Thundercats, Silverhawks, and Skeletor, oh my!

I've been killing some time today reading up on some of my ill-remembered childhood favorites, He-Man, Thundercats, and Silverhawks. (Unlike the many accurately remembered childhood favorites like G.I. Joe, Gem, Darkwing Duck, Bananaman, Danger Mouse, You Can't Do That On Television, and Count Duckula.)

He-Man:

Growing up I had a He-Man action figure and his big green tiger. I'm pretty sure I was still so young that losing all of the accessories (He-Man's sword) wasn't a big deal to me, as long as I kept a handle on the saddle and faceplate for the cat. The saddle never stayed on.

My cousin, though, had the entire collection. Skeletor, the Castle Greyskull playset, the guy with the gears in his chest, and the telescoping neck, the guy with the arms and the mustache, other guys... everything. I'd go over sometimes and play with the castle and Skeletor, because they were both the coolest. Also, I remember thinking the castle belonged to Skeletor, because, hello, he's a skeleton and the castle is shaped like a giant skull. It looks like an evil castle. (this is actually what sparked the wikipedia research. I've always thought Greyskull was Skeletor's but apparently I was incorrect. Or maybe not...


Silverhawks:

This is one of the few cartoons I remember and no one else does. This is also one of the few cartoons I remember being totally cool when, in fact, upon reviewing it totally was not. Seriously the lamest theme song ever "Wings of silver, nerves of steel (Silverhawks)/ Partly metal, partly real (Silverhawks)" Lame, lame, lame lame lame. (And the battle cry was "Tallyhaaawwwwk!" Honestly.) But that's ok, I thought it was great as a kid, and what kid doesn't make mistakes of that nature? No kid. Unless you're a zombie. (Or possibly Martha Stewart - I imagine she spent one summer of her childhood lost, away from home, accidently locked in a dark basement of a summer cottage with no windows, rats for friends, and nothing but pinecones, four-inch ribbon, and craft glue to keep her company for the three months before they found her.)

But, the folks that brought us Silverhawks only did so because they enjoyed such success with their earlier release:


Thundercats:

Reading up on wikipedia you'll find some interesting trivia. While none of the Silverhawks or Thundercat lore/history/metadata is as prolific as He-Man's, there are still some entertaining questions to ... entertain.

For example: Did Cheetara favor Tygra or Lion-O? (Ignoring the fact that a comic series published after the cartoon ended has her winding up with Panthro)...

For me I've got to say Lion-O, because I'm pretty sure (and have been since I was four, though I probably couldn't have verbalized it until much later) that Tygra is totally, totally gay.

Look at him! Skin-tight leotard cut to capri length, the 'y' instead of an 'i' in his name, he's the "intelligent" one. Right.

On the other hand, I don't think she'd really prefer Lion-O, he looks like a perverted Bozo the Clown (and that guy already looked perverse).

Multi-cultural too (in a stereotypical kind of way): Panthro, the strong black mechanic who never finished high school; Tygra, the ..."intellectual" who lords his ivy-league education over everyone every chance he gets; Cheetara, the sexy Latina seductress who never contributes; Snarf, the white-trash, slow, hillbilly uncle; and the twins, Wilykat and Wilykit, average teenagers, probably hooked on video games and methamphetamines.

The bad guys though. Damn. They kicked ass. An ancient mummy channelling the spirits of the four great evils? Kick-ass! And he couldn't be killed! The worst you could do was drive him back to his sarcophagus. And Omens help you if Mum-Ra ever turned into one of his more powerful forms (Mum-Ra the Ever-Living, the All-Powerful, or the Master of Dreams). Scary stuff.

Skeletor had a floating head for a skull! Awesome! Though he did remind me a bit too much of the inept Cobra Commander from the Hasbro side of the aisle. Still. If you can get past the purple loin-cloth to see the floating skull, that's something.

-t

recommended download:
Theme - Silverhawks
Relient K, I'm Lion-O