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Publication history
This article is about the Marvel Comics team. For the comic books, see Small
Fictional team biography Thunderbolts (comic book). For the unrelated Marvel characters, see Standard
Members Thunderbolt (Marvel Comics). For other uses, see Thunderbolt (comics).
Large
Slogan The Thunderbolts are an
Thunderbolts Width
Reception antihero/supervillain/superhero

Other versions team appearing in American Standard

comic books published by Marvel
In other media Wide
Comics. The team consists
See also Color (beta)
mostly of reformed supervillains.
References Created by Kurt Busiek and Mark
Automatic
External links Bagley, the team first appeared in
Light
The Incredible Hulk #449
(January 1997).[2][3][4] Dark

Publication history
[ edit ]

The Thunderbolts were first

Textless variant cover of Thunderbolts #10 (April
presented, both to readers and to
2017).
the Marvel Universe, in The Art by Mark Bagley.
Incredible Hulk #449 (January Publication information
1997), written by Peter David with Publisher Marvel Comics
art by Mike Deodato Jr., as a
First appearance The Incredible Hulk #449
group of super-powered figures (January 1997)[1]
who became heroes to help Created by Kurt Busiek
protect the world when the Mark Bagley
Avengers were declared dead In-story information
after the events of the 1996 Base(s) The Raft
"Onslaught" crossover. The final The Cube
page of Thunderbolts #1 (April Thunderbolts Mountain
Folding Castle
1997), however, written by Kurt
Mt. Charteris
Busiek with art by Mark Bagley,
Four Freedoms Plaza
revealed that the Thunderbolts Cellini's Pizzeria
were actually the Masters of Evil Roster
in disguise, a surprise twist See: List of Thunderbolts members
carefully guarded by Marvel
Comics.[5]

In subsequent storylines, the group rejects their leader Baron Helmut Zemo and
attempts to become heroes in their own right, eventually under the leadership of the
Avenger Hawkeye.

Despite critical acclaim, the book was reformatted with Thunderbolts #76 (March
2003), removing the entire cast and creative team and replacing it with a brand new
set of characters, along with a new writer, John Arcudi.[6]

The Thunderbolts also feature in the Spider-Man storyline "New Ways to Die",
which is the first proper showdown between him and the team.[7][8][9]

The Heroic Age team debuted in Thunderbolts #144.[10][11][12]

The Thunderbolts comic book was renamed Dark Avengers beginning with issue
#175.[13][14] Dark Avengers ended with issue #190.[15]

As part of Marvel NOW!, a new Thunderbolts series was launched featuring a new
team composed of Red Hulk, Deadpool, Elektra, Venom, and Punisher.[16] This
series ended in October 2014 with issue #32.[17]

In July 2023, a new Thunderbolts series was announced and the team's new lineup
will be led by the Winter Soldier and Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and
will consist of espionage themed superheroes, including Black Widow, Sharon
Carter, White Widow, Red Guardian, U.S. Agent and Shang-Chi.[18]

Fictional team biography [ edit ]

Baron Helmut Zemo's Thunderbolts [ edit ]

Baron Helmut Zemo summoned several of his

former allies from the prior incarnations of the
Masters of Evil during a rescue attempt of
Goliath (the former bodyguard to Baron
Heinrich Zemo). The summoned members
included Beetle, Fixer, Moonstone and
Screaming Mimi. Zemo took the accidental
gathering as an omen, and decided to reform
the Masters of Evil and attack the Avengers.[19]
Before they could strike, the Avengers, and the
Fantastic Four were apparently killed by the
villain Onslaught.[20] The Thunderbolts' true
identities as the Masters of Evil
The death of the Avengers and Fantastic Four are revealed. Art by Mark Bagley.
created an opportunity for Zemo and the
Masters of Evil. Zemo realized that the world needed superpowered champions,
and that his team could fill that need. By posing as superheroes, the Masters of Evil
could gain the public trust and build a position of power that rivaled the status of the
Avengers. Once they had gained the public's faith, Zemo believed they could gain
access to all the secrets of the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. once they were in
ultimate power. Zemo then planned to sell the secrets they found to the criminal
underworld.[19]

