Prisoners of War: Thundercracker
Featured cartoon appearances: More Than Meets the Eye, Fire in the Mountain
Featured comic appearances: None that I know of
Fanfic appearances: "Coming Clean" by Jiminy Christmas, "The High Road" by Nightwind
Thundercracker is a well-known character from the very beginning of the Transformer line. He is one of Megatron's elite flyers. He's blue and has a deep voice. That's about the extent the cartoon gave the poor sap in the characterization department. The comic was even worse, with the exception of his Transformers Universe entry. He stands out, however, in that he is a rarity among the Decepticons. While it's seen in a variety of forms among the Autobots, Thundercracker is one of the few, if not the only, Decepticon who doubts the cause he follows.
This character trait is one which had so much potential it's a surprise to me that it wasn't at least touched on. Some may say that the reason it was not was simply because he was a Decepticon. After all, similar portrayals were made for the Autobots, taking Beachcomber's "Golden Lagoon" and Mirage's "Traitor" as examples. I think it was more like they didn't feel they had time or they figured they already had Starscream in the limelight, so why deal with this one too. The reason it didn't happen is irrelevent. The fact that it did is a pity.
So the big question is, where do these misgivings stem from? Everybody's going to have an opinion on this. I know I have mine. But I feel there are some things we can eliminate. Thundercracker was never an Autobot. If he had doubts about his acquired role among the Decepticons, there would be little to stop him from returning to his former comrades, even if there was some extreme spat with a superior or something. If he was once an Autobot, he would have someone there who would be a friend. I mean, come on, even Wheelie had friends. And for a more cartoon story-like explanation, there were no Autobot flyers with the form Starscream/Thundercracker/Skywarp had.
That leaves two probable means for him to be with the Decepticons. He was recruited or he was created in some Seeker mass production. My belief is that Thundercracker, like Starscream, was recruited. He could have had any number of reasons for joining the Decepticons: revenge, lust for power, etc. But these don't seem to fall in line with his personality. The reason given in his Transformers Universe entry is very simple. He just wanted to belong. He allowed himself to be talked into it, maybe by Starscream, maybe Megatron, anybody really. Among the Decepticons, he was important. He was an elite flyer, good at his job, maybe even admired by other, less skillful fighters. But from time to time that nagging doubt about whether he was doing the right thing will surface. He may listen to the others in hopes that there reasons will again make sense in his mind. He may hope that the voice in his head begging him to stop will silence with a renewed vigor from the passion in which the others believe.
In my mind this seems too simplistic. Imagine a young Thundercracker. A war has erupted, and he must pick a side. If he was always unsure of the Decepticon cause, and assuming he'd be equally unsure of the Autobot cause, why not join the Autobots? The scorn he feels to those who can't fly? If he felt superiority over such beings, he could transform it into confidence. Among the Autobots, he'd be more than an elite flyer. He'd be _the_ elite flyer. Given this I believe that Thundercracker once believed in the cause he fights for.
And he may have always believed in the Decepticon cause, until something irreversible occurred. Some act performed by him or by someone close to him changed his views. It could have all started with four little words. "What am I doing?" From there the doubts cascade. Just as the theory above states (as well as the Transformers Universe), he listens to his fellow Decepticons preach about the rightness of their cause until he thinks he believes again.
This is just my opinion on the subject. Others will have their own. The picture I've painted of Thundercracker is by no means deep, just a mere sketch. I takes more than one essay or one episode in the cartoon to create a true picture of any character. "Coming Clean" goes beyond this. I have a fanfic in the works (but who doesn't :) in which I hope to delve into the character a little, even it's in a supporting role.