Heroic Tendencies, Part 3: Big Problems

Jolt (Hallie Takahama) has been revived after being on a the brink of death for months and she is now face-to-face with her attempted murderer, the Scourge of the Underworld, and is spoiling to stop him.[1] She finds him standing over the body of her teammate Atlas (Erik Josten) who is growing out of control and crackling with ionic energy. However, Scourge explains that he is not responsible, explaining that Erik’s condition is the result of a recent battle with Count Nefaria.[2] While Scourge has been tasked with eliminating the Thunderbolts, he isn’t willing to do it at the expense of the thousands of people in nearby Burton Canyon and asks Hallie to help him stop Atlas from growing before he explodes![3]

Meanwhile, on the Saturnian Moon of Titan, the rest of the Thunderbolts are now prisoners of the Eternals that live there. They had come seeking answers regarding Moonstone (Karla Sofen’s) recent personality crisis only for ISAAC — the Eternal’s World-Mind — to order her powers removed.[4] When the rest of the team came to her defense, they were all captured as well. Now, Captain Marvel (Genis-Vell) is watching over Songbird (Melissa Gold), Mach-2 (Abner Jenkins), and Charcoal (Charlie Burlingame). Rick Jones — whom Genis is bonded too — asks why he is hanging around. Genis explains that he feels guilty about what has happened.[5] He can’t help but feel sorry for Moonstone as her situation parallels their own. Rick, on the other hand, doesn’t feel the same way. Particularly since Moonstone is a former member of the Masters of Evil.[6] Abner Jenkins, meanwhile, notices how Captain Marvel keeps on looking at Melissa. He is bothered by the familiarity Genis-Vell has with her and fears it might be a threat to his relationship with Mel.[7] That’s when he notices a light flashing in his Mach-2 helmet and wonders what it could mean.

In one of the labs, Hawkeye (Clint Barton) watches helplessly as ISAAC attempts to extract the Moon Stone from Karla’s body. He protests to Mentor, leader of the Eternals of Titan, telling them that they have no right to invade her body like this. ISAAC reminds Clint that Karla had stolen the gem from its original owner and asks him if he can ethically justify her continued use of the stolen artifact.[8] He also recounts how the Moon Stone is part of a set of gems that make up the Lifestone Tree that were wielded hundreds of years earlier by the so-called Guardians of the Galaxy. In her own defense, Karla argues that she has been trying to reform, even going so far as to subconsciously access the gem’s internal memory to help her through this transition. Mentor admits that Moonstone has a point, but ISAAC insists this must be done, particularly after the recent alien invasion of Earth, which might attract aliens seeking to reclaim the Lifestone gems for evil purposes.[9]

While Mentor and ISAAC are debating, Hawkeye fashions a make-shift bow and arrow and incapacitates the robot. At the same time, Mach-2 is realizing that the blinking light in his helmet is Songbird using ultrasonic frequencies to try and communicate with him.[10]

Back on Earth, Dallas Riordan continues to recover in a Latverian hospital after a battle with the Crimson Cowl.[11] Her doctor enters the room to fix the television so she can continue watching the news from America. The top story being the battle between Scourge and Jolt in Colorado.

In Langley, Virginia, at a storage depot for the Commission on Superhuman Activities, a CSA agent named Warton has requested something be pulled out of storage. The warehouse manager mentions how the item in question has a hold order on it by Henry Gyrich. Warton is well of aware of this and says that it is because of Agent Gyrich that he has asked that the item be pulled. While in Los Angeles, investigative reporter Andrea Sterman meets with Bob Haggard who had hired her to investigate the murder of his sister, a Roxxon employee, that has ties to the CSA and a new experimental compound called Omega-32. She has come to deliver everything she has uncovered and Bob realizes that this is bigger than he thought. Andrea then asks for his permission to keep digging to uncover this conspiracy because if she does it could increase tensions in the country and trigger a superhuman war.[12]

Lastly, at the headquarters of the V-Battallion, Penance Council member Betty Barstow interrupts Roger Aubrey’s training session. He warns her to stay out since she doesn’t have enhanced abilities like he does, but she waves off his warnings.[13] However, when she goes to the control panel to deactivate the training room she pushes the wrong button by mistake.[14] Roger swoops in and smashes the control panel to shut things down. With the danger passed, she then turns on a monitor to show him the battle happening in Colorado. Seeing Scourge validates Roger’s decision to assassinate the target that Agent Riordan refused to assassinate and he rushes off to initiate his back-up plan.[15]

As all this is happening back home, Hawkeye is freeing Moonstone from ISAAC’s machine. Mentor warns the archer that he can defeat him easily. However, that’s when Captain Marvel arrives with Songbird, Mach-2, and Charcoal. He tells Mentor to cease hostilities as the Thunderbolts have convinced him that stripping Moonstone of her powers would be wrong. Genis explains that while they have committed crimes, they should be judged by the laws of Earth, not their own and besides, none of the reformed criminals have committed any murders. The gives both Melissa and Abner pause, because they know that Karla has taken a life before, but they keep this to themselves.[16] Genis also offers to keep an eye on the Thunderbolts, attuning his Cosmic Consciousness to the group so he can intervene as necessary. This is a reasonable solution for Mentor, leaving the matter of Ajes’ha’s memories that are plaguing Moonstone’s mind and personality.

