Lion-O

Lion-O is the main protagonist in the ThunderCats (2011) cartoon series. He is the hereditary "Lord of the ThunderCats," a title that he inherited from his father and previous Lord of the ThunderCats, Claudus. Lion-O was chosen by the Sword of Omens to be the next king during the Ceremony of the Right of Passage.

Lion-O is the biological son of Claudus and the Queen. He has an elder brother Tygra who was adopted by Claudus and his wife before the birth of Lion-O. Lion-O's mother died while giving birth to him thus he never knew her. His only living families are his father and his adopted brother.

The series introduces Lion-O as the prince of Thundera, and like all many young men his age, he is more interested in adventures and members of the opposite sex. He believed in and was fascinated by technology, a concept that everybody else thought of as being non-existent. His fascination with technology and immature behavior was the leading cause of grief for his father and made many feel that he was unfit to be their next king.

Lion-O has always had an intense sibling rivalry with Tygra, mainly due to everybody favoring Tygra over Lion-O to be the next king. Tygra was often able to outdo Lion-O in many activities, which sometimes made even Claudus more bias towards him, an act that intensified the conflict between the two. The sibling rivalry was further exacerbated when Cheetara, someone who Lion-O had strong feelings for, turned out to be attracted to Tygra. Despite their rivalry, the two brothers share a strong bond which surfaces during times of danger.

Lion-O is also probably the only ThunderCat who believes that the other races of Third Earth should be treated equally. Lion-O is also somewhat hot-headed and easily lets his emotions get the better of him, a habit that often lands him in danger. He once lost the Sword of Omens in a duel against the Duelist when he let his ego and anger cloud his judgement.

Lion-O is a young adult of average build but is noticeably less strapping than some men around his age, such as his older brother Tygra. Like many Thunderians, Lion-O has a feline appearance with cream and gold-colored fur, spiky red hair, blue/teal eyes, pointed ears, small, elongated fangs, and a striped face. His attire consists of pale blue armor on his shoulders, torso, and hips, with dark blue pants that need to be held up by a large belt, and silver shin guards that also cover and protect his knees. Like all ThunderCats, he has no shoes.

Although cunning and skilled in combat, Lion-O can also be a bit of a hothead. He is the only one at the beginning to believe that technology and Mumm-Ra exists. Lion-O will immediately step up to defend anyone in need, regardless of their species, proclaiming, "No one deserves to be treated like that". His compassion won the help of one of the Lizards while he and Tygra were being held prisoner. This trait was also what caused Cheetara to think of him as different since no one else would do what he did. Sometimes Lion-O's big heart gets the best of him.

In the beginning, Lion-O tended to be a sort of ladies’ man, first when trying to sound mature when meeting Cheetara the first time, then later pretending to be checking out some local female Thundarians during his training with the Sword of Omens, much to his father's chagrin.

Lion-O is a prince who is headstrong, reckless, speaks without thinking, and often jumps into situations without taking a moment to consider it all.