Thunderbolts #3
Too Many Masters!
Since she was kidnapped off the streets of New York, Hallie Takahama has been held prisoner and experimented. After enduring this torment for weeks she has finally escaped what appears to be an ancient castle. After avoiding the creatures that have tormented her she runs into the woods hoping to get help.[1]
In New York City, Mach-1 drops off a thief at a local police precinct. The offers are grateful for his good work. Mach-1 tells him that the thief had an accomplice who got away with the stolen loot and heads off to look for him. The crooks takes offense to this, telling the cops that he always works alone and it was Mach-1 who stole his loot. The cops laugh this off, thinking the idea that a superhero robbing a thief impossible to believe.
However, that’s exactly what happened and when Mach-1 returns to the Thunderbolts new headquarters at the Four Freedoms Plaza, his leader Citizen V is furious. The Thunderbolts are actually members of the Masters of Evil posing as heroes as part of a scheme to take over the world.[2] Citizen V, actually Baron Zemo, scolds Mach-1 for taking the stolen loot as this would jeopardize their mission and, once they succeed, this bag of diamonds will seem like nothing. That’s when Atlas gets a call from Dallas Riordan, their liaison with the mayor’s office. She tells him to turn on their alert scanners as there it trouble brewing in the city.
The Thunderbolts are patched in with a traffic helicopters video feed and witness the Black Widow fighting a group of super-villains — Flying Tiger, Klaw, Man-Killer, and Tiger Shark — who are calling themselves the Masters of Evil. Although they don’t know who is leading this group, the Thunderbolts take off to confront these so-called Masters of Evil and prove that they are inferior to the genuine article. When they arrive on the scene, Citizen V demands to know who is leading this incarnation of the Masters of Evil. Their turns out to be a woman wearing a red cloak who calls herself the Crimson Cowl. Since the heroes are interfering with their mission, the Cowl unleashes a blinding ray of red light that covers her and the Masters of Evil’s escape.
When they check on the Black Widow, she is no happy with the Thunderbolt’s interference. Natasha tells them that she has made it her job to take down all of the Avengers past foes now that the team is gone and they are still on the loose.[3] She explains that this new incarnation of the Masters of Evil is working in league with a hidden cabal of criminals that is taking charge of the New York underworld.[4] She is confident that she can catch up with them again and warns the Thunderbolts not to get in her way. Citizen V and the others ignore Natasha’s warning and decide to send a message to this hidden cabal not to mess with the Thunderbolts by sinking the wharf side warehouse into the Hudson River.
A few days later, Baron Zemo has used his criminal connections to learn where the Crimson Cowl and the Masters of Evil will strike next.[5] However, before they confront the new Masters, he has something he wants Techno to prepare. Meanwhile, Mach-1 confronts Songbird about how she pushed him away when he tried to kiss her the day before. Melissa tells him that she is afriad to let anyone close to her after she has lost everyone she has ever cared about in the past. Abe tells her that he is starting to realize that his life as a criminal was a waste now that he is enjoying new things that are showing him a better way of life.[6] He tells Melissa that part of that has to do with meeting her and she pushes away her fears and kisses him. That’s when the alarm goes off calling the Thunderbolts into action.
They head out an arms deal that is going on outside the city between these new underworld players and a costumed criminal literally called the Arms Dealer. The Crimson Cowl and her Masters of Evil have been hired on a security for the deal. When the Thunderbolts arrive on the scene they split up and take on individual members of the Masters of Evil. Songbird pits her solid sound constructs against those of Klaw, who recognizes the technology in her carapace as his own and is not very happy that someone stole his technology.[7] Techno meanwhile pits his technology against the Man-Killer, easily tripping her over the edge of the castle they are fighting on.[8] Mach-1 matches his flying skills against Flying Tiger, who is more than up for the challenge. Atlas tries to tackle the new Cyclone, but it is easier said than done. Meteorite clashes with Tiger Shark who is still partially transformed after being mutated into a more bestial form.[9] Citizen V takes the fight to the new Crimson Cowl herself.[10]
While they are all fighting, the Arms Merchant decides to cut his losses and flee. The battle isn’t going very well for the Thunderbolts until Techno is knocked into a pile of high tech weapons. He then uses his techpac to fuse all the weapons into a massive battle platform and orders the Masters of Evil to surrender or he’ll open fire. Seeing that the battle has turned once more, the Crimson Cowl uses her blinding light trick to teleport herself and her minions away. In the aftermath of the battle, the Black Widow had shown up and nabbed the Arms Merchant and his men and surrenders them to the Thunderbolts without a word. She looks on them with suspicion and quickly departs without saying anything.[11]
That’s when Techno’s communicator tells them that there has been a break in at their headquarters at the Four Freedoms Plaza. Returning there, they discover that the security system has caugh Hallie Takahama. When they let her loose she suddenly leaps across the room. With her fists glowing with electrical energy she demands to know what happened to the Fantastic Four and vows to use for in order to get answers!
Recurring Characters
Thunderbolts (Citizen V, Atlas, Meteorite, Mach-1, Songbird, Techno), Masters of Evil (Crimson Cowl, Cyclone, Flying Tiger, Klaw, Man-Killer, Tiger Shark), Arms Merchant, Hallie Takahama, Dallas Riordan
Continuity Notes
Hallie was kidnapped in Thunderbolts #1. Next issue we’ll learn that her captor was the geneticist known as Arnim Zola.
The revelation that the Thunderbolts are secretly members of the Masters of Evil was revealed in issue #1 as well. They will continue to fool the public until Zemo exposes their true identities in Thunderbolts #10.
The Avengers and Fantastic Four are believed to have died in Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1. In reality, they were transported to a pocket dimension where they are living reimagined versions of their past lives. They will eventually be found and returned to their proper reality in Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4.
This new player in the criminal underworld is elderly mobster Vincente Fortunato who, as the Black Widow surmises, does indeed have ties to Hydra. See Spider-Man #70-74, 79-80, as well as Amazing Spider-Man #422, and 432-436.
A footnote here tells readers that the events of Spider-Man Team-Up #7 takes place between scenes here. In that story, the Thunderbolts help Spider-Man shut down an Enclave operation. It also allows the Thunderbolts to nab a bio-modem device which will be integral to the events of Thunderbolts #11-12 when Zemo finally initiates his master plan.
Abe and Melissa shared a kiss last issue, but she pushed Abner away. This is because she is still getting over the loss of her former partner in crime Angar the Screamer who ate a bullet in Thunderbolts Annual 1997. Although believed dead he will return as a being composed of pure sonic energy in Thunderbolts #49.
It’s explained in Thunderbolts Annual 1997 that the Fixer cribbed the design for Klaw’s sonic horn weapon and used it to build Songbird’s carapace.
Techno points out here that Man-Killer should be dead. Man-Killer was seemingly electrocuted to death in Marvel Team-Up #107. How she survived is not explained but as someone with super-human strength it’s not exactly a stretch to figure out how she survived being electrocuted.
Tiger Shark assumed a more animalistic form in Namor the Sub-Mariner #34-35. This issue misattributes this transformation to issue #38 of that series.
Citizen V mentions how the original Crimson Cowl was merely a façade. As we saw in Avengers #54-55 and 57-58, the Crimson Cowl identity was a red herring. Ultron used it and a hypnotized Jarvis to hide the fact that he was the real leader behind that incarnation of the Masters of Evil. This new Crimson Cowl is revealed to be Justine Hammer in Thunderbolts #67.
The Widow has been investigating the Thunderbolts since they first appeared on the scene. She will start learning about their criminal pasts and confronts Mach-1 and Songbird about it in Thunderbolts #9.
