Justice… Like Lightning!

In the aftermath of the Onslaught crisis, the world is still reeling from the loss of its greatest heroes. Reporter Megan MacLearen is in the ruins of New York City reporting live on the devastation, the tragedy, and loss as clean-up crews look for survivors.[1] From the rubble a teenaged girl named Hallie Takahama contemplates running out and asking for help. She has been surviving in the ruins since the start of the attack and is deeply afraid of everything. However, before she can make up her mind a member of the Rat Pack — a group of criminal scavengers — comes up behind her and knocks her out with a rag soaked in chloroform and drags her away unseen.

Unaware of what just happened, MacLearen continues her report. She tells her views at home that without the Avengers and Fantastic Four, the world is left with a glut of super-powered threats with nobody to stop them. From underground creatures like the Lava Men, to other dimensional beings like Blastaar, and a plethora of terrestrial super-villains, the outlook looks grim. People are particularly afraid that the Masters of Evil might reform and terrorize the world anew. Later, while cutting the footage for the evening news, an editor asks Megan if she’s not going to frighten people with this report. She tells him that the public has a right to know now that they don’t know who will be out there to save them.

Meanwhile, the Rat Pack has finished clearing out another section of the city. Their leader, Number One, is really enjoying this job as they were hired to kidnap young people for their employer and get to keep all the spoils along the way.[2] They are interrupted by a brand new hero calling himself Citizen V. Draped in the American flag and wielding a sword, Citizen V orders them to surrender because he is placing them under citizens arrest. When they balk at this, Citizen V reveals that he is not alone, but part of a group called the Thunderbolts, a brand new team of heroes.

The group includes the size-changing Atlas, the energy wielding flyer known as Meteorite, armor wearing Mach-1, solid sound projecting Songbird, and Techno an inventor armed with an adaptable teck-pac. As the new heroes engage the Rat Pack, their fight is picked up by a traffic helicopter canvassing the city. They report back to the mayor’s office and report these new heroes to Dallas Riordan, who is excited to hear that a brand new group of superheroes has appeared on the scene.

With his men dropping like flies, Number One activates the remote recall on their ship which is carrying their stolen goods. When Mach-1 and Songbird try to follow after it, Mach-1 is struck with a electrical disruptor. He is quickly shielded by Songbird and the pair turn around to deal with the members of the Rat Pack that are still standing. In the ensuing clash, Number One tries to make his escape, planning to return for his men later. Unfortunately, he is quickly caught by Citizen V. That’s when Number One orders his men to “mouse hole” and all suddenly burrow into the ground, covering their escape. Although the villains have escaped, Citizen V commends his team for a job well done as the city now knows they have brand new protectors.

The Thunderbolts return to their headquarters, which is in an abandoned pizza parlor. Techno doesn’t like this and wonders why they don’t take over one of the abandoned lairs used by the Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus. Citizen V reminds him that they don’t have the funding to sustain such an operation and he’d rather not have his team hideout in an abandoned subway tunnel or warehouse, he wants the Thunderbolts out in the open and visible to give the people hope. Once he has removed his flight pack, Mach-1 thanks Songbird for assisting him in battle and the two decide to go over combat maneuvers together. Meteorite witnesses this exchange and notes that Songbird is hooking up with Mach-1 pretty quickly, even for her. She then decides to check on the others. She finds Atlas in his quarters moping and asks what’s wrong. He tells her how annoyed he is that Techno disobeyed orders during the fight as Atlas is a chain-of-command kind of guy dating back to his time in the military.[3] She tells him not to worry about it, saying to let her and Citizen V deal with the big picture.

