Thunderbolts (comics)
| Thunderbolts | |
|---|---|
| File:TBOLTS110 cov.jpg The Thunderbolts. Art by Mike Deodato. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Incredible Hulk #449 |
| Created by | Kurt Busiek Mark Bagley |
| Roster | |
| See: List of Thunderbolts members | |
The Thunderbolts are a Marvel Comics superhero team, which consists mostly of former supervillains. The group was conceived by writer Kurt Busiek and first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #449 (February 1997).
The Thunderbolts are first presented as a group of superheroes like the Avengers, both to readers and to the Marvel universe. However the final page of the first issue of their comic book revealed that the Thunderbolts were the Masters of Evil in disguise, a surprise twist carefully guarded by Marvel.
Themes of redemption and the nature of heroism are often featured in Thunderbolts comics. In subsequent storylines, the group rejects their leader Baron Zemo and attempts to become heroes in their own right, eventually under the leadership of the Avenger Hawkeye.
In Thunderbolts #76 (March 2003), in an attempt to improve poor sales, the cast was replaced with an underground fighting circuit that employed other supervillains, similar to the film Fight Club. The change failed to revive sales and the comic was cancelled shortly after. The original team's storyline was later continued in the Avengers/Thunderbolts miniseries, and the monthly series was revived with the title New Thunderbolts. The original title and number returned with 2006's Thunderbolts #100. With January 2007's issue #110, the series underwent a major overhaul to connect the book more closely with the aftermath of Marvel's Civil War crossover.
Publication history
The Thunderbolts was an original concept created for Marvel Comics by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley. Most of the characters used in the final concept were reimagined versions of existing Marvel characters, with additional original characters for the series developed by Busiek and designed by Bagley. The pair also created the new heroic identities for the Masters of Evil.
The Thunderbolts first appeared as a team in Incredible Hulk #449 (1997), written by Peter David and illustrated by Mike Deodato. Originally intended to be a similar team known as the "Echelon," the synchronicity of the plans led to the Thunderbolts being used instead as a "teaser" for their own series. No mention was made of the connection between the Thunderbolts and the Masters of Evil in this appearance, save perhaps for the Hulk almost recognizing Meteorite's voice (having fought Moonstone before). The twist wouldn't be revealed until the first issue of their own series.
Soon after the publication of Incredible Hulk #449, the team's own series premiered. The first issue, cover dated April 1997, was played largely as a straight superhero story, until the revelation of the Thunderbolts' true nature on the last page of the comic. This is considered one of the most well-conceived plot twists in the history of American comic books, with Wizard magazine readers voting it "Comics' Greatest Moment of 1997" and later, in 1999, placing it at #11 on a list of "The 25 Greatest Comic Moments Ever. [citation needed]" Marvel managed to keep the secret of the Thunderbolts' true villainous identities tightly under wraps before the book launched. When word got out, the first issue sold out so quickly that Marvel not only offered a second printing but also did a "mini-trade paperback" collecting the first two issues.
The team also appeared in a one-shot called Tales of the Marvel Universe.
Marvel Comics kept the series in continuous publication until issue #81, including a #0 issues published by Wizard magazine. Issues #76 – 81 featured a new roster, and focused on characters and events completely unrelated to the previous 75 issues. Publication of Thunderbolts ceased with issue #81 in 2003.
In 2004, after much fan pressure, Marvel Comics launched a miniseries titled Avengers/Thunderbolts, which continued one year after the events of issue #75.
Soon after the completion of Avengers/Thunderbolts, Marvel Comics launched a second series featuring the characters with New Thunderbolts #1. The storyline continued the events from Avengers/Thunderbolts and returned to the original series concept. Despite the relaunch and retitling, New Thunderbolts reverted to the first series numbering with Thunderbolts #100.
Thunderbolts #110 saw another change to the direction of the series, with writer Warren Ellis introducing a new team of Thunderbolts, villains working for the government, tasked with capturing unregistered superheroes. Ellis has stated that he chose to approach the series "gently but directly from a political agenda"[1] and the relaunch was closely tied to Marvel's commercially successful Civil War event. On January 15, 2007, Marvel announced that Thunderbolts #110 had sold out through Diamond Comic Distributors and that a second printing would be released.[2]
Team biography
Secret origins
Baron Zemo summoned several of his former allies from the fourth incarnation of the Masters of Evil during a rescue attempt of Goliath (Zemo's father's former bodyguard). The summoned members included Beetle, Fixer, Moonstone and Screaming Mimi. Zemo took the accidental gathering as an omen, and decided to reform the Masters of Evil and attack the Avengers. Before they could strike, the Avengers (and many other Marvel Universe superheroes) were apparently killed by the villain Onslaught.
