Flight Plans

The city of San Francisco is experiencing a crime wave where a gang of crooks called the Sky Raiders have been committing brazen daylight robberies. Law enforcement hasn’t been able to stop them because the crooks are able to fly.[1]

Meanwhile, at the Thunderbolts headquarters within Mount Chateris, Colorado, Hawkeye has informed Jolt and Charcoal that he has set them up with new identities so that they can attend the local high school in Burton Canyon and complete their education. Jolt is not having any of this, since she doesn’t want to go back to school and points out that setting up fake IDs goes against the Thunderbolts’ attempts to redeem themselves, reminding Clint how he insisted that Mach-1 go to prison to serve out a murder conviction.[2] Hawkeye, rebuffs this by saying getting a high school diploma isn’t the same thing as murder, and that an education is more important for the two teenage members of the team. Hawkeye justifies this by pointing out that the Thunderbolts aren’t like the West Coast Avengers and he has to play things a little faster and looser than usual given the difference.[3] Clint then goes to check on Songbird who has been investigating their new headquarters to figure out how it operates and what the supply situation is. Her findings bare more investigation, particularly since some of the food rations predate the Crimson Cowl’s occupation of the facility for many years.[4] Clint’s puzzlement leads to another squabble over his decision to send Mach-1 back to prison. When Barton tries to explain himself, Songbird flies off.[5]

At the National Security Administration headquarters in Washington, DC, Mach-1 is the subject of conversation as well. Henry Gyrich and Val Cooper of the Commission on Superhuman Affairs want to use Abner Jenkins as part of a secret mission due to his skills as both the criminal Beetle and heroic Mach-1. G.W. Bridge of SHIELD is there to express his disapproval of their plan. However, the head of the NSA decides to go over Cooper and Gyrich’s proposal before rendering a decision.[6]

While, Erik Josten — aka Atlas — pays a visit to Dallas Riordan a visit in prison. He wants to try and mend fences since his past betrayal ended her career in New York politics. He still loves her and also wants to know why she became the Crimson Cowl. Although Dallas agrees to visit with him, she doesn’t answer any of his questions. Suddenly, a team of armored individuals blast their way into the visitation room, nab Dallas, and take off. Atlas, can only stand by and watch as using his powers would blow his cover.[7]

Back within Mount Chateris, the Thunderbolts continue to explore their brand new headquarters. Hawkeye is impressed by the scale of the facility and its amenities, leaving him to wonder who built it. Moonstone is also curious to know who and how that might tie into the person who left her a key when she was imprisoned by the Masters of Evil during their occupation of the facility.[8] However, this is a mystery for another time as Clint has to pick something up and invites Moonstone and Songbird to join him. Along the way, Moonstone attempts to arrange a private meeting to discuss the Thunderbolts psychological profiles. Hearing this, Songbird openly warns Clint not to fully trust Karla, as she is a criminal psychologist prone to using her skills to manipulating others. This is exactly what Karla was trying to do and Melissa’s sudden outburst makes her wonder if this ties into Mach-1 being sent to prison, revenge for what went down in the Kosmos dimension, or some third thing.[9]

Meanwhile, Jolt and Charcoal are attending their first day of classes at Burton Canyon High School. While Charlie is enjoying it, Hallie is not and snaps at some kids that are trying to be friendly. When Charlie asks her what’s wrong, Hallie assures him that its nothing and storms off. As she leaves, a trio of teenagers recognize her as Jolt from the Thunderbolts.[10]

At that same time, following his experience at jail, Erik Josten goes to a bar for a drink. As he is ordering he is convinced that the woman attending bar is secretly the villain Man-Killer, who somehow escaped when the rest of the Masters of Evil were busted. However, he can’t be certain. While he probably should inform his teammates, Josten can’t help but feel sympathetic since he knows exactly what it’s like to be on the run from the law.[11]

