Mumm-Ra & The Mutants are definitely the main villains of the Thundercats’ series, with The Lunataks playing a big role later on.
But for most of Season 1, there were many guest villains that challenged the Thundercats while also offering a breath of fresh air from the usual Mumm-Ra/Mutant schemes. With the introduction of The Lunataks, the guest villains almost became non-existent. But out of necessity, we saw more of them once The Mutants & Lunataks were written out of the show as the New Thundera basically turned into “Mumm-Ra & His Sidekick of the Day vs. The Thundercats” But even some of these villains were interesting in some way, and gave off the impression that Mumm-Ra’s evil stretches over a longer period of time than we imagined.
Which villains were the best though? Which ones were the most memorable, interesting, or challenging for The Thundercats? Well, here is my top 15.
-
Pyron ("Book of Omens) = Pyron gets the nod for being a visually interesting character. Its funny that he is the last character to be introduced in the series, and he manages to be the coolest looking. By this point in the series, Mumm-Ra had been beaten so many times that Lion-O beating him in the finale didn’t mean a whole heck of a lot, so it was nice to see The Ancient Spirits pull a major rabbit out of the hat with this awesome looking Hell Beast.
-
The Ninja (“The Thundercutter”) = I think kids are just naturally drawn to martial arts, which is part of why Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Power Rangers were so successful. And I also think that’s part of why this episode is so fondly remembered. Following Hachiman’s betrayal of Mumm-Ra, he summons up this heartless Ninja Warrior to lead The Mutants on an invasion of The Tree Top Kingdom. We don’t really get to see him do much besides free Slithe & throw Nayda out of a tree, but they did a great job of creating a cold villain that is clever, crafty, & tough to defeat.
-
Quick Pick (“Mandora: Evil Chaser” & “Mandora & The Pirates”) = Whether it was by design or not, there was actually come complexity and a story arc for the greatest pick pocket in the galaxy. In his first appearance, he is basically a very talented kleptomaniac who steals from everybody he comes in contact with. He’s not really evil. Its more like he has a psychological problem, but ends up using his skills to help Mandora & Lion-O. But he gets credit for managing to do something that villains like Mumm-Ra & The Mutants had to work very hard at, and that was he stole the Sword of Omens. Easily I might add. In his second episode, he has actually been rehabilited, and is allowed to accompany Mandora as a sidekick (something he doesn’t seem overly thrilled with) Overall, he’s a fun character. He’s funny, formidable in that he’s hard to catch, and it was interesting what they ended up doing with him in his two episodes.
-
The Shadowmaster (“The Shadowmaster”) = Of all the villains introduced in the last stretch of episodes, this guy was probably my favorite. Trapped in the shadow realm, this guy seems to have an entire army of demons & creatures at his command, making him a threat to even Mumm-Ra who has to help Lion-O defeat him in order to protect his interests. Also, I loved how they tied him in with Claudis’ story, which added a personal element to Lion-O’s fight with him, and all around making it a very interesting episode that tied up loose ends from a much earlier episode.
-
Tashi (“The Doom Gaze”) = When I read through the T-Cats Wildstorm comics, I was really surprised that they brought Tashi back, but not unhappy. She basically that gorgeous forbidden fruit that all men want, but can’t have because she’ll be the end of you. She’s kind of like Poison Ivy from Batman. Since this was a kids’ show, they could only push the sexual boundaries so far, but if you read between the lines, you can pretty much get the jist of it. She uses her sex appeal (channeled through her hypnotic powers) to get what she wants & control men, making her a very dangerous foe. Before the introduction of Chilla & Luna, there weren’t many female villains in the series, so it was nice to have Tashi, even if it was just for one episode.
