SatPOP episode reviews

[AlexApprobation]

I actually watched and wrote my review of Episode 6 today, which was Ork-0's first appearance: it pretty much goes without saying that I'll find Orko irritating in any of his incarnations, so it's perhaps not a surprise that I agree with you there.

Oh, nice... you're moving along faster than I expected!

And good point... after thinking for a moment, I think Revelation Orko was the first one that I didn't hate outright. I actually think that I kinda loved him out of the gate.

As far as Duncan's concerned.... I don't quite know what it is about him; I think maybe it's the kind of try-hard, "please like me, I'm super relatable" feel to his character. Plus of course he's Man-at-Arms, who has earned my bile in the past and therefore is likely to be a prime target in the future.

I can see that! The way he does it is more subtle and earnest. I'm more irritated by the loud, pushy, and brash versions of that personality type.

LOL so true!!! No matter the dimension, Man at Arms will always feel your scorn!

I do think it's interesting how humour in these kinds of shows changed over the years.

Compared to 80's or even 90's shows (discounting the ones that were outright comedies), they are much more willing to let the hero be the but of joke.

I love this change for the better. Makes a lot more sense and more true to life.

This week's offering is Signals, which - in line with most of Season 2 so far - is decent enough: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...de-16-signals/

This reminds me how and why I think SPOP and MOTU CGI would crossover SO WELL. I'm still holding out hope that they can iron out the legalities to do it. We'll see.

Ah, the start of the Entrapta and Hordak courtship... something I never would have expected or wanted, but it turned out so much better than I think anyone would have anticipated!

#BestFriendSquadForever LOL

[Mikey]

Oh, nice... you're moving along faster than I expected!

And good point... after thinking for a moment, I think Revelation Orko was the first one that I didn't hate outright. I actually think that I kinda loved him out of the gate.



I can see that! The way he does it is more subtle and earnest. I'm more irritated by the loud, pushy, and brash versions of that personality type.

LOL so true!!! No matter the dimension, Man at Arms will always feel your scorn!



I love this change for the better. Makes a lot more sense and more true to life.



This reminds me how and why I think SPOP and MOTU CGI would crossover SO WELL. I'm still holding out hope that they can iron out the legalities to do it. We'll see.

Ah, the start of the Entrapta and Hordak courtship... something I never would have expected or wanted, but it turned out so much better than I think anyone would have anticipated!

#BestFriendSquadForever LOL

I absolutely agree with you on all points Alex!

[OwenMorton]

Here we have one of my favourites so far - Roll With It: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...-roll-with-it/

[AlexApprobation]

I absolutely agree with you on all points Alex!

Thanks, Mikey!

Here we have one of my favourites so far - Roll With It: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...-roll-with-it/

Yeah, this one was fun! I don't remember too much about it besides the visual changes for each character's fantasy perspective.

[OwenMorton]

Yeah, this one was fun! I don't remember too much about it besides the visual changes for each character's fantasy perspective.

Definitely a good one - a fun little time-filler!

This week we have White Out, which I enjoyed well enough: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...-18-white-out/

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And another decent outing, if perhaps not enormously consequential - Light Spinner: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...light-spinner/

[A Dalek]

I think Shadow Weaver's backstory is part of a running theme with the show were most the villains are framed in a somewhat sympathetic light and have actual reasons for being the way they are.

I think that might be partially down to the show taking a few cues from the magical genre.

[AlexApprobation]

This week we have White Out, which I enjoyed well enough: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...-18-white-out/

Another one I don't remember too much about except that I wished we got more Red Hulk She-Ra action and I liked how charming and sympathetic Scorpia & Sea Hawk were as they forged common ground.

And another decent outing, if perhaps not enormously consequential - Light Spinner: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...light-spinner/

This one I really enjoyed, but I tend to be partial towards good origin stories... especially when they give more context to a character's world view, desires, goals, mistakes, regrets, etc. I love a strong character piece.

I think Shadow Weaver's backstory is part of a running theme with the show were most the villains are framed in a somewhat sympathetic light and have actual reasons for being the way they are.

Agreed! Another reason I dig this series so much!

[OwenMorton]

Morning all, thanks for all your great thoughts! Agreed re giving the villains back stories and making them believable, it really does add a lot to the series.

On the subject of back stories, we get Bow's today, in Reunion: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...de-20-reunion/

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A lore-heavy instalment now, with The Price of Power: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...rice-of-power/

[Catra2017]

This show is nearly perfect in my opinion.

[Mikey]

This show is nearly perfect in my opinion.

I absolutely agree with you!

