The Eye of the Storm

On the run from the law, the fugitive Thunderbolts have vowed to prove to the world that they have reformed by taking down the Masters of Evil. This story is picked up by Gayle Rogers of NTN News. After Hawkeye’s declaration, she interviews various high profile individuals for comment.

Businessman Edwin Cord doesn’t buy it and continues his vow to bring the Thunderbolts to justice. Colorado State Senator Patty Harrigan, while she has always supported the Avengers she doesn’t want to see her state become a war zone. While Andy Gillespie of the US Armed Forces is happy to hear that someone is dealing with the Masters of Evil. Gayle then invites back super-human expert Dennis Schoolcraft for comment. While he didn’t think the Thunderbolts could ever reform, the addition of Hawkeye on the team has definitely started to change his mind.[1]

However, despite this declaration, the Thunderbolts are not doing very well. On the run after being chased out of their previous hideout by US Agent and the Jury, the team spent their night sleeping in the woods. The morning starts off with a bang when Charcoal gets up to go to the bathroom and the rest of the Thunderbolts misinterpret it as a sneak attack. Hawkeye gets everyone to stop and the situation is sorted out. When they say they can’t trust Charcoal, Clint points out that nearly every member of the team went at him at one time or another and he has learned to work with them and they should give Charcoal the benefit of the doubt.[2][3] However, this does bring up the subject of why Charcoal was working for the Imperial Forces to begin with.

Charlie tells the group that his father moved them around a lot because he had problems finding work. One day, his father attended a rally put on by the Imperial Forces. Charlie’s father bought the ideals that they were selling, a new nation ruled by a single individual who made all the decisions for everyone else. His dad signed himself and Charlie up with the organization right away. They discovered that the organization was operating in secret all over the country and ran a number of businesses. Charlie was soon convinced to undergo genetic experimentation as the Imperial Forces needed a superhuman army for their ultimate plan. As Charlie is describing the weird looking geneticist involved, Jolt instantly recognizes him as Arnim Zola, the man who experimented upon her as well.[4]

Charlie’s story is interrupted when Hawkeye suddenly picks up a radio report about the Masters of Evil clashing with the National Guard in Robinette, Nebraska. As the team heads out to intercept their foes, they are unaware that they are being followed by the new Citizen V.[5]

In Robinette, the town is being trashed by the likes of Tiger Shark, Flying Tiger, Man-Killer, Cyclone, and Klaw. As the Thunderbolts arrive, Moonstone warns Hawkeye that this charge into battle could be leading them into a trap. Clint explains that the whole point of announcing their intentions of bringing in the Masters of Evil was to draw them out for an open confrontation. Karla doesn’t like this one bit and makes a note to find ways to better manipulate Hawkeye into doing what she wants. As the two teams clash, the Crimson Cowl then teleports onto the scene and introduces herself to Hawkeye.[6] She then snaps her fingers, causing a massive storm with hurricane winds to suddenly appear in the area. Then, after removing a tracking device planted on Flying Tiger by Hawkeye, the Cowl teleports herself and her team away.

With the town being hammered with extreme weather, the Thunderbolts scramble to get the locals to safety. As the team is busy saving lives, Hawkeye is ambushed by Citizen V. They explain that they are the grand daughter of the original and has come to avenge the way the Thunderbolts tarnished his legacy when Baron Zemo posed as Citizen V in the past. She has come to warn Hawkeye that his leadership on the team will not sway her from her goal and she will fight him if he interferes. Hawkeye doesn’t have time for this and tells Citizen V to get out of his way because there are lives that need saving and he doesn’t have time for someone’s idiotic vendetta. As the archer returns to the rescue effort, Citizen V is once again reminded by something Captain America recently told her about how you shouldn’t fight for vengeance as it is a path that will never end.[7]

As the Thunderbolts are still tied up getting the locals to shelter, Citizen V decides to do something to help. Picking up a strange energy signature she finds a weather controlling device inside one of the buildings. However, before she can shut it down, someone knocks her down from behind.[8] Eventually, the Thunderbolts get everyone into the center of town where Songbird has erected a huge solid sound dome to protect everyone while the weather out the storm. The gambit pays off and the storm eventually subsides as quickly as it began. The Thunderbolts are surprised when the locals all thank them for saving their lives. As the Thunderbolts leave the area, Charcoal reveals that he planted a piece of himself on Man-Killer and this will allow them to track the Masters of Evil back to their base.

