Thunderbolts #53

Title: “The Parent Trap”

Writer: Fabian Nicieza

Penciller: Patrick Zircher

Inker: Al Vey

Colors: VLM

Editor: Tom Brevoort

Charlie Burlingame, aka Charcoal, sits spacing out in school. The teacher is calling on him, but Charlie is spaced out. He barely listens anymore. He barely cares. When they finally get his attention Charlie answers the teacher’s question correctly without having to have the question repeated. Something has changed inside Charlie. Though it may have started when Jolt was killed she is alive again. After class in the hall Charlie hears three jerks using racial slurs to talk about him. Charlie thinks about crushing them. JD and Angie (who know Charcoal and Jolt’s secret) tell Charlie that was a good trick, but Charlie says that he heard everything Josephs said. As Charlie leaves they think about how he doesn’t want to hang out anymore.

Charlie is thinking about that morning. Jolt is in her human form and trying to learn to walk. Hallie falls down. Charlie goes to help her, but Radek says that she has to learn to fall so she can learn to walk again. Hallie asks why she should bother when she can be normal in her electrified form. Radek says that if she ignores her human form that it will atrophy and that will affect her electric form. Charlie hands Hallie her cane and leaves for school.

Outside after school the three racist jerks are beating up a Mexican kid who won’t give them his notes. Charlie turns into Charcoal. He tells them to let the kid go or he will kill them. Charlie’s dad watches him from off in the distance.

At Mount Charteris, Captain America watches Jolt’s rehabilitation. He spots GW Bridge on a call with Sharon Carter asking about what HS-1 might mean. He says that they ran across it a number of times while scrubbing the hard drives. She doesn’t know what it means. She guesses that it might mean Homo-Superior One, perhaps referring to Magneto. Fixer says to himself that the only superior one there is him. He says that they went and got him curious. Ogre is watching Fixer and says that isn’t good. He says that he can’t allow him to find his and, more importantly, HS-1’s hiding place.

Later Charlie is sitting at the table where Jolt was killed. JD and Angie ask if they can sit down with him. Charlie asks how many people saw him change into Charcoal. They say that he was lucky that nobody did. They say that he could have killed them. Charlie asks who would care if those racist wanna be Aryans did die. He asks who would have stopped him. A voice says that nobody but him could have stopped him. The voice belongs to Charlie’s dad Calvin.

On the moon, Moonstone realizes that Graviton’s lack of imagination prevented him from utilizing his powers to their fullest potential. Graviton asks Moonstone if she is impressed as he reconfigures the entire mare insularium crater field and its underlying tectonic plates. Moonstone says that Graviton has mastered scale, but asks if he could cradle a pebble. Graviton says that he loves how Moonstone constantly challenges him. He says that it is interesting that she wants him to cradle a moon pebble or moon stone.

In Seagate Prison, Hawkeye walks through the yard. His fellow inmates stare daggers at him, but Hawkeye has protection from Mentallo now. Mentallo asks Hawkeye if he likes this better. Hawkeye tells Mentallo to get out of his head and that just because they have a deal doesn’t mean they are “brain buddies”. Mentallo says that he would have thought Hawkeye would remember who is making his life possible now. Hawkeye says that Mentallo should remember who is going to break him out of prison.

Charlie goes for a drive with his father. Charlie asks why he is there. Calvin says that he read all the news about the fights in the area and was worried. Charlie says that he was worried about the Imperial Army’s investment. Calvin says that the Imperial Army has many forces and that the reason they didn’t come after him was because it was easier to just let him go and turn to the others like him. Calvin stops near the Cryogenics Chemical plant. Charlie asks what Calvin wants. Calvin says that they are working on a compound that the Imperial Army’s lab needs. Charlie says to get bent. Calvin reveals that he has Imperial Army troops with him. Charlie turns into Charcoal and flies at them. Calvin uses the distraction to get where he needs.

Fixer is working on the HS-1 problem when word comes in that there is a disturbance at the Cryogenics Chemical plant. Fixer goes to tell Captain America, but Cap says that he just heard as well. Fixer finds notes dealing with power estimates for an interstellar portal. He guesses that might be where Ogre went.

Calvin is admiring how Charcoal is easily cutting through the Imperial Army as he downloads what he needs. Charcoal blasts one of them into the catwalk Calvin is standing on. Calvin is about to fall into a vat. He screams out for help. Charcoal sticks his hand into the chemical, but it seriously hurts him. Charcoal can’t feel his hand regrowing. Charcoal stands there weighing the options of his father losing his life or risking his own life. Charcoal wonders what a hero would do, and then turns his back as his father falls into the vat of freon like material. His father smiles inside knowing that he raised his son to be just like him.

Outside Captain America and the others arrive as the fight is over. Charcoal says that the Secret Empire was trying to steal something, but that he died. Charcoal lies and says that he tried to save him but couldn’t. Cap tells Charcoal not to worry about it and that they can’t save everyone. Charcoal says that they can’t really save anyone. He says that his hand is better now anyway.

Inside the plant, Calvin’s hand is reaching out of the vat.

Traitor’s rating: 7.5 out of 10

The story is good, but entirely too much time is spent on Charcoal and not enough on the other team members. Book is very dramatic and the story is very entertaining. 4 out of 5.

Patrick Zircher continues to improve, but I still miss Bagely.