Thunderbolts #30
Uh-Oh!
In Denver, Colorado, Citizen V chases a petty crook down an alley. Pinning him to a wall with some razor sharp boomerangs, Citizen V demands to know what he knows about the Crimson Cowl. While he doesn’t know anything specifically, the crook knows that a group of local super criminals will be meeting up in town soon and will tell her all about it.[1]
Meanwhile, in San Francisco, the Thunderbolts and Archangel have been battling Graviton. During the fight, Moonstone used her psychology skills to try to manipulate the villain into enough self-doubt to make him easy to defeat. Instead, she only managed to piss him off so much that he has become a being of pure gravimetric energy instead. Seeing their leader going berserk, the Sky Raiders decide to all flee in the event that Graviton gets defeated and they lose their powers of flight while high above the city.
This is when Moonstone comes up with a new plan to defeat their foe. With everyone taking cover, she asks them all to remove the devices created by Machine Man to negate Graviton’s powers.[2] She explains that they can use them in tandem to shut down Graviton’s power directly. Although Moonstone wants to be the one to do it, Archangel insists on going himself, due to his years of flight training with the X-Men. Sure enough, Warren is able to zip around all the projectiles that Graviton throws at him. Worthington gets close enough to shove the anti-gravity devices into his foe’s energy form. This suddenly cuts off all of Graviton’s power, reverting him back to human form. However, this only last for a moment until his powers begin collapsing on himself. The Thunderbolts and Archangel then make a hasty retreat as Graviton and his entire floating island are shunted off to a micro-dimension.[3]
In the aftermath of the battle, Archangel has been convinced that the Thunderbolts are on the up-and-up when it comes to trying to reform and redeem themselves. He wishes Hawkeye the best of luck and consents to letting the team have the Champions’ old Champscraft. After Warren departs, the Thunderbolts head back to home base, a bumpy ride due to the fact that the Champscraft took some punishment during their battle with Graviton.[4]
Meanwhile, Graviton appears in a black void where he is approached by a mysterious cloaked figure. The entity tells him that his plans have failed in the past because he lacks vision and promises to bring him that and more power than he had ever dreamed of before.[5]
The following morning, the Thunderbolts wake up in their headquarters to discover that somebody had mysteriously repaired the Champscraft while they were sleeping. However it was also removed the Champions logo and replaced it with the Thunderbolts insignia. As Jolt wonders what happened to the old logo, Charcoal enters the room and reveals that it was used to craft a costume for him when he is in human form. More gifts from their mystery benefactor. While Hawkeye and the others decide to go looking for who has been secretly help them out, he orders Jolt and Charcoal to report for school.[6]
A short time later, Hallie and Charlie arrive at school. Hallie hates every minute of it, so Charlie tries to get her to look on the bright side of things. Suddenly, she starts remembering her old life before she became Jolt and all the friends she used to have, friends that are now dead.[7] This deeply upset her and she runs off crying without explaining herself, leaving Charlie to wonder what has gotten her so upset. As Charlie heads off to class, the janitor suddenly pulls out a communicator and reports seeing him to his mysterious employers.[8]
Meanwhile, Atlas has returned to the Down Slope, a local bar and grill where he is convinced Man-Killer is working since she evaded capture.[9] He knows he should tells his teammates about this, but empathizes with her because he knows what it is like being on the run from the law. Inside, he strikes up a conversation with “Wilma” and the two comment on a skiing competition playing on the nearby television. That’s when he catches a glimpse of someone on TV who resembles his old teammate Techno.[10] When Wilma asks what’s up, he dismisses it by saying he thought he saw someone he recognized.
Back at base, Hawkeye and Songbird take a break from searching the tunnels for their mystery helper so Clint can do some training with Moonstone. The two have a great time and Moonstone in particular is really enjoying herself. At that same moment, the Imperial Forces attack Burton Canyon High School and kidnap Charlie before Hallie can stop them. She radios base alerting Songbird to the situation. When she heads down to the training room, its just as Moonstone is seducing Hawkeye by making her costume vanish and catches them in the act.
Recurring Characters
Thunderbolts (Hawkeye, Moonstone, Songbird, Atlas, Jolt, Charcoal), Archangel, Graviton, M’Reel, Citizen V, Man-Eater
Continuity Notes
The reason Citizen V is now trying to hunt down the Crimson Cowl, is because the Cowl captured V and did a switcharoo when the Masters of Evil were recently defeated by the Thunderbolts. This led everyone to believe that the Cowl was actually Dallas Riordan. In reality, Dallas is Citizen V and was later broken out of prison by her employers the V-Battalion. See Thunderbolts #24-25 and 36. The true identity of the Crimson Cowl, aka Justine Hammer, isn’t revealed until Thunderbolts #67.
Machine Man created these devices for the Thunderbolts last issue.
Hawkeye mentions this happened to Graviton before in the past. He is specifically referring to the events of Avengers Unplugged #2. This left him trapped in the Microverse until he was pulled free by Baron Zemo in Thunderbolts #16.
When Hawkeye was given the Champscraft by the Black Widow in Thunderbolts #27, she neglected to explain the situation to Archangel who decided to find out who was taking old Champions’ gear. He has spent the issues since trying to figure out if the Thunderbolts are truly on the up-and-up.
This entity is identified as M’reel a member of the P’tah, as we’ll learn in Thunderbolts #51, 55-58, and Thunderbolts: Life Sentences #1. Although they talk big here, M’reel ends up being nothing more than a subservient lackey.
This is the handiwork of the Ogre, who has been living in this complex dating back to X-Men #28. We’ll find out about this in Thunderbolts #33.
Hallie’s reluctance to go to school stems from the fact that her old life was ruined during the Onslaught crisis which claimed the life of her friends and family. See Thunderbolts #33 again.
This would be the Imperial Forces, whom Charcoal was a member in Thunderbolts #19. He left them and joined up with the Thunderbolts in issue #23. This will lead to the team being captured by the IF and their leaders, the so-called Elite. See Thunderbolts #31-32.
Man-Killer was one of the few Masters of Evil who escaped when the Thunderbolts shut them down in issue #25. Erik will keep her secret until her cover is blown by Wonder Man in issue #42.
Techno was one of the founding members of the Thunderbolts. When Baron Zemo outed the team as villains masquerading as heroes in Thunderbolts #10, he was one of a few still loyal to him. However, at that time, everyone believed that Techno’s mind had been transferred into a robot body circa issue #8. This was actually just a robot with a duplicate of his mind and the real Techno will turn up alive again in Thunderbolts #49. This is likely a case of mistaken identity since the robotic Techno turns up again in issue #33.
Topical References
The television in the Down Slope Bar ‘n’ Grill is depicted as a CRT model. This should be considered a topical reference as this is an obsolete technology.
