Marvel Comics stapleThunderboltsjust started up its latest run under the pen of Ben Acker and Ben Blacker.
Thats not all, though.
They became outlaws, with Hawkeye eventually tracking them down and becoming their leader.
It was basically theHalloween 3of comics.
The Avengers opposed the Thunderbolts, Zemo went missing, and MACH-IV took over as leader.
Zemo eventually returned and took back his spot.
A lot of time travel and government corruption happened, ultimately ending the program.
Theyre only called Thunderbolts because General Ross old nickname was Thunderbolt.
Now lets get started.
Deadpool seemed rather apathetic about it, but knew Frank Castle would have a ton of objections.
The two led Red Leader around, Sterns too messed in the head to remember who he even was.
Deadpool pointed at the body and turned to Red Hulk.
Hawkeye insisted he turn himself in and serve time, as it was the right thing to do.
They couldnt publicly have an escaped convict in their ranks or it would send the wrong message.
That led to the reveal of Abe being black, which was worth it for the groups reactions.
Juggernaut was eventually depowered and put back in confinement while everything involving the Thunderbolts went to Hell.
In the final adventure, Juggernaut was briefly repowered to help defeat the villain Sultan Magus.
Once his powers wore off, Cage confronted him.
Juggernaut stood there with a silent, thoughtful expression.
You were one hell of a leader… and the biggest man I know.
Satana Joins the Team
Thunderbolts #156(2011)Jeff Parker and Kev Walker
Luke Cage and Dr. Also amusing is how Parker proceeded to use this page to his advantage.
Naturally, Marvel had him take it down pretty quickly.
Scourge was about fulfilling orders and Mr. X was a sadist, so they were all for it.
The others thought it was well over the line.
With the help of Ghost, the good Thunderbolts won out.
Finally, they had something worth fighting for.
Need a red…
25.
She usually hung around him as a little sister and at times he laughingly put up with her company.
During the big fight, Troll tearfully found herself reluctantly swinging her axe at another Boss.
If anyone was going to be killing people, it would be him.
The Thunderbolts were sent to Phoenix to apprehend unregistered superhero Steel Spider.
Fellow unregistered heroes American Eagle and Sepulchre got into the mix and it became an all-out brawl.
With all this going on, Bullseye was waiting in the wings.
He gleefully murdered his handlers and decided to go after American Eagle anyway.
Couldnt have happened to a nicer guy.
An inspired pairing, since theyre both radical, out-of-control attempts to recreate Captain America.
This fight feels like a more modernized take on it.
Spider-Man was framed for theft and the Thunderbolts were tasked with going after him.
MACH-1 was the most excited as he used to be the Beetle, one of Spider-Mans archenemies.
He couldnt wait to bring him in or even possibly kill him.
Mostly through the teaming up of Spider-Man and MACH-1, they ended up winning the day.
MACH-1 gave Spider-Man evidence to show the world that he was innocent.
He could have had him arrested, but he chose to do the right thing.
Later, he admitted the truth to Moonstone.
Maybe Beetle could have stabbed Spider-Man in the back, but MACH-1 couldnt.
This was the first moment where any of the Thunderbolts questioned Zemos plan and showed streaks of actual heroism.
These guys were like the drum solo of the first six years ofThunderbolts.
Its a popular mystery killer plot rig at Marvel).
All the while, people would bring up how different he seemed compared to the Watkins of old.
Then Andrea let it slip that she knew Citizen V was really Zemos mind in Watkins body.
He apologized as he left, swearing that it was necessary to keep his identity a secret.
Andrea would return down the line, though in a far more grotesque form.
Ellis is a very cynical writer and his is a very cynical run on the title.
He did so by goading him into powering up and then laughing off his blasts.
Then they simply talked things through while everything went to hell around them.
He kidnapped the Thunderbolts newest tech guy Ogre and took his form.
It was a question ofwhenhe was planning to strike against the team in the name of Zemo.
Around this time, the assassin Scourge killed Jolt, the teams upbeat teenage conscience.
Techno kept the body and secretly experimented on it while at the same time gradually healing her life-ending wound.