The death of the superheroes created an opportunity for Zemo and the Masters of Evil. Zemo realized that the world needed superpowered champions, and that his team could fill that need. By posing as superheroes, the Masters of Evil could gain the public trust and build a position of power that rivaled the status of the Avengers. Once they had gained the public's faith, Zemo believed they could gain access to all the secrets of the Avengers and the paramilitary organization S.H.I.E.L.D. once they were in ultimate power. Zemo then planned to sell the secrets they found to the criminal underworld.
Justice like lightning
The villains adopted new heroic costumes and codenames. Baron Zemo became the patriotic American Citizen V. Former Spider-Man foe Beetle became MACH-1. Fixer became the gadget-wielding Techno. Goliath became the powerhouse Atlas. Screaming Mimi became Songbird. Moonstone was secretly freed from the Vault and added to the team by Zemo, who extracted a promise of loyalty from her. She was to be Zemo's personal enforcer against any betrayal committed by the others. She took the alias Meteorite. Calling themselves the Thunderbolts, the six new 'heroes' were ready for action.
The team found tremendous success as superheroic champions. Jolt, an Asian-American teenage girl whose entire family was killed by Onslaught, soon joined the team. Jolt, however, was not a supervillain. The young girl honestly believed that her new friends were heroes. After a few more adventures, some of the villains began to think of themselves the same way. Around this time, the public began to think of the Thunderbolts as heroes. Dallas Riordan, an aide to the Mayor of New York, befriended the new heroes.
Soon after the addition of Jolt, Techno's neck was broken in battle with the Elements of Doom. Techno then seemingly transferred his mind into an android body built from his tech-pack.
Return of the villains
Just as Zemo's plans were about to come to fruition, everything unraveled. To the astonishment of the entire world, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers returned. Faced with the return of the lost heroes, Zemo revealed the true nature of the Thunderbolts to the world. Ostensibly, he did this to ensure the loyalty of the team by ruining their chances of becoming heroes.
The Thunderbolts (minus the android Techno and Atlas) turned on Zemo for his betrayal. In the ensuing battle, Zemo and Techno used a mind control device to turn the Avengers and Fantastic Four against the remaining Thunderbolts, who, with the help of the size-changing Atlas, ultimately rallied and freed the other heroes. Together, they defeated Zemo and Techno. Unbeknownst to his teammates, Atlas helped the wounded Zemo escape, while Techno fled under his own power.
Amidst this chaos, Meteorite decided to return to her old identity. She altered her costume and changed her codename back to Moonstone. After a brief stop-over in an alternate dimension, the team learned that Moonstone had no intention of reforming and becoming a superhero. She told them she only turned against Zemo out of self-preservation.
Upon their return to Earth, the team set up shop in Colorado and pondered their next move.
Marvel's Most Wanted
Now fugitives, new members soon joined the Thunderbolts. These members included the former Avenger Hawkeye, and later a young African-American hero named Charcoal who had previously fought the team, having been created by a "Create a character" contest in Wizard. Hawkeye convinced his new teammates they would be pardoned if MACH-1, who had murdered someone as the Beetle, turned himself in to authorities. The team considered joining the mysterious Crimson Cowl's new Masters of Evil instead. Ultimately, the Thunderbolts followed Hawkeye's advice. MACH-1 turned himself in and pled guilty to murder. Even with MACH-1's surrender, the U.S. Government refused to pardon the group.
The Thunderbolts then defeated the Crimson Cowl's Masters of Evil and took over their headquarters. After unmasking the Crimson Cowl, the team discovered that she was their old friend Dallas Riordan. In truth, Riordan was not the Crimson Cowl. The real Crimson Cowl was Justine Hammer. Riordan had been framed by Hammer to take the fall for the Cowl's crimes. While Riordan wasn't the Crimson Cowl, she did have her own secret identity. Riordan was actually the new Citizen V, leader of the secret V-Battalion. Riordan decided to keep her secret to avoid exposure of the group. She was sent to jail for the Crimson Cowl's crimes. She would later be rescued by the V-Battalion.
