senses.
With help from the Berbils, Lynx-O and his friends crashed onto a deserted island on Third Earth. When Mumm-Ra learnt about the existence of other Thunderians on Third Earth, he sent a bunch of pirates to capture them. But they managed to escape and reunite with the other ThunderCats after Lion-O helped them out. Lynx-O, Pumyra, and Bengali soon became a part of the group as honorary ThunderCats.
He relied on a Braille board to learn about the Lunataks (a group of alien radars) and to navigate through the Forest of Mist.
Lynx-O was very wise, which brought him right under Mumm-Ra’s radar who felt threatened by his wisdom. He was blind but he could always see beneath the surface, which made the ThunderCats rely on him for insight time and again. His lack of eyesight also helped him manifest finer hearing. He could perform something called a nerve pinch which kn0cked his enemies out in an instant. Meanwhile, he used his Light Shield for defense.
Snarf
Who does not love this cute little guy? Snarf was the one assigned to care for a younger Lion-O. He is of the Snarf species instead of being Thunderian and often considered himself to be the eldest of all.
After landing on Third Earth, Snarf had begun to feel left out now that Lion-O was all grown up. This combined with his tendency to worry and be pessimistic put him in a tough spot but he gradually went on to become as much of a ThunderCat as the rest. He would also cook for the ThunderCats.
Snarf has a knack for talking to animals. His small stature also allowed him to wiggle through smaller areas, which turned out to be quite handy. For example, when the ThunderCats snuck into the Black Pyramid and got captured, Snarf was able to discreetly go in and free them.
On the other hand, when Mumm-Ra wanted to infiltrate the Cats’ Lair, he disguised his pet Ma-Mutt as Snarf so that he could wiggle into the lair. During this time, Snarf ended up invoking the Ancient Spirits of Evil which turned him into his original form, giving him super strength and flight.
He later turned back to his regular self with the help of Lion-O’s Sword of Omens. He also had a nephew called Snarfer.
Grune The Destroyer
Grune commanded Thundera’s armies back in the day as a ThunderCat. However, he believed that the Thunderians did not deserve their service and wished to rule upon them as a power-hungry superior.
He orchestrate a coup d’etat but Jaga appeared to intercept him. After fighting for hours, he was defeated and banished into space via the Sword of Omens, which Jaga at that time wielded. However, he found himself on Third Earth where he wrecked terror and soon became known as Grune the Destroyer.
During one instance, he found the Cats’ Lair and used their Thundrilliam (a Thunderian fuel for vehicles) to power himself and used the alloy called Thundrainium to create his mace. He later fought Jaga who Lion-O had called upon with the Sword of Omens and in the end, tried to take away that sword. However, he was rejected by the Sword.
Vultureman
Of course the other side had their mechanics and inventors as well. And that’s where the Mutant known as Vultureman came in as the brains behind the operation of the Mutants.
Before the destruction of Thundera, Vultureman had tried to acquire the copy for the Plun-Darr War Robot plans from Lion-O’s father Claudus. He could not get his hands on the copy but believed that it was destroyed when the planet exploded.
This humanoid vulture was ambitious and often worked by himself. He would also ally with the Lunataks or Mumm-Ra when necessary since the ThunderCats were a common enemy.
Vultureman piloted his own Flying Machine as well, which unfortunately for him was not sturdy enough to go against Panthro’s ThunderTank.
Ratar-O
The commander of the mutants, Ratar-O has some trust issues. But he did put the occasional faith in Vultureman, He was also the captain of Ratstar, a ship frequently used by him and Vultureman to travel to and fro between Third Earth and New Thundera.
He was arrogant and had even gotten the leader of the Mutants, Slithe, to serve under him at one point. His weapon of choice was the Rat’s Eye, which happened to be a pair of daggers. He was supposedly the descendent of Ratilla, the one who Jaga had fought before.
Claudus
Lion-O’s father Claudus used to be the Lord of the ThunderCats at one point. They also looked quite similar. He was an ally of Jaga the Wise so after he was blinded during a war with the Mutants of Plun-Darr, he passed the baton to Jaga who then became the guardian of the Sword of Omens and the Eye of Thundera.
He was the ruler of the planet until its demise but had gotten involved in a rift with the Mutants Vultureman and Slithe in the past. As the Mutants tried to steal a Warbot plan that Claudus’ spies had acquired, Claudus gave them away to a Lion-O from the present who had gone back in time.
