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Thunderdrum. This reclusive dragon inhabits sea caves and dark tide pools. When startled, the Thunderdrum produces a concussive sound that can kill a man at close range. [src]
  Hiccup as he reads through the Dragon Manual  

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.

Quick Answers

What class of dragon is the Thunderdrum? toggle section
The Thunderdrum is a Tidal Class dragon from the How to Train Your Dragon series.
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What unique ability does the Thunderdrum possess instead of breathing fire? toggle section
The Thunderdrum, instead of breathing fire, possesses a unique ability to produce a strong, concussive sound that can be lethal at close range. This blast is so powerful that it's said the dragon gets its power from Thor himself. When the Thunderdrum hatches from its egg, it makes a sound so loud it rattles the sky. This thunderous ability is a key characteristic of the Thunderdrum, making it a standout in the dragon world.
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In which book did the Thunderdrum first appear? toggle section
The Thunderdrum first appeared in the 'Book of Dragons'.
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What happens when a Thunderdrum is startled? toggle section
When a Thunderdrum is startled, it produces a strong, concussive sound that can be lethal at close range. This blast is so powerful that it's said the dragon gets its power from Thor himself. The sound is so loud that it can rattle the sky, and even cause destruction in its immediate surroundings. This is especially true when Thunderdrums are young, as they have been known to cause havoc in places like the village of Berk with their loud noises and destructive behavior.
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What is the habitat of the Thunderdrum? toggle section
The Thunderdrum is a reclusive dragon that inhabits sea caves and dark tide pools. It's a large Tidal Class dragon, meaning it's closely associated with the water. It has the ability to flatten its body by expelling all oxygen from its massive lungs, allowing it to skim along the surface of the water or dive deep down to hunt for food.
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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 Website[1]  
Thunderdrum is capable of delivering a thunderous sonic blast that can be heard for miles. The winds which accompany the blast can even snuff out a rival dragon's fire.
  DreamWorks Dragons: Wild Skies  


Physical Appearance[]

Egg[]

In the movie short Book of Dragons, the Thunderdrum's egg appears to have a base color of aqua, with lime green speckling.

Thunderdrum Egg

In School of Dragons, the eggs have electricity running through the eggs. The egg's core is glowing while the exterior is of a lighter shade of blue.

In Rise of Berk, the egg comes in various colors. They have a slightly more pointy top. Faint specks can be found in its middle and it appears to be rather shiny.

Hatchling to Adult[]

This dragon relies mostly on its two sets of wings, one primary and one smaller set to the rear, using them to get around and move through the water like a tornado.

These dragons have stubby thin legs and long, skinny tails. It also has a series of backward facing spikes lining its back. The Thunderdrum's body resembles several marine creatures, such as a basking shark, whale shark, manta ray, or baleen whale. According to the Dragon Manual, Thunderdrums have really powerful wings, and the spikes on their tails are very sharp.

In Riders of Berk, this dragon is just bigger than a Gronckle (excluding the tail), but in How to Train Your Dragon 2, it is much bigger.

All Thunderdrums seen in adaptations before How to Train Your Dragon 2 are not much larger than medium or large-sized dragons. According to the Dragonpedia, baby Thunderdrums grow up to 11 inches tall.

In How to Train Your Dragon 2, much larger Thunderdrums are seen. These Thunderdrums are longer than blue whales, and their wingspan is long enough for Toothless to fly under one that was jumping out of the water. The maximum size for these dragons is unknown. Thunderdrums in this size are probably too expensive to animate, so they are smaller in the TV Series.

Titan Wing[]

Titan Wing Thunderdrum

Titan Wing Thunderdrums are larger than their Broad Wing counterparts. They have three main colors on their body: blue, turquoise, and purple. Their wings have these three colors and many white specks. The talons on the edge of their wings grow larger. Their body is mainly blue in color. These Titans possess lots of sharp teeth and a long ledge, with its nostrils, on the top of its snout. Their second set of wings is larger and they have a row of spines along their tail, as well as spikes all over their back.

Abilities[]

Babies[]

It is 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 teenage Vikings on their tail with little effort. 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. As shown in "Bing! Bam! Boom!", a single Thunderdrum hatchling's sonic blast is ineffective on adult dragons.

Sonic Blast and Fire Blast[]

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. As shown by Earsplitter, when an adult Thunderdrum's sonic blast hits a human at close range, it would render them nearly deaf after the attack.