Meteorite goes into Techno’s room next and sees that he has set up a service robot. She reminds him that the media will have followed them back to their headquarters and they can’t appear to be well off. Using her powers she blows up his robot before anyone outside can see it. That’s when Citizen V shows up and tells him that the media have already arrived and everyone is to report outside. Soon, Citizen V and the rest of the Thunderbolts are outside holding an impromptu press conference. Citizen V reveals that he is the descendant of the original wartime hero and that he and his Thunderbolts have volunteered themselves to helping the world following the loss of the Avengers and Fantastic Four.[4] He then introduces the press to each member of his team, giving them a brief overview of his team’s abilities.

One of the reporters asks if the Thunderbolts are going to try and replace the Avengers and Fantastic Four. Citizen V says that there are no replacing such legendary heroes and that his group is only dedicated to helping those in need. After Atlas and Meteorite answer some softball questions,[5] Citizen V is asked where the name Thunderbolts come from. He says he took inspiration from the Thomas Randolph poem written in the 17th century who wrote “Justice, like lightning, ever should appear to few men ruin, to all men fear.” When asked why there are no established heroes on the team, Citizen V says that they are all busy with other concerns, hence why he formed the Thunderbolts, to add to the diminished ranks of heroes available to defend the world. After some more softball questions, Citizen V is about to invite the press in to see their headquarters one of the reporters picks up news that the Rat Pack have resurfaced. When she tells Citizen V, he quickly mobilizes the Thunderbolts so they can finally bring the crooks to justice.

Little do the Thunderbolts know that the Rat Pack are waiting to lure the heroes into a trap. As they fly through the city, the mayor of New York calls Dallas Riordan and demands that she secure a partnership between the city and the Thunderbolts right away. When the heroes arrive on the scene, Number One orders his men to activate their jetpacks and they lead the Thunderbolts out to Liberty Island. There the Wrecker and his Wrecking Crew are waiting in ambush. The Thunderbolts are unsurprised by this and engage the Wrecking Crew on the island. While Citizen V battles the Wrecker,[6] Songbird helps get civilians to safety with Mach-1 running back-up when Bulldozer tries to ram her. When Atlas tires to assist Citizen V he is ambushed by Thunderball who hits the titan hard enough to send him falling into the bay. Piledriver then throws a chunk of debris at Meteorite so hard she ends up crashing into the Statue of Liberty, cleaving its torch bearing arm. This gives the Wrecker an idea to topple the entire statue. He orders Thunderbolts to surrender or else he and his crew will tear the statue down.

While Citizen V distracts the group with negotiations, Mach-1 divebombs the Wrecking Crew and fires gas grenades into their laughing mouths of the Wrecker, Thunderball, and Piledriver. Songbird then uses her solid sound constructs to place bubbles over their heads so the knock out gas won’t dissipate. The only member of the Wrecking Crew left standing Bulldozer who tries to escape. That’s when Atlas shoots up in size to avoid drowning in the bay. Furious over nearly dying, Atlas takes out his anger on Bulldozer, taking him down with a single titanic punch. In the aftermath of the battle the Thunderbolts are delighted to hear people cheering over their victory. Moments later, Dallas Riordan arrives on the scene to thank the Thunderbolts for their assistance on behalf of the city. Citizen V accepts this thanks but tells Dallas that they still have work to do. The Thunderbolts then get to work making repairs to the Statue of Liberty, much to the amazement of the media and the locals who are used to heroes leaving a mess behind for the city to clean up.

The Thunderbolts recent activities make them beloved heroes over night with the public readily accepting them as the city’s new defenders. The press manage to interview other members of the remaining superhero community to give their opinions on the Thunderbolts. Spider-Man thinks they are ok in his book.[7] The New Warriors, who have been working around the clock since the defeat of Onslaught, look forward to more people pitching in and helping. Lastly, the Black Widow cautiously endorses the idea of new heroes but quickly excuses herself before the reporters can ask any follow up questions.[8]

