[Panthor: vintage feline right here]Written by GL
Cringer was everything Prince Adam (or anyone, for that matter) would want in a pet. Cringer was rather big, house-broken, could crack petty wisecracks, was green with stripes and could morph into the outrageous Battle Cat. Cringer was such a great sidekick that Skeletor (or rather, the creators of Skeletor) felt that he need a big cat for a pet as well. Don't we all ?
Panthor was Skeletor's penultimate evil feline companion; a giant purple panther who serves as an evil reflection to He-Man's Battle Cat. Panthor usually also portrayed as Skeletor's pet, being at the right of his throne. His furry confidant if you will.
In battle, Panthor dons armour that allows Skeletor to ride him - which includes a saddle. Being the true wannabe that any enemy would be, this armor is physically identical to that worn by Battle Cat. Sometimes Skeletor acts cruelly towards Panthor, but when compared with Skeletor's behavior to his other henchmen, Panthor is relatively well treated.
Unlike his Battle Cat or Cringer, Panthor is never shown to have the ability to speak, throughout the entirety of the series. Even in the 2002 version of the TV series, Panthor is still non-verbal; more animal than knowledgeable.
[The Classic Mold: like Velvet Underground but really velvet and on a cat]There is little room for doubt that Panthor is the exact same mold as Battle Cat but, upon manufacture, flocked in purple velvet. Both Battle Cat and Panthor were actually reused from the black panther mold from a Tarzan figure line by toy giant, Mattel (the first Mattel figure with a Big Jim body) in 1971.
Panthor of the classic Masters of the Universe line was part of the second prototype wave of figures released, where Battle Cat was launched with the first wave. Released in 1983, Panthor was available along side other dastardly creatures, such as Zoar and Screech. However, later that year, Panthor was made available in a gift-set package with his oh-so-skinny master, Skeletor.
[Un-mint Packaging: a thousand buck right here]Key fact: a lose Panthor figure with saddle (on eBay) may go for about USD12 to USD14. But the mentioned gift-set in near mint condition can fetch around USD1,300. That's roughly BND1,800. Companionship is expensive, especially with villains.
