Thunderdrum

Template:Dragon infobox The Thunderdrum is a large Tidal Class dragon that was first mentioned in How to Train Your Dragon]] and first appeared in Book of Dragons.

Official Description[]

“	Instead of breathing fire, the Thunderdrum produces a strong, concussive sound that can kill a human at close range. The blast is so powerful that the dragon is said to "get its power from Thor himself". Legend also has it that when the Thunderdrum hatches from its egg, it makes a sound so loud it rattles the sky. When not swelling its body up to yell, Thunderdrums can actually flatten their body by expelling all oxygen from their massive lungs for a limited period of time. In this sleeker state, Thunderdrums can better skim the ocean surface or even dive beneath the waves in search of prey. While it's true that Thunderdrums create tremendous amounts of noise, they also possess the ability to cancel out each other's sonic blasts. By modulating its roars to the proper frequency, a Thunderdrum can use its soundwaves to negate an attacking Thunderdrum's bellow, rendering it into a rather calming wave of white noise.	”
	— Dragonpedia

“	At home on land or sea, this Tidal Class big mouth has a Sonic Blast strong enough to kill a Viking . . . or at least soil his britches. The Thunderdrum holds a steady course in a fight while it blasts opponents with a sonic boom.	”
	— Dragons: Rise of Berk

“	Classified as members of the Tidal Class, Thunderdrums are large dragons that can thrive in land or sea. They are known for their massive mouths that generate sonic blasts strong enough to stun a human at close range. For this reason, Thunderdrums are believed to derive their power from Thor himself. Because of their sonic blasts, Thunderdrums tend to be nearly deaf, making them immune to the Death Song’s call. They can fly at extremely high altitudes. Along with their incredible strength, they also possess a prehensile tail that is strong enough to carry heavy items. They can breathe fire too, but this takes a lot of energy out of them and is not their preferred method of attack. What is also fascinating about the Thunderdrum is how it swims through the water. It has the ability to expel air from its lungs to flatten its body. This makes it easier for a Thunderdrum to skim along the surface of the water, or to dive deep down to hunt for food. These dragons may be strong-willed and intimidating, but with a dedicated trainer that is just as stubborn, the Thunderdrum can become a loyal friend.	”
	— School of Dragons

Description[]

The Thunder Drum is a tidal class dragon that seems to resemble an Eagle Ray, whale shark, and basking shark all rolled into one. It schools like hammerheads as shown in The Book of Dragons, and has no fire, but instead shoots a super sonic blast that is loud enough to kill a man at close range. The only one that has been trained so far is Thornado, a once rogue Thunderdrum.

Abilities[]

Babies[]

It is also said that when a Thunderdrum hatches from its egg, it makes a sound so loud it rattles the sky. Baby Thunderdrums have the strength to be able to drag two teenager Vikings on their tail with no sign of struggle. As hatchlings, their thunderous roar is powerful enough to send heavy Vikings into the air and can destroy some large objects such as Hiccup's invention, the Thunder Ear.

Sonic Blast and Fire Blast[]

The name originates from it's breath weapon. The Thunderdrum produces a strong concussive sound that can kill a human at close range. It is not only capable of temporarily stunning other dragons but can also extinguish flames shot by other dragons. The blast is so powerful that the creature is said to "get its power from Thor himself." Only the Screaming Death has a tolerance with this attack (able to stun it temporarily). By combining roars of several individuals, the roars are able to knock away several large dragons at a distance.

The Thunderdrum delivers a sonic blast so loud, it can be heard and felt miles away. This sonic blast has also been stated to lower the air pressure in it's way, making it feel cold on contact.

Like its sound wave booms, the Thunderdrum can blast waves of blue fire that get bigger the farther they go, while also travelling at the speed of sound. The downside to this power is that it takes a lot out of a Thunderdrum to employ it, so it's not often used.

In order to protect themselves from their own sound emissions, the Thunderdrums developed a system to offset sonic blasts by regulating wave frequencies of blasts to neutralize others' roars.

Strength and Combat[]

Thunderdrums are some of the most powerful dragons. They are also some of the all-around most useful dragons as they can dive down to the depths of the ocean and fly at extremely high altitudes.

Endurance and Stamina[]

Their endurance and stamina are very impressive as shown by Thornado, who was able to take attacks from Stoick and still fly in great speed.