Changes
While exploring their new headquarters, the Thunderbolts discovered Ogre. Ogre was a former member of the villainous Factor 3, the original owners of the base. Factor 3 made Ogre the new base caretaker after they disbanded. This also left him with custody of Humus Sapien, a dangerous mutant teenager that Factor 3 had kidnapped and placed in suspended animation.
Ogre was accepted as a member of the Thunderbolts. Soon after, Techno attacked him, placed him in stasis, and assumed his identity. At the same time, MACH-1 was freed from prison in exchange for stealing some top secret weapons technology from evil industrialist Justin Hammer. MACH-1 returned to the Thunderbolts after gaining his freedom. Upon his return, Techno upgraded MACH-1's armour. MACH-1 was now MACH-2.
Meanwhile, Moonstone found herself going through changes. She fell in love with Hawkeye. Soon after, she learned that the spirit of the Kree Moonstone that powered her tried to make her a more honest person. This conflicted with her naturally amoral personality, and slowly made her insane.
The Thunderbolts faced many more challenges. Henry Gyrich sought to destroy the team and Hawkeye. Gyrich changed a brainwashed Jack Monroe into the new Scourge of the Underworld. The Scourge then attempted to assassinate the Thunderbolts one by one. First he killed Jolt. He then traveled to South America and apparently killed Baron Zemo. After this, Scourge broke into the Thunderbolts headquarters and destroyed the robotic Techno. He then killed Atlas by allowing the giant to implode into a storm of ionic energy.
The Redeemers
In actuality, all four would survive in some form: the robotic Techno had recovered Jolt's body and used her electrical powers to resurrect her from the dead, even while he "died," imbuing her with the knowledge that Hawkeye had failed to get the team pardoned in the process. The Thunderbolts were upset with Hawkeye, but, on unmasking Monroe, decided that confronting Gyrich was more important.
While all this happened, Val Cooper had gathered her own army of heroes she named the Redeemers. This team included a new Citizen V, Atlas' brother Smuggler, and Fixer, who had only copied his mind into his tech-pack as a contingency. Leila Davis, the wife of the Ringer, used an updated version of the Beetle armour. The original Norbert P. Ebersol survived his injuries and recovered in secret while the robotic Techno continued on as a Thunderbolt in his place.
The Redeemers helped the Thunderbolts battle Gyrich, who had acquired experimental nanite technology. Gyrich wanted to use the nannites to kill off all heroes and villains on Earth. Gyrich's scheme was foiled. It was soon revealed that he had been infected with nanites, and had been secretly manipulated by Baron Strucker of the terrorist group HYDRA. Hawkeye tried to use this information as blackmail to get the Thunderbolts pardoned. Gyrich countered that he would tell the public himself about HYDRA's scheme. Ultimately, Gyrich agreed to stay quiet and give the Thunderbolts their pardon. In return, Hawkeye turned himself in for aiding the fugitive heroes. Hawkeye went to prison, and the team disbanded.
Eventually, all the others murdered by Jack Monroe returned from the dead. Baron Zemo's mind had been transferred into the comatose body of the man whose role as Citizen V he had usurped in the first place.
Later, after a teleportation accident, Zemo's mind was transferred into Techno's mechanical "Tech-Pack", which had also cybernetically replaced the broken segment of Techno's real body's spine. Much later, Atlas would be raised from the dead after a merger with Riordan, who had been crippled in battle with the Crimson Cowl.
Jolt and Charcoal, the only Thunderbolts without criminal records, were assimilated into the Redeemers under the leadership of Captain America and the Zemo-possessed Citizen V. The Redeemers were promptly slaughtered by the Thunderbolt's deadliest foe, the powerful supervillain Graviton with Citizen V, Fixer (who ran away) and Jolt (who would reform her electric form) as the only survivors of the massacre.