The villains adopted new heroic costumes and codenames. Baron Zemo became
the patriotic American Citizen V, patterned after a WWII hero his father killed.
Former Human Torch and Spider-Man foe Beetle became MACH-1, using a new
high-tech suit designed by Fixer. Fixer became the gadget-wielding Techno. Long
time Avengers enemy Goliath became the powerhouse Atlas. Screaming Mimi
became Songbird, her damaged abilities aided by technology Zemo had adapted
from ex-Master Klaw. Moonstone was secretly freed from the Vault and added to
the team by Zemo, who extracted a promise of loyalty from her. She was to be
Zemo's personal enforcer against any betrayal committed by the others. She took
the alias Meteorite. Calling themselves the Thunderbolts, the six new 'heroes' were
ready for action.[21]

The team found tremendous success as superheroic champions. The public began
to think of the Thunderbolts as heroes. After several adventures, some of the
villains began to think of themselves the same way. Dallas Riordan, an aide to the
Mayor of New York, befriended the new heroes.[22]

Jolt, an Asian American teenage girl whose entire family was killed by Onslaught
and was experimented on by Arnim Zola, soon joined the team after she came to
the Baxter Building seeking the help of the FF. Jolt, however, was not a supervillain,
with the young girl honestly believing that her new friends were heroes (Zemo used
the opportunity to create the team's new history). Soon after the addition of Jolt,
Techno's neck was broken in battle with the Elements of Doom. Techno then
seemingly transferred his mind into an android body built from his tech-pack.[23]

Just as Zemo's plans were about to come to fruition, everything unravelled. To the
astonishment of the entire world, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers returned.
Faced with the return of the lost heroes, Zemo revealed the true nature of the
Thunderbolts to the world. Ostensibly, he did this to ensure the loyalty of the team
by ruining their chances of becoming heroes.[24]

The Thunderbolts (minus the android Techno) turned on Zemo for his betrayal. In
the ensuing battle, Zemo and Techno used a mind control device to turn the
Avengers and Fantastic Four against the remaining Thunderbolts, who, with the
help of the size-changing Atlas- as well as Iron Man, who had designed his armour
to make himself more resistant to mind control- ultimately rallied and freed the other
heroes. Together, they defeated Zemo and Techno. Unbeknownst to his
teammates, Atlas helped the wounded Zemo escape, while Techno fled under his
own power.[25]

Amidst this chaos, Meteorite decided to return to her old identity. She altered her
costume and changed her codename back to Moonstone. After a brief stop-over in
an alternate dimension, the team learned that Moonstone had no intention of
reforming and becoming a superhero. She told them she only turned against Zemo
out of self-preservation.[26]

Upon their return to Earth, the team set up shop in Colorado and pondered their
next move.[27]

Marvel's Most Wanted [ edit ]

Now fugitives, new members soon joined the Thunderbolts. These members
included the former Avenger Hawkeye, and later a young African American hero
named Charcoal who had previously fought the team, having been created by a
"Create a character" contest in Wizard Magazine. Hawkeye convinced his new
teammates they would be pardoned if MACH-1, who had murdered someone as
the Beetle (as the only member of the team who had ever actually killed anyone),
turned himself in to authorities. The team considered joining the mysterious
Crimson Cowl's new Masters of Evil instead. Ultimately, the Thunderbolts followed
Hawkeye's advice. MACH-1 turned himself in and pleaded guilty to murder. Even
with MACH-1's surrender, the U.S. Government refused to pardon the group.[28]

The Thunderbolts then defeated the Crimson Cowl's Masters of Evil and took over
their headquarters. After unmasking the Crimson Cowl, the team discovered that
she was their old friend Dallas Riordan. In truth, Riordan was not the Crimson
Cowl. The real Crimson Cowl was Justine Hammer. Riordan had been framed by
Hammer to take the fall for the Cowl's crimes. While Riordan was not the Crimson
Cowl, she did have her own secret identity. Riordan was actually the new Citizen V,
leader of the secret V-Battalion. Riordan decided to keep her secret to avoid
exposure of the group. She was sent to jail for the Crimson Cowl's crimes, but was
later rescued by the V-Battalion.[29]

