Episode 167 Fantastic Four #607: Inert

Unpacking the Power of Power Pack

Heavy sits the panther mask that sits upon the brow of a soverein.....Thankfully that is all Shuri's problem since T'Challa has given up the crown and role of protector of Wakanda. That is a lot for us to talk about, but instead, we are going to talk about something else.

We are going to talk about ThunderCats, the original cartoon from the '80s. Why would we do that, well it was because both Jeff and I just felt that someone wanted us to talk about it. I mean, you just need to look at some of these pictures. We just have to present what we have been given.

Starting in 1985 as a cartoon, this reenactment of this historical (or futuristic?) documentary is a profound look at the adventures of a scrappy group of refugees from the planet Thundera. These humanoid cats face countless struggles as they try to establish themselves on a new planet after their own was destroyed by environmental failures and an over-planting of catnip.

Me.....yow!

Look, there are a lot of questions that we have asked and never got clear answers. Like, how does this group think they are going to repopulate their race with six different species of cats. The only pair of the group that are from the same branch are brother and sister so....ew. And poor Cheetara seems to be sweet on Tygra who is really just a bore.

Let's leave the relationships and procreation aside and focus on their sweet crib. The Transformers crash on Earth and spend decades hiding out in their wrecked spaceship. The ThunderCats spend a hot minute scoping out the land, finding the best section of real estate they can, and knock out a state-of-the-art fortress in a couple of weeks.

For every great protagonist, you need a really good villain to annoy your plans on an easy recolonization story. And we all know the natural enemy of all cats....mummies. Mumm-Ra is an interesting character. He wants power and is evil, I guess, but he also does seem to be the only main character of the series who is from the planet these cats are squatting on. So, does that make him the actual hero?

That is a Rabit Hole

Maybe I should move on from this observation before we dig a hole we cannot get out of.

Back to the villains, one last little thing. You have to love the idea that this small band of heroes were chased across the stars by four to five full tribes that have something like infinite members. Sure, there is a leader of each of the tribe, but it seems like they have a small host to use as cannon fodder when needed by the plot.

Whatever, we loved our silly cartoons.

You can see the art we were talking about here: https://jeffandrickpresent.wordpress.com/2024/08/20/fantastic-four-607-inert/

We also have some merchandise over at Redbubble. We have a couple of nifty shirts for sale. https://www.redbubble.com/people/jeffrickpresent/?asc=u

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Eighties Action by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3703-eighties-action
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Music (CC BY 4.0): Rust Rebellion by Sascha Ende