"ThunderCats" Story Pitch: "The Box of Marvilla" (Adapted from an Action Figure Storyline by Radical Retro Rewind)

[Philip Gipson]

This is a story idea set during season one of the original ThunderCats cartoon series and is an adaptation/expansion of an action figure-themed storyline provided in the late 1990s/early 2000s by the podcast Radical Retro Rewind. It goes something like this:

WilyKat and WilyKit are busy scouring for Thundrillium on their spaceboards in order to keep the Cat's Lair, the ThunderTank, and the Feliner up and running, all the while enjoying the fresh air. All of a sudden, they find a ruined temple with a carved ThunderCat insignia on the door, so they land and inspect the insignia in particular. They're both intrigued and unsettled at the same time and contact the other ThunderCats at the lair about their discovery. Lion-O asks the ThunderKittens to come back to the lair to further discuss it, and they oblige him.

After the kittens leave, the Mutants (including Vultureman) come out from the bushes, having watched the kittens closely from their brief arrival. Mumm-Ra, in his mummy form, appears before Slithe and his minions and explains to them that they're at the very temple that houses the Box of Marvilla. Monkian asks about the box, and Mumm-Ra replies that it's the strongest piece of magic to ever exist since the days of Second Earth, and that the box's power is so great, not even he can enter the temple to get it. He adds that the box will take away the ThunderCats' weaponry, especially the Sword of Omens, and that it was he who carved the ThunderCat insignia on the temple's front for the ThunderKittens to discover. Slithe asks how all the ThunderCats will enter the temple. Mumm-Ra responds by ordering the Mutants to fire on their foes so that the ThunderCats will never leave the temple.

At the Cat's Lair, the ThunderCats are in the council room discussing Kat and Kit's discovery of the temple they found. Lion-O, Cheetara, Tygra, Panthro, and Snarf are in shock about it, especially the ThunderCat insignia on the front of it. There's doubt on whether or not there may be more ThunderCats secretly hiding out somewhere on Third Earth. Lion-O invokes sight beyond sight from the Sword of Omens and commands it to show him the temple with the ThunderCat insignia, and it does. But then the sword instantly goes blank, indicating that something powerful is inside the temple. None of the ThunderCats can shake the feeling that this is a possible Mutant or Mumm-Ra trap. Cheetara's sixth sense is on alert about what's in the temple. Lion-O instructs everyone to be on their guard about this and tells Snarf to protect the lair while the others investigate the temple. Snarf insists that he goes with Lion-O, but the ThunderCat Lord is adamant in his decision. Snarf laments.

The remaining six ThunderCats ride off in the ThunderTank to the temple through the ThunderKittens' instructions. When they arrive, the Mutants ambush them with laser blasters. A battle ensues between ThunderCat and Mutant that ends successfully with the Mutants trapping the ThunderCats inside the temple. The Mutants cackle with glee at accomplishing their mission. At the Black Pyramid, Mumm-Ra observes everything from the cauldron in his tomb chamber. He communes to the Mutants through the cauldron that Snarf is all that's left, and orders Slithe and his crew to obliterate the Cat's Lair with Snarf inside it. The Mutants oblige the devil priest and go to the lair directly.

In the lair itself, Snarf is in the control room having witnessed everything that's happened and tries in vain to contact Lion-O and the others. Snarf fears the worst since he was Lion-O's caregiver back on Thundera, but he knows also that the ThunderCats are counting on him. He notices the Mutants arriving at the lair in their vehicles (Jackalman and Monkian in the SkyCutters, Vultureman in his flying machine, and Slithe in the NoseDiver). They fire on the fortress immediately. Snarf goes all out on Slithe's crew by shooting lasers from the lair head's eyes, which the Mutants carefully avoid.

In the temple, Lion-O, Cheetara, Tygra, Panthro, Kit, and Kat come to following their scuffle with the Mutants. Panthro contacts Snarf through his nunchuks, but to no avail, as the temple is blocking all communications. The ThunderCats discover a medium-sized, bronze hexagon-shaped box with a drawing of a menacing short-haired woman dressed in an armor-typed suit. It glows its regular color, forcing our heroes to prepare themselves. The box's tip opens up, and a silver-colored, glittery mist materializes into two hands and grabs the Sword of Omens through its crossbars and the Claw Shield on Lion-O's left arm. The Eye of Thundera growls, and Lion-O fights to maintain his grip on the sword and shield. However, the hands prove too strong and wisk the two weapons from Lion-O, baffling him and the other ThunderCats.

But the box is far from done. Next a non-lethal energy whip appears and takes Panthro's nunchuks by the chain, a ghostly hook takes Tygra's bolo whip, a clamp-like blast claims Cheetara's staff and gauntlet, and lastly the ThunderKittens' lariats, Kit's pellet belt, and Kat's pouches are taken by an energy magnet. The box then closes afterwards. The six ThunderCats are at a total loss for having their weaponry stolen from them, but what happens next for them will no doubt test their wits and wills.

