Thunderbolts #54
Cat and Mouse
Citizen V (John Watkins III) has returned to resume leadership of the Redeemers after being on a mission with the V-Battalion.[1] Upon seeing their temporary replacement leader, Captain America (Steve Rogers), Watkins has a violent fantasy where he murders the Captain with his sword. This is because the body of John Watkins is currently being controlled by the mind of Baron Helmut Zemo, who everyone believes is dead.[2] This causes Citizen V to pause momentarily when “introducing” himself to Cap, but he lies and says that he is in awe over Captain America’s accomplishments over the years.
Zemo controls his desire to kill his old enemy as Cap unknowingly gives him a tour of the Mount Charteris head quarters of the Redeemers. Steve then updates Citizen V on what the team has been up to during his absence. He tells of how they ventured to Latveria to rescue Dallas Riordan from Doctor Doom,[3] Charcoal (Charlie Burlingame)’s recent run in with his former handlers in the Secret Empire,[4] and Jolt (Hallie Takahama)’s struggles through physiotherapy following her recent resurrection.[5] He also reports that the new Beetle (Leila Davis) and Meteorite (Valerie Barnhardt) are adapting well to being on the Redeemers. However, the same cannot be said about the Fixer (Norbert Ebersol) who regularly questions Captain America’s orders. However, he has been scanning the base’s hard drives to find out what became of the Thunderbolt’s former technician, the Ogre.[6] The Smuggler (Conrad Josten) is off on a furlough day. That leaves the strange sonic creature known as Scream. The Commission on Superhuman Activities are still no closer in determining its origins since they liberated it from Baron Zemo’s old lab.[7] “Watkins” muses that he is being left quite the team, and admits he wishes he was leading the original Thunderbolts, noting that they were such a colorful bunch.[8]
At that very moment, Karla Sofen — formerly Moonstone of the Thunderbolts — checks in on her latest patient, Graviton (Frank Hall), who she has been mentoring in the use of his powers. He shows off his newfound control over gravity by using his powers to lift a pebble off the ground in China and uses it to kill a random woman in Australia. This chilling display makes Karla realize that she may have started a ticking timebomb that will soon explode.[9]
By this time, Captain America is bidding farewell to the Redeemers. He wishes them all the best in their future endeavors. He tells Jolt to continue striving for recover, that Meteorite redeems herself from her momentary lapse of judgement,[10] for the Bettle, she hopes she can find peace following the death of her husband,[11] and that Scream can find its place in the world. Lastly, Cap hopes Citizen V can live up to the legacy of his grandfather the original Citizen V, “John” cheekily responds by saying he hopes he also lives up to his father’s legacy as well.[12] Once Captain America is gone, Citizen V tells the team that proper introductions will be done at 4:00 pm. “Watkins” then goes into the base, to begin plotting how he will get information Baron Strucker had on world domination. This was in the possession of the robotic version of Techno. He considers revealing the truth to Ebersol and enlist his aid, but decides against it for the time being.
At that same moment, the Fixer has finally figured out that the Ogre never left Mount Charteris and has been hiding out in a secret tesseract chamber. The Oger is instantly aware of the Fixer’s attempts at getting and tries to stop him. This is because if the Fixer is successful, he will sever the power to the stasis chamber containing a powerful mutant known only as HS-1, and doom the world![13]
While at Seagate Prison, Clint Barton (aka Hawkeye) is continuing to serve out his sentence. He has been kept alive over the past week thanks to the work of Mentallo (Marvin Flumm), a mutant telepath also imprisoned at Seagate. As Clint is doing push-ups in his cell, Mentallo contacts him and informs him that he has succeeded in mentally prodding a prisoner transfer that will allow the both of them to escape.[14]
Meanwhile, Conrad Josten has traveled to a large footprint in the ground at the base of Mount Fenton. This is all that remains of his brother Erik, aka Atlas of the Thunderbolts. Conrad thinks about how he became the Smuggler to atone for his brother’s past sins, but after learning how Erik sacrificed his life to save the people of Burton Canyon, he finds himself in the midst of an identity crisis.[15]
Lastly, in Flagstaff, Arizona, Dallas Riordan has moved back in with her father after her ordeals in Latveria. She gets a phone call from an old friend, but she declines an offer to meet as the house is currently being retrofitted with ramps to accommodate the fact that she is now confined to a wheelchair. After getting off the phone, Dallas hears a faint voice call out her name. However, she is the only person in the room. She is disturbed because the voice sounded like her former lover, Erik Josten, aka Atlas of the Thunderbolts![16]
While all of this is happening, the Fixer and Ogre are in a hacking war between one another. Eventually, Norbert’s attempts to open the tesseract begin hampering the Ogre’s ability to contain HS-1. Realizing that this is a losing battle, Ogre allows Fixer to gain access. When Ebersol enters the tesseract chamber, the Ogre pummels him and berates him for the powerful danger he has unleashed. Suddenly, a wave of energy begins transmits across the planet, affecting nature across the planet. This sudden surge is felt by the Redeemers, as well as the former members of the Thunderbolts all feel it. HS-1 finally emerges from his chambers after years in stasis. Once more connected to Mother Earth he feels the damage caused to the planet during his slumber and vows to make every human being pay for it, one life at a time.