Rebirth and endings
The Thunderbolts reformed to defeat Graviton. During the fight, several of the team members present (Fixer, Jolt, Moonstone, Jenkins as MACH-3 and the merged Atlas/Dallas Riordan, along with Zemo's mind — accidentally transferred into Fixer's tech-pack by the teleportation) were transported to Counter-Earth, the same parallel Earth the Avengers and Fantastic Four were sent to after their final battle with Onslaught. The Thunderbolts met Counter-Earth versions of Heinrich Zemo, Helmut Zemo and the first Moonstone, the last of which was known as Phantom Eagle.
Under duress — Zemo being able to disable his ability to walk at will — Fixer transferred Zemo's mind from "Tech-Pack" into the body of Zemo's counterpart. Zemo then killed the Counter-Earth version of his father. Soon after, the Thunderbolts stopped the Nazi Germany of Counter-Earth from taking control of all of Counter-Earth's computers. Zemo convinced the team to remain and help rebuild Counter-Earth. The team reluctantly agreed and based themselves in the mobile Counter-Earth Attilan. Then, Moonstone stole the mentally-unstable Phantom Eagle's moonstone for herself, boosting her powers to godlike levels.
Back on Earth-616, many things happened. Hawkeye escaped from prison alongside several supervillains just as S.H.I.E.L.D. contacted him with an offer to be freed from prison. Industrialist Justin Hammer died. His daughter Justine (the Crimson Cowl) discovered her father had exposed every supervillain he ever employed to a poison that enslaved their minds. This included members of the Crimson Cowl's Masters of Evil. However, the villain Plantman had helped create the poison and was the only one who could activate it.
With the telepathic terrorist Mentallo serving as a middleman, Hawkeye tried to help Plantman in order to give him to Crimson Cowl. During the escape, Hawkeye watched helplessly as Plantman murdered a prison guard. Before Crimson Cowl could kill Hawkeye or take Plantman, they were rescued by Songbird.
Hawkeye and Songbird then formed a second group of Thunderbolts. He explained to the Crimson Cowl's Masters of Evil that if the Crimson Cowl wasn't stopped, they would all become her slaves. Plantman, using the codename Blackheath, was their first new member. Most of the members of Crimson Cowl's Masters of Evil also joined, including: Cardinal (now Harrier); Gypsy Moth (now Skein); Man-Killer (now Amazon); and Cyclone, who did not change his codename.
These new Thunderbolts were eventually captured by the Crimson Cowl (who was helped by Cyclone). Crimson Cowl vivisected Plantman. Soon after, Plantman mutated into a plant creature that neutralized the mind-control poison. The group was then sent to the V-Battalion's base. The Counter-Earth group returned to Earth at the V-Battalion base through a rift in space. The new and old teammates were reunited. Jolt stayed on Counter-Earth and joined the Young Allies. Closing the rift between Earth and Counter-Earth destroyed the V-Battalion's base.
In the aftermath, Atlas and Dallas were split into separate bodies, with Dallas retaining the remainder of Atlas' ionic power, allowing her to walk again with enhanced agility and strength. Zemo convinced Hawkeye that he wanted to reform and help the world instead of ruling it. Hawkeye, Amazon and Skein left the team. MACH-3 and Harrier returned to prison. Zemo then revealed to the team that he had lied to Hawkeye and that he still wanted to conquer the world, only to save it from itself. The Thunderbolts comic then shifted focus for six issues.
"Fightbolts"
From Thunderbolts #76 – 81, the Thunderbolts were no longer featured. The focus of the comic shifted to Daniel Axum, a former supervillain known as the Battler. Axum joined an underground fighting circuit that employed other supervillains, including the Armadillo. Axum, along with fellow combatant Man-Killer, turned on his criminal manager Rey Trueno, and refused to return to the supervillain lifestyle. Despite continuing the title and numbering, this incarnation had no connection to the better-known team listed above. The new direction was unpopular with fans, and the title was cancelled.
This run of the series is derisively referred to as "Fightbolts" by fans[1] , referencing the similarity of the clandestine fight circuit to that featured in the film Fight Club.
