Princess Ariel (Thundarr the Barbarian)

Infobox character | name = Princess Ariel


first = Secret of the Black Pearl
last = Prophecy of Peril
cause = End of series
nickname =
occupation = Sorceress, adventurer
portrayer = Nellie Bellflower
creator = Steve Gerber

Princess Ariel is a fictional character that fights evil wizards in the Post-Apocalyptic cartoon "Thundarr the Barbarian". This Saturday morning cartoon show only lasted two seasons from 1980-1982.

Background

Not much was revealed about Ariel's history before she met Thundarr save that she was the stepdaughter of an evil wizard named Sabian and that she learned knowledge of magic and the Earth's history from his library. In the episode "Battle of The Barbarians" Ariel recognizes their location as Chinatown in San Francisco and states that her own ancestors may have lived in a place much like this, thus putting forth the notion that her ancestors were of Chinese heritage. The titular barbarian was once a slave of the evil wizard Sabian, but he was set free by Princess Ariel. It is also thought that she gave Thundarr his principle weapon, the sunsword.

Special Abilities

Princess Ariel is a powerful and intelligent sorceress whose style and versatility in the use of Thundarr-verse magic was only surpassed by her almost encyclopedic knowledge of Earth’s past, which she read about in her step-father's library.

Some feats of sorcery she demonstrated on the cartoon were the ability to create solid shapes and forms of solid magic (bridges, shields, protective domes) which she could use for a number of effects (like her mystic "attack spheres" she uses to confuse her foes or shock them into unconsciousness), she was also able to magically produce light and heat, reassemble and/or reanimate inanimate objects or ancient machinery, manipulate the basic elements, and produce formidably powerful energy blasts. She was also able to reproduce a wizard's spell simply by watching them do it (such as when she hypnotized one of the evil sorceress Strya's warrior women).

In the Thundarr-verse, an evil wizard/sorceress' reign of terror and power was based upon how well he/she was able to combine science (mostly left-overs from the past) with the magical arts. Some relied more heavily on science and others more on magic (or mystic items). Ariel was definitely a more magically adept type magician (though she had proven on many occasions to be able to use her magic to reassemble/reanimate ancient technology and machinery.) She was not a powerhouse mystic like Gemini, Skullos or Mindok the Mind Menace, but the levels of her spells were very diversified and unique. As such, she was able to hold her own in battle against wizards of their level.