Following a failed Skrull invasion of Earth, the President of the United States has called a meeting with Norman Osborn before signing off on him becoming the new head of homeland security.[1] Osborn has had accusations made about his sanity by Doctor Leonard Samson.[2] While meeting on Air Force One — en route to the G8 Summit in Russia — Osborn has used his new Thunderbolts team to carry out an attack to discredit Samson. After the President’s Air Force escort is shot out of the sky, someone dressed as the Green Goblin blows open the side of the plane to attack everyone inside.

Meanwhile, Ant-Man (Eric O’Grady) has planted a gamma ray emitter on Doc Samson, reducing him down to a primitive brute like the Hulk. As Samson becomes more aggressive, the Ghost then phases up from the floor and pulls Leonard out of the plane, sending him freefalling to the ground below. When the Secret Service tries to secure the President, the Green Goblin uses a sonic device to knock them and the President unconscious. Then, in order to have the President see what happens next, Ant-Man injects him with a drug that wakes him back up.

When the Goblin makes a move to attack the President, Norman Osborn steps in to defend him. The impostor claims responsibility for the attack on Thunderbolts Mountain and that he intends to kill Osborn as well. However, Norman appears to overpower the Green Goblin and kicks him out of the plane, causing him to seemingly fall to his death. Norman then helps the President up and spins the attack to make it seem like Doc Samson was in league with the phony Green Goblin. The President totally buys it, and tells Osborn to make it a priority to find Samson and bring him to justice.

Meanwhile, the fake Green Goblin — actually the Headsman in disguise — is picked up from the air in the Thunderbolts new aircraft, the Thunderstrike. On board are the Ghost and Paladin. The Headsman complains that he wasn’t paid enough for what just went down, but Paladin reminds him that their new boss is playing the long con.

At that same time, Air Force One is still going down and while Norman helps the President to the escape pod, the Black Widow (who commandeered the aircraft from the cockpit) tries to initiate an emergency landing on the Bering Glacier.[3] The landing is rough but they all survive it. Seconds later, a HAMMER unit arrives on the glacier to lend their aid. Norman boasts about how great his new organization is compared to SHIELD. He then orders the crew to do a full analysis of the team. He also orders a warrant out for Doc Samson’s arrest for his “part” in the attempted assassination of the President. This whole charade succeeds in convincing the President into thinking that Osborn is fit to be in charge of national security.[4]

The attack makes the national news, and the story is watched on television by the occupants of a homeless camp somewhere in America. Two of the men watching argue over if Norman Osborn is good or bad for the country. They then ask the new woman that has recently started living among them. She is Melissa Gold, aka Songbird, who fled from the Thunderbolts when Norman tried to take her life.[5] She tells them that Norman Osborn is going to bleed this country dry and leave behind a corpse unless somebody stops him.

Meanwhile the new Thunderbolts — Black Widow, Headman, Ant-Man, the Ghost, and Paladin[6] — return the undisclosed location of their new headquarters, the Cube. As the team wonders what will happen next.[7] The Black Widow tells them that this mission was an admission test and begins briefing the group on their next operation.[8] Their next target is to eliminate the mercenary known as Deadpool!

… This story is continued in Deadpool (vol. 4) #8.

Recurring Characters

Thunderbolts (Black Widow, Headsman, Ant-Man, Ghost, Paladin), Norman Osborn, Doc Samson, Songbird, HAMMER

Continuity Notes

1. This story occurs shortly after the events of Secret Invasion #1-8. In that event, the Skrulls failed to conquer the Earth. Norman Osborn ended up becoming the big hero as he was the one who killed the Skrull Queen in the final battle. Osborn has new his newfound popularity to take over homeland security, as seen in Secret Invasion: Dark Reign #1.

2. Samson has evidence of when Norman Osborn went on a rampage at Thunderbolts Mountain as the Green Goblin. This happened in Thunderbolts #116-121.

3. While this Black Widow appears to be Yelena Belova, she is actually Natasha Romanov in disguise. This will be revealed in Thunderbolts #134.

4. Osborn mentions how the attackers were trying to exploit his checkered past. He is referring to, of course, being the Green Goblin since Amazing Spider-Man #14. At the time of this story, Osborn was recently outed as the Goblin after the murder of a Daily Bugle reporter, as seen in The Pulse #1-5. However, in an effort to redeem himself, he managed to talk himself into becoming the director for the Thunderbolts, starting in Thunderbolts #110.

5. Songbird has been a longstanding member of the Thunderbolts since the very beginning. When Osborn took over leadership of the ground in Thunderbolts #110, he frequently found himself in conflict with Songbird over the team. After the Skrull invasion, he decided it was time to eliminate her. She barely managed to make it out of Thunderbolts Mountain alive, as seen in Thunderbolts #126-127.

6. When the narration gives a roll call of the new Thunderbolts, it states that the real names of the Headman, the Ghost, and Paladin are unrevealed. Headsman reveals his real name to be Clevon Twain in Thunderbolts #134. As of this writing (November, 2023) the true identities of Paladin and the Ghost remain unrevealed.

7. It is mentioned here that the Cube was previously used to incarcerate Doctor Doom. Doctor Doom was previously incarcerated in Fantastic Four #562. However, he would be freed by Osborn so he could join the Cabal, as seen in Secret Invasion: Dark Reign #1.

8. Black Widow says that the Thunderbolts will be the sister team to the Avengers. She is referring to Norman Osborn’s “Dark” Avengers, which were recently formed in (you guessed it) Dark Avengers #1.

Topical References

• The President of the United States is depicted as Barack Obama, who had just been elected President when this comic was first published in 2009. His appearance here should be considered topical as he completed his second term in 2017 and is no longer in power.

• The homeless people that Songbird live with are depicted as having a CRT television that uses a standard antennae used to pick up UHF and VHF frequencies. This should be considered a topical reference because both of these technologies have long since become obsolete. There area homeless people today that have flatscreen televisions (what a time to be alive, eh?)