New Beginnings

Dallas Riordan dreams of her former lover, Atlas (Erik Josten) of the Thunderbolts. In the dream he appears to her in the form of red energy and kisses her lovingly.[1] The dream is interrupted when she is woken up by the doctor that has been treating her paralysis ever since she washed up in Latveria.[2] Although she has recovered from her injuries, Dallas remains a prisoner in the Eastern European country, a permanent “guest” of its ruler, Doctor Doom. Her physician has arranged to have Dallas smuggled into the neighboring nation of Symkaria through Project: Earth.[3] However, just as Dallas is getting into her new wheelchair the pair are caught by a man called Rebel, one of Doom’s enforcers. However, he intends to turn a blind eye on their plan to escape.[4]

In Los Angeles, Karla Sofen is trying to re-establish herself professionally after her recent government pardon. Unfortunately, starting a new career proves harder than she thought. She also finds it terribly boring compared to her life as Moonstone as a member of the Thunderbolts. However, she has had to leave that life behind her after their leader Hawkeye (Clint Barton) surrendered to the authorities in exchange for their pardons. However, her newfound freedom came with the condition that the Thunderbolts disband and never use their powers agian.[5] Little does she know that she is being followed by a mysterious robed figure.

While in Burton Canyon, Karla’s former teammates Abe Jenkins and Melissa Gold are actually getting used to living ordinary lives. When they pass by a bank where they previously fought one another, they reflect on if they miss their past lives and decide they don’t.[6] That’s when they notice that girders of a nearby construction site are about to fall on the street. At first, Abe wants to swing into action, but Mel reminds him of the conditions of their pardons. That’s when the new Beetle and Scream — members of the government backed Redeemers team — arrive and resolve the crisis instead. As they go, Melissa can’t help but feel that there is something familiar about Scream.[7]

When Scream and the Beetle return to their headquarters at Mount Chateris, they are ordered to enter the training room. There, they discover that their new temporary leader — Captain America (Steve Rogers) — has already initiated a training session with the other Redeemers: Jolt (Hallie Takahama), Charcoal (Charlie Burlingame), Meteorite (Valerie Burnhardt), and the Smuggler (Conrad Josten). Both Jolt and Charcoal — unhappy about being forced into the Redeemers — pretend to be caught off guard by Captain America, tricking him into getting into a position for Charcoal to restrain him. When the session is over, they are contacted by the Fixer (Norbert Ebersol) who skipped out on training because he didn’t feel he needed it. He tells Cap that they have a priority call from Sharon Carter, the Director of SHIELD.[8] Sharon tells Steve that his first mission with the Redeemers will be cleaning up some unfinished Thunderbolts business.

Earlier, at Castle Mesada in Symkaria, Roger Aubrey of the V-Battalion’s Penance Council gets in touch with Garabed Bashur, a mutant known as Comcast, to see if his powers have managed to record any information pertaining to the location of Dallas Riordan, the previous Citizen V. Riordan had gone AWOL after she refused to assassinate Henry Gyrich on behalf of the Battalion.[9] Bashir informs Roger that Dallas is being held in Latveria while she recovers from her injuries. Roger thanks his Garabed for his help and asks that the information be forwarded to SHIELD for action, as his organization is busy with other matters.[10]

A few hours later, the Redeemers flying over Eastern Europe en route to Latveria to rescue Dallas Riordan. Captain America briefs his team, warning them that the homeland of Doctor Doom is quite dangerous. The members of the Redeemers wonder how Riordan ended up there. Both Jolt and Charcoal exchange glances, as they are aware of at least part of the truth, that Dallas — after revealing to them that she was Citizen V — was snatched away in the middle of a battle by the Crimson Cowl. While the Fixer isn’t too keen on rescuing her,[11] the Smuggler looks forward to the mission as the group was formed to atone for the past sins of the Thunderbolts.[12] Suddenly, their ship is hit with an electromagnetic pulse, causing them to crash land in the forest below. After bracing for impact, the team manages to climb out of the ruined ship unharmed. Little do they know that Rebel is on the scene and is preparing to attack.[13]

Back in Colorado, Abe Jenkins is looking for legitimate work to do. He surprises Melissa by going into an electronics store whose owner previously insulted him for assuming he couldn’t afford a computer processor because he was black.[14] Once entering the shop, Abe thanks the owner for talking him out of buying the TC2-38X computer processor as he has since discovered a way to boost its memory capacity before installation. Demonstrating this impresses the owner, who apologizes for discriminating against Abe earlier. He also needs some skilled technicians as demand for electronics repair has boomed since the town was nearly trashed by Atlas.[15]