A humanoid shape materializes from multicolors, revealing the woman the ThunderCats saw in the box's drawing, only up close she has purple hair, mint skin, grey eyes, and mahogany-colored armor. She introduces herself as Marvilla, queen of Nevermore. She takes away any and all things that belong to others like she did the ThunderCats' weapons. Lion-O decrees to Marvilla that stealing from others is wrong and commands her to return the weapons. She refuses and instead uses her powers to banish the six ThunderCats to another dimension.

The ThunderCats are now resting on a purple-and-pink ground (a reference to the 1987-90 HBO glass-and-clouds ID). They're slightly discolored (a reference to the purplish color palette of five season-4 ThunderCats episodes) because of the dimension they're now in. They come to, and they wake up to slowly-moving grey clouds above them with stars but no sun or moon in sight. When they sit up, they look all around to discover they clearly aren't on Third Earth anymore, that they must be in the realm of Nevermore. This worries them deeply. They get on their feet and split up to look for a way out, only to discover that this dimension doesn't have one, nor does it have any walls. This frustrates the ThunderKittens, who discovered Marvilla's temple in the first place and got them all banished to Nevermore.

Lion-O comforts the kittens and tells them that they were only doing what they felt was right and that being ambushed by the Mutants was to be expected. He informs all the ThunderCats that Marvilla must've brought them all here as a way of permanently keeping them here, adding that there must also be a loophole somewhere. Jaga's ghost appears to Lion-O and tells the Lord of the ThunderCats that to escape from Nevermore, all the ThunderCats must tap into their hidden reserves of strength and show Marvilla that the Code of Thundera will never be vanquished, not even by her. Jaga's ghost disappears, allowing Lion-O to tell the others to do as Jaga instructed. Cheetara's sixth sense tells her that Marvilla is coming for them all, and true to form, the villainess appears in front of the ThunderCats. She tells them that their time is up immediately, but the ThunderCats refuse to back down from this new threat, declaring that they'll never surrender to evil no matter how strong it is. Marvilla states that the ThunderCats choose death any way they slice it, her hands glowing fuschia.

Back at the Cat's Lair, the Mutants have already entered the fortress, having blasted its doors down. Slithe surmises that Snarf has gone into hiding and orders Monkian, Vultureman, and Jackalman to split up and find the ThunderCat. Unbenownst to them, Snarf set up some traps for them. When Jackalman comes up to Tygra's lab, he sets off a domino effect that begins with a Berbil-Ball (lifted from the UK-exclusive 1988 ThunderCats book "Lion-O's Quest") and ends with the Mutant getting splashed by a special goo Tygra created that's super sticky. In the kitchen, Monkian spots what appears to be Snarf (in the pose of his action figure for the LJN ThunderCats toy line) looking all innocent. The Mutant decides to blast "Snarf" so he can deliver the ThunderCat to his fellows, but when "Snarf" explodes, a golden powder envelops Monkian, causing him to sneeze uncontrollably.

Vultureman is still in the hallway searching for Snarf when he spots four pieces of Candyfruit near the door to the sword chamber. The Mutant ponders this for a moment, thinking that Snarf is offering a token of goodwill. But Vultureman immediately dismisses this and decides to throw away the Candyfruit, but when the door to the sword chamber opens, he's treated to a real surprise: a cannon that fires colorful binds that wrap around the Mutant scientist, even his beak. He frantically tries to break loose, but the binds are super strong, and he ends up falling on the floor. Slithe is busy raiding the ThunderKittens' room making a slight mess of it, when he notices Snarf's tail underneath the kittens' bed. Feeling like he's hit the jackpot, he grabs Snarf's tail in an effort to drag the little creature out. Instead, he pulls out a fake tail with a slightly weighted feel to it. This angers the reptilian to no end. He throws down the fake tail, but is taken aback by the "bouncy" nature of it. It goes all around and hits Slithe in the face, forcing him into a spin that takes him out of the ThunderKittens' room.

What happens next for the Mutants is even more troublesome for them, as the gooey Jackalman bumps into the sneezing Monkian and they both end up rolling on the floor towards the bound Vultureman. Slithe comes to and notices his downed fellows coming towards him. He tries to get away but ends up scrunched up with them, and they all collide into a special net at the main hall that Snarf made just for them. The net ensnares the villains, and Snarf appears before them with a triumphant look upon his face. Snarf taunts the Mutants by saying that their own deceit is what trapped them. He goes back to the control room to check out the temple once more, and inwardly hopes that the other ThunderCats come out unscathed, wherever they are, so they can see what he did.

Back in Nevermore, Marvilla uses her powers against the ThunderCats in a variety of ways, but Lion-O and his crew, true to their word, put all of their experiences into surviving their newest enemy. Marvilla forms a copper energy chain with a weighted ball and proceeds to bash the feline heroes to a pulp. The ThunderCats intercept this by dodging acrobatically, allowing Kat and Kit the chance to grab the chain and throw the weighted ball towards Marvilla, temporarily dazing her and dissolving the chain itself. Suddenly she feels herself "levitating" and demands to be put down at once, to which a familiar voice replies, "Very well." Tygra reveals himself to Marvilla, having turned invisible. He throws her to Panthro, who then throws her to Lion-O, who throws her upward for a super-speedy Cheetara to deliver a kick in the back, sending Marvilla straight into the ground.

