Thundercats: The Epic Series

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Thundercats: The Epic Series

Thundercats is a cartoon television series created by writer Tobin Wolf and developed by Rankin/Bass. The series first aired on January 23, 1985 and lasted for 130 episodes.

Thundercats Synopsis 

The series follows a cat-like race of heroes known as the Thundercats, who flee their home world of Thundera and wind up on Third Earth (a planet whose relation to ours is never truly explained). The Thundercats are headed up by Lion-O, and also include Panthro, Tygra, Cheetara, Wily-Kit and Wily-Kat. Chased by an ancient evil mummy known as Mumm-Ra and his team of Mutants: Jackalman, Slithe and Vultureman, Lion-O is hunted for his magical sword, which contains the Eye of Thundera - a jewel with great power.

Mumm-Ra calls upon the power of four ancient spirit idols within the Black Pyramid, transforming him into a massive undead beast. He is usually matched in wits by Lion-O, who calls upon his sword to transform while chanting "Thunder...Thunder...Thunder...Thundercats, HO!" Being able to emit red lightning, the sword was also used to give Lion-O "sight beyond sight" when held up to his face, to invoke the power of its red eye jewel. Lion-O's secondary weapon is his Claw Shield, whose knuckles are encrusted with gems - capable of creating a smoke screen, or being used as a grappling hook.

The Thundercats series was undoubtedly one of the most famous and successful cartoon series and toy lines of the 1980s, along with the Transformers, G.I. Joe, and He-Man. The series enjoyed re-runs into the early 1990s.

:: Watch the Thundercats introduction
:: Watch the Thundercats closing credits

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Thundercats Characters 

  • Ben-Gali: Voiced by Peter Newman
  • Cheetara: Voiced by Lynne Lipton
  • Jaga the Wise: Voiced by Earl Hammond
  • Jackalman: Voiced by Larry Kenney
  • Jaguara: Voiced by Gerrianne Raphael
  • Lion-O: Voiced by Larry Kenney
  • Lynx-O: Voiced by Doug Preis
  • Monkian: Voiced by Peter Newman
  • Mumm-Ra: Voiced by Earl Hammond
  • Panthro: Voiced by Earle Hyman
  • Pumyra: Voiced by Gerrianne Raphael
  • Slithe: Voiced by Bob McFadden
  • Snarf: Voiced by Robert McFadden
  • Tygra: Voiced by Peter Newman
  • Vultureman: Voiced by Earl Hammond
  • WilyKat: Voiced by Peter Newman
  • WilyKit: Voiced by Lynne Lipton

Thundercats PSA & 80s Commercials 

Numerous commercials existed during the lifespan of the Thundercats. The most rarely-remembered of all is probably the public service announcement hosted by Lion-O and Snarf, telling kids that they shouldn't drink alcohol.

:: Watch the 1986 Thundercats PSA

:: Watch the Lion-O and Mumm-Ra action figure commmercial
:: Watch the Thundercats Cats Lair Playset commercial
:: Watch the Thundercats Berzerkers action figure commercial

Watch an excerpt of the Thundercats 

curated content from YouTube

Thundercats on DVD 

Own the Thundercats TV series on official DVD!

Thundercats - Season One, Volume One

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Amazon Price: $25.99 (as of 12/18/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $64.98

Thundercats - Season One, Volume Two

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Amazon Price: $25.99 (as of 12/18/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $64.98

Thundercats - Season Two, Volume One

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $25.99 (as of 12/18/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $64.98

Thundercats - Season Two, Volume Two

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $25.99 (as of 12/18/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $64.98

Thundercats t-shirts 

Lots of great t-shirts are still being made today, check some of them out here:

Thundercats - Logo Football Jersey

This polyester football style Thundercats jersey hails in red and black, with the official Thundercats logo on the front/center, with clawmarks on both sides, under the arms.

Thundercats T-Shirt (Guys)

Plain, simple, and what most people are looking for - a great looking black shirt with a crisp, red Thundercats logo on the chest!

Thundercats Lion O Cartoon T-Shirt

This red XL t-shirt features a classic Lion-O promotional rendering from the mid 1980s, as he holds out the Sword of Omens.

Thundercats - One Bad Mother Cartoon T-Shirt

This black Thundercats t-shirt comes in all sizes, featuring Mumm-Ra with comical slogan "One Bad Mother"

Thundercats: the Movie...in 2010? 

Rumors have been confirmed for a feature film of the Thundercats, slated for release sometime in 2010. Warner Bros. announced that it will be a purely CG film. Originally, the film was slated to be live action. News like this can only leave a bad taste in the mouthes of hardcore fans, as did the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.

Currently, IMDB offers no additional information for this movie.

Thundercats Toy Line 

Circulated from 1985-1987

Produced by LJN, a complete and expansive toy line was released for the Thundercats, featuring every character as seen on the cartoon. Most characters had action moves (such as a chopping attack) while others had special features: such as Lion-O and Mumm-Ra's light-up eyes - which was activated when an included ring was set within a slot in the back of the action figure.

Other popular vehicles seen in the cartoon, including the Fist Pounder, were made into moving vehicles and accommodated the action figures themselves.

Also in production was the Cat's Lair - a large, action-figure scale model of the Thundercats base, complete with spotlights and other effects. Some action figures could interact with the Cat's Lair. Another large playset was that of Mumm-Ra's Crypt.

Similarly to the M.U.S.C.L.E. action figures, a series of miniature Thundercats was featured, along with a wearable transport belt in which you could fit the miniature figures into the side.

Vintage Thundercats Toys from the 80s 

Cheap!

Thankfully, they're not worth a fortune, pick up original Thundercats action figures as they show up!

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Thundercats Marvel/Star Comic Book Series 

Issued from 1985-1988

Marvel Comics' then-new "Star" division of comics included that of the Thundercats. First released in 1985, the series featured seperate plots than that of the cartoon series although both ran simultaneously.

The comic books lasted for 24 issues, and was later picked up by Marvel's UK division, expanding the number of issues to 129. A miniseries was later produced by Warner Brothers in 2003, featuring 5 issues.

Thundercats Comic Books on eBay 

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