Scourge struck against Techno and critically wounded him.
That would mean shutting down the stasis tubes keeping Jolt and Ogre alive.
He laid there, questioning why he even hid amongst the Thunderbolts anyway.
Knowing his last decision was the right one, he smiled as the lights in his eyes went dim.
Nearby, Jolt smashed out of her tube and went after Scourge.
The Thunderbolts time exploits led them to the same point where and when Doom showed up.
Mephisto had seen better days and was no longer in control of his domain.
Red Leader figured there was opportunity and, against Ghost Riders advice, suggested a deal.
Mephisto wanted to shake on it, but Red Leader was too smart for that.
He demanded an official contract, fully notarized.
The whole nine yards.
The contract was signed and off they went to dethrone Strong Guy, the residing ruler.
Meanwhile, Deadpools feather caper caused a series of angels to chase him into Hell.
The whole place was a mess and Mephisto wanted to make them suffer.
Unfortunately, that was against the binding contract, as Red Leader explained.
Pay me a visit any time.
This has all been rather fun.
This time was no different as he went after Zemo.
He made an attempt to escape, but Scourge dragged him back into the building.
This got an emotional reaction out of Scourge and caused him to fight even harder.
Scourge decapitated Zemo and announced that justice was served.
Though obvious to readers, it was a great way to hint his identity.
Only Techno remained loyal to Zemo while all the others chose to do the right thing and stop him.
She would have killed him, had Techno not intervened.
This enragement distracted Techno enough that the Thunderbolts were able to take him down.
As if Iron Fist would have become the head of SHIELD had he done it instead.
The highlight was Osborn being cornered by a handful of Skrulls disguised as various incarnations of Spider-Man.
What was meant as a threat turned into a dream come true.
Man-Thing was brought in as the transport for the Luke Cage era ofThunderboltsbecause of his teleporting powers.
It was convenient, but still iffy due to the creatures cryptic nature.
He was a mysterious mute and the only one capable of understanding him in any way was Satana.
Man-Things speech was done the best possible way: he spoke the language of Xzelziohr, the universal language.
Yall the snitches that got me my riches.
Strange spreading joy through New York City, but in a bad way.
I dont know, its a magic thing.
The Red Hulk Thunderbolts were pre-Ghost Rider, so they didnt have any magic users on the team.
The group scoured various worlds for all the magic weapons they could get and stormed the fake Stranges home.
He showed no worry and instead let out a large aura of happiness.
Red Leader, Red Hulk, and Venom fell to the crippling bliss first.
Watching the imposter die before him, Frank almost smirked for a brief moment.
It wasnt quite a smile, but for one brief second he didnt frown.
And thats why I was completely on-board when I heard Acker and Blacker were taking over the main series.
The authorities wanted them in custody and the criminal underworld wanted them dead.
Not only that, but they needed a new leader.
Moonstone was chosen, but her short-sightedness and selfishness made MACH-1 think she wasnt the right choice.
It seemed they had a new member.
It was Hawkeye of the Avengers.
At least Bullseye and Crossbones are genuinely badass.
Mr. X is the goddamn worst is what Im trying to say.
Mighty Avengers throwdown where Mr. X took on Quicksilver.
Yes, Mr. X is an amazing martial artist.
Yes, he can read your mind and tell what youre about to do next.
Too bad that is worthless against a mutant who is faster than what Mr. X is capable of countering.
Yes, he knows that Quicksilver is about to shatter his wrist.
Good luck preventing it.
He was fighting superheroes because he was a supervillain.
What was he out for?
At least Magneto and Doom had goals and dreams.
It worked and Graviton left the battlefield to go think about things.
The Thunderbolts intervened and of course couldnt even touch him.
They became his prisoners, set for execution.
He sent for an audience with Moonstone and started bragging about finding his niche as a supervillain.
He had his own domain, a harem, worshippers, the fanciest of food, and so on.
And Moonstone laughed at him.
In probably the most badass moment in the series, she laughed in his face.
He didnt really want any of this.
He was just trying to impress her.
On the subject of Graviton…
8.
