Thunderbolts #7
Thunderbolts #7
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Co-Plotters: Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern
Penciller: Jeff Johnson
Inkers: Will Blyberg, Eric Cannon, Larry Mahlstadt, Greg Adams, and Keith Williams
Colors: Joe Rosas
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Despite Citizen V’s orders not to go the other Thunderbolts are out as they head to face the Elements of Doom. Songbird says that now that they are out there defying Citizen V that it feels wrong. MACH-1 tells her to just focus on the job. Atlas says that he is with Jolt and that he is worried how Citizen V will react. Techno says that he can guess. Jolt asks if they aren’t all overreactinga bit. She says that it isn’t as if Citizen V was going to kill them. Moonstone says that it isn’t as though Citizen V gave them a choice. They think back on what got them out there.
Citizen V had just repeated the order not to go and walked out. Jolt says that they have to do something because that is why they are there. Meteorite sees it as a way to divide the team from Zemo and have it bond to her. She says that Techno did say he could trace them. Songbird and MACH-1 both worry about where the Elements could strike next. Atlas doesn’t really want to go, but Moonstone knows that he will do whatever the group decides. Meteorite plays Techno as she whispers that he doesn’t want to look like Zemo’s boot licker.
As they fly towards the Elements of Doom Atlas repeats that he doesn’t like not having “him” there. Off in the distance Citizen V follows the others. He is fuming that they disobeyed his order. He thinks about flying up to them and demanding an explanation, but decides to wait and see how it turns out.
The Thunderbolts get to the park to find a giant citadel has risen out of the ground. Meteorite tells Atlas to take the point. Atlas says that he didn’t even want to come, but does what he is told. The door to the citadel opens and ten of the 109 Elements of Doom come out. Tungsten throws Nickel into Atlas and knocks him over. Atlas gets up and starts to grow larger, but Tungsten and Chromium throw grab his hands and throw him into Zirconium’s fist. Meteorite’s blast hurts Nickel as it’s temperture is above its melting point. Jolt leaps over Mercury into the hands of Copper. Meteorite tries to win favor by saving Jolt, but instead she catches a face full of Bromide’s blast. Techno is going to swoop up, but Chromium grabs the V-glider from under his feet. Atlas is getting pounded unable to concentrate to grow. Jolt freaks, but Copper just absorbs her electricity and uses it to blast MACH-1 and Meteorite. Songbird suddenly finds herself without a voice. Helium tells her that it is an invisible Element. MACH-1 dives to save Songbird before she hits the ground.
Citizen V watches the entire thing. He sees how the Thunderbolts could still win this fight, but he stands back and does nothing. He thinks to himself, as he watches MACH-1 get knocked out, that they chose to rebel against his order. He decides to let them live with the consequences of their actions. He thinks that even if the penalty is death that there are others where they came from to take their place.
The Elements of Doom drag the defeated Thunderbolts inside their citadel and place them in restraints. When they are held securely Dr. Vasily Khandruvitch appears to them. He says that he created the first group of Elements out of transformed humans, but they rebelled against him and were destroyed by the Avengers. He says that eventually he found his way to America where he found work with the underground. Eventually he raised enough money to create a new group of Elements of Doom, but this time they are pure elemental so that their human sides won’t rebel against him. He says that he had figured to show their abilities to get contracted work, but now that they have defeated New York’s mighiest heroes he has been reconsidering. Now he is thinking of holding the world hostage to force the UN to give him his own nation.
Back at Four Freedoms Plaza, Citizen V is yelling at Dallas Riordan. He says that this is what happens when they go ahead without the files that he asked for. Dallas apologizes and asks if he thinks Atlas and the others are all right. Citizen V says that he has no idea if they are all right or not, and that it was a miracle that he got away. He says that he may be able to save them if they would just release the Avengers files to him. Dallas says that they are pulling political strings to try and put pressure on SHIELD to do that. Citizen V says that is good and signs off. He thinks that maybe something might be salvaged from this after all.
The Thunderbolts are still watchinf as Dr. Vasily Khandruvitch thinks about how good it is not to be a servant, but a master again. Suddenly the Elements reveal to him that they aren’t going to listen to him anymore than the other Elements were. Europium says that they are grateful for giving him life so they will not harm him. The Elements however want Khandruvitch to transform all the people of the world like he did the previous Elements of Doom that will work for them. Europium says that is why they left the Thunderbolts alive so that they might be the first transformed. Europium says to disengage the visi-screen, and that they will come for the Thunderbolts when they were ready.
Atlas says that they really screwed up this time. Jolt tells him not to get down, and that they can’t lose hope. Jolt asks Songbird how she is. Songbird says that she is alright, but is worried about how still MACH-1 is. Techno says that the kid is the only one with any guts. A wire runs out of Techno’s head gear into the citadel. Meteorite says that she thought that they took his tech pac. Techno says that he has never been one to put all his eggs in one basket. He says that he is inside their system and can tell that nobody is watching them. Techno calls Citizen V and tells him the Elements’ plan. Techno says that he has found a way out, but that he needs Citizen V to so something for them. Citizen V starts to say that he needs them in there, but corrects himself saying that the citadel is too well guarded. He tells Techno to get to Dr. Vasily Khandruvitch and get information from him. Techno says that he knows that Citizen V is upset about them defying orders, but that they are in no condition to fight back. Jolt reveals that Songbird can get out because she told her to create sound constructs around her hands and feet before they put her in. Songbird drops out and goes to MACH-1. The gassed Meteorite says that Songbird has to go find the doctor. Songbird doesn’t want to go alone, but Jolt gives her a pep talk and says that Songbird is a hero, and that she knows she can do it.
Moments later Songbird is flying along. As
Techno is guiding her to where she needs to go he is removing his
own restraints. Moonstone says that she thought Techno said he
couldn’t get out of these. Techno says that was before Jolt
volunteered them for this suicide mission. He says that
everything is pickable. Moonstone and Jolt are also free when
Songbird reports that she has found the door, but that it is
being guarded by a big guy. 
Techno starts
to give her directions on how to get around him when his neck is
suddenly snapped. The Element of Doom says that Techno was very
foolish to try and outsmart them. He asks if anyone else wants to
be foolish. Songbird tries to talk to Techno and realizes that he
isn’t going to respond.
Traitor’s rating: 7 out of 10.
The writing in the issue is important and the plot is certainly moving along, but at the same time the Elements of Doom give me a headache. I always feel like I’m failing that science test again when I read this issue. There’s nothing wrong with the art, but it’s not really spectacular. It gets a 3 out of 5 as an average.