William Overgard
Reviewed by: Purrsia
In this final episode, we go out on an Overgardian note. Considering, it coulda been a helluva lot weirder.
Panthro and Lion-O are rattled within the New Thundera Lair by earthquakes, which apparently have been happening over the course of weeks and getting worse. Panthro has more bad news. He notes not only are they worse, but the planet is falling apart. Holy deja vu!
But this time, Panthro thinks the answers to stopping the destruction lie within the Book of Omens. He shows Lion-O how he figured out an alternate way of getting in the Book using the Key (the lengths this guy goes to when he thinks there's pr0n to look at! Lion-O: "Panthro! Your interest in ThunderPorn has saved us. I don't know what to say. No really...I don't know what to say." j/k)
The Key opens the book and the Guardian speaks. He tells them that they must use the Treasure of Thundera to save the planet by presenting certain pieces in certain places at the right time. If they fail, they will be frozen in time for all eternity. If they succeed, not only will the planet be saved but all the weird places will be "healed" and become normal boring slabs of real estate again.
They're told to take the tile from the fountain to the Caverns of Cold to restore the landscape. To change the Baleful Swamp into a sparkling lake, they must present the golden oar there. They must deliver a gem to the Moutains of the Moon and a flag to the Iron Glades, and those places too will become pleasant. Finally, the Key must be presented to the Guardian at the twenty fourth hour...or else!
His instructions given, the Key is spat out of the book's key hole leaving the Thundercats to their task. They rush off to delegate the tasks among the Thundercats. When they leave the chamber, a scarob jewels comes to life and mophs into the form of...Mumm-Ra. The mummy cackles evilly as he takes the Book and Key.
Meanwhile, Cheetara and Lynx-O set off in the ThunderStrike to the Caverns of Cold. Panthro and Snarf take the Feliner to go to the Mountains of the Moon. Snarfer and Bengali head off to the Baleful Swamp while the Thunderkittens jet off in the Whisker to the Iron Glades. Lion-O was to stay behind and do the whole Book/Key part, but when he goes back to the chamber, he finds them missing. Immediately, he knows who to suspect.
Mumm-Ra is at his pyramid, in everliving form, and contemplating going into the book to present the key. Why would he do this? He wants to save the planet but he also wants the Thundercats to be frozen in time. He seems to think he can do both. The ASOE, however, don't want Mumm-Ra looking into the face of good. They would rather just pick up and move on and let the planet die and the Thundercats with it. Plus, they fear if all the secrets from the book are revealed, that their evil powers will wither. Mumm-Ra, motivated by a need to rule New Thundera, defies the spirits and uses the key to enter the book.
Lion-O shows up at the pyramid just as Mumm-Ra goes inside the book. The ASOE wail and Lion-O laments being locked out of the Book. Er. Didn't need it to get IN before, dummy. Not with the Sword. But - who needs canon consistency? Or at least, why start now am I right?
Meanwhile, the other cats are on their tasks. Lynx-O and Cheetara don their warm suits and venture into the Caverns of Cold to find the frozen fountain where the tile needs to be presented. They're trapped by an ice avalanche inside the fountain's cavern so their only hope is Lion-O presenting the Key on time. Panthro and Snarf aren't doing much better when a rock slide caused by a cliff sends them plummeting. Bengali and Snarfer land on what they think is an island in the Baleful Swamp, but turns out to be one giant (and giantly pissed off) snapper - they even lose the Hovercat to the swamp waters. Lastly, the kittens are under seige in the Iron Glades courtesy of some viscious and electrically charged pine cones.
In the pyramid, Lion-O's bout of LFS clears and he knows he must use the Sword to enter the Book. The ASOE don't like the idea and the statuettes try to stop him but they're too late. Lion-O is in. Now he must deal with Mumm-Ra and get that Key so he can present it in time. Furthermore, the Guardian freezes the Thundercats - except for Lion-O - and gives Lion-O one minute to get the Key and save his friends.
Mumm-Ra appears and taunts Lion-O with the Key, so they clash. But soon they find out the Key and Sword won't fight one another. Lion-O asks the Guardian what he is to do now, and he suggests doing things the old fashioned way - kicking evil's ass unarmed. So the two duke it out and Lion-O does seem to have Mumm-Ra down for the count.
But the ASOE have a dirty trick up their stony sleeves. They call forth a champion to fight Lion-O, some hideous being they call Pyron. After a brief clash, Lion-O defeats Pyron by fighting fire with fire. In other words, he uses the Sword to activate the same serpants that will roast your butt if you dare enter the Book without the Key. That done, Lion-O is able to present the Key and on time, too.
The Guardian tells Lion-O to signal the Thundercats that victory is at hand. He calls forth the Signal, which flies into the Guardian's fiery eye and animates. A black panther literally leaps forth and travels New Thundera, unfreezing the Thundercats as it passes each pair so that they can present their items and heal the land. It works and all is well.
In the end, there's some environmental speeches and vague notions that evil is never defeated, just held in check - so it's open as to whether Mumm-Ra is gone for good. Then the Thundercats chant their code and battle cry, and thus ends the series. Only true bummer is Pumyra and Tygra don't make an appearance. But still, we got off easy for an Overgard farewell ;)
"No. No! You must not look into the face of Good." - the ASOE, telling Mumm-Ra he must not go into the Book.
"Stand where you are, Mumm-Ra. Evil may not enter the Book of Omens." - Lion-O.
"No one may possess the Key. It belongs to itself, surely as a soul belongs to its body." - Lion-O on the Key of Thundera.
"But in my hand, it will do my bidding. It will destroy your soul." - Mumm-Ra's reply.
"There is no way the Key will harm the Sword of Omens. They are all part of the Book of Omens and so long as they are in the hands of opposing forces, they are impotent." - the Guardian.
"For evil, greed and falsity, I will twist off your lion's head." - Mumm-Ra's twisted take on the Code of Thundera.
"It is not the strength of arms that will win this battle, but the strength of wills." - Mumm-Ra.
"There is more than one face of evil, Lion-O. You can never defeat us all." - Mumm-Ra.
The Book can be opened another way. Instead of using the Sword as in the past, a keypad exists on the lock to the book, and if you punch in the right sequence, the lock slides aside and a key hole appears. Then you can use the Key to Thundera to access the Book and speak to the Guardian. Better than getting your heinie fried any day!
Click here to read an archive of old comments. Text file will open in another window.
Captures from Book of Omens
|