Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato Jr.’s ‘Thunderbolts’

After the Marvel Comics event Civil War, not much has been the same for the spandex-clad heroes. While the finger can be pointed at a variety of troubles as the cause, the destruction at Stamford, Connecticut is the key. While filming a reality TV program following their exploits, the New Warriors and the inhabitants of an entire town were caught in a devastating explosion. The fallout from this event caused the formation of the super hero registration act and the 50 state initiative, demanding a training program for a super hero team devoted to each state in the US.

The formerly happy-go-lucky Steve Ditko-created character Speedball of the New Warriors survived, though he is a twisted refraction of his former self. Acting under the name Penance, Speedball can only use his powers by first experiencing pain. Wearing a kind of personal ‘iron maiden’ costume that constantly scrapes and pricks his body, Penance is part of a government-sanctioned team of super heroes responsible for rounding up rogue unregistered super powered individuals.

The team, called the Thunderbolts, consists of former super villains Radioactive Man, Venom (this time living inside former Spider-Man villain Mac Gargan alias the Scorpion), the Swordsman, Moonstone, the secret weapon Bullseye and the only carry-over character from the previous hundred odd issues of the Thunderbolts title, Songbird. In a bizarre move, former Spider-Man super villain Norman Osborn (The Green Goblin) was placed as the leader of the team. While Songbird and Radioactive Man seem to have the best of intentions given the situation they are in, the others are still villainous personalities operating within the new freedom that their government-sanctioned status brings. The exception is the aptly named Penance who is simply acting out of guilt, making him a ticking time bomb of destruction.

To be frank I had grown bored with Warren Ellis’ writing over the years. I started, like many others, with his Transmetropolitan series and followed his Hellblazer run (which I highly recommend) and other work from The Authority to Global Frequency. After a while, his uniqueness became tired and predictable to me. Each series had a ‘know-it-all’/'I’m so cool’ cigarette smoking character and a host of other ‘I’m so happy being a super hero’ characters. Given the ‘grim and gritty’ style of the day, this was refreshing at first, but in short order became boring. That said, Ellis has come through for me in producing a consistently well-written comic book here. Deodato, who has also never done a thing for me, has risen to the occasion producing what may be the most startling artwork of his career.

Thunderbolts has established the theme and feel of its universe so quickly that just ten issues into this new direction, things are already set for a vibrant explosion. In the current storyline ‘Caged Angels,’ several events are being set up. The team has been infiltrated by super heroes begging to be captured in order to take down the entire operation from within. The Swordsman has staged a major coups to take control over from Norman Osborn, who has started seeing his Green Goblin costume in his desk when it is certainly not there. Also, the Venom symbiote has taken the ‘driving seat’ over Mac Gargan and has begun a mad cannibalistic attack on the base staff.

Reading as many super hero comics as I do, I’m stunned that this series has consistently surprised and entertained me.

In short, this is a series that you must check out.

Recommended

Thunderbolts by Warren Ellis, Vol. 1: Faith in Monsters
John Constantine Hellblazer: Setting Sun (Hellblazer (Graphic Novels))
Civil War (Marvel Comics)