Graviton planned to remake the world in his image and his first step meant killing the Thunderbolts.
The Redeemers were in their place, so he fought them instead.
What followed was a complete bloodbath to the point that youd think James Robinson wrote the issue.
Citizen V and Fixer each made a run for it.
After the dust settled, Songbird pled with MACH that they needed to help.
If they didnt stop Graviton, then who would?
Atlas resurrected himself into a being of pure ionic energy.
Moonstone and Fixer decided that backing Graviton was a fools errand.
The original Thunderbolts reunited and were able to kill their greatest foe.
In his first mission, the team had to face some giant monsters storming a beach.
Ghost saved Moonstone via some gross mouth-to-mouth and said that Juggernaut needed their help.
Moonstone aided him and helped fight Hyperion to a stand-still.
Then Ghost stepped in, revealing that he stole the nanite controller.
With a press of a button, Hyperion fell screaming and begging before being curbstomped by his former teammates.
To finish him off, Man-Thing sensed his fear, walked over, and burned him alive.
I thought there was an interesting dynamic between Juggernaut and Ghost during the Parker run.
Too much manpower, for one.
The team got stuck in traffic and Deadpool, tired and hungry, left to go get some pizza.
Frank didnt mind, since he hates Wades guts.
He sat down, ate some pizza, and wondered why he was even there to begin with.
The pizza wasnt that great.
He opened fire on the three and continued eating his pizza.
Castle and the others came in shortly after, completely confused and frustrated over what just happened.
This is why we cant have nice things, Quesada!
Helmut Zemo had been falling forward through time and was meeting all the other Baron Zemos through history.
Some were good people and great leaders.
Others were horrible monsters.
Helmut grew furious and unmasked, revealing his mutilated face.
According to his father, someone with a face such as his could never be considered great.
Helmut Zemo punched him to the ground.
I AM BETTER THAN YOU, THAT IS WHAT I AM!!
The more stressed he got, the more the Goblin part of him started to creep into his head.
Venom went on a rampage, stopped and nearly killed by an insane Swordsman.
The telepaths were forcing Osborn to let loose and so he did.
Rambling to himself, he dusted off his old Green Goblin uniform and put it on.
He tracked down Swordsman and put the fear of god in him while easily taking him apart.
You didnt have a mother!
A pig coughed and you fell out!
If anything, this deserves to be high on the list just for Deodatos depiction of the Goblin.
Nobody comes close to making Green Goblin look so awesome and terrifying.
The kids fromAvengers Academyvisited the Raft to get some scared straight words of wisdom from the Thunderbolts.
A blackout oh-so-conveniently happened and the place scrambled to keep everything under control.
Songbird, Luke Cage, and Warden Walker each had to deal with would-be escapees.
Dude took out convicts left and right with only one arm and leg, not taking a single hit.
A prisoner meekly wheeled his chair over and calmly returned to his cell.
That is the slickest shit ever.
The team debuted inIncredible Hulk #449where they were simply known as the new superhero team that everybody loved.
They were generic, if mysterious, but there were a couple clues thrown in there.
Having won the adoration of the public, the team sat around their headquarters, sharing satisfied smiles.
Then Citizen V stepped in with his mask off, revealing a gnarled, melted face.
Oh, cool, Citizen V is Deadpool.
Its all one big ruse!
And this is only the first issue!
It was a big brawl between two Thunderbolts factions that led to the death of former Captain Marvel Genis-Vell.
They would redeem themselves and they would save the world as a team.
They kissed and walked off together.
So why do I think this is the bestThunderboltsmoment?
In the beginning, the more likeable members of the Thunderbolts MACH-1, Songbird, and Atlas became heroes.
Eventually, at least for a time, Fixer and Moonstone did the same.
Then it was Zemo who showed a heroic streak and a desire for altruism.
Zemo was different from the rest.
He wasnt just a supervillain.
He was a Nazi, one of the most irredeemable of supervillain types.
And here he was, embracing Songbird.
Melissa Gold.A Jewish woman.
Not just showing romantic interest, but outright admitting to seeing her as his equal.
Through that gesture of pure hope, the Thunderbolts won.
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