ISAAC has a solution to this problem and asks Moonstone to become temporarily intangible. When she does so, he reaches in and grabs the Moon Stone and reprograms it so it no longer interferes with her mind. Now full back in control of her mind, Moonstone demonstrates this by using her powers to reshape her costume into an amalgamation of her Moonstone and Meteorite costumes. ISAAC pronounces that for better or for worse, Moonstone’s destiny is hers and hers alone. Karla smiles and says she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Back on Earth, Atlas is continuing to grow as his ionic powers flare out of control. He is quickly reaching critical mass which will cause an catastrophic explosion that could wipe out everyone. Realizing that they have no choice, Scourge contacts the Avengers and asks Goliath (Hank Pym) for assistance. After explaining the situation, Pym suggests that Scourge use his Pym Particles to shrink Atlas down to a smaller size so that his explosion will be greatly reduced. Jolt refuses to allow Erik to die, but Atlas — who is in absolute agony — insists that this is the only way.

This tense scene is watched by many eyes: CSA operative Henry Gyrich is watching and wonders what Scourge is doing. His colleague, Warton, is also watching and reporting everything back to Roger Aubry. Andrea Sterman and Bob Haggard are watching from a bar in Los Angeles. Andrea tells Bob that she is almost certain that Scourge was responsible for murdering his sister. Seeing Scourge using Pym Particles confirms to Aubrey the identity of the person supplying the assassin with his weapons. Also watching is the Asgardian Enchantress, who is disappointed that she won’t be able to call in her favor now.[17] In addition, a young man watches Atlas’ sacrifice and says “good riddance”.[18]

Agreeing to the plan, Atlas’ final words to Jolt is that he loved her. Scourge then uses his Pym Particles to shrink Atlas down to size until he can be hand-held. As Josten reaches critical mass, Scourge tosses his form into the ruins of the Thunderbolt’s headquarters. Moments later, Atlas explodes. Although the force of the explosion was minimized, it was still sufficient enough to decimate the team’s base of operations.[19]

While at the former headquarters of X-Factor, the new Citizen V meets with Warbeck. The two are working together to expose the conspiracy going on within the CSA. They have recovered the suit of Beetle armor as they plan on using it for the new team they are forming.[20][21]

Primary Characters

Thunderbolts (Hawkeye, Moonstone, Songbird, Mach-2, Charcoal), Jolt, Techno, Atlas, Dallas Riordan, V-Battalion (Roger Aubrey, Betty Barstow, Miles Warton), Andrea Sterman, Captain Marvel, Scourge, Mentor, ISAAC, Ogre, Humus Sapien, Smuggler, Enchantress, Henry Gyrich, Rick Jones

Continuity Notes

1. Jolt was seemingly killed back in Thunderbolts #34. Techno managed to revive her last issue. When recalling how Techno resurrected her, we see that he had two other people in bio-stasis along with her. The first is the Ogre, the Thunderbolt’s resident inventor whom Techno has been impersonating since Thunderbolts #33. The other is a powerful mutant named Humus Sapiens, who Ogre has been keeping in check for years. See Thunderbolts #54-55 for more on that.

2. Scourge isn’t lying about the Nefaria thing, check out Thunderbolts #42-44 and Avengers (vol. 3) #32-34.

3. Scourge was forced into his mission by Henry Gyrich of the Commission on Superhuman Activities. Gyrich has become a pawn of Hydra and this is all part of a long con that will eventually try and wipe out every superhuman on Earth. See Thunderbolts #49-50 for the details.

4. Moonstone has been plagued with dreams of Ajes’ha, a Kree warrior who wielded the Moon Stone two hundred years earlier as one of the Guardians of the Galaxy (aka the Chosen Eight of Fate) since Thunderbolts #28. These dreams have also been allegedly affecting her personality, forcing her to become more altruistic over time. These details were revealed to her over the last two issues.

5. At the time of this story, Genis has been bonded and shares his life with Rick Jones since Avengers Forever #12. This will remain the status quo until Captain Marvel (vol. 5) #25.

