Mumm-Ra the Ever-Living

Mumm-Ra is a fictional character from the animated TV series ThunderCats. He is the main villain on the show, demonstrating absolute mastery of magic. He often uses the Mutants of Plun-Darr as pawns in his schemes to defeat the Thundercats. Their original intention was to steal, and utilize the power of the Eye of Thundera (and in one episode, the Star of Thundera as well); however, this swiftly shifts to a series-long determination to outright obliterate the Thundercats.

As with all the ThunderCats characters, he is also incorporated into two comic book series, one from Marvel Comics and the second from Wildstorm Comics. His LJN action figure includes light-up eyes.

Character biography
According to the opening show's narrative, Mumm-ra is an ancient native from First Earth, serving as the undead focus for the Ancient Spirits of Evil — four god-like entities of nearly unlimited power, but whose influence is limited to the Black Pyramids found on either Third Earth or New Thundera. As such, outside of either pyramid, they can only interact with the physical world through Mumm-Ra. They provide him with immortality, as granted through his sarcophagus in exchange for perpetual servitude.

Mumm-Ra usually resides in his Black Pyramid as a withered, corpse-like being; however, he can alter his form by reciting the following incantation: "Ancient spirits of evil, transform this decayed form to Mumm-Ra, the Ever-Living!" This transforms him into a muscular fiend who menaces the ThunderCats with episode-long challenges before being driven back into his sarcophagus. In later episodes, while endowing Mumm-Ra with his powers, the statues of the Ancient Spirits of Evil come down from their perches, extend their arms over him as the powers of evil flow into Mumm-Ra.

He also assumes alias forms to deceive the ThunderCats on various occasions. Among these are:
* Diamondfly, a tiny sprite-like creature luring Lion-O into a trap (in the episode "Queen of Eight Legs").

* Gregory Gregion, a jovial troll who tricks Lion-O into attacking Tygra and breaking the Sword of Omens (in the episode "All That Glitters").

* Silky, a flower-like creature with a human face, who enthralls Tygra with addictive fruit (in "The Garden of Delights").

* The Netherwitch, a sorceress sending Lion-O into the Astral World (in "The Astral Prison").

* Pumm-Ra, a "Puma Thunderian" of a more bestial appearance than Pumyra. He used this disguise to stage Cheetara's "rescue" and trick his way into Cats' Lair (in the episode "Pumm-Ra").

* He once took the form of King Arthur to acquire the legendary magic sword Excalibur, using it against the Sword of Omens.

In several episodes, Mumm-Ra has an even more powerful form beyond "Mumm-Ra the Ever-Living" called "Mumm-Ra the All-Powerful": in this manifestation, Mumm-Ra absorbs the entire power of the Ancient Spirits of Evil to become grander in size and strength, and the design pattern on his loin cloth changes, as does his voice (this form is only presented in the series twice). In another incarnation, calling himself "Mumm-Ra the Dream Master," he is able to enter dreams to subliminally influence the ThunderCats in their sleep as a form of mind control.

Mumm-Ra is regarded as immortal, and when defeated or 'killed', he simply returns to his sarcophagus. Mumm-Ra cannot stay destroyed, as he often states: "Wherever evil exists, Mumm-Ra lives!". Initially, Mumm-Ra cannot stand the sight of his own reflection; if he catches a glimpse of himself he reverts to his mummified form and flees to his pyramid. Eventually however, the Ancient Spirits of Evil rid Mumm-Ra of this vulnerability when they revive him following his failure to harness the power of the Star of Thundera.

Later, Mumm-Ra is shown to have a blue bulldog companion named Ma-Mutt, capable of flight and supernatural feats of strength and speed. He is generally evil, though some episodes depict him as having sympathetic qualities.

Powers & abilities
An absolute master of both arcane and clerical magic; Mumm-Ra possesses nearly unlimited knowledge of, and experience with, numerous mystical arts from all corners of the universe. As such, he can summon their use to assist him in almost any manner he chooses, most commonly being: flight by self-levitation, necromancy, alchemy, transmogrification, temporal manipulation, teleportation, telekinesis, mind-control, astral projection, scrying, energy blasts.

While in the form of Mumm-Ra the Everliving, he becomes a conduit for the Ancient Spirits of Evil; such that he can amplify his aforementioned abilities to a nearly cosmic scale, gain superhuman strength, as well as retain his undead status despite the passage of time or any injuries sustained. The price of this power however, is extremely limited stamina: once Mumm-Ra the Everliving has surpassed a given threshold of energy-expenditure, he must revert back to his default form, and enter his sarcophagus to rejuvenate himself. It also should be noted that his power in his Everliving form is directly linked to the condition of both his sarcophagus and the Ancient Spirits' four statues within his pyramid; should any of them be harmed or destroyed, his power weakens immediately and considerably.

Comics
In the comics, Mumm-Ra's pyramid is often described as being an "Onyx" built pyramid, though that term is never used in any cartoon episode.

In the Wildstorm comic ThunderCats Origins: Heroes and Villains #1, it is revealed that Mumm-Ra's real name is Wahankh before becoming undead. It is also stated that he tried to overthrow the current Pharaoh but failed and in return was imprisoned in a tomb for 600 years. The Spirits of Evil renamed him "Mumm-Ra" and had him build four statues in their likeliness, and afterwards gave him new power to overthrow his upcoming enemies, and he went on to live another 400+ years.

Other media
Mumm-Ra appears in the Robot Chicken episode "Toys in the Hood", voiced by Donald Faison. He is seen carpooling to work with Cobra Commander, Lex Luthor, and Skeletor. In "Toy Meets Girl," Lion-O mentions to Michael Moore that Mumm-Ra died of testicular cancer. In "Endless Breadsticks," Mumm-Ra tries to kill Lion-O by passing off as Mrs. Mumbletipeg after Snarf is accidentally killed.

In the South Park episode "Imaginationland Episode II," Mumm-Ra is among the evil creatures on the bad side of Imaginationland. Here, he has horns on his helmet instead of snakes.

In the Kanye West song, Touch The Sky, featuring Lupe Fiasco, Lupe Fiasco mentions that he is "tryin' to stop lion like I'm Mumm-Ra / but I'm not lyin' when I'm layin' on the beat."

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