Avengers/Thunderbolts: The Best Intentions
In 2004, the six issue Avengers/Thunderbolts mini-series was launched, picking up a year after the events of Thunderbolts #75. Zemo led the Thunderbolts (now including Dallas Riordan, under the codename Vantage) in an attempt to drain the powers of all superhumans on Earth, using Moonstone. They fought the Avengers, including former Thunderbolt Hawkeye. The Avenger Iron Man infiltrated the Thunderbolts disguised as Cobalt Man. Eventually, all the power absorbed by Moonstone caused her to snap. Jolt returned from Counter-Earth to help stop Moonstone. Finally, Iron Man convinced Hawkeye to lobotomize Moonstone to save the planet.
Zemo vowed revenge against the Thunderbolts and the Avengers for putting Moonstone into a coma. Jolt returned to Counter-Earth. A depowered Blackheath returned to prison. The Fixer fled. Vantage retired to a government job. Songbird was offered reserve membership in the Avengers but turned it down. MACH-3 was paroled from prison and decided to form a new team of Thunderbolts.
The New Thunderbolts
Marvel subsequently launched New Thunderbolts #1. MACH-3 (now called MACH-IV), Atlas and Songbird were now the new Thunderbolts. The team's new recruits included Photon, Speed Demon, Joystick, Blizzard and the Radioactive Man. The new team has battled Atlantean superhuman terrorist group the Fathom Five and Baron Strucker's Hydra organization, which funded the team's return.
In Purple Reign, Swordsman, along with his master, the Purple Man, plotted to enslave New York City by drugging the water supply with the Purple Man's pheromones, which allowed him to control his victims.
Purple Man was teleported away from the Thunderbolts right after his defeat and was brought before Baron Zemo, his boss. Zemo then tortured the Purple Man by inducing rigor mortis in his body and threatened to send him back to prison where his powers would be nullified.
Later, Hank Pym and Warbird offered to pardon the members of the Thunderbolts (who still had outstanding legal problems), if the Thunderbolts would attack and humiliate the New Avengers in public. However, it was later revealed that Pym and Warbird had been blackmailed into doing so.
Only Spider-Woman survived unscathed from the Thunderbolts' sneak attack, beating Joystick senseless. The rest of the team were beaten back before the Thunderbolts left. Songbird told Captain America that the Thunderbolts could beat the New Avengers senseless anytime they wished. In the end, it was revealed that Baron Zemo spearheaded the attack. He did this to humiliate Captain America but also to see how far the Thunderbolts would go for the chance at being pardoned.
Meanwhile, new threats were rising as Fixer resurfaced and recruited both MACH-IV and Blizzard to work with him on a top secret project, which was also run by Zemo. Meanwhile Speed Demon was confronted by the new female Doctor Spectrum, who was out to reform the Squadron Sinister and take over the world. In the end, Speed Demon quit the Thunderbolts to join Dr. Spectrum while the former Defender, and member of the original Squadron Sinister, Nighthawk was offered membership on the Thunderbolts by Songbird.
Right of Power
Baron Zemo's group would then openly reveal itself to the Thunderbolts, sending a Moonstone puppeteered by Zemo to kill Genis-Vell.
When the initial strike failed, Zemo would reveal that he had used the Moonstones to accelerate Genis' return from death, and in the process made the mistake of siphoning energy from the beginning and end of time itself, caused by inexperience with his Moonstones, creating a link between Genis and the universe that threatened to end existence. Zemo explored all future timelines with the Moonstones, but failed to find a way to save both Genis and the universe.
To prevent the other Thunderbolts intervening, Zemo revealed that Atlas' brother Smuggler had survived Graviton's massacre of the Redeemers, trapped in the Darkforce dimension. Using the prospect of his release to make Atlas stop the other Thunderbolts interfering, Zemo bested Genis in battle and, apologising for both his mistake and the necessary solution, sliced Genis' body into pieces and scattered them through both time and the Darkforce dimension to prevent Genis returning from the dead a third time. He then fully released Smuggler.
An epilogue later revealed that Zemo—his face apparently fully-healed from Moonstone's attack—and Songbird were now allies and lovers.
Civil War: Hero Hunters
The new Thunderbolts engaged and defeated Quicksand in a battle in Denver during the early days of the superhero Civil War. After this, they were summoned to Washington where they met with Iron Man, Mister Fantastic and Yellowjacket. The three heroes, all supporting the Superhuman Registration Act, informed Zemo that they wanted the Thunderbolts to hunt down supervillains and recruit them to the Pro-Registration cause, which would be their chance at redemption. Unknown to Iron Man, the Thunderbolts had been doing this in secret for three weeks.