[AlexApprobation]

Morning all, thanks for all your great thoughts! Agreed re giving the villains back stories and making them believable, it really does add a lot to the series.

On the subject of back stories, we get Bow's today, in Reunion: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...de-20-reunion/

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A lore-heavy instalment now, with The Price of Power: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...rice-of-power/

Ep20

Did we ever see Bow's brothers within the rest of the series? I remember this mention and the expectation of perhaps seeing them later in the show, but I can't remember if that actually happened or not?

But yeah, I also enjoyed Bow's dads and how the episode was handled as a whole.

Ep21
I remember having a strong laugh at the "prison" as a spare room.

I also expected a classic Muhahaha moment after Shadow Weaver was healed, but the direction they went was so much more earnest, sweet, and worked better to give weight to the story. This show does such a great job of subverting expectations for the greater story good.

This show is nearly perfect in my opinion.

I absolutely agree with you!

I'm right there with both of you!

[OwenMorton]

Ep20

Did we ever see Bow's brothers within the rest of the series? I remember this mention and the expectation of perhaps seeing them later in the show, but I can't remember if that actually happened or not?

But yeah, I also enjoyed Bow's dads and how the episode was handled as a whole.

Ep21
I remember having a strong laugh at the "prison" as a spare room.

I also expected a classic Muhahaha moment after Shadow Weaver was healed, but the direction they went was so much more earnest, sweet, and worked better to give weight to the story. This show does such a great job of subverting expectations for the greater story good.

I'm pretty sure Bow's brothers never show up. As far as I recall, the dads only appear once more (or possibly are only mentioned - can't quite recall) some time towards the end of the series.

Agreed on Shadow Weaver and the expectation subversion. It's a much better direction. I love how over the course of the series pretty much all the lead Horde characters defect - though oddly not Kyle, Lonnie and Rohalio.

This show is nearly perfect in my opinion.

I absolutely agree with you!

I'm right there with both of you!

In terms of the series as a whole, I cover my thoughts in a series summary which I'll post once all the reviews are over - but sneak preview, I think the first two/three seasons (up to The Portal) are really strong, and in that run the weaker episodes are the exception rather than the rule. Personally, after that point, I found the reverse to be true: there were still plenty of strong episodes, but more weaker ones, and ones that look great on paper (Mer-Mysteries and Boys' Night Out being two major examples) didn't quite live up to their promise. But I'll expand on all that as the reviews progress! Thanks to all of you for reading my gibbering thoughts, it's always great having people following the blog!

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This week's ep is a really strong one - here's my review of Huntara: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...de-22-huntara/

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And another excellent outing, Once Upon a Time in the Waste: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...-in-the-waste/

[AlexApprobation]

Very cool, looking forward to that full series summary... but until then, still enjoying the episode reviews!

E22 - I was so stunned to learn that Geena Davis voiced Huntara that it's the main thing I remember now.

Oh, this was the episode with Hordak's origin story? I loved that as well and the continued bond between him and Entrapta.

E23 - This version of Tung Lashor was fun for this incarnation, but yeah... this is one of those rare times my own feelings and preferences kinda get in the way (huge fan of the vintage toy and 200X versions). The Mara stuff was awesome and I remember being so surprised to learn she was a NA character (I couldn't get into the show in the 90s and I didn't make it past the 1st episode a few months ago).

[Mikey]

I would love some more She-Ra episodes!

[OwenMorton]

E22 - I was so stunned to learn that Geena Davis voiced Huntara that it's the main thing I remember now.

I did not know that! Cool info!

E23 - This version of Tung Lashor was fun for this incarnation, but yeah... this is one of those rare times my own feelings and preferences kinda get in the way (huge fan of the vintage toy and 200X versions). The Mara stuff was awesome and I remember being so surprised to learn she was a NA character (I couldn't get into the show in the 90s and I didn't make it past the 1st episode a few months ago).

I do love the vintage toy, but his appearances in Filmation were largely underwhelming (except for his super-creepy turn in Book Burning), and I don't remember him in MYP being much more than Generic Snake Man - it's been a while though so I may be forgetting something! That said, I don't imagine I'd want too much of the SatPOP incarnation of Tung Lashor, but for this one-off it was fun.

As for NA, like you, I couldn't get into it in the 90s. It's still not my favourite, but there's some good stuff in there: my general view of it is that it's reasonably strong in its first 15 or so eps, then goes through a very rocky patch, but suddenly comes out punching from about episode 45 onwards. The final 15 or so eps are (mostly) very good. Mara in SatPOP does seem to be basically an Easter Egg of that series though: there's no apparent connexion between the two characters other than name and appearance, as far as I recall.

