Abstract Thoughts #76: Wonderbolt Effectiveness

Join the Wonderbolts, and you too can fly and kick flank with the best of them!...Or can you?

The Wonderbolts have a reputation for being the best team of flyers in Equestria; it's no wonder so many pegasi, especially Rainbow Dash, want to join them so badly. Of course, with such a reputation and such a great amount of ponies looking up to them, the Wonderbolts have to do quite a lot to live up to their reputation. But can they?


Many people have noticed that, for all the talk about them being such ace flyers, they have a bad habit of failing to pull through in a pinch. For example, when Rarity was falling to her doom in Sonic Rainboom, three Wonderbolts flew after her to try and save her, only for Rarity's flailing hooves to somehow knock out all three of them! You'd think they'd be a bit hardier than that. Granted, that happened to make it so Rainbow Dash would have to save the day (and pull off the Sonic Rainboom in the process), but it still doesn't exactly make her idols look good.


We see them in action again in Secret of My Excess when the Wonderbolts appear to take on Giant Spike, implying that they're some sort of military branch (an idea that Wonderbolts Academy would reinforce). To be fair, they do a pretty good job against Spike at first, even managing to shave off his head scales (which would probably require wings of steel or something), but they end up getting defeated in a rather embarrassing way: Spike holds out an empty water tower container to trap them, and they just fly into it! Again, this was done so that a mane character (in this case, Rarity) could save the day, but couldn't the writers have the Wonderbolts fail in a less embarrassing way? Like, maybe Spike scoops them up in the cup-like water tower container when they're not looking? That'd be a more understandable defeat, at least.


I really hope the Wonderbolts get to be useful in the show at some point. Maybe they could help fight against an army or something and not get taken out so easily. Or maybe Rainbow Dash can get to see them in action saving ponies and such. Anything to show that they can be at least as capable as the mane characters.


Let's hear from you now. Why do you think the Wonderbolts have messed up every time we've seen them in action? How good do you think they really are? Do you think they'll ever get a chance to truly shine with or without Rainbow Dash? Share your thoughts below!