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Mumm-Ra

Voiced by: Robin Atkin Downes

Mumm-Ra was the ancient foe of the ThunderCats, long ago defeated. Resurfacing, Mumm-Ra masterminded Thundera's downfall to obtain the Eye of Thundera, the jewel within the Sword of Omens' hilt.

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Tropes associated with Mumm-Ra:

• Adaptational Badass: The original's sedentary Mummy playing Orcus on His Throne isn't in evidence here. Squishy Wizard he may be, but Mumm-Ra makes his debut with an impressive act of regicide, followed up with the slaughter of Claudus' Praetorian Guard, all without breaking a sweat or breaking out the One-Winged Angel.
• Adaptational Villainy: Downplayed. His pet from the original show Ma-Mutt doesn't exist in this continuity, so he has no Pet the Dog moments. As we also get his backstory, he's committed a lot more atrocities than his original self.
• Adaptational Wimp: The original version never has a weakness to sunlight and can walk around at the day time, in contrast to this version.
• Adaptive Armor: Using Power Crystals as Amplifier Artifacts, his Gauntlet can transform into a set of custom skeletal armor.
• Agony Beam: In his One-Winged Angel form, he employs this on Lion-O with intent to kill.
• Ancient Evil: He is thousands of years old and the main antagonist of the series.
• Arch-Enemy: He serves as the legendary enemy of the ThunderCats, but none hate him more than Lion-o for killing his father. Mumm-ra, by comparison, despises Lion-o for being the descendent of Leo, who betrayed him and caused his original defeat.
• Bad Boss: He doesn't show any regard for the lives of his underlings. In flashbacks he was shown have a strict rule by fear policy with his army with only the Tiger clan, stated to be his favored soldiers, were loyal to him. The cats he treated with some respect, and everyone else he kept in check with explosives attached to them. He still considers the lizards to be nothing more than cannon fodder, and when faced with issue of desertions, he brings in Atticus and Kaynar.
• Bat People: Mumm-Ra is a batlike humanoid complete with leaf-nosed snout, and gains bat wings in his One-Winged Angel form.

• Big Bad: Of the series, much as he was in the original.
• Breath Weapon: In his One-Winged Angel form, Mumm-Ra can breathe hot pink Pure Energy energy blasts.
• Broken Pedestal: Mumm-Ra became this for his tactician Leo in the backstory when he destroyed a solar system populated by billions to forge the Sword of Plundaar. This was what convinced Leo that Mumm-Ra had to be stopped.
• By the Power of Grayskull!: (Villain variant) "Ancient Spirits of Evil, transform this decayed form into Mumm-Ra, THE EVERRRR-LIIIVIIIIING!!!" triggers Mumm-Ra's Transformation Sequence into his secondary One-Winged Angel form.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Invoked in a very literal sense, as Mumm-Ra must call upon "Ancient Spirits of Evil" to grant him access to his One-Winged Angel Form.
• Commanding Coolness: Pre-Götterdämmerung, Mumm-Ra was the Commander of a Space Navy that took the Eye of Thundera as Plunder, and counted ThunderCats among his underlings.
• Cool Sword/Double Weapon: His Sword of Plun-Darr
• The Corrupter: Mumm-Ra shows some signs of this. He manages to use Grune's ambition and paranoia to make him betray the Cats, and he uses the Lizards' hatred of the Cats to recruit them into his army. While in the Astral Plains, Mumm-Ra is also able to manipulate Lion-O and Tygra into fighting each other using the memory of a childhood accident. And in the finale it's revealed Mumm-Ra used a dying Pumyra's hatred of Lion-O for supposedly abandoning her to make her work for him as The Mole.
• Creepy Crows: Mumm-Ra's desperation form, which he uses either to flee after coming too close to defeat at the hands of the ThunderCats, or for stealth purposes.
• Dark Is Evil: Though Mumm-Ra himself is colored grey, his tank and any weaponry or armor he uses are black, and chased with Tron Lines. Though, for some bizarre reason, he does refer to his sword in light terms, such as "lighting the way" (literally, as it does light the way for him to find it).
• Demonic Possession: When summoning the dragon in the Necromancer entry below, he infuses the creature with his soul in order to control it.
• The Dreaded: Even as an artifact of history, his reputation precedes him. His first spoken line, wherein he refers to himself completely without irony as being "[a thing] of your worst nightmares," suggests he is perfectly happy to exploit this.
• Even Evil Has Standards: When describing Addicus and Kanar to Slithe, he says the two have committed crimes even he wouldn't do. Of course, he then sends Slithe to hire them, anyway...
• Evil Brit: On an alien planet, no less.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Thinks nothing of Leo and Panthera's shock that he would wipe out billions of lives in a galaxy just to create a sword. He mocks Lion-O for trying to save Pumyra rather than try to escape with the Sword of Plun-Darr:
  Mumm-Ra: "Generations pass, and still your species is weakened by emotion!"
• Evil Is Hammy: He's at his hammiest when he does his incantation to become Mumm-Ra the Ever-Living.
• Evil Old Folks: Not only is he Really 700 Years Old, he looks it.
• Fangs Are Evil: He has fangs and he's the main villain.
• Fantastic Racism: Somewhat subtle, but when in pursuit of the Sword of Plundarr, he informs Slithe that it's a job "too important to leave in the hands of animals." It's a bit more obvious in the flashback. He "praises" Leo in a way that shows contempt for the Cats as a whole and treats the Lizards as expendable cannon fodder.
• Faux Affably Evil: He seems to enjoy putting on more refined airs that simply emphasize his brutal nature. It's especially noticeable in "Birth Of the Blades"
  Pumyra: Run! Don't let him get the Sword of Omens too!
  Mumm-Ra: (zaps her) Quiet, my dear. We're talking.
• Humanoid Abomination: Peculiarly, Mumm-Ra resembles nothing so much as an inexplicably red-eyed, fanged, snub-nosed, grey human in Mummy wrappings. However, his One-Winged Angel form explains the snub nose and makes his species explicit: He's a leaf-nosed (Vampire) bat. The artists get bonus points for just having his Mummy form move in a subtly WRONG way.
• Hypocrite: In "Birth of the Blades", he goes on and on about emotion being a weakness, but he becomes downright furious when Lion-O taunts him with his resemblance to Leo, the one who defeated the ancient sorcerer long ago.
• In the Hood: Mumm-Ra always wears a long, trailing, tattered red cloak with the hood concealing much of his face. At least until he transforms...
• Kamehame Hadoken: Quite capably uses a variation of this in the premiere to kill most of the Clerics in a single blow.
• Knight of Cerebus: Whenever he shows up, things get serious.
• Large and in Charge: In his One-Winged Angel form, he towers over the Cats.
• Living Relic: Mumm-Ra has been around for a very long time. He predates the colonization of Third Earth.
• The Magnificent: The EVER-LIVING!
• The Man Behind the Curtain: Subverted. The Dreaded ancient enemy of the ThunderCats is a small, stooped, old, emaciated... red-eyed Evil Sorcerer and Humanoid Abomination. His physical frailty only serves to make him more disturbing. And then he transforms, and the ThunderCats get their tails handed to them.
• Master of Illusion: We first see him use it to disguise himself as Panthro.
• Meaningful Name: Derived from the English word "mummy," and Ra the ancient Egyptian sun god.

