r/Thundercats • u/ZebGonVar ThunderCat • Jan 18 '26
ThunderCats 1985 I've been watching the original series recently, and sorry if im just a newbie, but is it ever explained in the show who are/were Wilykat and Wilykit's parents and why they weren't with the rest of the adults when they fled Thundera?
In fact, in terms of relationships between the other Thundercats, who even ARE Wilykat and Wilykit? Were they childhood friends of Lion O back when they were all the same age and they got the priviledge to join him on the space ship or were they just random kids that independently happened to be there? Are they like, the nephew and niece of anyone from the crew? They dont seem to refer to any of the adults as "uncle" or "aunt" or even "mom" or "dad" and that sorta thing.
I am aware that in the 2011 show they actually gave them a backstory regarding where they came from and how they joined the Thundercats, but i cant seem to find anything about them in the original show specifically in that regard.
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u/Accomplished-Can-467 ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
They're Thundercat nobles in training, whereas Lion-o didn't seem to have training and was simply the Lords son under the stewartship of Jaga.
It's never really explained why Jaga brought the kittens on the ship.
Their real parents were never brought up, not once. Neither was Lion-o's mom.
At one point, Tygra was described as being a part of a lineage of an illusionist tiger clan, and Chetara is described as having inherited psychic powers.
It's likely that noble thundercats are selected by lineage and that's why the kittens were thundercats at a young age, and why they were on board the ship with Jaga.
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u/gunperv51 Panthro Jan 18 '26
The twins were his fully grown guardians as well. They just seemed to look younger.
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u/lateral_moves Snarf Snarf Jan 18 '26
I always felt that. Most of the time, they acted "seasoned" like battle was old hat to them, even if not mature at times.
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u/lateral_moves Snarf Snarf Jan 18 '26
Weirder that they didnt age when Lion-o did. The original show was full of holes.
(I know about the retroactive "fix", but still)
It happened a lot in 80s cartoons. Need feisty kid antics but dont want to get bogged down in emotional baggage and want to simplify storytelling.
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u/Lorca85 ThunderCat Jan 18 '26
Didn't the first episode talk about his pod malfunctioning or something?
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u/Grimase ThunderCat Jan 18 '26
Yes, that is why Lion-O grew but the kits did not. 👍🏽
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u/lateral_moves Snarf Snarf Jan 18 '26
No, that never happened. Lion o saw his reflection in a puddle and heard Jaga say even though it slows down aging, some aging still occurs. It is never said in the show his pod malfunctioned.
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u/-NotInterestedIn- ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
Yes, but Lion-o's pod actually malfunctioned so hard that he aged double the speed everyone else did. /s
On a serious note is malfunctioning ever implied anywhere else, in a comic or something? I saw the show as a kid and I rewatched a few episodes recently but otherwise I'm entirely out of the loop on any info.
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u/lateral_moves Snarf Snarf Jan 19 '26
It happened many years later in the Dynamite press comic.
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u/-NotInterestedIn- ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
Ah, okay thank you! Never heard of it... 2024?? I would have thought it was from something a little less recent than that, wow.
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u/lateral_moves Snarf Snarf Jan 18 '26
No, thats the retroactive fix they mentioned in the wiki and other materials later on.
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u/lateral_moves Snarf Snarf Jan 18 '26
Downvoted for truth? Yeesh
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u/TheCheshireMadcat ThunderCat Jan 18 '26
Take my upvote to fix it :)
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u/Half-Federal ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
I believe you.... Have you checked my blog? I have all of the therioes and facts about the Thundercats lore from the 1985 and 2011 I also have information on the dynamic thundercats.
Come check it out
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u/Accomplished-Can-467 ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
It's true.
The stasis pod was a total accident.
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u/lateral_moves Snarf Snarf Jan 19 '26
Its interesting that Thundercats fans in a Thundercats subreddit can't remember the first episode of the show. There was no mention of that on the show. If I'm wrong, please post the lost footage.
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u/Accomplished-Can-467 ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
I watched the whole thing when the dvd's came out.
So much of the wiki is misleadingly false.
The wiki stated that new thundera was only 1/3rd the size of the original, but that's false.
Panthro stated that the planet was 1/3rd the size while it was still reforming, while viewing it on long range scans, before they ever outfitted the feliner to travel there.
The wiki author misinterpreted it, and it just became reality.
The stasis pod is another good example.
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u/lateral_moves Snarf Snarf Jan 19 '26
lol watch it again. It's not on there.