However, the explosion of the planet that happened soon after did not kill him. He had been captured by an ancient enemy known as the Shadowmaster, who had trapped him in the Shadow Realm since he wanted to eradicate all the ThunderCats once and for all.
He was later rescued by Lion-O who learnt of his presence via his nightmares and together, they defeated the Shadowmaster. But Claudus had realized that enough time had passed and his life needed to come to an end.
Slithe (Leader Of Mutants)
Slithe was the arrogant and cruel leader of the Mutants. Some of his Mutant underlings did not like him much, thanks to his habit of insulting his own troops.
He was involved with Vultureman during their attempt to get the plan for the Plun-Darr War Robot from Thundera. Following the destruction of the planet, he tried to get his hands on the Eye of Thundera which rested with Jaga the Wise and the ThunderCats. In fact, it was him who caused the Mutant attack on the Royal Flag Ship. But of course, they ended up not getting the Eye of Thundera since the Sword of Omens coming back to life forced them to secede.
Despite being a Mutant, Slithe looked different due to his ears. His weapon of choice was his tail which he whipped around to knock his opponent off and he stayed true to his reptilian lineage and snake-like name since he had the tendenssssy to emphasssizzze the “S” in his ssspeech. (the extra S have been added to the script intentionally to mimic the character’s speech).
Jackalman
Jackalman was one of the notorious evil Mutants and led the Jackelmen from planet Plun-Darr.
He was part of the raid on the Royal Flag Ship during the destruction of Thundera alongside his army. He had taken down the Thunderian ships and infiltrated the ship. When he found Lion-O with Snarf and the Sword of Omens, he incapacitated Snard with his Net Gun but was ultimately forced to fall back once the Sword came to life.
When the ship found itself on Third Earth several years later, he caught up to them with the other Mutants but was not able to get his hands on the Sword once again.
The advantage he posed in battle despite being scrawny mirrored the abilities of Snarf. When the Mutants had to rely on him to get the Sword of Omens from the Sword Chamber, Jackalman’s physique came in handy and outdid the nimble Snarf. But he mostly acted as a lackey and on occasion, would go against his allies to serve Mumm-Ra. But he was often called out for being cowardly, even though it is more caution than cowardice.
Ma-Mutt
Even though Mumm-Ra was a super evil entity, even he had a soft spot for this little guy. Unfortunately, he was actually no little guy at all. Far from being a cute cuddly dog, Mu-Mutt was Mumm-Ra’s pet and a demonic bulldog.
Despite coming off as less intelligent than the others, Ma-Mutt ccould carry out complex plans. He was capable of mobilizing the enemies of the ThunderCats as he did his master’s bidding with loyalty and could grow in size when necessary.
Ma-Mutt’s physiology made him extremely strong and he could fly as well.
WilyKit and WilyKat
WilyKit and WilyKat were the two Thunderkittens who were aboard the Royal Flag Ship. They were close to Lion-O’s age before going into the time suspension capsule and when they reached Third Earth, they had retained their previous age unlike Lion-O who had aged up.
WilyKit was the sister while WilyKat was her brother. They often appeared together and were known for their cunning. On the day of Lion-O’s Anointment Trials, they crafted a maze for Lion-O to bypass. This Maze of Infinity had traps all over but Lion-O successfully avoided them all. Unfortunately, the Thunderkittens got trapped in one of their own traps and were subsequently rescued by Lion-O.
Both WilyKit and WilyKat were different when it came down to their personalities. While the former was more adventurous, WilyKat was more concerned and cautious. Both of them had grenade capsules attached to their belts which contained several compounds such as smoke and chemicals. WilyKit was more skilled with the Hoverboard though.
Bengali
Bengali was part of the trio that had tried to get aboard the Royal Flag Ship during Thundera’s destruction alongside Lynx-O and Pumyra. This Tiger-like Thunderian countryman later became a ThunderCat as well and monitored the Sky Tomb, which was the flying fortress of the Lunataks (a group of aliens from the moons of Plun-Darr).
He was a master blacksmith who had successfully reforged the Sword of Omens with his Hammer of Thundera after the blade had been snapped. In fact, this was a feat that could only be performed by Thunderian blacksmiths.
His story was similar to that of Lynx-O because they were all rescued by the Berbil spaceship together and then crashed onto a deserted island on Third Earth.
Lion-O learnt of their existence on Third Earth from the phantom Jaga and Cheetara confirmed the news. But the villains (namely Hammerhand and his crew) had beat them to it and held them hostage. Lion-O rescued them and then they fought their adversaries together. Soon, the Lord of the ThunderCats made Bengali and his friends honorary ThunderCats.
