Line #419 ComicBook/Thunderbolts


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/723043a1_948b_48aa_af7f_95ed5fc1ffc6.jpeg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Marvel's Most Wanted]]
3
4	->''"Justice, like Lightning, should ever appear''\
5	''To few men's ruin, but to all men's fear..."''
6	-->--'''"Joseph Swetnam"''', ''Swetnam The Woman-Hater Arraigned By Women''; source of the original {{tagline}} for ''The Thunderbolts''.
7
8	''Thunderbolts'' is a fictional antihero team published by Creator/MarvelComics. Created in response to the disappearance of the big name heroes like the ComicBook/FantasticFour and ComicBook/TheAvengers as a result of the ''ComicBook/{{Onslaught}}'' CrisisCrossover and the aborted ''ComicBook/HeroesReborn'' reboot, the team is initally presented as a new group of colorful heroes who swoop in to protect the people from danger. However, it is soon revealed that they are in fact former members of the Avengers' archfoes, the [[Characters/MarvelComicsMastersOfEvil Masters of Evil]], led by Baron Zemo. Their plan is to use the hero ruse to win the trust of the people, so that Zemo will be granted the Avengers' old security clearances, letting him use them to perfect a master plan for domination.
9
10	It isn't long before Zemo's plan falls apart, along with the team, as a few of them discover that GoodFeelsGood and some others find other reasons to rebel; the remaining members are soon led by former Avenger (and fellow former villain) ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}} to seek redemption for their past misdeeds. The team broke up after a [[ComicBook/AvengersThunderbolts crossover with the Avengers]], but it was created again with a new line up afterwards.
11
12	As a result of ''ComicBook/{{Civil War\|2006}}'', the team became made up of newer and deadlier villains, such as ComicBook/{{Venom}} ([[LegacyCharacter III]], originally the Scorpion) and [[ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} Bullseye]], working for the government under the leadership of ComicBook/NormanOsborn, ruthlessly hunting superheroes who try to elude the SuperRegistrationAct.
13
14	During the ''ComicBook/DarkReign'' after ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion2008'', Osborn is promoted to the head of all government superheroes, "officially" disbanding the Thunderbolts but retaining some members as his personal off-the-books black ops team. However, he also has villains (including some ex-Thunderbolts) pose as heroes again, only this time as the Avengers themselves in the series ''ComicBook/DarkAvengers''. In parallel, he also assembles a new version of the Thunderbolts... as another off-the-books black ops team, comprised of Paladin, ComicBook/AntMan (Eric O'Grady), Headsman, Ghost, Scourge (better known as Nuke, a Daredevil foe) and ComicBook/BlackWidow (Yelena Belova), who is later replaced by Mr. X once it's revealed that she's not Belova but Natasha Romanoff in disguise.
15
16	At the start of the ''ComicBook/{{Heroic Age\|2010}}'', following Osborn's downfall, the Thunderbolts are now the Raft (Super Villain Prison) inmate rehabilitation project. Led by Luke Cage, they are a team put together to try to set a number of villains on the path to redemption while giving a place to those who already have switched sides. The initial lineup includes a number of ex-Thunderbolts who are now heroes (Songbird, Mach V, Fixer), some of Osborn's former crew hoping to use it as a way to earn good publicity (Moonstone), the criminally insane (Crossbones), those who are caught in the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor (Ghost and Juggernaut), and their transportation (ComicBook/ManThing). Just before the ''ComicBook/FearItself'' event, a second "Beta" team of Raft inmates was introduced.
17
18	The series became the new ''Dark Avengers'' series when, with the Thunderbolts lost in time, members of Norman Osborn's second Dark Avengers team are recruited to be the new Thunderbolts, all analogues to established Avengers: Ragnarok (the clone of [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]] that Iron Man created in ''Civil War''), Trickshot (Hawkeye), Ai Apaec (Spider-Man), Toxie Doxie/Dark Scarlet Witch (ComicBook/ScarletWitch) and Skaar ([[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]]). The series lasted fifteen issues after the rebrand, ending at issue 190.
19
20	A new ''Thunderbolts'' series was released December 2012 as part of the ''ComicBook/MarvelNOW'' relaunch, initially written by Daniel Way with Creator/SteveDillon on art, and Charles Soule took over as writer with issue 12. The series was about a new team brought together by former long time Hulk nemesis and recent Avenger, General [[ComicBook/RedHulk Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross aka the Red Hulk]], with the initial line up consisting of [[ComicBook/{{Venom}} Agent Venom (Flash Thompson)]], ComicBook/ThePunisher, ComicBook/{{Elektra}} and ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}.
21
22	A new team of Thunderbolts returned for the ComicBook/AllNewAllDifferentMarvel initiative in 2016, this time led by the ComicBook/WinterSoldier. This team was virtually the same as the original line-up with two exceptions: the aforementioned Winter Soldier replacing Citizen V and Kobik, the Cosmic Cube-turned little girl first introduced during ''ComicBook/AvengersStandoff''.
23
24	During ''ComicBook/KingInBlack'', it was revealed that Mayor Wilson Fisk had purchased the name of "Thunderbolts" and used it to create a new team to act during the Knull invasion. Another team was created in ''ComicBook/DevilsReign'' to enforce Fisk's anti-vigilante law.
