Peter Lawrence
Reviewed by: Zack Ramadan (aka thezaxfactor)
Welcome back to this special five-part antigravityfest. Part II is over; put down that doughnut!
Mumm-Ra emerges well-rested from his sarcophagus. He scratches Ma-Mutt behind the ears, then picks him up and approaches the cauldron. He is refreshed, and ready to celebrate the destruction of the New Cats' Lair and his victory over the ThunderCats. The cauldron, however, disappoints him. Cats' Lair is near completion.
Mumm-Ra reminds us that by now, the entire Valley of Stone Giants should have disintegrated, and the ThunderCats should have been flung from New Thundera to perish in deep space. As if it's taken him all this while to process the information, Mumm-Ra suddenly has a rather humorous spasm and lets go of Ma-Mutt, crying, "Ah, what can have happened?!" In perfect Looney Toons style, Ma-Mutt hovers for a moment to look at the ground beneath him before falling with a whimper and a thud.
Ma-Mutt stands there and watches his master, thinking, "Are you going to drop me every day this week?" Mumm-Ra paces back and forth, talking out loud. He concludes that Jagara must have repaired the Gyroscope. They must pay her another visit, and this time, she will do his bidding or perish.
Down in the Valley, the Lair really is almost done. The Head is on a separate platform, and the upper levels of the Lair aren't quite done; but the Council Chamber is complete, and the ThunderCats are having a little meeting in it right now. Let's join them.
Lion-O says he has called this Council meeting for a progress report. Lynxo reminds us that the transmission received by Snarfer in Part II came from a group of Thunderian refugees. He explains that there is likely a large number of Thunderians who could be returning home, now that Thundera has reformed. Regarding the current refugees, their message said that they had been captured by Two-Time near the Churning Rocks. They have know idea what or who Two-Time is, and Lion-O and Cheetara's expedition to the Churning Rocks in Part II turned up nothing.
Cut to a non-descript locale: horizon, bare rocks, pretty drab. A strange, teardrop shaped ship flies overhead and then lands, stirring up quite a bit of dirt. Within, we hear cries for help. They're coming from a cell, and in the cell we see four Thunderians. One adult male, part lion, demands water from Two-Time. It's Lion-O's Australian cousin, the same one we heard yesterday on the Snarf communicator.
Two-Time enters from across the chamber. He's a robot, and a very strange robot at that. His arms extend up past his shoulders and have feet on the tops. Likewise his legs extend up past his thighs and have hand on the tops. Oh, and he has a second head between his legs. So he's perfectly symmetrical, does that make sense?
Two-Time is not interested in their complaints, and tells them to shut up. The Thunderian from Down Under explains that they are only poor Thunderian refugees trying to return to their homeland and rebuild their lives. The other three, presumably his wife, child, and mother, cower in the back of the cell. Two-Time disagrees. "You are my prisoners," he says, "and you will be my slaves, imprisoned in my magnificent ship, Domedown, serving my every need."
When our Australian lion remains defiant, Two-Time laughs bizarrely and presses a button on his forehead. Green beams shoot from his eyes and strike the Thunderians, causing them to flip and hover upside-down. Two-Time chuckles, telling them that if they submit, he will allow them to walk again. If they resist, they'll spend the rest of their lives on their heads. He then chuckles some more, and his head starts spinning every which way. Creepy.
Back at the Lair, Lion-O sends Lynxo, Bengali, and Cheetara to scour New Thundera sector by sector for the refugees. They salute and run off, even Lynxo, which makes no sense. Once they've gone, Lion-O wishes out loud that he knew the reason for Thundera's reformation. Panthro agrees: if they knew, it might help explain the strange gravity changes and earth tremors they've been experiencing. Actually, no, it won't, but it's a nice thought.
Panthro tells Lion-O that he and the ThunderKittens have been working on a solution to solve the mystery. They enter one of the Lair's hangars and show Lion-O the latest addition to their fleet. The Whisker, shaped like a cat's head, is a tracker vehicle. It's whiskers are probes that can be programmed to search for anything. It ought to help them get to the bottom of what's been happening on New Thundera. They decide to take it for a spin.
Near the Churning Rocks, Lynxo, Bengali, and Cheetara are beginning their search for the refugees. There's no sign of anything strange here. Cheetara despairs that the refugees could be anywhere by now.
The Whisker, meanwhile, is surveying some undisclosed location. The whiskers dig into the ground, and at first interpret only "regular static patterns." But then the probes sense a strange magnetic forcefield somewhere in the distance, so the whiskers retract and our heroes fly off toward the magnetic disturbance.
The Thunderstrike is now surveying the Caverns of Cold, which are just as desolate as the area surrounding the Churning Rocks.