-
Baron Carnor (“Tower of Traps”) = I’m cheating with this one since the Baron is actually dead when this episode takes place, but in a way, that actually adds to his character. His enchanted Gargoyle bandits contiually rob the helpless Third Earthlings that venture near his territory and they live in fear of him. His Tower, filled with his massive treasure & many traps to protect it. It turns out the end that he is dead in his treasure chamber, but his gargoyles continue to opperate & his traps are still in place. We see extreme greed from Queen Tartara in “The Crystal Queen” but with Carnor it is taken to another level as he is destroyed by his own greed & continues to spread fear long after his death. That is a lot of power for a villain who is dead.
-
The Mad Bubbler (“The Mad Bubbler”) = What the hell is this guy? The ghost of a frog monster who takes control over people’s minds and forces them to destroy each other? He’s a very bizarre character with a lot of mystery surrounding him, but in a way, that actually makes him work. We don’t know what he is or why he is in the Thundrilliam mine, but much like the Cave of Time from “Trouble with Time”, we don’t have to know why its there or why it works. All we need to know is that it is a dangerous place to go and the T-Cats would be wise to stay the heck away from it. The concept for this character didn’t open the door for more appearances, but in this one episode, he was a dangerous entity that was certainly memorable.
-
Hammerhand & The Berserkers (“Terror of Hammerhand”, “Spitting Image”, “Thundercats Ho!”, & “Together We Stand”) = Hey, you have to put the first true guest villain on the list, right? Whether it be capturing unicorns, attacking the Thundercats, or possessing the lifeless body of a Panthro clone, Hammehand really left his mark on the Thundercats series. He was the only guest villain that really had his own little subgroup & band of villains in The Berserkers, which gave us Ram Bam, Top Spinner, & Cruncher as well. Now there is a major hole in between “Spitting Image” & “Thundercats Ho!” How did Hammerhand come back to life? It was confirmed in “Spitting Image” that he was drowned following the events of his debut episode, but he’s alive and well in “Thundercats Ho!”. What happened? I thought the comic series “Hammerhand’s Revenge” would answer that question, but it just ignores “Spitting Image” altogether. I also have to say that I find The Berskers speech impediment of repeating the last word of their sentences three times to be a tad annoying. However, Hammerhand and his crew proved to be more than well enough of a match for the Thundercats and showed that they were probably strong enough to be another regular faction like The Mutants & The Lunataks.
-
The Inflamer (“All That Glitters”, “The Trial of Evil”) = There are several characters in the series that describe themselves as mercenaries that only do things based of payment. Captain Shiner is that way, & so is The Driller. The Inflamer works for gold which he needs to sustain his ability to survive in and control fire. At first, he seems like an ally to the Thundercats as they need him to reforge the Sword of Omens, and Mumm-Ra makes sure that his powers are drained to ensure the sword stays broken. However, once the Thundercats give The Inflamer the gold he needs, he reforges the sword and demands more payment for its return. This turn made for an exciting climax to the episode, and a fight against an enemy that seemed impossible to defeat. When he’s powered up, he’s basically a human fireball. He makes a very breif reappearance in “The Trial of Evil” as one of Mumm-Ra’s demons in the River of Doom. My guess is that they just did what Filmation did with Masters of the Universe and just use the same monster for various different roles. The real strength of The Inflamer is in his first episode. A very powerful character mixed with interesting motivations always makes for a fun villain, and that is what The Inflamer is.
-
Mongor (“Mongor”) = The Master of Fear! Mongor is easily one of the most memorable villains in the series. For one thing, he is scary looking. He is a demonic, drooling, goat creature with a scythe and is constantly surrounded by fire. More than any other monster in the series (maybe even Mumm-Ra), he truly does look like something that was birthed in hell. He easily defeats all of the Thundercats until The Thunderkittens tell Lion-O of his weakness. Because of how they defeated Mongor, they couldn’t really bring him back, but I actually think that makes this one episode more memorable and it stands out more. They really went all out with Mongor, and he has always stood out as a favorite of mine.
