I was looking at the Mumm-Ra in his cloaked mummy form action figure that my brother gave me for my birthday this year. Incidentally I think he gave me a Mumm-Ra for my birthday back in 1986, too. Anyway a light bulb went off in my head–Mumm-Ra looks a lot like Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars fame!
I wonder if there was a direct influence on the Thundercats villain from the dark lord of the Sith, who debuted four years prior. Anyway, this week’s fantasy battle royal pits Mumm-Ra against Palpatine
SIZE AND STRENGTH: Mumm-Ra is usually shown as being at least 7′ tall and Superman-level strength. Palpatine, although a hunched over and much smaller, can throw things around with his telekinetic abilities. ADVANTAGE: Mumm-Ra, mostly due to stature.
WEAPONRY: Palpatine wields the standard lightsaber at a master’s level. Mumm-Ra may not wield an energy weapon, but his Sword of Plun-Darr is essentially an enchanted, evil version of He-Man’s power sword. It’s so evil that removing it from its tomb caused the destruction of Thundera. He always carries some sort of knife, but I’m sure that Palpatine carries a blaster of some sort. ADVANTAGE: Neither.
MAGICS: Palpatine is a master of the Force allowing him to do the following:
- Forcibly choke people.
- Shoot electricity
- Levitation
- Mind control
- Energy explosions
Mumm-Ra is no slouch either; he can:
- Fly
- Shoot energy blasts
- Mind control
- Shape/reality augmentation
- Master sorcerer
So pretty much, we’re looking at equals. ADVANTAGE: Neither.
THE WINNER: The emperor, although very deadly, is super frail and vulnerable if you can land a punch on him. Don’t believe me? Darth Vader was able to tackle him at the end of Return of the Jedi, effectively rendering him useless. Mumm-Ra’s power is immense, but if he exerts himself too much he will revert back to his mummy form and is equally as vulnerable. Mumm-Ra also has body image issues; if Palpatine is able to force Mumm-Ra to see his reflection, the immortal wizard will runaway screaming. WINNER: Palpatine, who will just barely survive and be beaten badly. However, Mumm-Ra will retreat back to his temple to recover and will win the rematch.
Okay….It is creepy that they look almost like twins.
Yeah…it’s one of those things that once you see it, you can’t un-see it!