Changes [ edit ]

While exploring their new headquarters, the Thunderbolts discovered Ogre. Ogre
was a former member of the villainous Factor Three, the original owners of the
base. Factor Three made Ogre the new base caretaker after they disbanded. This
also left him with custody of Humus Sapien, a dangerous mutant teenager that
Factor Three had kidnapped and placed in suspended animation.[30]

Ogre was accepted as a member of the Thunderbolts. Soon after, Techno attacked
him, placed him in stasis, and assumed his identity.[30] At the same time, MACH-1
was freed from prison in exchange for stealing some top secret weapons
technology from evil industrialist Justin Hammer. MACH-1 returned to the
Thunderbolts after gaining his freedom thanks to Hawkeye making a deal with the
Commission that had released him that he would continue officially serving his
sentence while returning to the team. Upon his return, Techno upgraded MACH-1's
armor, and used another device to change his features so that others wouldn't
realize he was the same person as the original identity. MACH-1 was now MACH-2.
[31]

During this time, the Thunderbolts joined forces with the Avengers against the
latest plan of Count Nefaria, as he intended to detonate an ionic bomb, which
would transform millions of people into an ionic state which he could then control,
perceiving this to be the best way to guarantee that he received the respect that he
felt he deserved. The two teams were drawn into this plan when Nefaria used his
new control of ionic energy to take control of the heroes Wonder Man and Atlas,
intending to use them to kill the Avengers. Despite his power, he was stopped by
the combined efforts of the Avengers, the Thunderbolts, and Madame Masque.
Mademe Masque used a weapon she had developed to disrupt Nefaria's own ionic
energy so that the heroes could defeat him.[32]

Meanwhile, Moonstone found herself going through changes. She fell in love with
Hawkeye. Soon after, she learned that the spirit of the Kree Moonstone that
powered her tried to make her a more honest person. This conflicted with her
naturally amoral personality, and slowly made her insane.[33]

The Thunderbolts faced many more challenges. Henry Gyrich sought to destroy the
team and Hawkeye. Gyrich changed a brainwashed Jack Monroe into the new
Scourge. The Scourge then attempted to assassinate the Thunderbolts one by one.
First he killed Jolt.[34] He then traveled to South America and apparently killed
Baron Zemo. After this, Scourge broke into the Thunderbolts headquarters and
destroyed the robotic Techno. He then killed Atlas by allowing the giant to implode
into a storm of ionic energy.[35]

The Redeemers [ edit ]

All four characters apparently killed by Scourge had survived in some form: the
robotic Techno had recovered Jolt's body and used her electrical powers to
resurrect her from the dead, even while he "died", imbuing her with the knowledge
that Hawkeye had failed to get the team pardoned in the process. The
Thunderbolts were upset with Hawkeye, but, on unmasking Monroe, decided that
confronting Gyrich was more important.[36]

While all this happened, Val Cooper had gathered her own army of heroes she
named the Redeemers. This team included a new Citizen V, Atlas' brother
Smuggler, and Fixer, who had only copied his mind into his tech-pack as a
contingency. The original Norbert P. Ebersol survived his injuries and recovered in
secret while the robotic Techno continued on as a Thunderbolt in his place.[36] Leila
Davis, the wife of the Ringer, used an updated version of the Beetle armour.

The Redeemers helped the Thunderbolts battle Gyrich, who had acquired
experimental nanite technology. Gyrich wanted to use the nanites to kill off all
heroes and villains on Earth. Gyrich's scheme was foiled. It was soon revealed that
he had been infected with nanites, and had been secretly manipulated by Baron
Strucker of the terrorist group HYDRA. Hawkeye tried to use this information as
blackmail to get the Thunderbolts pardoned. Gyrich countered that he would tell the
public himself about HYDRA's scheme. Ultimately, Gyrich agreed to stay quiet and
give the Thunderbolts their pardon. In return, Hawkeye turned himself in for aiding
the fugitive heroes. Hawkeye went to prison and the team disbanded.[37]

Eventually, all the others murdered by Jack Monroe returned from the dead. Baron
Zemo's mind had been transferred into the comatose body of the man whose role
as Citizen V he had usurped in the first place.[38]

