Why Thunderwing Proves Belief Can Break You - Transformers Deep Dive

Thunderwing wasn’t chasing glory.

He was chasing salvation.

In his mind, the Matrix had chosen him to lead Cybertron out of ruin. But faith became obsession, and obsession consumed him. Across comics and continuities, Thunderwing transformed from a devoted believer into a nightmare—a warrior who fused himself with the Matrix and lost everything in the process.

In this episode of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains, we unravel the tragedy of Thunderwing:

– His Marvel Comics rise as a zealot who believed he was chosen

– How the Matrix twisted his faith into madness

– His monstrous resurrection in IDW as a weaponized husk

– And why conviction without humility always curdles into destruction

Because Thunderwing’s legacy isn’t salvation.

It’s a warning—about what happens when belief becomes blind.

🔥 New episodes of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains every Thursday

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🎙 Written and hosted by Tom Bedford | Handsome Comics

Chapters

• 0:00 What If Belief Could Destroy You?
• 0:59 The Devotion That Blinds
• 4:52 The Fanatic Reborn
• 8:57 Call To Action
• 9:43 Echoes of a Hollow God
• 12:57 Be Careful What You Worship

Transcript

0:00

WHAT IF THE THING THAT GAVE YOU PURPOSE WAS THE VERY THING THAT UNMADE YOU? WHAT IF BELIEF, UNYIELDING, UNQUESTIONED, ABSOLUTE, COULD CORRUPT NOT JUST YOUR MIND, BUT YOUR SOUL? THUNDERWING WASN'T CORRUPTED BY THE MATRIX IN DEFIANCE. IT DIDN'T REJECT HIM. IT WELCOMED HIM. BECAUSE HE BELIEVED, NOT IN MERCY, NOT IN PEACE, BUT IN DESTINY. HE BELIEVED THE MATRIX WAS CALLING HIM, THAT HE WAS CHOSEN, AND WHEN IT WHISPERED BACK, HE MISTOOK THAT ECHO FOR TRUTH. HE DIDN'T LOSE HIMSELF IN PURSUIT OF SALVATION. HE OFFERED HIMSELF. HE BOUND HIS BODY IN ARMOR. HE LET THE MATRIX HOLLOW HIM OUT. AND STILL, HE CALLED IT PURPOSE. BECAUSE WHEN YOU CONFUSE DESTINY FOR PERMISSION, WHEN BELIEF BECOMES ENTITLEMENT, YOU DON'T NEED TO BE CORRUPTED. YOU'LL DO IT TO YOURSELF. THIS ISN'T THE STORY OF A FALLEN HERO. IT'S THE STORY OF A ZEALOT, A PROPHET OF EXTINCTION, A SELF-MADE GOD WITH NO SOUL LEFT TO SAVE. THIS IS DISASSEMBLED, HEROES AND VILLAINS. AND TODAY, WE DESCEND INTO MADNESS WITH THUNDERWING OF THE TRANSFORMERS. BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN BELIEF OUTPACES UNDERSTANDING? WHEN A MIND BUILT FOR WAR SEES SOMETHING FAR MORE DANGEROUS THAN CONQUEST? DIVINITY. TO UNDERSTAND THUNDERWING'S DESCENT, WE MUST BEGIN WHERE HIS AMBITION FIRST TOOK ROOT. NOT IN A TEMPLE. NOT ON A BATTLEFIELD, BUT IN THE SHADOWED LABORATORIES AND FRACTURED BATTLE LINES OF. MARVEL'S TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE, WHERE ONE DECEPTICON DARED TO REACH FOR THE SACRED, NOT FOR PEACE, NOT FOR WISDOM, BUT TO CLAIM THE MATRIX AS