Thunderbolts vol. 2 #6

Title: “In City of Heroes?”

Writer: Fabian Nicieza

Co-Plotter: Kurt Busiek

Penciller: Tom Grummett

Inker: Gray Erskine

Colors: Chris Sotomayor

Editor: Tom Brevoort

Erik, having worked for Hydra enough times to know that he is facing, recognizes that they are there for total and utter annihiliation. He thinks to himself that it is funny that as a mercenary that he never asked why or cared, and that now as a Thundebolt he is still pretty much of the same mind. He wonders why he can’t see the difference. Atlas realizes that it is three against an army. He feels a surge of anger and decides that he likes those odds. He throws a large chunk of bridge into the sky at one of the Hydra carriers.

Beetle tells Chen Lu that they are going to need Warbird. He tells him to help her regain consciousness. Chen Lu asks how. Beetle tells him to find the radiation in the spectrum that her powers work on and give her a boost. Chen Lu says, “A boost?” Beetle flies off and tells him to figure it out. Beetle watches as Atlas’ chunk of bridge travels a quarter of a mile. He sees all the fighters emerging from the carriers and attacking Atlas. He wonders how strong Atlas is and how long he can control that strength. Beetle thinks to himself to focus. He links to his MACH IV armor back at headquarters and tries to find which of the carriers that Strucker is on. Erik asks Abe why Hydra is declaring war. Abe says that its because its Wednesday. He asks who cares and tells Erik to keep them busy while he does some recon work.

The New Warriors and Power Pack arrive to help the Thunderbolts against Hydra.

In the coroner’s office, the coroner is watching the televised coverage. He says that those heroes are just kids. Suddenly, the body encased in the cocoon emerges. The coroner turns in shock. He says that he was dead. The man says that he was, but that he thinks he got better.

At Cedars-Sinai, the doctor tells Songbird that he can’t sign her out. Melissa whispers to him that he can just watch her go then and that it will be their little secret.

Beetle finds Strucker and flies outside the carrier. Strucker says that he trusts they are on a secure line. Beetle says that they are and asks what he is doing this for. Strucker says that he is in a struggle for his organization, and that to win that he needs chaos. He says that the screams of the dying must feed the beast. He says that his competition is formidable, but that he had long planned for this occasion. Strucker says that he used the Atlanteans, the Wrecking Crew, and even the Great Game all to prepare for a greater glory. Beetle says that the Thunderbolts fought against all of that. He asks if those were Strucker’s plans all along why he let them stop it. Strucker’s man inside the carrier quietly tells him that the transmission line is open now. Beetle asks Strucker if he thought they would just go along with him because he was paying their bills. Strucker says that he wanted the opposition. Both Songbird and Atlas are listening as Strucker tells Jenkins that he needed superhuman operatives that would fight back hard against him.He says that it would serve to escalate the carnage, but that they would never be capable enough to actually stop him. He says that they were nothing more than a distraction. He says that he funded them so that they could try all the while knowing that they would fail.

Warbird smashes through one of the smaller fighters that emerged from the carriers. She says that even if they win that it won’t be worth it. Beetle says that he has tapped into some “contacts”, and that the big picture is almost beyond belief. He says that they won’t be able to stop it unless they get someone inside the command ship. Atlas asks Beetle how he proposes they do that. Beetle says that he is working on it. Erik tells Abe that he heard Strucker over the comm-link. Abe tells Erik that now isn’t the time. He tells Erik to ready himself for his ionic energies to surge.

Radioactive Man thinks of the irony of him defending Americans. He thinks about how that would have once been laughable, but that now he has seen Americans suffer as those that suffered in Beijing. He looks down at Llyron and thinks to himself that he could kill him and just leave, but decides not to. He thinks about how ironic it is that he has come to help, but that the other Thunderbolts have refused to come.