Bengali’s Hammer of Thundera also worked as a weapon with its ability to emit energy beams.
Pumyra
Pumyra was the third cat-like humanoid who was present alongside Lynx-O and Bengali. After the ThunderCats left for New Thundera, she stayed back on Third Earth and looked after the Cats’ Lair.
She was compassionate and an excellent medic and healer, thanks to her knowledge of Thunderian Medicine and resourcefulness when it came to medicinal supplies. She was also very agile and had incredible leaping ability, like the puma itself. She could even attain super speed at short bursts and it created a lightning effect. Her weapon of choice was a whipcord.
Zaxx
Zaxx was an Ancient Force of Evil and controlled the southern hemisphere of Third Earth.
After he was defeated by the demon priest Mumm-Ra, his spirit and powers were contained in the Rosencrest Medallion which was kept safely in the recesses of the Black Pyramid.
He arose once again when Vultureman wore the Medallion as he went against Mumm-Ra. However, he hated Vultureman’s body and was just dealing with it because he wanted to defeat Mumm-Ra once and for all. But luck was not on his side as Vultureman found out from Mumm-Ra that wearing the Medallion for long would allow Zaxx to take over Vultureman as his host body, causing the Mutant to discard it.
The medallion fell out of the Pyramid and was later worn by Snarf. Zaxx then made Snarf do his bidding and took over his life force to battle Mumm-Ra. During their battle, he threw Mumm-Ra’s Sword of Plun-Darr into his cauldron but Mumm-Ra was also able to remove the Medallion. This weakened Zaxx while the ThunderCats saved Snarf. Ultimately, the two evil entities fell into the cauldron and seemingly died.
Monkian
The evil Mutant Monkian led the other Monkians from Plun-Darr. This humanoid monkey was on board with Jackalman, Slithe, and their armies during the assault on the Royal Flag Ship. He was also present during the first assault on Third Earth where the ThunderCats overpowered the Mutants without much trouble.
Even though he did not get into arguments with his allies, he would occasionally rebel against Slithe. However, he always supported Slithe in the greater scheme of things because he preferred Slithe’s leadership over Ratar-O’s. He also excelled at espionage.
Mongor
Mongor was a goat-like demon, based on the Baphomet and the Satyr, who was released from this tomb by the Thunderkittens WilyKit and WilyKat. Of course they did not release him intentionally. It just happened when they were exploring a ruined temple.
His power grew in the presence of fear while bravery was his weakness. This automatically made Lion-O his natural enemy since he was the brave Lord of the ThunderCats. Ultimately, he was resealed once again.
Hachiman
The samurai known as Hachiman hailed from the Planet of the Red Sun. He followed Bushido, which was a strict code of honor that shaped his actions.
He had been lied to by Mumm-Ra and made to believe that the ThunderCats were evil beings who had invaded Third Earth. As a samurai warrior and a man of justice, he sought out to defeat them but learnt from Lion-O that it was all a lie.
He then became a loyal ally of the ThunderCats.
Captain Shiner
Mumm-Ra often hired the mercenary that is Captain Shiner. But he had his own set of principles and had helped out the ThunderCats (namely, Lion-O, Snarf, and Panthro) in escaping a black hole. He was able to perform this feat as the captain of the spaceship known as the Vertus which could carry out interstellar travel.
Captain Shiner also wore a monocle on his left eye and sported dog-like features. During a separate situation, he was hired to lock away Lynx-O, Bengali, and Pumyra at the Fire Rock Mountain.
Hammerhand
Captain Hammerhand was a cyborg pirate with a giant metal hand. He had a group of companions called the Berserkers.
He had tried to capture unicorns who were protected by Snarf. However, Snarf himself ended up getting captured. Lion-O was able to learn of the events thanks to his Sword of Omens. Captain Hammerhand and the Berserkers then had to go against the ThunderCats which was a battle they lost as a whirlpool ultimately sank them.
His spirit was later brought back by Mumm-Ra who had created a clone of Panthro. Hammerhand possessed that clone but fell to Lion-O and his Sword of Omens once again. Out of anger, Hammerhand destroyed Mumm-Ra’s cloning machine. But that was not the end as he later returned to aid Mumm-Ra in capturing Lynx-O, Pumyra, and Bengali.
Safari Joe
The big game hunter is Safari Joe traveled to Third Earth for a good hunt. And that meant that capturing the ThunderCats would be a great hunt.