Soon, Hawkeye and the others arrive at a storage unit where Clint rents out storage space. He then shows them what he got sent to him from the Black Widow: A Champscraft, a flying ship that was once used by the short lived Champions.[12] Once it has been repaired and rebranded the ship will be useful to the members of the Thunderbolts who cannot fly. As Clint explains who the Champions were, he is interrupted by one of its former members, Archangel, aka Warren Worthington III. He came to find out why the Black Widow shipped off one of the Champions’ old vehicles and isn’t pleased to see that it will be in the possession of the outlaw Thunderbolts.[13] Hawkeye tries to reason with Warren, but the high flying mutant doesn’t want to listen. Moonstone and Songbird try to subdue him but Worthington is much more skilled than they are at flight after years of training under the X-Men. Warren doesn’t buy the fact that the Thunderbolts are trying to reform themselves, even after Moonstone points out the various individuals that the X-Men allowed to reform in the past.[14]

However, things turn on the mutant when he tries to get out into the open by exiting the storage unit via the skylight. Songbird is able to block his path with a solid sound construct allowing Hawkeye to subdue Warren with a bolo arrow. They finally reason things out with Warren who agrees to let them take the Champscraft. He also accepts an invitation back to the Thunderbolts headquarters for dinner. By the time they get back Jolt and Charcoal have already returned from their first day of school. When Clint asks how it went, he gets an ugly look from Jolt. As he gives Warren the tour, Worthington finds something familiar about the facility and thinks it might have been the headquarters used by a former foe to the Defenders, but notes that it was before his time.[15]

That’s when Atlas calls them to the communications room. There, Erik shows Hawkeye and Archangel some news footage coming out of San Francisco. Following the robberies committed by the Sky Raiders, the group has retreated to a massive floating island in the sky. Hijacking the airwaves is the man responsible for all of this, the super-villain known as Graviton who says that he has a message to San Francisco and the entire world.[16]

Recurring Characters

Thunderbolts (Hawkeye, Moonstone, Songbird, Atlas, Jolt, Charcoal), Archangel, Man-Eater, Gaviton, Henry Gyrich, Val Cooper, G.W. Bridge, Dallas Riordan

Continuity Notes

1. When robbing the comic book shop one of the Sky Raider that they nabbed every issue of Sludge and Savage Tales:

   • Sludge was a series and character created by Steve Gerber, Gary Martin, and Aaron Lopristi. It was published by Malibu Comics (later an imprint of Marvel) from 1993 to 1994. It ran for 12 issues.

   • Savage Tales was a monthly by Curtis Magazines, another imprint of Marvel. They published more adult themed stories. The series was mostly focused on Conan and later Ka-Zar. It ran for 11 issues between 1971 and 1975.

   • Real world Marvel publications also exist in the Marvel Universe. However in-universe Marvel is publishing “real accounts” of superheroes rather than fiction. This has been the case since Fantastic Four #10.

2. Since Hawkeye took over as leader of the Thunderbolts (starting in issue #22) he insisted that Mach-1 do time for a past murder that happened in Deadly Foes of Spider-Man #3. The reason why Hallie is apprehensive about going back to school is because it will remind her of her old life before her friends and family were killed during the Onslaught crisis, as will be explained in Thunderbolts #33. Hawkeye states that he dropped out of high school. This is because he ran away from home when he was still a teenager as originally told in Avengers #19.

3. Hawkeye mentions the Avengers West Coast because he founded and ran the team almost consistently from West Coast Avengers #1 until he quit out of protest over US Agents addition to the team in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #45. He later returned to the team in Avengers West Coast #60 and remained a mainstay until about issue #100. However, he took a back seat to leadership in favor of others running the team. The Thunderbolts got their start as members of the Masters of Evil who were posing as heroes until they were exposed. See Thunderbolts #1-12. They have been trying to redeem themselves since issue #15.

