ThunderCats (1985 series)/Characters
These are the characters from the original animated series ThunderCats.
THE THUNDERCATS
Lion-O
Lord of The Thundercats.
Tropes associated with Lion-O:
- Adult Child: Lion-O is actually the youngest member of the cast. The only reason he looks so old is that his suspension pod broke during the escape from Thundera, causing him to age in his sleep while the others all remained the same. He spends most of the (early) series learning to be a mature and responsible leader.
- Bare Your Midriff: His armour has a conspicuous opening for his abs.
- By the Power of Greyskull: "Thunder! Thunder! Thunder! Thundercats, Ho!"
- And if he's prevented from saying it, he can't summon the Eye of Thundera.
- Curious As A Kitten: Almost as bad as The Thunder Kittens.
- Empathic Weapon: The Sword of Omens.
- Green Lantern Ring: The Sword of Omens again.
- The Hero
- Idiot Hero: Well, he is very naive due to being a kid in an adult's body.
- Heroes Prefer Swords: Well, duh.
- Hot-Blooded
- Palantir Ploy: "Sword Of Omens, give me sight beyond sight!"
- Plot-Relevant Age-Up
- Redheaded Hero
Panthro
Tropes associated with Panthro:
- Bald of Awesome/Furry Baldness
- The Big Guy: Panthro is a Class V hands down. Not only the physically strongest member of the team, but he also built every piece of technology the Thundercats use, starting with the Thundertank.
- Practically spelled out in the first episode, when the Mutants attack:
"Hahaha! If you guys were as mean as you were ugly..." *effortlessly blocks and crushes a Mutant's mace with one hand* "...then maybe you'd be trouble!"
- Epic Flail: His battle sticks, aka nunchucks, which he could load with tricks like high pressure bubbles... or compact flamethrowers for a fight.
- Gadgeteer Genius: He was able to build the Thundertank using components that he salvaged from the Thundercats' wrecked ship.
- Genius Bruiser
- Mr. Fixit
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He's afraid of bats, and in one episode admits that he hates spiders, too.
Tygra
Tropes associated with Tygra:
- Designated Victim: If someone has to get mind-controlled, captured, or otherwise endangered, it's probably going to be him.
- Invisibility Cloak: His whip.
- The Lancer
- Master of Illusion: It Only Works Once.
- The Smart Guy
- Weaksauce Weakness: Early on, he couldn't swim unless he was invisible (ironically, tigers are one of the few cats who don't hate water).
- Whip It Good
Cheetara
Tropes associated with Cheetara:
- Action Girl
- Blessed with Suck: She specifically calls her sixth sense a curse, as using it tends to nearly kill her.
- The Chick: Although she can definitely hold her own in combat.
- Fragile Speedster
- Psychic Powers
- Simple Staff
- Super Speed
- Team Mom
The Thunder Kittens
Tropes associated with the Thunder Kittens:
- Bratty Half Pints: Frequently.
- Curious As A Kitten: Ancient tombs, Death Trap-filled towers, spooky caves, whatever. If it's ominous and likely to be dangerous, they're going to poke around in it.
- Genki Girl: Wilykit
- Idiot Ball: The plot would occasionally get started because they decided it'd be fun to, say, open up an ancient tomb or "borrow" the others' weapons without permission.
- Keet: Wilykat
- Parental Abandonment: No explanation is ever given for who the twins' parents were or what happened to them.
- Sibling Seniority Squabble: In the Wildstorm comics, at least. Wilykat does not like being called "Little Brother."
- They Are All Grown Up: In the comic miniseries Thundercats: The Return. Puberty was very good to them. (Also Fetish Fuel.)
- Tagalong Kids
- Tricksters: Most of their weapons and tactics rely on misdirection, blinding opponents, etc.
Snarf (AKA Osbert)
Tropes associated with Snarf:
- Embarrassing First Name
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: He is immune to most forms of mind control and possession. Jaga explains that his species is incapable of having evil in their hearts.
- Lovable Coward
- Pokémon-Speak (since he doesn't use his real name)
- Team Pet
Jaga
Tropes associated with Jaga:
- Badass Grandpa
- Big Damn Heroes: As a ghost, he saved the day because he was the only character who could hit Grune The Destroyer.
- Cincinnatus: Lion-O's father was blinded in a battle against the Mutants, so he turned power over to Jaga until Lion-O would be ready to claim the title of Lord of the Thundercats.
- Cool Old Guy
- The Mentor/The Obi-Wan
- Our Ghosts Are Different
- Spirit Advisor
Lynx-O
Tropes associated with Lynx-O:
- Badass Grandpa
- Bare-Fisted Monk
- Cool Old Guy
- Disability Superpower
- Eyes Always Shut: Due to blindness via burned eyes.
- Pressure Point: Part of his fighting style.
- Team Dad: Due to being the oldest. Moreso with Pumyra and Bengali than with the rest of the Cats.