With the help of Mule, his robot assistant, Safari Joe used his cunning to exploit the weaknesses of the ThunderCats. He shot darts into the space boards of WilyKit and WilyKat, used energy bolts on Cheetara, exploited Tygra’s inability to swim, and used bats to terrify Panthro. He then captured them but was ultimately defeated.
Later, Panthro used his tech hacks to reprogram Safari Joe’s robot Mule to monitor the interstellar hunter across other worlds.
Captain Cracker
Captain Cracker was a robotic pirate who manned a spaceship known as the Jolly Rogers. He was a stereotypical pirate with his speech, eye patch, peg leg, and parrot called Polly.
He was fierce as a fighter, ruthless as a person, and cunning as a schemer. Captain Cracker searched the galaxies to find those he could rob, which made him one of the most wanted criminals in the universe. In fact, the intergalactic police force always wanted to get his hands on him but on the occasion they did, he escaped.
He later met the Lunataks on Exile Isle and allied with them but was stopped by Lion-O. His cowardice especially without the aid of his weapons proved just how much mettle he lacked.
His weapons of choices where his Cutlass Sword and Mechanical Palm Tree that had sharp sawing fronds.
Stinger
This is a character that never appeared in the ThunderCats cartoon but had a toy figure. Stinger was a cybernetic dragon-fly (but humanoid). The reason why such a toy existed was that Stinger had appeared in the 1989 ThunderCats UK Annual which Marvel Comics UK published.
In this story, Lion-O and Cheetara were transported back in time where they found children who Stinger on Third Earth was chasing.
Jagara
The ancient ThunderCat sorceress that is Jagara was one of the many characters who the evil Mumm-Ra had victimized.
She guarded the Mighty Gyroscope on New Thundera which controlled the planet’s gravity. Mumm-Ra cast a spell on her to make her reverse the Gyroscope which disrupted the balance of the planet. However, she was brought back to her senses by Lion-O and his Sword of Omens.
She tried to fix the Gyroscope again but Mumm-Ra had stolen the regulator, which meant that its functionality had taken a hit. She used her powers to keep the Gyroscope working and ultimately, Mumm-Ra destroyed the regulator. However, Lion-O used his Sword to stabilize the device until a newer regulator was built.
Driller
The Driller does what his name suggests. He drills to create tunnels and looks for diamonds. However, he does not want diamonds for wealth but to sharpen his drill points.
This mechanoid lives on Third Earth and was once made to capture Panthro by Mumm-Ra since the sorcerer wanted to create a clone of the mighty ThunderCat. During another instance, he was made to make a tunnel to Cats’ Lair from Acid Lake since Mumm-Ra wanted a shortcut to destroy the lair. In the end, he joined Jackalman’s rebellion against the Mutants and the ThunderCats.
Ratilla
Ratilla was an ancient mutant warlord who wielded the Sword of Plun-Darr. He wanted to acquire the Treasure of Thundera. For this reason, he invaded Thundera where he was defeated by Jaga the Wise, the wielder of the Sword of Omens back then.
It is suggested that he was an ancestor of Ratar-O.
Ro-bear Berbils
Berbils are small robotic bears on Third Earth but they originally hailed from planet Ro-bear. Two of them (Ro-bear Bert and Ro-bear Bob) were responsible for rescuing Lynx-O, Pumyra, and Bengali and getting them on their Berbil ship when Thundera exploded.
On Third Earth, the Berbils lived in the village of Berbils. They were led by Ro-bear Bill and his wife Ro-Bear Belle. They were pacifists who worked hard and were skilled farmers. Their lifestyle was sustained by the strange fruits they produced like the meat fruit, the candy fruit, and the veggie fruit among others.
They helped the ThunderCats out in building the Cats’ Lair and later the Tower of Omens. Being their ally also meant a steady supply of food for the ThunderCats.
Red-Eye
Red Eye was one of the Lunataks who hailed from the dark moon of Plun-Darr. He engineered and piloted the Sky Tomb. His vision was highly advanced as well and it allowed him to see infrared light and an invisible Tygra.
His weapon of choice was the spinning discuss known as the Sidewinder which could also shoot electrical beams.
ThunderCats approximately has one hundred and seventy characters but these thirty two are some of the more prominent characters who appear throughout the course of the series.
And with that, today’s video comes to an end. What did you think of these ThunderCats characters? Did you enjoy this video? If yes, then don’t forget to like and comment on this video. Till then, goodbye. And have a nice one!