The track the Masters of Evil down to a secret complex hidden inside Mount Charteris. Once inside, Hawkeye likes the look of the place and suggests that when they defeat the Masters of Evil they take it over since they need a base of operations. However, when they round the corner they discover that the Masters of Evil have increased their ranks to a full 25 members. As they figure out how to deal with that many villains, the Crimson Cowl reveals that their weather device can now cripple the entire world!

Recurring Characters

Thunderbolts (Hawkeye, Moonstone, Songbird, Atlas, Jolt, Charcoal), Citizen V, Masters of Evil (Crimson Cowl, Aqueduct, Bison, Blackwing, Boomerang, Cardinal, Constrictor, Cyclone, Dragonfly, Eel, Flying Tiger, Icemaster, Joystick, Klaw, Lodestone, Man-Ape, Man-Killer, Quicksand, Scorcher, Shatterfist, Shockwave, Slyde, Sunstroke, Supercharger, Tiger Shark), Gayle Rogers, Edwin Cord, Dennis Schoolcroft, Arnim Zola (in flashback)

Continuity Notes

1. Schoolcraft was previously interviewed in just prior to Hawkeye joining the team. See Thunderbolts #20-22.

2. The Thunderbolts are suspicious of Charcoal since he attacked the team in Thunderbolts #19. He came looking to join up and reform himself last issue and the team reluctantly accepted him.

3. Hawkeye states here that he fought most of the Thunderbolts in the past. This was back when each of the core members were supervillains. The details:

   • Hawkeye has fought Atlas the most of all the Thunderbolts back when he was both Power Man and Goliath in Avengers #21-22, 29-30, Annual #1, 78-79, Iron Man Annual #7, West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #1-3/Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #2, Iron Man #206, Wonder Man (vol. 2) #1, and Avengers West Coast #92.

   • Moonstone: Hawkeye mostly fought her as part of the Avengers. First as a member of Egghead’s Masters of Evil in Avengers #222, and 228-230. He also fought her briefly in Thunderbolts #10 just after the team was outed as members of the Masters of Evil.

   • Songbird: Hawkeye fought her once before as Screaming Mimi in Avengers Spotlight #28.

4. Jolt got her powers thanks to genetic manipulation from Arnim Zola. See Thunderbolts #1-4.

5. This new Citizen V has been going after the Thunderbolts to avenge the way the team — and specifically Baron Zemo — ruined the reputation of her namesake. Reference here is made as to how she recently trashed Baron Zemo’s castle. See Thunderbolts #15-17.

6. Hawkeye quips that the Crimson Cowl is a prettier sight than the original. He is referring to Ultron, who used the Crimson Cowl identity to trick the Avengers into thinking that Jarvis betrayed them. See Avengers #54-55 and 57-58. This Crimson Cowl is secretly Justine Hammer, as we’ll learn in Thunderbolts #67.

7. Citizen V’s backstory is actually a lot more complicated than is presented here. The details:

   • The original Citizen V was John Watkins a superhero who was active during World War II. He was murdered by Heinrich Zemo before the end of the war, as seen in Thunderbolts #-1.

   • When the Thunderbolts originally posed as heroes as part of a plan to take over the world, Baron Zemo usurped the Citizen V identity. See Thunderbolts #1-12.

   • This new Citizen V is not actually the grand daughter of the original. In reality, she is Dallas Riordan who was hired by the V-Battalion to take on the identity and bring Zemo and the Thunderbolts to justice as we’ll learn in Thunderbolts #38.

   • This is because Citizen V’s real grandson, John Watkins III, has been in a coma for years, as we’ll learn in Thunderbolts #45.

   • Riordan encountered Captain America during a battle with Baron Zemo in the Amazon jungle, as seen in Captain America Annual 1998.

8. This is so the Crimson Cowl could put Citizen V in her place as a huge misdirect when the Cowl is unmasked next issue.

Topical References

• The TVs in this story are all depicted as CRT models. With should be considered topical as this is an obsolete technology.

• While in human form Charcoal is wearing a Reel Big Fish t-shirt. Reel Big Fish are a ska band that got their start in 1991. They are best known for their hit single “Sell Out”. At the time of this story, the band was at the height of their popularity. Charlie wearing this shirt should be considered topical however because while RBF are still around (as I write this) they aren’t as popular as they once were, especially with a younger crowd.

• When seeing the full roster of the Masters of Evil, Jolt quotes a line from the movie Jaws: “We’re going to need a bigger boat”. The famous line was uttered when the main characters set out to kill the giant shark terrorizing a small coastal community. This wouldn’t necessarily be considered a topical reference as it is a line from a classic movie.