Caged Angels, Part 3

Norman Osborn has returned to his desk to take his daily medication and is startled to find his Green Goblin mask in his desk.[1] This causes him to cry out loud enough for his secretary to come in and see what’s wrong. When he tells her there is something in his desk, she looks and sees nothing. Seeing how distressed Norman is, she goes off to contact his doctors to increase his medication. When Norman looks in his desk again, the Green Goblin mask is back. He slams the desk door closed, but it does nothing to stop the voices in his head from talking.

While in the Thunderbolts locker room, Mac Gargan absorbs the Venom symbiote into his body so he can take a shower. However, before he can get there, the symbiote comes out of his body and begins mocking him. It tells Mac that he has turned into a coward ever since he bonded with him because it ate some fresh meat. It chides him for being a coward when he used to be the Scorpion, a rough and tumble villain.[2] The symbiote tells him to get used to these acts of cannibalism and demands that it be fed right away. When Mac weakly refuses, the alien creature warns him that if he doesn’t do as he’s told, it’ll consume him from the inside out instead.

Meanwhile, all over New York, some public perceptions around the Thunderbolts are starting to change. Poster calling for people to fight the Thunderbolts begin popping up all over the place.

Back at Thunderbolts Mountain, two members of the security detail stand guard in the hanger bay. One of them brings up the Swordsman (Andreas Von Strucker) and that he talked to him the other day. The other guard isn’t interested in listening to what a Nazi had to say. However, the other guard keeps talking about how Andreas said got to know her and thought they weren’t being paid enough to do their job.[3] Seconds later, the ship they are guarding explodes, killing them both. Luckily, both Songribrd (Melissa Gold) and Radioactive Man (Chen Lu) are on the scene. After the blast, they begin using their powers to beat back the flames before they can reach the fuel stores and blow up the entire base.

The sound of the blast is heard by Osborn’s secretary who goes knocking on the door of his private bathroom to check on him. Osborn isn’t taking a shit, however, instead he is sitting in one of the stalls wearing his Green Goblin mask. Hearing her knocks, Osborn tells her that he’s coming out.

Also getting the alert is Doctor Leonard Samson, who is in the Thunderbolts’ rec room with Penance (Robbie Baldwin) in the middle of a psychology session.[4] Samson is pleased to hear about the Zeus blowing up since that means Penance won’t be deployed on a mission any time soon. He has been trying to get Robbie to act like a normal person and suggests they try to find a rugby game on the TV. As they channel surf, Len asks Robbie why he wanted to be on reality TV prior to the Stamford Disaster.[5] Baldwin admits that he wanted people to see him being a hero and asks if that was wrong. Samson doesn’t think so, as he views the bright costumes and masks as a sign that every hero wants to be publicly seen doing good.

By this time, Moonstone (Karla Sofen) has entered Norman Osborn’s office to find out what’s going on. Norman is finally out of the bathroom (and not wearing his mask) ordering a complete lockdown of Thunderbolts Mountain. When he tells Karla that Swordsman and Venom are unaccounted for, they begin ordering the security detail to find them immediately.

When its learned that the Swordsman has locked himself in his quarters, a pair of guards are sent down to get him out. Along the way they run into Venom and ask him for assistance. Unfortunately for them, Venom isn’t there to help but to feast. He slaughters the two guards and begins eating their corpses. In full control of Mac’s body, the symbiot vows that nobody is getting out of Thunderbolts Mountain alive.

As it turns out, the Swordsman was the on responsible for blowing up the Zeus. Guards who are loyal to him inform him that the mountain is in lock down. Strucker, who is now shaving his head in imitation of his father is pleased to hear that things are all going according to plan. Andreas is tired of hearing excuses and will have Norman return his sister to him or else everyone will die by his sword.[6]

Recurring Characters

Thunderbolts (Norman Osborn, Songbird, Moonstone, Radioactive Man, Swordsman, Venom, Penance, Bullseye), Doc Samson

Continuity Notes

1. Osborn has been taking medication to treat his bi-polar disorder, however the two medications conflict with one another, as seen in Thunderbolts #111. Worse, as we learned in issue #113, Moonstone has replaced some of his pills with placebos as part of a plan to push Osborn over the edge so she can take full control of the Thunderbolts. Norman Osborn began operating as the Green Goblin way back in Amazing Spider-Man #13. However, the general public did not become aware of this until The Pulse #5. After being apprehended, Osborn was given a chance to redeem himself by commanding the Thunderbolts in Thunderbolts #110. Why are the Thunderbolts losing their minds in this story? This is the work of a quartet of telepaths that are currently incarcerated in the holding cells, as seen last issue.

2. Mac Gargan started his career as the Scorpion way back in Amazing Spider-Man #20. More recently, he became bonded to the Venom symbiote in Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #10, a status quo that will remain in place until Siege #4. The Venom symbiote is referring to when they ate Steel Spider’s arm in Thunderbolts #115. In the following issue, Mac expressed displeasure when Songbird used the symbiote’s tendency to make him a cannibal as an intimidation tactic.

3. It is said that Andreas Von Strucker’s father was a Nazi. This is true. As revealed in Uncanny X-Men #200, Andreas’ father is identified as Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker, a Nazi war criminal.

4. Penance was once the carefree hero known as Speedball. That was until he and his fellow New Warriors were responsible for the explosion in Stamford, Connecticut, the inciting incident that led to the passage of the SHRA in Civil War #1. Apparently the lone survivor, Robbie was used as a scape goat and dragged through the legal system. After a series of near death experiences and beatings, Robbie discovered that his powers now only activated when he was in pain. He reinvented himself as Penance, with armor that had spikes on the inside to atone for the lives he was responsible for. See Civil War: Front Line #1-10.

5. The New Warriors were short-lived reality TV stars as seen in New Warriors (vol. 3) #1-6. This dynamic ended when most of the team was blown up in Stamford in the aforementioned Civil War #1.

6. Recently, the Swordsman’s twin sister, Andrea was killed by Baron Zemo, as seen in Citizen V and the V-Battalion #3. Osborn secured Swordsman’s loyalty by promising to clone his sister in Thunderbolts #113. However, Osborn said that producing an adult clone of his sister would take some time to produce That is until he tanned a piece of her skin and wrapped it around his sword, as explained in New Thunderbolts #17. While his sister will remain among the deceased, a clone of her will turn up in Thunderbolts #122.

Topical References

• Samson is excited to see that they are replaying an All-Blacks game against South Africa. The All-Blacks is the colloquial name for New Zealand’s national ruby team. There has been a number of controversies whenever the All-Black visited or hosted South Africa during the time it was an apartheid state. This was due to the fact that the All-Black consisted of members who were of the indigenous Māori people of New Zealand. The reference here is a little vague and he could be referring to any number of matches between the two teams. However, this wouldn’t necessarily be considered a topical reference, since Samson is referring to a replay of a historic game.