Later, after a teleportation accident, Zemo's mind was transferred into Techno's
mechanical "Tech-Pack", which had also cybernetically replaced the broken
segment of Techno's real body's spine. Atlas was later raised from the dead after a
merger with Riordan, who had been crippled in battle with the Crimson Cowl.
[volume & issue needed]

Jolt and Charcoal, the only Thunderbolts without criminal records, were assimilated
into the Redeemers under the leadership of Captain America and the Zemo-
possessed Citizen V.[37] The Redeemers were promptly slaughtered by the
Thunderbolts' deadliest foe, the powerful supervillain Graviton with Citizen V, Fixer
(who ran away), and Jolt (who re-formed her electric form) as the only survivors of
the massacre, although Smuggler and Screamer have since resurfaced.
[volume & issue needed]

Rebirth and endings [ edit ]

The Thunderbolts reformed to defeat Graviton. During the fight, several of the team
members present (Fixer, Jolt, Moonstone, Jenkins as MACH-3 and the merged
Atlas/Dallas Riordan, along with Zemo's mind — accidentally transferred into
Fixer's tech-pack by the teleportation) were transported to Counter-Earth, the same
parallel Earth the Avengers and Fantastic Four were sent to after their final battle
with Onslaught.[volume & issue needed] The Thunderbolts met Counter-Earth versions
of Heinrich Zemo, Helmut Zemo and the first Moonstone, the last of which was
known as Phantom Eagle.[volume & issue needed]

Under duress — Zemo being able to disable his ability to walk at will — Fixer
transferred Zemo's mind from "Tech-Pack" into the body of Zemo's counterpart.
Zemo then killed the Counter-Earth version of his father.[volume & issue needed] Soon
after, the Thunderbolts stopped the Nazi Germany of Counter-Earth from taking
control of all of Counter-Earth's computers.[volume & issue needed] Zemo convinced
the team to remain and help rebuild Counter-Earth. The team reluctantly agreed
and based themselves in the mobile Counter-Earth Attilan. Then, Moonstone stole
the mentally unstable Phantom Eagle's moonstone for herself, boosting her powers
to godlike levels.[volume & issue needed]

Back on Earth-616, many things happened. Hawkeye escaped from prison

alongside several supervillains just as S.H.I.E.L.D. contacted him with an offer to be
freed from prison. Industrialist Justin Hammer died. His daughter Justine (the
Crimson Cowl) discovered her father had exposed every supervillain he ever
employed to a poison that enslaved their minds. This included members of the
Crimson Cowl's Masters of Evil. However, the villain Plantman had helped create
the poison and was the only one who could activate it.[volume & issue needed]

With the telepathic terrorist Mentallo serving as a middleman, Hawkeye tried to help
Plantman in order to give him to Crimson Cowl. During the escape, Hawkeye
watched helplessly as Plantman murdered a prison guard. Before Crimson Cowl
could kill Hawkeye or take Plantman, they were rescued by Songbird.
[volume & issue needed]

Hawkeye and Songbird then formed a second group of Thunderbolts. He explained

to the Crimson Cowl's Masters of Evil that if the Crimson Cowl was not stopped,
they would all become her slaves. Plantman, using the codename Blackheath, was
their first new member. Most of the members of Crimson Cowl's Masters of Evil
also joined, including: Cardinal (now Harrier); Gypsy Moth (now Skein); Man-Killer
(now Amazon); and Cyclone, who did not change his codename.
[volume & issue needed]

These new Thunderbolts were eventually captured by the Crimson Cowl (who was
helped by Cyclone). Crimson Cowl vivisected Plantman. Soon after, Plantman
mutated into a plant creature that neutralized the mind-control poison. The group
was then sent to the V-Battalion's base. The Counter-Earth group returned to Earth
at the V-Battalion base through a rift in space. The new and old teammates were
reunited. Jolt stayed on Counter-Earth and joined the Young Allies. Closing the rift
between Earth and Counter-Earth destroyed the V-Battalion's base.
[volume & issue needed]

In the aftermath, Atlas and Dallas were split into separate bodies, with Dallas
retaining the remainder of Atlas' ionic power, allowing her to walk again with
enhanced agility and strength. Zemo convinced Hawkeye that he wanted to reform
and help the world instead of ruling it. Hawkeye, Amazon and Skein left the team.
MACH-3 and Harrier returned to prison. Zemo then revealed to the team that he
had lied to Hawkeye and that he still wanted to conquer the world, only to save it
from itself. The Thunderbolts comic then shifted focus for six issues.

