The events of this story occur concurrently with the events of Secret Warriors #8.

The Thunderbolts — Black Widow (Yelena Belova), Scourge, the Headsman (Cleavon Twain), Paladin, Ghost, Ant-Man (Eric O’Gracy), and Mister X — have been dispatched to Oregon to eliminate Songbird (Melissa Gold), a rogue member of the team.[1] However, in their initial encounter, Songbird managed to shoot down the Thunderbolts’ ship, the Thunderstrike. The Black Widow managed to catch up with her first and just revealed that she has come to rescue Melissa. To prove this, the Widow dropped her disguise, revealing herself to be Natasha Romanov, the original Black Widow![2]

As the two women flee into the woods, Natasha explains that she posed as Belova to infiltrate the Thunderbolts and undermine their missions, prevent them from killing people, and gather intel for Nick Fury.[3] This was all part of a larger operation that would, hopefully, take down Norman Osborns’ new empire.[4]

The first of the Thunderbolts to catch up with them is Mister X. When Natasha tries to fire a dart containing black widow’s venom he easily catches it out of the air then throws it at Songbird, hitting her in the neck. The Widow then draws her handguns and begins opening fire. Again, Mister X’s mutant abilities allow him to survive this as he spins his swords in such a way that he deflects all the bullets. However, he is powerless when Songbird is able to unleash a powerful sonic blast. Natasha then helps Melissa back to her feet and they continue fleeing.

A few miles back the rest of the team — Scourge, Paladin, and Headsman — have just gotten out of the wreckage. Scourge checks in with Ant-Man, who tells them that he is in position and is ordered to stand by. That’s when the Ghost reports that he has found them and sends off some coordinates. When the Black Widow asks why he has betrayed her, the Ghost reveals that he actually transmitted doctored GPS coordinates to send the other Thunderbolts on a wild goose chase. Natasha thanks him and says that the nano-bomb she claimed was in his stomach was just a ruse. The Ghost laughs, saying that he knew it all along and only pretended to believe her to prove his trust. As they make their getaway, the Black Widow sends a report back to Nick Fury and asks for an extraction at the agreed upon location.

Three days later, the Black Widow and Songbird arrive at a baseball stadium in New York City. They have come here because Nick Fury built a secret bunker below the ball park and this is where they are going to be extracted. Little do they know that they had been trailed by Ant-Man this entire time and he is reporting their position back to the rest of the Thunderbolts. When the two women enter the secret bunker, they are greeted by Nick Fury, who tells them that they have been tailed and there isn’t much time. That’s when the door is blown open by Scourge and the others. When the trio try to flee, Ant-Man ambushes them from behind and they are knocked unconscious in an explosion.

When everyone wakes up they are tied up and held prisoner. Joining the Thunderbolts are Norman Osborn, as well as two of his Avengers: Ares the god of war, and Hawkeye (secretly the assassin Bullseye in disguise).[5] That’s when Norman Osborn reveals that he was aware of Natasha’s deception for some time and used a holographic projector to even pose as Nick Fury to lure her into revealing the location of the real Fury.[6] When he asks her to reveal the location of Captain America, Natasha refuses.[7] He then orders the women out of the room, telling Scourge to have the Widow transferred to HAMMER for interrogation and Melissa executed. As they are lead out of the room, Natasha and Melissa are brought to the rest of the team. However, when Romanov tries to appeal to them, they all appear to be loyal to Osborn. The Ghost even tells her that it is nothing personal.

Back in the other room, Norman has “Hawkeye” rough Fury up a bit. After, Osborn tells Fury that the bad guys always win before taking a gun and shooting the former Director of SHIELD right between the eyes.[8]

Recurring Characters

Thunderbolts (Scourge, Headsman, Mister X, Ant-Man, Ghost, Paladin), Dark Avengers (Norman Osborn, Ares, Hawkeye), Phobos, Black Widow, Songbird

Continuity Notes

1. Songbird had been a Thunderbolt since the very beginning. After Norman Osborn took control of the team in Thunderbolts #110, she frequently sparred against him. She started getting her way after obtaining material to blackmail him in issue #121. However, after the Skrull invasion, this could no longer protect her and she was forced to flee the Thunderbolts to save her own life and has been a fugitive ever since. She has been in hiding ever since after the Swordsman helped her fake her death. See Thunderbolts #126-127.

2. Natasha Romanov has been posing as Yelena Belova since Thunderbolts #128. She revealed her disguise last issue.

3. The Black Widow wryly states that Deadpool owes her his head. She is referring to the Thunderbolts’ recent clash with the merc with a mouth in Thunderbolts #130-131 and Deadpool (vol. 4) #8-9. In that story, Wade Wilson was decapitated and ordered destroyed. The Widow secretly stitched Wade’s head back on and set him free.

4. This story takes place shortly after Norman Osborn took control of national security in Secret Invasion: Dark Reign #1. He will maintain this position of power until Siege #1-4.

5. Norman Osborn formed his own team of Avengers in Dark Avengers #1. A number of its members are actually supervillains disguised as well established heroes.

6. At the time of this story, Nick Fury has been a fugitive for some time after it was exposed that he attempted an unsanctioned invasion of Latveria. See Secret War #1-5.

7. At the time of this story, Norman Osborn is actively trying to apprehend the new Captain America, Bucky Barnes, since New Avengers #47.

8. If you have figured out that this is a good old fashioned Nick Fury Life Model Decoy fake-out, you’d be right, as seen in Secret Warriors #8 and next issue.

Topical References

• The Black Widow and Songbird go to Yankee Stadium to meet up with Nick Fury. Natasha refers to the stadium as being brand new. This story was originally published in 2009 when the new Yankee stadium (replacing the old one they played in since 1923) had just opened to the public. References to the stadium being new should be considered topical as that distinction is relative to the date of publication. Furthermore, references to the Yankees should be considered topical as this is a real world baseball team.