You mean Chuck Norris is the Thunderclash of Earth?

 

Norris? Heck no.

He's the Ace Rimmer! (Whataguy!)

 

Beat me to it! It also ties in with the other Red Dwarfisms (pretty sure that should be legit terminology) that are dotted throughout the series. I'm wondering if we have an Arnold Rimmer in there somewhere? Codename: Smegheadacon? Maybe the Scavengers fill that role?

It's the Ace Rimmer link I think that makes me enjoy Thunderclash as much as I do. I think he's the real deal. He fought back to back with Magnus on Millarium and fearlessly went after Sunder. The Ratchet theory is a good back up too as well as Optimus Prime knowing exactly who Rodimus was talking about when he was ranting about 'The Greatest Autobot of all time.'

As I've said before, the only thing I can't level out in my head is why 'Thunders' would be part of the Mutiny.

 

Oh it's even funnier than that; given how he reacted when Ace Thunders came onboard, Rodimus was Rimmer.  

 

I'm not sure Thunderclash is involved, surely he would have been seen with the mutineers when Getaway was announcing it, plus Getaway only mentioned Rodimus' desk map as opposed to mentioning him.

Thunderclash wouldn't have done it willingly I'd bet as he wouldn't send innocent bots like Velocity and Nautica to their demise.

 

If he was anything more than a running gag, I'd say he's a fake. But he's been in it so little, seemingly deliberately, since being an actual perfect hero wouldn't be compatible with the story.

He's not really a character, and he's never needed to be one. He's just another dude in a gigantic galaxy of dudes and ladies who just happens to be wonderful at everything. It'd be kinda predictable if he turned out to be a fraud, and not very satisfying given his limited appearences.

 

I think thunderclash is legit, it only makes sense when compared with how he has been written, but we will see what he's made of, once we see how he reacted or if he was complicit with getaways plan, but it doesn't make sense if he's phony.

 

I personally think it's both and neither.

My headcanon for Thunderclash is that he's a competent, brave Autobot soldier and military commander. That's all he is. Over the years, everyone else has talked him up to the point where he's the greatest Autobot ever. He's not the ultra-super badass that everyone talks him up to be and he doesn't think he's the ultra-super badass others say he is. He just does his best while everyone worships the ground he walks on. He's not the Greatest Autobot Ever; he doesn't want to be the Greatest Autobot Ever.

He's exemplary, successful, talented in multiple fields... and he has the brass balls to be modest about it! When everyone says how great he is, he just smiles and nods politely, like he's heard it all before. He doesn't brag about how he's a super-badass or the greatest Autobot ever; he's just a duty-bound, reasonably competent soldier who does what he thinks is right and who's been talked up by everyone else.

 

I think Thunderclash is "that guy everyone knows and hates". We all have one. We ALL have one person in our lives that does everything right, is always perfect, everything goes his/her way, and as much as we want to hate them, we really can't because they're NICE. If they were asshats, we could be justified about hating them, but we can't. That's Thunderclash to Rodimus. He's everything Rodimus wants to be and can't, and it's annoying as HELL.

Keep in mind that Thunderclash is a LOT like Optimus. Optimus is modest, brave, powerful, strong, etc, and would ALSO just wave away your compliments with a "I'm just doing the best I can with what was thrust upon me."

I don't think Thunderclash would go along with what happened on the Necroworld. Remember: everyone (including the jerkface Getaway himself) was under the impression it was the Council, NOT the DJD who would turn up. It's possible Thunderclash was lied to regarding what was going to happen, or what Team Rodimus deserved. Thunders wasn't around long enough to figure out what was going on. For me personally, the fact we don't see Thunderclash or Perceptor in that shot of "Who let me out? EVERYONE!" tells me that they are going to be seen locked in the brig in some manner. Maybe they were considered too instrumental to get rid of (Thunders still has the image of the map in his head so maybe they're keeping him around "just in case", and Perceptor is one of the two ship's geniuses and maybe they wanted one around), so are being held prisoner somewhere on the Lost Light.

To me, before IDW made him a series of other bots inside armor, I would have pegged Ultra Magnus as The Greatest Autobot Ever. He was the one that made Decepticons shiver when he walked onto the battlefield.

All IMO, of course.

 

Yeah. We all have that person who's better than us at everything and who everybody likes better than us. We try to envy them and hate them, but we can't. And you know why we can't? Because they're nice people.

That's what makes Thunderclash a great character, like what made Ace Rimmer (what a guy!) such a great character. He's exemplary, successful, talented in multiple fields... and the worst part is, he has the brass balls to be humble about it!

I think, with Thunderclash, he's gotten a little bit weary of the praise heaped on him over the years, but he thinks that turning it down would be rude. So he just smiles and nods politely when everyone worships the ground he walks on or tries to deflect the praise onto others (for example, saying that his crew were the brave ones when we first saw him).

 

I know he is merely an amusing trope but when they eventually get back in contact with the lost light crew if Thunderclash hasn't already found the Knights of Cybertron and is bff's with them bonding over anecdotes about their own brilliance then he a fake.

Not sure why but I think a whirl and Thunderclash spin off comic could be oddly brilliant.

 

TC is on the Lost Light, actually. He joined them a while ago.

 

And that's why I like the Lost Light Crew. They are so relatable. To me, they are normal actually  

I think Thunderclash really IS the perfect Autobot. I mean no one likes people who can achieve everything, are also good guys, have no flaws and are happy without a reason  

edit:
The more I think about it, I would really love to have a shelf where Thunderclash is front and center, everyone worshipping him and Rodimus standing at the side looking mad.  

 

That would actually be so Roberts! I know in the TFCC prose 'Gone too Far' Jackpot was mentioned as having a 'luck aura', so maybe Thunderclash has a Charisma aura?

The fact that Ratchet and Thunderclash are friends would suggest he is what he is cracked up to be. Plus there is also that classic part in issue 22 where he actually corrected Perceptor's science.

 

This. So much this. The number reason (I have found) that people loved MTMTE and Lost Light is that they are average people. They have issues. They are weird. Some are not quite right in the head. Some have huge egos. Some have OCD that makes them endearing. I have ALWAYS loved "heros" who aren't really. They do what's right just because it's right, but they have a hard time doing it, they have glaring errors and sometimes they do really, really jerky things. In average, they are US.

 

I believe that he is what has been said about him. I also think that if he knew anything about what happened to Roddy and his group, that it was Megatron would be delivered to the Galactic Council and the Autobots would be free to go about their business. When we see his reaction to what really happened, it may sway a few of the mutineers away from Getaway's point of view.

 

I really hope he's genuine. We've had too many evil Primes/Autobots in recent years in idw and the movies. It would just be boring and disappointing if he was a fraud.

Plus it's nice to see someone who isn't Optimus Prime get the admiration.

 

I hope not, really, but having 'Clash have a flaw - insecurity, doubt about his own abilities, Primus Apothesis or self-loathing seem like good choices - would be nice. It's mostly because I have a real soft spot for the "Euroformers", though. They're all great designs - if not great characters , and deserve some more recognition in modern media.

 

Agreed. To be honest, I can't even see Thunders (or Perceptor for that matter) going along with handing the crew (minus Megs) to the Council. I have a feeling we're going to see some of them in the brig. There is a big difference in saying you would support a mutiny and going along with handing over people you know to punishment.

 

Thunderclash turning out to be a phony seems like almost too obvious of a choice to make. I was actually half expecting him to be crippled following his return, forcing him to deal with his lack of ability to save the day on his own two legs. That way those frustrations could actually turn him into an actual character, which he should probably be if he's going to be a permanent member of the crew.