Making Your Mark

Since joining the team, Hawkeye (Clint Barton) has been working to boost the Thunderbolt’s profile so to convince the public that they have truly reformed. To that end, Clint has allowed reporter Gayle Rogers follow the team as part of her network’s “Thunderbolt’s Watch”. In her latest report, she details the origins of the team, noting that its original roster — Citizen V, Meteorite, Songbird, Techno, Mach-1, and Atlas — were all really members of the Masters of Evil — Baron (Helmut) Zemo, Moonstone (Karl Sofen), Screaming Mimi (Melissa Gold), the Fixer (Norbert Ebersol), the Bettle (Abner Jenkins), Goliath (Erik Josten) — who were posing as heroes as part of a plan to take over the world. She also recounts their first battle against the Hulk.

She also notes how they soon took in the young hero known as Jolt (Hallie Takahama) and how, when Zemo was about to enact his master plan, the Thunderbolts turned against him. The team had realized they enjoyed being heroes and have been working to show the world that they are trying to redeem themselves. First, by having the Avenger known as Hawkeye become their leader, and by having Abe Jenkins surrender to the authorities to serve out a murder sentence. Interviewing Hawkeye, Gayle asks him what the team is planning next. He tells her that after defeating the Masters of Evil, they are going to keep on going after heavy hitters, starting with the “one that got away”, the Hulk.[1]

This report catches the attention of Bruce Banner, the Hulk’s alter-ego, while he is trying to keep a low profile at a diner in the town of Isolation. Mention of the Hulk gets the other patrons worked up since the Hulk was allegedly responsible for a plane cash in the area recently.[2] That’s when a man named Clay Brickford enters the dinner to tell the locals that Roxxon just broke new ground of a facility in the area that will bring in new job. That’s when and learns about the Hulk being in the area. Having encountered the monster before, he refuses to allow it to ruin his job be ruined again.[3]

Back at Thunderbolts HQ, Atlas and Songbird are none to happy that Hawkeye committed them to capturing the Hulk. Particularly since there is a new Beetle on the loose and Melissa fears that it might be Abe.[4][5] However, Moonstone, Jolt, and Charcoal (Charles Burlingame) all think it is a good idea, with the two younger members wanting to get started right away. To their disappointment, Clint tells the youths that they are being sidelined on this mission as they need to go to school.[6] When Moonstone asks what the plan is, Clint explains that he is having Ogre install a gamma-ray tracker on the T-Bird. What none of them realize is that the man they think is the Ogre is an impostor. In reality, he’s actually their former teammate Techno in disguise.[7] As Hallie and Charlie go to classes, Hawkeye and the rest of the team head off to find the Hulk. Each member of the team is pre-occupied with the mission ahead and their personal worries.[8]

Meanwhile, a Roxxon facility is attacked by the brand new Beetle who easily smashes his way through the facility to get to a project being developed there by Sam Higgins, called Omega 32.[9] As he flees the scene with the stolen materials, he tells everyone to tell the authorities that they were hit by the Beetle.

Back at Burton Canyon High, it’s lunch time and Hallie bumps into a fellow student by the name of Mick. He is furious and almost hurls racial slurs at both her and Charlie, before they manage to diffuse the situation. They are warned to watch out for Mick because he’s part of the 89er’s, the school football team. Charlie’s new school friends then suggest that they all meet after school to get some iced coffee.

At that same time, Clay Brickford heads to the Roxxon site and warns the local mayor that the Hulk has been sighted in the area. He then tells the story about how he and his family took in a stranger who turned out to be the so-called Missing Link. When Bruce Banner happened into the area and turned into the Hulk, the ended up in a brawl that destroyed the local mine, forcing them to leave town.[10] The mayor thanks Clay for the warning and believes that Roxxon can be prepared if the worse case scenario happens, he then suggests they go for lunch together.

No far away, Bruce Banner is making his way out of town when Karla Sofen calls out to him from an alley.[11] He recognizes her and she suggests that they duck back into the diner and talk. However, after hearing Karla’s proposal for him to surrender to the Thunderbolts, Banner refuses. As he gets up to leave, he runs into Clay Brickford who panics and instinctively punches Banner in the face. Changing into Moonstone, Karla shoves Clay out of the way, taking a punch from the Hulk that sends her smashing through the wall to the outside. As the Hulk tries to leap away, Hawkeye and the rest of the team follow after him.