• Mind Rape: The interrogation variety is one of Mumm-Ra's specialties, Though Jaga screams, he doesn't yield the information Mumm-Ra seeks..
• Miniature Senior Citizen/Mister Big: In his Shapeshifter Default Form, Mumm-Ra is quite short and stooped, but no less intimidating.
• Mobile Menace: Gets around in a tank, the Storm Charger, when it suits him.
• Mummy: With all the standard trappings, and some decidedly nonstandard, like a techno-pyramid.
• Necromancer: Uses the ashes of an ancient dragon monster to return it to life in "Recipe for Disaster." He also revived Pumyra to act as his agent.
• Nemesis Weapon: The Sword of Plun-Darr, as witnessed in "Legacy". And, as the counterpart to the Sword of Omens, it, too, can shrink down to fit inside his own Gauntlet. Oh, and it can extend from a single-bladed sword to a double-bladed one. Unlike the Sword of Omens, the Sword of Plun-Darr has considerable power even without a Warstone in its hilt.
• Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: Mumm-Ra is a *deep breath* mummy/lich vampire bat alien from space. Who lives in a pyramid spaceship and rides around in a tank that's a coffin. Amazing, no?
  • Later, in "Recipe for Disaster," he uses the ashes of the long-dead Dragon of Sycorax to summon the monster... as part of a ritual to take over its body and use it to fight the ThunderCats.
• Our Liches Are Different: His concept also borrows heavily from Lich iconography.
• Omnicidal Maniac: He destroyed an entire galaxy, with three planets populated by billions of people, to create the material that would become the Sword of Plun-Darr and its gauntlet.
• One-Winged Angel: Appropriately enough, has wings. Gets a massive upgrade when he incorporates the Tech Stone into the Gauntlet of Plun-Darr.
• Outside-Context Problem: Became this over the centuries as memory of him faded away into legend and superstition.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Played absolutely straight, even literally, as his first appearance is his eyes, seen in a vision sent by the Sword of Omens.
• Sadistic Choice: When he fights Lion-O in the Mountain of Plun-Darr to retrieve the sword of the same name, he threatens Pumyra by throwing her into a chasm, forcing Lion-O to choose: Grab the Sword of Plun-Darr before Mumm-Ra can, or rescue his fellow cat?
• Sealed Evil in a Can: Complete with creepy Compelling Voice and a commanding "Release me!"
• Shapeshifter Default Form: A slight-framed Humanoid Abomination in Mummy-wrappings and a large cloak.
• Skeletons in the Coat Closet: His Adaptive Armor has a skeletal motif.
• Sorcerous Overlord: An Evil Sorceror and an Evil Overlord
• Squishy Wizard: Only in his Shapeshifter Default Form. Beware when he busts out his By the Power of Grayskull!.
• Sufficiently Advanced Alien: Otherworldly magic powers have to come from somewhere...