4. As we’ll learn in Thunderbolts #33, this facility was first used many years ago by Factor Three. See X-Men #28, 33, and 36-39. Crimson Cowl and her Masters of Evil only inhabited the facility recently, as seen in Thunderbolts #24-25.

5. Songbird is bitter about Mach-1’s arrest because the two have had a relationship since Thunderbolts #3.

6. Cooper and Gyrich have been wanting to use Jenkins for this secret mission since last issue. We’ll learn that they are going to use him to take down Justin Hammer. See Thunderbolts #33-36.

7. The situation with Dallas Riordan at the time of this story is quite complex. The details:

   • Dallas was the Thunderbolts liaison with New York City’s mayors office starting in Thunderbolts #2. She developed a relationship with Atlas over this period, the pair even went on a date in issue #6.

   • When the Thunderbolts were outed as former members of the Masters of Evil in Thunderbolts #10, Dallas instantly felt betrayed. Since the mayors office took a hit for this, Dallas was used as a scape goat and fired from her job in issue #15.

   • What will be revealed in Thunderbolts #38 is that Dallas has taken over the identity of Citizen V after being hired on to take on the role by the V-Battalion.

   • In issue #24, Citizen V was knocked out by the Crimson Cowl and she swapped places with Dallas when her Masters of Evil were taken down by the Thunderbolts in the following issue. The real Crimson Cowl is actually Justine Hammer as we’ll learn in Thunderbolts #67.

   • The individuals who bust Dallas out of prison are members of the V-Battalion.

8. Moonstone was locked up by the Masters of Evil in Thunderbolts #25 and discovered someone left her a key to the energy dampening hand-cuffs. We’ll learn in issue #33 that this was done by the Ogre, an inventor that has been living inside the facility since the days it was occupied by Factor Three.

9. The Thunderbolts found themselves stranded as prisoners in the Kosmos Dimension in Thunderbolts #13-14. Moonstone made a deal with the local vizier to get the team back home that involved killing the ruler of this dimension. Mach-1 and Songbird were present when Karla committed regicide. Abe later convince Melissa to keep continue keeping this a secret in issue #22 before he went off to jail. In reality, Songbird is forming a strong attachment to Hawkeye like she has done with other men, as we’ll see in Thunderbolts #29.

10. These three teens previously came to the Thunderbolts for help when Burton Canyon was under siege from the Loyalist Forces in Thunderbolts #19.

11. Man-Killer joined up with the Masters of Evil in Thunderbolts #3. She was one of the few who didn’t get busted in issue #25. Wilma will figure out who Eric really is in Thunderbolts #34. He will keep her cover a secret until it is blown by Wonder Man in issue #42.

12. The Champions were a team of heroes that were situated in Los Angeles, of which Black Widow and Archangel (this issue’s guest star) were both members of from their foundation in Champions #1 until they disbanded in issue #12 over various personal grievances a poorly constructed headquarters, and shoddy equipment.

13. It is stated here that Archangel was unable to reach the Black Widow because she was away. This story points readers to Black Widow #1-3, wherein Natasha finds herself fighting with Yelena Belova, her would be successor.

14. Indeed, the X-Men had allowed a number of their former villains reform around the time of this story, or so it seemed. The details:

    • Sabretooth: In X-Men Unlimited #3, Professor X took Sabretooth in and attempted to rehabilitate him. He remained at the X-Mansion under tight security for months until Wolverine violently lobotomized him in Wolverine (vol. 2) #90. While this appeared to make Victor seem docile now, in reality he was merely faking it until he could break free. Upon his escape he savagely brutalized Psylocke, as seen in Sabretooth Special #1.

    • Magneto: Is complicated to explain. His mind was wiped out by Professor X in X-Men (vol. 2) #25. Later, when his space station Avalon was destroyed in X-Men (vol. 2) #42-43, Magneto’s brain dead body was sent off in an escape pod and was lost. Later, a much younger Magneto was found in X-Men (vol. 2) #46. Everyone assumed that this was the real Magneto. This man later took to calling himself Joseph. However, was is later learned in X-Men (vol. 2) #86, this was actually a clone of Magneto that was created to kill the genuine article. This failed and the clone — without any memories of its creation — is who was later found.