Avengers/Thunderbolts: The Best Intentions [ edit ]

In 2004, the six issue Avengers/Thunderbolts limited series was launched, picking
up a year after the events of Thunderbolts #75. Zemo led the Thunderbolts (now
including Dallas Riordan, under the codename Vantage) in an attempt to drain the
powers of all superhumans on Earth, using Moonstone. They fought the Avengers,
including former Thunderbolt Hawkeye. The Avenger Iron Man infiltrated the
Thunderbolts disguised as Cobalt Man. Eventually, all the power absorbed by
Moonstone caused her to snap. Jolt returned from Counter-Earth to help stop
Moonstone. Finally, Iron Man convinced Hawkeye to lobotomize Moonstone to save
the planet.[volume & issue needed]

Zemo vowed revenge against the Thunderbolts and the Avengers for putting
Moonstone into a coma. Jolt returned to Counter-Earth. A depowered Blackheath
returned to prison. The Fixer fled. Vantage retired to a government job. Songbird
was offered reserve membership in the Avengers but turned it down. MACH-3 was
paroled from prison and decided to form a new team of Thunderbolts.[39]

The New Thunderbolts [ edit ]

Marvel subsequently launched New Thunderbolts #1. MACH-3 (now called MACH-
IV), Atlas and Songbird were now a part of the new Thunderbolts. The team's new
recruits included Photon, Speed Demon, Joystick, Blizzard II and the Radioactive
Man. The new team has battled Atlantean superhuman terrorist group the Fathom
Five and Baron Strucker's HYDRA organization, which funded the team's return.[40]

In "Purple Reign", Swordsman, along with his master, the Purple Man, plotted to
enslave New York City by drugging the water supply with the Purple Man's
pheromones, which allowed him to control his victims.[41] While the Thunderbolts
eventually defeated the Purple Man, before they could interrogate him he was
teleported away by his boss, Baron Zemo, who tortured him by inducing rigor
mortis in his body and sent him back to prison where his powers would be nullified.
[42]

Later, Hank Pym and Warbird offered to pardon the members of the Thunderbolts
(who still had outstanding legal problems), if the Thunderbolts would attack and
humiliate the New Avengers in public. However, it was later revealed that Pym and
Warbird had been blackmailed into doing so.[volume & issue needed]

Only Spider-Woman survived unscathed from the Thunderbolts' sneak attack,

beating Joystick senseless. The rest of the team was beaten back before the
Thunderbolts left. Songbird told Captain America that the Thunderbolts could beat
the New Avengers senseless anytime they wished. In the end, it was revealed that
Baron Zemo spearheaded the attack. He did this to humiliate Captain America but
also to see how far the Thunderbolts would go for the chance at being pardoned.
[volume & issue needed]

Meanwhile, new threats were rising as Fixer resurfaced and recruited both MACH-
IV and Blizzard to work with him on a top secret project, which was also run by
Zemo. Meanwhile, Speed Demon was confronted by the new female Doctor
Spectrum, who was out to reform the Squadron Sinister and take over the world. In
the end, Speed Demon quit the Thunderbolts to join Dr. Spectrum while Nighthawk,
the former Defender and member of the original Squadron Sinister, was offered
membership on the Thunderbolts by Songbird.[volume & issue needed]

Right of Power [ edit ]

Soon after Nighthawk joined the team, the Thunderbolts discovered that Photon's
awareness of all space and time brought with it a vision of the destruction of the
universe at his hands. As they tried to come to terms with this, they were attacked
by a Moonstone puppeteered by Zemo to kill Genis-Vell. When the initial strike
failed, the remainder of Zemo's team revealed themselves to the Thunderbolts.
Zemo explained that he had used the Moonstones to accelerate Genis' return from
death, and in the process made the mistake of siphoning energy from the beginning
and end of time itself, caused by inexperience with his Moonstones, creating a link
between Genis and the universe that threatened to end existence. Unable to find a
way to save both Genis and the universe, he concluded that the only solution was
Genis's death.