The Thunderdrum delivers a sonic blast so loud, it can be heard and felt miles away.[2] This sonic blast has also been stated to lower the air pressure in its way, making it feel cold on contact.[3]

Like its sound wave booms, the Thunderdrum can blast waves of blue fire that get bigger the farther they go, while 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.[4][5]

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.[6] As shown by Thornado, Thunderdrums can carry two large Vikings at once, or a large Viking, such as Stoick, while also pulling two ships out of the harbor, whereas Toothless had to struggle lifting Stoick. Earsplitter was implied to have been battling the Death Song long before their appearance in "Imperfect Harmony". However, due to adapting to their fights, the Death Song was able to easily defeat the Thunderdrum, and it would have killed him if Hiccup hadn't intervened.

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 at great speed. Thunderdrums have been seen defeating wild dragons, pull two ships at a 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.

Senses[]

Despite their poor hearing, it is shown multiple times that Thuderdrums haves acute senses as shown by Thornado in "Bing! Bam! Boom!", where he heard Stoick's whistle sounds while being in the water and track baby Thunderdrums on the sea stacks in the very same episode, despite them being far from Berk. Thunderdrums can best hear other Thunderdrums, as shown in "We Are Family, Part 1", where Fishlegs accidentally lures a wild Thunderdrum to the Dragon Riders, and later Astrid was able to call the same wild Thunderdrum with a Thunderdrum call.

Immunity to the Death Song[]

The Thunderdrum's bellow is so loud they are protected from it ("rendering it into a rather calming wave of white noise!"). Because of this, Thunderdrums are nearly deaf, thus have no sense of hearing. 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. Because of this, Thunderdrums are the only known dragon which is immune to the Death Song's siren call.

The Thunderdrum's bad hearing is also their strength, making them immune to their own sonic blasts and loud sounds that make most dragons disorientated. However, loud sounds from dragons like the Screaming Death can disorientate them.

Speed, Agility, and Stealth[]

Thunderdrums are able to fly at great speeds in the air, and swim through water with perfect ease. Thornado was able dodging Toothless' plasma attacks with little trouble in his first appearance. A wild Thunderdrum is capable of keeping up with a Gronckle with not effort. Thunderdrums are also very stealthy dragons, as Thornado was able to sneak up on Bucket and Mulch while being in the ocean. On land a Thunderdrum was able to stealthy sneak up on the Dragon Riders in "Imperfect Harmony".

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 while expelling all oxygen from their massive lungs also enables them to skim through the water at even greater speeds and allow for deeper dives for feeding.

Aquatic[]

Being Tidal Class, Thunderdrums are able to stay underwater for long periods of time. They are very skilled swimmers. As shown by Thornado and Earsplitter, Thunderdrums are capable of leaving the water and staying in the air for a period of time without drying out, despite its aquatic nature. This makes them one of the few Tidal class dragons that have an amphibious nature to survive on dry land.

Resistance to Low Temperatures[]

Thunderdrums lay their eggs in arctic regions, mainly ice fields

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.

Intelligence[]

As shown by Thornado, Thunderdrums are intelligent dragons. He tried to feed and protect his injured friend against other predators and enemies. After he became trained, was taught by Stoick and Hiccup basic commands through hand signals. He also had the idea on his own to defeat the wild dragons in Dragon Island to combine their sonic roar and understood its rider's intention to let him take care of the three adolescent Thunderdrums.

Weaknesses[]

Bad Hearing[]

While the Thunderdrum is nearly deaf out of water, a louder sound, like a Screaming Death's roar, is loud enough to disorient them.

Short Legs[]

The Thunderdrum's legs are very short and wide set, making them very awkward while moving around on land. Nevertheless, they can still run as fast as a human. This also applies to being pinned down, as Earsplitter was almost killed by a wild Death Song.

Muzzled Mouth[]

If a Thunderdrum's mouth is clamped shut with both hands or a muzzle, they can't produce their sonic blasts, leaving them vulnerable.

Behavior and Personality[]

They form pods in a hunt or on migration, a feature similar to those of cetaceans. They are 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 is not their own.

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

Training[]

Training a Thunderdrum, especially as an adult, is a challenge, partly due to their difficult personality and deafness. Showing protection and gaining the Thunderdrum's trust is an easier way to train it, as seen by Stoick and Thornado. Adolescents also don't or can't listen except to mature adults. It is easier to train one from birth or have an adult to help. However, adults can be very protective of their young, regardless of their offsprings' ill-behavior, as seen with Thornado when trying to watch over Bing, Bam, and Boom. These dragons give in easier during times of crisis, as displayed when Thornado had to save Whirlwing, or when Earsplitter had to save his child.

Titan Uprising points out that because of their deafness, many Thunderdrums "respond best to visual cues during training", especially Reef Thunderdrums.

Comparative Statistics[]


Appearances[]

How to Train Your Dragon[]

How-to-train-disneyscreencaps

The Thunderdrum is one of the dragons Hiccup reads about in the Dragon Manual while searching for information about Night Furies. Like all dragons, it is classified as an extremely dangerous creature that needs to be killed on sight.

