Becoming Villains, Part 2: Trust in Fear

The Phanton Eagle (Lloyd Bloch) and Moonstone (Karla Sofen) fly high into the air for a romantic interlude. However, he keeps interrupting to find out how she got her powers, which are very similar to his own, and how she has more control over their abilities than he does.[1] Karla tells him to stop worrying and give in to the power of the gem that is the source of his powers. As he closes his eyes he is suddenly splashed in the face with blood. He wakes up and discovers that it was all a dream and that he has killed an innocent woman. Panicking, Phantom Eagle apologies and flies away.

The following morning, Moonstone is investigating the murder with along with Dallas Riordan (aka Atlas), the Fixer (Norbert Ebersol), Baron (Helmut) Zemo, and the newly formed police force they have created on Attilan. They have been working to restore civilization on Counter-Earth. Up to this point, they have managed to do so without incident for six whole weeks.[2] Zemo chalks that up as a bonus as he figures that crimes such as rape and murder were bound to started cropping up as they rebuild. Dallas agrees, with two thousand refugees crammed together on Attilan it was only a matter of time. Zemo then orders them to find the murderer as quickly as possible. When Karla complains about this Zemo tells her to discuss it in private as he does not want to argue in front of the others. Once they return to the Thunderbolts’ headquarters, he scolds her for talking out of turn in front of the refugees because it undermines their goals. He reiterates that they must be in complete control. Karla finds Helmut’s use of the word control suspicious and admits that she isn’t certain that she can trust him. Zemo tells her that mistrust is warranted and tells her to find the murderer. After they both leave the room, the Phantom Eagle phases in through the wall, having overheard their conversation.

Moonstone stops briefly in the nerve center where the Fixer works to find out where she can find Dallas and heads off to join her investigation. As Moonstone flies over the other refugees their praise of her makes her feel uncomfortable and she shares this with Dallas when she arrives. Karla also is curious to speak to Erik Josten — whose ionic form is merged with Dallas — about his new living conditions.[3] Dallas ignores this to go over the evidence that she has managed to collect. The murdered woman has been identified as Amanda Kinman, an Australian psychologist that was living in Tokyo prior to moving into Attilan. Among the forensic evidence, Dallas was able to find a bit of blonde hair that does not match the victim, likely left behind by the killer. From the blood spatter and wounds she experienced Dallas has come to a seemingly impossible conclusion: Amanda was killed when she was pulled out of a nearby wall via blunt force trauma caused by human hands. Karla finds this explanation fantastic and tells Riordan and the cops to keep combing for clues.

After Moonstone leaves the scene, the Phantom Eagle phases out of the wall and tries to attack Dallas from behind. However, she is aware of his presence and transforms into Atlas to fight him off.[4] Realizing that his victim is not as helpless as she first appeared, the Phantom Eagle bolts and manages to get away. Atlas then calls a meeting with Zemo, Fixer, and Moonstone to tell them about the Phantom Eagle’s attack. Hearing what happened makes Karla conclude that Lloyd is seeking her out. This Fixer finds this rich, recounting how Karla stole the Moon Stone from their version of Bloch many years earlier.[5] He then hands her a device that Karla can use to temporarily disable Phantom Eagle’s powers.[6] The group then begin working on a plan to lure Lloyd out of hiding.

Later that day, Bloch is walking among the crowds of refugees living in Attilan. He is then distracted when the crowd cheers Atlas as she flies by. Karla — waring street clothes — then gets close enough to destabilize Lloyd’s powers. While he is powerless, Moonstone uses her phasing powers to reach into his chest and steal his Moon Stone. She then merges it with the one inside her own body. She takes this new boost in power as an opportunity to create a new Moonstone costume for herself. She then tells the others that Bloch is no longer a threat. As they take him into custody, Atlas questions if Karla now has a lot of power under her control. When Sofen asks if anyone has a problem with that, nobody has anything to say so she takes off.

Later, Fixer meets up with Karla and tells her that she did Bloch — both this one and the one back home — a favor by taking their Moon Stones. As it turned out, Phantom Eagle’s brain couldn’t handle the powers he was given and every time he became intangible it started frying his brains. In fact, the murders weren’t really his fault as his brain was phasing in an out of reality and he had not control over his actions. Karla takes this information and goes down to the holding cell where they are keeping Bloch. She tells him that their new society needs workers, not prisoners. She then rips the cell door off its hinges and tells him that being a productive member of the new world they are creating is up to him.

Meanwhile, in the blast crater that was once Tokyo, a ball of energy suddenly forms. From it a voice calls out for his mother and father, telling them that he has returned. A hand then emerges from the sphere of energy.[7]

Recurring Characters

Thunderbolts (Baron Zemo, Moonstone, Mach-3, Fixer, Atlas (Josten/Riordan), Jolt), Phantom Eagle, Anomaly

Continuity Notes

1. Phantom Eagle and Moonstone’s powers are the same because they both got their powers from a Moon Stone. Karla stole her Moon Stone from her world’s version of Lloyd Block, as seen in Incredible Hulk #228.

2. This group of Thunderbolts has been stranded on Counter-Earth since Thunderbolts #59. They decided to save this world in issue #62. Prior to their arrival, Counter-Earth was destabilized by a series of cosmic scale disasters created by the Dreaming Celestial, see the Heroes Reborn: Doomsday #1, Ashema, Rebel, Remnants, Young Allies and Doom one-shots.

3. Recently, Atlas’ body reached critical mass and exploded in Thunderbolts #47. He managed to cheat death by merging with Dallas in issue #56. They will live in this state until Thunderbolts #74.

4. Dallas recounts how they previously fought the Phantom Eagle in Germany. Lloyd was a member of this world’s version of the Thunderbolts as seen in Thunderbolts #60-62.

5. On the Prime Marvel Earth, Lloyd Bloch was the original Moonstone starting in Captain America #169. As previously mentioned, Karla stole the source of his powers.

6. The Fixer previously used this device on Karla herself back in Thunderbolts #57.

7. This is Koyami Sazaki a young Japanese man the Thunderbolts encountered in issue #64 who refused to leave his family apartment because he believed that his very dead parents were still alive. The city of Tokyo was being bombarded with cosmic energy storms that the Thunderbolts quelled by nuking the entire city, as seen in Thunderbolts #66.