- "Alert the troops. We attack at dawn. And Diego, bring me that baby, alive. If I'm gonna enjoy my revenge, I want it to be fresh."
- ―Soto to Diego[src]
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Soto was the leader of a saber-toothed tiger pack that consisted of Diego, Zeke, Oscar, and Lenny. He was bent on seeking revenge against a tribe of neanderthals for killing off half of his pack.
Biography[]
Soto was the strongest in his pack, earning him the title of pack leader. Leading his pack in hunts, Soto formed attack plans and was driven by a twisted sense of justice, choosing to pursue a tribe of humans out of revenge instead of following the migrating herbivores down south.
Revenge[]
Soto and Diego before planning the attack on the humans.
As revenge for the humans killing off half of his pack so that their pelts could be used as warm clothing, Soto declared that he himself would kill and eat the humans' youngest member, a one year old baby named Roshan. Soto and his trusted lieutenant Diego stood one evening, watching the humans' encampment as the leader of the tribe, a man named Runar and his wife Nadia, played with their infant son. Soto remarked to Diego that the baby would soon be "joining them for breakfast," attributing their plan to kill and eat the baby as an act of vengeance for killing off half their pack. Soto then ordered Diego to alert the others for an attack at dawn.
That evening, Soto's fellow sabers balked at their leader's obsession with humans, preferring instead to follow "that walking buffet heading south," pursuing the herds of animals headed to the warmer southern regions. Diego called them out on their lack of interest in their leader's plans, to which Oscar, one of the saber tooths, sneered, asking why they must listen to Diego and not Soto himself. Soto then appeared and stated that Diego was the only one of the pack that he trusted; Diego was his right hand cat, Soto said, and come next morning, they'd have the chance to teach the humans a lesson they would not soon forget.
Attack[]
- "We'll go up to Half Peak! Meet us there. It had better be alive."
- ―Soto gives Diego another chance to deliver Roshan.[src]
Soto and his pack regroup with Diego.
The next morning, Soto and the others attacked the camp, managing to draw the humans' manpower away from the tent with the baby, in which Diego slipped in, undetected, to take the baby, until the baby's mother, Nadia, hurried in, grabbed the baby and swatted Diego aside with a stick to get past him. Despite forcing the fleeing woman to jump over a nearby waterfall and die to save her baby's life, the saber tooths' attack on the camp was unsuccessful and the pack was forced to flee from the camp, with Soto furious to hear that Diego had lost the baby and his mother over the waterfall. Just then, two spears flung by the humans nearly hit Soto, forcing him and the rest of the pack to continue their retreat. As they escaped, Soto ordered Diego to retrieve the child himself and promised Diego he'd kill him in the baby's place if he failed. Soto then ordered Diego to meet them at Half Peak with the baby, which he reminded him would have to be alive at that time. Soto then left with the rest of the pack, on to Half Peak with the humans and their wolf dogs following them.
Message[]
Soto's pack, on the way to Half Peak, stopped for the night. Soto grew impatient and sent out two pack members, Oscar and Zeke, to deliver a message to Diego, who was accompanied by a mammoth named Manfred who was carrying the baby and a ground sloth named Sid. Soto sent them to inform Diego that he should either return with the baby or not return at all. Diego, in response, told them to inform Soto that he was not only bringing the baby, he was also bringing a mammoth and sloth. Zeke loved the idea of having mammoth meat and wanted to attack Manfred instantly, but Diego stopped him and ordered him and Oscar to go back and get the rest of the pack ready for the attack, which they promptly did.
Soto and his pack eventually reached Half Peak, planning to ambush the mammoth, but Soto's pack was getting somewhat too enthusiastic, with Zeke going on about how he would separate the mammoth meat and Lenny, another member of Soto's pack, about to angrily swat at Zeke with his paw to shut him up, but Soto stopped him, ordering him to save his energy. Mammoths, Soto said, were not killed so easily: the pack would have to back the mammoth into a corner to cut off its retreat and once they had the beast trapped, Soto, as the alpha, would go in for the mammoth's throat.
Battle at Half Peak[]
After getting closer to Half Peak with the mammoth, sloth and baby, Diego regrouped with his pack and met with Soto, who expressed that he was beginning to worry about Diego, but expressed his approval at Diego's efforts, which seemed to have paid off. Unbeknownst to Soto, however, Diego had secretly reformed and sided with the mammoth and sloth, in an effort to save the baby and help everyone escape unharmed.
Zeke soon saw the sloth carrying a bundle that appeared to be the baby. The pack, however, lay in hiding at Soto's orders, which were to not move until they saw the mammoth, which Soto said was the one animal they had to surprise in an ambush. Just then, Diego, who was really trying to sabotage the attack, convinced Zeke to jump out of hiding prematurely and catch Sid's attention. The sloth, however, knew it would happen and sped away down the hill on a pair of skis fashioned from two large pieces of bark (though he lost one ski and had to use his one remaining piece of bark like a snowboard). Soto and the others gave chase down the mountain until Sid the sloth lost his footing and dropped the bundle of clothing, which Soto pawed at, only to find it was a decoy made of snow. In a fury, he swiped the baby decoy away and ordered Oscar, Zeke, and Lenny to attack Sid. They did so, chasing him into a corner of the peak where Manny ambushed them and knocked them out with a log. Sid also trapped Zeke by wedging him into the same hole where he hid the baby.