• Tank Goodness: His Storm Charger made of the face of his sarcophagus
• Tentacle Rope: He can use his bandages to ensnare an opponent and lift them clear off of the ground.
• Transformation Name Announcement: "Ancient Spirits of Evil... transform this decayed form, into Mumm-Ra... THE EVERRRR-LIIIVIIIIING"
• Transformation Sequence: Mumm-Ra's Ever-living transformation sequence, triggered by his By the Power of Grayskull!, is seen rather infrequently.
• Vader Breath: Is exceptionally wheezy, especially when he first wakes up.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: Has a Shapeshifter Default Form, a One-Winged Angel form, general Master of Disguise/Master of Illusion powers, and a desperation form for quick escapes.
• Weakened by the Light: In "Omens Part 2", sunlight interrupts him as he begins of his Transformation Sequence and singes him a bit before he staggers back indoors.
  • In "Journey to the Tower of Omens" Mumm-Ra is forced to flee after Jaga's Heroic Sacrifice via a powerful light spell, and Mumm-Ra was already in his true form when it happened.
  • Later, in "Birth of the Blades," Mumm-Ra gets his hands on the Sword of Plundarr after Lion-O chooses to save Pumyra, at the cost of giving Mumm-Ra the chance to grab the sword. Just as he's about to press his advantage, cracks in the walls of the cave they were fighting in start allowing sunlight through. Seeing this, Mumm-Ra decides to retreat for the time being.
• Would Hurt a Child: "Do you think I would hesitate to destroy two kittens?"
• You Are a Credit to Your Race: Seems to have had this opinion of Leo, and the cats in general, back when they served him prior to the crash-landing on Third Earth. He was even willing to give them a planet of their own to live on once he'd conquered the universe... supervised by him, of course.
• Your Size May Vary: The size of his One-Winged Angel is very inconsistent. Compared Lion-O, it's usually a few feet taller than him, but in one point during his fight with Leo in "Legacy" (who was the same size as Lion-O) he's only a head taller, and in "Birth of the Blades", we have a scene where Leo only comes up to his waist.

Grune

Voiced by: Clancy Brown

Grune is one of Claudus' trusted generals, sent with Panthro to find the Book of Omens. However, motivated by his ambition for power, Grune allied himself with the Lizards and Mumm-Ra.

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Tropes associated with Grune:

• 24-Hour Armor: The only time he takes off his armor is to swap it for a new set.