-
The Driller (“Spitting Image”, “Return of the Driller”, “Jackalman’s Rebellion”, “Mechanical Plague”) = The Driller is very much like The Inflamer in that he is a mercenary that accepts payment in an element that he needs to survive. In his case, he needs diamonds in order to keep his drill points sharp so he can move around. That makes him interesting right off the bat, but I also like the look of the character. He actually looks like something that doesn’t even belong in the Thundercats universe (I’d say he looks like a denizen of Cybertron if anything) and because of that, he is one of my favorites. He’s just cool to look at. Very sleek, roboting, and he’s got a damn drill for legs! How awesome is that? He never really did much in the show besides doing Mumm-Ra’s bidding for payment, and later on became a part of General Jackalman’s army. But whenever ever he was there, it was usually pretty cool.
-
Safari Joe (“Safari Joe”, “Fond Memories”) = Being an intergalactic big game hunter, Safari Joe is a perfect adversary for the humanoid feline heroes. Using his weapons, his knowledge of the Thundercat’s weaknesses, & his wits, he is able to take down and defeat all of them one by one until only Lion-O is left. He even locks them in Thundrainium cages so the Eye of Thundera can not summon them. That is a stroke of brilliance on his part, and one of the biggest shocks in the series. Once he is defeated, it is clear that his arrogance & bravado is just a cover up for the fact that he’s a coward, but is stsill one of the Thundercats’ most formidable enemies, providing us with an episode that the fans will never forget.
-
Captain Shiner (“Sword in a Hole”, “Thundercats Ho!”) = I love Captain Shiner. Like Inflamer & Driller, he is one of those mercenary characters that is motivated by money & payments. But Shiner is a very different kind of character. He has his own army at his disposal, and he runs his opperation like he is a military leader. And as Lion-O observes towards the end of the episode, despite him being a villain, he does have admirable qualities like bravery & strong leadership skills. An admirable villain. That’s an oxymoron isn’t it? A cold & calculating character with alot of bravery to back it up, Shiner is definitely one of my favorites.
-
Grune the Destroyer (“The Ghost Warrior”, “Thundercats Ho!”, “Return ot Thundera”) = An evil Thundercat. Is there a better idea for a villain? Grune not only attacked & plundered Thundera, but he also betrayed the Code of Thundera & basically spat in the face of everything the Thundercats stand for. He also knows the secrets & weaknesses of the Thundercats since he is one himself, which makes him even more dangerous. The power of one individual Thundercat is usually enough to take down most other living beings, but combine that with the fact that Grune is also a ghost, and you’ve got a force that not even the Thundercats can stand up to. It is well established in the first appearance that the only Thundercat that can defeat Grune is Jaga, which served as the climax to my personal favorite episode in the series. The first appearance of Grune was amazing. He never quite recaptured the magic in his other two episodes, but the first one is just so perfect that Grune has to be on the list.
-
Ratar-O (“Feliner”, “Fond Memories”, “Thundercats Ho!”) = The Mutant Warlord has got to be the most underutilized character in the series. Villains like Grune & Safari Joe could never become regulars in the series, but Ratar-O? He could have stepped in and become the number two bad guy behind Mumm-Ra. His first appearance in “Feliner” showed a character that took command of The Mutants and made them a formidable force for the Thundercats. With his mighty warship The Rat Star, his own unique weapons The Rat’s Eye daggers, and his fighting ability that puts him on par with even Lion-O, he is definitely the kind of spark The Mutants needed to finally wipe out the Thundercats. And I loved his look too with the fumanchu mustache & the Samurai like get up. And there were many things they could have done with the character that were never touched on. His relationship with Slythe was combative. Vultureman was obviously his right hand man, but Vultureman is a bit of a power hungry guy himself, and he could have used his position of second in command to sieze power. And what about Mumm-Ra? Ratar-O & Mumm-Ra only interacted once, and that was via telescreen. I always wondered how The Mutants would have changed towards Mumm-Ra now that they had Ratar-O to hide behind. Its a shame that he didn’t become a regular because he is one of my personal favorites & my personal favorite guest villain.