Death[]
- "What are you doing?!"
"Leave. The mammoth. Alone."
"Fine. I'll take you down first." - ―Soto prepares his final battle against Diego.[src]
Soto, however, soon found Diego and Manny then cornered Manny in a rocky grotto of ice and wanted Diego to join and finish him off. However, Diego refuses to harm Manny, having decided to help the mammoth earlier on. Without a second thought, Soto struck down Diego for his betrayal. Diego was injured after a fight, but before Soto could kill him, he heard Roshan's cries and rushed to them. Manny, in rage, struck the distracted Soto aside with his tusks, flinging Soto into a wall. The impact shook icicles right above him and they drop, impaling and killing Soto before he can recover and his other pack members (Lenny and Oscar) ran away from Manny and left Soto’s dead body behind after his death.
Soto moments before his death
Personality and Traits[]
An aggressive saber-toothed cat, Soto was an effective leader who felt no remorse, guilt or mercy at killing his prey whether it was human or otherwise, and relished both the hunt and bringing down prey.
Driven by vengeance and bloodlust, Soto was dedicated to seeking out revenge if any wronged him. Soto didn't even show care for his fellow pack members, as he was not above striking them down if they defied or disobeyed him.
Thickly-built with a dark orange pelt and green eyes, Soto sported the same features of other saber tooths: retractable claws, strong limbs for running, a short tail and, most notably, a pair of large canine teeth, which he used to attack.
Relationships[]
Diego[]
Soto threatens Diego after he loses the baby.
Soto trusted Diego as his faithful lieutenant, seeing him as the only reliable member of the pack that would not fail, or would seek to make it right if he did. Though Soto trusted Diego and saw him as his right hand cat, he knew that Diego was capable of mistakes and was not so lenient as to forgive him without some kind of amends needing to be made. Soto proved his true motives when he, without a second thought, struck down Diego for his betrayal. Diego, in turn, saw Soto for how truly evil he was and had no hesitation about fighting back to defend Manny, Sid, and Roshan from his ex-boss.
Oscar[]
Soto did not trust Oscar any more than the others in the pack, for Oscar seemed snide at times and had a tendency to balk at Soto's orders and demands. Nevertheless, Soto did trust Oscar to go with Zeke and deliver a message to Diego, who was on a hunt.
Zeke[]
Soto hardly trusted Zeke to successfully carry out a hunt, knowing that Zeke was loose when it came to hunting, preferring to jump right in as opposed to stalking out prey. Despite this, Soto allowed Zeke to accompany Oscar in finding out Diego so as to convey a message.
Lenny[]
Soto did not trust Lenny much at all, but still saw the scimitar cat as another member of his pack and therefore fit to be a hunter. Soto preferred to prove his point on hunting by cornering Lenny so as to demonstrate the best means of an attack, picking on Lenny's heavy build.
The original pack[]
Feeling less sorrow than a thirst for revenge, Soto saw the deaths of his fallen sabers as a chance to strike back against the humans.
Humans[]
Runar[]
Soto saw Runar as one among others that had killed off his pack and thus someone to seek vengeance against; Soto attacked Runar at the camp, though with the intention of solely distracting the humans while Diego sought out their baby.
Roshan[]
Roshan was nothing more than a means of seeking revenge for Soto, for Soto would devour the baby as revenge to his fallen allies.
Others[]
Manny[]
While Soto is openly hostile to Manny, he was pleased to hear that Diego was bringing back a mammoth for him to kill until he finds out Diego and Manny had became friends during their adventure and only for Manny to kill Soto at Half Peek. Soto, also, is basically the opposite and darker version of Manny; while Manny and Soto lost their family (Manny) and teammates (Soto) because of humans, Manny chose the path of forgiveness in contrast to Soto who chose instead the path of revenge, and this latter led to Soto's demise in the fight against Manny.
Sid[]
Soto showed no interest in bringing down Sid in a hunt, aside from chasing the sloth when he was carrying what Soto and his pack thought to be the baby which they wanted to get, only to find out that baby wasn’t there realising that Soto and his pack have been tricked by Sid. Due to this, Soto told the other sabers to attack Sid which ended up in failure.
Appearances[]
- Ice Age (first appearance)
- Ice Age: The Movie Novel
- Ice Age (video game)
Behind the Scenes[]
Soto was voiced by Croatian actor Goran Visnjic who played Dr. Luka Kovač on the medical drama, "ER".
| Soto's Pack |
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| Soto • Oscar • Lenny • Zeke |
| Former Members |
| Diego |