Primary Characters
Redeemers (Citizen V (Watkins/Zemo), Beetle, Charcoal, Fixer, Jolt, Meteorite, Scream), Humus Sapien, Hawkeye, Songbird, Mach-2, Dallas Riordan/Atlas, Ogre, Graviton, Sergei Radek, Deena Stockbridge
Continuity Notes
Citizen V has been off fighting Hydra, as seen in Citizen V and the V-Battalion #1-3. Captain America has been filling in as team leader since Thunderbolts #50.
The big reveal that Zemo has been occupying Watkin’s body happened in Citizen V and the V-Battalion #3. How we got here is quite complicated and is explained in future issues. Here are the details:
Zemo was seemingly killed by Scourge back in Thunderbolts #39.
In reality, Zemo’s mind was transmitted from his body via a “bio-modem”, as will be explained in Thunderbolts #61.
His mind was transmitted into the body of John Watkins III starting in Thunderbolts #45. How John ended up in this coma to begin with has yet to be fully explained (as of this writing in September, 2023) but it happened while on a mission for the V-Battalion.
There are a number of facts about Dallas Riordan and her time in Latveria that are dropped here. How Dallas was the previous Citizen V. This was while John Watkins III was still in a coma. She assumed the role in Thunderbolts #16 through 42. In her las appearance in the role, Dallas was gravely injured by Crimson Cowl. She had been recovering in Latveria since issue #43. The Redeemers liberated her in Thunderbolts #51-52.
Charcoal was originally given his superhuman powers by the Secret Empire before joining the Thunderbolts, but defected to the Thunderbolts, see Thunderbolts #19, 23, 31-32 and last issue for the details.
Recently, Jolt was seemingly killed by Scourge back in Thunderbolts #34. However, this was one of those “faintest sparks of life” moments, and she was resurrected by Techno in Thunderbolts #46 (more on him below). However, her resurrection came at a cost, as we learned in issue #48, when she revealed that it left her partially paralyzed. She has been undergoing physio since last issue and will be fully recovered by the time she appears in Exiles #81.
The whole Fixer/Techno/Ogre thing is yet another convoluted series of events. It all started when Norbert had his neck snapped in Thunderbolts #7, in the following issue a copy of his mind was downloaded into a robotic body. This robot assumed his identity and put his body in stasis to be healed. He went rogue in Thunderbolts #10-12 along with Baron Zemo. When he came back to the Thunderbolts, the team had accepted the Ogre as their new technician. Techno then took his place in Thunderbolts #33. He maintained this disguise until the robot sacrificed itself to resurrect Jolt in issue #46. By this time, the real Fixer had been fully healed and was later freed by the CSA and recruited into the Redeemers in Thunderbolts #49.
As will be revealed in Thunderbolts #59, Scream is actually Angar the Screamer. Angar was a former partner-in-crime with Screaming Mimi, later Songbird of the Thunderbolts. As detailed in Thunderbolts Annual 1997, Angar caught a bullet and seemingly died. In reality, he has lived on as a being of pure sonic energy, which was captured for study by Baron Zemo.
“John Watkins” is interested in leading the Thunderbolts, as he was the one — as Baron Zemo — who originally formed the team, as detailed in Thunderbolts #1. The team was originally former members of the Masters of Evil posing as villains as part of a plot to take over the world. However, after they were exposed in Thunderbolts #10-12, the team had grown to enjoy their status as heroes and abandoned Zemo. They were running independent of him until Thunderbolts #50. After stopping a conspiracy to murder the world’s superhumans, the Thunderbolts were granted Presidential pardons in exchange for Hawkeye going to jail and the rest of the team disbanding. The group will remain apart until Thunderbolts #57.
