Reviewer: Tim Stevens
Story Title: One Step Forward
Written by: Fabian Nicieza
Voice of Reason Provided by: Kurt Busiek
Pencilled by: Tom Grummett
Inked by: Gary Erskine
Colored by: Chirs Sotomayor
Lettered by: Comicraft
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
When Thunderbolts #1 hit the stands, the Marvel Universe was in disarray. Onslaught, a personality that was the result of Professor X attempting to absorb all of Magneto’s evil, had laid waste to much of New York City and, in the process, seemingly killed the Avengers and the Fantastic Four (They were actually in a Rob Liefeld rendered pocket universe. I ask you, which fate would you prefer?). The Marvel U, formerly overflowing with superheroes found itself left with only shadowy vigilantes (DD, Spidey) and those dirty muties for protection. Out of the ashes came”¦an incredibly generic looking superteam called The Thunderbolts. But The Thunderbolts, it turned out, were actually the Masters of Evil in disguise. And things got interesting. And stayed that way until a mistake known as Thunderbolts Fight Club. It shall never be spoken of again.
I loved the original series and collected through thick and thin until that thing above that I don’t mention anymore. I was thrilled to hear the team was returning in Avengers/Thunderbolts. The miniseries, however, turned out to be a bore; overlong and oddly fractured. The announcement of a brand new ongoing was therefore not nearly as welcome as it once would have been.
This rambling preamble is all leading up to this. Despite what it is measuring up against, despite the disappointment of the thing that shall not be named and the miniseries, despite an almost entirely new cast, The Thunderbolts are more assuredly back in fighting form. I heartily and completely recommend this book.
Nicieza (with plot help from Busiek?) reboots the Thunderbolts in a world that is eerily reminiscent of the one where it all began. The Avengers are in shambles following “Chaos”. The Fantastic Four is no longer trusted after the events of “Authoritarian Action” and short a member since Galactus came to town.
But things are not the same. The Thunderbolts have long been outed as former super villains so tricking the public into buying them as heroes is no longer an option. Most of the members from the first series are dead, comatose, retired, or missing. Newly released Abe Jenkins (aka The Beetle aka Machs I-IV), however, does not wish to abandon the team and sets it up, very publicly, as a sort of halfway program for villains. The Thunderbolts will earn their place back in society by proving themselves heroes.
Smart idea and Nicieza carries it off nicely in this opening issue. What easily could have been a lesser rehash of the previous series is instead a “the more things are the same, the more they are different” situation. The villains’ ultimate goal is redemption not dominance. They are public with their identities, not secretive. And in the case of Captain Marvel, they are playing to the cameras the whole time.
The final several pages feature a couple of surprises that are recall the previous series penchant for cliffhangers, concerning Atlas’s actions and the team’s mysterious benefactor. While this means that The Thunderbolts (new and old) continue to run the risk of becoming the M. Night Shyamalans of the comic world, the twists are well placed and still feel organic, not forced. There is the potential for it getting it out of control, but there is no reason to believe that it is headed that way yet.
