The Thundercats are the latest ’80s nostalgia IP to get a revamp, this time from Dynamite, in Thundercats #1, written by Declan Shalvey, drawn by Drew Moss, colored by Arcancia Studio and lettered by Jeff Eckleberry.
Even among its fans — among whose ranks I count myself — it’s hard to deny that the Thundercats are in the second tier of ’80s intellectual properties designed, in the wake of Ronald Reagan’s deregulation of the FCC, to sell kids toys via animated series that served as thinly guised commercials. Derivative in their own way of both the Masters of the Universe (in their blend of fantasy and science fiction elements) and Transformers (with their shared “refugees from another planet bringing conflict to the doorstep of their new home”), Thundercats nevertheless developed a large enough following that some decades later, demand still exists for the further adventures of Lion-O, Mumm-Ra and the rest.
With Thundercats #1, Dynamite is the latest comic book publisher to attempt to scratch that itch (Was that a cat joke? Yes.) during the current boomlet of comics born of ’80s toy nostalgia. Yet just as with the last such boomlet at the turn of the century (in which Wildstorm published some Thundercats comics in the wake of the successful GI Joe and Transformers revivals by Devil’s Due and Dreamwave, respectively), this relaunch comes in the wake of the ballyhooed “Energon Universe” relaunch of GI Joe and Transformers by Robert Kirkman’s Skybound imprint at Image. Given the shared similarities already present in their setups as well as the publication circumstances, with Thundercats #1 coming just a couple months after Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers #1, it’s hard not to compare the two. Unfortunately, that comparison does Thundercats #1 no favors.
Thundercats #1 starts off with the familiar-to-fans origin of the Thundercats, of the ruling class of cat-themed humanoids fleeing their apocalyptic home planet of Thundera in search of a new home, of being beset by murderous mutants (different mutants) in search of the Thundercats’ cherished Eye of Thundera artifact, set in the hilt of the Sword of Omens, of the Obi-Wan Kenobi-like Jaga sacrificing himself to see the rest of his people delivered safely to their new home on Third Earth, of their future ruler, Lion-O thrust into leadership by an accident that leaves him significantly older on arrival than when the Thundercats began their journey, of the resultant conflict between the headstrong, brash tendencies of this teenager-in-an-adult-body and his new responsibilities as the leader of a refugee people and wielder of the Sword of Omens in an increasingly hostile environment.
Yet in that familiarity, it stumbles. For most of its pages, Thundercats #1 reads like an abbreviated adaptation of the inaugural episode of the animated series, recreating scenes and shots directly from the cartoon. There’s a brevity to the pacing — the adaptation of the initial setup lasts all of three pages — which seems like an effort to move past a reestablishment of the world and get into something more original, but what follows is still treading familiar ground. There are sequences which are new — such as a training sequence between Lion-O and Panthro — and which offer some mildly new context (Panthro describes himself as Lion-O’s general, a description that fits with previous incarnations of the character but hasn’t necessarily been expressed that directly before), but for the most part, even these are covering the same kind of ground as the launch of the animated series.
Even the central action sequence of the issue, when Slythe and the mutants catch up to the Thundercats and attack a brooding Lion-O, is effectively lifted from the animated series. Here, as there, it sets up the big “Thundercats, ho!” moment as Lion-O uses the Sword of Omens to call his allies to his side. And look, I’m not a monster; I understand that’s a moment writer Declan Shalvey and company likely felt was necessary to include in this first issue, and I’m not inclined to disagree. It just would have felt a bit more exciting if it wasn’t being recreated so directly from a previous incarnation of this story.
When fellow Has-Bro Tony Thornley and I reviewed Transformers #1, one of the things we appreciated was the way it balanced the familiar and the new, retelling the broad strokes of the Transformers’ origins with some winking references for longtime fans while injecting a new sensibility — in terms of both plot points and artistic style — into the story. Similarly, the inaugural Skybound G.I. Joe issues use some familiar beats, tropes and characters to ground some of the wilder, more inventive swings in the new status quo. In doing so, they manage to engage jaded, aging fans both looking to hang out with some old friends and see someone do something new with their favorite toys, as well as theoretical new readers coming to the characters for the first time, drawn by the promise of new artistic styles and fresh(er) takes. There’s very little of that in Thundercats #1.
Of course, this isn’t terrible. Artist Drew Moss brings a sort of Ed McGuinness-esque cartoony energy to the figures and layouts, which fits the material and its animated ancestry well. While the plotting isn’t impressive, Shalvey displays a knack for character voices — it’s easy to hear Lion-O’s dialogue in the voice of Larry Kenny from the animated series. Thundercats #1 also ends on its strongest note — which isn’t the worst thing for a serial story like this to do — with the first big deviations from the heretofore familiar Thundercats origin tale. In this, it at least teases the idea that future issues may tread new ground and find a better balance between the old and the new.
Yet unfair as it may be, it’s impossible not to compare this to similar revamps and relaunches of other nostalgia-driven ’80s properties launched within the past few months. By dint of their subject matter, the creative teams involved and the timing of their releases, all of these series are in a conversation with each other, whether they like it or not. And unfortunately for Thundercats fans, the initial contribution to that conversation made by Thundercats #1 is a muted and mostly forgettable one.
Austin Gorton also reviews older issues of X-Men at the Real Gentlemen of Leisure website, co-hosts the A Very Special episode podcast, and likes Star Wars. He lives outside Minneapolis, where sometimes, it is not cold. Follow him on Twitter @AustinGorton