Editing Thundertron

{{faction|starseeker}}
:''Thundertron is a [[Star Seeker]] from the [[Aligned continuity family]].''

[[File:Thundertronpackagingart.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|"Do you fear [[death]]? Do you fear that dark abyss? All your deeds laid bare, all your sins punished?"]]
[[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] and its inhabitants will tremble, for they will hear the massive clang of steel amidst the sound of leonine growls, and fall before the might of '''Thundertron'''! The massive, peg-legged leader of the Star Seekers and Captain of the ''[[Tidal Wave (Prime)|Tidal Wave]]'', Thundertron claims to be "the mightiest freebooter on the spaceways". Aside from being a merciless pirate, the inadvertent destruction of his home-world by Cybertronian neglect has given him an unquenchable hatred and a desire for revenge. He vows to hunt down and slaughter any who come from Cybertron, and is equally brutal with anyone else who would get in his way.

==Fiction==
===Aligned novels===
During Cybertron's [[Golden Age]], when the [[Transformer]]s [[Cybertronian colonies|colonized other worlds]], Thundertron's colony loyally served the Cybertronian Empire. When the space bridge network collapsed and [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] turned its attentions inward, Thundertron and his fellow colonists were left to fend for themselves, dying by the millions. The survivors became the core of the [[Star Seeker]]s, and Thundertron emerged as their leader. {{storylink|Transformers: Retribution|Retribution}}

Upon sensing the energy trail of a [[Ark (WFC)|Cybertronian ship]], Thundertron had his ship land on [[Velocitron]]. He quickly questioned [[Override (Prime)|the planet's leader]] if there were any Cybertronians there. She said there were none, but the leader's refusal to divulge where they were, her insolence in asking the fault of being Cybertronian, and [[Ransack (Prime)|her rival]]'s insistence that she was Cybertronian quickly made Thundertron lose his temper and ordered his crew to attack.

Following the energy trail, they traveled through a [[space bridge]] to [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]], where he found not only the Cybertronian ship, but [[Trypticon (WFC)|another]]. While the Cybertronians were fighting each other, Thundertron met with the [[Wreck-Gar (Prime)|leader]] of the [[Junkion (species)|locals]]. He quickly forced the Junkions to repair his ship and attach a space bridge to it. He had [[Cannonball (Prime)|two]] [[Brimstone (Prime)|crew members]] show the Junkions they meant business by killing [[Arclight (Junkion)|one of them]]. As soon as the space bridge was attached, Thundertron ordered the Star Seekers to attack the Cybertronians. {{storylink|Transformers: Exiles|Exiles}}

Some time after the battle on Junkion, Thundertron and the Star Seekers engineered a ruse to trap the Decepticons and destroy the ''Nemesis'' with the [[Requiem Blaster (Megatronus)|Requiem Blaster]]. While the trap was sprung, the more nimble ''Nemesis'' was able to exploit the Requiem Blaster's high energy demands, forcing the pirates to detach the weapon after an ineffective blast had been fired off. Furious, Thundertron engaged Megatron in personal combat on an asteroid. Though the pirate's savage might proved an equal match for the Decepticon leader, he opted for a retreat when the ''Nemesis'' began overpowering the ''Tidal Wave''. Speaking to his foe one last time, Thundertron swore to face Megatron once again, an opinion that the Decepticon did not share, his speech allowing Megatron to deduce that Thundertron had not killed Optimus Prime. {{storylink|Transformers: Retribution|Retribution}}

===Ask Vector Prime===
[[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]] and the [[Earth Protection Taskforce]] unsuccessfully attempted to capture [[Starquest]] and Thundertron. {{Storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/17}}

==Games==
===''Transformers Online''===
{{charstubgame|{{storylink|Transformers Online (2012 video game)|Transformers Online}}}}

==Toys==
===''Prime''===
[[File:Prime voyager Thundertron.jpg|upright=1.67|thumb|Thunder! Thunder! Thunder! Thundertron, Ho!]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-ss|'''Thundertron''' (Voyager Class, [[2012]])}}</ul>
:*''Series / number'': '''1 / 008'''
:*''Accessories'': Claw/Battle sword, claw/right foot
{{toydesigner|[[Joe Kyde]] and [[Bill Rawley]]<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtNaT7h6Fh4 HasCon 2017 - EXCLUSIVE Interview With Rik Alvarez (Formally With Hasbro)]</ref> (Hasbro)|[[Emiliano Santalucia]] (concept artist), [[Mark Maher]] (deco artist)}}

:Part of the fourth wave of ''[[Transformers: Prime (toyline)#RID|Prime: Robots in Disguise]]'' Voyager Class toys, Thundertron converts from a robotic lion to a peg-legged space pirate and back! He features an incredibly long [[Facial hair|beard]] and looks like he's [[Transformer clothing|wearing a long-coat]], with the latter being due to the [[beast mode]] "wings" on his robot waist and the coattail-shaped panel on his back. He also features translucent plastic, such as his back and forearms/beast mode forelegs, to accommodate his weapon's light-up [[gimmick]].

:For accessories, he has a short-bladed claw which is pegged (via [[5 mm post|5 mm peg-hole]]) into his peg-leg, and serves as his right [[robot mode]] and rear-right beast mode foot. He also has a long-bladed claw that transforms into a "Battle sword", the LED in the weapon illuminating the sword blade as a sort of "[[Energon]] glow". Either accessory can peg into his hands, forearms, robot and beast back, and into either side of his "wings". Additionally, the light-up weapon features a peg-hole on either side of the lever.