A WEAPON. BECAUSE IN THE BEGINNING, THUNDERWING DIDN'T SEEK SALVATION, HE SOUGHT VICTORY, AND IN DOING SO, HE MISTOOK OBSESSION FOR PURPOSE AND POWER FOR PURITY. IN THE MARVEL COMICS CONTINUITY, THUNDERWING DOESN'T BEGIN AS A PROPHET, HE BEGINS AS A TACTICIAN. AMBITIOUS, CALCULATED, COMMANDING. HE ROSE THROUGH THE RANKS, NOT BY CRUELTY, BUT BY CUNNING. HE WASN'T DRIVEN BY CONQUEST ALONE, HE SOUGHT CONTROL, PURPOSE, ORDER, BUT WHAT BEGINS AS PRAGMATISM QUICKLY BECOMES OBSESSION. WHEN OPTIMUS PRIME CASTS THE CREATION MATRIX INTO SPACE TO PREVENT ITS MISUSE, THUNDERWING DOESN'T SEE A SAFEGUARD, HE SEES AN OPPORTUNITY. HIS PURSUIT OF THE MATRIX BEGINS AS A SCIENTIFIC MISSION, AND ATTEMPT TO HARNESS ITS POWER, BUT SCIENCE ALONE CANNOT EXPLAIN DIVINITY. OVER TIME, THUNDERWING'S QUEST SHIFTS. THE MATRIX BECOMES MORE THAN A WEAPON, MORE THAN A KEY. IT BECOMES A PROMISE, A SACRED OBJECT, A SOURCE OF SALVATION THAT ONLY HE IS WORTHY TO POSSESS. HE BONDS WITH A MASSIVE PRETENDER SHELL, ARMOR MEANT TO PROTECT, BUT FOR THUNDERWING, IT'S A CHRYSALIS, A TRANSFORMATION. HE SACRIFICES HIS FORM, HIS IDENTITY, AND EVENTUALLY, HIS REASON, FOR A VISION ONLY HE BELIEVES. AND WHEN THE MATRIX FINALLY FINDS HIM, IT DOESN'T REJECT HIM, IT EMBRACES HIM, BUT THIS IS NO DIVINE CORONATION, IT'S CORRUPTION. THUNDERWING BECOMES ITS VESSEL, NOT BECAUSE HE UNDERSTANDS IT, BUT BECAUSE HE PROJECTS ONTO IT. HE BELIEVES THE MATRIX CHOSE HIM, THAT IT VALIDATED HIS OBSESSION, AND SO, WHEN IT BEGINS TO TWIST HIS THOUGHTS, AMPLIFY HIS HUNGER, AND OVERRIDE HIS WILL, HE WELCOMES IT. HE DOESN'T SEE A CURSE, HE SEES CONFIRMATION, AND WITH THAT BLESSING, HE UNLEASHES HORROR. THUNDERWING SLAUGHTERS AUTOBOT AND DECEPTICON ALIKE IN A HOLY RAMPAGE, NOT AS A GENERAL, NOT AS A SAVIOR, BUT AS A POSSESSED FANATIC. HE BELIEVES HE'S FULFILLING DESTINY WHILE BECOMING A MONSTER. EVEN THE OTHER DECEPTICONS FEAR WHAT HE'S BECOME, BECAUSE THE MATRIX HE CARRIES HAS ALREADY BEEN CORRUPTED. IT TURNS ON THUNDERWING IN THE FINAL HOUR, REJECTING THE HOLLOW SHELL HE'S BECOME. THE MATRIX HE SOUGHT TURNS INWARD, DEVOURING HIM FROM WITHIN. THE MATRIX SHEDS HIM LIKE A HUSK, A MALEVOLENT ECHO OF FAITH, STANDING BEFORE THE CHAOSBRINGER. AND IN THAT MOMENT, THUNDERWING DIES, CONSUMED BY THE VERY BELIEF THAT ONCE GAVE HIM PURPOSE. BUT EVEN IN DEATH, THUNDERWING'S STORY LEAVES US WITH A HAUNTING FACT. THUNDERWING'S LEGACY ISN'T THAT HE WAS CORRUPTED, IT'S THAT HE WAS NEVER WILLING TO QUESTION HIMSELF. HE DIDN'T SEEK THE MATRIX WITH HUMILITY, HE DEMANDED IT. AND WHEN IT ANSWERED, HE MISTOOK ITS SILENCE FOR AGREEMENT. HE SACRIFICED EVERYTHING, BODY, MIND, AND SPARK, FOR A VISION SHAPED NOT BY DESTINY, BUT DELUSION. BECAUSE WHEN BELIEF BECOMES OBSESSION, WHEN YOU CHASE POWER WITHOUT REFLECTION, WHEN YOU MISTAKE DESTINY FOR ENTITLEMENT, YOU DON'T SEE THE MONSTER IN THE MIRROR, YOU BECOME IT. BUT