Writer: Warren Ellis
Artists: Mike Deodato, Jr., Rain Bareto (colours)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
The new Thunderbolts are introduced as they jet off to apprehend that dangerous unregistered combatant that is Jack Flag. We also get to see a couple of the members’ initial interviews with their new boss, Norman Osborn, and the media spin that is going into making this new team more palatable to the public.
These are not your uncle Nicieza’s Thunderbolts. Warren Ellis arrives on writing duties, and it’s immediately obvious that things will never be the same again for Marvel’s Most Wanted. The set-up for this new team comes straight out of Civil War: the T-Bolts are now unregistered superhuman hunters. It is strange that Marvel didn’t delay this title as they have with most of their other books until Civil War wraps next month. Though it’s not spelled out in so many words, it would appear from the conversations that Iron Man’s side has “won” the war and that Tony Stark is now head of S.H.I.E.L.D. It’s also likely that Captain America is still underground. Though these aren’t huge spoilers, why publish this when so many titles are being held back? I guess the answer to that is in the question itself: Marvel has to publish something in the next month and a half whilst waiting for Civil War, and given the amount of publicity and hype there’s been for this book, and the push it’s had from Joe Quesada, it makes sense to not let it be delayed. And that hype looks like it might well be justified.
Ellis shakes things up in a big way. The roster has been known for months and many people, myself included, have had their doubts about it. But now that the team has made its debut, I must say I rather like it. The whole team isn’t front and centre here, with the majority of the issue devoted to the initial interviews of a couple of members and a look at how the media view them. This is fine by me. Marvel started talking about the whole media spin angle when the inclusion of such dubious characters as Venom, Bullseye and Norman Osborn was announced, and I had my doubts as to how this could work out. But the way it’s done here is both fun and, actually, not wholly unbelievable. In a real world where governments often distort the truth to what they want us to hear, why shouldn’t citizens of the Marvel Universe’s U.S. take their government’s word that Venom and Penance are there for their protection? My favourite page of the issue is the toy ad on TV, advertising action figures of “all your favourite Thunderbolts agents” and a Captain America figure “with screaming voice chip!” advertised as “another masked terrorist on the loose”.
The initial interviews in this issue involve Bullseye and Moonstone. These serve the dual purpose of introducing the character to the reader and explaining their inclusion in the Thunderbolts, and I’m sure we’ll get one for each member as the series progresses. It’s great to see Dr. Karla Sofen, a.k.a. Moonstone, back in a prominent role in the series and, for the first time, she has sole leadership of the field team. She’s back to her top manipulative form, and I just hope that Ellis doesn’t forget that, despite what Osborn may think, she does have some morals, in however small amount, thanks to ex-team leader Hawkeye. Bullseye’s inclusion is an odd one. As Norman Osborn explains, he’s only to be used in extreme situations and is not part of the T-Bolts public image, but still, how the hell could Iron Man sanction his inclusion? Osborn says he has free reign to do what he sees fit with the team. Would Stark really hand over full power to him and let him use a murdering scumbag? Just as some of the T-Bolts are fitted with controlling nannos, my guess is that Osborn is in the same situation, but Tony Stark has his finger on the trigger. Or perhaps Osborn has some dirt on Stark as a result of Civil War and has manipulated him into getting this position.
Speaking of the nannos, some of the members have them, some don’t. Though some guesses can be made from this issue, it won’t be known for sure till all the initial interview instalments are delivered. Moonstone is nanno-free, and it would appear that Radioactive Man is too, due to the fact that he’s “on loan” from the Chinese government. Penance might be; he’s not restrained in the transport ship, but that’s no guarantee. No clues are dropped for Songbird. It would be a pretty tough deal for someone who was asked to join the Avengers to get the treatment, especially having had the humiliation of demotion because she’s too “ethical” for the job, but given how some of Marvel’s “heroes” have been behaving recently, it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise if it was the case. Bullseye, Venom and Swordsman aren’t. No real surprises there. Swordsman is Andreas Von Strucker after all and has never obtained a pardon for his many crimes.
Perhaps the most welcome surprise this issue is Jack Flag. Quite a lot of space is devoted to this former ally of Captain America that could have been used introducing the team proper. But this only reinforces the story being told. I’d never heard of the character before this issue, but I already care about his plight and feel sorry for the poor sod. In six pages, Ellis manages to take some minor character from some past Captain America story and turn him into someone the reader can’t help but root for. Unfortunately, I get the feeling Jack won’t be around for much longer; his assuredness that he can take the T-Bolts because “they’re villains” is going to get him into trouble, and he’ll no doubt discover the hard way that the “good” guys don’t always win.
When the creative team was announced for this book, Joe Quesada said that he couldn’t envisage anyone better than Mike Deodato to pencil it. And now, having read it, I have to agree with him. I wasn’t overwhelmed with Deodato’s work on the New Avengers “The Collective” story-arc, but his dark and brooding pencils fit the tone of this book and these characters like a glove. The whole issue is rendered superbly, and it’s hard to pick out any one place that outshines another. The interview of Bullseye, with him going from derision to anger to acceptance, the frustration that Jack Flag feels being prevented from helping people, the smugness of his Norman Osborn are all examples of a job more than well done.
All in all, I really like the direction this book is taking. Having a Thunderbolts team composed of and run by villains and characters of dubious morality who are in it for the money or because they have no choice in the matter sure is a step away from Nicieza’s redemption driven T-Bolts, but does open up some interesting storytelling options. It’s rather dark and gritty but with some fun elements thrown in. Though I really liked Nicieza’s outstanding Thunderbolts run, this issue really has captured my interest and these new Thunderbolts are a breath of fresh air for this title and the Marvel Universe in general.
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