Thunderbolts #24
Thunderbolts #24
Title: "The Eye of the Storm”
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Penciller: Mark Bagely
Inker: Scott Hanna
Colors: Joe Rosas
Editor: Tom Brevoort
The news is reviewing Hawkeye’s announcement that the Thunderbolts are going to take down the Masters of Evil. Edwin Cord says that this is just another scheme. He says that sooner or later they are going to try and take over the world again, but that he isn’t going to be fooled. Patty Harrigan, Colorado state senator, says that she supports the Avengers, but that she doesn’t want to see Colorado turned into a superhero war zone. A man from the US Forest Service says that anyone who takes down the Masters of Evil is okay by him. Gayle Rogers turns to Dr. Dennis Schoolcraft, the author of “Shadows: The Dark Side of the Marvels”. She asks his opinion. Dr. Schoolcraft says that with Hawkeye leading them that it gives them credibility to their claim that they have reformed. He says that with Hawkeye’s public profile and his skill, and with a clear mission the Thunderbolts may have finally come together as a team.
Songbird, Atlas, and Jolt are fighting against Charcoal. Moonstone thinks to herself that it was only yesterday that she thought the team was being drawn together, but that it is already falling apart. She says that she doesn’t know what Hawkeye was thinking letting Charcoal join the team. Songbird says that she knew she was right, and that he was just waiting to kill them. Charcoal says that Songbird is the one who attacked him. Hawkeye yells at all of them. Everyone freezes in their tracks. Hawkeye says that is very considerate on a morning where there is no coffee in sight. He asks what is going on. Atlas says that Charcoal attacked Melissa. Charcoal says that he didn’t attack anyone. Songbird says that she woke up to see him standing over her. Charcoal says that he was just trying to go off so he could go to the bathroom. Songbird says that he was in monster form. Charcoal powers down. He says that it is cold out there, and that his Charcoal form keeps him warmer. Hawkeye rolls his eyes and asks what he is going to do with them. Atlas says that they can’t trust him. Moonstone says that Atlas is right, and that they can’t be expected to work with someone that tried to kill them. Hawkeye points out that almost all of them have tried to kill him at least once. Atlas says that it isn’t the same. Hawkeye says that they are the biggest bunch of crybabies, and that if they are going to flinch at every little problem that they might as well save time and go back to crime now. Hawkeye says that maybe they all need to remember that they are all cold and cranky. Hawkeye says that Charcoal gets the same benefit of the doubt as they all get. Hawkeye says that they didn’t have much of a chance to talk last night and asks Charlie where he is from, and what he was doing with the Imperial Forces.
Charlie says that he is from all over, and that he and his dad moved around a lot as his dad had trouble getting work. Charlie says that a few years ago that his father took him to this rally for the Imperial Forces of America. He says that they talked a lot about how democracy didn’t work and didn’t protect the little guy. Charlie says that many of the people must have been like his dad because they liked the message. The people took an “oath of fealty”. The Imperial Forces then checked them all over. Charlie says that his dad said that it was for his health, but Charlie says that he thinks they were looking for something genetic. Charlie says that they took him away to do some more tests. He says that they told him he had the potential and they made him into Charcoal. Charlie says that the lead scientist there was this freaky looking guy with no real head. Jolt comes to life and asks him if it was Arnim Zola. Charlie says that he never knew his name. Charlie says that he didn’t know much about the Imperial Forces and that it was his dad that paid attention.
Hawkeye tells them to wait a second. He summons his atomic steed and says that he had it wired so that any news about the Masters of Evil would pipe directly to his helmet. He plays it back for them. The report says that the Masters of Evil are fighting the National Guard in Robinette, Nebraska. Hawkeye says that as far as he is concerned that was traveling music. The team takes off. Citizen V trails them on a V-wing that was modified from plans from Zemo’s castle before it was destroyed.
In Robinette,
Klaw, Man-Killer, Tiger Shark, Cyclone, and Flying Tiger are
terrorizing the local community. The National Guard is already
retreating. Tiger Shark says that he was just getting warmed up.
Man-Killer says that if they attracted the kind of attention that
they were trying to attract that sturdier opponents will arrive
soon.
Moonstone flies alongside Hawkeye. She tells him that she doesn’t like the way he made that announcement. She says that it doesn’t leave them any room to fall back if they fail. Hawkeye says that he doesn’t care much for fallback positions. He says that if you know you have no other option but to fight that you will fight that much harder. Moonstone says that she supposes, but thinks to herself that he is insane. Hawkeye says that it wasn’t just a PR move anyway. He says that it was meant to rile up the Masters and bring them out of hiding. Moonstone says that it worked, and tells Hawkeye to look up ahead. Hawkeye shouts for the Thunderbolts to hit the Masters. The Bolts charge in and Charcoal decks Man-Killer. Songbird tells Atlas to occupy Klaw while she gets Cyclone off his back. Flying Tiger engages Moonstone. Hawkeye watches and notices that his team is fighting smarter all every day. He fires an arrow that bounces off Flying Tiger’s body armor.
Klaw tells the Masters to stop. He reminds
them that they didn’t come there to fight, but to deliver a
message. Hawkeye says that they did come to fight, but asks what
the message is. 
Suddenly
Crimson Cowl appears. She says that she doesn’t appreciate
Hawkeye making political bank off of her or the Masters of Evil.