While in California, Karla Sofen takes a break from job hunting to get some coffee. As she drinks her beverage she admits to herself that she misses Clint Barton and wonders how he is doing in prison. That’s when she notices the cloaked figure that has been following her coming up from behind. She gets the drop on them and after flipping them to the ground, Karla is surprised to see that the being isn’t even human, but some kind of pink skinned alien. The being introduces himself as M’Reel and tells her that he has sought Karla out on behalf of his master, a man in need of counseling, someone he says is very important. Her interested piqued, Karla tells M’Reel to keep talking.

In Latveria, Rebel ambushes the Redeemers and actually succeeds in holding his own against them until the Fixer is able to task control of his suit of Iron Man armor. Captain America then begins interrogating Rebel about who he is and how he managed to get ahold of some of Tony Stark’s technology.[16] That’s when a hologram of Doctor Doom appears before them and asks Captain America and the Redeemers for their assistance. He tells them that some terrorists have escaped from Planet Doom and threatens his homeland on Earth.[17] He offers to release Dallas Riordan to them if they assist him in stopping this terrorist activity. When Captain America asks why they should help him out, Doom reveals that the terrorist group are the Young Allies of Counter-Earth, led by Captain America’s barely remembered partner on that world, Bucky (Rikki Barnes).[18]

Back in California, M’Reel drives Karla to a mansion 30 miles outside of Los Angeles. Along the way, she learns that M’Reel isn’t an alien from another planet, but from another dimension. He then introduces her to his master, Graviton (Frank Hall), who is surprisingly still alive![19] When she asks what he wants, Graviton counters by asking what she really wants.

Primary Characters

Redeemers (Captain America, Beetle, Charcoal, Fixer, Jolt, Meteorite, Scream, Smuggler), Doctor Doom, Graviton, M’Reel, Hawkeye, Songbird, Mach-2, Moonstone, Dallas Riordan, Rebel O’Reilly, SHIELD (Sharon Carter), V-Battalion (Roger Aubrey), Commcast

Continuity Notes

1. This isn’t really a dream per se, that is really Atlas, who is in his energy form after his physical body blew up in Thunderbolts #47. He is being drawn back to the world of the living by his love of Dallas. This will eventually lead to the two lovers being merged together into a single entity by issue #57.

2. Dallas was seriously injured in a battle with the Crimson Cowl back in Thunderbolts #42. She has been in Latveria recovering ever since she was discovered in the following issue.

3. This is a deep cut reference to characters that writer Fabian Nicieza have used in the past. Project: Earth are a group of environmentalists that often resort to eco-terrorism to protect the planet. They first appeared in New Warriors #8.

4. This is Connor “Rebel” O’Reilly, of Franklin Richards’ Counter-Earth. Dallas notes that his cowboy drawl and appearance are manufactured and that his armor looks similar to that worn by Iron Man. O’Reilly is wearing Tony Stark’s suit of Promethean Armor created in Iron Man (vol. 2) #1. Rebel began wearing the armor and taking on the cowboy look since Heroes Reborn: Rebel #1.

5. Hawkeye surrendered to the authorities leading to these pardons last issue. The Thunderbolts will remain apart until issue #57, while Clint will be in the clink until he breaks out in issue #61.

6. They are referring to the time when Abe was forced to become the Beetle again, leading to a clash with his former teammates. See Thunderbolts #23, 26, and 35-37 for that very complicated chain of events.

7. This is because Scream is actually what’s left of Angar the Screamer, her former partner-in-crime. Angar caught a bullet back in Thunderbolts Annual 1997. How he came to become a being of pure sonic energy will be explained in Thunderbolts #59.

8. This story takes place during a period where Nick Fury assigned Sharon to be his successor. This was a short lived promotion, lasting from Captain America (vol. 3) #31 through 45.

9. Dallas was selected to become Citizen V back in Thunderbolts #16. She had a falling out with the V-Battalion in issue #35, after she refused to take on an assassination mission. Her former handlers lost track of her after she was kidnapped by the Crimson Cowl in Thunderbolts #40-41.