Speed Demon runs into the fight past Swordsman and Spider-Man fighting Hydra agents. He thinks about how Strucker paid him to keep an eye on Jenkins, but that now he realizes that Strucker is completely out of his mind. He thinks to himself that he was a mediocre chemist and bad guy, but that he could be a great superhero. He wonders if that is what he wants and knows that though he can outrun a bullet that he can’t outrun himself. Speed Demon finds Radioactive Man and asks him who needs a smackdown around there. Radioactive Man says that he is surprised to see Saunders there. Chen Lu hoists Llyron up and tosses him into the sky. Saunders says that it makes two of them surprised. Saunders runs up the side of a building and launches himself onto one of the fighters. He tears the ship apart at superspeed and is on the ground before it crashes. Chen Lu asks if the others have found their conscience as well. Speed Demon says that they are on their way, but that the conscience thing is a work in progress.

Joystick tells Gill that stopping for his stupid costume cost them valuable game time. Blizzard says that this isn’t a game. Joystick says that it is all a game, and that the sooner he realizes that the more fun he will have. Atlas snatches Joystick off Blizzard’s ice ramp. Beetle catches Gill as he asks Atlas what he is doing. Atlas says that it is called a plan. Atlas throws Joystick and wishes her luck. Joystick asks if this is one of those “figure it out as we go along” plans. Joystick lands on one of the Hydra ships. Through her comm. link, Abe tells Joystick that she has to get into the Hydra command ship and access the ship’s network link to the other craft. Joystick asks why she should do that. Abe says that if she doesn’t that he will give Hydra her exact location. Joystick breaks into the ship and asks Abe if that was a threat or a promise. Warbird tells Abe that this is an interesting group he has put together. Abe says to tell him about it.

Gill says that there are too many Hydra agents. Radioactive Man says that they are only fodder. Speed Demon says that they taste like chicken though. A Hydra agent tells them that their deaths will earn him the supreme commander’s highest regard. He throws a sonic pulse and Gill, Radioactive Man, and Speed Demon grab their ears. Suddenly the noise gets quieter. Saunders sees Songbird negating the sound with a sub-harmonic frequency. Radioactive Man smashes the sonic pulse. Saunders catches Songbird as she passes out. He asks what she is doing there. Chen Lu says that she is doing the same thing as all of them are.

Beetle asks Joystick what is going on. Joystick says that she found a trunk line and that she working to patch into it now. Abe asks if she met any resistance. Joystick stands over three downed Hydra agents and says that she didn’t. Joystick tells Abe that she is sending him the optic lines for the server and the feed for the inter-ship communications. Abe is surprised that she understands the mechanics and says that he thought he was going to have to walk her through it. Joystick says that if the whole ship wasn’t about to come down on her “incredibly tight butt” that she would have made him play the game, but that she is cutting it close… even for her. Abe asks how they found out where she was. Joystick says that she told them. She says that she has to go now as three more Hydra agents rush in firing.

Beetle tells Warbird that he was afraid of this. He says that while everyone was busy running around with the attacks that Strucker was setting them up. Warbird asks what for, but then a low-yield nuclear bomb goes off. Beetle asks Warbird to get Chen Lu over there as fast as she can. Warbird scoops Chen Lu up. Abe tells her to throw him into the cloud before it has a chance to disperse. Warbird does so and says that she hopes he knows what he is doing. Radioactive Man says that Abe does, and that so does he. The radiation is like a breath of cool air as he absorbs it. He knows that there is a limit to what he can safely absorb, and then he thinks about if there are other bombs.

Atlas grabs Strucker’s ship and shouts that he is detonating nukes. Strucker orders a full reverse and asks how Atlas can be so strong. Atlas squeezes the ship. He hears the screams as the metal rends and it causes him to squeeze a little harder.

Beetle tells Gill and Saunders that there are fourteen more nukes spread across Manhattan. Blizzard says that is insane. Speed Demon says that Miami is sounding good and says that he will give them a call when he gets there. Abe takes off his helmet. He pulls one of the eyes off and says that it will guide them to their locations. He tells Speed Demon that he has to take Blizzard with him and to have him freeze all the bombs until FEMA can disarm them. He says that they are on a domino sequence in sixty second intervals. He says that the first nuke triggered the chain and that he has to go now. Speed Demon says that he can’t run that fast. Abe grabs Speed Demon by the neck and says that he will break his neck right now. He says that he knows Strucker hired him to spy on them. He says that he can either spend the rest of his life as a quadriplegic or save millions of people. Speed Demon grabs Blizzard and says that when he puts it like that the hero biz kinda bites. Abe says that it does.

