Tug of War

The Thunderbolts — Hawkeye (Clint Barton), Moonstone (Karla Sofen), Songbird (Melissa Gold), Mach-2 (Abner Jenkins), and Charcoal (Charlie Burlingame) — have come to Symkaria to rescue their teammate Atlas (Erik Josten) from the V-Battalion. Recruiting the Sandman (Flint Marko) to sneak into the Eastern European country, the group now has to face off against the V-Batallion’s superhuman members: The Destroyer (Roger Aubrey, Iron Cross (Helmut Gruler), Nuklo (Robert Frank, Jr.), Topspin (Darren Mitchell), and Goldfire (Ameiko Sabuki).[1]

As Hawkeye and the rest of the team prepare for battle, Charcoal is ordered to hang back and protect Moonstone who has suddenly become violently ill.[2] That’s when Atlas comes smashing up through the ground beneath them, demanding answers about his former lover, Dallas Riordan, whom the V-Battalion once employed as the current Citizen V.[3] The situation boils over into an all out brawl as the two groups not only fight with their fists, but ideologically with words as they trade barbs over their past records of heroics.[4]

As the battle rages, Moonstone tries to get herself together. But her mind is flooded with images of the Kree warrior woman who has haunted her dreams. She sees her standing at the dais of a strange metallic tree. Speaking in an alien language the Kree talks about how the Hellfire Helix is in place, and that something called the Alpha and Omega are calling to each other and how the “Eight” will be reborn.[5] That’s when the Sandman decides its time to take off and is seen fleeing the scene.[6] As the Thunderbolts and V-Battalion argue over ethics, Moonstone cannot bring herself to reconcile the balances of good and evil between both groups. This causes her to lash out by changing her costume to partially resemble that of her original Moonstone outfit, and the Meteorite costume she adopted when she first joined the Thunderbolts. This also causes her ability to become intangible to radiate out, making everyone around her out of phase with one another. She then takes off high into the air, prompting Hawkeye to send Mach-2 to after her.

This causes the battle to end as cooler heads prevail. The Destroyer and Hawkeye both agree that their first priority is to stop the Sandman before he can attack Silver Sable.[7] When Atlas protests this, Clint points out that as heroes they have to put their personal needs — such as Erik’s need to find Dallas Riordan, and Clint’s need to figure out what’s wrong with Moonstone — aside for the greater good. Atlas relents, but tells the Destroyer that once they’re done, he needs to come clean about the connections between Dallas, Citizen V, and the Crimson Cowl.

At that moment, Dallas Riordan is still languishing in a dark cell since she was abducted by the Crimson Cowl. She has been counting down the minutes to keep track of when her meals are delivered through a slot in her cell door and makes a note of how frequently these deliveries happen.

While in Los Angeles, writer Andrea Sterman meets with a man named Bob Haggerty in the Hollywood Hills. He has called her because he saw her on the news and figured he had the ideal story for her to cover for her next book. He tells her about the murder of a Roxxon employee by an assassin who was able to disguise himself as her boss. Her brother wants to find out who the killer is and why the United States government is involved in her death.[8]

Back in Burton Canyon, Techno is wrapping up a night drinking at the Down Slope Bar and Grill, where the villain known as Man-Killer has been laying low and working as a bartender for months. As he pays for his drinks and leaves, his scanners pick up something interesting about her that will make it impossible to lay low but since he is there incognito, he doesn’t tell “Wilma” about it.[9] As Techno leaves the bar and ducks into a nearby alley to change back to his robotic form and fly back to Thunderbolts headquarters, he is unaware that he is being followed out by the only other patron. After confirming the identity of his target, Scourge drops his disguise and begins to follow, looking forward to the opportunity to eliminate Techno.

By this time, the Sandman has made his way into the home of Silver Sable. He overhears two members of the Wild Pack talk about how Silver isn’t home. He then decides to attack his former comrades and quickly overpowers them all, including the superhumanly strong Battlestar. That’s when the Thunderbolts and the V-Battalion arrive and order Marko to stand-down. However, Flint refuses to go down without a fight. Unfortunately for him, the Thunderbolts and V-Battalion are now working together. With Songbird trapping him in a sphere of solid sound, the Sandman is fused into a ball of solid glass by the combined flames of Charcoal and Goldfire. With battle now over, Atlas turns to the Destroyer and starts demanding answers.