Pumyra
Tropes associated with Pumyra:
- Affirmative Action Girl
- Animal Eyes: Subverted, she's the only Thundercat with round, human-like pupils
- The Chick: Even more than Cheetarah
- In a Single Bound
- The Medic
- Out of Focus: She appears in the fewest number of episodes and disappeared almost completely near the end.
- Skunk Stripe
- Technical Pacifist
- Weapon of Choice: A sling, possibly combined with Whip It Good.
Bengali
Tropes associated with Bengali:
- The Blacksmith: He's one of the few individuals capable of repairing the Sword of Omens.
- Drop the Hammer
- Hot-Blooded: After Lion-O spends the first half of the series learning to keep a cool head.
ALLIES
Hachiman
Tropes associated with Hachiman:
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: As Monkian describes, "Did you see that!? He chopped through solid stone!"
- Empathic Weapon: His katana, "Thundercutter," which will not come out of its scabbard if Hachiman tries to use it to perform an act of evil (like say, any order by Mumm-Ra).
- Everything's Better with Samurai
- Honor Before Reason: Oh sure, just keep hacking away at the narrow bridge over the near-Bottomless Pit you and Lion-O are both standing on until he agrees to backtrack and let you pass. You might both fall to your death, but at least you'll maintain your pride as a samurai! (Not that Lion-O was behaving any better at the time, mind you.)
- Horrible Judge of Character: Come on, he was fooled by Mumm-Ra twice even though he wasn't using any disguises or anything.
- Katanas Are Just Better
Queen Willa
Queen of the Warrior Maidens.
Tropes associated with Queen Willa:
- The Archer
- Does Not Like Shoes: Like the rest of the Warrior Maidens, she goes barefoot.
- Hot Amazon
- The Power of Acting: She was once able to trick the bad guys into thinking she had gone over to The Dark Side, so she could surprise them. It was quite convincing.
Nayda
Queen Willa's younger sister.
Tropes associated with Nayda:
Snowman of Hook Mountain
Tropes associated with Snowman:
- Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti
- Cool Horse: Snowmeow, a huge cat who serves as Snowman's mount.
- An Ice Person: He can create weapons out of ice.
Mandora the Evil-Chaser
Tropes associated with Mandora:
Dr. Dometone
Tropes associated with Dr. Dometone:
- Bald of Awesome
- Intergenerational Friendship: Between him and Wilykit.
- The Professor
Mumm-Rana
Tropes associated with Mumm-Rana:
- Distaff Counterpart: To Mumm-Ra.
- Light Is Good
- Amulet of Dependency
- Weak-Willed
ENEMIES
Mumm-Ra
Tropes associated with Mumm-Ra:
- Achilles' Heel: He can only leave his sarcophagus for 24 hours at a time.
- As Long as There Is Evil: "As long as evil exists, Mumm-Ra lives!"
- Bad Boss
- Big Bad
- By the Power of Greyskull: (Villain variant) "Ancient Spirits of Evil, transform this decayed form into Mumm-Ra, the Ever... LIVING!!!"
- Up to Eleven with "Ancient Spirits of Evil, transform Mumm-Ra, the Ever Living into Mumm-Ra, the All... POWERFUL!!!"
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder
- Evil Laugh
- Evil Plan:
- Evil Sorcerer
- Ham and Cheese: Oh yes.
- Large Ham
- Let's You and Him Fight: Invokes this a lot.
- Magnificent Bastard: How he screwed Monkian over in the episode "Monkian's Bargain."
Mumm-Ra: "You rule Third Earth. But it is a kingdom you will never see! Because you can never leave my pyramid!"
- Master of Disguise: Most of his plots involve disguising himself as an innocent or an ally and luring the Thundercats into a trap.
- Memetic Mutation: Mumm-Ra likes to watch.
- Mummy
- Nightmare Fuel
- One-Winged Angel
- Our Liches Are Different
- Pet the Dog: Toward his actual pet dog, Maa-Mutt.
- Palantir Ploy: His pool can show images at any location.
- Time Abyss: "I remember when this was first Earth."
- Voluntary Shapeshifting
- Weaksauce Weakness: His own reflection.
Grune The Destroyer
Tropes associated with Grune:
- Carry a Big Stick
- Ensemble Darkhorse: One of the more popular villains despite a handful of appearances.
- Face Heel Turn: In the backstory.
- Fashionable Asymmetry: He's initially recognized by virtue of only possessing one saber tooth.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Even compared to the other major ghost in the series--he can manipulate people and physical objects like a poltergeist, he isn't tinted blue, and he's able to wield a mace made of thundranium like it was nothing.
- Sealed Evil in a Can
Safari Joe
Tropes associated with Safari Joe:
- Badass Mustache
- Bald of Evil
- BFG
- Catch Phrase: "Safari Joe does it again!"
- Dirty Coward: When he is cornered and disarmed.
- Egomaniac Hunter
- High-Class Glass: He has a monocle, after all.
- Large Ham: Memorably!
The Demolisher
Tropes associated with The Demolisher:
- Blood Knight: The only thing that gives his life meaning is battle.