THUNDERWING'S STORY DOESN'T END WITH DEATH, BECAUSE IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE, HE DOESN'T JUST RETURN, HE'S RESURRECTED. NOT BY WILL, NOT BY PURPOSE, BUT BY OTHERS, WHO REMEMBERED WHAT HE ONCE REPRESENTED, AND CHOSE TO TURN THAT MEMORY INTO A WEAPON. IN IDW'S INITIAL CONTINUITY, THUNDERWING IS NO LONGER A ZEALOT, NO LONGER A COMMANDER, HE IS THE SHADOW OF HIS FORMER SELF, BROUGHT BACK THROUGH FORBIDDEN SCIENCE AND STRIPPED OF EVERYTHING THAT ONCE MADE HIM A PERSON. HIS BODY IS MONSTROUS, HIS MIND IS GONE, AND THE PRETENDER'S SHELL ONCE USED TO SHIELD HIS SPARK, NOW IT IS HIM. THE BOT WHO ONCE SOUGHT SALVATION HAS BECOME THE VERY STORM THAT CONSUMES IT, AND THIS TIME, NOT EVEN THE DECEPTICONS WANT TO CLAIM HIM, BECAUSE WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A LEGACY SO CURSED, SO TWISTED, THAT EVEN YOUR NAME BECOMES A FORCE OF DESTRUCTION AS A FANATIC REBORN. IN THE BEGINNING, THUNDERWING WAS A SCIENTIST, A PIONEER, AN INSPIRATION TO YOUNG MINDS LIKE JETFIRE, EQUAL PARTS AVIATOR AND INTELLECT. HE WASN'T JUST RESPECTED, HE WAS ADMIRED, BUT EVEN BRILLIANCE CAN BREED BLINDNESS. DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE WAR, THUNDERWING SAW SOMETHING FEW OTHERS DARED TO ACKNOWLEDGE. CYBERTRON ITSELF WAS DYING, NOT JUST FROM ENEMY FIRE, BUT FROM SYSTEMIC COLLAPSE. POLLUTION, CORRUPTION, IMPLOSION, HE WARNED BOTH FACTIONS, BUT THE DAMAGE THEY INFLICTED WOULD SOON DOOM THE PLANET. NO ONE LISTENED, SO THUNDERWING DID WHAT HE THOUGHT WAS NECESSARY. HE WENT FURTHER. HE CREATED THIS UNIVERSE'S VERSION OF THE PRETENDER ARMOR, NOT A SUIT, BUT A SECOND SKIN, A POLYDERMAL GRAFT FUSING TRANSFORMERS METAL WITH HARVESTED ORGANIC TISSUE. HE SAW IT AS THE NEXT STAGE OF SURVIVAL. THE SHELL WOULD PROTECT AGAINST. CYBERTRON'S DECAY, AND PERHAPS EVOLVE ITS WIELDER INTO SOMETHING MORE. BUT THE SHELL WAS NEVER JUST ARMOR, IT WAS A PARASITE CORRUPTING ITS HOST. REJECTED BY MEGATRON, AND TORN BY HIS PEERS, THUNDERWING SUBJECTED HIMSELF TO THE GRAFTING PROCESS ALONE. THE EXPERIMENT WORKED. HIS BODY BECAME STRONGER, ALMOST INDESTRUCTIBLE, BUT AT A PRICE. HIS MIND FRACTURED, HIS MEMORIES BLURRED, AND HIS SPARK BEGAN TO ROT BENEATH THE WEIGHT OF HIS OWN INVENTION. HE DIDN'T BECOME THE SAVIOR OF CYBERTRON, HE BECAME ITS EXECUTIONER. IN STORMBRINGER, THUNDERWING EMERGES NOT AS A PROPHET, BUT AS A NIGHTMARE, A CREATURE OF WAR AND MADNESS, NO LONGER GUIDED BY MISSION OR MORALITY. HE NO LONGER SPEAKS, HE SIMPLY DESTROYS. ENTIRE PLANETS FALL UNDER HIS BOOTS. AUTOBOTS AND DECEPTICONS ALIKE ARE NOTHING BUT DEBRIS IN HIS PATH. HE BECOMES THE STORM, DEVASTATING NEBULOS, TEARING THROUGH CRANKCASE AND HIS UNIT LIKE PAPER, CAUSING SEASONED WARRIORS LIKE DREADWIND AND THRUST TO ABANDON THEIR POSTS IN TERROR. AND WHEN HE RETURNS TO CYBERTRON, THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO SAVE. JETFIRE, ONCE