A few hours later, Mach-2 reports back that he lost track of Moonstone, but will continue his search for another while because it gives him a chance to test out the space-flight capabilities of his new suit. He then radios back at base so that the Ogre can monitor things on the ground. The call comes in just as Techno is returning from his soiree outside. He quickly resumes his Ogre disguise and begins getting brought back up to speed on the situation.[10] As they are talking, the “Ogre” is unaware that Scourge has followed him into the hideout and is standing directly behind him.

Meanwhile, Dallas manages to jam the slot to her food when it comes to meal time again. This allows her to get enough light in the room to find a panel she can pry loose and hotwire her way out of her cell. When the door opens, she realizes that she is not going to get very far running around stark naked and starts looking for something to wear. That’s when she finds her Citizen V costume in one of the storage closets, just the thing she wants to have on when she kicks the Crimson Cowl’s butt.

Recurring Characters

Thunderbolts (Hawkeye, Moonstone, Atlas, Songbird, Mach-2, Charcoal, “Ogre”), Sandman, V-Battalion (Citizen V, Destroyer, Iron Cross, Nuklo, Topspin, Goldfire), Wild Pack (Silver Sable, Battlestar, Amy Chen, Crippler), Andrea Sterman, Scourge, Man-Killer

Continuity Notes

1. The narration here makes a number of statements about the various members of the V-Battalion’s Penance Council.

   • When referring to Goldfire and Topspin, it states that they are assuming the mantle of their parents. Goldfire a third generation member of the V-Battallion following her grandmother Golden Woman (Gwen Sabuki) and her father Golden Sun (Kenji Sabuki). While Topspin is descended from the original Human Top, David Mitchell. See Citizen V and the V-Battalion: The Everlasting #1-4.

   • It states here that Nuklo had only recently regained his powers. Nuklo’s powers made him a sponge of radiation, making him exceptionally deadly because his simple mind prevented him from controlling his mutant abilities, as told in his first appearance, circa Giant-Size Avengers #1. After years of containment and treatment, he was ultimately cured of his access radiation problem in Vision and the Scarlet Witch #4.

   • That said, due to the Sliding Timescale, it will become increasingly impossible for these characters to be still alive in the Modern Age without some means of extending the natural human lifespan. As of this writing (July, 2023) no explanation has been given. I posit a reasonable explanation in my summary of Thunderbolts #38.

2. The source of Moonstone’s power, the Moon Stone, has been subtly altering her personality to match that of Ajes’ha, the Kree warrior who first wielded its power. This started happening in Thunderbolts #28. However, an explanation for all of this won’t be forthcoming until issue #45.

3. Dallas Riordan’s situation is complicated to explain, so let me give you the Cole’s Notes version:

   • She became a liaison between the Thunderbolts and the New York City Mayor’s Office starting in Thunderbolts #2. During that time, she and Atlas started a romantic relationship until the Thunderbolts were outed as villains in Thunderbolts #10.

   • Finding herself out of a job, Dallas was secretly recruited by the V-Battalion to become the next Citizen V, starting in Thunderbolts #16. However, the Thunderbolts didn’t learn this until issue #38.

4. Hawkeye states that he heard about the Destroyer from his friend Captain America, and the Destroyer refers to Hawkeye as an Avenger. About that….

   • Captain America (Steve Rogers) first encountered Roger Aubrey back during World War II when he operated as Dyna-Mite in Invaders #14, and later when Roger became the Destroyer in issue #26 of that series.

   • Hawkeye had been a long standing member of the Avengers and served on that team on-and-off for years starting in Avengers #16. More recently, he left the group in Avengers (vol. 3) #9 to join the Thunderbolts in issue #21 of their own series. He did so to help the former villains to redeem themselves for their criminal pasts.