- Combat Pragmatist
- Jerkass
Mongor
Tropes associated with Mongor:
- Emotion Eater: Fear makes him stronger and enlarges him to the size of a titan.
- Mind Over Matter
- Nigh Invulnerable: He takes a laser blast without flinching.
- Playing with Fire
- Sealed Evil in a Can
- Sinister Scythe
The Driller
Tropes associated with The Driller:
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin
- Punch Clock Villain: He works for anyone who can provide the diamonds he needs to keep his drills sharpened.
- This Is a Drill
Ta-She
Tropes associated with Ta-She:
- Evil Is Sexy: Even Lion-O thinks so.
- God Save Us From the Queen: She was an Egyptian queen.
- Hypnotic Eyes: Only women and Mumm-Ra are immune to her all-consuming beauty.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Or a "time-warp prison", to be exact.
- The Vamp
The Mutants of Plun-Darr
Ssslithe
Tropes associated with Ssslithe:
- Big Bad --> The Dragon: Early on, he was the Big Bad if the mutants were the main enemy that episode. Eventually he became Dragon with an Agenda to Ratar-O.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent
- Snake Talk
- Verbal Tic: "Yessss?"
Jackal Man
Tropes associated with Jackal Man:
- Dirty Coward
- The Dragon --> Dark Chick: Early on he was Ssslithe's go-to-guy (if an extremely crappy one). By the time Ratar-O showed up he'd become The Dark Chick.
- Those Two Bad Guys - Along with Monkian
Monkian
Tropes associated with Monkian:
- Beast Man
- The Brute
- Deal with the Devil: Made one with Mumm-Ra in "Monkian's Bargain". Note to self: Always read the fine print.
- Face Design Shield: That shoots fire balls.
- Killer Space Monkey
- Maniac Monkeys
- They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: In one episode, his comrades ask him where he's getting his info on the Thundercats. He smugly explains that he's seeing one of the Warrior Maidens, and she's The Mole. This revelation is never brought up again.
- Villainous Breakdown: In "Monkian's Bargain".
Monkian: NO!!! Let me go!
Vulture Man
Tropes associated with Vulture Man:
- Evil Genius/Gadgeteer Genius
- Remember the New Guy?: Literally appeared out of nowhere a few episodes into the series as another mutant.
- The Starscream: Every plot with Vultureman involved him trying to wrest control of the Mutants from Ssslithe.
- Ultimate Job Security: Despite obviously being a traitor, Ssslithe almost never kicks him out for it. Of course, considering Mutant culture, maybe treachery is expected.
Ratar-O
Tropes associated with Ratar-O:
- Big Bad
- Tyrant Takes the Helm: He steals command of the Mutants from Ssslithe, much to the latter's consternation, and starts running the gang like a Drill Sergeant Nasty. The only problem? Under Ratar-O the Mutants actually start winning.
The Berzerkers
- Cyborg Vikings: In their episode debut, Hammerhead leads a band of Badass Normal vikings.
Cruncher
Tropes associated with Cruncher:
Hammerhand
Tropes associated with Hammerhand:
- Ax Crazy
- Beard of Evil
- Killed Off for Real: And was brought back by Mumm-Ra.
- Nice Hat
- Power Fist
Ram Bam
Tropes associated with Ram Bam:
Top Spinner
Tropes associated with Top Spinner:
- Everything's Better with Spinning
- Fashionable Asymmetry: One side of his helmet has a horn, the other doesn't.
- Fragile Speedster
- Nice Hat
The Luna - Taks
Luna
Tropes associated with Luna:
- Bad Boss
- Skunk Stripe
- Sleep Mode Size: Most of the time, she looks like a shriveled little imp with hair that wouldn't look out of place on Jem and The Holograms. Her true form is taller with even bigger hair... and that's about it.
- Uncanny Family Resemblance: She looks like her ancestor, also named Luna.
- Whip It Good
Amok
Tropes associated with Amok:
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: In one episode, he gets Revenge on Luna for pushing him around one too many times.
- Extreme Doormat
- The Quiet One
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Luna abandoned him after becoming taller.
Chilla
Tropes associated with Chilla:
- Evil Is Sexy
- An Ice Person
- Playing with Fire: She doesn't use this very often.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Salt. Her body seems to be made of ice.
Red Eye
Tropes associated with Red Eye:
- Eye Beams
- Infrared X-Ray Camera: Makes invisibility useless against him.
- Night Vision Goggles
Alluro
Tropes associated with Alluro:
- Bald of Evil
- Catch Phrase: "You don't stand a chance!" Uttered with his Compelling Voice.
- Compelling Voice
- Ensemble Darkhorse: Alluro was pretty well-liked even by fans who hated the season 2 cast additions.
- Mind Control
- Smug Snake
- The Starscream
Tug-Mug
Tropes associated with Tug-Mug:
- Gravity Master: He can increase people's weight to pin them to the ground or decrease it to leave them floating helplessly in the air.
- Heavyworlder: Used to explain his strength and leaping ability.
- In a Single Bound
- Power Floats
- Super Strength: He snapped the Sword of Omens.