Power Full

The Wellspring of Power has been unleashed causing everyone on Earth to gain superpowers and riot. To try and contain the chaos, the Thunderbolt army — villains forced into joining the team under the Super Human Registration Act (SHRA) — are dispatched across the world to try and contain the carnage.[1]

One team, consisting of Doctor Octopus (Otto Octavius), Porcupine, Whirlwind, Boomerang, Quicksand, the Eel, Unicorn, and X-Ray are dispatched to Chicago. The group look to Octavius for guidance but he is unsure what to do. He is then contacted by the telepathic alien known as the Overmind. He is still in Zemo’s Folding Castle and is monitoring the other teams. Thunderbolt teams have been sent to Los Angeles, Dallas, Tokyo, and Sydney and are doing just as well as the Chicago team. When Otto asks what happened to the core Thunderbolts, the Overmind cannot reach them telepathicaly as they are either dead or unconscious. However, he was able to get a brief glimpse from the mind of the Swordsman (Andreas Von Strucker).

In Germany, at the castle where the Wellspring of Power was kept, it seems that the Swordsman was the only one who survived the explosion. However, he is soon ambushed by Joystick (Janice Yanizeski) who betrayed the team to the Grandmaster and was responsible for unleashing the Well’s power.[2] Shockingly, Janice has become so powerful that she strikes Andreas’ adamantium sheathed sword with enough force to break it, something that should be impossible. Deciding that his opponent is too powerful, the Swordsman tries to flee from the castle. However, once he reaches outside, he has just enough time to place answer blade onto the hilt of his sword before he is swarmed by locals driven mad by the power of the Wellspring.[3]

The rest of the Thunderbolts — Baron (Helmut) Zemo, Songbird (Melissa Gold), Atlas (Erik Josten), Mach-IV (Abner Jenkins), Fixer (Norbert Ebersol), Radioactive Man (Chen Lu), Blizzard (Donny Gill), and the Smuggler (Conrad Josten) — have been incapacitated by Joystick and suspended in energy. She mocks her former comrades, telling them that the Grandmaster (En Dwi Gast) offered her a universe of challenges in exchange for her loyalty. When Erik points out that the Grandmaster is dead, Janice says that an Elder of the Universe can’t be killed, and that he was merely disbursed across time and space earlier.[4] She then goes on to say that she was selling them out in exchange for the Grandmaster turning the super-powered population of Earth into his pawns for endless games.

As Joystick is laying all this out, the Overmind manages to established a telepathic link to Songbird and shows her the dire global situation. The world has plunged into utter chaos. The crisis is so large that Earth’s superheroes have put aside their differences in the on-going superhuman civil war to try and quell the rising violence. However, the situation is escalating rapidly and about to reach their breaking point.[5] At that same moment, back in Chicago, that very tipping point comes to pass. When the other villains turn to Doc Ock for guidance he is at a loss over what to do. The Overmind then loops Swordsman into his telepathic conversation with Songbird. By this time, Overmind has conferred with the world’s telepaths and omnipaths and they are incapable of calming everyone on Earth. They all agree that the only way to stop the chaos it to revive the Grandmaster and have him take control of the situation. However, in order to do this, they have to convince Baron Zemo to use the Moon Stones to revive En Dwi Gast.

Melissa agrees to try and convince Helmut to help and the Overmind creates a psychic rapport between the two of them. While this link is being established, the armies around the world are starting to falter. Some of their numbers, such as Laughing Tiger and Bloodstrike, also begin succumbing to the influence of the Wellspring of Power and begin attacking their comrades. In New York City, James Sanders — aka Speed Demon — is stuck watching the chaos on TV thanks to two broken legs.[6] He curses the fact that everyone has gotten power except for him. However, seconds after his complaint he is suddenly struck by a surge of energy. As the global conflict rages on,[7] the Swordsman decides to take a chance by trying to channel the power of the Wellspring through his sword, even though doing so might kill him. This causes Joystick’s batons (which have been channeling the Wellspring’s energies) to become painful to the touch as though a great deal of power was suddenly taken from her. She suspects that Songbird has something to do with it. However, before Janice can deal with her, the Swordsman (hyper-charged by the Wellspring’s power) comes to challenge her.