6. Karla joined up with the Masters of Evil (then led by Egghead) in Avengers #222. She later joined up with Baron Zemo’s incarnation of the team in Avengers #273. Rick recounts the time they attacked Avengers Mansion, which happened in Avengers #273-277. More recently, Zemo and his Masters of Evil (including Moonstone) became the Thunderbolts, posing as heroes as part of a scheme to take over the world, as seen in Thunderbolts #1-12. Since they were exposed, Karla and the other Thunderbolts decided to remain together and reform.

7. Genis-Vell’s attraction of Songbird is due to the fact that — at least in one possible future timeline — they will serve on the Avengers and become lovers. This was seen in Avengers Forever #1-12. Per the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #5 these versions of the characters hale from Reality-98120. As of this writing (August, 2023) this has yet to come to pass on Earth-616.

8. The Moon Gem was first in the possession of Lloyd Bloch the original Moonstone starting in Captain America #169. Karla stole it from him to become the new Moonstone in Incredible Hulk #228.

9. ISAAC is referring to the Maximum Security even which mostly took place in Maximum Security: Deadly Planet #1 and Maximum Security #1-3, as well as the various crossover issues listed below. Mentor counters this by reminding ISAAC that Earth has fended off Galactus and Thanos on various occasions. About these cosmic threats:

   • Galactus has failed to consume Earth on a number of occasions. The earliest recorded attempt was during the Renaissance, but he was repelled by Leonardo Da Vinci, as revealed in S.H.I.E.L.D. #1. In more recent times, Galactus has been repelled from Earth by the Fantastic Four at least four times at this point as seen in Fantastic Four #48-50, 120-123, 242-244, and Galactus: Devourer #1-6.

   • Thanos has been stopped on a handful of occasions as well in Iron Man #55/Captain Marvel #25-33/Avengers #125, Avengers Annual #7/Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2, and Infinity Gauntlet #1-6.

10. Abner is surprised by Melissa’s use of her powers as he thought that she couldn’t use them without the assistance of her sonic carapace. Melissa’s sonic powers have been forced to have this limitation after she damaged her vocal chords mourning the seemingy demise of her form partner in crime, Angar the Screamer, back in Thunderbolts Annual 1997. This is the first sign that her vocal chords are healing.

11. Dallas was crippled in a battle with the Crimson Cowl back in Thunderbolts #42. Last issue we learned that she was crippled by her injuries, a condition she will maintain until issue #57.

12. Andrea has been investigating the death of Bobbie Haggard who was murdered by Scourge in Thunderbolts #36. This ties into the whole Scourge/CSA/Hydra conspiracy I mentioned above. What she learns (as revealed in issue #49-50) is that Scourge has also been infecting superhumans with nanites that will allow them all to be enslaved or killed at the touch of a button.

13. Here, Elizabeth states that Roger Aubrey has been enhanced by a derivative of the Super-Soldier Formula. This isn’t entirely accurate, see below for more information on why this shouldn’t necessarily be taken at face value.

14. This is a hint toward the fact that Barstow is starting to suffer from neurological deterioration as will be revealed in Citizen V and the V-Battalion #1. That story states that she is suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, which should be considered topical, as I’ll explain over there.

15. Roger ordered Henry Gyrich to be assassinated back in Thunderbolts #35. However, Citizen V (aka Dallas Riordan) refused to be an assassin, which put her on the outs with the V-Battalion. Gyrich’s identity as the target is not revealed until issue #50 (again).

16. Moonstone murdered the king of the Microverse realm of Kosmos to hurry their return home. See Thunderbolts #13-14.

17. Atlas went to the Enchantress for assistance when the Thunderbolts were on a mission to rescue Hawkeye from Hell in Thunderbolts Annual 2000. Amora agreed to aid in exchange for Erik owing her a favor.

18. The young man here is actually Erik’s younger brother Conrad Josten. When Erik first became a super-villain, it ruined his family’s good name. Conrad ran away from home and wasn’t heard from ever again as explained in Thunderbolts #16. His relation to Erik isn’t revealed until issue #50.

19. The narrative goes over Atlas’ various other aliases over the years and his path to redemption:

    • Josten started his career as a mercenary under the employ of the original Baron Zemo. He later underwent an ionic power process and became the villain known as Power Man in Avengers #19.

    • He lost the Power Man title when he fought Luke Cage over the use of the name in Power Man #21 and started calling himself the Smuggler in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #49.

    • Not long after that, Josten was given size-changing powers from Karl Malus and renamed himself Goliath in Iron Man Annual #7.