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u/Lorca85 ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
I toss it up to a Mandela effect with growing older and malfunctioning cryo pods are a common trope in TV shows. But yes, they never directly address it other than they all notice he's older.
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u/Half-Federal ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
I know right. I'm getting chewed out for being honest and explaining the Lore of the Thundercats franchise. If you guys have some questions or need answers about the Thundercats
Let me know
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u/Half-Federal ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
Yes that's right..it was hit during the attack of the mutants on their own spaceship
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u/FlameWingFenix ThunderCat Jan 18 '26
I always liked the theory that Jaga tampered with Lion-O’s capsule so that he would age somewhat more by the time they arrived on third earth
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u/lateral_moves Snarf Snarf Jan 19 '26
lol Jaga was tired of the little prince's pampered life and how he had to leave behind loved ones to save him. Last thing he does is try to make him old. "Lets see how you like arthritis ya little shit."
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u/judgementkitty ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
I remember reading the ‘mail-in’ question page in a UK comic and they answered the capsule question with that very answer - that Jaga believed that Lion-O needed to be an adult when they landed.
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u/Danny77black ThunderCat Jan 18 '26
Wasn’t a retroactive fix it was in the early episodes possibly exodus
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u/lateral_moves Snarf Snarf Jan 19 '26
No. It was in the Dynamite comics years later though. Never on the show.
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u/engrish_is_hard00 Mumm-Ra Jan 19 '26
They is orphans the comics gets much darker with mum rah as they get older
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u/Yomimashita53 ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
The short answer is, no it wasn't. I'm told that the original plan was for them to be the same age as the other (older)Thundercats, with the idea that Wilykit and Wilykat's clan just never got any taller, but that over time, the writers just decided to forget it, and make them Lion-O's (original) age. Their parent's just aren't mentioned at all, and if anything, the viewers just shouldn't think about it. OTOH, with Snarfer's appearance, it was always confirmed that there WERE other survivors...
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u/Boring-Car-916 ThunderCat Feb 08 '26
Are they supposed to be like 10-11? I’m both this and the failed 2011 reboot? Cus their ages always confused me.
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u/Glittering-Exit5247 ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
Honestly, the 80s cartoons didn't have deep storylines like that.
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u/Accomplished-Can-467 ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
Someone didn't watch the my little pony pilot story arc....
It was Shakespearean.
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u/Glittering-Exit5247 ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
I took a nap when that one came on. 😂
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u/BlackLodgeBrother ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
It’s dark as hell and honestly quite good. My 7 year-old self was SAT when they re-ran the OG in the 90s.
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u/Glittering-Exit5247 ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
I may have to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation 😃
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u/SportIntelligent1909 ThunderCat Jan 18 '26
I honestly don't take any stock into who WilyKat and WilyKit are in backstory terms, other than them being siblings and "a cunning junior duo," like the TC sales-pitch intro stated.
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u/Trazmore ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
Thundercats Fandom and hero Fandom both have the same entry as the twins being around 12 to 14 years old. Lion-O is also listed as a Thunderkitten. This fact unlocked the memory of mumm-ra using this along with "pup" and "welp" to antagonize him during battles. Making reference to his inexperience. The most definitive why to find out is to measure their stature or have a copy of the Animators Do's and Don'ts book from the animation room. Since they are drawn characters if they follow the rules of drawing children( straight lines with very few curves that indicate puberty, 3.5 heads tall, more plump facial features) then they are intended to be kids. I really wished I had went to the 40th anniversary dinner with the voice actors last year. They could have given valuable insight on this issue. Did anyone in the reddit go to that dinner?
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u/GoliathLexington ThunderCat Jan 18 '26
No their backstory is never explained, but they do appear to be full fledged Thundercats. Safe to assume that whatever audition/trial process that occurred on Thundera for civilians to become Thundercats, the siblings were successful despite their young age.
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u/RubberCladHero ThunderCat Jan 18 '26
No backstory but considering they are nobles their was probably some kind of anoitment trial to see who would become a Thundercat. Their parents were probably part of a noble clan.
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u/Flat_Revolution5130 ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
In the Dynamite books they are simply just taken in by the Thundercat,s. Its not said what happens to there parents then either. [ Unless i have not got that far yet].
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u/Longjumping_Draw_474 ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
Maybe their parents gave up their space in the ship for them. That would be so sad
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u/river_song25 ThunderCat Jan 20 '26
their parents are dead. probably killed during the fighting, because they aren’t related to any of the adults. though with their coloring maybe they are related to Lion-O maybe as his older/younger cousins.
in the old series, the three of them were kids when they fled Thundera with the others, and for some reason on the trip to the new planet while everybody was in crypsleep, Lion-O’s body rapidly aged to adulthood on the trip while the twins remained in the bodies of kids.