Unwilling to accept this Songbird led the team in combat against Zemo's group. To
prevent the other Thunderbolts from intervening, Zemo revealed that Atlas' brother
Smuggler had survived Graviton's massacre of the Redeemers, trapped in the
Darkforce dimension. Using the prospect of his release to make Atlas stop the
other Thunderbolts from interfering, Zemo bested Genis in battle and, apologizing
for both his mistake and the necessary solution, sliced Genis' body into pieces and
scattered them through both time and the Darkforce dimension to prevent Genis
returning from the dead a third time. He then fully released Smuggler. In the
aftermath, Zemo—his face apparently fully healed from Moonstone's attack—and
Songbird became allies and lovers.[43]

Civil War: Hero Hunters [ edit ]

Main article: Civil War (comics)

The new Thunderbolts engaged and defeated Quicksand in a battle in Denver

during the early days of the superhero Civil War. After this, they were summoned to
Washington where they met with Iron Man, Mister Fantastic, and Yellowjacket. The
three heroes, all supporting the Superhuman Registration Act, informed Zemo that
they wanted the Thunderbolts to hunt down supervillains and recruit them to the
Pro-Registration cause, which would be their chance at redemption. Unknown to
Iron Man, the Thunderbolts had been doing this in secret for three weeks.[44]

Zemo's "Thunderbolt Army" grew rapidly, the team vastly expanding. It now
included dozens of other supervillains, including most notably Doctor Octopus, the
Wrecker, and Ox. The new team dispersed to battle super-villains, capture them
and offer them a choice: join the Thunderbolts or go to prison. Of course, they all
chose to join the Thunderbolts. Baron Zemo convinced Captain America not to stop
him from battling the Grandmaster, while Nighthawk was revealed as being a spy
for the Squadron Sinister inside Captain America's Secret Avengers. Zemo then
informed Songbird that in the coming battle, he knew that she would betray him,
which she had been planning to do all along, in revenge for his killing of Photon,
and he would sacrifice himself to save the world.[volume & issue needed]

Zemo then saved the Wellspring of Power from the Grandmaster, who planned to
use it for his own ends. Believing that all of his visions were subject to the flow of
time, and that nothing was set in stone, Zemo defeated the Grandmaster, and
boasted to his teammates that the power was now all his and theirs. He insisted
that he would use it to help the world, despite the consequences for doing so.
Songbird, who had temporarily lost her powers during the final battle, was told by
Zemo, "now is when your betrayal would have come." The vision of her betrayal
turned out to be somewhat correct after all, though. Although she could not use her
super-sound, Songbird used a simple opera note to crack the moonstones, sending
Zemo into a whirlwind of cosmic time/space. In his final words before he was
completely sucked into the vacuum, he screamed out that he would never have
hurt a world he worked so hard to save.[volume & issue needed]

Some of the Army of Thunderbolts, consisting of Venom, Lady Deathstrike,

Taskmaster, Bullseye, Jester, Jack O'Lantern join Songbird assembled as the Pro-
Registration side's task force to hunt down Anti-Registration heroes at the end of
Civil War #4, but never officially saw any real combat. The Jester and Jack
O'Lantern were later killed by the Punisher.[45] The two were sent to hunt down and
capture Spider-Man when he attempted to leave Iron Man's Pro-Registration army.
[volume & issue needed]

Bullseye, Taskmaster, and Lady Deathstrike were part of the final battle of Civil War
fighting alongside the Pro-Registration side, with Taskmaster wounding Mr.
Fantastic when he sought to kill Invisible Woman (a member of the Anti-
Registration forces). At the end of the fight, Taskmaster, Bullseye, and Deathstrike
were sent to the Negative Zone prison; but Bullseye escaped[volume & issue needed]
before he could be sent, and Taskmaster was freed by Deadpool en route to the
portal. Deathstrike was either released or somehow escaped on her own. She
would go on to battle the X-Men during the events of "Messiah CompleX", a story
arc in the X-Men related books.[volume & issue needed]

