New member here… I dunno if stuff like this has been discussed already. If so, I apologize for the new thread. Here are some of the oddities I find myself having to wrap my head around when watching the series. And yes, I know that I’m attempting to apply logic to a cartoon, but hey, that’s just the kinda guy I am!
Also, here goes:
Tygra is a Tiger, Lion-o is a Lion…so…Panthro is a panther? But there is no such animal as a Panther. The only animal with a Panther in it’s name is a small sub-species of Jaguar.
Thundranium (sp?)… what is it? In the few episodes I’ve watched recently it comes from Thundera, but it’s also found on TE. It’s a fuel source and the Cats are at times working in the Thundranium field looking for it. But it’s also something that weakens the TCs… at least it weakened Jaga’s Ghost. Of course, it didn’t weaken Groan’s Ghost.
Lasers or swords? I’m sure this is a regular thing, but why do they have just advanced weapons as lasers and space ships and yet fight with swords and whips? (The answer of course is that these weapons allow for more exciting action without death and blood and such that guns would, but is there an “in-story” explanation?)
Why are Reptilians, Monkeyians, and Jacklemen (And Vulturemen?) mutants, but Thundercats are not? They all appear to pretty much be anthropomorphic animals to me. (Sorta the “Why does Goofy talk and wear clothes but Pluto doesn’t?” question.)
You got it! Panthro’s a Panther…yes, technically such a cat does not exist, but Black Jaguars, or Black Leopards are commonly referred to as Black Panthers.
As for the Thundrainium question…I think you’ve confused the two vary different substances.
Thundrainium weakens the Thundercats.
Thundrillium is the power source of their technology.
Each ThunderCat has a different characteristic, if memory serves me, the Puma and Lynx are the same animal, yet there is Pumyra and Lynx-O. The Bengal Tiger is still a tiger, but that is what Ben Gali’s characteristics are.
ThunDrillium is the fuel. ThunDrainium is the weakening stuff. I believe both are rock-like similar to coal. Grune’s immunity to ThunDrainum shall be a topic of discussion in an upcoming episode discussion…
Lasers can inflict massive damage, hence why (I believe) they use them only against enemy vehicles and when they are in a tough spot.
The Mutants are from the planet Plun-Darr, ThunDerians (and ThunderCats) are from ThunDera, the Luna-Taks are from the moons of Plun-Darr (lunar refers to the moon), and Humans are from Third Earth.
Thanks for the help guys. I never noticed the differences between the -illium and -ainium.
Puma and Lynx are different animals. I think you thinking of the Puma/Cougar/MtnLion/etc… Which is all the same animal by a different name.
The Mutants are from the planet Plun-Darr, ThunDerians (and ThunderCats) are from ThunDera, the Luna-Taks are from the moons of Plun-Darr (lunar refers to the moon), and Humans are from Third Earth.
Why Mutants then? Just easier to say than Plun-Derians?
I always wondered why the Mutants were “mutants” when yeah…to our eye, they’re all mutated animal hybrids! Although true, the Mutants look more animal-like.
The show didn’t address it, but I’ve seen fan stories that do. One theory is that the term Mutant is a type of slur or put-down (although they call THEMSELVES that so…that’s kinda funny)
I always thought it was lead. A possible reason Grune was not effected is because he renounced his faith in the eye of thundera, and the eye was conscious of this. The eye is the source of the thundercats power, meaning its rays or "spirit"is what the thundercats and thunderians receive. Thundranium blocks the rays/waves of the eye, and that immediate loss of connection with the eye is what weakens loyal thundercats that are connected to the consciousness of the eye.
We also learn that the star of Thundera is what gives the eye its power, so perhaps the eye is a receptor and distributor of the wave energy of the star of thundera, and thundranium is a mineral that blocks these waves. This is just my own take, the show validates none of this of course.
Berbillion, I like your assesment, thought I really hate to introduce a midichlorian type plot device into Thundercats. I would really prefer it just be left as Thundranium = Kryptonite = bad for cats.
Here’s another oddity I thought of last night what watching a few episodes… The TCats have vertical slit pupils, like a house cats. But they modeled after the “big cats,” most of which have round pupils. Snow Leopards, Leopards, Jaguars, Lions and Tigers (the Big Cats) all have round pupils. Even the Cougar (which is genetically more closely related to small cats than big cats) has round pupils. Cheetahs (which are genetically different from both “big” and “little” cats) also have round pupils.
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Hmm… It’s an interesting idea, but I prefer to think of it more as a mystical thing than a physical property. I mean, yeah, Lead does block a lot of radiation, but it Jaga isn’t “encased” in lead… Grune just has a mace that he’s swinging around that may occasionally block the flow of energy. This momentary and partial blockage would not seem to be significant enough to cause a huge reaction.
Furthermore, even those lead is better at blocking a lot of radiation. It isn’t that much better that a small mace of it would provide adequate blockage but Lion-O carrying the eye miles away from the other TCats, possibly behind mountains, underground, inside stone or metal buildings, would not.
ThunderCats and ThunDerian commoners are both/all affected by ThunDrainium. Watch ThunderCats Ho! when Lynx-O is talking to Mumm-Ra (I think part 3, could be wrong). Lynx-O, Ben Gali, and Pumyra all get a look of fear when they find out that they are to be held on Fire Rock Mountain and that Fire Rocks are the same thing as ThunDrainium. Lynx-O says that ThunDrainium affects all ThunDerians, not just ThunderCats. This is proven when they arrive and all three of them become weaker.
This shows that ThunDrainium affects all ThunDerians, however it does not explain why Grune is immune. I have been of the opinion that Grune had been exposed to low amounts of ThunDrainium over a long period of time and he eventually built up an immunity to it. More than likely it was used in the crystal/ice cell used to send Grune into exile.
The only other possibility would be that Grune was just born with an immunity to it.
Something I have recently come across which got me wondering…I have always thought of the blade of the Sword of Omens being made of crystal, but when I googled it a short while back I could only find one person mentioning it on the net, with a bunch of reply posts telling him he was completely wrong!
I distinctly remember the 1st episode where the blade gets broken in 2 by tygra’s Bolo Whip, and the look of the broken blade…even the sound it makes upon breaking etc…please some1 verify this for me!!!
I always thought it was made of crystal too. I don’t think it was verified in the cartoon though, maybe theres some info in the UK comics or something.