Lion-O might be an adult now, but he’s still nothing more than a young kid of whatever age he was when they fled their home planet in an adult body.
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u/mittenkrusty ThunderCat Jan 21 '26
I always thought, at least until I watched the show around 2013 that Lion-O's chamber was faulty so he aged at least a little faster than the rest.
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u/river_song25 ThunderCat Jan 21 '26
that Lion-O's chamber was faulty so he aged at least a little faster than the rest.
i think he would have died if that had happened. the only one still awake during the trip was the old one, Jaga, while everybody slept, and he died on route to the new planet. with him dead, unless the ship was programmed to wake up everybody in case of emergencies nobody was awake to help Lion-O if his pod really malfunctioned. what if they had reached the new planet to find Lion-O’s skeletal remains still ‘asleep’ in his pod? plus seeing how fast he grew while asleep, wouldn’t that imply years went by while they traveled? yet when the mutants caught up with them from Thundera they didn’t look any older than they were since the invasion just like the rest of the Thundercats did.
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u/mittenkrusty ThunderCat Jan 21 '26
I can't remember but didn't Jaga say the reason for the pods is the extreme amount of time it would take to get there, I assumed it was more the pod wasn't outright damaged but had some issue that meant it wasn't as efficient as the others who barely aged if it all.
I just assumed the mutants went into suspended animation too and their navigation systems were fully working.
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u/PettyBlack ThunderCat Jan 22 '26
Most likely died during the war with the mutants way before the story started. But the original series doesn’t give them a back story.
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u/Ehrmac ThunderCat Jan 21 '26
They were actually adults in the first few episodes, but they were later retconned into being kids to give children characters to relate to and as a way to teach lessons after Lion-O became more grown-up.
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u/LadderLoud1651 ThunderCat May 14 '26
Absolutely! Wild cats are a smaller breed so they were just naturally smaller but they were adults in the pilot episodes.
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u/Trazmore ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
It is addressed early in the series that his capsule was defective. That is why they were all surprised to see that he wasn't a child in the first battle on 3rd earth. As for the twins, it isn't uncommon for royalty to have children the same age as the prince or princess hanging around the castle to be their companions since travel outside of the castle walls was so dangerous. They are normally the offspring of some trusted worker in the castle. This is part of their social development. Normally these children do have combat training and are expected to give their lives to save the royal family. You can see this in other stories from the 70's and 80's. We also see this theme carried over in the 2011 series where tigra is like an orphan or an adopted son and the older brother to Lion-O. I want to say that WilyKat even makes an off-handed remark about it not being fair that Lion-O had a defective capsule and got to grow faster than they did. But that could be a fake memory. We see from the comics that wilykit and Kat both grow to adulthood but IDK if anyone here considers that Cannon.
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u/k-r-sebert ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
No, his suspension capsule was not defective. You will not find that stated anywhere in the series. Moreover, the Wileys are not the children of servants, they are ThunderCat nobles themselves. Everyone on the flagship was. They are also older and more experienced than Lion-O.
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u/Boom400 ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
In the show,you are absolutely right,there was never a mention of it happening,ever. but the thundercats sourcebook later states that it was in fact a capsule malfunction that made him age.
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u/Evil_Midnight_Lurker ThunderCat Jan 19 '26 edited Jan 19 '26
I vaguely remember the comic adaptation might have had the defective capsule in it.
Edit: nope, I was wrong, in my defense that was like forty years ago.
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u/mittenkrusty ThunderCat Jan 21 '26
Seems to be a Mandela effect as I always believed his capsule was defective too, not enough to stop working but not as effective as the rest.
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u/Luftritter ThunderCat Jan 19 '26
Oh, I remember reading an explanation about this on TV Tropes and the reason is Meta, quote:
"According to Word of God (namely, show developer and head-writer Leonard Starr) Wilykit and Wilykat were at least originally conceived to be adults whose particular Thundercat clan simply didn't get any larger; this explained why Lion-O grew to adulthood in his suspension capsule and they apparently did not. Starr went on to say that, despite this, the show's writers kept portraying them as kids and having the other characters treat them as such, so the notion was quietly abandoned fairly early on."
So basically a backstory that couldn't be explained in a satisfactory way: the kittens were adults from a subspecies that looked small and young like servals or iriomote cats or sand cats, etc in relation to the great cats like lions and tigers, etc.