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Catra is a fictional character in the toyline, and animated television series, She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985–86), which is part of the Masters of the Universe franchise.[1][2] In the 2018 reboot, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Catra is one of the central antagonists for the first four seasons before becoming an ally to the heroes in its final season.
In both animated series, Catra is a Force-Captain of Hordak's Evil Horde, a position previously held by Adora before she defected in the 2018 reboot.[2] In the first series, Catra displays minor sorcery abilities, possessing a magical mask, which when slid over her face gives the ability to transform into a purple panther-like beast, also showing telepathic control over all cats;[3] in the second series she has cat-like features of her own, including a tail, large furry ears, a mane, and claws.
In the toyline, she is the principal villain.[4]
In She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985)
Fictional character biography
Catra's first appearance in animated media is as one of the Horde captains of Hordak in the 1985 He-Man and She-Ra feature film The Secret of the Sword. In Filmation's She-Ra: Princess of Power cartoon series, Hordak is the leader of the Evil Horde, with Catra as of one of his minions. In early proposals for the show, Catra was the main antagonist, but when the Princess of Power toyline was released, Mattel decided to tie in the Evil Horde characters to Princess of Power toyline, to better integrate it with the Masters of the Universe franchise.
When Adora is reconciled with her twin brother Adam, she leaves the Horde and is replaced by Catra as the Force-Captain. Several times, while serving Hordak, Catra strikes out on her own, showing that she does not need Hordak. This is quite evident when Catra betrays Hordak to Skeletor, in an attempt to overthrow him. Even though there are a few other female villains in The Horde, Catra does not get on that well with any of them, only working with them as a last resort. She appears to have a particularly intense rivalry with fellow female villain Scorpia. Along with the other Horde members, Catra holds an intense hatred for Imp.
Catra is in possession of a magical mask, given to her by Hordak, which he stole from the imprisoned Queen of the Magicats. The mask grants her the ability to transform into a large panther by sliding it from her forehead over her eyes. Once in her cat form, she retains the ability to speak and possesses greater strength than her human form. One of the most overlooked details about Catra is that she also possesses the power of teleportation. She only demonstrates this ability on one occasion and it is uncertain where this power originates, although it is assumed that it is another power bestowed by her magical mask. The Magicats also revealed one of the mask's powers to Catra called Freezefire, which generates an energy beam that can encase its target in ice, but Catra lost any knowledge of this power when her mind was wiped. Additionally, the Magicat Percival, states that once the mask has been used for evil, it can no longer be used for good.
Clawdeen
Catra is also the owner of a pink lion named Clawdeen. Clawdeen only appears once during the series' run. In that episode, she scares the rebels into the Cage-Mines so The Horde can capture them. Bow traps her in one of the Cage-Mines and she is never seen again.
In the Ladybird books, Clawdeen is female (despite looking having a mane) and only referred to as a giant cat. Nonetheless, she can talk and is Catra's mode of transportation. She also appears in the mini-comic "A Born Champion", but has a minor role.
In popular culture
Catra appears in the Robot Chicken episode "Slaughterhouse on the Prairie", voiced by Eden Espinosa. She accompanies Scorpia and Entrapta into attacking Castle Bright Moon only to be impaled on Scorpia's tail by She-Ra.[5]
Reception
Comic Book Resources listed the original incarnation of the character in He-Man: Eternia’s 15 Mightiest Villains.[6] The rebooted incarnation of Catra has been praised as one of the show's most complex and interesting characters.[7][8][9][10][11]