Zemo's Thunderbolt Army grew rapidly, the team vastly expanding. It now included dozens of other supervillains, including most notably Doctor Octopus, the Wrecker, and Ox. The new team dispersed to battle super-villains, capture them and offer them a choice: join the Thunderbolts or go to prison. Of course, they all chose to join the Thunderbolts. Baron Zemo convinced Captain America not to stop him from battling the Grandmaster, while Nighthawk was revealed as being a spy for the Squadron Sinister inside Captain America's Secret Avengers. Zemo then informed Songbird that in the coming battle, he knew that she would betray him, which she had been planning to do all along, in revenge for his killing of Photon, and he would sacrifice himself to save the world.
Zemo then saved the Wellspring of Power from the Grandmaster, who planned to use it for his own ends. Believing that all of his visions were subject to the flow of time, and that nothing was set in stone, Zemo defeated the Grandmaster, and boasted to his teammates that the power was now all his and theirs. He insisted that he would use it to help the world, despite the consequences for doing so. Songbird, who had temporarily lost her powers during the final battle, was told by Zemo "...now is when your betrayal would have come." The vision of her betrayal turned out to be somewhat correct after all, though. Although she could not use her super-sound, Songbird used a simple opera note to crack the moonstones, sending Zemo into a whirlwind of cosmic time/space. In his final words before he was completely sucked into the vacuum, he screamed out that he would never have hurt a world he worked so hard to save.
Faith In Monsters
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. |
A new team of Thunderbolts, consisting of Venom (Mac Gargan), Lady Deathstrike, Taskmaster, Bullseye, Jester, Jack O'Lantern and Songbird was assembled as the Pro-Registration side's task force to hunt down Anti-Registration heroes. The Jester and Jack O'Lantern were later killed by the Punisher.[3].
After the events surrounding the Wellspring, the current team disbanded. MACH-IV and the Fixer were offered jobs from the Commission on Superhuman Activities. Blizzard was released from jail and left the team. Atlas was de-ionized after his encounter with the Wellspring and remained in his enlarged state while Smuggler, his suit destroyed, took care of him. Joystick was imprisoned for her actions during the Wellspring debacle and Speed Demon ran away to avoid arrest. Only Songbird, Moonstone, Swordsman and the Radioactive Man, remained on the team.[4]
Issue #110 relaunched the series in the wake of Civil War, introducing a new creative team (writer Warren Ellis and artist Mike Deodato) and a revised cast of characters. This Thunderbolts team is employed by the United States government, acting as special marshals for the Commission on Superhuman Affairs.[5][6] Supported by positive media coverage and a range of children's toys, they appear to enjoy a degree of public support, despite the criminal records of the team's members. The team operates out of Thunderbolts Mountain where they deploy in a vehicle called the Zeus, with one or more T-Wagons accompanying to transport prisoners.[6]
Due to their actions during the final battle between Anti and Pro-Registration forcers, Lady Deathstrike and Taskmaster were deemed too dangerous to be controlled and were sent to the Negative Zone Prison.[7] Led by Norman Osborn, the new director of the Thunderbolts, the new team is composed of Songbird, Venom (Mac Gargan), Bullseye, Penance, the Radioactive Man, the Swordsman and Moonstone, the team's field leader.
Thunderbolts #110 begins with Norman Osborn interrogating Bullseye, informing him that nanites have been injected into his bloodstream ready to shock him into paralysis if he deviates from the given objective. Moonstone is offered the position of team field leader, and a large compensation package for a five year tour of duty. The first mission is to capture unregistered hero Jack Flag, after the Captain America compatriot saves a girl from local gang, the Rooney Brothers.
In #111 (Apr. 2007), the team confront Jack Flag. Moonstone orders Radioactive Man to employ microwave emissions to detonate the gasoline tanks in a number of vehicles; her plan is to inform that media that Flag mined these vehicles preemptively as a defensive move. Flag is injured by this, but manages to disable Songbird briefly by employing a hubcap and drawing on training he'd received from Captain America in the offensive use of a shield. Flag nearly escapes, but Bullseye ambushes him inside a building and pierces the base of his spine with a sai, a move Bullseye expects to rob Flag of the use of his legs permanently.
