Bad Blood!

Eric Masterson has begun his new job at Rave Architectural & Interior Design. However, he can’t get his mind off the fact that his son, Kevin, thinks that his alter-ego Thunderstrike is a bully.[1] He is snapped out of it by his new coworkers Marty Dennis and Chandra O’Keef who are looking forward to the housewarming party that Eric and his new roommate Samantha Joyce. They are joined by their boss, Barbara Rave enters the room and commends them for all their hard work. When asked if she will be coming to the part, Barbara politely declines as she is entertaining a guest that evening.

After work, Mary and Chandra invite Eric to join them at the local pub, but he turns them down since he has some errands to run before the party later that evening. Eric ducks into a nearby alley to change into Thunderstrike so he can travel freely across the city. As uses his enchanted mace to fly across the city, Eric is happy that his personal life seems to be getting in order, unlike his superhero career which has been a disaster. On top of Kevin hating his alter-ego, he still blames himself for the death of Code: Blue’s Jock Jackson.[2]

Meanwhile, at the Steele house, Eric’s ex-wife Marcy has gotten their doctor friend Gary Paretsky to do a house call for Bobby after he admitted to abusing steroids. Gary gives him a clean bill of health but warns him that it will take some time before his body completely purges the effects of the drugs. Bobby brushes it off as the only solution to try and improve his flagging football career. However, Bobby has convinced to kick the habit as well as start seeing a psychologist to work through his anger management problems. With Gary done, Susan sees him out and both confirm they will be attending Eric’s party later that evening. Marcy wonders if it is a good idea for her and Bobby to attend the part as well. Bobby insists that he needs to face Eric sooner or later. He’s really sorry for what has happened and hopes that they can all soon put everything behind them. That’s when Steele decides to head out for a newspaper and asks Marcy if he can get her anything. Still hurting after her ordeals, Marcy tells him that there’s nothing he can get her.

By this time, Thunderstrike has gone to Avengers Headquarters in the hopes of getting a pep-talk from Captain America. He’s only able to find Hank Pym, aka Giant-Man, who is in the middle of a training session. Hank tells him that Cap hasn’t been hanging around much lately.[3] Seeing that Thunderstrike can use some advice, Hank gives him some. He can tell that the novice hero is juggling his personal life with that of being an Avenger. He tells Thunderstrike that it’s not easy, especially when a villain can strike when they least expect it. However, despite these challenges he says that the best one can do is keep fighting and doing the right thing. Thunderstrike thanks Hank for his advice and is about to reveal his secret identity, but Pym tells him to keep it to himself, at least for now. As Thunderstrike makes his way out, he is stopped by Quicksilver and his wife Crystal. They have just received a bill from Marcy Steele for damages Thunderstrike done to her apartment. Thunderstrike thanks them for bringing it to his attention and tells them that he’ll deal with it, as he doesn’t think the Avengers should pay for his mistakes. That’s when Crystal asks what became of Bloodaxe’s enchanted weapon after Thunderstrike had the Black Knight examine it.[4] Thunderstrike won’t say where he put it but assures her that it is in a safe place.

When Eric Masterson returns to his apartment he checks on the Bloodaxe, which he has been keeping in his closet this whole time. While looking at the weapon it begins glowing and filling his mind with thoughts of anger and violence. Luckily, he is snapped out of it when Samantha comes into Eric’s room to ask if he is ready for the party. He is able to close his closet door before she sees the weapon, much to his relief.

Elsewhere, the person formerly known as Bloodaxe returns to the locker room where they used to store their enchanted weapon. They are furious that they have been stripped of their means of vengeance, particularly because the front page of the Daily Bugle features a story about the rising crime rate in the city. They vow that they will regain their weapon so Bloodaxe can resume punishing the wicked.[6]

A few hours later, the party at Eric and Samantha’s apartment is in full swing. Eric welcomes Jerry Sapristi and his wife Tina, who have brought along a co-worker of Jerry’s named Matt Ballors.[5] As people mingle, Gary Paretsky tries to get involved in a conversation between Susan Austin and Kevin’s teacher Ed Marrero, much to the teacher’s annoyance. Elsehwere, Bobby Steele is signing autographs with his fans, prompting Marcy to go mingle elsewhere. In the kitchen, Eric is getting some more food and drink for his guests when he is greeted by Jackie Lukas. She begins hitting on Masterson who is oblivious to her interest at first. She then coyly tells him that when he wants an education on understanding women to give her a call.

One of the attendees of the party is secretly Bloodaxe and they see the party as a way of trying to relax. However, they suddenly sense the presence of the Executioner’s axe and follows its pull up into Eric’s bedroom. They find it in his close and is surprised to find the weapon hidden there. The moment they grab the weapon there is a bright flash of light and a thunderous roar. Everyone at the party assumes that it is thunder from outside, but Eric suspects that something is very run. Excusing himself to go up to his room, Masterson discovers that someone has been in his closet and that the Bloodaxe is gone. Rushing to the window, he is horrified to see that Bloodaxe is back and on the adjacent rooftop. Changing into Thunderstrike, Eric confronts his foe who has correctly deduced that Masterson and Thunderstrike are the same person.

