was Vultureman a mutant from Plundarr or was he a Third Earther who aligned with the Mutants? the show does not go into his background. a much earlier post on this board mentioned that the Bible described Vultureman as the arch nemesis of the Snowman, which would make one think he was a Third Earther.
Unlike the other mutants Vultureman was not introduced to the opening episode of the series, he comes from Plun-Darr too like the rest but he appeared for the first time in episode 13, Lord of the Snows. He provided his vehicle, the Flying machine as Slithe mentioned, to get in Hook mountain in time.
Berbillion, the show wasn’t all that clear but the comics of old sound like they stuck with the bible version of his origin by explaining he and his race are indeed old enemies of the Snowmen which certainly implies he’s native to Third Earth. That at least makes sense then that on the show he first appeared in Lord of the Snows.
we also see him in the return of thundera flashback when liono saves his father so i defenitly believe he was a big part of the mutants back in the begining
Don’t forget that Ratar-O All appeared mysteriously in the series. But it is clear Ratar-O was a general/commander in the mutant army, as he tells Slithe that if he were still under his command, he (Slithe) would still be in the kitchen.
I am assuming Vultureman arrived late to the party just like Ratar-O. But this does pose a nifty question, once Ratar-O found the Thundercats & mutants on 3rd Earth, why didn’t he go back to Plundar and bring in reinforcements? The Rat Star went all the way to the Planet of Snarfs to capture Snarfer, so how hard would it be to go on to Plundar? And what ever happened to all of the Monkian, Jackalman, and Reptilian minions that the Thundercats fought on 3rd Earth as soon as they woke up from their suspension capsules?
Given his ties to Ratar-O, his presence on Thundera in “Return to Thundera”, & his references to Plun-Darr, I think its safe to assume that he is Mutant from Plun-Darr.
But I had never considered the possibility of him being a Third Earth Native though. That would have been a great way to explain his sudden partnership with the other Mutants. He was a Third Earth native that tried to get in the good graces of The Mutants, and by extension Mumm-Ra, and then soon sought power for himself. Interesting.
There are far too many hints in the series for him NOT to have come from Plunn-darr. Such as Return to Thundera appearance, relationship with Ratar-O (he states that he was the one who “called him in” to help destroy the Thundercats.
Interesting theory about always being on Third Earth, but I feel (even though the writers made many plot holes) they would have had the episode Lord of the Snows Vultureman/Snowman centric with a proper origin story (and perhaps an absence of the other Mutants) if that were the case.
We are just left to assume that once the Mutants got their vehicles/weapons back in Spaceship Beneath The Sands, they used the technology to make a radio transmitter and called Vultureman to Third Earth. Makes sense since Lord of the Snows comes straight after Spaceship Beneath the Sands.
But another question comes up… how did he get there? His flying machine isn’t able to space travel, although he likely arrived in a small generic spaceship perhaps that has little weaponary (therefore it’s never seen during battle)
That’s how I like to think of it anyway.
As for the other plundarians, there lies another plot hole. You’d think the whole army would attack Cats Lair during the series… with this I can only assume that when the Thundercats beat them (when awakening from space capsules) that they decided an all out attack wouldn’t work. So instead of brute force, they use cunning to try and beat them, with the aid of Mumm-Ra. Actually this sounds a bit lame, but best I could do! lol
Yeah there was never a payoff to having those Mutant soldiers. They were used a few times, but then disappeared entirely. No major Mutant assault, and in Season 2, they were completely absent. Makes you wonder what happened.
As much sense as this makes, you’ve got the episode order reversed. 
Of course, the whole time that Jaga was piloting the flagship to Third Earth, and indeed any time before Mumm-Ra sank the ship, the Mutants would have had plenty of time to radio Plun-Darr for reinforcements.
All in all, though, when it comes to Plun-Darr (and Vultureman and the riff-raff in particular), plotholes simply abound.
Yep your right! lol
When I wrote that post I was thinking of the order they were released on VHS over here. Both episodes were on the same tape and SBTS was the first ep. I think that’s how they aired in the UK on TV too (I don’t have my airdate list from the BBC to hand)
For many reasons the Production and US airdate order both have discrepancies to them.
Of course, the whole time that Jaga was piloting the flagship to Third Earth, and indeed any time before Mumm-Ra sank the ship, the Mutants would have had plenty of time to radio Plun-Darr for reinforcements.
True, but at that point in time they didn’t really need to consider it. After they were trounced by the Thundercats, they decided to look for a place to build a fortress (so the plan was likely to regroup at the newly built fortress/Castle Plundarr and devise a new tactic) However Mumm-Ra sank the ship before they could do this.
Remember the other mutant soldiers were absent for quite a while straight after The Unholy Alliance so it lends to my theory that the main mutants had to call them in once they had their technology back from their spaceship.
and that’s why they had to use Brutemen slaves to build Castle Plundarr.
Vultureman is a mutant.
He’s with Slithe on Thundera threatening Claud-us
No one had heard of third earth at that point. The mutants only followed the Tcats there to get hold of the eye of Thundera.
Vultureman was probably on another ship and made his way to third earth when he was ready
Vultureman showed up in episode 13, “Lord of the Snows,” with no explanation.
I there doesn’t need to be an explanation, he’s obviously one of the mutants…or how would they know of him?
‘let’s call for vultureman and his flying machine’ he’s obviously an ally of theirs from way back
The exposition isn’t needed
Sounds about right. It’s one of the reasons I’ve moved “Lord Of The Snows” back in the continuity order. “The Spaceship Beneath The Sands” gives the Mutants their tech back, they have a couple of goes with their own technical plans in “The Fireballs Of Plun-Darr” and “Return To Thundera”, then call for help (surely if Vultureman had already joined them at this point, he would have been involved in these major technological projects). Vultureman responds, and here’s my thought on how he gets there - which I’ve only just this minute had:
He arrives in a small spaceship on his own, but crashes it and destroys the mega-condenser, so it will never be spaceworthy again. BUT he is able to salvage enough parts to build his flying machine. Hence Jackalman’s question “is it safe?” in Lord Of The Snows.