The titular Battlecats.note
Battlecats is a medieval fantasy comic book series written by Mark Landon and published by Mad Cave Studios.
In the feline-populated world of Valderia, a group of elite warriors known as the Battlecats are tasked with protecting the world from all sorts of evil forces that threaten the hierarchy and the general population. During a vital mission, the Battlecats come across a dark revelation their own king has been hiding from them and run into nefarious forces working within an army that desires to plunge all of Valderia into chaos. It's up to the Battlecats to stop the potential threat from destroying the whole world, all while they discover other secrets their allegedly trustworthy king has kept from them.
Not to be confused with The Battle Cats.
Battlecats provides examples of:
- Accidental Murder: Subverted. Volume 3 reveals that Valadar tried to kill King Ermand III as payback for Ryah's death. During the fight, the king accidentally impales Valadar on debris. He survives his injuries though.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Valadar. The final issue not only reveals that Myrthalen had been manipulating him into killing the king and causing wanton destruction, but that he murdered Ryah and his team of Battlecats after being poisoned by her. When he's subdued by Kelthan and later arrested, the last shot we see is of him in his cell, having lost his sanity and spending all of his time in a catonic state murmuring and scribbling Ryah's name on the walls.
- Arch-Enemy: All of the Battlecats' have one, and it's typically their Darkat counterpart (as listed below).
- Cruel Mercy: Kelthan decides to spare Valadar in the final issue, despite everything he's done. However, Valadar is so mentally unstable and traumatized by everything he's done that death would've been a far better fate for him.
- Darkest Hour: The end of Volume 2. The Battlecats are forced to retreat from Valadar and the Darkats after they invade Stormholt. Kelthan is injured. King Ermand III is murdered by Valadar. And the city plunges into widespread chaos.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Weeks after King Ermand III's death and the fall of Stormholt, Kelthan is found in a drunken stupor, spending his days drinking mead and blaming himself for what happened.
- Evil Counterpart: The Darkats are more of less the Battlecats if they became evil. Some of them were even trained to be Battlecats but were rejected or serve as a Foil to said counterparts.
- Kelthan's is Valadar. Both of them are leaders of their respective Battlecat teams, but unlike Kelthan, Valadar's entire team were killed by an assassin, something he personally blamed King Ermand III for. This led to him resenting all of Valderia—as well as Kelthan's team of Battlecats—for blinding following their king, and ultimately becoming the Big Bad of the story seeking vengeance against the king.
- Kaleera's is Gheeta. Both of them are skilled archers who were trained to be Battlecats, but unlike Kaleera, Gheeta was not chosen. This led to her holding a very petty grudge against Kaleera and chosing to side with Valadar, where she could revel in her bloodlust.
- Zorien's is Eltoreq. Both of them are the brawny powerhouses of their team and, similar to Gheeta, Eltoreq was trained to be a Battlecat alongside Zorien. Eltoreq, however, grew very bitter and spiteful as he got older and was rejected. He later chose to join a group of raiders, willingly giving in to sadism for the sake of his own enjoyment.
- Vaela's is Jarnoch. Unlike Vaela, Jarnoch cannot disperse light magic, only Dark Magic. And while Vaela is something of a Combat Medic who heals her teammates with her magic, Jarnoch uses his magic to kill his enemies and then revive them after they have been killed.
- Mekkar's is Birch. While Mekkar is the wise-cracking, fun-loving feline skilled in his weaponry who talks too much, Birch is a Mighty Glacier who rarely talks or uses his weapon, typically attacking his foes with brute force.
- Evil Is Petty: Why does Gheeta resent Kaleera and hold such a huge grudge against her? She was chosen to be a Battlecat instead of her.
- Gladiator Games: Rorinhal is a period of celebration where felines across Valderia participate in brutal arena games, fighting and sometimes killing each other like their ancestors used to do before they became more civilized.
- Go Mad from the Revelation: Valadar. In the final issue, he finds out that he killed his whole team of Battlecats, including Ryah, after being drugged by Myrthalen. His arc ends with him mentally broken and muttering her name to himself over and over again, unable to fathom everything he's done.
- Join or Die: Valadar's M.O. He and his army spend most of the first half of the comic ransacking Greenspyre cities and forcing its population to either join his Umbra Raiders or perish. Some towns actually resist, which leads to predictable results.
- Neck Snap: How Valadar kills King Ermand III. The final issue reveals that this was also how Ryah died, also by Valadar's own paw.
- The Nose Knows: Natharien is able to detect when the Battlecats are about to arrive just by catching their scent in the air, having spent so much time being around them to recognize it.
- Prequel: The Tales of Valderia anthology is a series of one-shots taking place before the main plot that focus on various short pieces of Valderian history.
- Sacrificial Lion: The death of King Ermand III towards the end of Volume 2 sets the tone for how grim the rest of the comic will be. His death and Valadar defeating the Battlecats shortly after results in widespread Rorinclaw across Valderia and plunges the heroes into their Darkest Hour.
- Soft Water: The finale issue in Volume 2 sees Myrthalen falling from a ledge and plunging very far into a stream of rushing water. She's revealed to have survived without a single injury in the next issue.
- Vengeance Feels Empty: At the start of Volume 3, Valadar realizes that killing Ermand III, despite plotting his revenge for so long, has done nothing but make him feel melancholy over everything he's done so far.
- Wham Episode:
- Issue #10. Despite a few setbacks, the Battlecats have remained victorious during all of the Rorinhal challenges. Everything goes to hell halfway into the issue when the Darkats show up, having snuck into the arena and killed many guards. Valadar personally wounds King Ermand III, his blood priests successfully turn Tegei into the Bloodmoon, and Valadar murders the King of Valderia while everyone can only watch helplessly.
- Issue #11. Valadar and Artain are revealed to be brothers and that they both possess the power of the Mark. Despite putting up a fight against the Darkats, the Battlecats are forced to retreat, with Kelthan having his arm broken before they take leave. The comic ends with Valadar in control of Stormholt, Natharien and Queen Adastril missing, and most of Valderia stuck in a state of Rorinclaw.
- World of Funny Animals: Everyone in the comic is some variation of a talking humanoid feline or canine creature.