HIS ADMIRER, NOW HIS WOULD-BE EXECUTIONER, REVEALS A SECRET. THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THUNDERWING IS TO LET HIM BURN OUT. DRAIN HIS ULTRA ENERGON, HIS RESERVES, LET THE WEAPON OVERHEAT. EVEN OPTIMUS PRIME JOINS THE ASSAULT, LEADING THE. WRECKERS, THE PREDACONS, AND MODIFIED CENTURION DRONES IN ONE FINAL EFFORT TO HALT A FORCE THAT SHOULD NOT EXIST. BUT IT'S NOT A BATTLE, IT'S A MERCY KILLING. BECAUSE THUNDERWING, IN THIS FORM, IS NOT ALIVE IN THE WAY WE UNDERSTAND. HIS BODY IS A PUPPET, HIS WILL IS GONE, BUT REMAINS AS AN ECHO, A SHADOW GIVEN FLESH. HE IS NO LONGER A BOT, HE IS STRICTLY MOMENTUM. AND WHEN HE FALLS AGAIN, HIS LIFELESS HUSK TAKEN INTO CUSTODY. BUT EVEN THAT IS NOT THE END. BLUDGEON, OBSESSED WITH THUNDERWING'S FORGOTTEN RESEARCH, RECOVERS THE BODY AND USES IT FOR DARKER PURPOSES. IMPRINTED WITH NEW COMMANDS AND INFUSED WITH UNSTABLE FUEL OF ULTRA ENERGON, THUNDERWING BECOMES A GUARDIAN OF THE DEAD UNIVERSE, A GATEKEEPER FOR GALVATRON, A MINDLESS MONSTER LEASHED TO AN APOCALYPTIC CAUSE HE'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND. HE DOESN'T GUARD THE NEGA-CORE OUT OF LOYALTY, HE'S SIMPLY PROGRAMMED TO STAND, TO KILL, TO WAIT. THE WRECKERS TRY AGAIN. SO DOES. ULTRA MAGNUS, EVEN JETFIRE RETURNS, ATTEMPTING TO OVERRIDE THUNDERWING'S CONTROL SYSTEM USING. BLUDGEON'S HARNESS. FOR A MOMENT, IT WORKS. THE MONSTER HALTS. BUT THAT'S ALL IT IS. A MOMENT. BECAUSE YOU CAN'T CONTROL SOMETHING NOT BOUND TO THE LAWS OF THE LIVING WORLD. AND IN THE END, THUNDERWING IS ONLY STOPPED WHEN JAXUS, HIS LATEST PUPPETEER, IS FINALLY DEFEATED. THE MONSTER FALLS AGAIN. BUT EVEN THEN, THERE'S NO CERTAINTY, ONLY SPECULATION. BECAUSE WHEN A MYTH IS THIS POWERFUL, DOES IT EVER TRULY DIE? YET, THUNDERWING'S TRAGEDY AND. CW IS THAT HE NEVER GETS TO TELL HIS STORY. HIS IDENTITY IS CONSUMED, FIRST BY AMBITION, THEN BY MADNESS, AND FINALLY BY THE AMBITIONS OF OTHERS. HE BECOMES A CAUTIONARY TALE. BLUDGEON USES HIS CORPSE AS A WEAPON, GALVATRON USES HIS NAME AS A SHIELD, JAXUS TURNS HIM INTO A TOOL OF ANNIHILATION, AND ACROSS THE GALAXY, DECEPTICONS STILL WHISPER HIS NAME. NOT WITH REVERENCE, BUT WITH FEAR. BECAUSE THUNDERWING ISN'T JUST A WARNING. HE'S A TEMPLATE. A MARTYR WHOSE CORPSE IS WEAPONIZED. A LEGACY SO TWISTED THAT EVEN IN DEATH, HE DESTROYS. WHAT BEGAN AS A PLEA TO SAVE CYBERTRON, BECAME THE MONSTER THAT NEARLY DOOMED IT. AND IN THAT BEGS THE QUESTION, WHEN YOU SACRIFICED YOUR SOUL TO SAVE THE WORLD, WHAT'S LEFT OF YOU, WHEN THE WORLD NO LONGER WANTS SAVING? BEFORE WE LET THE ASHES OF THUNDERWING SCATTER INTO MYTH, MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW OR SUBSCRIBE TO DISASSEMBLED HEROES AND VILLAINS ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST APP. EVERY WEEK WE DIVE INTO THE ICONS AND MONSTERS WHO SHAPED POP CULTURE, TO UNCOVER NOT JUST THEIR