• Adaptational Attractiveness: While not a Bishōnen like the series' protagonists, he's certainly more handsome in this version.
• Ambition Is Evil: Grune's motivation for his Face–Heel Turn, underscored repeatedly during Panthro's Flashbacks.
  Panthro, after Grune expresses a desire to rule Thundera: You planning on becoming a lion?
  Grune: No, I'm planning on becoming king.
• Ascended Extra: Was a minor, though popular, villain in the original series, only appearing in a couple episodes. This version is Mumm-Ra's right-hand man.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: He may run from fights he can't win, but the ones he has won include killing a giant spider many times his size.
• Bearer of Bad News: With a headshake, and melancholic praise for his skill in battle, Grune informs Claudus of Panthro's death and hands over Panthro's nunchucks.
• The Captain: As with Panthro, a Downplayed element of his Backstory, seen as a stepping stone on his way to becoming a general.
• Carry a Big Stick: A big freaking mace ^note which appears to be a Japanese kanabo. that turns into a big freaking Lightning Gun. Had a more traditional round-headed mace before his Face–Heel Turn.
• Cavalry Betrayal: During The Siege of Thundera, Grune shows up to fire a Flare Gun that seems to bring the Humongous Mecha fleet to a halt, only to perform an Insignia Rip-Off Ritual and an Evil Costume Switch while debuting his nasty new weapon.
• Changing Clothes Is a Free Action: Even given his Flung Clothing, it takes entirely too little time for him to change into his more elaborate togs.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: He betrays Thundera to Mumm-Ra and later plan to betray Mumm-Ra himself.
• Les Collaborateurs: Formed an alliance with Mumm-Ra and the Lizards to orchestrate Thundera's fall.
• Contrived Coincidence: If it wasn't for him and Panthro's pointless quest for the Book of Omens, the duo wouldn't have ran into Mumm-Ra's ship. This allows Mumm-Ra to influence Grune into freeing him.
• Deal with the Devil: Frustrated in his ambitions of rulership, Grune frees Mumm-Ra in exchange for the promise of power, agreeing to engineer Thundera's sacking and serve as The Dragon until Mumm-Ra gets ahold of the Eye of Thundera. He is, however, quick to recognize possible opportunities to betray Mumm-Ra.
• Devil in Plain Sight: He dropped anvil-sized hints to Panthro for years upon years that he had designs on the throne. But for some reason, it didn't register until the moment they met Mumm-Ra.
• The Dragon: He serves as Mumm-Ra's second-in-command up until the end of the first arc.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Part of his Glory Seeker behavior. He prefers large shows of courage instead of working under the radar, and hopes to become General of Thundera's troops. He's initially very unhappy with being given the quest to find the Book of Omens, and in a moment of paranoia, insists to Panthro that not only is it a Snipe Hunt, but a Uriah Gambit to get Grune out of the kingdom.
• Evil Costume Switch: By way of revealing his alliance with the Lizards, Grune changes into a dark suit of metallic armor.
• Evil Former Friend: To both Claudus and Panthro, rather than Jaga in the original series.
• Evil Sounds Deep: Comes with being voiced by Clancy Brown.
• Face–Heel Turn: He betrayed the Thundercats to side with Mumm-Ra.
• Fangs Are Evil: Because his single, massive sabertooth is neither little nor cute.
• Fashionable Asymmetry: Thanks to having only one protruding fang on one side of his mouth. It does look pretty cool though.
• Flung Clothing: Grune casts aside his armor in this way.
• Four-Star Badass: Once "Thundera's greatest general"
• Glory Seeker: Calculatingly so, as glory is a means to acquire power.
• God-Emperor: Grune seeks to exploit the Cargo Cult of the Book of Omens this way
  Panthro: Look at them, they're already hailing us as heroes.
  Grune: If we come back with the Book of Omens, we'll be hailed as gods.
• Grievous Harm with a Body: His own body, in this case. In "Between Brothers", Panthro reveals the reason he's only got one fang: in the past they were confronted by a legendary giant spider, and Grune ripped his tooth out so he could stab it in the eye.
• Heroic Build: As Panthro notes, he's a cat "who pulls his weight."
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Panthro, in Flashbacks. Likes him enough that even after his Face–Heel Turn he readily makes the offer that We Can Rule Together.
• Hyperspace Mace: In flashback. Grune's mace appears out of nowhere in time for him to fight Panthro
• I Did What I Had to Do: As explained by Panthro, his personal philosophy is "To defeat an enemy, any sacrifice is worth it." This comes back to bites him in the ass when Panthro throws his own philosophy back at him, sacrificing his own arms in order to throw Grune into a collapsing Astral Plane.
• I Fight for the Strongest Side!: Inverted. Grune gives this as his baseline motivation, but the reality is that he'll join whichever side promises HIM more power.
• Insignia Rip-Off Ritual: Grune reveals his Cavalry Betrayal and begins his Evil Costume Switch this way.
• Jerkass: Betrayed his friend, betrayed his king, betrayed his people, will only fight battles where he's guaranteed to win...and that's just the beginning of this list.
• Let No Crisis Go to Waste: Grune's M.O. as a soldier. There's a war on? Enlist so he can put his skills to use. He sees his King overrun by Lizards? Rig a catapult to kill them al - well, not the King - so he can become a Captain thanks to his timely demonstration of valor. Huge battle? Keep count of his kills so he can make General.
• Life-or-Limb Decision: The story of Grune's tooth can be considered one.
• Morph Weapon: His aforementioned kanabo can be adjusted so that it telescopes into multiple sections, revealing a high-voltage interior that charges up to turn the weapon into a BFG Lightning Gun.
• Mythology Gag/Whole Costume Reference: Before putting on his battle armor, he's wearing a tweaked version of his outfit from the original series.
• Never Found the Body: In "Between Brothers", he gets sucked into the collapsing Astral Plane along with Panthro's arms; time will tell whether or not he's been Killed Off for Real.
• Odd Name Out: Along with Claudus, breaks the standard A Dog Named "Dog" convention for Thundercat names.
• The Paragon Always Rebels: Deconstructed with Grune, who understands the surest way to succeed at rebellion is to become a paragon.
• Red Right Hand: His single fang, a clear deformity that gives him a decidedly sinister appearance despite his Adaptational Attractiveness.
• Smug Snake: Much like his original incarnation. He's one of Mumm-Ra's most dangerous lieutenants, but he's got a bad habit of underestimating his enemies.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Unlike his 80's counterpart, he isn't a ghost in this series.
  • ...Unless Panthro throwing him into the astral plane was meant as Foreshadowing.
• The Starscream: Began plotting to kill Mumm-Ra prior to his final battle with Panthro. Given that he was last seen being flung into a dimensional gateway, nothing really came of it.
• Turncoat: Defected to Mumm-Ra as soon as he was promised power.
• The Usurper: Initially planned to use his status as Paragon and later discoverer of the Book of Omens to become this, apparently including Panthro in his plans.
  • In "Between Brothers," it's revealed that he's willing to usurp Mumm-Ra's position of authority, as well.
• With Us or Against Us: The moment Panthro refuses to join him in defecting to Mumm-Ra's side, Grune declares him an enemy and attacks.

Slithe

Voiced by: Dee Bradley Baker

The brutish leader of the Lizards, Slithe is slightly lacking in sophistication, but he's very intuitive and cunning. He's also a very cruel and vindictive warchief, and will sacrifice anyone in pursuit of his goals.