After Moonstone has recovered from the blow, she hits the Hulk in mid-air, causing the brute to crash land on the Roxxon construction site. As the Thunderbolts converge with their target, Atlas notices a news helicopter has already shown up. That’s because Clint tipped off the media so they could capture their victory.

Meanwhile, school has let out, and Charlie is trying to convince Hallie to go out for coffee with their friends. She isn’t all that interested but the two are quickly distracted when they see a live feed of the Thunderbolts battle with the Hulk from a shop window.

Things seem to be working out for the team, as Hawkeye shoots a gas arrow in the Hulk’s face, Songbird traps the gas with a hard sound bubble around the Hulk’s head. As the gamma-spawned monster struggles to breath, Moonstone then pushes some explosive arrows through the bubble. Clint then triggers the explosives, but all this does is anger the Hulk even more. He swats Moonstone into Atlas and then slams a fist into the ground. This rains debris across the battle field, knocking out Songbird and pinning Hawkeye’s leg under debris. As the Hulk tries to leap away the gas takes effect and he reverts back into Bruce Banner.

As Hawkeye tries to get his leg free, Clay Brickford arrives at the site. Seeing the damage done to the place, Brickford accuses Banner of ruining him again and threatens to shoot him with a rifle. Not wanting Banner to be killed, Clint is forced to fire an arrow at Bruce. He succeeds in winging the tormented scientist, causing to topple off a partially constructed overpass just as Clay shoots. The bullet misses Banner by inches as he falls onto the back of a passing transport truck. When Moonstone finally frees Clint, he calls the mission a bust and orders everyone to retreat before the authorities come by to arrest them.

By this time, Charlie and Hallie have met up with their friends at a cafe called Wide Awake. As they sit and talk, they have no idea that they are being observed through the scope of a sniper rifle. The shooter struggles to make up his mind on who to shoot before finally pulling the trigger.[12]

Recurring Characters

Thunderbolts (Hawkeye, Moonstone, Atlas, Songbird, Charcoal, Jolt, “Ogre”), Beetle, Hulk, Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, Man-Killer, Scourge (unidentified), Gayle Rogers, Sam Higgins, Clay Brickford

Continuity Notes

1. The opening few pages are a brief recap of the past 33 issues and, incidentally enough, helps us with our “shit you need to know off the top” department of this issue:

   • After the Avengers and Fantastic Four were seemingly killed in Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1, the Masters of Evil reinvented themselves as the Thunderbolts as part of a long con to take over the world. This happened over the course of Thunderbolts #1 through 12.

   • Their debut battle with the Hulk happened in Incredible Hulk #449.

   • One of the reaction shots is of Man-Killer learning that Erik Josten is Goliath/Atlas. She has been laying low as a bartender at that place Erik drinks since Thunderbolts #27, we’ll get into why in a second.

   • Jolt officially joined the team in Thunderbolts #4

   • Earth’s heroes came back in Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4, and tried to stop Zemo’s master plan in Thunderbolts #11-12. In the end, his own team betrayed him as the Thunderbolts had decided they liked being heroes.

   • Hawkeye became the leader of the team in Thunderbolts #21.

   • Abner Jenkins was wanted for a murder he committed as the Beetle back in Deadly Foes of Spider-Man #3, he surrendered to the authorities in Thunderbolts #23.

   • Wonders who the new Citizen V is, and assumes that it must be the daughter of the original. The original Citizen V was a hero from World War II who was choked to death by Baron Zemo’s father, Heinrich, as told in Thunderbolts #-1. The most recent incarnation was first seen in Thunderbolts #17, she will be identified as Dallas Riordan in issue #38.

