The 1980s were a memorable decade. Big hairstyles and discos may be the first things that come to mind when people think of the 1980s. However, every child who grew up during this period remembers the cartoons that dominated our life and the landscape. Ducktales, The Smurfs, He-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Thundercats are all examples of 1980s animation that influenced the lives of early millennials. Even in an era when few people watch cartoons on TV, it has built a name for itself, and it continues to attract admirers of all generations.
These cartoons have instilled the values of heroism, dedication, and perseverance in their viewers and have left an indelible imprint. DC Comics, which solely publishes the world’s biggest superheroes, went through a period of transformation during which they achieved enormous popularity. What better way to solidify the history of 1980s pop culture than a 2000s crossover between one of its most iconic cartoons and one of DC’s most popular, transporting fans down memory lane?
WildStorm and DC collaborated to create a one-shot crossover between DC Comics and ThunderCats for Superman/ThunderCats. With Judd Winick on the script, Trevor Scott on ink, Ale Garza on pencils, Chris Walker on colors, Nick Napolitano on letters, Lion-O from Third Earth, and Superman from Metropolis joined hands for this epic crossover.
The two heroes are quite similar if you think about it. Both are renowned for their super strength, even though the Man of Steel unquestionably takes this round. They also share an aptitude for endurance and most importantly, they are brave and virtuous, ready to protect those they care for from any danger. Both the characters also pull off blue ridiculously well.
Crossovers cause quite the stir in the fandoms and Superman is no stranger to partnering up with heroes from other worlds, having collaborated with The Savage Dragon and Spiderman in the past. The ThunderCats have also teamed up with He-Man for their adventures and it only makes sense for the cats to meet Kal-El now.
This crossover brings back the evil sorcerer Mumm-Ra who seeks to get his hands on another Eye of Thundera but the galaxy’s toughest Cats are more than ready to rain all over his parade. As Mumm-Ra finds his way to Metropolis on Earth with his band of mutants, the Cats must stop him from procuring the other Eye. In this journey, they meet with Superman, who helps them in their quest and protects the Eye of Thundera from being stolen.
The story is compact and fast-paced. Its highest selling point is definitely its impeccable artwork as well as some exciting scenes set in Metropolis alongside a couple of racy jokes here and there.
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As the ThunderCats get their power from the Eye of Thundera, the evil, mummified wizard Mumm-Ra seeks the relic and destroy the Cats. As the story opens on Thundera, we see that Mumm-ra has discovered the Orbs of Barrack. It lets its controller travel to any part of the planet in a blink and the sorcerer seems to be beyond satisfied after acquiring this power. As the Orbs of Barrack can transcend any barrier, its possession is likely to allow Mumm-Ra to defeat the ThunderCats with ease, which he is seemingly ecstatic about, in the most malicious ways, of course. He wishes to storm into their fortresses and sanctuaries, entering their lair and destroying them.
As he ponders over his devious plan, he is interrupted by a scantily clad, bald woman. He is infuriated by her arrival but she tells him that she comes in peace. Mumm-Ra is less than happy about her appearance in his private chamber and wishes to kill her when she introduces herself as Lantana Lin, a refugee seeking exile. She offers him a trade to protect him. She tells him that the Orbs of Barrack not only allow Mumm-Ra to travel through Thundera but also to other dimensions with one such dimension possessing a twin Eye of Thundera. This immediately captures Mumm-Ra’s attention as he had been seeking this gemstone for the longest time but could not acquire it due to it being under the possession of the ThunderCats.
The woman convinces him that she was being truthful and that the stone would be Mumm-Ra’s by nightfall on the next day. The next panel shows Nupil, a beast Mumm-Ra used to use as one of his slaves. He spies on Mumm-Ra’s meeting with Lantana Lin and learns about their plan. He immediately conveys the message to the ThunderCats. Pupil tells them that Lantana Lin put talismans around Mumm-Ra’s mutants and plans to release an enchantment at dawn. This enchantment will supposedly take them to the other dimension. Hearing this, Lion-O decides to attack at dawn itself while the others discuss whether Nupil smells like feet or not.
The scene shifts to Metropolis on Earth. Clark Kent and Lois Lane are in the Metropolis Museum of Natural History, attending a tour for the Daily Planet. They seem to be having a good time, engaging in some casual banter as Lois Lane cribs about a pop star dressed in a mesh bra and a thong. As Jimmy says that he had a good time shooting her with Clark, Lois warns Clark that she only puts up with him because he is a babe. The air is relaxed and everyone seems to be having a good time when Clark spots the Eye of Thundera. He is intrigued.