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Tropes associated with Slithe:

• Adaptational Badass: By far smarter and more dangerous than his 80's counterpart.
• Fantastic Racism: Harbors a strong hatred for cats.
• Fat Bastard: He's very portly and one of Mumm-Ra's lieutenants.
• Freudian Excuse: had the series gone on, more light would have been shed on Slithe's motivations. He was driven by grieving fury over the loss of his family to the Cats.
• Jerkass: He's extremely unpleasant and cares little about the lives he ends.
• Large and in Charge: Bigger than the lizard Mooks, though not as big as Grune or Mumm-Ra's One-Winged Angel.
• Mook Lieutenant: Despite being a General, serves in this capacity for Mumm-Ra and Grune.
• Monster Modesty: Slithe doesn't wear much compared to the ThunderCats.
• Mythology Gag: In "Song of the Petalars", Slithe adds a "Yes." to the end of his sentence when speaking, a nod to the original's more severe Verbal Tic.
• Only Sane Man: Compared to Kaynar and Addicus, anyway.
• Reptiles Are Abhorrent: He's a lizard man who works for Mumm-Ra.
• Shout-Out: As with the original, his design is a tribute to the Orcs from Rankin Bass' The Hobbit.
• The Starscream: In "Between Brothers," he proved just how far his "loyalty" to Mumm-Ra really goes by going along with Grune's idea to destroy the entrance to the Astral Plane while Mumm-Ra was still inside it.
• Unfriendly Fire: As mentioned in The Starscream, he ordered his forces to destroy the hut that held the portal to the Astral Plane...knowing full well that Mumm-Ra was still in there.
• We Have Reserves: He wanted to burn down the Briar Woods to get the ThunderCats. The fact that his scouting party was still inside did nothing to deter him.
  Slithe: "They are expendable... as are you, Lieutenant!"

Kaynar

Voiced by: Dee Bradley Baker

A Jackalman and one of Mumm-Ra's two new generals. He is the new version of Jackalman from the original series.

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Tropes associated with Kaynar:

• Adaptation Name Change: From Jackalman to Kaynar
• Adaptational Badass: He even looks more dangerous!
• Ax-Crazy: While in prison, Kaynar has to be strapped to a gurney and heavily restrained just to be moved to solitary confinement, which he earned after killing eleven inmates. He's pretty sanguine about his punishment:
  Kaynar: At least I'll have the voices in my head to talk to.
  • He wasn't even intereted in Sliithe freeing him till he was told he could 'play' with some cats.
• Blood Knight/Sadist: He loves fighting and killing people.
• The Brute: Shares this role with Addicus.
• Eats Babies: Gives some thought to eating one of the Thunder Kittens.
• Evil Redhead: Orange fur, but still creepy as hell.
  • Curtains Match the Windows: Orange-red fur, and similar-hued eyes.
• Giggling Villain: He's constantly laughing to himself.
• Laughably Evil: Comes with being completely insane.
  Kaynar: "You're like a toy that never breaks! *Lets out a deranged cackle* I love it!"
• Psycho for Hire: Emphasis on the "psycho" part. Even Addicus seems to think so, if Lion-O's gambit against him in "Birth of the Blades" is any indication:
  Addicus: "You're crazier than Kaynar!"
• The Nose Knows : The first time he fights Tygra, the Thundercat turns invisible for a stealth attack; but Kaynar defeats him because he can still smell him.
• Serial Killer: He's killed many without remorse.
• Shipped in Shackles: In his first appearance in "New Alliances".
• Slasher Smile: The above image provides a good example.

Addicus

Voiced by: Robin Atkin Downes

A Monkey and one of Mumm-Ra's two new generals. He is the new version of Monkian from the original series.

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Tropes associated with Addicus:

• Adaptation Name Change: From Monkian to Addicus.
• Adaptational Badass: Bigger, smarter, and more dangerous than his 80's counterpart.
• Blood Knight: His savagery is specifically why Mumm-Ra wanted to recruit him in the first place.
• The Brute: Shares this role with Kaynar.
• Carry a Big Stick: Not as massive as Grune's and lacking the lightning projectiles, but Addicus does swing around a mean-looking double-headed mace.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Through he may be a psychopath, even he's not very fond of Kaynar.
• Face Death with Dignity: In his debut, he's about to be executed by members of the Bird Nation for his crimes. Hanging upside-down over a deep gorge with seemingly no way out, his only response is to sneer at his executioners.
  Addicus: "You'd better hope that this fall is enough to kill me!"
• I'm a Humanitarian: He seems to have an appetite for members of other sentient races. Starting with his avian would-be executioners and going from there.
  • Of course, from what we see later of the birds, they may qualify as Jerkass Victims.
• Killer Gorilla : Considering his general looks and lacking a tail, he's more an ape than a monkey. The 'killer' part is very detailed in the below and above tropes.
• Psycho for Hire: Not quite as crazy as Kaynar, but he's far from a well-balanced individual.
• Serial Killer: He was about to be executed for such crimes before Slithe intervened.
• Verbal Tic: As of "The Trials of Lion-O" he can be heard making monkey grunts similar to his 80's counterpart. It serves as a bit of a Continuity Nod for fans of the original series.