[AlexApprobation]

I did not know that! Cool info!

Sweet! Glad to have dropped that gem on ya!

I do love the vintage toy, but his appearances in Filmation were largely underwhelming (except for his super-creepy turn in Book Burning), and I don't remember him in MYP being much more than Generic Snake Man - it's been a while though so I may be forgetting something! That said, I don't imagine I'd want too much of the SatPOP incarnation of Tung Lashor, but for this one-off it was fun.

As for NA, like you, I couldn't get into it in the 90s. It's still not my favourite, but there's some good stuff in there: my general view of it is that it's reasonably strong in its first 15 or so eps, then goes through a very rocky patch, but suddenly comes out punching from about episode 45 onwards. The final 15 or so eps are (mostly) very good. Mara in SatPOP does seem to be basically an Easter Egg of that series though: there's no apparent connexion between the two characters other than name and appearance, as far as I recall.

Hmmm, I might have to look for that Book Burning episode. Yeah, the Filmation Snake Men designs didn't work for me at all. He might not have been a major player in MYP (I'm actually drawing a blank right now, too... long work day and I'm totally drained). The stories and designs were so good that maybe I gave a pass. Bonus: As much as I love the CGI series, the Snake men characters and designs were very lacking IMHO.

True on the SatPOP incarnation of Tung Lashor being just one-off fun. I got what they were doing and for the most part I totally respected and enjoyed it.

One of these days I still want to make time to give NA more of a chance. Or at least, say, the first 5 episodes. That first episode just didn't do it for me. Plus it took away one of the main things I love about MOTU: No matter what you look like, what matters is what's in your heart and what you do. For NA it seems the theme is: Humans automatically good, mutants/monsters automatically bad.

[OwenMorton]

Hmmm, I might have to look for that Book Burning episode. Yeah, the Filmation Snake Men designs didn't work for me at all. He might not have been a major player in MYP (I'm actually drawing a blank right now, too... long work day and I'm totally drained). The stories and designs were so good that maybe I gave a pass. Bonus: As much as I love the CGI series, the Snake men characters and designs were very lacking IMHO.

True on the SatPOP incarnation of Tung Lashor being just one-off fun. I got what they were doing and for the most part I totally respected and enjoyed it.

One of these days I still want to make time to give NA more of a chance. Or at least, say, the first 5 episodes. That first episode just didn't do it for me. Plus it took away one of the main things I love about MOTU: No matter what you look like, what matters is what's in your heart and what you do. For NA it seems the theme is: Humans automatically good, mutants/monsters automatically bad.

Book Burning was one of my favourite She-Ra eps. Looking back at my summary of the series, I put it in 4th place for my top episodes of the first season - it's well worth looking out for. It is a massive shame Tung Lashor couldn't have looked even vaguely like his action figure though.

I'll have to look out for the Snake Men in the CGI series: I'm up to The World Below now, and they haven't appeared yet, though they've been hinted at!

As for NA, yep, I'd agree with your summary of the theme, by and large, though the series has perhaps a little more room for subtlety than that. The Mutants were indeed basically bad, but I often interpreted them as being misguided rather than actively evil. Slush Head in particular was the sort of guy who seemed weak rather than actively malevolent. Flipshot, on the human side, is infuriatingly arrogant and I could well imagine him being evil if he happened to have been brought up among the Mutants. So it felt like it had far more shades of grey than Filmation.

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Another strong outing this week - Moment of Truth: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...ment-of-truth/

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And here's Remember, which felt a bit like a sidestep into the irrelevant:https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...e-25-remember/

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An ultimately disappointing season finale this week, with The Portal: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...26-the-portal/

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This week we've got The Coronation, which I enjoyed well enough: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...he-coronation/

[AlexApprobation]

Oh, my... I've been busier than I've realized. I could use a bit of distraction fun, so let's catch up!

Book Burning was one of my favourite She-Ra eps. Looking back at my summary of the series, I put it in 4th place for my top episodes of the first season - it's well worth looking out for. It is a massive shame Tung Lashor couldn't have looked even vaguely like his action figure though.

If I still have time after this comment, I'll check this episode out and report back.

I'll have to look out for the Snake Men in the CGI series: I'm up to The World Below now, and they haven't appeared yet, though they've been hinted at!

Glad to hear and I look forward to your reviews on those episodes, too!

