History ComicBook / PeterCannonThunderbolt

* FashionableAsymmetry: Cannon's costume has an asymmetric color scheme. The original design was apparently borrowed from the GoldenAge superhero Daredevil, who was one inspiration for the character.

Specifically, Peter Cannon was taken to UsefulNotes/{{Tibet}} by his parents, who were American medical workers. Unfortunately, his parents died while working to save a Tibetan village from the "dreaded Black Plague,"[[note]]presumably meant to be the BlackDeath, though the reference is vague and this may just be some generic local [[ThePlague plague]][[/note]] leaving their infant son to be brought up by the surviving villagers and the local lamasery. Cannon became a master of physical and mental disciplines under the monks' tutelage, learning so well that he was entrusted with "ancient scrolls that bore the secret writings of past generations of wise men." then, when he was an adult, the Black Plague returned, wiping out the village. So Cannon returned to his parents' homeland with his Indian friend Tabu. There, he took the identity of the superhero Thunderbolt.

Thunderbolt also shares with other Charlton characters the odd distinction of probably being better known for an {{Expy}}[=/=]CaptainErsatz than for their original persona -- ''much'' better known in Thunderbolt's case, because of those rather patchy appearances under temporary licenses. The expies are the major characters in DC's classic ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}, by Creator/AlanMoore, which was quite openly based on Charlton's line-up; Thunderbolt became the (in)famous Ozymandias.

Peter Cannon's backstory has been reasonably consistent across his various incarnations, being a version of the ever-popular "Westerner learned amazing [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower martial arts]] or some kind of mystical secrets in the FarEast" origin story, which goes back to the 19th century and had previously appeared in comics in another form with characters such as ComicBook/DoctorStrange and the GoldenAge hero Amazing-Man, who Cannon quite closely resembles. However, Peter Cannon was one of the first versions in American culture to focus on martial arts abilities (though he also acquired some quasi-mystical lore). In fact, his story also has a noticeable amount in common with that of Marvel Comics' [[ComicBook/ImmortalIronFist Iron Fist]], who appeared a few years later.

* SupernaturalMartialArts: Along with his “mind over matter” CharlesAtlasSuperpower, the "ancient scrolls" Cannon may or may not have in his possession in different versions may provide outright mystical powers when he consults them — though this usually downplayed.

* DominoMask: The original version of Thunderbolt simply added a domino mask for identity concealment to what was said to be his training outfit (which happened to look remarkably like a fairly {{Standard Superhero Suit|s}}). Recent redesigns of the character gave made the mask a bit more non-standard.

Peter Cannon, alias Thunderbolt, is a superhero originating in Creator/CharltonComics in TheSixties. Unlike the other Charlton heroes, the rights to this character reverted to his creator, Pete Morisi, when Charlton Comics disappeared. Hence, while full rights to those other characters were purchased by Creator/DCComics and they were fully incorporated into Franchise/TheDCU, DC only acquired the license to Thunderbolt on a temporary basis. It eventually again reverted to Morisi and then his estate, and Peter Cannon has since been licensed out elsewhere.

* SupernaturalMartialArts: Along with his lmind over matter” CharlesAtlasSuperpower, the "ancient scrolls" Cannon may or may not have in his possession in different versions may provide outright mystical powers when he consults them.

Specifically, Peter Cannon was taken to UsefulNotes/{{Tibet}} by his parents, who were American medical workers. Unfortunately, his parents died while working to save a Tibetan village from the "dreaded Black Plague,"[[note]]presumably meant to be the BlackDeath, though the reference is vague and this may just be some generic local [[ThePlague plague]][[/note]] leaving their infant son to be brought up by the surviving villagers and the local lamasery. Cannon became a master of physical and mental disciplines under the monks' tutelage, learning so well that he was entrusted with "ancient scrolls that bore the secret writings of past generations of wise men." then, when he was an adult, the Black Plague returned, wiping out the village. So Cannon returned to his parents' homeland with his Indian friend Tabu. There, he donned a mask along with his training outfit and took the identity of the superhero Thunderbolt.

