What do you want to see from the Sword of Omens?

Cartoons ThunderCats (2011)
1

As I watched the WonderCon panel, I realized that if I had been there and been able to ask a question, it would have focused around the sword.

The Sword of Omens, almost more than any of the characters, was my favorite part of the original show. When I was 3, my grandparents bought me the light-up toy and I played with that thing until the blade literally ripped away from the hilt just from doing the call to action so much [I’ll pause for a few tears from our more die-hard collectors :wink: ].

But the one thing that bugs me now of watching the original show is how wildly inconsistent the writing is in regard to the sword. They seemed to have a set number of uses for the sword at the start of the show, but then then sort of spiraled out of control.

I think one of the low points was Exil ISle where the thing travels through space, not even to Lion-O, but just to slice up itself the problem he was in. It was very much a deus ex machina, and led to some really, really sloppy and boring story-telling in the middle of the show’s run. Literally, for many episodes you can just jump to an approximate timestamp and probably catch Lion-O in the midst of the “Thunder, Thunder, Thunder…” and having either the rest of the crew just show up out of no where and fix everything, or actually have the Eye of Thundera itself be fixing the problem.

And yet, all of that would be easier to swallow, except Lion-O seems to forget that the sword can do anything at other times. Sometimes you see him struggling with a problem and you’re thinking, “Shooting the Thundercats logo out of the sword fixed something much worse than this last episode…”

So, that being said, what do you want to see the Sword of Omens’ abilities be in the new series. Obviously their retaining the growing sword with the Call to Action, Sight Beyond Sight, etc. Do you want the sword to be able to fly on it’s own to Lion-O’s hand? (If handled well, I think that can be a really effective tool, like at the end of the Mumm-ra Lives 5-parter, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbMo7OBXPuk#t=2m00sec ) Should the sword be a tool that Lion-O uses, or a near-sentient character on the show as it often was in the original series?

I think their broader arcs and not so many self-contained story lines will save the show from the “18 minutes 30 seconds in Lion-O pulls out the sword and fixes everything” pattern. But just curious what you want to see the sword do or not do!

2

I, too, hope the new series doesn’t treat the Sword as a plot device. The first 65 episodes were under the control of Leonard Starr (I believe) and when he left that’s when the other team(s) who didn’t have the understanding LS did started with the discrepancies. To this day I will not watch a William Overgard episode. Exile Isle and the other robots (like Snooper???) best left out.

Let the Sword be the mystic tool it is, part of the solution not the solution itself.

3

Yes, I would too agree with that notion. It would be better to keep its powers consistent and limited so that Lion-O doesn’t rely on its power to save him.

4

well to me there are a few things it should have.

  1. Sight beyond sight.

  2. Come to my hand.

  3. Cut through pretty much anything

  4. Lightning

  5. Signal beam in the sky

anything other than that I can do without.

5

The way the sword was treated in the trailer we can be sure it’s going to be a huge part of the show/plot. It’s most likely to have extremely powerful powers again.

I agree that the come to my hand thing was overdone and cheap in the later episodes.

6

I think the come to my hand thing should have limits, but still be there.

Like if the sword isnt in “hearing” distance it shouldn’t work.

7

Well that feature is a must to me as well. However, I think since its magical in nature, physical distance shouldn’t be able to stop it from aiding its master.

I just don’t want to see the Sword repairing damaged structures, or reverting things back to normal just like that, or pressing buttons ;).

One thing I do want to see is a good origin. If the Eye is still the source of their power, I want to know how it came to be and why is it their source of power, which also works as their weakness.

8

The Sword of Omens is probably the most iconic weapon to come out of 80s animation.

However, it also became a source of “deus ex machina” type endings, especially very late in the series.

When Mumm-Ra destroyed the Gyroscope and Lion-O used the Sword to RECREATE THE FRIGGIN’ GYROSCOPE, I just threw my hands up and said “OK, I officially feel sorry for Mumm-Ra because that’s just unfair”.

So yeah, I think it would be beneficial to limit the Sword’s power in this show. It is still a powerful weapon obviously, but when it turns into a Hand of God type weapon that can do anything, where is the drama? Some of the best moments in the original series were actually when the Sword’s powers were limited (T-Cats call NOT working in “Safari Joe”, Sight Beyond Sight not giving Lion-O info on Grune, tar blocking out the Eye in “Unholy Alliance”, things like that).

