Irony; The Temporal Boomerang.

Irony has a way of revisiting itself upon you it would seem.

Recently my son celebrated his 5th birthday, and let me assure you it was a monumental achievement for him. It is best summed up by his excited proclamation: "Now it takes all my fingers to show how old I am!" Needless to say the day was one of wonder for him even before the gifts or party. However it was one of these gifts that holds a special meaning for me; the legendary Sword of Omens from ThunderCats.

The ironic part is that as a child I held almost the exact same interests as my son, and around the same age I also held the very same toy in my hands. It was a cherished toy of my own childhood, so seeing his eye light up reminded me of all the fun I had with my own.

But do you want to know the funny part? My son's Sword of Omens is a thousand times cooler than my old one. I mean we're talking quality construction and features that amaze me. The blade collapses to resemble the dagger-like quality the sword has in the show, and has a trigger release to allow it to extend when you flick your wrist. An added bonus is that when you have the electronics turned on it lights up the Eye of Thundera and say's "Thunder.." until you release the trigger whereby it completes the famous battle cry "ThunderCats HO!"

Further adding to the delight is a button upon the hilt that when pressed allows the hilt's blade guard to pop out if it is collapsed in closed. This also serves double duty where, again if switched on, it lights up the Eye of Thundera and plays the sound effect of it chiming to life before declaring "Give me sight beyond sight!"

When I look back on my older version I cannot help but marvel at the differences. My classic version couldn't extend at all, and as far as features go I believe a couple AA batteries in the handle let it light up the Eye of Thundera with the press of a button. I sadly don't recall it doing much more than that if even that to be frank. Mostly I spent time imagining charging around with it and don't remember it even having batteries inside it. I do recall some duct tape applied from time to time though!

In any event, here is to the hope that my son will forge his own fond memories with his own version of a toy that I used to enjoy as well. The technology of them may change, the design even, but the inherent fun to be had through imagination will always be timeless.