You can have your Sword of Omens, and your Thundera, and your ThunderCats. I am squarely on the side of the evildoers on Third Earth, so while completing the Cats in the ULTIMATES! is likely a major goal for most, I will take the Mutants of Plundarr, thank you very much. With the release of the brutish Monkian, I am one step closer to a satisfying situation of evil triumphant!
Fellow ThunderCats fans (yes, I adore the good guys, too) I know we can be a skittish bunch when it comes to our action figures. We have had an uphill climb of it ever since the 80s, but with the pending shipment of ULTIMATES! series 4 here, the upcoming ThunderTank, and the recent pre-order for U! series 5 – I think we have finally rounded that elusive corner. Sure, we still need series two in our hand (soon!), and Cheetara needs to ship, and there are still a lot of characters to get to, but Super7 is showing us they are committed and onboard and that bright days for Third Earth will continue to be ahead. I am ready for the gloves to be fully off in terms of character selection and universe-building and I think we have arrived.
That said – MAN it is rad to get cool updates of those core characters. I still watch the original ThunderCats cartoon on the regular, and those early episodes of the Cats sparring with the Mutants are some of my favorites. As noted, and like Masters of the Universe, when I was a kid, I was all about the bad guys. I collected the evil characters while my brother collected the good guys (except for Panthro and Snowman – they were MINE!), and my affections for that motley crew remain strongly in place to this day. The best of them, Slithe, was released late last year and I picked him for my favorite figure of 2021. That said, Monkian has always been runner-up in the best Mutant category for me, so getting him so soon after his reptilian friend was exactly what I needed as we start 2022.
I mean, you can hear this figure, right? If you have any familiarity with the original cartoon, you can just hear Monkian’s unique and very simian-like voice right now, yeah? While Slithe was the leader, and Jackalman sinister cur, Monkian was the muscle, and now these Mutant bois can pester the Cats until the brains (Vultureman) arrives in series five. Mumm-Ra’s rabble is shaping up so nicely in ULTIMATES! form, and while Monkian had a test immediately following up Slithe, he has met that challenge in excellent form. I have only had this wave for short time, but this feels like the line really hitting its stride.
The sculpting and detail work done by the Four Horsemen has always been on the up and up (and then some), but the production quality with this wave is what I am most impressed with. Slithe, Cracker, and Jaga in the previous series were all really strong in terms of final product, but everything with Monkian clicks. All of the paint is extremely clean with no slop or bleed to speak of on the figure itself, or the accessories. All of the joints are solid, too. None are loose, but none are too tight either, and they are smooth while still able to hold a pose. I especially like ab crunch here (there is a lot of range) and the rocker ankles and knees provide strong support.
The material choices here are all great, too. The figure is solid, but the loin cloth, shoulder fur, and leg straps are all made of very pliable plastic. I was worried about the fur on shoulders (not removable), but they move quite well, and the left leg strap does not limit posing at all. If I had to grouse about anything, it is that the hands are made of pretty tough plastic, so depending on what weapon or accessory you want to employ, you might need to heat the hands up. I had to do that with the shield. I DO appreciate that we get the splayed hands, but also TWO sets of grip hands, one with side to side movement, and the other with up and down. That helps a lot with posing for the included accessories.
Speaking of, Monkian gets those extra hands, but also two heads (standard and screaming), his chain mace, shield, cartoon blaster. I will, of course, be displaying my figure with the mace and shield, but the gun is great, too, and those up and down hinge hands make posing really fun. The mace employs the same chain type as TMNT Michelangelo’s nunchucks, and the shield had a standard handle on the back. Both heads are very, very nicely done, but I am most certainly a fan of the screaming head, and that will be the one I use on-shelf. I generally shy away from expressive heads like this, but for Monkian, it is very appropriate and makes the figure very, very expressive.
The OG Mutants of Plundarr are together again. Having Monkian join Slithe and Jackalman has been long in the making, but it has most certainly been worth the wait. Now, Mumm-Ra the Ever-Living will be here soon, and Vultureman will follow up later this year. Gang, the ThunderCats ULTIMATES! are moving along now, and I cannot wait to see what is next. I think that even though it has taken some time, this line is going to grow into a very impressive collection with all our old favorites, and some characters finally getting their due for the first time.
Keep it right here – we will have looks at Monkian’s series mates here very soon, you are not gonna wanna miss Lynx-O, Pumm-Ra, and that massive Snowman of Hook Mountain. More soon!
*Thanks to Super7 for sending along these figures for an early look, they will start shipping to all customers soon.
About Post Author
Source: Fwoosh