Back in Thundera, the ThunderCats have reached Mumm-Ra’s location. Meanwhile, Mumm-Ra’s mutant slaves, Mumm-Ra, and Lantana Lin make preparations to dimension hop as Lantana begins to chant the spell for opening the portal. Before they succeed at their objective, the Cats crash the party. Mumm-Ra is stupefied as he did not expect them to be aware of this plan. The Cats attack them but Lantana continues to cast her spell. In the end, she is able to do so. The portal has a strong magnetic pull that draws everything around it towards itself. The Cats try to resist it but some of them chase Mumm-Ra and his Mutants. Seeing them, Lion-O tells Snarf that they must all stop the witch as he lets the pull drag him in.
In Metropolis, a boy plays with his Lion-O figurine when the ThunderCats reach Earth. They look around as WilyKit and WilyKat talk about how the place smells worse than Nupil and how they think everyone is fat because they’re dressed in baggy outfits. Wait till you see the street-style fashion of the 2010s.
Snarf proposes to create an amicable relationship with the creatures of Earth by letting them know that the Cats mean them no harm. Lion-O agrees to this and hopes to get their assistance but unfortunately for them, the people of Earth comprehend their tongue as gibberish. As some people are confused due to their language, others show their displeasure towards aliens showing up. Just then, the Cats notice Mumm-Ra and his bandwagon.
Turns out, the talismans given by Lantana allow the mutants to remain invisible to the eyes of the people on Earth. As Lion-O and Panthro charge at them, the people think they are growling at them because they cannot see the Mutants. They begin to run, screaming for help. The cops show up and report the Cats as meta-humans attacking civilians. Snarf realizes that the people are panicking and that they cannot understand their language. In the Museum, Clark Kent realizes that something is wrong and as Lois tries to talk to him, he is seen gearing up in his Superman attire.
Cheetara fights Monkian, one of the mutants, on the streets of Metropolis and smashes through the city’s property. Suddenly, a hand blocks her attack and she sees Superman. He cannot see the mutants either and considers the Cats to be a threat. He threatens Cheetara by telling her that even though he does not know of them or their motives, they have picked the wrong city to create a fuss in. The rest of the ThunderCats enter the scene and attack Superman with their magic. It works out as magic happens to be one of his weaknesses alongside Kryptonite.
Superman fights Lion-O, Cheetara, and Panthro, who turn out to be quite the difficult opponents for someone as strong as the Man of Steel. WilyKit and WilyKat attack him as well, which takes Superman by surprise because they are just kids..or kittens, if you may. Lion-O comes to the front and Superman looks quite angry at this point. The entire exchange is only from a miscommunication due to an inability to understand the Cats’ tongue.
But thankfully, Snarf uses the Clarifying Staff of Knowledge to translate their language and tells Superman about their identities and objectives. He asks for Superman’s aid against Mumm-Ra and he accepts it, but he tells them that his involvement here is a little iffy because he suspects the talismans to be made of Kryptonite. Just when they’re about to ask him where the Eye of Thundera could be, Superman notices the stone in Lion-O’s Sword of Omens and asks him whether they look the same. When Lion-O says yes, Superman proposes the idea of taking them to the Metropolis Museum of Natural History.
Mumm-Ra and the Mutants seem to have found their way to the Museum where Lois and Jimmy talk about Clark’s absence. Mumm-Ra notices the Eye of Thundera and they break the glass and procure the relic. The ThunderCats and Superman reach the venue and tell the Mutants that they’ll be taking away the Eye of Thundera. Superman mentions how much quicker everything would’ve been if he could see them.
As Mumm-Ra asks them to open the door to Thundera fast, the ThunderCats snatch the talismans away from the mutants to help Superman out while Superman takes away the Eye of Thundera. He then rounds up the mutants and tells them that the Eye is not up for sale or for any ‘loans’.
Mumm-Ra transforms into his Ever-Living form and attacks Superman. Even though Superman tells him that his magic wouldn’t be enough to fight him, he has a horribly hard time with the sorcerer, who slashes through Superman’s chest and almost subdues him. Lion-O butts in and even though Mumm-Ra threatens him by saying that the Cats won’t find victory in this fight, Lion-O turns the tables on Mumm-Ra and the mutants. The portal opens back up and everyone goes back to Thundera. Lois Lane meets with Superman and he tells her about the Eye of Thundera and the ThunderCats.
Mumm-Ra reaches Thundera and finds the Orbs of Barrack to be stolen from him. He is seemingly frustrated about it all as he lost the Eye of Thundera and the Orbs while the ThunderCats escaped successfully. Just then, Lantana Lin appears telling him that she stole the Orbs of Barrack as she did a lot of inter-dimensional hopping and required the thrust provided by the Orbs. She reveals herself to be Mr. Mxyztplk, a trickster from DC’s Superman comic books. He deceived Mumm-Ra to get him away from Thundera so that he could take the Orbs of Barrack. Mumm-Ra gets pissed off but Mr. Mxyztplk plays it cool and leaves.
Superman carries Lois Lane to the Fortress of Solitude, where she places the twin Eye of Thundera in a display case. And with this, this exquisite crossover comes to an end.
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