STRENGTH, BUT THEIR SACRIFICE. AND THIS FRIDAY, WE CROSS INTO ANOTHER REALM. A WORLD WHERE DEMONS WEAR TRENCH COATS, WHERE THE LINE BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG IS RAZOR THIN, WHERE THE CHAINS OF DESTINY ARE SMASHED WITH THE RIGHT HAND OF DOOM. NEXT UP, WE SUMMON HELLBOY. THEN, NEXT TUESDAY, IN DISASSEMBLED DEEP CUTS, THE MIRROR SHATTERS, AND FROM THE FRAGMENTS, RISE A NEW KIND OF CYBERTRON. ONE RULED BY TYRANTS IN AUTOBOT ARMOR, ONE WHERE EVIL WEARS A SMILE. NEXT UP, WE ENTER THE WORLD OF TRANSFORMERS SHATTERED GLASS. NOW, BACK TO THE STORY OF A HOLLOW GOD. WHETHER HE BURNED WITH PURPOSE OR RAGED WITHOUT IT, ONE TRUTH BINDS EVERY VERSION OF THUNDERWING. HE NEVER ASKED FOR FORGIVENESS. HE DIDN'T SEE HIMSELF AS LOST, HE SAW HIMSELF AS CHOSEN. IN. MARVEL, HE CROWNED HIMSELF A MESSIAH, BLESSED BY THE MATRIX, BLINDED BY ITS LIGHT. IN IDW, HIS MIND WAS LONG GONE, BUT HIS MYTH MARCHED ON, WIELDED LIKE SCRIPTURE BY ZEALOTS TOO AFRAID TO LET IT DIE. IN BOTH WORLDS, THUNDERWING BECOMES A HOLLOW GOD, NOT BECAUSE HE FAILED, BUT BECAUSE HE REFUSED TO SEE FAILURE. HE MISTOOK OBSESSION FOR CLARITY, SILENCE FOR AGREEMENT, POWER FOR PURPOSE, AND THAT RAISES A TERRIFYING QUESTION. WHAT'S MORE DANGEROUS, A VILLAIN WHO KNOWS HE'S WRONG, OR THE ONE WHO BELIEVES HE'S SAVING YOU? THUNDERWING NEVER SOUGHT REDEMPTION, HE WANTED TO BE PROVEN RIGHT, AND THAT IS WHAT MAKES THIS STORY SO DANGEROUS. IN BOTH MARVEL AND IDW, HE DOESN'T STUMBLE INTO VILLAINY BY ACCIDENT. HE WALKS INTO IT WITH OPEN EYES, BELIEVING THE WORLD MEANS HIM TO BREAK ITS RULES, REDEFINE ITS FUTURE, AND FORCE IT TOWARDS SURVIVAL. HE IS AN INHERITED, HIGH PRIEST OF A GOSPEL HE WROTE FOR HIMSELF. AND WHEN THE CREATION MATRIX EMBRACED HIM, IT DIDN'T PURIFY HIM, IT REFLECTED HIM. NOT THAT HE WAS NOBLE, BUT THAT HE WAS ALREADY ROTTING FROM THE INSIDE. THE SAME IS TRUE IN IDW. THE POLYDERMAL GRAFTING DIDN'T CORRUPT AN INNOCENT SOUL, IT MAGNIFIED AN ARROGANT ONE. A BOT WHO ONCE SOUGHT SALVATION THROUGH SILENCE BECOMES THE VERY DISEASE HE TRIED TO CURE. AND WORSE, HE BECOMES A MYTH, A WARNING OTHERS IGNORE. WHAT REMAINS OF THUNDERWING IS NO LONGER THOUGHT, NO LONGER REASON, JUST CONVICTION WITHOUT CONSCIENCE. AND THAT'S WHERE WE NEED TO STOP AND ASK OURSELVES, WHAT CONVICTIONS ARE WE BUILDING OUR LIVES ON? BECAUSE THIS ISN'T JUST A STORY ABOUT A DECEPTICON, IT'S A MIRROR. WE LIKE TO THINK DANGER ALWAYS LOOKS EVIL, THAT FALSE PROPHETS COME DRESSED IN NICE SUITS AND SHADOWS, BUT SOMETIMES THEY COME WRAPPED WITH PURPOSE, AND RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND CERTAINTY. SOMETIMES, THE MOST DANGEROUS VOICE IN THE ROOM ISN'T THE ONE SHOUTING TO DESTROY THE WORLD, IT'S THE ONE PROMISING TO SAVE IT. IF ONLY WE'D BOW, IF ONLY WE'D FOLLOW, IF ONLY WE'D BELIEVE IN THEM. AND THAT WAS THUNDERWING'S MISTAKE, AND IT'S ONE WE MAKE EVERY DAY. WHEN WE