Marvilla sits up and looks at the ThunderCats in disgust, the group ready for another go-round with her. She gets back up and declares that they all will perish once and for all. Raising up her left arm, she forms a giant-sized, bluish-white energy sphere and hurls it at Lion-O and friends, who form a circle and close their eyes as their destruction seems imminent. Marvilla smiles as the sphere collides with the ThunderCats, leaving their bodies shrouded in black. But to her shock, the ThunderCats' eyes glow, and the positive force of their resolve turns the sphere into a stray energy beam that shoots into the sky and briefly bathes Nevermore into its light, Marvilla shielding her eyes from the impact. The light show fades, and the clouds in the sky have evaporated from view. Marvilla reopens her eyes and sees that the ThunderCats are still alive, angering her even further.

Tygra surmises that Marvilla's rage could be the key to the ThunderCats getting out of Nevermore if they push her hard enough, which he and the others have noticed and decide to put to the test. Marvilla has quite enough of the ThunderCats prolonging their doom and charges up lime-green energy from her eyes, firing a blast strong enough to cut through even the toughest of materials. The ThunderCats evade it, but she fires more eyebeams, her desperation quite evident. Lion-O trips her with a swift kick in the legs, allowing Cheetara, Tygra, and Panthro to pin the villainess down with Lion-O and the ThunderKittens watching fiercely. The ThunderCats declare to her that she can never destroy everything that they are and that they'll always rise above whatever comes their way.

Completely consumed by rage, Marvilla envelops herself in a hot-pink aura and blasts the ThunderCats back with it. She gets up, forms her hands into fists, and charges up a massive load of energy. The ThunderCats, feeling slightly exhausted but nevertheless determined, get back up and form a chain. Tygra's guess about Marvilla's rage seems to be correct as they watch the villainess power up. Lion-O calls upon the powers of Thundera to protect him and the other ThunderCats from Marvilla's final assault. Marvilla fires a massive blast from both hands, and the ThunderCats hold out their own hands to repel it. Their eyes glow once more, and their hands bounce off of Marvilla's blast and back at her, causing her to be terrified. The blast engulfs her completely, and she screams in horror. Suddenly the ground beneath Nevermore cracks, revealing a mysterious white light, and the ThunderCats realize that this dimension is ceasing to exist. The entire ground crumbles, and the ThunderCats shield their eyes as the white light seemingly envelops them.

The temple housing the Box of Marvilla implodes in a white energy beam which the ThunderCats mysteriously appear out of. They land near the ThunderTank and witness before them their missing weapons, which are all enveloped in a blue glow courtesy of the Sword of Omens and the Eye of Thundera. One by one, the weapons are returned to their rightful owners. The ThunderCats beat it back to the Cat's Lair in the ThunderTank, no doubt wondering if Snarf is alright. In his pyramid, Mumm-Ra is furious over the ThunderCats' latest victory. He returns to his sarcophagus, vowing to one day personally eliminate the ThunderCats and regain control of Third Earth.

Having noticed what happened to the temple through the control room at the lair, Snarf is on the lookout for the other ThunderCats, hoping beyond hope that they're alright. As if to answer his prayers, the ThunderTank arrives, and Snarf runs immediately to his fellows. He asks if there was any difficulty getting out of the temple, to which Lion-O replies they simply thought outside the box. Snarf begs the others to see how he defeated the Mutants, and they comply. Unfortunately, when they get inside, there's an empty net before them, with Snarf stating disappointingly that the Mutants had teleported back to Castle Plun-Darr. The other ThunderCats congratulate him anyway, for although they weren't around when the Mutants invaded the lair, the ThunderCats praise Snarf for his ingenuity and his integrity. Snarf takes the compliment in stride as he joins the others in cleaning up the lair.

[CEDAvsFan]

VERY AWESOME STORY!!!!

[Philip Gipson]

1 hour ago, CEDAvsFan said:

VERY AWESOME STORY!!!!

Thank you so much. It took a while for me to get this pitch together.

[Angie]

It takes place during season 1 of the original series but adapted from another?

[Philip Gipson]

22 minutes ago, Angie said:

It takes place during season 1 of the original series but adapted from another?

From another story, yes. It's adpated from this incomplete storyline by Radical Retro Rewind:

 

[Zenon]

15 hours ago, Philip Gipson said:

From another story, yes. It's adpated from this incomplete storyline by Radical Retro Rewind:

 

I'm confused.

[Philip Gipson]

1 hour ago, Zenon said:

I'm confused.

I watched that very video several times over, and I felt inspired to do my own pitch on it...only I went all in with it and made it even better. I tweeted the story to the Radical Retro Rewind?! podcast; hopefully they'll see what I did.

[Tamara]

I love the story! Are you doing more?

[Philip Gipson]

3 minutes ago, Tamara said:

I love the story! Are you doing more?

Thank you. I'll definitely be doing more stories based on other fandoms.

[Jo Jo The Klown]

You have a gift for writing.