* NinetyPercentOfYourBrain: Peter Cannon's training was said to enable him to access the portions of the brain that most people don't use, though some recent comics have implicitly acknowledged the mythical status of that number.

* MightyWhitey:

Specifically, Peter Cannon was taken to UsefulNotes/{{Tibet}} by his parents, who were American medical workers. Unfortunately, his parents died while working to save a Tibetan village from the "dreaded Black Plague,"[[note]]presumably meant to be the BlackDeath, though the reference is vague and this may just be some generic local [[ThePlague plague]][[/note]] leaving their infant son to be brought up by the surviving villagers and the local lamasery. Cannon became a master of physical and mental disciplines under the monks' tutelage, learning so well that he was entrusted with "ancient scrolls that bore the secret writings of past generations of wise men." then, when he was an adult, the Black Plague returned, wiping out the village. So Cannon returned to his parents' homeland with his Indian friend Tabu. Cannon soon came to realize that his powers could help people in this land, but wasn't very enamored of materialistic western civilization, so that he often had to be persuaded by Sabu to don a mask along with his training outfit and take the identity of the superhero Thunderbolt.

Peter Cannon's training was said to enable him to access the NinetyPercentOfYourBrain that most people don't use, though more recent comics have implicitly acknowledged the mythical status of that number. In any case, many versions of the character have been depicted as mostly using excellent physical skills and martial arts, shading into CharlesAtlasSuperpower levels of ability and sometimes SupernaturalMartialArts. The "ancient scrolls" he may or may not have in his possession in different versions may provide more outright mystical powers when he consults them.

* ''ComicBook/PeterCannonThunderbolt2019'' (Creator/DynamiteEntertainment, 2019)

Peter Cannon's backstory has been reasonably consistent across his various incarnations, being a version of the ever-popular "Westerner learned amazing [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower martial arts]] or some kind of mystical secrets in the FarEast" origin story, which goes back to the 19th century and had previously appeared in comics in another form with characters such as ComicBook/DoctorStrange and the GoldenAge hero Amazing-Man, who Cannon quite closely resembles. However, Peter Cannon was one of the first versions in American culture to focus on martial arts abilities (though Cannon also acquired some quasi-mystical lore). In fact, his story also has a noticeable amount in common with that of Marvel Comics' [[ComicBook/ImmortalIronFist Iron Fist]], who appeared a few years later.

Specifically, Peter Cannon was taken to UsefulNotes/{{Tibet}} by his parents, who were American medical workers. Unfortunately, his parents died while working to save a Tibetan village from the "dreaded Black Plague,"[[note]]Presumably meant to be the BlackDeath, though the reference is vague and this may just be some generic local [[ThePlague plague]][[/note]] leaving their infant son to be brought up by the surviving villagers and the local lamasery. Cannon became a master of physical and mental disciplines under the monks' tutelage, learning so well that he was entrusted with "ancient scrolls that bore the secret writings of past generations of wise men." then, when he was an adult, the Black Plague returned, wiping out the village. So Cannon returned to his parents' homeland with his Indian friend Tabu. Cannon soon came to realize that his powers could help people in this land, but wasn't very enamored of materialistic western civilization, so that he often had to be persuaded by Sabu to don a mask along with his training outfit and take the identity of the superhero Thunderbolt.

Peter Cannon, alias Thunderbolt, is a superhero originating in Creator/CharltonComics in TheSixties. Unlike the other Charlton heroes, the rights to this character reverted to his creator, Pete Morisi, when Charlton Comics disappeared. Hence, while full rights to those other characters were purchased by Creator/DCComics and they were fully incorporated into Franchise/TheDCU, DC only acquired the license to Thunderbolt on a temporary basis. It eventually again reverted to Morisi and then his estate, and Peter Cannon has since been licensed out to other companies.