Book of Dragons[]

Thunderdrum01

The Thunderdrum first appears in this short. It is classified into the Tidal Class in the Dragon Manual, and some of its features and abilities are revealed. Gobber tells the story of how Bork the Bold once found the nest of a Thunderdrum in a cold region. However, he didn't know that Thunderdrum eggs hatch with an explosive sound that rattles the sky, and he found this out the hard way.

Dragons: Riders of Berk[]

Hiccup-toothless-how-to-train-your-dragon-1
Main article: Thornado
Hiccup-toothless-how-to-train-your-dragon-1
Main article: Whirlwing
Episodio 7 - How To Pick Your Dragon.mp4 snapshot 19.23 -2012.11.19 00.44

In "How to Pick Your Dragon", the Thunderdrum was first labeled as a rogue dragon attacking Berk's fishermen out at sea. While Hiccup tries to find Stoick a dragon so he can help his village more effectively, the rogue dragon strikes again. When they arrive on the scene, Stoick is satisfied with the beast and requests his son to help him train it. However, when they bring it back to the academy and put a muzzle on it to keep it from using its roar, Stoick brawls with it, causing it to escape.

After locating it, Stoick and Hiccup learn that it was accompanied by Whirlwing, another Thunderdrum that was injured, which is why it attacked the fishermen, so it could get food for its friend. Hiccup leaves to fetch the others while Stoick stays behind with the Thunderdrums, but they are soon ambushed by wild wild boars. Stoick finally bonds with the dragon, and together they defeat the boars. He was eventually named Thornado by Stoick.

Dragons: Defenders of Berk[]

Hiccup-toothless-how-to-train-your-dragon-1
Main article: Bing
Hiccup-toothless-how-to-train-your-dragon-1
Main article: Bam
Hiccup-toothless-how-to-train-your-dragon-1
Main article: Boom
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In "Bing! Bam! Boom!", Hiccup and Stoick find three adolescent Thunderdrums on a sea stack. Puzzled why they were left there, the duo decided not to probe into the matter and left. The babies gave chase, but Thornado warded them off with his sonic blast. Hiccup, after convincing his father, brings them back to Berk to train and names them Bing, Bam, and Boom. They prove to be too mischievous and stubborn to be trained and only listen to Thornado. Nearly destroying the village, Stoick orders them away. When they abandon the babies on an island, wild dragons instantly approach them, viewing them as easy prey. Realizing that the babies cannot care for themselves in the wild, Stoick bittersweetly sets Thornado free to care for the trio.

Dragons: Race to the Edge[]

Season 1[]

Hiccup-toothless-how-to-train-your-dragon-1
Main article: Earsplitter
Hiccup-toothless-how-to-train-your-dragon-1
Main article: Lil Lullaby
Glad

With most of their dragons mysteriously gone on Melody Island in "Imperfect Harmony", the gang sets off to find them, stumbling upon a wild Thunderdrum. After hitting them with his sonic blast, he was chased off by Hiccup and Toothless. Hiccup ran into him again while trying to escape the Death Song. While the Thunderdrum was mad at Hiccup about before, he focused more on fighting the Death Song. They managed to escape and Hiccup trained him to help save the others as the Thunderdrum was immune to the Death Song's call. After breaking the dragons and Dragon Riders out of the amber cocoons, Hiccup realized the reason why the Thunderdrum was fighting the Death Song was that it had captured his son. Hiccup and Toothless lured the Death Song into a cave and the Thunderdrum blasted it shut after the duo made it out. The Thunderdrum happily reunited with his son, and Hiccup recommended the two find a new home.

In "Total Nightmare", the Thunderdrum is mentioned by Hiccup as one of the dragons that Snotlout could ride after Hookfang "runs away" to be with Girl Hookfang.

Season 6[]

Thornado, Bing, Bam, and Boom were among the many wild Thunderdrums that were summoned by the Berserker Bewilderbeast during the final battle against the Dragon Hunters and Flyers in "King of Dragons, Part 2".

How to Train Your Dragon 2[]

A pod of gigantic Thunderdrums was seen in the beginning of the movie, swimming at the surface of the open ocean while Hiccup and Toothless were flying past them.

How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming[]

The Thunderdrum is pictured in a Dragon Manual formerly belonging to Stoick that Zephyr Haddock finds packed away in the Haddock House on New Berk.

Dragons: The Nine Realms[]

Season 1[]

In "First Flight, Part 1", during the prologue showing Hiccup's map of the archipelago, a Thunderdrum is pictured on it.

Comics and Graphic Novels[]

The Ice Castle[]

During his Dragon Auction, Dammen mentions that he has Thunderdrum eggs for sale.

