List of Thunder Cats Characters - Villains - The Mutants

The Mutants

The Mutants are creatures who are the first villains seen in the series, originating from the planet Plun-Darr. They are the long-time enemies of the Thunderians. Later in the series, it is revealed that events that stemmed from their unsuccessful invasion of Thundera ultimately led to the destruction of that planet. Not content to see the Thunderians lose their homeworld, the Mutants chased after the survivors, using their spaceships to devastate the Thunderian fleet and seeming to destroy the majority of the doomed planet's escaping populace. They then boarded the flagship (which carried the ThunderCat nobles, Jaga the Wise, and the young Lion-O) in attempting to capture the Eye of Thundera. They were repelled and retreated to later relocate the crashed flagship on Third Earth. It was here that Mumm-Ra’s power grounded the Mutant ship, and they were forced to follow his demands once he sank their vessel beneath the desert sands. Though they exhibited an extraordinary incompetence that was characteristic of most cartoon villains, the Mutants managed to construct their own fortress, which they called Castle Plun-Darr after their homeworld, and salvage equipment from their downed spaceship to build weapons and vehicles that they could use on Third Earth (e.g., the Skycutters, the Nosediver, etc.). There was an inconsistency on how many mutants were actually on Third Earth as some episodes had a small army guarding Castle Plun-Darr. But in most episodes, only Slithe, Monkian, Jackalman, and Vultureman, who appeared shortly after the initial few episodes as he was not present during the attack on the Thunderian flagship, were seen. They would later be joined by Rataro, a general in the mutant armies who possessed magical weapons of his own, and who was generally more competent than the primary four mutants, though he was no more successful against the Thundercats than the other mutants were.

In the 2011 series, the Mutants are referred to as "Animals" which their surviving ancestors brought to Third Earth after aiding Lion-O's ancestor Leo in defeating Mumm-Ra. However, while four of the races obtain a stone that made them each a power, the other animals were ultimately outmatched by the Cats and pitted against each other until the Lizards managed to salvage lost technology and ransacked Thundera with help from Mumm-Ra and Grune. Besides the Lizards, the Jackals, the Monkeys, the Birds (sorted into the Bird Nation and the Avistans), and the Rats, among the animal types presented in the reboot are the Dogs, the peaceful Elephants, the Fishmen, aquatic creatures that resemble the TigerSharks, and a character that looks like Mon*Star from SilverHawks.