Ancient Spirits of Evil

Voiced by: Jim Cummings (1952) ("Native Son"), Kevin Michael Richardson ("Birth of the Blades")

Evil beings who were once worshipped, and give Mumm-Ra his mystic dark power.

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Tropes Associated with the Ancient Spirits of Evil:

• Dark Is Evil: They appear as shadows and are even referred to as spirits of evil.
• Expy: One of them looks exactly like the Egyptian God Anubis.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": We only know them by the group title.
• Fate Worse than Death: Revealed to have inflicted one on the Tigers: first they let the plague run its course, which killed them all, and then they cursed them to exist as ghosts who would become monsters every nightfall
• Foreshadowing: The reason they wanted Tygra dead? He will be a thorn in their side when he grows older.
• God of Evil: They are called the Ancient Spirits of Evil.
• Greater-Scope Villain: These are the ones that Mumm-Ra answers to.
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Their desire to see Tygra dead created the very thorn they wanted to avert.
• Voice of the Legion: Inverted. All four speak simultaneously with the exact same voice.

Khamai, Kask, and Sauro

Voiced by: James Arnold Taylor, Matthew Mercer, and Kevin Michael Richardson

Three elite lizard commandos who tracked Lion-O and his group into the brambles. They answer directly to General Slithe.

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Tropes associated with Khamai, Kask, and Sauro:

• Bare-Fisted Monk: Kask has a shield, but seems to prefer using martial arts to take down his prey.
• Invisibility Cloak: Being based on a chameleon, Khamai can turn invisible much like Tygra can.
• The Nose Knows: Sauro is able to catch the scent of the Cats' trail
• Scarily Competent Tracker: They don't lose sight of any of their targets.
• Shout-Out: The three of them together with Slithe are similar to the band of Mutants from the original series.
• Uncertain Doom: The last we see of them is being left in an unconscious heap before Slithe loses patience and has his troops set the whole forest on fire.

The Driller

Voiced by: Matthew Mercer

The Driller is a giant automaton tasked by Mumm-Ra to work in the Thundrilium mines. He is able to transform into a double ended drill and can bore through almost any surface.

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Tropes associated with The Driller:

• Adaptational Badass: He is much more menacing and threatening than the relatively simplistic version from the original.
• Load-Bearing Boss: After Lion-O defeats him in "Old Friends", the mine around the ThunderCats begins to collapse from the damage he'd caused.
• Meaningful Name: Apart from having several drills on his frame, the robot's purpose is to drill through subterranean rock.
• Mechanical Monster: He's a malevolent machine.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: His blood-red optics, combined with his service to Mumm-Ra, lead to this trope taking effect.
• This Is a Drill: It's all in the name.
• Transforming Mecha: He even looks like a Decepticon. His transformation isn't exactly complex, though.
• Use Your Head: at the climax of the fight, he uses the drill on his head to try and kill Lion-O.
  • Violation of Common Sense: Never mind that he had two perfectly-large drills on his ARMS to engage in the clash with...

The Duelist

Voiced by: Miguel Ferrer

The best swordsman in the land, the Duelist challenges those whose weapons he admires to duels, so he can claim their swords as trophies.

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Tropes associated with The Duelist