After the events surrounding the Wellspring, the current team disbanded. MACH-IV
and the Fixer were offered jobs from the Commission on Superhuman Activities.
Blizzard was released from jail and left the team. Atlas was de-ionized after his
encounter with the Wellspring but left catatonic and trapped in his enlarged state
while Smuggler, his suit destroyed, took care of him. Joystick was imprisoned for
her traitorous actions during the Wellspring debacle and Speed Demon ran away to
avoid arrest. Only Songbird, Moonstone, Swordsman and the Radioactive Man,
remained on the team.[46]

Zemo: Born Better [ edit ]

In the events of Thunderbolts: Zemo - Born Better mini-series, Baron Zemo found
himself lost in time and in Europe, forced to witness the lives and deaths of the
previous generations of "Baron Zemos", while being violently thrust forward in time
at random points of his adventures. The journey forward in time was a prolonged
"moment of clarity" experience for Zemo, who saw his family's true history and not
the rose-colored version his father and grandfather had taught him. When he
ultimately returned to the present day, Zemo discovered that a distant cousin had
been responsible for his return to the present, though at a horrific cost of causing
Zemo to jump forward from era to era every time his cousin murdered a family
member who shared the same blood as Helmut. When Helmut discovered that his
cousin rescued Zemo just so he could kill his infamous relative, Helmut refused to
resist, a move that caused his cousin to attempt to take his own life before Zemo
convinced him to put down his gun and stop the cycle of violence.

Norman Osborn's Thunderbolts [ edit ]

Thunderbolts #110 featured a new creative team (writer Warren Ellis and artist Mike
Deodato) and a new roster and direction for the team. The team was formed under
the control of Norman Osborn, and the majority of the roster was made up of
villains wishing to redeem themselves.[47][48][49][50][51][52]

The new Thunderbolts roster was as follows:

Norman Osborn (Leader)

Moonstone (Field leader)
Bullseye
Penance
Radioactive Man
Songbird
Swordsman
Venom

After the Marvel Comics Civil War event, the new Thunderbolts were tasked with
tracking down and arresting individuals avoiding the Superhuman Registration Act.
Despite the new line-up, many of the themes of the original series continued; in
particular, Songbird's decision to cripple Bullseye in retaliation for the villain
crippling the super-hero Jack Flag, Norman Osborn's own struggle for redemption
as he claimed, and the growing friendship between Songbird and Radioactive Man.
Moonstone was made team leader, a move that proved to be disastrous and
ultimately led to Songbird resuming control over the team and expanding the
group's missions to involve regular super-hero missions besides hunting down
unregistered super-heroes.

Due to lengthy delays towards the end of Ellis's run, several one-shot specials[53]
and a Penance limited series[54] were launched to fill in the gap. The Penance
limited series saw the hero formerly known as Speedball carrying out a complex
scheme hatched to gain revenge against Nitro, the man who murdered his
teammates the New Warriors, which put him at odds with his new teammates on
the Thunderbolts. Several specials advanced other plotlines, such as the
mysterious death of Songbird's mother[55] and Swordsman betraying the
Thunderbolts by allying himself with Arnim Zola to resurrect his sister, after realizing
that Osborn would not use his cloning technology to resurrect Andrea.
[volume & issue needed]

Following the events of "Caged Angels",(written by Christos Gage), and the

Penance limited series, and guest appearances in Moon Knight[volume & issue needed]
and The Amazing Spider-Man,[volume & issue needed] the group was thrust into the
events of "Secret Invasion", when Thunderbolt Mountain was attacked by the Skrull
Khn'nr, also known as Skrull sleeper agent Captain Marvel. This happened just as
Arnim Zola dropped off the newly resurrected (via cloning technology) Andrea
Strucker.[volume & issue needed]

