Tygra is a fictional character from the ''
ThunderCats'' franchise.
The character is portrayed by
Peter Newman in the
1985 ''ThunderCats'' TV series and
Matthew Mercer
Matthew Christopher Miller (born June 29, 1982), better known as Matthew Mercer, is an American voice actor. He is best known for his work with Studiopolis, Funimation, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, Viz Media, and NYAV Post in anime, cartoons, and ...
in the
2011 ''ThunderCats'' TV series. In the first TV series, Tygra is known as the ThunderCat architect and scientist. In the second one, the writers modified some of the characters and Tygra became the adoptive brother of
Lion-O
Lion-O is a fictional superhero and the main protagonist character of the '' ThunderCats'' franchise. Lion-O is the leader and the hereditary "Lord of the ThunderCats." Lion-O is based on the lion and wields the legendary Sword of Omens, which i ...
.
The character also appeared in several comic book series and many various figures based on the character were produced by various manufacturers.
1985 series
Tygra is a staunch, level-headed warrior. Based on the
tiger
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on ...
, Tygra is known as the ThunderCat architect and scientist. He is the one Lion-O often turns to as second-in-command and for counsel. He is responsible for the design of ThunderCat structures on Third Earth—the Cat’s Lair and the Tower of Omens. Patient, analytic and calm, Tygra is the most quiet ThunderCat, and usually considers every part of the problem before making a decision.
He is gifted with "mind-power"—the ability to create lifelike illusions in other people’s minds; he used this for Lion-O's Anointment Trial, but it puts a great strain on him. He uses a
whip-like
bolas
Bolas or bolases (singular bola; from Spanish and Portuguese ''bola'', "ball", also known as a ''boleadora'' or ''boleadeira'') is a type of throwing weapon made of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, used to capture animals by entan ...
in combat, with which he can render himself invisible to the naked eye.
In the episode "All That Glitters", Lion-O instructs Tygra, "If I do not return, you will be the new Lord of the ThunderCats." This verifies that Tygra is second-in-command. Tygra's weakness is that he is not able to swim when not invisible; also, Tygra has shown to be easily influenced by external stimuli more than any other ThunderCat ("The Garden of Delights", "Turgamar the Tuska" and "Crystal Canyon"); he claimed to be shy as a kid.
2011 series
In the 2011 cartoon, Tygra's reimagined as Lion-O's adopted older brother and the two of them often have sibling rivalries over speed and strength and Cheetara's attention until she and Tygra become an official couple. Tygra is a user of magic and an expert marksman.
Tygra was much less obedient to his brother (if at all) until the Trials of Lion-O parts 1 and 2, mainly because he felt that he should've been the Lord of the ThunderCats and not Lion-O. But after Lion-O 'dies' and undergoes his trials, Tygra becomes the new Lord of the ThunderCats/King, he realizes the pressure and responsibilities of being in that position, and realizes that Lion-O's the true king. Tygra also develops a greater respect and appreciation for his younger brother as well.
''ThunderCats Roar''
In the 2020 iteration of ''ThunderCats'', Tygra is a mentor to Lion-O.
Analysis
Where creators Ted Wolf and
Leonard Starr
Leonard Starr (October 28, 1925 – June 30, 2015) was an American cartoonist, comic book artist, and advertising artist, best known for creating the newspaper comic strip '' On Stage'' and reviving ''Little Orphan Annie''.
Early life
Born Octob ...
described Panthro's character as being based on "strength" and Cheetara's character as being based on "speed", Tygra's character was described as being based on "integrity".
In an interview with ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'', Michael Jelenic noted "I guess 'The Scientist' is what a lot of fans call him. He was someone we had a lot of concern about because he, unlike everyone else, was someone people might say didn't 'pop' as much. So the way we addressed that was to get away from him being the architect, or the scientist, of the series and tried to expand on his character. And the way we did that was we made him the adopted brother of Lion-O."
[ In this series, during his whole life, Tygra was in his younger brother's shadow and it created sibling rivalries. Reviewer noted that it is "potent seeds for an eventual villainous turn.".
To add to Tygra's dark jealousy issues, creators used a love triangle between Tygra, Lion-O and Cheetara.][ Jelenic explained that "When we were very early in development, we pitched the show to Peter Roth, the President of Television for Warner Brothers, and the love triangle was the one thing he cued in on immediately. He said, 'Let's get a triangle going between these three characters' and he's obviously a guy who knows what he's doing. So that became a very important part of the story."
]
Reception
The character has received a mostly positive reception from critics. Comic Book Resources
''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion.
History
Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...
ranked the character among 7th Best thing about ''ThunderCats''. io9
''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...
ranked Tigra 12th best thing about ''ThunderCats''.
References
{{ThunderCats
Anthropomorphic animal characters
Fictional adoptees
Fictional architects
Fictional characters who can turn invisible
Fictional characters who have mental powers
Fictional characters who use magic
Fictional extraterrestrial characters
Fictional humanoids
Fictional princes
Fictional refugees
Fictional royalty
Fictional scientists
Fictional tigers
Fictional whip users
Male characters in animated series
Television characters introduced in 1985
ThunderCats