7.6/10401 votes#1 - Exodus
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 1/23/1985
With their home planet, Thundera, about to explode, the Thunderians flee to a distant galaxy. Before they can make the long journey the Mutants sweep in and destroy most of the fleet in an attempt to capture the Eye of Thundera. Due to the attack, the Thundercats find themselves on a distant planet. A grown-up Lion-O must save his Thundercats from the Mutants on Third Earth.
Director: N/A
Writer: Leonard Starr
7.3/10314 votes#2 - The Unholy Alliance
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 1/23/1985
The Mutants, who have also reached Third Earth, encounter an old pyramid. It turns out to be the home of Mumm-Ra the Ever-Living, and they join forces to capture the Sword of Omens. Both the Mutants and Mumm-Ra attempt to attack Lion-O to possess the Sword, but miserably fail.
Director: N/A
Writer: Leonard Starr
6.8/10284 votes#3 - Berbils
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 9/11/1985
The Ro-Bear Berbils are a friendly group of robot bears that live on Third Earth. Lion-O and Snarf don't know this, and end up getting caught in a Ro-Bear trap. The Berbils free them however, and they form an alliance. Mumm-ra attacks the Berbil village, but the Thundercats save it. In return, the Ro-Bears help the Thundercats to build Cats' Lair, a new base for the Thundercats.
Director: N/A
Writer: Leonard Starr
7.2/10261 votes#4 - The Slaves of Castle Plun-Darr
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 9/12/1985
The homeless Mutants also make plans to build their home. They enslave a primitive race of beings called Brute-Men to do their work for them. The Thundercats go to Castle Plunn-Darr to free the Brute-Men from the Mutants.
Director: N/A
Writer: Leonard Starr
7.6/10257 votes#5 - Pumm-Ra
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 9/13/1985
Mumm-Ra uses his shapeshifting abilities to pass himself off as a Thunderian so he can stage the "rescue" of Cheetara and infiltrate Cats' Lair.
Director: N/A
Writer: Jules Bass
7.1/10243 votes#6 - The Terror of Hammerhand
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 9/16/1985
When Snarf and a young unicorn are captured by the pirate Hammerhand and his crew of Berserkers, Lion-O goes to rescue them.
Director: N/A
Writer: Ron Goulart, Jules Bass
7.6/10242 votes#7 - Trouble with Time
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 9/17/1985
With their supply of Thundrillium running low, the Thundercats set off in search of a fresh supply. Tygra detects a large deposit in a cave and goes to investigate - unfortunately, he has entered the Cave of Time and anyone who ventures in there will age rapidly until they die. His only hope is that Cheetara's speed will be fast enough to allow her to escape the Cave's effects.
Director: N/A
Writer: Ron Goulart, Jules Bass
7.6/10235 votes#8 - The Tower of Traps
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 9/18/1985
Wilykit and Wilykat try to stop a band of living gargoyles from robbing a Wollo but fail to do so and trail the gargoyles to a nearby Tower. Wilykat is trying force the door open when he suddenly disappears, leaving Wilykit - who was looking for another way in - close to panic. She and Lion-O (alerted by the Sword of Omens) must now brave the Tower's potentially lethal traps in order to rescue Wilykat.
Director: N/A
Writer: Leonard Starr
7.5/10225 votes#9 - The Garden of Delights
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 9/19/1985
While investigating an earthquake, Tygra stumbles across the Garden of Delights and meets a talking plant named Silky, who offers him her fruit. But it turns out that "Silky" is another of Mumm-Ra's disguises and eating the fruit seems to have affected Tygra's mind.
Director: N/A
Writer: Jules Bass, Barney Cohen
7.5/10226 votes#10 - Mandora: the Evil Chaser
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 9/20/1985
Lion-O and Snarf stumble upon a portable jail cell, and mistakenly open it up. Three of the galaxy's worst villains escape. One of them, a slick thief, manages to steal Lion-O's sword. Lion-O helps Mandora, the inter-stellar police officer that imprisoned the villains, recapture them, and return them to their cells.
Director: N/A
Writer: William Overgard
7.9/10246 votes#11 - The Ghost Warrior
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 9/23/1985
Two Bolkins (sheep-like beings from Third Earth) unleash the ghost of Grune the Destroyer, a renegade Thundercat who once terrorised Third Earth and now turns his attention to the Thundercats.
Director: N/A
Writer: Leonard Starr
7.5/10224 votes#12 - The Doomgaze
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 9/24/1985
Mumm-Ra and the Mutants plot to open the Time Warp Prison and release the evil Princess Ta-She in order to use her deadly Doomgaze against the Thundercats.
Director: N/A
Writer: Steve Perry
7.8/10216 votes#13 - Lord of the Snows
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 9/25/1985
When a meteorite made of pure Thundrillium crashes on Hook Mountain, the Thundercats decide to use it to replenish their depleted energy supply. But Lion-O must first gain the trust of the fierce Snowman.
Director: N/A
Writer: Bob Haney
7.4/10211 votes#14 - The Spaceship Beneath the Sands
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 9/26/1985
Tired of constantly being bested by the Thundercats, the Mutants have Mumm-Ra raise their spaceship and salvage their vehicles.
Director: N/A
Writer: Leonard Starr
7.4/10214 votes#15 - The Time Capsule
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 9/27/1985
Lion-O becomes homesick, and his memories of Thundera are almost nonexistent. Jaga appears to Lion-O and tells him that on their spaceship, they brought with them a time capsule which contained a recording of Thundera and its history up to the time it was destroyed. The Thundercats set out to search for their time capsule.