10. Namely a battle with Hydra and Baron Strucker, as is detailed in Citizen V and the V-Battalion #1-3, the events of which run concurrently with this issue.

11. It’s mentioned here that Dallas Riordan used to be a liaison between the Thunderbolts and New York City’s mayor’s office. This was during a period that the Thunderbolts were villains posing as heroes as part of a long con to take over the world, as seen in Thunderbolts #1-12. After the group was outed, Dallas was fired from her job.

12. Smuggler mentions how the Redeemers exist to redeem parts of their past. Not everyone’s motivations are known here. Here’s the details:

    • Conrad Josten’s brother Erik — aka Atlas of the Thunderbolts — ruined his family reputation due to his earlier career as Power Man, the original Smuggler, and Goliath. Conrad had ran away from home as explained in Thunderbolts #17. As explained in issue #50, Conrad became the new Smuggler to repair his family reputation.

    • The Beetle is actually Leila Davis, formerly known as Hardshell. Her wearing the Beetle armor is ironic since her former lover was once tormented by the original Beetle (Abner Jenkins, aka Mach-2) back in Spectacular Spider-Man #58. She had been trying to get revenge against Jenkins since Deadly Foes of Spider-Man #1.

    • Meteorite, aka Valerie Burnhardt, is one of the only members who doesn’t have ties to the Thunderbolts. In issue #55 we’ll learn that she was dishonorably discharged from the Air Force after she fought back against a would-be rapist and crippled him. During an investigation into the incident, the rapist convinced their superiors that Valerie was the aggressor in the situation, ending her career.

13. When in human form, Hallie speaks with a noticeable lisp. This is because she is recovering from partial paralysis after being near death for months. See Thunderbolts #34 through 46 for the deets. She’ll be fully recovered by the time of her appearance in Exiles #81.

14. Abner was born White, how he became Black is complicated. Here are the details:

    • It began a few years earlier when Abe — as the Beetle — murdered a man in Deadly Foes of Spider-Man #3.

    • When Hawkeye became team leader in Thunderbolts #21, he convinced Abe that he needed to surrender to the authorities and serve out his murder sentence. Abe turned himself in issue #23.

    • Immediately after, Jenkins was forced into becoming the Beetle again by the Commission on Superhuman Activities, who were planning on using him to bust criminal industrialist Justin Hammer, as seen in Thunderbolts #26.

    • This caper was exposed by the Thunderbolts and Hawkeye blackmailed Henry Gyrich into releasing Abe into their custody. This was covered up with legal red tape and Abe getting a facelift. An unforeseen result of this was becoming black, as seen in Thunderbolts #37.

    • Abe experienced his first instance of discrimination as a Black man from Bill Kingman in Thunderbolts #38.

15. After being enslaved by Count Nefaria in Thunderbolts #42-44/Avengers (vol. 3) #32-34, Atlas’ powers grew unstable, threatening to destroy the entire town. He was stopped thanks to Scourge, who used Pym Particles to shrink Erik down to size to reduce the blast radius of his exploding body, as seen in issues #47.

16. Captain America doesn’t remember the time he spent on Counter-Earth since being returned back to his native reality. See Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4.

17. Doctor Doom took over Counter-Earth no long after the heroes stranded there were returned home. See Heroes Reborn: Doomsday #1, Heroes Reborn: Ashema #1, and Heroes Reborn: Doom #1.

18. During his time on Counter-Earth, Captain America formed a partnership with Rikki Barnes until he returned home. The majority of that partnership was chronicled in Captain America (vol. 2) #1-12.

19. Graviton was seemingly killed when his gravity powers collapsed in on him circa Thunderbolts #27-30. How he survived is explained in Thunderbolts: Life Sentences #1.

Topical References

• Bill Kingman’s electronics shop is depicted as being filled with various advertisements and pieces of technology that were common place in the year 2001 when this comic was published that are now considered dated or obsolete by today’s standard and should be considered topical references. Prices are based on the year this came out, and would be subject to inflation and be more expensive now. These include:

  • An advertisement for Palm Pilot Professional Edition for $399.

  • TV Satellite dishes.

  • Computers with CRT monitors.

  • An advertisement for Verbatim brand Mini-Data Cartridges.

Errors

• When the Redeemer’s ship crashes, Charcoal tells Jolt that he’ll protect her. Hallie’s speech bubble is incorrectly placed over Meteorite.