START TREATING OUR AMBITION LIKE A CALLING, WHEN WE STOP SEEKING TRUTH AND START WEAPONIZING IT, WHEN OUR VISION OF SAVING THE WORLD NO LONGER LEAVES SPACE FOR HUMILITY OR SURRENDER. THAT'S WHEN THE ARMOR GOES ON, THAT'S WHEN WE LOSE OURSELVES, BECAUSE NO ONE WAKES UP AND DECIDES TO BECOME A MONSTER. THEY CONFUSE THEIR VOICE FOR WISDOM, AND THEIR WILL FOR DESTINY. IN THUNDERWING, WE SEE THE FINAL FORM OF THAT PATH, A SAVIOR WITH NO SOUL LEFT, A PROPHET WHOSE GOSPEL BECOMES A GRAVE, A LEGACY BUILT NOT ON HEALING, BUT ON DOMINATION, AND THE TRAGEDY, HE WAS BRILLIANT. HE WAS RIGHT ABOUT CYBERTRON'S DECAY, HE COULD HAVE BEEN SOMETHING MORE, BUT HE COULDN'T LET GO OF CONTROL, AND WHEN THE MATRIX LOOKED INSIDE OF HIM, IT DIDN'T SEE A HERO, IT SAW A HOLLOW GOD. SO HERE'S THE REAL QUESTION, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUR CONVICTIONS ARE TRUE, BUT YOUR HEART IS NOT? CAN YOU STILL BE TRUSTED WITH POWER? WITH LEADERSHIP? WITH INFLUENCE? THUNDERWING REMINDS US THAT WHAT YOU BELIEVE MATTERS, BUT WHY YOU BELIEVE IT AND HOW YOU WIELD IT MATTERS EVEN MORE. YOU CAN BE RIGHT IN THEORY AND STILL BE COMPLETELY LOST, BECAUSE THE MOST DANGEROUS ZEALOTS AREN'T THE ONES WHO KNOW THEY'RE WRONG, THEY'RE THE ONES WHO BELIEVE THEY'RE SAVING YOU. AND SOMETIMES, THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SALVATION AND DESTRUCTION IS WHO YOU THINK YOU'RE BECOMING. THANK YOU FOR DESCENDING WITH US INTO THE HOLLOW LEGACY OF. THUNDERWING, THROUGH THE SCIENCE HE ONCE WIELDED WITH BRILLIANCE, THROUGH THE MATRIX HE CHASED WITH HUNGER, THROUGH THE SHELL HE BECAME WHEN BELIEF OVERTOOK IDENTITY. WE'VE SEEN A LEADER LOSE HIS SOUL IN PURSUIT OF CERTAINTY, A SEEKER OF TRUTH BECOME A PRISONER OF EGO, A WARRIOR WHO MISTOOK OBSESSION FOR CALLING. AND IN THAT FALL, HE LEAVES US WITH A QUESTION DEEPER THAN ANY HOLE ON A BATTLEFIELD. WHAT DO YOU WORSHIP? NOT JUST IN RITUAL, BUT IN MOTIVE, IN AMBITION, IN THE QUIET MOMENTS WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING. BECAUSE THUNDERWING DIDN'T FALL BY ACCIDENT, HE FELL BECAUSE HE BELIEVED THE MATRIX OWED HIM, BECAUSE HE SAW ITS POWER NOT AS SOMETHING TO SERVE WITH, BUT SOMETHING TO OWN. AND THAT'S THE REAL DANGER. BELIEF ISN'T THE PROBLEM, ENTITLEMENT IS. WHEN YOU CHASE POWER IN THE NAME OF PURPOSE, WHEN YOU BIND YOUR IDENTITY TO A CALLING THAT ONLY ELEVATES YOU, YOU STOP BEING A PROTECTOR. SO ASK YOURSELF, ARE YOUR BELIEFS ROOTED IN HUMILITY OR HUNGER? DO THEY SERVE OTHERS, OR ONLY BUILD YOUR NAME? ARE YOU CARRYING TRUTH, OR JUST CHASING CONTROL? BECAUSE IN THE END, THE MATRIX DIDN'T REJECT THUNDERWING BECAUSE HE WAS WRONG, HE CORRUPTED IT BECAUSE HE WOULDN'T SURRENDER. SO STAY GROUNDED, STAY HUMBLE, AND AS ALWAYS, STAY HANDSOME. AND REMEMBER, THE THINGS YOU CHASE IN THE NAME OF BELIEF WILL EITHER TRANSFORM YOU OR CONSUME YOU. THE DIFFERENCE IS WHO YOU THINK YOU SERVE.