Director: N/A
Writer: Peter Lawrence
7.6/10209 votes#16 - The Fireballs of Plun-Darr
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 9/30/1985
The Mutants, once again searching for a way to destroy the Thundercats, recover some more items from their spaceship. They take their ship's engine and convert it into a giant fireball-shooting machine. The mutants terrorize Third Earth with their fireballs, until the Thundercats go to castle Plunn-Darr and destroy their dangerous new weapon.
Director: N/A
Writer: William Overgard
7.8/10208 votes#17 - All That Glitters
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 10/1/1985
Mumm-Ra tricks Lion-O into using the Sword of Omens against Tygra, causing the blade to break in half and lose its powers. The only way Lion-O can restore the Sword is to venture into a volcano and have the Inflamer reforge it. But the Inflamer requires a payment of gold... Has Lion-O taken on more than he can handle?
Director: N/A
Writer: Bob Haney
7.8/10209 votes#18 - Spitting Image
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 10/2/1985
Mumm-Ra creates device that can make Panthro clones. He embeds the spirit of Hammerhand into his clone and sets it free to destroy Third Earth. The Third Earth inhabitants blame the Thundercats for the terror because they think its the real Panthro destroying their villages and burning their crops. The real Panthro finally encounters his clone and, with the help of Lion-O, manages to destroy it. Enraged about his defeat, Hammerhand destroys Mumm-Ra's cloning device.
Director: N/A
Writer: Howard Post
7.6/10200 votes#19 - Mongor
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 10/3/1985
Wilykit and Kat accidentally free an ancient monster that was banished to an old shrine centuries ago. The evil monster, Mongor, begins to destroy the planet, and is much stronger than the Thundercats. He captures all the elder Thundercats with his powers. Wilykit and Kat return to the shrine to find a way to destroy him. They report back to Lion-O and tell him that in order to destroy Mongor, he has to fight the monster without looking at it. Lion-O defeats the monster and all is returned to normal.
Director: N/A
Writer: Peter Lawrence
8.1/10217 votes#20 - Return to Thundera
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 10/4/1985
The Thundercats briefly show Lion-O how the time capsule they recovered from the caveman works. Curious to see more, Lion-O activates it during his night-time watch, and gets caught in its projection rays. The rays send him back in time to Thundera, just before the final tremor that destroyed the planet. Meanwhile, the Mutants have built an evil robot monster that is destroying Cats' Lair. Back on Thundera, Lion-O encounters his father, Claudus, and saves him from a Mutant attack. In return, Claudus gives Lion-O the plans to the robot that was attacking the Thundercats in his own time.
Director: N/A
Writer: Bob Haney
7.4/10195 votes#21 - Dr. Dometone
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 10/7/1985
An old scientist seeks the Thundercats to help him save the oceans of Third Earth. Long ago, a crack was made in the bottom of the ocean which caused the water to drain into the earth's core. Dr. Dometone created a plug which sealed the hole in the ocean, and saved Third Earth from destruction. Now, an evil miner, Scrape, has come to remove the plug and mine the rock that is found on the bottom of the ocean. The Thundercats join Dr. Dometone and his frog-like robot, Herkie, to save the planet from total destruction.
Director: N/A
Writer: William Overgard
7.5/10197 votes#22 - The Astral Prison
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 10/8/1985
Jaga is captured by Nemex, an evil being in the Astral World, and Lion-O tries to find a way to rescue him. Third Earth legend says that the only person who can transport anyone to the Astral world is the evil Nether-Witch. Little do the Thundercats know that Mumm-Ra and the Nether-Witch are one and the same. Mumm-Ra traps Lion-O in the Astral world, and Lion-O sets out to save Jaga. While escaping the Astral prison, Lion-O and Jaga save an old sorcerer named Brodo who has been imprisoned in the Astral Prison for centuries. As thanks, Brodo sends Lion-O back to his own dimension.
Director: N/A
Writer: Peter Lawrence
7.5/10194 votes#23 - The Crystal Queen
Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 10/9/1985
The Thundercats think that Snarf is getting too old, and that he is not up to doing as much as he does. To prove them wrong, Snarf saves the Thundercats from another mess. The evil Crystal Queen, Tartara, captures the Arrietta bird, whose songs enchant the Berbils' harvests. Lion-O, upset with her selfishness, goes off to save the bird, but gets caught and put under an evil spell. Snarf, managing to slip through the crystal queens defenses, saves Lion-O and frees the Arrietta bird.
Director: N/A
Writer: Leonard Starr
8.1/10202 votes#24 - Safari Joe
Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 10/10/1985
An evil hunter lands on third earth in search of prey to hunt. His holographic machine can tell him about all of the Thundercats, including their strengths and weaknesses, and he is able to hunt down each one of them and put them in Thundrainium cells. He captures all of them but Lion-O and Snarf. Jaga warns Lion-O about Safari Joe before he sets out to save his comrades, and Lion-O is able to defeat him and release his friends.
Director: N/A
Writer: Steve Perry
8.0/10194 votes#25 - Snarf Takes Up the Challenge
Season 1 Episode 25 - Aired 10/11/1985
Nearly all the Thundercats have been captured by the Mutants and imprisoned in Mumm-Ra's Pyramid, forcing Snarf to use his own talents to free them.
Director: N/A
Writer: Peter Lawrence
The Best Episodes of ThunderCats Season 1
Every episode of ThunderCats Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of ThunderCats Season 1!
The inhabitants of the planet Thundera evacuate just before it is destroyed. They were pursued by a band of mutants. All but one of their...
Genres:AnimationSci-Fi & FantasyAction & AdventureKids
Network:Syndication
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"Exodus" is the best rated episode of "ThunderCats" season 1. It scored 7.6/10 based on 401 votes. Directed by N/A and written by Leonard Starr, it aired on 1/23/1985. This episode is rated 0.3 points higher than the second-best, "The Unholy Alliance".