Thunderwing was the herald of the chaos bringer Unicron who's sole purpose is to destroy the Matrix of Leadership and its host but was bond in a meteor by the thirteenth prime for eons until he was freed by the Decepticon but he was only using them to repair him self until he could break loose and complete his mission but he was eventually defeated and destroyed by Optimus Prime the one he was born to kill.

Thunderwing was also the primary antagonist and final boss of the non-canon video game of Transformers Prime.

History

Thunderwing was created by Unicron many eons ago to serve him and to destroy the Matrix of Leadership, and is composed of technology which is thought to be extremely rare. At some point Thunderwing was encased in a meteor loaded with Dark Energon and fell into a deep sleep.

Megatron found that same meteor and attempted to bring it to Earth, but the Autobots detected the signal and proceeded to try to stop him. However, during the resulting battle, the meteor began to crack open and Thunderwing was awakened. He accidentally caused the meteor to break apart and the Dark Energon, as well as some of his own components, to fall down to the Earth. Thunderwing reawakened on Earth, only to find the very holder of the Matrix, Optimus Prime, right in front of him. The servant of Unicron, however, was still mostly sealed in Dark Energon and was only able to move his right arm. Not long afterwards, Optimus and Thunderwing were interrupted by the arrival of the Nemesis and Thunderwing proceeded to attack the ship instead. He was eventually forced into stasis and taken on board the Nemesis.

On the Nemesis, Knock Out revived an incomplete Thunderwing. Megatron offered to repair Thunderwing, if he swore loyalty to Megatron. Thunderwing scoffed at the notion that Megatron could make good on his promise, but nonetheless reluctantly agreed.

The Decepticons finished repairing Thunderwing with help from a coerced Ratchet. As an expression of "gratitude," Thunderwing unleashed an assault on Megatron, who used Starscream as a shield. Thunderwing then broke out of the Nemesis.

The Autobots aimed to intercept Thunderwing while Ratchet built a weapon to combat him, using knowledge he obtained while imprisoned by the Decepticons. Optimus Prime seemingly had Thunderwing beaten, but Thunderwing used the power of Dark Energon to revitalize himself.

Ratchet was able to build a device that would drain Thunderwing's energy, but it had to be detonated from within Thunderwing. As none of the Autobots were small enough to fit in Thunderwing's only known opening, Jack Darby volunteered to deploy the device. Arcee raced him to the opening, and Jack was able to set off the weapon. With Thunderwing weakened, Optimus Prime was able to destroy the reactors within Thunderwing's shoulders.

Refusing to give up, Thunderwing prepared to expend all his remaining energy to destroy the Matrix. Optimus Prime charged his weapons using the power of the Matrix and finished off Thunderwing. Thunderwing fell into a magma pit, seemingly to his death, causing a volcanic eruption of Dark Energon

Trivia 

• Thunderwing shares some similarities with Predaking, with both of them having Fire Breath and being larger than most Transformers Prime Characters.
• Unicron never mentions Thunderwing in the show, due to the show being shortened for time.

• Thunderwing's design is an homage to Generation 1 Thunderwing, lightly resembling the look of his Generation 1 namesake's Pretender shell. His massive stature and flame breath are likely drawn from his portrayal in IDW's comics, specifically the mini-series Stormbringer.

• His connections to Unicron and the Matrix in this continuity seems mostly inspired by G1 Thunderwing's Marvel Comics and Armada Dreamwave comic portrayals. In the former, Thunderwing had a natural affinity towards the Matrix and sought its power for himself (rather than wanting to destroy it like this Thunderwing). In the latter, he was portrayed as a Herald of Unicron. Combining and modifying the two portrayals gives us the Thunderwing we have here.

• Thunderwing was among the "world bosses" planned to appear in Transformers Universe

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