As for NA, yep, I'd agree with your summary of the theme, by and large, though the series has perhaps a little more room for subtlety than that. The Mutants were indeed basically bad, but I often interpreted them as being misguided rather than actively evil. Slush Head in particular was the sort of guy who seemed weak rather than actively malevolent. Flipshot, on the human side, is infuriatingly arrogant and I could well imagine him being evil if he happened to have been brought up among the Mutants. So it felt like it had far more shades of grey than Filmation.

Very interesting! I've moved it up further in the queue, but odds are strong that with so much coming out it'll get pushed down again and I'll forget. (We still haven't started Wednesday... or Rings of Power... or House of the Dragon or... lol)

Another strong outing this week - Moment of Truth: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...ment-of-truth/

I did love the anxiety of trying to figure out Shadow Weaver's true motivations in this one. Also loved Adora's surprise and regret against Entrapta's hurt and obsession... and how reasoning helped them reach common ground. Good ol' crazy and chaotic Catra tho!

And here's Remember, which felt a bit like a sidestep into the irrelevant:https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...e-25-remember/

I understand your conflict with this one. For me, this was a creative yet artsy way of seeing Adora and Catra's past selves juxtaposed with their present selves. I love deeper dives into the psyche and this felt like something that needed to happen for the next steps along with paying off even more down the line.

An ultimately disappointing season finale this week, with The Portal: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...26-the-portal/

Another of my personal loves in fiction: alternate universes (which kinda stems from my love of deep diving into character development, struggles, decisions, etc). For me, the last episode's discoveries helped push this episode's Adora and Catra frenimies struggles. Maybe they tried to fit too much in this single episode to where the beats felt a bit rushed or disjointed in spots? Maybe/Dunno.

Oh No, Bow! -

This week we've got The Coronation, which I enjoyed well enough: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...he-coronation/

“Too many Jaegerbombs, Hordak?”
I meant to type stuff on the episode and this gag sent me down a rabbithole. So many fond Jaegerbomb memories and yeah, I've seen it put a few people down like that.

I'll just agree with you that this was a perfectly decent installment. I'm ready for this day to end and I'd like some alcohol now, lol.

[OwenMorton]

Oh, my... I've been busier than I've realized. I could use a bit of distraction fun, so let's catch up!



If I still have time after this comment, I'll check this episode out and report back.



Glad to hear and I look forward to your reviews on those episodes, too!



Very interesting! I've moved it up further in the queue, but odds are strong that with so much coming out it'll get pushed down again and I'll forget. (We still haven't started Wednesday... or Rings of Power... or House of the Dragon or... lol)



I did love the anxiety of trying to figure out Shadow Weaver's true motivations in this one. Also loved Adora's surprise and regret against Entrapta's hurt and obsession... and how reasoning helped them reach common ground. Good ol' crazy and chaotic Catra tho!



I understand your conflict with this one. For me, this was a creative yet artsy way of seeing Adora and Catra's past selves juxtaposed with their present selves. I love deeper dives into the psyche and this felt like something that needed to happen for the next steps along with paying off even more down the line.



Another of my personal loves in fiction: alternate universes (which kinda stems from my love of deep diving into character development, struggles, decisions, etc). For me, the last episode's discoveries helped push this episode's Adora and Catra frenimies struggles. Maybe they tried to fit too much in this single episode to where the beats felt a bit rushed or disjointed in spots? Maybe/Dunno.

Oh No, Bow! -



“Too many Jaegerbombs, Hordak?”
I meant to type stuff on the episode and this gag sent me down a rabbithole. So many fond Jaegerbomb memories and yeah, I've seen it put a few people down like that.

I'll just agree with you that this was a perfectly decent installment. I'm ready for this day to end and I'd like some alcohol now, lol.

Thanks for reading along and for all your thoughts! I don't have much to add, except on the alternate universes thing: I love them too, thanks to having seen the Star Trek ep Mirror, Mirror at an early age and having my mind blown. I certainly wouldn't have a problem with exploring the alternate universe presented here, but I think my issue was that I simply didn't get why it was happening: why did the portal create an alternate reality, and why did some characters remember the original universe while others didn't? I'm sure there was an explanation for both those questions (I've just re-read my review of Moment of Truth and found that Entrapta certainly saw the alternate reality coming, even if she didn't say why), but I can't quite shake the feeling that these episodes were a weird left turn that didn't pay off the fabulous momentum that was building right up to this point.

That said, it was all done well - no question on competence here, just perhaps not where I'd have taken the story.

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This week is the absolutely fine but somehow not great The Valley of the Lost: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...y-of-the-lost/

[Mikey]

I have a few to catch up on, but these are awesome so far.