5. Ajes’ha is standing before what is called the Lifestone Tree which consists over various powerful gemstones. The “Eight” she is speaking of are the “Chosen Eight of Fate”, alien beings that are chosen to carry each of the gems, they are also referred to as the Guardians of the Galaxy (no, not those ones). Their origins are explained in Thunderbolts #45 as well. Three of the things she mentions here are actually power gems that we’ve seen before:

   • Hellfire Helix, aka the Bloodstone, it is best known for granting the monster hunter Ulysses Bloodstone with eternal life, first seen in Marvel Presents #1.

   • The Alpha and Omega Stones which are the source of Basilisk’s power were first seen in Marvel Team-Up #16.

6. Sandman refers to Atlas as “Goliath, or whatever he’s calling himself now.” Josten took on the name Goliath starting in Iron Man Annual #7. He used that name until he reinvented himself as Atlas, as seen in Thunderbolts Annual 1997.

7. Since Marvel Two-In-One #86, the Sandman made a genuine effort to reform and eventually ended up in the employ of Silver Sable in Amazing Spider-Man #281. He worked for Sable for years until the Wizard used his ID Machine to make Flint evil again, as seen in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #19. The Thunderbolts convinced Sandy to help them get into Symkaria last issue.

8. Here are an interesting sets of facts that tells a whole lot from saying very little. Let’s break it down shall we?

   • Andra Sterman is best known for her book American Dreamers: The Lives and Deaths of Jack Monroe. She followed the hero Nomad through nearly his entire solo vigilante career. Check it out in Nomad #1-4 and (vol. 2) #1-25.

   • The case she is being asked to investigate is the murder of Bobbie Haggert, who was killed in Thunderbolts #36. Her death is part of a cover-up of the US government’s involvement (specifically the Commission on Superhuman Activities) in the development of a hard air process called Omega-32 that was being developed by Roxxon. Omega-32 is currently being used by the current Scourge of the Underworld to eliminate his targets without leaving a trace. We’ll learn that Scourge is Andrea’s former subject, Nomad. The cover-up started taking place between Thunderbolts #34-37 and will be unraveled in issues #49-50.

9. Man-Killer was the only member of the Masters of Evil who managed to escape when they were defeated back in Thunderbolts #25. She has been working as a bartender since issue #27. What Techno detects here is that Man-Killer is infested with nanites. He incorrectly believes that this is the work of the Crimson Cowl. In reality, this is actually the work of Henry Gyrich, who is seeking to infest ever superhuman with nanites in an effort to wipe them off the face of the Earth. See Thunderbolts #50 for all the dirty deets.

10. The Thunderbolts are unaware that Techno took the Ogre’s place in Thunderbolts #32. However his cover will be blown wide open by issue #46.

Topical References

• The narrative of this story states that it has been 50 years between the V-Battalion’s activities during World War II and the present day. This measurement of time should be considered topical as it is relative to the date of publication. The Sliding Timescale will always push the Modern Age forward in time, making the length of time in between World War II and the Modern Age continue to grow larger over time.

• Mach-2 quips that the V-Battalion has enough soldiers to choke a G.I. Joe cartoon. This is in reference to G.I. Joe a military themed toyline that has been around since 1963. Since the 1980s, this toyline has had various cartoons produced to help promote the toys. The most well remembered being G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero which ran from 1983 to 1986. Incidentally, Marvel Comics had the license to produce comic books based on G.I. Joe from 1982 to 1994. Its reference her should be considered topical as this is a real world brand.

• The Destroyer states that he is 80 years old here. Just like the length of time between World War II and the present, his age will change as the Sliding Timescale moves forward. As such, his stating that he is 80 should be considered topical as it is relative to the date of publication.

• Atlas sarcastically refers to Iron Cross as “Colonel Klink”, this is a reference to the wartime comedy Hogan’s Heroes, which ran from 1965 to 1971. The series was about American soldiers being held in a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp during World War II. Actor Werner Klemperer played the role of dimwitted and easily bamboozled Colonel Wilhelm Klink, an easily bested opponent for Hogan and his crew. Yeah, somehow being an architect of genocide hits different when you add a laugh track.

Translations

• Sugoi: This is a Japanese phrase that does not have a direct translation into an English word. It is a word that is used to express surprise.