Atlas tears open Strucker’s ship and asks where he is. Strucker is told that an escape pod has been prepared for evacuation. Strucker says that he would stay and fight, but that his real fight is with in the ranks of their organization. He says that there is much to respect in the Thunderbolts’ tenacity, but that their actions are doomed to fail.

Blizzard freezes another bomb and says that they don’t have enough time. He says that there are four bombs left. Saunders says that he knows. He says that they can’t do them one at a time. He says that he is going to drag him behind and that Gill will have to pour it on and try to cover the entire area in ice… like a blanket. Gill starts to tell Saunders that he can’t do that, but Speed Demon just grabs him and says that he is sick of hearing what he can’t do. He says that they have to make hell freeze over right now. After a moment, Gill says that he is almost out of Freon. Saunders says that is fine since they are almost out of time.

Radioactive Man emerges from the clouds where the first nuke went off.

Warbird tells Atlas that he has to find Strucker alive. Atlas says that he makes no promises. An escape pod shoots into the air. Abe puts down Melissa and says that Strucker is not getting away. He says that this suit may not be as fast as the MACH IV armor, but that Strucker isn’t getting away.

Atlas watches as Joystick emerges from the ship. She says, “Hey, big guy, up for a little post-game rubdown?” Atlas says, “This isn’t a game, Janice… you… we… yeah… okay… sure… but let’s see if we survive this first!”

Speed Demon says that there is one more. He says that he isn’t dying because Gill didn’t go to Home Depot. Gill says that he wanted to, but that Saunders made him go to the strip club.

Strucker’s ship starts to pull away from Abe. He tells Abe that it was a valiant effort, but then notices that he isn’t wearing his helmet. Strucker says that the g-forces, cold, and lack of oxygen must be very painful. He says that he was so close to mattering, his heart’s desire, but that as with all the Thunderbolts (including the misbegotten Zemo) that he isn’t close enough. He says that he wasn’t close enough to greatness… much less to deter a great man. He tells Abe to continue to try and that maybe one day when he is on the verge of success that he will be there to crush him.

Speed Demon tells Blizzard that they have fifteen seconds. Gill says that he is out of Freon. Speed Demon tells him to try anyway. Blizzard tries and fails. He says that he is sorry. Speed Demon starts to freak, but then says that it is okay. He says that he tried. Saunders curses Abe for making him think that he should be doing this. Speed Demon picks up the nuke and starts to run with it toward the Meadowlands. The bomb explodes, but instantly the mushroom cloud seems to be spiraling. Abe sees, in the middle of the cloud, a human form… covered in a glowing starfield. Genis has opened a rift in the air around him and is redirecting the explosive fallout into it.

Warbird holds Beetle and asks if that is who she thinks it is. Abe says that he could really learn to hate that guy.

The people flock into the streets cheering. Radioactive Man is stunned to see them cheering him.

The EMTs help Blizzard up. They say it looks like he has some freezer burn and frostbite. They tell him that they will patch him right up. Gill awkwardly thanks them.

Atlas holds Melissa as Joystick stands on his shoulder. He sees Genis and asks if he is alive. Joystick asks if he means the gorgeous sparkling guy that just saved them all. She asks who he is.

Speed Demon asks Genis who he is. Genis introduces himself and says that Saunders can call him Photon. He asks him who he is. Saunders says that he is Speed Demon… one of the Thunderbolts.

The news coverage shows the police surrounding the downed Hydra ships. It says that the casualties are in the hundreds, but that it could have been much worse. The anchor says that the Fathom Five have been apprehended, but that it appears that Llyron and Sea Leopard have escaped. She says that the city expected the most from the Thunderbolts, but that the Thunderbolts exceeded those expectations. She says that they were aided by the miraculous return of Captain Marvel. Genis says that is Photon with a “Ph”. The anchor goes on to say that Jenkins has lead Atlas, Speed Demon, Joystick, Blizzard, Songbird, and even the Radioactive Man in a death defying salvation of New York. She says that the Thunderbolts have proclaimed that this is a city of heroes.

Purple Man raises his drink and says that it is all the better for their inevitable fall.

Traitor’s rating: 9 out of 10

Review and picture by the Leader

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