The Stowaway[]

A wild Thunderdrum gets into a fight with Stormfly over food, creating chaos in the village of Berk. Fortunately, Hiccup manages to stop the fight by giving both dragons food at the same time.

When Hroar goes to Dragon Island in order to enrage many dragons and lead them to Berk, he does so with several Thunderdrums. However, after he is thrown off his saddle, the Thunderdrums and all the other dragons return to their island.

The Legend of Ragnarok[]

When Hiccup and Astrid go out at the sea, they spot an agitated Thunderdrum and a Scauldron jumping out of the water.

The Serpent's Heir[]

Several Thunderdrums appear along with other Tidal Class dragons that offer tribute to Toothless, their new Alpha.

Books[]

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World - The Movie Storybook[]

A Thunderdrum was briefly seen being ridden by a Berkian in this book, following the Alpha Toothless on a quest for the Hidden World.

Games[]

DreamWorks Dragons: Wild Skies[]

In the game, the Thunderdrum can be tamed. It lives in Wrecker's Reef, and one must feed it crabs or fish in order to tame it. The player will need 10 Gold to buy a Crab Net and go to Wrecker's Reef, where the player then selects the crabs. The Thunderdrum is a Tidal Class dragon, and it can release a sonic boom. When the player rides it, the dragon's mouth is closed. When the player presses the space bar, it will open its mouth and screech at the target. Other Vikings will say that the player is as strong as Stoick after having tamed it.

Dragons Hero Portal[]

Thunderdrum info

Thunderdrums appear in this game as part of the armored dragons in Drago's Army. They attack the player – playing as a rider/dragon pair – until the player blasts off the armor and frees them.

Dragons: Rise of Berk[]

The Thunderdrum, along with its Titan Wing form, became available in Rise of Berk. Bing, Bam Boom, Earsplitter, Lil Lullaby, Whirlwing, and Thornado also appeared in it.


School of Dragons[]

The Thunderdrum is available in School of Dragons. Only members can own a Thunderdrum for free in the first pick. Stoick's Thunderdrum, Thornado, appears in the quest "The Sickly Dragon" where Thornado is seen sick and you have to find mint leaves in the wilderness, which is made into tea to help cure him.


Dragons: Titan Uprising[]

Several Thunderdrum individuals, such as Warcry, Waveshaker, Reef Thunderdrums, Tectonic Thunderdrums, and the Shifty Murklurker, as well as hybrids, like the Hoarsbrumble, appear in this game.

Trivia[]

  • Asterisk-TransparentThe official measurements of the Thunderdrum given by DreamWorks Animation are "68 feet (20.72 meters) in length" and "48 feet (14.63 meters) in wingspan".
  • According to Dragons: Rise of Berk, red-colored Thunderdrums such as Bludcrest were seen as bad omens prior to the advent of Hiccup's defeat of the Red Death.
  • The design of the Thunderdrums resemble spotted eagle rays in shape and color. They also appear to be based on sharks or baleen whales, as it has whale shark spots, basking shark mouth, and has a shape of a spotted eagle ray (which is a relative of the shark). Its torso could possibly be based on the ridges of a rorqual's belly that dramatically expand when they feed. Additionally, a Thunderdrum's humming sounds similar to a baleen whale's singing.
  • Though its overall power is 73, they have proven to be extremely strong. Thornado was able to carry Stoick on his back while pulling two ships out of their harbor, and another time, he carried the latter and Gobber without showing any signs of struggle.
  • Thornado and the other Thunderdrums that appear in the TV series are much smaller than the ones in How to Train Your Dragon 2.
  • In "King of Dragons, Part 2", Bing, Bam, and Boom are about the same size as to how they were seen in their last appearance, which took place at least three years prior. Though this could be an error in production.
    • Also, Torch, Garffiljorg, and the New Protector grew to full size within only a few months. However, this could likely be an illogic used for plot continuity.
  • Even though it has been stated that the Thunderdrum's sonic blast could kill a man at close range, the teens and Stoick only receive 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.
  • The roar of the Thunderdrum resembles the sound of a TIE fighter from Star Wars.
  • It is possible that Thunderdrums hear infrasound better rather than normal sounds.
  • In the Rise of Berk battle mode and brawl mode, the Thunderdrum doesn't expand its body, but only opens its mouth when firing a sonic blast.

References[]

Thunderdrum uses Creative Commons Licensed content from the Rise of Berk Wiki page Thunderdrum. The list of authors can be found on the page revision history (view authors). ROBWiki Logo
Thunderdrum uses Creative Commons Licensed content from the DreamWorks School of Dragons Wiki page Thunderdrum. The list of authors can be found on the page revision history (view authors). SODWikiLogo

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