The source of the magnetic disturbance must have been Domedown, because the Whisker is headed straight for it. While they are still at some distance from it, a tractor beam grabs hold of them and pulls them into Domedown. They crash in the same room as the refugees' cell. Just as WilyKit mentions that this place seems "kind of scary," we hear Two-Time (or is it Mongor?). He zaps them with his upside-down beam before they have a chance to react, and then welcomes them, calling them friends. Lion-O says that this is a strange way to treat friends, and the Kittens demand that he let them down from this uncomfortable position. Two-Time informs them that they misunderstand; in Domedown, he gives the orders and they obey.
Lion-O refuses to "hang around any longer." Larry Kenney knew it was a lame joke, and sort of sighed in the middle of it in an "I can't believe I'm saying this" kind of way. Anyway, Lion-O jams the Sword into the floor and HOs. As the signal busts through the glass ceiling, we get some recycled Exodus animation of Thundera's explosion. Thought we wouldn't notice, eh? Cheap bastards. In the Thunderstrike, Cheetara notices the signal, and has Lynxo change course to follow it.
At the Churning Rocks, Mumm-Ra and his dog arrive. Mumm-Ra tells Ma-Mutt to stay put while he persuades Jagara to kick the New Cats' Lair off the planet. Just as he's about to transform, the Thunderstrike flies overhead. "Ekh, ThunderCats!" he hisses hatefully. Cheetara spots him, and is shocked. Lynxo says that it can't be him, since he was banished before they left Third Earth; but Bengali agrees that it is indeed Mumm-Ra. Lynxo doesn't care; their priority right now is to help Lion-O. Bengali acquiesces: "We'll deal with that bonebag later."
Mumm-Ra has a feeling that he's been spotted and tells Ma-Mutt that they must work quickly. He transforms into Mumm-Jaga and tells Ma-Mutt that he will return soon. Ma-Mutt tilts his head suspiciously.
Back at Domedown, Two-Time orders Lion-O to give him the Sword. Lion-O rips the Sword out of the floor plating and HOs in Two-Time's direction. A blast of white energy sends Two-Time flying head over heels into a wall. One of his heads seems to be out of commission, and the other head is yelling at it not to quit. Panthro commends Lion-O's aim, but wonders how to get rightside-up again. Our Australian refugee answers him, saying that the button on Two-Time's forehead controls the gravity in Domedown.
Lion-O heeds the advice and HOs toward the button. The Sword's beam pushes it, and Two-Time's eyes send greenish rays back at the ThunderCats. They're rightside-up again; but pushing his button woke Two-Time up, and he attacks. Lion-O dodges by jumping high into the air. He fires downward and Two-Time, but misses and cuts a wide swath in the floor. That floor is taking a beating!
Two-Time charges as Lion-O lands, but Lion-O catches the robot's punch with the Claw Shield. As Two-Time reverses one of his arm-legs to strike Lion-O again, the Sword of Omens blasts him across the room. Both of his foreheads release streams of smoke. Panthro sums it up: "Two down, none to go."
The ThunderStrike then arrives, and while Panthro and Lion-O debrief Lynxo, the Kittens free the refugees. By the size of the explosion from their pellets, it's a wonder the refugees aren't melted.
In the Great Beneath, Mumm-Jaga materializes behind Jagara. She expresses relief upon seeing him (even though he has glowy red eyes), explaining that someone has sabotaged the Great Gyroscope, stealing the regulator. Oh no! A quick glimpse at the Gyroscope's control system shows yesterday's stalactite wedged firmly in the regulator's place. Anyway, Jagara can't work out how it happened: her mind's a blank.
Mumm-Jaga reminds her of their "agreement" to knock the false ThunderCats and their false Cats' Lair off of New Thundera. Mumm-Jaga's eyes emit spooky red ribbons, which wind their way around Jagara and entrance her once more.
Standing over Two-Time's smoking corpse, Lion-O remarks that New Thundera is a strange place. "Not as strange as it's going to be," says Cheetara. "We saw Mumm-Ra on our way in." everyone in the group cries "Mumm-Ra?!" in unison. When Bengali says that they saw him at the Churning Rocks, the wheels start turning. Lion-O puts all the pieces together for us: Mumm-Ra, earth tremors, and massive gravity switches. Of course, they all must be connected. Okay, I don't quite see the logic, but whatever, they're right. The jig is up.
The Thunderian refugee speaks up now, suggesting that they leave Domedown before Two-Time wakes up. Lion-O doesn't really acknowledge the suggestion; he just issues orders. Lynxo, Bengali, and Cheetara are to take the refugees back to the Lair, while the rest of them head to the Churning Rocks to deal with Mumm-Ra.
