Thundercats has got to be one of the cartoon legends from the 80's! The Thundercats are humanoids that originate from the Planet Thundera. Their planet was destroyed by the Sword of Plundar and they were chased to Third Earth by the mutants from Plundar.
When they get to Third Earth, the mutants team up with an Evil (Egyptian Mummy Like) Bad Guy named Mumm-Ra (who interestingly enough is also a foreigner to the planet, he actually comes from First Earth). The Mutants and Mumm-Ra are intent on both dominating Third Earth and also getting hold of the Eye of Thundera, which is the crystal lodged in the hilt of Liono’s Sword of Omens.
105 episodes of the show were made, plus a film Thundercats-HO!, and in total the show ran from 1985 through to 1990.
Lion-o
The Lord of the ThunderCats Lion-O is actually only eight years old. Whilst in transport from Thundera to 3rd Earth his body continued to grow, so that when we first see him he is a full-grown man, but he has the mind of a child. Hence why he still needs help and advice from his fellow ThunderCats and nurse-maid (Snarf).
Lion-o also is often guided by the spirit of Jaga. Jaga was Lion-o's guardian, but he died piloting the flagship of the ThunderFleet safely to Third Earth, whilst the other ThunderCats were in their stasis pods.
In the background of the above picture it is possible to see the Cat's Lair, this was built with the help of the native inhabitants of Third Earth and is the ThunderCats safe haven. One 'paw' lifts to allow the Thundertank to drive out, and the other holds the 'Feliner' which is the ThunderCats spacecraft. I also seem to remember from watching this as a kid, that the eyes had some sort of red lasers in them (but this may be complete rubbish! I'm not sure).
The Cat's Lair also has state of the art sat-nav etc. and is often used to communicate with passing space-craft all of this is quite surprising considering all the 3rd Earth natives live in tree-houses, they must have just supplied the brute labour, rather than technical know-how!
Sight Beyond Sight!
This seems like a good point to talk about Lion-o's weaponry. One of the key things that gives the ThunderCats the edge over the bad-guys, other than all their chivalry, working together as a team, never give up attitude etc. is that they have some hardcore weaponry on their side!
Lion-o in particulary has the Sword of Omens, which contains the Eye of Thundera, the source of the ThunderCats power. As you will see from any episode, the Sword can grow into a full broad-sword, shoot laser-like beams, deflect attacks etc.
However the most memorable functionality of the sword has to be Lion-o shouting 'Thunder, Thunder, Thunder Cats - Ho' it then shoots a Batman style beam into the air from the Eye of Thundera, which calls the other ThunderCats to him, and gives them all some sort of adrenaline rush that makes their eyes glow and the insignia on their chests light up! Secondly as shown in the clip above the sword also gives Lion-o 'Sight beyond Sight' a bit like a spider-sense allowing him to see trouble before it happens.
Lion-o also carries the Claw-Shield, as per the above clip this holds the Sword of Omens (when it is dormant) and also acts as a shield when fighting. It also shoots out claws that act as grappling hooks allowing Lion-o to swing out of danger etc.
Mumm-Ra The Ever Living!
Mumm-Ra normally goes round by day as a small unassuming mummy in a red cape, however when he calls on the Ancient Spirits of Evil he becomes a cross between a WWF wrestler and the Incredible Hulk!
Mumm-Ra actually has quite a hard time of it. He get skilled at the end of the film between season 1 and 2 called ThunderCats Ho!. (but guess what happens at the beginning of Season 2 titled 'Mumm-ra Lives!'
But then, worst of all his own allies, the ancient spirits of Evil get sick of him always bungling up his conquest of Third Earth and they exile him to the farthest regions of the universe, although he does make it back for Season 5!
Ancient Spirits of Evil . . .
Incredible Hulk eat your heart out, this is what you call a transformation!
Cheetarah
Cheetarah is of course famous for being able to run incredibly fast! but did you also know she has telepathic and telekinetic capabilities? At the beginnig of Season 2 it is through her telepathic abilities that the ThunderCats locate some other exiles from Thundera - namely Lynx-O, Bengali and Pumyra. If you want to see the johnny-come lately add-on ThunderCats have a look at the Resources section below for a great ThunderCat bios site.
She also has her staff which can become a shield, shoot other staffs, become a pole-vaulting staff etc. etc.
Panthro
Panthro is the muscle of the group. He likes to get his hands dirty, fixing machines and is particularly proud of his Thunder-tank - the car/tank that the ThunderCats get about in.
Panthro also has some Nun-Chukas that he uses to club Mutants with, and they can also shoot off electric fields as per the picture above.
The guy that provides Panthro's voice is also the voice of Jaga (Earl Hyman).
Tygra
If Panthro is the muscle of the group then Tygra is definitely the brains! He is the scientist of the group who looks after all of their technology & weapons that gives then such an advantage over the Mutants, and he also single-handedly designed & built the Cat's Lair.
Tygra has a bolo-whip as a weapon that can also make him invisible which comes in very handy when fighting the bad-guys.
Wily-Kit and Wily-Kat
These two kids generally run around getting into trouble. They've got these 'Back to the Future' style hover-boards that they get about Third Earth on.
They don't really have weapons as such, just all of those things yuo were never allowed to get from the joke shop when you were a kid - Itching Powder, stink-bombs, exploding pellets etc.
Snarf
Snarf is the comic relief. He is really called Osbert (Snarf is the name of his species), but understandably he tries to keep the name Osbert hidden! Snarf was Lion-O's nanny back on Thundera, and although Lion-o has prematurely grown up, he still relies on Snarf's sage advise from time to time.
Snarf also has a younger relative Snarfer, that makes a few appearances throughout the series, between the two of them they provide the slap-stick humour to the show.
Jaga
Jaga, the ghost guy who appears in the credits is Lion-O's old mentor. He appears every now and then to help out the ThunderCats Obi-Won Kenobi style!
Jaga is basically a self-sacrificing hero. It was because of him that the ThunderCats made it to Third Earth. While they all slept in the stasis pods, Jaga piloted the craft safely on its course from Thundera to Third Earth. He unfortunately died on the voyage, but remains as a ghostly figure to guide the ThunderCats regarding their native culture and laws atc.
S-S-S-Slythe!
Leader of the Bad-Guys, with a fantastic voice!
JackalMan
VultureMan
Monkian
ThunderCats: The Lyrics
[Lion-o] Thunder, thunder, thundercats, Ho!
Thundercats are on the move,
Thundercats are loose,
Feel the magic, hear the Roar,
Thundercats are loose,
ThunderCats Intro Theme 
