Battle Cat
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- Cringer redirects here. For Cringer the band see Cringer (band).
Battle Cat/Cringer is the large green cat that He-Man fights alongside in the fictional Masters Of The Universe cartoons, comics, and toyline.
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[edit] Battle Cat/Cringer (1980s)
Battle Cat is normally known as Cringer, the cowardly, lazy, overeating feline companion of Prince Adam. He tends to spend most of his time as Cringer sleeping, eating, and avoiding responsibility, as well as hiding at the slightest sign of trouble or danger. He can talk, although no reason is ever really given for this ability, and he is treated as if speaking is completely normal. His species is never given an explicit name and it is unclear how many others like him there are. When Prince Adam transforms in to He-Man, he then holds his sword out and fires an energy beam at Cringer, transforming him into Battle Cat. When he becomes Battle Cat, he grows to about twice his size, and is outfitted in red armor that covers his head, and back, with a saddle mounted on it for riding. As Battle Cat, he is fearless, and powerful. His voice changes significantly, and he talks with a growl, as opposed to his whimpering voice that is heard when he is Cringer. Cringer generally dislikes becoming Battle Cat, but he goes along with it anyway. He largely serves as a steed for He-Man, but he is known for mixing it up with the villains as well. Oddly enough, Battle Cat was given a love interest. The cat people princess took a shine to him from the start. It seems rather odd, since it is very uncommon to see any sort of an attraction in cartoons between humanoids and animals.
[edit] Battle Cat/Cringer (2002)
Cringer is somewhat of a pet to Adam. Although it seems clear he can understand what is said to him, he can't speak. He is a coward, although this doesn't come up as much as in the original series, but more than once he's shown some bravery in order to help Adam. As Battle Cat, he is most often seen merely transporting He-Man and roaring loudly. Some fans were displeased by this, but it works well enough with the show's "no talking animals policy", as did the female dragon. However, while in the first season he only had a few moments where he fought (he went one on one with Panthor, helped against Evilseed's vines, fought and defeated giant mutated rats, took out Clawful and fought a powered up Tri-Klops), in season 2 the writers gave him a more active role, he often fought against the snake men (he nearly killed Kobra Khan) and Skeletor's forces. Since he never speaks, there seemed to be an effort to portray his relationship with Adam/He-Man as more than master/pet, most often through either Battle Cat or Cringer being badly injured and He-Man entering a rage, or by He-Man explaining things to him. He was twice seen without his battle helmet, revealing a rather fiercer version of Cringer's beneath.
During the Sorceress's vision of King Grayskull's past, it was revealed that he rode on a gigantic green lion, who wore the same helmet and armoured claws as Battle Cat, although like Grayskull, he was much larger then his modern counterpart. This lion helped defend the castle and was the only one of Grayskull's companions not to become an elder. What happened to him is uncertain, however it does mean that Cringer's presence at He-Man's birth may not have been coincidental
[edit] Appearance
Battle Cat is obviously modeled after a tiger, and as Cringer he seems to be roughly the same size as an average tiger. As Battle Cat, he is large enough for He-Man to comfortably ride him. His fur is green, with occasional white/light gray highlights around his mouth and bright yellow stripes.
The 2002 version showed a much greater change from Cringer. His shoulders bulked up considerably and he developed extremely large fangs, which were covered by a battle helmet, essentially portraying him as a Smilodon with a long tail
[edit] Miscellaneous
- The Battle Cat toy was sold as a set, with a basic He-Man figure, more or less identical to the 1982 He Man figure.
- Battle Cat has a rival of sorts, Panthor, a large purple panther like cat that is Skeletor's equivalent to Battle Cat. Unlike Battle Cat, Panthor does not seem to be able to speak, nor does he have an alternate identity.
- The classic Battle Cat toy was a smooth green plastic, whereas Panthor had a purple velvet-like coating.
[edit] Trivia
The early scripts for the 1980s Filmation He-Man suggested that only those who knew Prince Adam's secret knew that Cringer could talk. This was mostly overlooked as the series progressed, and as early as the second broadcast episode, "Teela's Quest", it was clear that this was not the case, when Queen Marlena makes a comment about Earth not having talking tigers.
Battle Cat was originally conceived by Mattel as one of many generic Battle Cats who served as steeds for the Heroic Warriors. This is indicated by early promotional material for the toy line, depicting the warriors riding atop numerous Battle Cats. However, as the story was developed in the minicomics produced by DC, it was established that there is only one Battle Cat, He-Man's trusted companion.
The computer game World of Warcraft features an alternative texture for its standard "tiger" model, depicting it with green and orange striped fur. Addtionally, the Night Elf "Epic" mount is a large, armoured tiger that resembles Battle Cat in full armour (but usually coloured in grey or white). The texture is used in a Horde only quest that takes place in Felwood, where you leave a corrupted kitten to a moonwell...