As the Whisker approaches the Churning Rocks, the Eye of Thundera warns Lion-O of danger. Using Sight Beyond Sight, he sees Jaga in the Great Beneath. Lion-O doesn't quite get it, and asks the Eye to show him more. So the Eye kindly superimposes a transparent Mumm-Ra over Jaga. Oh! It's Mumm-Jaga! Thanks for clearing that up. Lion-O tells Panthro what he's seen as they descend.
Jagara, meanwhile, is ripping apart the Gyroscope's control system. How she's managing to not get electrocuted is unclear. And anyway, Mumm-Jaga's laughing his ass off, which makes it okay. She stops her ripping, though, when she notices a red glow on the ceiling. The glow intensifies, the rock explodes, and in flies the Sword of Omens with Lion-O hanging on tight. Panthro and the Kittens follow.
Jagara is not sure who they are, and so Mumm-Jaga quickly informs her that these are the false ThunderCats. Lion-O approaches Jagara, noting that she appears to be a ThunderCat, just like them. Mumm-Jaga wags his arms in displeasure, repeating that they are false ThunderCats, and that they must be destroyed. Lion-O responds, telling Jagara that while Mumm-Jaga may look like Jaga, he is actually Mumm-Ra. Mumm-Jaga fires back that Lion-O is the impostor. Jagara doesn't know what to think, and backs away slowly from both parties.
Panthro now steps up to mediate, saying that this can all be settled very easily. Smartly, in an effort to excite Mumm-Jaga's militance, he whirls his nunchucks around a bit. Mumm-Jaga takes the bait, and threatens him outright. "Uh uh uh," says Panthro, "that's not how Jaga would act. You are Jaga, aren't you?" Mumm-Jaga looks pissed, and Jagara notices. Panthro turns his attention to her. He introduces Lion-O to her as the Lord of the ThunderCats, and then catches the Sword of Omens as Lion-O tosses it to him. She recognizes the Sword, and the Eye of Thundera. This recognition drives Mumm-Ra's evil spell from her, and her eyes turn back to their natural lavender.
Panthro informs Jagara that the Sword of Omens cannot be used for evil. Jagara agrees; she's a smart girl. Panthro offers the Sword to Mumm-Jaga, saying that if they are false and he is true, he should use the Sword to destroy them. Mumm-Jaga is stuck, and really has no choice. As soon as he touches the Sword, his disguise melts away, and he is revealed as Mumm-Ra.
Mumm-Ra immediately energizes for an attack, his hands crackling with pink lightning. He launches his attack at Lion-O; but Panthro returns the Sword to him and he deflects the attack. It backfires on Mumm-Ra, and he starts to phase in and out of his Ever-living form. Mumm-Ra acknowledges that the ThunderCats have won this battle; but, he proclaims, they will never win the war, because he has the regulator! New Thundera will disintegrate, the ThunderCats will be destroyed, along with their "loathesome catbox," and evil will prevail! Bwahahahaha!!! See you tomorrow, boys and girls.
Mumm-Ra's hilarious spasm upon seeing the New Cats' Lair near completion.
The transition between the ThunderCats leaving Domedown and the Whisker approaching the Churning Rocks. The music is fun, and WilyKat does an unnecessary cartwheel.
Mumm-Ra: My efforts to control Jagara, to eliminate the ThunderCats from my life, had weakened me.
Ma-Mutt: *whimper*
Mumm-Ra: No, you have no cause to worry Ma-Mutt.
"They may even call it New Thundera..." Lynxo, of other Thunderians to have survived the Destruction.
WilyKat: You see, Lion-O, while you've been running around New Thundera, getting yourself in trouble...
WilyKit: ...we've been helping Panthro to build...
WilyKat: ...tada...
WilyKit: ...the Whisker!
"The ThunderCats must have seen us, Ma-Mutt. We must do our evil quickly." Mumm-Ra
Lion-O, referring to the Thunderstrike: Here comes the cavalry.
Panthro: Late, as usual.
Panthro: We can settle this thing very easily.
Mumm-Jaga: I'll finish you...!
Panthro: Uh uh uh, that's not how Jaga would act. You are Jaga, aren't you?
This is the first appearance of any Thunderian refugees. We now know that there are Thunderians wandering in space, trying to return home. We'll meet more of them later.
Two-Time and Domedown make their first of two appearances in this episode.
This is the first appearance of the Whisker, a new vehicle that seats four and comes standard with four sets of headphones.
The separation between Thunderian and ThunderCat is visible, when Torr prefaces his suggestion to leave Domedown with "Forgive me if I speak out of place, ThunderCats, but..."
Jagara is familiar with the Sword of Omens and the Eye of Thundera.
Simply by recognizing the Eye of Thundera, Jagara was freed from Mumm-Ra's spell. That's pretty nifty.
* Script Scans
Click here to read an archive of old comments. Text file will open in another window.
Captures from Return to Thundera Part III
|