    • More recently, he took on the identity of Atlas when he joined up with the Thunderbolts, as seen in Thunderbolts Annual 1997. The team pretended to be heroes until they were exposed as former villains. However, by this point Atlas had taken a liking to being a hero and decided to redeem himself along with most of the rest of the team, see Thunderbolts #1-12.

    • Although it appears that Atlas is destroyed here, like most other ionic beings he is virtually immortal. He will ultimately be drawn back to the land of the living by his love for Dallas Riordan and the pair will live a shared existence starting in Thunderbolts #55.

20. This is the former headquarters of the government sponsored mutant team, X-Factor, who were occupied this facility starting in X-Factor #115.. The team operated out of this base until they disbanded in issue #149 of that series.

21. This suit of Beetle armor was built by the CSA in Thunderbolts #26 for the purposes of having Abner Jenkins infiltrate Justin Hammer’s criminal organization and capture him, as seen in issues #34-37. Citizen V’s new team are the Redeemers, who we’ll meet next issue.

Topical References

• From her Latverian hospital room, Dallas Riordan watches CNN’s coverage of Scourge’s battle with Jolt on a CRT model television. This should be considered a topical reference for two reasons: (1) CNN is a real world TV network and (2) CRT televisions are now considered an obsolete technology.

Roger Aubrey and the Super Soldier Formula

In this story, Elizabeth Barstow states that Roger Aubrey is enhanced by the Super Soldier Formula. This, I believe is an error due to the rather convoluted nature of the Destroyer identity.

There have been three men who have assumed the Destroyer identity. Keen Marlow (circa All-Winners Comics #2), Brian Falsworth (circa Invaders #19) and Aubrey himself (who took on the mantle in Invaders #26). Both Marlow and Falsworth were given a derivative version of the Super Soldier Serum by scientist Eric Schmitt while both men were imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. This origin has been muddied with Falsworth claiming that Keen Marlow was an alias he used (which was stated in Invaders #19 as well as reinforced in Marvels Project #7. However, Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #3 verifies that Marlow was, in fact, a real person who operated independently of Falsworth and Aubrey.

Further clarification regarding this flip-flop of standings with regards to Keen Marlow have yet to be clarified. However, given the amount of disinformation that was going on during WWII and Marvel’s stance that Timely era comics are “comic book adaptations of real events” (first stated in Young Allies Comics 70th Anniversary Special #1), you could come up with any number of explanations for yourself. I choose to believe that Marlow was a real guy and not some alias used by Falsworth, as deeming Marlow an alias causes issues in continuity vis-a-vie the Destroyer’s post-war adventures in America that were published by Timely.

That all said, while Marlow and Falsworth were given Super Soldier derivatives, there is no indication that Aubrey received the same since Eric Schmitt died in that concentration camp. The only time Roger displayed any superhuman abilities was during the brief period he was turned into the diminutive Dyna-Mite in Invaders #14-15. However, these abiltiies merely allowed him to retain the strength of an ordinary man after being reduced to 12 inches tall. When he became the Destroyer later on, there was no indication that he had powers beyond that of an ordinary man.

Further, Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #3 (which was published after this story) also does not indicate that Aubrey had the Super Soldier Serum given to him at some point between his becoming the Destroyer and this story. It merely states that Aubrey has the strength and vitality of a man half his age. The subject has also become somewhat of a moot point following the reports that Aubrey is now dead, circa Captain America #750.

Since it’s later revealed that Elizabeth Barstow is suffering from the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease in Citizen V and the V-Battalion #1, one could assume that Barstow is mixing up her facts. That said, it’s not impossible to consider that Marlow has some kind of enhanced abilities, since that will be the only rational explanation for the vitality on display as the Sliding Timescale moves forward and progressively ages Aubrey further. Given the V-Battalion’s access to various alien technologies there could be any number of reasons why Roger is still this strong and agile. What I am saying is, the only reference to origins of Roger’s abilities is a woman on the road to dementia so it should not be taken at face value until another source confirms it.

Maximum Security Reading Order

Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet #1, Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #22, 23, 24, Iron Man (vol. 3) #32 33, 34, Peter Parker: Spider-Man #23-24, Captain America (vol. 3) #36, Maximum Security #1, Thor (vol. 2) #30, Uncanny X-Men #387, Black Panther (vol. 3) #25, Captain Marvel (vol. 4) #12-13, Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #21, Iron Man (vol. 3) #35, Bishop the Last X-Man #15, Maximum Security #2, Thunderbolts #45, 46, 47, Marvel Knights #6, Gambit (vol. 3) #23, X-Men (vol. 2) #107, X-Men Unlimited #29, Avengers (vol. 3) #35, Maximum Security #3