| The Superpower Potion | |
|---|---|
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| Production | |
| Episode | 1.59 |
| Original Airdate | 12 December, 1985 |
| Writer(s) | C.H. Trengove |
| Chronology | |
| Previous Episode | The Mountain |
| Next Episode | Eye of the Beholder |
| All Episodes | Episode Guide |
The Superpower Potion is an episode from the original series of ThunderCats. Written by C.H. Trengove, it originally aired on December 12, 1985.
Official Summary[]
Vultureman invents a Super Power Potion, which gives him great magical powers, enabling him to mesmerize and defeat Tygra. Vultureman then makes a deal with Mumm-Ra: He will share the potion in exchange for Mumm-Ra's secret to everlasting life. Vultureman asserts his authority over the other Mutants, putting S-S-Slithe in a trance. He attacks and defeats Panthro as the latter searches for Tygra. S-S-Slithe recovers and commands the Mutants to search for the potion. As they discover it, Mumm-Ra materializes and confiscates the vial. Meanwhile, Vultureman challenges Lion-O and is about to defeat him when his super powers wear off. Mumm-Ra appears and denies Vultureman's plea for another dose of super power. Lion-O destroys the potion and Vultureman slinks away defeated.
Official Moral[]
Vultureman becomes a formidable foe against the ThunderCats when he invents a Super Power Potion. Empowered with its effects, he makes a pact with Mumm-Ra to destroy the Mutants and the ThunderCats in exchange for Mumm-Ra's secret of everlasting life. However, his pride and his ambition are his undoing, when the effects of the potion and his power prove to be temporary. Mumm-Ra turns out to be an unreliable and selfish ally, who withholds the remaining potion from him. Reduced back to the limits of his normal powers, Vultureman is defeated by Lion-O and the ThunderCats.
Vultureman is guilty of a pride and an over inflation of his abilities and importance when he extends himself beyond normality. Deluded into thinking he is permanently more powerful than others he acts with egotistical and antagonistic independence, by turning against his friends, the Mutants, and by negotiating an alliance with Mumm-Ra. Since the alliance is not based on honor or friendship, Vultureman is left to his own devices when the effects of the potion wear off, and he is taught a difficult lesson.
The impulse to over-inflate our opinion of ourselves and to set ourselves apart from others is a common one we face when we have succeeded in something. For example, when we win a competition or excel in an examination, we become so self-assured that we may unrealistically compare ourselves to others and think we are better than they in all things, and we falsely judge that we will never need their help and collaboration. But time has a way of balancing such opinions and teaching us to be more realistic about appraising our own and others' abilities. The truth is that we do not excel in everything at all times and in life we will endure both successes and failures, winning and losing, being competent in some areas and less so in others. Part of maturity is learning from this lesson. It is good to have a proper sense of our true worth. But the attempt to see ourselves as unconditionally better than others is unwarranted. We are part of a community of persons and each of us has unique talents and abilities.
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Notes of Interest[]
- Just like the previous episode The Mountain, Cheetara and the ThunderKittens are absent from this episode.
Animation Errors[]
Notable Quotes[]
Media[]
This episode was released on the following media:
VHS[]
- ThunderCats Vol.8: The Fireballs of Plun-Darr (included as Bonus Episode) - f.h.e. release
DVD[]
Episode Screenshots[]
External Links[]
- The Superpower Potion on IMDb
- ThunderCats 1985 cartoon series on Wikipedia
- ThunderCats on ThunderCats.org