The Thunderbolts segment of Civil War: The Initiative (Apr. 2007) shows the team dealing with another "dangerous unregistered vigilante", this time in lower Manhattan. Their target is a new version of Hurricane (referred to as "Hurricane II"), who is severely beaten, then taken into government custody. The mission is monitored by Iron Man.
In #112, Osborn performs a debrief on the Jack Flag incident, admonishing the Thunderbolts for a botched job, while tension grows between old Thunderbolts Moonstone and Songbird over the 'team'. Osborn then checks up on individual Thunderbolts; Radioactive Man is encouraged to keep his hooded costume as an image for the public, and Mac Gargan admits that he is becoming addicted to the stimulation provided by the Venom symbiote. Stan Lee becomes host of 'Who Wants To Be A Thunderbolt?', a show in which civilians create their own superhero identities and compete to become the show's overall winner, who will conceivably be trained and sponsored by the government and put on the team. Meanwhile, the Registration Act does not go unnoticed by several unregistered vigilantes, including Shadowoman, American Eagle, and Steel Spider, who in a rage publicly announces his role as a vigilante. When Osborn is told he must assign the team to track down Osnick, he is left alone, where the word 'Spider' triggers an anxious muttering of the word 'Spider-Man', which then prompts a fit of manical laughter.
In #113, the Steel Spider's slide into vigilante insanity continues as his superhero tactics become extreme and his obsession with ridding the streets of crime garners him even more attention from the Thunderbolts. American Eagle, who lives 10 miles outside of Phoenix, Arizona (where Osnick is operating), decides to go and find Steel Spider and talk him down from his patroling as the city is up-in-arms and looking to lynch him in public. Meanwhile, Jillian Woods (who is going by the mame Sepulchre now as opposed to Shadowoman) gets a mysterious call from the Roxxon corporation with regards to hiring her to do security in her costume and she agrees to head into downtown Phoenix for a job interview with them. As the Thunderbolts' cloud-eyes disperse to get a tag on Osnick fate has brought the Steel Spider, American Eagle, and Sepulchre together in the same area as the Thunderbolts are sent out.
In #114, just prior to the confrontation, American Eagle tracks down Steel Spider and tries to reason with him. Osnick, apparently having lost some of his common sense, babbles on about being just like Peter Parker and having to fight the Thunderbolts as they are the bad guys. As the Zeus aircraft flies up Osnick proposes the question "Whose side are you on?" to American Eagle, who responds "Not theirs". Strongbow makes the first move, blasting Moonstone and pinning her arm to the Zeus as the ship pulls away, tearing a huge chunk out of her wrist. The Thunderbolts disperse and a large battle ensues, in which Woods, who happens to be on the street, breaks her cover and starts to battle Venom to protect civilians. Meanwhile, Radioactive Man and Swordsman take on Steel Spider while Songbird blasts American Eagle off the roof. After more fighting in which Swordsman and Venom are briefly defeated, Songbird and Radioactive Man resolve to devise a way to apprehend Osnick with as little collateral damage as possible and in a parking lot Moonstone, furious with pain, yells for Bullseye and his stealth team to disperse and cripple American Eagle. As the Thunderbolts surround the two heroes in the middle of the street Steel Spider drops in to join them and comments on how the impending showdown is 'almost a fair fight'.
In Nova #3, the Thunderbolts battled Nova because he has yet to register since his return to Earth after eliminating the threat of the Annihilation Wave, even though Nova was given 24 hours by Iron Man to make a decision regarding registration. The fighting is interrupted by Iron Man, who is dissastisified with the Thunderbolts for attacking a former New Warrior. Later, Penance follows Nova and reveals himself to his former friend.