Thunderbolt also shares with other Charlton characters the odd distinction of probably being better known for an {{Expy}} than for their original persona -- ''much'' better known in Thunderbolt's case, because of those rather patchy appearances under temporary licenses. The expies are the major characters in DC's classic ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}, by Creator/AlanMoore, which was quite openly based on Charlton's line-up; Thunderbolt became the (in)famous Ozymandias.

Peter Cannon's backstory has been reasonably consistent across his various incarnations, being a version of the ever-popular "Westerner learned amazing [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower martial arts]] or some kind of mystical secrets in the FarEast" origin story, which goes back to the 19th century and had previously appeared in comics in another form with characters such as ComicBook/DoctorStrange. However, Peter Cannon was one of the first versions in American culture to focus on martial arts abilities (though Cannon also acquired some mystical lore). In fact, his story has a noticeable amount in common with that of Marvel Comics' [[ComicBook/ImmortalIronFist Iron Fist]], who appeared a few years later.

Specifically, Peter Cannon was taken to UsefulNotes/{{Tibet}} by his parents, who were American medical workers. Unfortunately, his parents died while working to save a Tibetan village from the "dreaded Black Plague," leaving their infant son to be brought up by the surviving villagers and the local lamasery. Cannon became a master of physical and mental disciplines under the monks' tutelage, learning so well that he was entrusted with "ancient scrolls that bore the secret writings of past generations of wise men." then, when he was an adult, the Black Plague returned, wiping out the village. So Cannon returned to his parents' homeland with his Indian friend Tabu. Cannon soon came to realize that his powers could help people in this land, but wasn't very enamored of materialistic western civilization, so that he often had to be persuaded by Sabu to don a mask along with his training outfit and take the identity of the superhero Thunderbolt.

Comic series in which Peter Cannon has appeared include:

* ''Peter Cannon ... Thunderbolt'' (Charlton Comics, 1966-1967)
* ''Peter Cannon – Thunderbolt'' (DC Comics, 1992-1993)
* ''Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt (2012)'' (Dynamite Entertainment, 2012-2013)
* ''ComicBook/PeterCannonThunderbolt2019'' (Dynamite Entertainment, 2019)

* ''ComicBook/PeterCannonThunderbolt(2019)'' (Dynamite Entertainment, 2019)

* '' Peter Cannon – Thunderbolt'' (DC Comics, 1992-1993)
* ''Peter Cannon Thunderbolt'' (Dynamite Entertainment, 2012-2013)

Peter Cannon, alias Thunderbolt, is a superhero originating in Creator/CharltonComics in the 1960s. Unlike the other Charlton heroes, the rights to this character reverted to his creator, Pete Morisi, when Charlton Comics disappeared. Hence, while full rights to those other characters were purchased by Creator/DCComics and they were fully incorporated into the DC Universe, DC only acquired the license to Thunderbolt on a temporary basis. It eventually reverted to Morisi's estate, and Peter Cannon has since been licensed out to other companies.

Specifically, Peter Cannon was taken to UsefulNotes/{{Tibet}} by his parents, who were American medical workers. Unfortunately, his parents died while working to save a Tibetan village from the "dreaded Black Plague," leaving their infant son to be brought up by the surviving villagers and the local lamasery. Cannon became a master of physical and mental disciplines under the monks' tutelage, learning so well that he was entrusted with "ancient scrolls that bore the secret writings of past generations of wise men." then, when he was an adult, the Black Plague returned, wiping out the village. So Cannon returned to his parents' homeland with his Indian friend Tabu. Cannon soon came to realize that his powers could help people in this land, but wasn't very enamored of materialistic western civilization, so that he had to be persuaded to add a mask to his training outfit and take the identity of the superhero Thunderbolt.

Peter Cannon's backstory has been reasonably consistent across his various incarnations, being a version of the ever-popular "Westerner learned amazing MartialArts or some kind of mystical secrets in the FarEast" origin story, which goes back to the 19th century and had previously appeared in comics in another form with characters such as ComicBook/DoctorStrange. However, Peter Cannon was one of the first versions in American culture to focus on martial arts abilities (though Cannon also learned some mystical lore).