:In order for him to fit in the box, he is often mis-transformed in-[[Packaging|package]], with his chest panels not being opened, and his crest, "coattail", and pelvis being left in their beast mode positions. His package-back also features a call-out to his static snap-on claw/right foot accessory, but it incorrectly points to his ''claw/sword'' accessory instead. Additionally, his [[stock photography]] depicts additional [[paint operation]]s not present in the final product, such as silver paint for most of his robot feet/beast hind-feet, and gold paint for the lower half of his peg-leg. Finally, his [[instructions]] forget to mention that the spurs on the sides of his rear feet have to be swung up and angled for lion mode, as shown in his [[package art]] and stock photos.

:He was later redecoed into [[Lio Convoy#Prime|Leo Prime]], ''[[Triple Combination: Transformers Go! (toyline)|Go!]]'' [[Go Prime#Toys|Go Prime]], and [[BotCon 2014]] [[Cheetor (BW)/toys#BotCon2014|Alpha Trizer]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2012/StarSeeker/Thundertron/thundertron.htm More information on Thundertron at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

===''Legacy''===
[[File:TF-Legacy-United-Voyager-Thundertron.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|He stole [[Ben MacCrae|Bmac's]] Beard!]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-ss|'''Prime Universe Thundertron''' (Voyager Class, [[2024]])}}</ul>
:*''Accessories'': Sword, detachable foot
{{toydesigner|[[Mark Maher]] (Hasbro), [[Takio Ejima]] (TakaraTomy)<ref name ="Pulsecon23">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL4YRFesAdo ''Transformers'' panel] with [[Ben MacCrae]], [[Mark Maher]], [[Evan Brooks]], [[Takio Ejima]] and [[Thew Adams]] at [[Hasbro Pulse Con 2023]].</ref>|[[Emiliano Santalucia]] (concept artist)<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/CxzALp2MvRS/ Design notes on ''Legacy'' Thundertron] from [[Hasbro]] designer [[Mark Maher]] on Instagram</ref>}}

: Released in the eighth wave of ''[[Transformers: Legacy|Legacy]]'' Voyagers, ''Legacy: United'' "Prime Universe Thundertron" transforms into a robotic lion (with noted heavy ''[[Zoids]]'' inspiration).<ref name = "Pulsecon23"/> He includes a sword, as well as the original toy's peg leg feature. 

: Hasbro marketer [[Ben MacCrae]] and designer [[Mark Maher]] lampshaded the ''Zoids'' influence that went into Thundertron's revamped beast mode by offering that the pirate had [[Scanning|scanned]] one of the ''Zoids'' franchise's trademark mecha-ligers after crash landing on the Zoids{{'}} home planet.<ref name = "Pulsecon23"/><ref>{{cite social|quote=Crash landing at planet z did ol thunder knucks alot of good in my eyes. We got some serious possibility and just a fierce looking alt mode which will scare any cybertronian off the tidal plank.|link=https://www.instagram.com/p/CxzALp2MvRS/|name=Mark Maher|site=Instagram|year=2023|month=09|day=29}}</ref> Maher further noted that the toy was initially planned to have sculpted [[space barnacle]] details, but they ultimately didn't quite fit with the vibe he wanted, so it was changed in favor of some scars and battle damage.<ref>{{cite social|quote=I did plan on adding some space barnacles but after they were sculpted they didn’t give the proper vibe, so I put my energon towards some scars and battle damage throughout the sculpt cause this star seeker has seen some serious battles.|link=https://www.instagram.com/p/CxzALp2MvRS/|name=Mark Maher|site=Instagram|year=2023|month=09|day=29}}</ref>  

: Thundertron was revealed alongside the rest of ''United''{{'}}s first wave, and went up for pre-order shortly afterwards.

::''[https://www.instagram.com/p/CxzALp2MvRS/ Designer commentary on ''Legacy'' Thundertron from Mark Maher on Instagram]''
{{comingsoontoy}}
{{--}}

==Notes==
*Thundertron was designed by [[Emiliano Santalucia]].<ref>http://santalux.blogspot.it/2012/11/thundetron-concept-sketches.html</ref>
*According to former Hasbro creative director [[Rik Alvarez]], Thundertron's name is a portmanteau of ''ThunderCats'' and ''Voltron''.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPHvPXWmSi8&t=275 Panel at TFCon 2018]</ref>
*The original concept of the Star Seekers was that each of its 13 members was from a different Cybertronian colony.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPHvPXWmSi8&t=21 Panel at TFCon 2018]</ref> To date, Thundertron's colony of origin is unknown.
*Thundertron's status as a captain of an independent ship, his apparent peg leg, and his unending quest for vengeance harken back to Captain Ahab from the classic novel, ''Moby-Dick''.
*Thundertron and the Star Seekers were at one point planned for inclusion in whatever TV project followed the third season of ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Prime]]'' (either a fourth season of ''Prime'', or a new show entirely), prompting Thundertron's toy and the seeds of their backstory being incorporated into the Aligned novels.<ref>Former Hasbro employee [[Rik Alvarez]] in 2015</ref> The dissolution of HasLab and their big vision for the Aligned continuity put an end to that.
*A catalogue that comes with the [[Lio Convoy#Prime|Leo Prime]] version of the mold erroneously labels the figure "Thundertron" (サンダートロン ''Sandātoron''). 

===Foreign names===
*''Mandarin:'' '''Pò Tiān Léi''' (China, 破天雷, "Heaven Breaking Thunder")

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Legacy characters]]
[[Category: Pirates]]
[[Category:Prime Star Seekers]]
[[Category:Transformers Online characters]]