He-Man was not the only warrior to protect his planet and friends from evil forces with a powerful sword. In the age of the 30-minute animated commercials, another hero would soon step up to battle evil with his trusted sword. Lion-O and his band of half human/feline warriors-The Thundercats.

     The Thundercats are back with a brand new comic book from DC’s Wildstorm Comics. Reading the introductory issue, I was taken back to a simpler time in my childhood when our schedules were created around the cartoons we watched. The Thundercats cartoon was a half-hour long series produced by Rankin-Bass in 1985 first airing on January 23, 1985. The story revolved around a group of felines who were forced to leave their dying planet, Thundera. The group resettles on Third Earth and must deal with the fact that the small child, Lion-O is the chosen one to lead them after being the only creature to age, and age significantly, while others stay the same age in cryogenic chambers. Together, they must survive in a strange new world with unproven leadership as they make allies and battle enemies from their past and a significant new threat, Mumm-Ra.

     This was just an excellent show which featured some of the finest animation around, still beating some of the crap we see today. Running for 130-episodes, lasted until December of 1986 (I thought it was around longer). Lion-O, the Lord of the Thundercats, looked older, but has the mind of a child. The early episodes are a learning experience for him. With great teachers like Panthro, the mechanic with the awesome battle sticks; Tygra, the excellent fighter with the trusty whip that allowed him to disappear at will; Chetara, the speedy feline with a sixth sense and Jaga the ancient Thundercat who mystically appears when Lion-O needs him the most, the new leader is in good hands. And Lion-O has to be. An ancient mummy-like creature named Mumm-Ra with his powerful Sword of Plundarr and his minions (Slithe, Monkian, Jackalman, Vultureman, Ratar-O) are nearly an unstoppable force. Mumm-Ra’s only weakness is seeing his own reflection and Lion-O and company must exploit them to survive on their new world.

     And despite a formulaic approach to the series (Basically, the stories dealt with Lion-O on another Thundercat, most often the two littlest ones, WillyKit and WillyKat getting in trouble.) There were some great episodes, including Tygra’s addiction to a fruit (basically a drug). Also a five-part set of episodee where Lion-O must pass tests, battling his teammates in challenges that they have the advantage in, before the ultimate battle with Mumm-Ra. Then, there was a great mini-series where the Thundercats learn more of their species survived the explosion of Thundera. The appearance of the Ewok-like Berbils will always remembered and who can forget the lessons Jaga teaches Lion-O. This was a great series with lots of action, adventure and even important life lessons.

     Currently one can see the original Thundercats series on Cartoon Network from time to time. Of course there is also the new comic book series for those in need of a quick fix. With the return of the all new He-Man series, it looks very promising that the Thundercats might return afterall.

     Send comments and questions about this article to Blackhart@ybfree.com.