The ThunderCats secured a great victory when Lion-O and Tygra defeated Mumm-Ra inside the Astral Plane. With the Eye of Thundera (War Stone) and the Spirit Stone in his possession, Lion-O has half of the power needed to defeat Mumm-Ra once and for all. However, he remembers the lessons learned while in Leo’s body. He knows that regardless of the power he has, that the ThunderCats cannot succeed unless they have the support of the other animal nations. The Elephants have shown that they will fight alongside the Cats if necessary, and the Ro-Bear Berbils provide constant technical support. Mumm-Ra also depends upon the animal nations to secure dominance over Third Earth. The difference is that Mumm-Ra is not interested in any kind of camaraderie; he prefers to rule through fear. Due to the repeated failures of Slithe and the loss of Grune the Destroyer, Mumm-Ra must find new blood to instill fear in his stead.
TERROR HAS NEW FACES Lion-O’s increased power has allowed the ThunderCats to stage ambush after ambush of Lizard forces, destroying their vehicles and causing mass desertion. Wanting to keep up the pressure, he uses the ‘Kittens and their new hover boards (a gift from the Berbils) to lure more lizard squads into traps. Mumm-Ra is obviously displeased and orders Slithe to gather two new generals for him. The first was located in the bird kingdom as he was about to be executed for crimes against them. Addicus, a vicious monkey know for tearing his victims apart and eating them. The other is Kaynar, a Jackal with insane homicidal tendencies. He enjoys killing so much he laughs and jokes about it constantly. Lion-O will have to contend with both these new enemies and his jealousy of Tygra and Cheetara. The latter has his rage level through the roof. We have seen this behavior before when he teamed up with Captain Tunar to hunt the Ramlak. Things did not go so well back then; hopefully Lion-O comes to his senses before it is too late.
THE MUTANTS ARE BACK In the original show, long before the ThunderCats had to deal with Mumm-Ra, there were the Mutants of Plun-Darr. Originally it was just three races, lizards, monkeys and jackals, led by Slythe (that was the spelling before), Monkian and Jackalman. This trio is back and more dangerous than ever in the form of Slithe (current spelling), Addicus (Monkian) and Kaynar (Jackalman). The new versions are a much welcome addition to the show and change from their original incarnations. The original trio, with the possible exception of Slythe, were just comic relief. They always got clowned by the ThunderCats. Addicus and Kaynar are quite different. In this initial battle with the ‘Cats, they easily beat Cheetara and Tygra and would have killed them if not for the ThunderTank saving them. Lion-O is right to worry about these new generals because the ThunderCats never had it so tough with only four major enemies to contend with.
YOUNG LOVE, OLD BITTERNESS This whole love triangle has gone too far. Cheetara chose Tygra and apparently did so a long time ago. For once, something fell into Tygra’s lap and little brother cannot deal with it. Lion-O is letting jealousy cloud his judgment even during battle. Regardless of how he feels about the two, he is their leader and their safety is supposed to be a concern. Yes, he sent the ‘Kittens away before charging into battle, but he completely ignores Kaynar’s death threat against his brother. How one can speak of sticking together while leaving your brother to be beheaded is beyond me. The so-called lord still needs much training before he stands any chance of defeating Mumm-Ra.
BIONIC PANTHER, RE-ARMED Panthro should count his blessings that he is the Ro-Bear Berbils favorite ThunderCat. They work tirelessly to give him new arms, with some initially idiotic results. I know the show tries to be funny once in a while, but why giving Berbil arms to someone Panthro’s size is idiotic, which the Berbils are not. The “quit hitting yourself” scene was another I could do without. I am all for humor, but scenes like that are just unnecessary. Even the final product seems a bit ridiculous. Panthro is now the ThunderCat bionic equivalent of Dhalsim from Street Fighter II. He is a close combatant; there is no sense whatsoever in extending arms. They might as well have given him a shotgun loaded with rock salt as well; the new Thundertank looks like and RV and just screams “redneck tech.” I let that part go only because the ‘Cats have no home so the larger ThunderTank makes sense, especially if it lets the Berbils travel with them and maintain it.
This episode was like prosciutto; the taste will suit some, but at the same time it stinks. The introduction of Addicus and Kaynar was awesome, and I hope they continue to use them in the same way instead of having them revert to their old comical selves. Kaynar I like in particular, as his madness seems to be on par with that of the Joker. Also, I like how neither of them fall for ThunderCat tricks. Tygra disappears, but Kaynar is a jackal; a sneaky predator and scavenger. He sniffs out his prey and beats the crap out of the still invisible Tygra. Addicus uses his hands and feet against Cheetara, as a monkey should. I expect in the future that the heroes will fare better against this pair, but I like that they can stand their ground on their own. If Vultureman, Ratarro or the Luna-Taks come into the picture, things could get really interesting.
Slick’s Nit-Picks: ThunderCats, Episode 113 – “Between Brothers”
Slick’s Nit-Picks: ThunderCats, Episode 112 – “Into The Astral Plane”