25
26	Once Fisk was ousted from power, Luke Cage replaced him as Mayor but found that Fisk had made it very hard for any superheroes other than Thunderbolts to operate, so he calls on his friend and fellow former Thunderbolt leader Hawkeye to take charge of a new team. Unlike most Thunderbolts teams of villains and anti-heroes, this is a purely heroic team.
27
28	The following year, the Winter Soldier formed his own new team of Thunderbolts (based on the upcoming Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse movie) as a black-ops squad.
29
30	A ''Thunderbolts'' movie set in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse was announced at San Diego [=ComicCon=] 2022 for a 2025 release after being foreshadowed in previous entries, especially ''Film/BlackWidow2021'' and ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier''. This incarnation of the team is comprised of [[Characters/MCUAvengersAllies Yelena Belova]], [[Characters/MCUOtherSuperheroes Red Guardian]], and [[Characters/MCURedRoom Taskmaster]] from the former; [[Characters/MCUBuckyBarnes Bucky Barnes]] and [[Characters/MCUJohnWalker U.S. Agent]] from the latter; and [[Characters/MCUOtherSupervillains Ghost]] from ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp''.
31
32	----
33	!!Notable appearances of the Thunderbolts
34	[[index]]
35	* ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts\|1997}}'' Vol 1 (1997–2012)
36	* ''ComicBook/AvengersThunderbolts'' (2004)
37	* ''New Thunderbolts'' (2005–2006)
38	* ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts\|2012}}'' Vol 2 (2013–2014)
39	* ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts\|2016}}'' Vol 3 (2016–2017)
40	* ''ComicBook/KingInBlack: Thunderbolts'' (2021)
41	* ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts\|2022}}'' Vol 4 (2022–2023)
42	* ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts\|2023}}'' Vol 5 (2024)
43	[[/index]]
44
45	----
46	!!''Thunderbolts'' provide examples of:
47
48	[[foldercontrol]]
49
50	[[folder:In General]]
51	* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: Ever since Warren Ellis got his mitts on them, ''Thunderbolts'' is essentially Marvel's take on the ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad''.
52	* {{Retool}}: Sometimes it is just small tweaks, other times it is full blown revamps, but Thunderbolts' basic premise or direction is usually always changing at some point to find new ways to get its casts together.
53	* ThoseWackyNazis: Zemo named the team in such a manner to mock the Avengers, a moniker that would be, in his own words, "Crypto-Fascist...but ''friendly''." with stormtroopers and blitzkriegs on the brain.
54	* VillainProtagonist: Each incarnation of the team includes at least some villains who are playing as heroes either to atone or for their own personal reasons. Whether they reform for real later on depends on the character and the run.
55	* WhatTheHellHero: The basic charm of the series (there's basically [[OncePerEpisode an example at every issue]]). The cast always includes a hero who has been a villain all his life up until 5 minutes ago, or a former villain who is playing hero [[RightForTheWrongReasons for the wrong reasons]] (like the thrill of the action, or because everybody else in the gang is doing it, or because the government forced them to). Old habits die hard, so don't expect them to follow the "how would ComicBook/CaptainAmerica do it?" book (or expect them to fail while trying). Even when Zemo saved the universe from destruction (you can't ask for something more black & white than that), he resorted to blackmail in the middle of the fight.
56	[[/folder]]
57
58	[[folder:Volume 1]]
59	-> See ''ComicBook/Thunderbolts1997''
60	[[/folder]]
61
62	[[folder:New Thunderbolts]]
63	[[/folder]]
64
65	[[folder:Volume 2]]
66	-> See ''ComicBook/Thunderbolts2012''
67	[[/folder]]
68
69	[[folder:Volume 3]]
70	-> See ''ComicBook/Thunderbolts2016''
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:King in Black: Thunderbolts]]
74	* CListFodder: For ''King In Black: Thunderbolts'', Kingpin assembles a team consisting of Taskmaster, Mr. Fear, Rhino, Batroc the Leaper, Star, Incendiary, Ampere and Snakehead. The last three, all new characters [[RememberTheNewGuy despite being treated as established ones]], [[spoiler:all die within the first issue.]] When Taskmaster decides to name the prisoners they rescued from Ravencroft (all of whom are C-list most of the time) Thunderbolts, the only one who gets taken over by symbiotes and killed is Foolkiller.
75	* EvilHero: In ''ComicBook/DevilsReign'', Fisk recruits a number of supervillains into the Thunderbolts, and sends them to assist the NYPD while cracking down on superhero activity.
76	* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: In the ''King in Black'' tie-in, Wilson Fisk tells the supervillains he assembled that they can either join his Thunderbolts team or go to prison. When Incendiary picks the latter, Fisk makes it clear that by "go to prison" he meant "be summarily executed" -- which prompts the other villains to immediately sign on.
77	* ShoutOut: The team's debut in ''ComicBook/KingInBlack'' is a massive nod to the ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'', with a number of supervillains being press-ganged into serving a corrupt authority figure on threat of death.
78	--> '''Mister Fear''': The whole squad... It's suicide... We're a Suicide Team!
79	[[/folder]]
80
81	[[folder:Volume 4]]
82	-> See ''ComicBook/Thunderbolts2022''
83	[[/folder]]
84
85	[[folder:Volume 5]]
86	-> See ''ComicBook/Thunderbolts2023''
87	[[/folder]]

Context ComicBook / Thunderbolts