Bloodaxe is surprised to learn that their foe is someone they know personally and suggests that they put aside their differences and work together in cleaning up the streets. Thunderstrike refuses to do anything of the sort because he doesn’t condone the way Bloodaxe kills criminals. This leads to a brawl that is so violent it causes the roof they are standing on to collapse, sending them falling into the building bellow. This also separates Thunderstrike from his enchanted mace, giving him just sixty seconds to get it back before the enchantment that turns Eric into Thunderstrike wears off. Unfortunately, Bloodaxe won’t let up their attack, and reinforces that he knows who Eric is now. As he is getting beaten to a pulp, Thunderstrike tries to think of who Bloodaxe might be. To his horror he discovers that he can’t narrow down who it might be. In fact, due to Bloodaxe’s oversized costume, skull mask, and distorted voice, he can’t even tell Bloodaxe’s gender, making the pool of potential friends and aquaintences even wider.

Eventually, time runs out and Thunderstrike reverts back to Eric Masterson. Bloodaxe relents, deciding to spare Thunderstrike’s life for the sake of their past friendship. However, the vigilante warns Thunderstrike that when they meet again they will kill the hero once and for all. Pulling himself free from the rubble, Eric is relieved that switching back and forth between his mortal and Thunderstrike forms heals his injuries and repairs the damage to his clothes, giving him less to explain when he returns to the party. Fearing what might happen if Bloodaxe is still at the party, Eric decides to bite the bullet and return home. When he gets home, he ends up waking up Samantha, who tells him that the party is long over and everyone has gone home. She also tells him to get a good nights sleep because she is expecting him to help with the clean-up in the morning. As Sam heads back to her room, Eric realizes that he rule her out as being Bloodaxe anymore than he can anyone else. He doesn’t want to suspect someone he has known for years but realizes that he has no other choice!

Recurring Characters

Thunderstrike, Bloodaxe, Avengers (Giant-Man, Quicksilver, Crystal), Marcy Steele, Bobby Steele, Kevin Masterson, Susan Austin, Samantha Joyce, Gary Paretsky, Jerry Sapristi, Tina Sapristi, Ed Marrero, Marty Dennis, Chandra O’Keefe, Barbara Rave

Continuity Notes

1. Which is a bit unfair. See, Kevin’s step-father has been a huge dick since Thunderstrike #1. We learned last issue that he has been abusing steroids. This caused him to hit his wife Marcy in issue #2 and go AWOL for days on end. This came to a foot when he kidnapped Kevin in Thunderstrike #7. When he intergerned as Thunderstrike last issue, Kevin denounced him as a bully.

2. Jackson sacrificed his life to help Thunderstrike bring down the Deviant known as Pandara in Thunderstrike #7.

3. The reason why Captain America hasn’t been around much is because his Super Soldier Serum is wearing out, putting him at risk of complete incapacitation. He has been off tying up loose ends and finding worthy successors, starting in Captain America #425. However, Cap will eventually be cured of his condition in issue #445.

4. Thunderstrike confiscated Bloodaxe’s trademark weapon in Thunderstrike #1 and had the Black Knight examine it in the following issue. Eric has been keeping it in a closet in his bedroom ever since.

5. Jerry says that he misses seeing Eric around the old construction site. For a time Eric worked on the same project as Sapristi, starting in Thor #391. Jerry and Eric last saw each other in Thor #453.

6. This story raises the question of Bloodaxe’s true identity, reinforcing that it is someone in Eric’s personal life. However, all of the clues that point to Bobby Steele and Ed Marrero being potential candidates are red herrings. The only valid clue in this story is that Bloodaxe might actually be a woman. Bloodaxe is revealed to be Jackie Lukas in Thunderstrike #22.

Topical References

• Barbara Rave states that she is entertaining comedian Rosanne Barr. At the time this story was published Rosanne was at the height of her popularity due in part to her long running sitcom Rosanne which ran from 1988 to 1997. She was also in the news around the time due to her rocky relationship with fellow comedian Tom Arnold who she was divorcing in 1994 after four years of marriage. This name drop should be considered topical.

• During the party we hear a number of guests making small talk about pop-culture. All of these are dated references as they were TV shows and books that were popular at the time this story was published. Nearly all of them should be considered topical. They include:

  • “Sipowicz is my favorite character!” This is in reference to Andy Sipowicz (played by actor Dennis Franz) one of the main characters on NYPD Blue. This was a crime drama series that ran 1993 to 2005.

  • “I’ve only read up to “H” is for Homicide..” Is the eighth novel by Susan Grafton in 1991. It was part of Grafton’s “Alphabet” series of mystery novels. By 1994 (when this comic was published) she was at “K” is for Killer. Grafton would continue publishing these books all the way to the letter Y in the year 2017, the same year she died.

  • “Next Generation is a little too politically correct for my tastes, but I do enjoy Deep Space Nine.” This was in reference to the two Star Trek series that were airing at the time. TNG ran from 1987 to 1994 and DS9 from 1993 to 1999. Yeah, you had anti-woke dicks in 1994 who thought Star Trek was “too woke” back then as well.

  • “Don’t get me wrong, the animated movie was fun — but a Broadway show?!” I could be wrong, but I think they are referring to Disney’s The Lion King which was released in 1994. A Broadway musical first started running in 1997. But I couldn’t tell you when it was announced. Either way, they are definitely referring to a Disney production. Since Disney now owns Marvel Comics this type of brand synergy wouldn’t be considered topical, particularly the specific Disney property isn’t mentioned at all.

• When rooting through the fridge, Eric is depicted holding a carton of Tropicana orange juice. This should be considered a topical reference as this is a real world product.

Errors

• There are two colouring errors in this story: During the party, Susan Austin is depicted with brown skin while Samantha is depicted with white skin at the end of the story.