• Amazing Technicolor Population: Light purple skin.
• Badass Longcoat: Sports an extremely elaborate caped military tailcoat.
• Break the Haughty: He's an arrogant, condescending master swordsman who's robbed several skilled swordsmen of their prize blades including, for a time, Lion-O's Sword of Omens. When Lion-O bests him during their rematch , his attempts to get even only result in further humiliation at the hands of Hattanzo/the Drifter.
• Collector of the Strange: Likes unique swords, especially when wielded by inexperienced users. Care to make a wager?
• Combat Pragmatist: Averted for the most part; while he tends to goad more arrogant fighters into matches, he relies on pure swordplay. Until Lion-O beats him in their rematch, when he tries to pull a dagger on the young king when his back is turned.
• Cool Swords: He has several, and he's always looking for more.
• Dual Wielding: Favors a Sinister Scimitar and a Royal Rapier.
• Evil Sounds Deep: He has a smooth, dark baritone, courtesy of Miguel Ferrer.
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: At night, his already red eyes glow.
• Hustling the Mark: A variant. At no point does he feign incompetence around his marks. Instead, he capitalizes on their naiveté - both of his own Master Swordsman status, and out of misplaced pride in their own skills- to goad them into dueling him. Oh, and he also neglects to mention that when his foe puts their sword up against his "best blade," he'll have one in his other hand. Presto, one more sword for his portable shield rack.
• Master Swordsman: It's all in the name.
• Named Weapons: Likely has plenty, but the only one given is the Sword of Hattanzo. And the Sword of Omens (for a few hours).
• Pointed Ears: He has pointy ears.
• Professional Gambler: Winner takes all. And he always wins.
• Punny Name: He's a duelist, who's a dualist.
• Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: With his swords rather than his fists, but the spirit of the attack is basically the same.
• Red Baron: One assumes that "the Duelist" wasn't his birth name.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Red irises on deep maroon sclera.
• Royal Rapier: His right-hand sword, to go along with his Swashbuckler aesthetic.
• Rubber-Forehead Alien: A rare creature on a planet of Humanoid Aliens and Beast Men.
• Samurai Cowboy: A gunslinger with swords, in Swashbuckler togs just to further confound classification.
• Sinister Scimitar: His left-hand sword, the famous Sword of Hattanzo.
• Smug Snake: A master at his art, who assumes he's unbeatable. When Lion-O beasts him, he quickly resorts to an attempt at foul play. Luckily, Hattanzo/the Drifer will have none of that.
• Spell My Name with a "The": Really, Lion-O should have known he was bad news.
• Swashbuckler: A walking refugee of the genre incongruously traipsing around a Cattle Punk/Wutai and challenging victims to a classic Showdown at High Noon.
• Villainous Cheekbones: Very high and narrow.
• Villains Out Shopping: When Lion-O seeks him for a rematch, he finds the Duelist slicing up lime for the drinks of his peers.
• Villainous Widow's Peak: He has a widow's peak and he's not a nice guy.
• Walking Armory: He carries all of the swords he took from his opponents on his back.

Conquedor

Voiced by: Jon Polito

A merchant slaver and trafficker who captures Ro-Bear Bill's family. He captures and sells all sorts of things, from Berbils to large cats. Making him the ultimate scumbag.

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Tropes associated with the Conquedor

• BFG: His rifle is huge.
• Canon Character All Along: Had season 2 happened, it would turn out the Conquedor was in fact a re-imagining of classic series villain, Safari Joe.
• Cool Helmet: Wears a modified conquistador's morion.
• Egomaniac Hunter: He treats his hunting and enslaving of Berbils as good sport.
• Fat Bastard: Rather corpulent, rather cruel.
• High-Class Glass: He wears what look like infrared googles.
• Hunting the Most Dangerous Game: Seeing as he was meant to be a re-imagining of Safari Joe, this trope comes into play. He prefers to take his prey alive to sell as slaves.
• Malevolent Masked Man: Or whatever the heck he is.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: His mask sports red goggles, and he's a villain.

Ratar-O

Voiced by: Carlo Rota

Tyrannical ruler of the Rats in Mount Plun-Darr and the descendant of Ratilla. He enslaved the cats, forcing them to work in the mines and search for the Sword of Plun-Darr.

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Tropes associated with Ratar-O:

• Bad Boss: He regularly abuses and belittles his direct subordinate for petty reasons. It comes back to bite him big-time when said subordinate decides to side with Lion-O by throwing him his sword and gauntlet.
• Dual Wielding: Ratar-O's Weapons Of Choice are his twin Rat Eye Daggers, which are able to shoot energy bolts when crossed together to charge their power.
• Faux Affably Evil: Acts refined and sophisticated, but is as brutal as any other villain. Which leads right into him being a...
• Fat Bastard: He's an overweight slave driver who constantly insults and mistreats Mordax.
• Jerkass Has a Point: He's a villain and a tyrant, make no mistake. But considering what we knew of Thundera's Fantastic Racism towards the lizards, his claim that the cats didn't want to share similar power with other races (hence why they sent Jaga to reclaim the Sword of Plun-Darr from Ratilla) may have more weight to it than we know...
• Kick the Dog: When two cat slaves overpower his underling and try to make a run for it, he chases them into a dead end, taunts them for their failure, and unleashes a single blast of energy from his crossed daggers. Then he walks away with a wicked chuckle. We don't actually see the aftermath, but that might be for the best.
• Large and in Charge: Assuming that paunch isn't just padding from the armor, Ratar-O has a belly on him. He's noticeably taller than his men. Naturally, he's the big cheese.
• Mythology Gag: His design is very close to how he looked in the original series, but closer inspection shows that he actually looks more like the original Ratilla, at least in terms of costume design.
• Oh, Crap!: Gets one of these when Lion-O gets his sword and gauntlet back, courtesy of The Dog Bites Back.
  • And another one when Lion-O's gauntlet generates an energy field to harness the blast from his Rat Eye Daggers, allowing Lion-O to reflect that power right back at him.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: The leader of the rats proves to be a rather capable fighter when Lion-O faces him, and even puts the Lord of the Thundercats on the defensive.
• Shadow Archetype: Like Lion-O, he's the leader of his people, has claim to an ancestral weapon (the Sword of Plun-Darr to Lion-O's Sword of Omens), and wields an enchanted blade (his Rat's Eye Daggers). However, where Lion-O is a noble leader who respects his team as friends, Ratar-O is a harsh tyrant who berates his servants (Mordax, in particular) for so much as speaking out of turn.
• Tennis Boss: Lion-O ultimately defeats him by using his gauntlet to block the energy from Ratar-O's Finishing Move, then deflects it right back at him.
• Third Eye: Not literally, but his helmet does have a third eye motif.
• You Dirty Rat!: He's an unscrupulous rat man.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Claims that his motivation for all his cruel deeds - enslaving the cats and having them mine a dangerous cave for the Sword of Plun-Darr - was that he can lead his people to glory, no longer living off the scraps of the cats or any of the other races. Except, as Lion-O himself puts it, his people "are just slaves on the other side of the whip," which Ratar-O doesn't deny.
• Wicked Cultured: As mentioned under Faux Affably Evil, he generally acts like quite the cultured nobleman.