Cowl says that Hawkeye probably thought that it would upset her
plans challenging them, but that instead she has simply brought
them into their plans where they will die and bother them no
longer. Cowl snaps her fingers and the clear bright sky is
instantly replaced with a dark and threatening one. The winds
begin to pick up. Jolt asks where this storm came from. Atlas
says that he doesn’t know, but that he bets Crimson Cowl
does. Cowl says that Atlas shows more intelligence than Hawkeye
does. Cowl’s prehensile tail snatches the tracer, that was
on the arrow that bounced off Flying Tiger’s back, off
Flying Tiger’s back. She says that this will do them no good
even if they survive. Cowl and the Masters disappear.
Moonstone says that the storm is like a land bound hurricane. She says that the eye is still relatively calm, and that they can escape by going straight up. Hawkeye says that might be fine for them, but asks what about the townspeople. The people start staggering out to see what is happening. Hawkeye says that there must be some people that went into hiding from the Masters. He tells the Thunderbolts to find them. Jolt snatches people out of the air and places them back on the ground. Charcoal is hit by lightning as he shields the people on the ground. Songbird provides a sound shield for the people to run behind. Atlas, in his enlarged state, grabs people out of raging waters and gets them back to safety. Moonstone flies high into the sky and acts like a flare for people to follow.
As Hawkeye emerges onto the school’s roof after checking for children. He senses something out of the corner of his eye and fires an arrow at it. The arrow is sliced in half as Citizen V descends to the roof. She kicks Hawkeye in the face. Hawkeye quickly recovers and pulls an arrow back. He asks who she is. She explains that she is the true Citizen V and that she has a message for him. Hawkeye says this seems to be the day for it. Citizen V says that she is coming after Zemo and the Thunderbolts for what they did to her grandfather’s name, and what they did to the people. She says that at first she merely intended to restore her grandfather’s good name, but that now she has pledged herself to the cause of justice. She says that Hawkeye has allied himself with the Thunderbolts, and that she is giving his fair warning out of respect for his deeds. She tells him to abandon the Thunderbolts or share their fate. Hawkeye just looks at Citizen V and eventually says, “get out of my way.” Citizen V is taken aback. Hawkeye says that if she wants to try and take down the Thunderbolts out of some twisted sense of honor that it is her business, but he tells her to do it later. He points out that the Thunderbolts are a real, present threat, and that they left a storm as a going-away present. Hawkeye says that people are going to die there, and that some may have died already. He says that the Tbolts are trying to stop that from happening. He says that if Citizen V wants to fight for justice that she can pitch in or clear out. He tells her not to waste his time, and that he has work to do. Hawkeye leaps off the roof. Citizen V watches him go.
The townspeople are afraid, and say that they can’t trust the Thunderbolts. One of them suggests hiding in the town hall basement. Jolt speak up and says that the eye of the storm is the safest place. Jolt tells them to stay place. The others arrive and Hawkeye tells everyone to huddle up. Hawkeye tells Atlas, Songbird, and Charcoal what to do.
Nearby, Citizen V is talking into a communicator to someone named Piers. She says that she is still going to put the Thunderbolts behind bars, but that this takes precedence. Piers directs Citizen V to an energy source that isn’t supposed to be there. She walks into the door and spots a machine generating the storm. She figures that the Masters must have planted it there before the Thunderbolts arrived. Citizen V sends digital imagery and says to get Eamonn and says that she is going to try and shut it down. A voice says that she is not. Before Citizen V can turn she is smacked in the back of the head.
The storm reaches its peak. Atlas has grown to his maximum size and weight. His skin is harder than titanium steel. Atlas holds down a sound shield that is covering all the people from the town. Charcoal’s limbs sink the dome deep into the ground. Atlas feels himself slipping, but holds on. Songbird feels her bubble buckling, but she keeps reinforcing it. Hawkeye and Jolt reassure the people. Suddenly just as quickly as the storm started it ends. Atlas stands up. Jolt looks out over the now destroyed town. She says that they should have done something. Moonstone says that they did all that they could. The townspeople run up to Jolt and hug her and thank her. They say that the next time they hear someone calling the Thunderbolts a bunch of crooks they are going to give them a fat lip.
Soon the Thunderbolts are flying away, Hawkeye compliments them all but says that they are not done. He says that they still have to track down the Masters of Evil. Jolt asks how they can do that since Cowl destroyed the tracer on Flying Tiger. Hawkeye says that he expected that so he used that one as a distraction from the real tracer. Charcoal reveals that he is missing a finger that he stuck into Man-Killer’s shoulder straps. He says that he can always sense it no matter how far away.
Hours later, the Thunderbolts have entered Mount Charteris and bypassed the alarms. Hawkeye says that this place is better than he expected. He says that it is everything that he hoped for and more. Atlas asks how their enemies having a good HQ is good for them. Hawkeye says that it is simple. They need a headquarters so they defeat the bad guys and take their headquarters. Moonstone thinks to herself that Hawkeye is crazy, but he has a certain style. The Bolts sneak up on the villains and are stunned by what they see. Jolt says, “I think we’re going to need a bigger boat…” as they look down on the 25 members of the Masters of Evil.
Traitor's rating: 8 out of 10
I really like the dynamic of this version of the team. Hawkeye's tactics for showing the team how he operates it just what this book needed just when it needed it. What can I say about Bagely? The man defines Thunderbolt art. I have a confession in that I was never that huge a Bagely fan on Spider-Man. I mean he was good, but he didn't rock my world or anything. Bagely rocks the world on Thunderbolts.