   • Lastly she mentions how the team recently defeated the Masters of Evil (Thunderbolts #25), Graviton (issues #28-29), Secret Empire (issues #31-32)

2. The Hulk seemingly destroyed a commercial airliner, killing everyone on board, in Hulk #4. However, as well learn in issues #10-11 of that series, this was actually the work of Tyrannus who was channeling the Hulk’s powers into the body of his Tyrannoids and using them to frame the real Hulk for murder.

3. The Brickford family encountered the Hulk after they took in the so-called Missing Link in Incredible Hulk #179. During this encounter, the Hulk destroyed a local mine.

4. Her hunch would be right, Abner Jenkins has gone back to being the Beetle again, as seen in Thunderbolts #33. However, what they don’t know is that he is secretly working for the Committee on Superhuman Activities to help bring down Justin Hammer.

5. Charcoal complains how he didn’t get a mention in Gayle’s report. He recently joined the team in Thunderbolts #23.

6. Hawkeye decided to enlist Jolt and Charcoal at the high school near their base in Thunderbolts #33.

7. Techno took Ogre’s place in issue #33. His cover will be blown in Thunderbolts #45.

8. The only one that hasn’t been covered here is Moonstone’s concern about her sudden altruistic streak and the strange dreams she has been having. Those began in Thunderbolts #28. As we’ll learn in issue #45-46, Moonstone is being affected by the memories and personality of Ajes’ha, who was the first to wield the Moon Stone centuries ago.

9. Higgins laments that he just climbed back up the corporate ladder after the “Hudson fiasco”, he is referring to Alpha Flight #87-90. In that story, Higgins had captured Alpha Flight’s leader James Hudson and exploited his cybernetic technology, until the hero was rescued by his teammates. Thunderbolts #43 reveals that Omega 32 is an attempt to scientifically replicate the hard air powers of the mutant Windshear.

10. Clay omits the fact that that the Missing Link — or Lincoln as they called him — was still living with the family for a time after their encounter from the Hulk, as seen in Rom #29. Editorially, this is probably because Marvel no longer had the license to Rom the Space Knight. In universe, it could be that Clay could be lying by omission here for some reason, perhaps to hide the fact that Lincoln was still living with his family or something, or maybe he’s embarrassed that he convinced himself a Spaceknight was an angel from Heaven even though they look nothing alike.

11. Bruce recognizes Karla because he fought Moonstone as the Hulk before. See Incredible Hulk #228-231 and Captain America #230-231.

12. The shooter is identified as the newest Scourge of the Underworld in Thunderbolts #38. In issue #49 its explained that Scourge is an assassin for Henry Gyrich to eliminate the Thunderbolts.

Topical References

• References to the new Citizen V being the granddaughter of the original should be considered topical as the generational divide here is relative to the date of publication. As the Sliding Timescale pushes the Modern Age forward, it increases the gap of time between World War II and the present. As such, modern readers should interpret this to mean that she is a descendant of the original Citizen V and not a direct relative.

• The TV in the diner is depicted as a CRT model that uses an antenna to pick up TV signals. This should be considered a topical reference as this is now an obsolete technology. Other TVs in this story are also depicted as CRT models, this should be topical as well.

• When Charlie suggests that they go meet up with their classmates, Hallie sarcastically says it is “very 90210”. This is a reference to the teen drama Beverly Hills 90210, which originally aired from 1990 to 2000, it had a brief revivals series (simply titled 90210) from 2008 to 2013. Most recently, a reboot of the series (called BH90210) aired for one season in 2019 before being cancelled. It’s reference here should be considered topical.

• The electronics store that Hallie and Charlie stop in front of states that it sells DVDs on its signs. This was still a relatively new format when this comic was published. However, they have fallen out of popular use thanks to newer formats and streaming services, they’ll probably become obsolete sooner rather than later. As such its reference here should be considered topical as it could be replaced with a more contemporary example.

• When Hawkeye lists all the authorities coming to the scene of their battle, Hawkeye quips “for all we know, Scully and Mulder [as well].” Clint is referring to the main protagonists on the X-Files, a science fiction series that followed two FBI agents who investigated the paranormal. The series was at its height at the time this issue was published. The series ran from 1993 to 2002 and a brief revival in 2016-2018. This should also be considered a topical reference for the same reason as the 90210 one.

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