9

Over all I hope this new series has more consistent writing/plotting. But having the Sword have defined powers is a must too. But IF it’s able to do more, let there at least be a good reason!

10

I loved the character of Jagara but hated the stupid “gyroscope in the great beneath”. I could suspend my disbelief on the reformation of ThunDERa, but that silly thing was extremely unbelieveable. I wish the writers at that time had gone more into the beliefs of the Thunderian people or made her a priestess with some type of magical power related to the Star of ThunDERa. Ah well, that’s the past. I hope the future doesn’t disappoint.

11

In the mythology of Slithor and my story, the Eye is the unifying force created by the Mystics of Thundera’s past to put an end of the Clan Wars.

12

Call me a conservative, but i want the Sword’s powers to stay exactly as in the original with the same techniques and mystic abilities. As PKELL poignantly mentioned the Sword Of Omens was the most iconic weapon to come out of the 80s animation. I take you one step further and i am saying along with the Lightsaber and Excalibur, these three Swords are imprinted on the mind of every fan of fantasy and pop culture as the most monumental weapons in the history of the genres.
Ok, i agree with some of you saying that from time to time the Sword’s magic powers were hackneyed through the Series but it was the ideal way to demonstrate the special bonding between Lion-o and his Sword. In Exile isle as well as in ‘Sword in a hole’, Lion-o summons it from far away and it comes straight back to his hand, at some point he says:‘It has become a part of me…’ I don’t see why this is bad.

A very small detail,off the top of my hand, i recall an episode, i think the Tower of Traps, where Lion-o elongates the sword’s blade as if it was a huge pole, i didn’t like that scene so much, i think a sword should stick to a sword’s dimensions. Yet again, this is a minor issue and we hardly see it being repeated.

Since Jaga and Claudus will perish at some point in the 2011 Series it would be a nice idea if Lion-o using his Sight beyond Sight could not only see the living but the dead as well…especially those in ethereal form and come in contact with them..

13

For it to be unbreakable
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That would be abit weird so for me a no goer..

Although it would be cool that he could summon Jaga with it.. Thats if he comes back in ghost form in this series??

14

I agree in that those are the things I’d like to see it doing, but I’ll add the sword telling Lion-O when one of the TCs is in danger.

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Actually, the TCs calling did work in Safari Joe, but the TCs were to weak due to the thundranium to free themselves of the cages. I was glad the sign itself didn’t flew through the sky and pressed the button that would open the cages.

15

I hope they keep the eye flash when the others get the signal, I always liked that.

16

The Danger Warning was always weird to me. The writing was so inconsistent. Sometimes the sword would know something bad is going to happen before it happens, at other times, when Mumm-Ra is in the room, hidden (see Ep. 130), the sword does nothing to notify anyone.

That’s really just a writing problem though. I think if you limit it to the sword knowing when another Thundercat is in distress right now, you save yourself some headache, adn don’t write yourselves out of potentially interesting plots where the Thundercats are on the brink of being deceived.

But this has got to be a difficult thing to write for and make compelling. I imagine those who write Superman stories run into the same troubles. Knight Rider had a lot of eye-rolling moments where KITT could just do anything as well.

17

I remember one moment where KITT was stuck in this metal scrapper, and all of a sudden it had some vertical lift thrust that got it out of the jam :rolleyes:. But you raise a good point about Sword’s warning capabilities.

18

My guess is that both Jaga and claudus will come before Lion-o in Ghost form
like they did in the end of episode Shadowmaster, which was pretty cool to see them appearing side by side!!

My suggestion is that Lion-o could also take the initiative and communicate with them in dire circumstances when the chips are down!

Plus, i wouldn’t like to see the sword being broken so easily as it did in the original, i agree with that.:thumbsup:

19

The danger warning bothered me too because it sometimes announced Lion-O when a TC was in trouble (for example, Tygra in “Fireballs of Castle Plun-Darr”), but others it didn’t, or just did it when all the TCs have got in trouble.

For example, in “Mongor”, it took for the sword that Tygra got caught, then Cheetara and then Panthro… wouldn’t it have been more useful if, after Tygra got caught, Lion-O learned about it and summoned the others to a) help him in team work, and b) don’t have them all scattered around, making them easier preys?

Same happened with “Divede and Conquer” and so many other eps, where it would have been more helpful to know about just one TC in distress and take action immediately, instead of the whole bunch to just then warn Lion-O.

20

I didn’t mention that because to me it always seemed like that was part of sight beyond sight. It was like those two abilities were linked.