Lion-O Enters the Book of Omens

by Christopher Scott

ThunderCats   “Legacy” (S01E06)

This episode picks up right where we left our heroes, at the Tower of Omens. The Thundercats have left the chamber where they found the Book of Omens, but Lion-O has stayed behind to try and understand why the book is empty. He believes that the book might actually be a piece of technology instead of just a book. As he starts to take a knife to the spine of the book, a beam of light is emitted from the jewel on the cover, and it proceeds to take his soul inside of the book.

Lion-O awakens to the sound of Jaga’s voice. Apparently he is inside of the book along with Jaga’s soul, which we saw enter the book at the end of the last episode. Jaga explains that Lion-O must learn from the book’s historical records by reliving the past life of one of his ancestors, Leo. The book actually takes Lion-O’s soul and places it into Leo’s body so that now Lion-O is in control of the story. He must relive the events that transpire and achieve the same goals as Leo once did, or the Book of Omens will be closed to him forever.

Leo’s story takes place during the short flashback from the last episode. The cat race is working under the rule of Mumm-Ra. Leo is basically the second-in-command of the cats. Mumm-Ra explains that they are after the Eye of Thundera, for him to control using the Sword of Thundarr. It is a similar sword to the Sword of Omens from what I can tell and it is held by a black gauntlet that is encrusted with gems, similar to Lion-O’s gold gauntlet but much more menacing. Lion-O is commanded to get the slaves prepared to invade the planet where the Eye is being kept.

Lion-O finds a massive area of prison holding cells, where every manner of humanoid creature is being held captive. Dogs, lizards, sharks, and more are all in large rooms separated by species. As the animals are outfitted with collars that will explode should they try to escape, Lion-O and a female cat are caught in the middle of a prison riot. They each hold their own and take two of the prisoners to solitary confinement for acting out. Once there it is made apparent that it was a ruse to get some attention. Both of the prisoners and the female officer have been in cahoots for staging an overthrow of Mumm-Ra. They make some last-minute arrangements, filling in Lion-O as well.

Lion-O is brought to a level of the ship where his new sword and gauntlet are being forged out of the same material as the ones currently being used by Mumm-Ra. The Sword of Omens and its gauntlet are passed to Lion-O and he takes the responsibility very seriously. He and the female cat commander then head for the hanger, where the Eye of Thundera has just been brought aboard. They manage to take it from Captain Tygus, the general who was commencing the attack on the planet’s surface, and place it within its rightful place in the Sword. Lion-O then heads to Mumm-Ra’s chambers to begin the rebellion.

The overly-confident Lion-O confronts his would-be leader, ready for battle. I would have been confident too had I been in Lion-O’s shoes. However, this is short-lived. Where Lion-O believes he has the single greatest power in the universe in the palm of his paw, Mumm-Ra is quick to inform him that there are actually three additional gems with similar attributes in existence. And, it just so happens, Mumm-Ra has already collected these three stones and incorporated them into his black gauntlet. Though he seems to be outmatched, his bull-headed nature kicks in as he decides to do battle with Mumm-Ra in light of this information. As the two clash, the scene thoroughly redefines epic.

Lion-O manages to knock loose one of the stones in Mumm-Ra’s gloves and takes its power into his own. The two foes don some incredible looking “space-armor” and go back to the fight. They manage to shatter the hull of the ship, do some more fighting in zero gravity, and re-enter unscathed. At one point Lion-O gets the upper hand and takes a few moments to free and rally the slave creatures. Mumm-Ra reappears and the two continue to battle until Lion-O conquers his enemy.

Mumm-Ra is beaten and has reverted back to the withered corpse-like body he normally displays. His magical stones are stripped away and fused into Lion-O’s gauntlet. He leaves the broken being that is Mumm-Ra to fend for himself as he returns to the bridge of the ship. Because of all the commotion earlier, the ship is in disarray and headed to crash on a nearby planet: Third Earth. Everyone prepares for impact just as Lion-O’s soul is once again torn back into the pages of the book and to the soul of Jaga.

Jaga informs him that the remaining stones are to be his next target, but that during his quest he must also strive to unite the many species of Third Earth. Without their aid, the Thundercats cannot hope to conquer Mumm-Ra’s tyranny. From what I can tell of Lion-O thus far, making friends should not be an issue. Jaga sends his spirit to return to his body, and in a flash Lion-O awakens back in the Tower of Omens to some confused looks from his team. It should be interesting trying to explain this adventure to them!

Another fantastic episode to the series that is finally starting to take shape! I can’t wait to see what happens next. Out of all the species you saw in the episode, which one stands out as the most interesting that you would like to see the cats encounter? Sound off below!