V for Vexation!

Dallas Riordan, aka Citizen V, had come to the Thunderbolts for protection from her former handlers in the V-Battallion.[1] However, in the middle of the stand-off, she was teleported away by the Crimson Cowl. Dallas now finds herself stripped nude in a darkened room. Not only is she wondering where she is, but what will become of the Thunderbolts.

Outside Mount Charteris the Thunderbolts — Hawkeye (Clint Barton), Moonstone (Karla Sofen), Songbird (Melissa Gold), Mach-2 (Abe Jenkins), Atlas (Erik Josten), and Charcoal (Charlie Burlingame) — are shocked by Riordan’s sudden disappearance. Surrounded by the V-Battalion the leader of their Penance Council demands to know what the outlaws did with Citizen V. Hawkeye tells him that they had nothing to do with her sudden disappearance. Trusting Hawkeye at his word, the leader of the Penance Council says that they will withdraw their forces. This angers Atlas because Dallas could be in trouble and the V-Battalion is going to do nothing about it. He slams his fists on the ground, causing an avalanche. However, rather than save the soldiers that are caught in it, the V-Battallion leaves without them. The rest of the Thunderbolts manage to get to safety and once the coast is clear, they discover that Atlas is nowhere to be found!

An hour later, at the offices of the Commission on Superhuman Affairs, Henry Gyrich gets a report on the unidentified bogey they picked up in Colorado. Unfortunately, it was able to escape to somewhere in Europe before their scanners could identify it. Gyrich is annoyed that he has to deal with European superheroes on top of everything else, when another operative named Warton comes in to discuss records of a huge data purge for something called Alpha-32. Gyrich assures him that there is no cause for alarm, that this was an R&D project that was a failure and that he asked for the data to be purged. Warton is happy with this explanation, much to the satisfaction of Gyrich, who has been covering up his involvement in the Omega-32 fiasco.[2]

Meanwhile, the V-Battallion’s helicarrier reaches its destination in the Eastern European nation of Symkaria. Their leader, Roger Aubrey (aka the Destroyer), then addresses the rest of the Penance Council — Robert Frank, Jr. (Nuklo), Helmut Gruler (Iron Cross), Ameiko Sabuki (Goldfire), Isadora Martinez, Darren Mitchell (Topspin), Fred Davis (formerly the second Bucky), and Elisabeth Barstow (formerly the Silver Scorpion). He tells them that he wants a status update on everything from damage to personnel.

Little do they know that Atlas has stowed away on board. As he changes into the uniform worn by the V-Battalion grunts, he accidentally steps on the communicator woven into his costume, breaking it. However, Erik figures he can reach his teammates with one of the many high tech devices inside the ship once he figures out what’s going on with Dallas.

By this time, the Thunderbolts have returned to their headquarters, there they have the “Ogre” track where the V-Battalion went.[3] He is able to trace their location to the nation of Symkaria. Karla notes that it is a ideal place for them to set up camp, given Symkaria’s reputation for Nazi hunting. Abe realizes that he knows just the person who will be able to help them out. To that end, he heads into New York City and tracks down the Sandman (Flint Marko). The powerful villain demands to know what Jenkins — whom he doesn’t recognize — wants.[4] When Abe explains that he needs someone to guide his team into Symkaria, the Marko is more than interested in helping them get in. Back at base, Hawkeye doesn’t have any second thoughts about exploiting Sandman’s desire for revenge against Silver Sable to help with their mission to rescue Atlas from the V-Battalion.[5] When Songbird expresses her concern over sending Abe to recruit him so soon after getting out of prison, Moonstone chides her for showing concern over her lover for the first time since he had his face changed. At the mere suggestion that she might have issues now that Abe is black, Melissa admits that she might have some prejudices about it, but tells Karla that she’s at least trying to do something about it.

When the Thunderbolts leave on their mission, Techno decides to drop his Ogre disguise, assume a human form resembling his former self and head into town.[6] He heads down to the Downward Slope Bar and Grill where Man-Killer has been working as a bartender while keeping a low profile.[6] As Techno orders a drink, Man-Killer notices that he looks exactly like Techno before he lost his organic body, but decides to keep quiet about it. Sitting at the bar is a man she refers to as “Sad Sack Buchanan”, who is drinking quietly at the end of the bar. Neither of them know that this is actually the Scourge of the Underworld.[7]

Meanwhile, the Thunderbolts have arrived in Symkaria. Mach-2 is sent in first, and thanks to the counter-measures installed in his new flight suit by the “Ogre”, Abe is able to fly past V-Battalion security screens unnoticed. He is carrying the Sandman with him inside a container. When they reach Masada Castle, the Sandman leaps out and lands on the cloaked helicarrier, revealing its position. However, this also reveals them to the V-Battalion, who raise the alarm. Hearing about the situation, Atlas correctly deduces that his teammates have come looking for him and grows to giant size and begins fighting his way through the soldiers. Meanwhile, Roger Aubrey and the rest of the Penance Council decide to take direct action for the first time in years.