    • Onslaught: Moonstone asks “what’s the deal with him”, because this was the case of an X-Man gone bad. As explained in Wolverine (vol. 2) #104, when Xavier wiped out Magneto’s mind in X-Men (vol. 2) #25, it infected his mind with some of Magneto’s evil. This later spawned the psychic entity called Onslaught who sought to take over the entire world. At first the creature was part of Charles until became strong enough to separate from him and gain independence in Uncanny X-Men #336.

15. He is referring to August Masters who used this facility to manipulate the power structures in America. See Captain America #268 and Defenders #106. It’s funny how Warren’s mind went to that instead of the personal experience he had here when the X-Men fought Factor Three. But the X-Men find themselves in secret enemy complexes every other Tuesday, I think we can forgive Warren for not recognizing it right away.

16. Although this isn’t called to anyone’s attention here, Atlas’ uniform has been reparied between last issue and this one. He won’t notice until Thunderbolts #29. This is more of the Ogre’s handiwork as we’ll learn in issue #33.

Topical References

• The Sky Raiders rob a convenience store where one of them is disappointed that they didn’t have any sour cream and onion Bugles. Bugles area a corn chip snack that vaguely resembles the musical instrument that they are named after. They entered the marked in 1964-65. This should be considered topical as this is a real world product.

• One of the establishments robbed by the Sky Raiders is Comix Experience. This is a real world comic book shop in the San Francisco area since 1989. Also depicted is the owner of the shop, Brian Hibbs. He also talks to a guy name “Lar” who I am assuming was an employee there at some time as well but I can’t find any information about him. At any rate, the appearance of this shop and its own should be considered topical as they exist in the real world.

• When Jolt points out Hawkeye’s contradiction by getting fake ID’s, Moonstone quotes “Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself. I am large. I contain multitudes.” This is part of a poem written by Walt Whitman. This wouldn’t be considered topical since Whitman lived in the 19th Century and his poetry is considered classical in the genre.

• One of the three teens that previously met the Thunderbolts is wearing a Reel Big Fish t-shirt. This was a ska band that formed in 1991. At the time this story was published, they were at the height of their popularity. This reference should be considered topical.

• When watching the reports about Gaviton’s floating city, Hawkeye quips that he hopes Atlas is watching the Sci-Fi Channel. The Sci-Fi Channel is (obviously) a television network that specifically caters to science fiction (for the most part). The network began broadcasting in 1992. Since 2009 the network rebranded themselves to Syfy. This should be considered a topical reference as this is a real world television network.

• On the final page of this story there is yet more corporate brandings:

  • One of the Sky Raiders is wearing a NWO tank top. NWO, or New World Order, was a stable of wrestlers in the WWE. The group was active primarily from 1996 to 2002. They have made reappearances since 2014, but these have strictly been reunions of former members. This should be considered a topical reference not only because NWO is more or less disbanded, but also a real world sports team.

  • Another Sky Raider is wearing a No Fear shirt. No Fear was a style of clothing that began in 1989. The shirts usually had existential slogans like “Second place is the first loser” and “Life’s not too short it’s just that you’re dead for so long.” The brand was incredibly popular from the mid-90s until the early 2000s. The brand is still around but not as popular as it once was. That said, this is a topical reference as this is another real world brand.

  • One of the women in Graviton’s harem has the Superman insignia tattooed on her bicep. DC Comics exist in the Marvel Universe, the earliest example of DC being outright referenced (not as inside joke) I can find is Amazing Spider-Man #100. Usually as a friendly nod to the “Distinguished Competition”. This was reinforced in stories like Superman/Fantastic Four #1. As such references to DC Comics would not be considered topical.