Barely surviving the fight due to Khn'ner's inability to deal with the implanted
memories inside of him belonging to Mar-Vell, the group went on the offensive
against the Skrull armada as they invaded Washington DC.[volume & issue needed]
During the fight, Andrea teamed with her brother Swordsman. Moonstone and
Bullseye feared that she was a Skrull spy sent to infiltrate the group. Moonstone
then betrayed Swordsman by joining forces with the Skrulls in order to bait Andrea
into revealing herself to be a Skrull. During this, Andrea was shocked to realize that
she was a clone, culminating in Bullseye murdering her in order to save
Moonstone.[volume & issue needed] With Osborne's help, Moonstone blamed the
Skrulls for Andrea's murder. After the Thunderbolts defeated the Skrull armada
attacking Washington, D.C., which included two Super-Skrulls, Osborne begins to
play up he and his team's role as superheroes to the media, making them appear to
be the force that is saving the Earth from Tony Stark's bungling. The Thunderbolts
then journey to New York where they reluctantly aided Earth's heroes in their battle
against the Skrulls.[56]

H.A.M.M.E.R.'s Thunderbolts [ edit ]

After Songbird gets mad at Osborn for leaving her to deal with a dangerous Skrull
who nearly killed her, Norman Osborn and Moonstone come to the agreement to
get rid of Songbird and the other Thunderbolts whose morals do not match their
own.[57] Their plan comes into effect while Norman is in Washington during the
Dark Reign storyline, preparing to assume control over S.H.I.E.L.D. The group
deports Radioactive Man back to China after Norman has his work visa revoked,
and Moonstone has Penance sent to a corrupt maximum security mental institution
where he would be held prisoner for the rest of his natural life.[58] Moonstone then
aids Bullseye and Venom in attempting to kill Songbird, with Bullseye and
Moonstone inadvertently and indirectly revealing to Songbird that Norman has
given them permission to kill her. Though she neutralizes Moonstone and Bullseye,
Venom attacks Songbird on the Zeus minijet; she barely survives the crash.
Bullseye recovers and sneaks up on her after the wreck, but the Swordsman saves
her and tells her to run away, while blowing up the downed craft to forge her death
in the explosion.[59]

Swordsman confronts Norman with the revelation that he is not being offered a
position on the "Dark Avengers" team and that Norman had never planned on
fulfilling his vow to resurrect the Thunderbolt's deceased sister or to give him a full
presidential pardon after his contract with the Thunderbolts ended. Norman ends
the confrontation by stabbing and defenestrating him.[60]

With Bullseye, Moonstone, and Venom being transferred to Norman's new team the
Dark Avengers,[58] Osborn decided to create a new Thunderbolts roster, one that
would provide themselves as assassins for H.A.M.M.E.R.

The new roster consisted of:

Black Widow
Ghost
Paladin
Headsman
Ant-Man
Grizzly
Scourge (Field leader)
Mister X

One of their first missions is an attempt to kill Deadpool after he tries to blackmail
Osborn for Norman's theft of Skrull data.[61] After Deadpool and Taskmaster thwart
the hit, the Thunderbolts then travel to Madripoor to recruit Mister X as a team
member.[62] Osborn then adds a new incarnation of Scourge, who Norman seems
to know.[63] Songbird eventually returns, and he has his team try to kill her. Yelena
abandons the team after Scourge takes over, and reveals to Songbird that she is, in
fact, the original Natasha Romanoff working for Nick Fury. The two escape, only to
end up leading Osborn to Nick Fury. Osborn orders the Thunderbolts to kill Black
Widow and Songbird, and shoots Fury himself;[64] however, "Fury" is revealed to be
a Life Model Decoy.[65] After Black Widow and Songbird escape, Scourge is
revealed to be the former Super-Soldier Nuke.[66]

Norman Osborn later places Grizzly on the Thunderbolts team at the time they fight
the Agents of Atlas.[67] The fight between the Thunderbolts and the Agents of Atlas
rages on as the deadly chemicals causes both teams to retreat. During the battle
Scourge is brainwashed into shooting when he sees Norman Osborn. As the
Thunderbolts return to the Cube on Zeus, their pilots informs that there is an
important message from Osborn, Displayed holographically, Osborn informs the
Thunderbolts that there is an important assignment he needs them to do in
Broxton, Oklahoma, but does not disclose the details. Upon seeing Osborns' face,
"Scourge's" programming kicks him and attempts to shoot. The bullet goes right
through the hologram and hits Headsman right in the head, horrifying his
teammates.[68]