Thunderdrums have been seen defeating wild dragons, pull two ships at the time with the added weight of Stoick the Vast, defeating a whole herd of wild boars and a wild specimen has been seen destroying a row of sea stacks by flying through them.

Prehensile Tail[]

They also have been shown to be quite flexible, as Thornado managed to grab Stoick with his prehensile tail and pull him underwater as well as slapping away several wild boars in battle.

Immunity to the Death Song[]

The Thunderdrum's bellow is so loud that they tend to be almost deaf, making it the only known dragon which is immune to the Death Song's call.

This modulating also prevents sounds from damaging surroundings ("rendering it into a rather calming wave of white noise!"). Because of this, Thunderdrums are nearly deaf. The School of Dragons claims that similar to snakes, Thunderdrums have no outer ear so they are virtually deaf out of water, but can hear very well underwater like whales and dolphins.

Speed and Agility[]

Thunderdrums are able to fly at great speeds in the air, and swim through water with perfect ease.

Despite the Thunderdrum's speed stat being only 14, Earsplitter was able to outfly a Death Song with a speed of 17. Due to this, it is possible that Thunderdrums actually have a speed stat of close to, or above 17.

Flattening their bodies with expelling all oxygen out of their massive lungs also enables them to skim through the water at even greater speeds and allow for deeper dives for feeding.

Resistance to Low Temperatures[]

In the Book of Dragons short, it is revealed that Thunderdrums lay their eggs in arctic regions, mainly ice fields. Given that the babies have to survive in those frigid conditions, it is presumed that adult Thunderdrums can also endure low temperatures, likely even lower ones.

Weaknesses[]

Bad Hearing[]

The Thunderdrum's weak hearing is both their weakness, and their strength: being almost deaf leaves them immune to their own sonic blasts.

Short Legs[]

The Thunderdrum's legs are very short and wide set, making them very awkward while moving around on land. Despite this, they are able to run as fast as young adult humans.

Behavior and Personality[]

They form pods in a hunt or on migration, a feature similar to those of cetaceans. Generally reclusive in nature when alone, living in sea caves and dark tide pools or in open waters.

Understandably, they are strident and assertive, the loud Thunderdrum always makes its feelings known.

Adolescents are shown to be mischievous to Vikings and dragons alike and they can be very annoying, as they don't stop roaring or mimicking other sounds. However, the adolescents will acquiesce to any adult of the same species, regardless of relationship or lack thereof.

Thunderdrums are so stubborn that they can be tough to train. They show a real parental instinct to any young, even if it's not their own.

According to Hiccup in Race to the Edge, Thunderdrums have a habit of holding grudges against their enemies.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

The Thunderdrum's ability to produce a powerful sonic sound could be based on echolocation and sonic sounds used by cetaceans, especially that of baleen or sperm whales that can reach several thousand kilometers away and are capable of paralyzing large prey such as giant squids.
Though its overall power is 73, they have proven to be extremely strong. Thornado carries Stoick the Vast on his back while pulling two ships out of their harbor and at another time carries the latter and Gobber the Belch without showing any signs of struggle.
Thornado and the other Thunderdrums that appear in the show are much smaller than the ones in How to Train Your Dragon 2.
- It is possible that a Thunderdrum's growth slows down if they are out of water for a prolonged time.
- In "King of Dragons, Part 2", Thornado, Bing, Bam, and Boom are about the same size as to how they were seen in their last appearance, which took place at least 3 years prior. Torch, Garffiljorg, and the New Protector grew to full size within only a few months. It is possible that the growth rate of Thunderdrums is much slower than that of other dragon species.
  - If this is true, then Thunderdrums may have extraordinarily long lifespans, given how these dragons are gigantic in How to Train Your Dragon 2.
- Another reason could be that the Thunderdrums in How to Train Your Dragon 2 were fully grown, and Thornado and the ones in the show are still adolescents.
- Another possibility is that Thunderdrums present sexual dimorphism and females are considerably larger than males.
Even though it has been stated that the Thunderdrum's sonic blast could kill a man at close range, the teens and Stoick only get minimal damage or are just blasted away when Thornado, Bing, Bam, or Boom use their sonic blast. The Dragon Riders are also not affected when four of them use a combined sonic blast.
- This is most likely due to the reduced levels of violence in the TV series. Another example for this in the franchise is Toothless' plasma blast, which instantaneously kills people in the Movies, but only knocks them over in the Series.
The roar of the Thunderdrum resembles the sound of a TIE fighter from Star Wars.