Prince Thun
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Prince Thun is a fictional character who appeared in various forms of the Flash Gordon comic strip and film productions. He is a Lion Man of Mongo and one of Flash's most trusted friends.
Thun first appeared in the Alex Raymond comic strip of the 1930s. Soon he appeared in other incarnations of the character.
In 1936, Thun was first played by James Pierce in the movie serial entitled Flash Gordon. Thun appeared in the serial much as he did in the comic strip, a humanoid with a wild shock of long hair and a long beard. The effect was to make you think of a lion's mane.
Thun next appeared in the 1979 Filmation series. Originally, Thun was voiced by Ted Cassidy. Unfortunately, Cassidy died before production of the series. The role was then recast with Alan Melvin providing the voice. Here Thun appears as a literal lion man. He has a lions head and claws with a humanoid body. He is referred to as King Thun here rather than Prince. Thun is a fierce warrior and is the first of Mongo's many inhabitants to become a friend and ally to Flash.
In 1980, Thun was played by George Harris in the Dino De Laurentiis Flash Gordon film. He is referred to as the King of Ardentia. In this version, he is Human and clean shaven.