Moonstone was enlisted to help Graviton find his true potential in Thunderbolts #51 and has been training him how to better control his power since Thunderbolts: Life Sentences #1. It will later be revealed in Thunderbolts #58 that the woman that Graviton killed here is Deena Stockbridge, an old childhood friend of Moonstone, for more about her see issue #25.
Weird thing for Captain America to say about a rape victim who was just defending herself. As revealed in Thunderbolts #55, it was revealed that Valerie fought back against her would-be rapist and crippled him. When brought before an Air Force court martial, they believed her attacker when he said that he was the victim.
Captain America is referring to Anthony Davis, formerly the villain known as the Ringer and (later) Strikeback. Their relationship was detailed in Lethal Foes of Spider-Man #1-4. This is the first mention that Anthony is dead. How he died will be detailed in Thunderbolts #56.
The legacies of Citizen V and Baron Zemo are intertwined in blood. Here are the details:
The original Citizen V was John Watkins, one of the early costumed superheroes of World War II, starting in Daring Mystery Comics #8. While the first modern Baron Zemo, was Helmut’s father Heinrich, who first appeared in Avengers #6.
Watkins was murdered by Heinrich during the war, as was told in Thunderbolts #-1, while Heinrich himself died in an avalanche of his own making in Avengers #15.
The Watkins family kept the Citizen V legacy alive over the decades as will be detailed in Citizen V and the V-Battalion: Everlasting #1-4. Meanwhile, Helmut Zemo soon appeared to avenge his father, first as Phoenix in Captain America #168, before taking on the Baron Zemo identity in Captain America #275.
Zemo later took on the Citizen V identity in jest when he first formed the Thunderbolts, as seen in Thunderbolts #1-12.
After being freed by the destruction of Techno, the Ogre went into hiding in Thunderbolts #48. HS-1 is the codename for Humus Sapiens, a powerful mutant that Ogre has been caring for in secret for years, as will be explained next issue.
As stated previously, Hawkeye surrendered to the authorities in Thunderbolts #50 in exchange for the Thunderbolt’s amnesty. Mentallo offered him the chance to break in Thunderbolts: Life Sentences #1 after a number of crooks attempted to kill Clint. What Mentallo doesn’t know is that Clint was previously contacted by Dum Dum Dugan of SHIELD to help facilitate Mentallo’s breakout in Thunderbolts #52 in the hopes that they can be lead to the late Justin Hammer’s hidden treasure, as will be explained in issue #58.
Yeah, even more exposition going on here, this time between Erik and Conrad Josten.
Erik was a former mercinary who worked for Baron Zemo and was given super-powers way in Avengers #21. As explained in Thunderbolts #17, Erik’s life of crime ruined his family reputation, prompting Conrad to run away from home.
Erik eventually became Atlas and a member of the Thunderbolts, and strove to redeem himself. After his powers were made unstable by Count Nefaria in Thunderbolts #42-44/Avengers (vol. 3) #32-34, his body reached critical mass and exploded in Thunderbolts #47.
Conrad joined up with the Redeemers in Thunderbolts #47 to repair the damage done to the family name (as explained in issue #50). The name Smuggler was one used by Erik in the past between Spectacular Spider-Man #49 and Iron Man Annual #7.
Erik isn’t actually dead, his ionic form merely dissipated, he’ll be back in Thunderbolts #57, but not in the way you think.
Back when they were merely posing as heroes, Dallas was working for the New York City Mayor’s Office and began acting as liaison between the city and the Thunderbolts starting in Thunderbolts #2. She eventually fell in love with Atlas the two began dating in issue #6. Their romance came to an abrupt end when the Thunderbolts were outed as villains in disguise in Thunderbolts #10.
Topical References
This issue features various TV and computer monitors that are depicted as CRT models. This should be considered a topical reference as this is now considered an obsolete technology.
John Watkins III is referred to as the grandson of the original Citizen V in this story. While this would have been possible when this comic was first published in 2002, it becomes complicated to explain due to the Sliding Timescale. As the Modern Age is bumped forward in time, it becomes increasingly impossible for an adult in their prime to be the grandson of someone who was alive during World War II, at least not without any sort of life prolonging process. As of this writing (September, 2023) Marvel has not provided clarification on this matter. However, given that the V-Battalion has access to exotic and alien technologies well beyond that of regular society, having access to technology that slows or stops the aging process isn’t outside the realm of possibility. As such, one could consider this statement factual.