As the two fight it out, Melissa continues trying to reach out to Baron Zemo. She eventually established a psychic rapport to him, entering his mindscape. Here Melissa finds herself in a veridian glade with Zemo. But she’s not the only one in his mind. She is shocked to see their old teammate Moonstone (Karla Sofen) is there too, trying to convince Zemo to seize the power of the Wellspring for himself and dominate the world. Melissa doesn’t understand how Karla could be here when she is in a coma back in the waking world and tries to talk Zemo out of doing what she is telling him.[8] However, she is met with resistance from Zemo.

As she struggles against Moonstone’s influence things on Earth have gotten from bad to worse. In Chicago, Doctor Octopus is out of ideas and orders everyone to retreat, telling them that the Thunderbolts be damned. Overmind tells Melissa that this is happening and they need Zemo now more than ever. Melissa makes the final push to convince Zemo to revive the Grandmaster. When Helmut finally wakes up there is a sudden blast of energy that leaves all the captured Thunderbolts incapacitated. Suddenly, the Grandmaster begins to rematerialize with only Baron Zemo left standing against him!

Recurring Characters

Thunderbolts (Baron Zemo, Songbird, Moonstone, Atlas, Mach-IV, Fixer, Radioactive Man, Blizzard, Swordsman, Smuggler), Grandmaster, Joystick, Thunderbolts Army (Ajaxis, Aqueduct, Batroc the Leaper, Beetle (Quinn), Beetle (Robichaux), Beetle (Vaughn), Blacklash, Bloodstrike, Boomerang, Coronary, Doctor Octopus, Eel, Killer Shrike, King Cobra, Snake Marston, Mongoose, Overmind, Ox, Porcupine, Pretty Persuasion, Quicksand, Rattler, Red Ronin, Slyde, Smiling Tiger, Tatterdemalion, Texas Twister, Unicorn, X-Ray, Ironclad, Whiplash, Whirlwind, Zaran), Captain America, “Daredevil”, Iron Man, Wonder Man, “Yellowjecket”, Mister Fantastic, Cable, Professor X, Doctor Strange

Continuity Notes

1. The Wellspring of Power was unleashed at the end of last issue. The Thunderbolts Army consists of villains that were conscripted onto the team per the SHRA that was enacted in Civil War #1. They were all recruited between Thunderbolts #103-105.

2. We learned that Joystick was planning to betray the team in Thunderbolts #102.

3. The narration here reminds readers that the hilt of Swordsman’s weapon is wrapped with tanned skin taken from his late sister’s body. Andreas is a mutant who needed to be in physical contact with his sister in order to use his powers, as originally seen in Uncanny X-Men #200. More recently, Andrea Von Strucker was killed by Baron Zemo back in Citizen V and the V-Battalion #3. That Andreas tanned his sister’s skin was needed to still be able to use his powers, something that was explained in New Thunderbolts #17. Andrea will remain among the deceased (time of this writing), however a clone of her will turn up in Thunderbolts #122.

4. The Elders of the Universe are incapable of dying because Death got sick and tired of them trying to cheat death, as seen in Avengers Annual #16. Zemo seemingly destroyed him last issue.

5. Although this issue is not branded as such, this story takes place during the Civil War event. According to the Marvel Chronology Project, these events of this story take place in-between Civil War #5 and 6.

6. Speed Demon’s legs were broken by Joystick in issue #102.

7. In one of the battle scenes we see both Daredevil and Yellowjacket fighting among the various heroes. These two men are actually impostors:

   • Daredevil is actually Iron Fist (Daniel Rand) in disguise. He took the place of Matt Murdock during the Civil War event to distance Murdock from his alter ego, as seen in Civil War: Choosing Sides #1.

   • Yellowjacket is actually a Skrull spy named Criti Noll, who took the real Pym’s place circa House of M #5, as revealed in Mighty Avengers #17. This is all part of a impending Skrull invasion of Earth, as we’ll see in Secret Invasion #1-7.

8. Moonstone has been in a catatonic state since Zemo took her power source in Avengers/Thunderbolts #1-6.

Topical References

• When Doctor Octopus suggests that the government can weather the storm and give his team some relief, the Eel scoffs at this idea, comparing it to “Katerina”. He is referring to Hurricane Katrina which struck the southeastern US seaboard from in late August of 2005. The state of Louisiana was the hardest hit when the levies that kept the sea water out of New Orleans broke, causing massive flooding. The relief and recovery effort by the United States government was heavily criticized at the time for being inadequate. This should be considered a topical reference because — sadly thanks to climate change — there are more contemporary examples that could be used in its place with just as valid criticisms.

• James Sanders is depicted as having a CRT model television in his apartment. This should be considered a topical reference as this is now an obsolete technology.