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This is a trade paper back that was re-released by Marvel recently and one of the two I picked up for free at my LCS. They were nice enough to give me this and a Generation X trade during one of my weekly trips over there, I guess since I buy so much from them already. So this volume documents the start of the Thunderbolts in the Marvel Universe. Writer Kurt Busiek pens the intro, one that was used in previous releases.
The Thunderbolts came about after the heroes of the Marvel Universe disappeared after fighting Onslaught. They were actually a group of super-villains named the Masters of Evil and led by Baron Zemo. They decide to pose as heroes in order to gain acceptance by the public for the long-term goal of doing dastardly things with their new-found information. This collects the first appearances of the Thunderbolts from way back in 1996 and 1997 and includes the first four issues of the Thunderbolts series as well as their annual, their first appearance in Incredible Hulk #447, their team-up with Spider-Man in Spider-Man Team-Up Featuring… #7, and finally their story in the Tales of the Marvel Universe one-shot. Though they first appeared in Hulk, the first story presented here is the debut issue of the Thunderbolts, where they immediately show themselves as heroes only to have the big revelation that they are villains in disguise at the end. That was a huge surprise to people reading that back in the day (and I was one of those readers).
A strange thing happened during the course of these issues. The Thunderbolts actually enjoyed some of these heroic deeds they were doing, and Mach-I (formerly the Beetle) actually saved Spider-Man and cleared his name just because he was innocent. The Thunderbolts even added another member, Jolt, and we see a great origin story in the pages of the Thunderbolts annual. There are some great plot threads introduced, including a scheme by Moonstone to undermine Zemo.
-The Bottom Line- Reading this I remember why I liked the T-Bolts so much. It was just a fresh story in a time where I couldn’t stand the product. Looking back at this and the reason why I liked it so much, I think I finally discovered the reason. First off, I love the writing of Kurt Busiek, from his work on Marvels to his recent run on Superman. Second, I love Bagley’s art, from his early run in New Warriors to his monumental run on Ultimate Spider-Man. If the art is great and the story even greater, you have a classic title on your hands. I highly recommend this to people reading the Thunderbolts now and not knowing where exactly they came from. This is a great collection of 7 issues. Highly recommended.
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Questions? Comments? Shoot me an email.
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