A Rare Night Off

The Thunderbolts have accepted Hawkeye as their brand new leader to help them show the world they are redeeming themselves from their criminal past. However, in order to do so Mach-1 has agreed to willingly surrender himself to the authorities to serve out a murderer sentence.[1]

On Abe’s final evening of freedom, the Thunderbolts have decided to splurge a little and gotten themselves the fanciest rooms money can buy at the Royalton Towers in Boulder, Colorado. After months on the run, the team enjoys the luxuries provided to them by the hotel. All except for Abner Jenkins, aka Mach-1, who is still processing the fact that he’s going back to prison. Seeing her lover deep in thought, Melissa Gold, aka Songbird, asks if he’s reconsidering his decision. Abe tells her that he has not, and reminds her that his going to prison is for the better of the team. That’s when Jolt speaks up and suggests that they stop moping around the hotel room and go out for dinner. They all agree and Atlas knocks on the bathroom door, telling Moonstone to throw on some clothes because they are all going out.

(What follows here is a recap of the Thunderbolts series up to this period of time. The narration recounting the origins of the group and how they were former members of the Masters of Evil recruited by Baron Zemo post-Onslaught to trick the world into thinking they were heroes.[2] It details their early battles,[3] setting up shop in the Four Freedoms Plaza,[4] the romance between Mach-1 and Songbird,[5] the addition of Jolt onto the team,[6] the romance between Atlas and Dallas Riordan,[7] Techno’s physically dying and having his mind downloaded into a robotic body,[8] Zemo exposing the true nature of the group, his failed attempt at taking over the world,[9] the Thunderbolts’ subsequent abduction and escape from the Kosmos dimension,[10] their run from the law, Baron Zemo being hunted by the new Citizen V,[11] the Thunderbolts being offered to join the new Masters of Evil and turning that offer down,[12] and lastly Hawkeye joining the group as leader and Mach-1 agreeing to go to jail for murder.)

Soon, the members of the Thunderbolts are having dinner at the Mountainview Grill. There, they tell old stories until Moonstone proposes a toast to the team.[13] While she is in bright spirits Karla realizes that she is going to have to make a decision very soon. She wanted to be the leader of the Thunderbolts, but now that path has been blocked now that Hawkeye is running the team. However, she believes that being second-in-command won’t be so bad if she can successfully manipulate Hawkeye to do her bidding.

At a nearby table, Clint Barton — aka Hawkeye — is meeting with Gayle Rogers, the reporter who has been covering the Thunderbolts’ recent activities. He tells her that the team is legitimately trying to redeem themselves and tells her about his plans to turn over Mach-1 to the authorities as a gesture of good will. He wants Gayle and her news crew to be there to capture it and is telling her their intentions so that they spin he story the right way.

Suddenly, everyone’s dinner is interrupted when a team of Hydra agents come crashing in through the skylight. They are led by an operative named Horst Eisele, who have tracked down the Thunderbolts and have come to destroy them on behalf of their organization.[14] As the Thunderbolts spring into action, Moonstone recognizes Eisele from stories told to her by Techno, who knew Eisele from his time with Hydra.[15] While the team is pre-occupied with the Hydra soldiers, Clint runs for cover so he can change into Hawkeye. The Thunderbolts do a bang up job, holding their own against the terrorists until they are joined by Hawkeye who helps them finish Eisele and his team off.

In the aftermath of the battle the police surround the scene and order everyone inside to come out with their hands up. Not wanting to be arrested, Moonstone comes up with a quick plan to get them out of this situation and shares it with Hawkeye. Clint likes the plan and sends Gayle Rogers to negotiate with the police outside. She goes out and convinces them to let the Thunderbolts go since a battle with the fugitives would allow the Hydra agents to recover and become a problem again. The authorities agree and let the Thunderbolts go. As the team heads back to their hotel, Moonstone decides to stay since manipulating Hawkeye will be easy after all.