[OwenMorton]

A serviceable episode, but by no means my favourite, this week: Flutterina. https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...29-flutterina/

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And here's Pulse, which I felt was very much an episode of two halves: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2022...sode-30-pulse/

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Kicking off 2023 with a pretty decent ep, Protocol: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...e-31-protocol/

[OwenMorton]

Seem to have forgotten to post here last week when Princess Scorpia went live, so here's the link: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...ncess-scorpia/

And today we have Mer-Mysteries, which I thought was a great idea but fell down a little in the execution: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...mer-mysteries/

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This week it's Boys' Night Out, which - again - had great potential but fell down somewhere along the way: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...oys-night-out/

[OwenMorton]

Yay - He-Man.org is back!

For anyone who was desperately missing my links in the months it's been gone, here's the episode reviews I've published:

Hero: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...isode-35-hero/

Fractures: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...-36-fractures/

Beast Island: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...-beast-island/

Destiny, Part 1: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...estiny-part-1/

Destiny, Part 2: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...estiny-part-2/

Horde Prime: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...0-horde-prime/

Launch: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...ode-41-launch/

Corridors: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...-42-corridors/

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And today's review - Stranded: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...e-43-stranded/

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This week brings us to Save the Cat, which was a step-up from recent efforts: https://hemanmotu.wordpress.com/2023...-save-the-cat/

[AlexApprobation]

Welcome back indeed (until the forums go back down in like a week or so)! So much to catch up on!

Episode 29 – Flutterina

I agree with your conclusions. When going through your synopsis, I didn't remember any of this episode until the ending twist.

Episode 30 – Pulse

I can't remember if this is the episode for this quote: "You still don't know what we do, do you? Netossa? Net-tossa! I toss nets!"

But each time I see or hear anything of Spinnerella and Netossa, that line comes to mind. I don't know why I find it endlessly hilarious, but somehow it is.

And yeah, the highlight of the episode was them getting more screen time and character development.

Episode 31 – Protocol

Appreciated this for all the additional lore and character development!

Episode 32 – Princess Scorpia

Such a great episode which helped make Scorpia one of the best characters!

Episode 33 – Mer-Mysteries

I think this episode was uneven for me when I first saw it, but I appreciated it a lot more upon a rewatch.

Episode 34 – Boys’ Night Out

I think this episode helped turn me around on Sea Hawk and Swift Wind.

Episode 35 – Hero

This is one we're reversed on... I loved all the lore, character stuff, and potential connections to core MOTU; Eternia.

Episode 36 – Fractures

Welcome to the heroes, Scorpia!

Episode 37 – Beast Island

I had to look up the Bibbets you referenced... and I realize why if I ever saw them, why I never committed them to memory haha. Although I'm sure if this show used them, they would have been utilized better!

Another great episode and another reason why I absolutely love Entrapta!

Episode 38 & 39 – Destiny, Part 1 & 2

So much cool action, revelations, and character stuff... so good!

Episode 40 – Horde Prime

Such good stuff! Kinda different than the Horde lore I knew, but enough similarities and differences to make it all still excellently intriguing!

Episode 41 – Launch

Hell yeah, S.S. Team Rebellion!

Episode 42 – Corridors

Childhood Adora and Catra... sweet, savory, salty... nearly all the flavors!

Also dug the continued Catra and Glimmer interactions.

Episode 43 – Stranded

Yeah, I wasn't big on this one either. I appreciated it more on the rewatch, but even then it was just more connective tissue to move things along. So yeah, eh, it's fine.

The new characters' designs were kinda meh, too... but it works to keep them more "alien" than our core characters.

Episode 44 – Save the Cat

A really enjoyable one with some new discoveries, character struggles, creepy cult behaviors, and emotional bonds tested/renewed.

P.S. You mentioned Buffy in one of these reviews and I tried to let it slide, but I have to ask: Have you done any Buffy and Angel recaps? If so, I'd love to read those, too!

[OwenMorton]

P.S. You mentioned Buffy in one of these reviews and I tried to let it slide, but I have to ask: Have you done any Buffy and Angel recaps? If so, I'd love to read those, too!

Thanks for all your thoughts, and glad you enjoyed reading!

No, I've not reviewed Buffy or Angel - though I have toyed with doing a Xander-focused rewatch and trying to tot up just how much of an idiot he is... I've actually only watched Angel through once, but have just re-started it. I remember loving most of the first three seasons, thinking it got a bit overblown in the fourth, and then finding the fifth an excellent return to form.

For reviews, I'm thus far limited to MOTU, Thundercats and BraveStarr - but I have TMNT in development, if that floats your boat.....