As the rest of the Thunderbolts arrive on the scene, Aubrey orders his troops to stand down. Suddenly, Moonstone becomes violently ill because her change in persona makes her incapable of fighting someone with pure motives.[8] That’s when the Destroyer, Iron Cross, Nuklo, Tipspin, and Goldfire emerge from within the helicarrier to battle the Thunderbolts.

While all this is happening, Dallas Riordan is still locked away in her cell. As she tries to figure a way out, the Crimson Cowl suddenly teleports into the room. The Cowl boasts that Dallas will now face her wraith!

Recurring Characters

Thunderbolts (Hawkeye, Moonstone, Atlas, Songbird, Mach-2, Charcoal, “Ogre”), Sandman, V-Battalion (Citizen V, Miles Warton, Destroyer, Iron Cross, Nuklo, Topspin, Goldfire, Betty Barstow, Isadora Martinez, Fred Davis), Crimson Cowl, Henry Gyrich, Man-Killer

Continuity Notes

1. The whole situation with Dallas Riordan is incredibly complicated, get a pen because you’re going to need notes:

   • Dallas was the Thunderbolts’ liaison to the New York City’s Mayor’s Office starting in Thunderbolts #2. After they were exposed as frauds in issue #10, she quickly found herself out of a job.

   • She was recruited by the V-Battalion to become the new Citizen V starting in Thunderbolts #16.

   • During a battle with the Masters of Evil in Thunderbolts #25, the Crimson Cowl was captured and unmasked as Dallas. She was later busted out of prison by the V-Battalion in issue #27.

   • The reason for this false revelation, as will be explained over this issue and the next, is that the real Cowl swapped places with Dallas in the middle of battle.

   • Riordan has been on the run from the V-Battalion since issue #35 when she refused to assassinate a target. Thunderbolts #50 reveals that this target was Henry Gyrich for the reasons I explain below.

2. Omega-32 was an process that could create solid air constructs. It was being developed by Roxxon on behalf of the CSA. Previously, Gyrich forced Abner Jenkins to resume his Beetle identity to steal Omega-32 and present it to criminal entrepreneur Justin Hammer as part of an operation to shut him down, see Thunderbolts #34-37. He has been trying to cover it up ever since due to the fact that he also used the process to arm the current Scourge of the Underworld so he could assassinate targets without a trace. This is all part of a much larger scheme by Hydra to eliminate the world’s superhuman population, and they are using Gyrich as a pawn to do so. See Thunderbolts #49-50.

3. This isn’t the real Ogre, but Techno in disguise. He took the Ogre’s place in Thunderbolts #32. His cover will be blown in issue #46.

4. Abe states that he has worked with the Sandman in the past when he was still the Beetle. However, that story wouldn’t be told until Amazing Spider-Man #657. Sandman doesn’t recognize Abe here because Jenkin had recently undergone reconstructive surgery to change is appearance and now appears to be African-American. See Thunderbolts #37.

5. Hawkeye explains how Sandman reformed only to become evil again. The details:

   • Flint Marko got his start as a super-villain back in Amazing Spider-Man #4. However after being forcibly merged with Hydro-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #217-218, he suddenly began rethinking his life. The Thing eventually convinced him to go straight in Marvel Two-in-One #86.

   • While he was on the straight and narrow, Sandman was hired by Silver Sable in Amazing Spider-Man #281. He was given probationary membership in the Avengers in Avengers #329 during this period, but later resigned from the group in Amazing Spider-Man #348. He continued working with Silver Sable as both a member of the Outlaws (Web of Spider-Man #50) and the Wild Pack (Silver Sable and the Wild Pack #1).

   • More recently, the Sandman had bee captured by his old partner, the Wizard, who used his ID machine to make Sandman a villain again. See Peter Parker: Spider-Man #12.

6. The real Techno downloaded his mind into his tech pack after his neck was snapped in Thunderbolts #7-8. However, this isn’t really Techno, just a copy of his brain patterns. The real deal will be back in Thunderbolts #49.

7. Man-Killer has been laying low since the rest of the Masters of Evil were defeated back in Thunderbolts #25. She has been working at the Downward Slope since issue #27.

8. Man-Killer referring to Scourge as “Sad Sack Buchanan” is a red herring to trick readers into thinking that Scourge is James Barnes, the original Bucky, whose middle name was Buchanan. This is a misdirect, as this isn’t James Barnes, but Jack Monroe who was the third Bucky. This will be revealed in Thunderbolts #49 as well.

9. Moonstone’s power source has been slowly altering her personality as well as showing her memories of Ajes’ha, the first person to wield the Moon Stone. This began in Thunderbolts #28, but won’t be fully explained until issue #45.

Topical References

• The original twin towers of the World Trade Center are depicted as part of the New York City skyline in this story. This should be considered a topical reference as these buildings were destroyed on September 11, 2001 during a terrorist attack. Since then, the new Freedom Tower has been built in its place.