As their name suggests, the Weaponers and their counterparts the Thunderers are housed on the Anti-Matter world of Qward.  Qward is located at the very center of the Antimatter Universe and serves as that dimension’s Oa.

The Weaponers owe their existence to the most powerful being in the Antimatter Universe, the Anti-Monitor.  Born over ten billion years ago, on one of the moons of Qward, he was responsible for the creation of a race of warriors known as the Thunderers.  While he would take the most capable of Thunderers and transform them into two-dimensional beings of pure shadow known as Shadow Demons, the rest were left to their own devices.  The Shadow Demons functioned as the Anti-Monitor's elite fighting force.

When the existence of the positive matter universe, as well as the fact that his own counterpart had been born on a moon of Oa was discovered, he chose to act.  Complete opposites in every way, the Anti-Monitor and the Monitor were bitter enemies.  Waging war againts one another, their conflict would end in a final clash between the two that created an energy backlash that left both combatants comatose for millions of years.

The loss of the Anti-Monitor slightly weakened the Thunderers as a people.  Yet even without the Anti-Monitor to lead them, they managed to maintain their militaristic might for eons.  Many of the warriors became weapons-smiths to answer the demand for greater and more powerful weaponry.  These smiths would go on to be regarded by the title Weaponers of Qward.

The Thunderers worked alongside the Weaponers for hundreds of  years.  The Weaponers began to gain greater control as the manufacturers of their counterparts weapons.  While this lasted for some time, it eventually led to a schism erupting within their military ranks.  The leader of the Thunderers, Irik Roval, staged a coup against First Weaponlord Varnathon of Q'Uld.  The plan went off without a hitch and he became the Highlord of Qward.

Having won leadership of his people, Irik Roval then began trying to consolidate his power.  He managed to locate the prison of Erdammeru, the Void Hound, an ancient weapon of the Qward.  In the intervening centuries since it's creation it had been misconceived of as a dark god.  Roval piloted the Void Hound  into the positive matter universe, traveling through an ancient Qwa-portal, where he went in search of the ancient scientist, Krona.  During his search he ended up doing battle against the Justice League.  Forced to retreat by the destruction of the Void Hound, Qward remained a potent threat to the Justice League, revitalized under their new leader.

Qward would eventually become a haven for the renegade Green Lantern, Sinestro.  Sinestro took control of a group of Weaponers and had them a fashion a yellow power ring, which functioned exactly like his lost green power ring.  It utilized yellow energy; energy which proved instrumental when combating Green Lanterns.  Sinestro and his Qwardian allies the Qwarda-jin frequently waged war against the Green Lantern Corps, but the Corps always proved victorious in their battles against the Weaponers and Sinestro was invariably taken back to the positive-matter universe where he was imprisoned on Oa.

Having survived his apparent "death" at the hands of renegade Green Lantern ( Hal Jordan) Sinestro returned to Qward, with some help from Grayven, and full control over the Weaponers.  He forced them to mass produce yellow power rings to outfit his own army of soldiers known as the Sinestro Corps.  He also had them create a Central Power Battery to match the one on Oa and prepared for war against the Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians of the Universe.

Many Weaponers from Qward have exiled themselves from their home world and escaped into the positive matter universe.  Their actions have caught the attention of the Guardians of the Universe who have dispatched the Torch Bearer, Ion, to investigate their activities.  They were unable to give Ion any information, having barely survived a battle with Grayven, who then turned his attention to the Lantern.  What Qwardians that survive are enslaved to Sinestro Corps, and the bones of the Thunderers litter their world.