Toy Fair 2025 was a blast! We had our first look at the in packaging Lion-O and Mumm-Ra LEDs, with teases of Panthro and “Old Man” Mumm-Ra for the vintage line, as well as the debut of the brand new Wave 2 Deluxe Tygra and Cheetara figures. And now, not even three months later, Super7 surprises with these two sought after characters on my doorstep.
When these went up for preorder on the Target website, I opted out of ordering it online. Despite my DX Lion-O order experience being an unpleasant one, it became clear in the months that followed that collectors are going to be catered for: you will be able to find these elsewhere. And by elsewhere I meant you could get these from Super7 direct!!! And I would much rather buy from Super7, having had years of excellent service from Rudy and the team. Wave 1 has shown up not only in Target stores throughout the USA, it also became available for purchase from BBTS and Entertainment Earth. So it will be only a matter of time until Wave 2 makes their appearance with other retailers besides showing up in stores these past few weeks. Super7 recently announced the wave coming to their site soon, and I cannot wait for folks to get it there. Let’s face it – if you are an international collector like me it is often so much easier to get it from a reliable vendor that delivers promptly worldwide, and with style!
So we have two heroes this time round. An interesting choice. Will we see two villains next time? Perhaps. I’m just very pleased that the release includes characters that are costing an arm and a leg these days on the secondary market. And let’s be honest, getting these two now leaves us only 1 adult outstanding to complete the core 4 adults from Season 1.
The packaging is exactly the same as with Lion-O and Monkian. The 80s throwback on the card is always going to tuck at my heart strings. The classy and iconic art on the back will always make me smile. I wish I could see these in store just to experience ThunderCats on the shelf again, but it is what it is when you don’t live in the US (or have a Target nearby). It is still a wonderful experience to unbox new ThunderCats. Every. Single. Time.
Tygra is probably the figure I’ve been most excited about between the two. He has a history of some unpleasant comments on socials that is not worth getting into. Let’s just say – the factory messed up here. But that has since been rectified (I’m looking at you Invisible Tygra’s armband!). Tygra is really a striking figure. There’s a lot counting in its favor. But I’ll get the concerns out of the way first with each character. Yes, this being a Deluxe version will mean that there are less paint applications. And less accessories (which for some collectors is not an issue at all; and considering the price I also do not complain.) Tygra is no different. There is no shading, which I think works really well here. While I appreciate the shading, you get a better looking figure this time round without it. He looks more cartoony, which is lovely. The orange appears to be a different shade, and his outfit too, especially on his torso. This could also be because of two things – the parts are injected with the color and not painted, and/or the shading itself drastically affected the appearance. While I had no major issue with the shading on Tygra, he did look dirty. I’m not sure if that was the right color to begin with. But here it’s absense works. So. Much. Better.
There’s a downside to the paint applications here, and that is that the gold trim on his shoulder pad, the gold dots on his upper boots, the upper trim of the boots and the actual pad of the armband are all unpainted. I understand the gold being unpainted. It’s an easy fix if you are keen for a DIY project. Heck, I’m really considering it myself. The unpainted upper trim of the boot (and the shoulder pad!) is actually a really fun homage to the vintage LJN toy – that too was unpainted!! But the armband’s elbow piece being unpainted is going to be most people’s disappointment. It is there, it is just not painted. I don’t know why. It is not a different color altogether, since the band around the upper arm is painted in the correct color. I’d be curious to find out what the decision was here.
He comes with his bolo whip, of course, and the version we get here is the roped one – a la LJN. This figure more and more reminds me of what an LJN version could be. Besides the head that needs replacing, this is probably as close as we would get to that (for now I hope). I’m glad the balls on the whip is painted red. The handle though is a plain pale blue – the same color as the rope. It’s an unpainted piece cast in the relevant color. I don’t mind that at all. Look the bottom line is that for $35 there are certain choices that will be made to keep the figure at that price. So it’s a win in my books, and judging by the comments I’ve seen online from those who bought him at Target, that is the general feeling too.
The real stand out for me is his face. It is way cooler than the ULTIMATES! one. It is crisper. Clearer. His eyes are better. The sculpt is still the same, but the work and the detail on here is fabulous. So far every figure in the DX line has this trademark win. If Super7 is only 4 figures deep on the DX line, we are in for a treat when we get to Jackalman, Panthro and the rest of the gang. I don’t mind it focusing only on the core characters. This is essentially a way for collectors to join the joyride if they missed out from the start, and score the core characters at an affordable price – and also for those lucky enough to be Stateside, come across them in stores. I love how the kids of today are exposed to this epic cartoon’s toys from the master toymakers Super7.
While the figure’s hands can be changed with other regular ULT! hands, you’ll see the difference here clearly where the hands are also injected plastic vs painted pieces. It doesn’t cheapen the product in the slightest. It is just what it is. If you can live with that, then this isn’t going to be an issue and you can really enjoy the figure for what it is. Plus – they go perfectly with the regular ULT! on my shelf.
The mighty Cheetara sped past all the other villains to join Tygra in this wave. I bet she’ll have the heads turning in the toy isles… Talking about heads – this gal has got sass!!! I love the purple eye shadow. I love the shape of her eyes. She is gorgeous. Dare I say prettier than her original release? When it comes to her face, I think the work here is top notch.
Like Tygra, there is no shading here too, so you have a more cartoon looking body in terms of the colors being more vibrant. Guess who will be attracting the stares in stores with this bright orange catsuit. I have to add, since there is no shading on her chest, I was worried it would look strange because it was so prominent before, but it works really well here. Cheetara clearly stepped out of the cartoon here.
She too has some unpainted areas which you’ll spot first on her wrist holding the short staff. The edges were meant to be a different shade of orange, but it is all the same color. And yes, the vintage LJN version of her had the same unpainted edges. Even her wristbands, which are meant to be white, are the same dark orange color. This is a very clever move on Super7’s side where they mirrored some toy elements but kept the cartoon look. We already have the LJN toy version in ULTIMATES! so it’s not new, but it is fun to see her in a retail setting like this.
She has two versions of her bo staff – both the short and long one. Both are gold. If I could change anything on her, I would have asked for a yellow staff instead. I’m not sure why the color gold was selected when it is yellow in the cartoon. But you do get to display her with your choice of staff and I’m glad we’re not left with a gaping hole on her wrist band. The gold color itself is different from the ULT! release. It is paler and not as shiny. Also, it looks cast and not painted. It still shines though!
Articulation wise, both figures move splendidly. There is nothing strange here. The joints feel tight and the plastic of the figure feels sturdy. Say what you want, but this feels like an ULT! figure. Even with the omissions of extra hands, heads and bonus accessories. To be fair, they also feel a bit tighter in terms of their joints. And that’s a good sign!
I’m loving the success of this line at retail, and Brian Flynn seemed very impressed with the response from the public when we spoke in January. I won’t say anything about the current tariff situation and my only hope is that this is resolved quickly. I will continue to support Super7 nonetheless. Why? It’s easy! They’re making toys nobody else would, and to see my favorite IP being cared for with so much love and passion deserves continued support. I’m looking forward to the next wave already!!!
Thank you to Super7 for providing these early samples for reviewing purposes. For more information and future ThunderCats releases, click here.