In Thunderbolts #115, the fight between the team and the unregistered heroes continues. Osnick threatens to harm them just like any criminals, while American Eagle asks Sepulchre to envelope the entire battlefield in Darkforce. Venom tires of the battle and asks Penance to clear the darkness, but Radioactive Man--acting on Songbird's orders of creating a distraction for her--sends out a large wave of radiation which incapacitates his two teammates and shuts down Osnick's arms temporarily. Venom recovers and moves in to attack, while American Eagle and Sepulchre flee. Songbird communicates with Bullseye, saying she has shut down his nanochain and telling him to run. He kills his handlers and decides to run, but not until after killing American Eagle just because he wants to. As Osnick does battle with Venom and Radioactive Man, he seemingly gains the upper-hand until Venom bites off one of his arms (one of his real arms, not the metal ones). Radioactive Man cauterizes the wound and calls for medical assistance, then rushes off to help Penance, who is bashing his own head against a wall while berating himself for not being good enough. Songbird rejoins him and they discuss Baldwin's troubles. Meanwhile, American Eagle has foiled Bullseye's assassination attempt and has challenged him to a fight. While he proceeds to severely beat Bullseye, Swordsman recovers from his earlier defeat and radios Moonstone, telling her that Bullseye has escaped. Moonstone orders Bullseye nanochain to be fired, and it is. American Eagle--either not knowing about the nanochain firing or not caring--continues to beat him, and ultimately Bullseye's neck snaps as he falls into Eagle's motorcycle. Sepulchre crashes into her job interview and accepts on the spot, provided they can get her out of the country immediately. They agree, and she assures them there's nothing in the country she wants. Hours later, Osborn asks the doctor for Bullseye's status. The doctor informs him that Bullseye is both paralyzed and suffering from severe brain damage due to the combination of American Eagle's beating and the nanochain electrocution. He says that while the neck can be repaired, his brain damage is more troubling. His speech center is already gone, and for all intents and purposes, Bullseye is trapped inside a dead body. The issue ends with Bullseye awakening to this news with a horrified look on his face.
Alternate versions
MC2
While the majority of the Thunderbolts have yet to appear in the MC2 Universe, Jolt appeared as an Avenger before the current team assembled in A-Next #1.
Spider-Girl introduces a government team for reformed villains, similar to the Thunderbolts, consisting of:
- Kaine (Clone of Spider-Man).
- Big Man (Son of Henry Pym and the Wasp). Former member of the Revengers.
- Normie Osborn (Grandson of the Green Goblin). Host of the Venom symbiote.
- Raptor (Daughter of the second Vulture).
- Quickwire
As of Amazing Spider-Girl #9, the team consists of Killerwatt (in a new costume), Mr. Abnormal, Kaine, and a new character called Earthshaker.
Wolverine: Days of Future Past
In the limited series, Wolverine: Days of Future Past, The Thunderbolts are the private security force of the ruling Sentinels, under the command of Baron Zemo. However, Zemo is also secretly working with Shinobi Shaw and Psylocke as part of a new Hellfire Club to bring about the Sentinels' downfall.
References
- ^ www.the-engine.net - "WARREN'S SPANDEX COMPOUND: Thunderbolts - research question for Warren"
- ^ Marvel.com - Thunderbolts #110: All-New, All-Deadly, and All-Sold Out
- ^ Civil War #5
- ^ Thunderbolts #109
- ^ Civil War: The Initiative #1 (cover-dated April 2007)
- ^ a b Thunderbolts #110 (cover-dated March 2007)
- ^ Civil War #7
Bibliography
Team
- Thunderbolts #1 – 75, 100 — (Marvel Comics; April 1997 – March 2003, May 2006 — )
- Thunderbolts #-1 [Minus One] (Marvel Comics, July 1997)
- Thunderbolts '97 Annual (Marvel Comics; 1997)
- Thunderbolts #0 (Marvel Comics/Wizard Entertainment; 1998)
- Thunderbolts 2000 Annual (Marvel Comics; 2000)
- Thunderbolts: Life Sentences (Marvel Comics; 2001)
- Avengers/Thunderbolts #1 – 6 (Marvel Comics; May 2004 – September 2004)
- New Thunderbolts #1 – 18 (Marvel Comics; January 2005 – April 2006)
"Fight Club" issues
- Thunderbolts #76 – 81 (Marvel Comics; April 2003 – September 2003)
Spin-Offs
- Citizen V and the V-Battalion #1-3 (Marvel Comics; June 2001 - August 2001)
- Citizen V and the V-Battalion: The Everlasting #1-4 (Marvel Comics; March 2002 - July 2002)
- Captain America / Citizen V '98 Annual (Marvel Comics; 1998)
- Thunderbolts Presents: Zemo - Born Better #1-4 (Marvel Comics; February 2007 - May 2007)