Mordax

Voiced by: Kevin Michael Richardson

Rataro's underling, who must constantly suffer his abuse.

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Tropes associated with Mordax:

• Anti-Villain: He really only seems to want to see the Rats regain their old prosperity; and he chafes under Ratar-O's cruelty as much as the cat slaves.
• The Dog Bites Back: See Screw This, I'm Outta Here. He also kicked Lion-O's sword and gauntlet back to him, thereby ensuring that Lion-O would have a fighting chance against his abusive master.
• Evil Old Folks: Something of an aversion, as he claims he was Just Following Orders to whip a cat-slave when Pumyra attacks him. In a much more clear aversion, he performs a Screw This, I'm Outta Here on Ratar-o and throws Lion-O his sword and gauntlet.
• Eyepatch of Power: Averted somewhat; he's never shown to be a very capable fighter.
• Giggling Villain: Averted, his only menacing snicker really comes when he turns on his boss by throwing Lion-O his weapons.
• Just Following Orders: He pulls this excuse when Pumyra attacks him for whipping one of the cat-slaves. She doesn't consider it much of an excuse.
• Miniature Senior Citizens: Smaller than just about everyone, making it easier for Ratar-O to abuse him. And for Pumyra as well, when she catches him whipping an enslaved cat.
• Mix-and-Match Weapon: His weapon is a hybrid sickle and whip, similar to the Japanese Kusarigama.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: He's on the wrong end of one after Pumyra gets ahold of him.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: He abandons Ratar-O after suffering under his abuse and being shown mercy by Lion-O.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Lion-O just saved him from a wrathful Pumyra. His idea of gratitude? Pull a scythe on Lion-O, forcing him, Pumyra, and Panthro to surrender. Ultimately averted, as he ends up turning against Ratar-O because Lion-O showing him mercy was more kindness than his own master had ever given him.

Vultaire

Voiced by: Michael McKean

The prefect of Avista and its avian inhabitants. Pretty much this show's version of Vultureman from the original series.

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• Adaptational Badass: Unlike his '80s counterpart, he has wings so he can fly on his own.
• Adaptation Name Change: Not to the same extent as Addicus or Kaynar, but here it's Vultaire instead of just Vultureman.
• Anti-Villain: Ostensibly a Type III or even a Type IV. Sure, he's an arrogant twit and antagonistic to the ThunderCats, but they pretty much stormed into his city and intended to steal a power stone that is vital for Avista's survival. He's not even shown to be tyrannical (as one would assume from his social position), and has shown moral disdain towards the cats' past tyranny against other species.
  • The "Anti" part goes away when he joins Mumm-Ra out of fear and the temptation of power.
• Dirty Coward: He joins Mumm-Ra and abandons his people just so that he can save his own hide.
• Fantastic Racism: Towards the cats, since the birds, much like pratically everyone else, sees them as tyrants and barbarians.
• Feathered Fiend: He's a bird man and an antagonist, until he becomes an outright villain by joining Mumm-Ra.
• Hypocrite: Calls the ThunderCats out for their Fantastic Racism against the other animal clans... but it's pretty clear that he has a lesser opinion of anyone who isn't of the Bird people, himself. And then he betrays his own race to Mumm-Ra.
• Jerkass: And how.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Thanks for proving him right about cats being violent berserkers, Pumyra.
• Meaningful Name: His name sounds similar to the political philosopher Voltaire, and like the philosopher is an intelligent man who disapproves of infringing on rights of others, as shown by his dislike for the Cats using the War Stone to keep weaker species in-line.
• The Quisling: He is the only Bird to accept Mumm-Ra's offer.
• Sacred Hospitality: Despite barely hiding his Fantastic Racism, he was a fairly decent patron until the ThunderCats demanded the Tech Stone.
• Smug Snake: Arrogant and haughty to an insufferable degree.
• Sore Loser: Accepts Tygra's challenge to a flying race for the Tech stone with the War and Spirit stones on the line. When Tygra wins, he declares the wager null and void, and has the ThunderCats placed under house arrest. In fairness, he wasn't really in a position to give the tech stone away, though that just emphasizes his arrogance in accepting the wager in the first place.
• Winged Humanoid: Emphasis on "winged," as he's a bird.

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