Meanwhile, the Thunderbolts are watching all the media coverage from their headquarters in awe. That’s when Citizen V enters the room without his mask on shocking the team with his horribly scarred face. V figures that he should put a mask on and goes to a cabinet to fetch one. However, it isn’t the mask of Citizen V that he is putting on, but the one worn by Baron Zemo. As it turns out, the Thunderbolts aren’t who they appear to be. In reality, they are members of the Masters of Evil in disguise. While Baron Zemo has taken over the identity of Citizen V, the Fixer has become Techno, the Beetle has become Mach-1, Screaming Mimi is now Songbird, Goliath has become Atlas, and Moonstone is now Meteorite. Zemo revels in the fact that they have fooled the entire world into thinking they are superheroes and by the time the public realizes how they have been duped it will be far too late.[9]

Meanwhile, Hallie Takahama sits in a cell in despair and prays for someone, anyone, to save her life.

Recurring Characters

Thunderbolts/Masters of Evil (Citizen V/Baron Zemo, Atlas/Goliath, Meteorite/Moonstone, Mach-1/Beetle, Techno/Fixit), Rat Pack, Wrecking Crew (Wrecker, Thunderball, Piledriver, Bulldozer), Helen Takahama, Dallas Riordan, Spider-Man, Black Widow, New Warriors (Night Thrasher, Nova, Kymaera, Speed Ball), Megan MacLearen

Continuity Notes

1. The Avengers and the Fantastic Four seemingly sacrificed their lives in Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1. The heroes aren’t actually dead, they were transported to a pocket dimension where they are living re-imagined lives. They will be found and brought back to their proper reality in Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4.

2. We’ll learn in Thunderbolts #4 that the Rat Pack had been hired by Arnim Zola who is seeking fresh subjects to conduct his genetic experiments.

3. Atlas spent time in the military before checking out and joining up with the original Baron Zemo’s private army. See Thunderbolts #10, -1 and Avengers #21 for the details.

4. The original Citizen V, aka John Watkins, was active during World War II starting in Daring Mystery Comics #8. We’ll later learn in Thunderbolts #-1 that Watkins was strangled to death by Baron Heinrich Zemo before the end of the war.

5. Atlas is asked if his powers use Pym Particles like Ant-Man and Giant Man. To which he says “sorta” but declines to elaborate because he has a secret identity to maintain. Eric Josten started off with ionically enhanced strength when he became Power Man in Avengers #21. Later, he was given size-changing powers from Doctor Karl Malus which utilized Pym Particles in conjunction with his ionic powers starting in Iron Man Annual #7. However, as we’ll learn in Thunderbolts Annual 1997, Josten was stripped of his Pym Particles after being rescued from the Kosmos dimension, yet still retains his size changing abilities.

6. Mentioned is made of the time the Wrecker fought Captain America. This story references Iron Fist #15, but that is not correct, the fight actually happened in Iron Fist #12. Also mentioned is the Wrecking Crew’s most recent defeat at the hands of NYPD’s Code: Blue, that was in Journey into Mystery #505.

7. Spider-Man tells the reporters that they can believe him when he says that the Wrecking Crew are no push-overs. This is because Spider-Man has fought them in the past, notably in Spectacular Spider-Man #125-126.

8. This is the start of the Black Widow’s suspicions about the Thunderbolts. She will become even more interested in their mysterious pasts in Thunderbolts #3 and 9.

9. The Masters of Evil will be able to maintain their ruse until Baron Zemo gets what he wanted and blows their cover in Thunderbolts #10.

Topical References

• Citizen V refers to himself as the grandson of the original Citizen V. Due to the Sliding Timescale, this direct familial relation would be come difficult to reconcile as the gulf of time between the end of World War II and the start of the Modern Age continues to expand. Modern readers could interpret this as Citizen V being descended from the original as opposed to being their grandson.

• The original twin towers of the World Trade Center are depicted as part of the New York City skyline in this story. This should be considered a topical reference as they were destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 and subsequently replaced with the Freedom Tower.

• The TVs in this story are depicted as CTR model units. This should be considered topical as this is an obsolete technology.