Soon, Gayle Rogers is giving a report on what went down that evening, commending the Thunderbolts as heroes. The report is watched by many whom have an issue with the group: Baron Zemo — who sent Hydra after the team — is furious that they have once again avoided his retribution, the mysterious Crimson Cowl fears that the team will be more formidable with Hawkeye on the team, while the new Citizen V refuses to allow the archer’s inclusion on the team dissuade her from getting revenge. Lastly, the report is caught by the Avengers and Captain America has grown so concerned about the situation he decides it is time to confront the Thunderbolts and make sure they aren’t mind controlling Clint.

… This story continues in Avengers (vol. 3) #12.

Recurring Characters

Thunderbolts (Hawkeye, Moonstone, Songbird, Mach-1, Atlas, Jolt), Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Vision), Citizen V, Baron Zemo, Crimson Cowl, Gayle Rogers

Continuity Notes

1. Lots of stuff going on off the top. We’ll cover the more recent stuff: Namely, Hawkeye approaching the team to become their new leader happened over the course of Thunderbolts #20-22. Abner agreed to go to prison to serve time for murdering a doctor in Deadly Foes of Spider-Man #3.

2. When the Avengers and the Fantastic Four were believed to have died in Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1, Baron Zemo saw this as the perfect opportunity to pose as heroes as part a world domination plot. See Thunderbolts #1 and Annual 1997.

3. The narration mentions how the team fought the Wrecking Crew (Thunderbolts #1), the Mad Thinker (Thunderbolts #2), the Enclave (Spider-Man Team-Up #7), and the new Masters of Evil (Thunderbolts #3).

4. The team tricked Franklin Richards into allowing them to set up shop in the Four Freedoms Plaza in issue #3.

5. The romance between Mach-1 and Songbird occurred over the course of issues #2-3.

6. Jolt joined the group in Thunderbolts #4 after helping them shut down Arnim Zola.

7. Atlas and Dallas started hitting it off after they first met in Thunderbolts #2. They went out on a date in issue #6.

8. Techno got his neck snapped during the team’s battle with the Elements of Doom in Thunderbolts #6-8. Although this story states that Techno downloaded his mind into a robot body, this actually turns out to be just a copy of his mind. The real Techno will turn up alive again in Thunderbolts #49.

9. Following the return of the Avengers and Fantastic Four in Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4, Zemo exposed the team and tried to take over the world. The Thunderbolts betrayed him and helped the Avengers and FF foil his plans. See Thunderbolts #10-12.

10. The Thunderbolts were subsequently kidnapped to the Kosmos dimension in Thunderbolts #13-14.

11. Zemo was targeted by the brand new Citizen V in Thunderbolts #15-17. The narration here states that this Citizen V is the grandson of the original who was killed in World War II circa Thunderbolts #-1. In reality, this is actually Dallas Riordan as revealed in Thunderbolts #38.

12. The Thunderbolts were offered a chance to join the new Masters of Evil in Thunderbolts #18. They turned them down in issue #20.

13. Abner is entertaining the Thunderbolts with a story about the time he knocked Captain America flat on his ass. He is probably referring to the time the two fought in Avengers #28.

14. The Thunderbolts earned the ire of Hydra in Thunderbolts #3 when they interrupted an arms deal. Previously, Baron Strucker sent a Growing Man android to try to destroy them in issue #5.

15. When he was known as the Fixer, Techno convinced Hydra to hire him on in Thunderbolts #-1. He operated with the terrorist organization in Strange Tales #141-143 and 145. Horst Eisele states that he worked alongside El Jaguar and borrowed Jackhammer’s technology. Both Jaguar and Jackhammer were part of Hydra in Daredevil #120-123.

Topical References

• The TVs in this story are all depicted as CRT models. This should be considered a topical reference as these are an obsolete technology.

• Gayle Rogers is depicted as having a camcorder that uses cassette tape to record video. This is yet another obsolete technology that should be considered topical.