Thunderbolts

I've only read Frank Miller's run, Bendis' run, Brubaker's runs on Daredevil so far and trying to catch up to Zdarsky too. Can anyone recommend an Elektra book without it being from a Daredevil comic?

I want to get something out of the way really quick before I get into this review. I am not a Thunderbolts expert. I've read a bunch of bits and pieces of different runs and then second-guessed whether I picked a good one to start with and then stopped. But in that experience I've come to the conclusion that Marvel themselves don't really know what to do with the name, so I'm not going to get on this book for being a different take on the group, because I honestly don't hate the direction this book goes in.

I'll be honest. I read this because of Devil's Reign. I really liked Devil's Reign, (and Chip Zdarsky's Daredevil run in general) and I was intrigued to see what Luke Cage would do to reinvent the Thunderbolts in the wake of that event. And all things considered, I don't regret reading it. It wasn't great, but I don't consider it a waste of my time. It was kind of fun.

But I want to get the negatives out of the way first so that I can end with the positives. The big negative I'm thinking about is that the book feels too short. It feels like it needed one more issue to properly develop its story. But at the same time, that could just be because the issues weren't paced super well. It's hard to say. But they also definiely could have set up their main villain better. We don't see the actual main villain until the final issue, and it makes things feel much more random.

The other major negative that comes from how rushed everything feels is that some characters just feel like window dressing. Sure, Clint, Monica, and Persuasion all get some sort of important role in the story, but the other characters don't really do all that much. This Includes the new characters Eegro the Unbreakable and Gutsen Glory, the latter of which doesn't ever get his backstory addressed. Though it's possible that was intentional, as he was apparently designed as a parody of 90s characters of a similar nature.

The last major negative I want to cover is that the book just kind of... ends. The villain is revealed and defeated in the last issue and then the book is just kind of over and we're told the team will show up in other books. I would have liked to see a stronger conclusion, considering this was written as a miniseries.

But now to get to the positives:

Eegro is actually kind of funny. Partly because he's supposed to be a joke about the current fascination with small alien things in our pop culture, (Looking at you, Star Wars) and partly because his dialogue is just funny.

Similarly, I did actually like the character dynamics for a lot of it, which is an important thing for me with team books. Particularly the dynamics between Clint, Luke, and Monica and the brief moment between America and Power Man on the subway in the middle of the book.

I also really liked the idea that Clint is doing all of this because he believes in it. After seeing him drift from series to series with different levels of apathy or disdain for whatever he's doing, it was nice to see him actually trying to make this team work.

I also actually like the roster for this book. It reminds me of the Mighty Avengers series from the Marvel Now era but with a couple of oddball additions thrown in for good measure. And that was what pushed me through a lot of the mediocre parts. The fact that I just really liked the character choices and was open to an ongoing series with this roster if that was how it went down. (Though at this point that seems unlikely)

I won't deny that the series is kind of messy, and the story's nothing special, but I ultimately enjoyed myself while reading it. It was a delightfully simple experience. I would probably give it a 6/10 if I'm seriously evaluating it, but my subjective enjoyment of some parts makes me want to go to 7.

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think of it?

Who's a character(s) you would be interested in seeing go good or vice versa

Ex: Juggernaut as one of the Thunderbolts

Suggestions for next one will be appreciated.

Today's Thunderbolts:

Charcoal (Charlie Burlingame)

Juggernaut (Cain Marko)

Don't forget to state your reasoning.

Suggestions for next one will be appreciated.

Today's Thunderbolts:

Jolt (Helen Takahama)

Speed Demon (James Sanders)

Don't forget to state your reasoning.

Suggestions for next one will be appreciated.

Today's Thunderbolts:

Green Goblin (Norman Osborn)

Doctor Octopus (Otto Octavius)

Don't forget to state your reasoning.

Suggestions for next one will be appreciated.

Today's Thunderbolts:

Rhino (Aleksei Sytsevich)

Grizzly (Maxwell Markham)

Don't forget to state your reasoning.

Suggestions for next one will be appreciated.

Today's Thunderbolts:

Songbird (Melissa Gold)

Joystick (Janice Yanizeski)

Don't forget to state your reasoning.

Suggestions for next one will be appreciated.

Today's Thunderbolts:

Scarecrow (Ebenezer Laughton)

Mister Fear (Larry Cranston)

Don't forget to state your reasoning.

Suggestions for next one will be appreciated.

Today's Thunderbolts:

Whiplash (Thunderbolts)

Anton Vanko (Whiplash)

Don't forget to state your reasoning.

Suggestions for next one will be appreciated.

Today's Thunderbolts.

Atlas (Erik Josten)

Ant-Man (Eric O'Grady)

Don't forget to state your reasoning.

Suggestions for next one will be appreciated.

Today's Thunderbolts:

Ampere

Snakehead

Don't forget to state your reasoning.

Suggestions for next one will be appreciated.

Today's Thunderbolts:

Citizen V (Helmut Zemo)

Swordsman (Andreas Von Strucker)

Don't forget to state your reasoning.

Suggestions for next one will be appreciated.

Today's Thunderbolts:

Man-Thing (Ted Sallis)

Plantman (Sam Smithers)

Don't forget to state your reasoning.

Suggestions for next one will be appreciated.

Today's Thunderbolts*:

Venom (Mac Gargan)

Agent Venom (Flash Thompson)

Don't forget to state your reasoning.

*Note: Keep in mind these two are not from the same version of T-Bolts (Flash is in Red Hulk's version). I'd like you to compare which one of them was better for their respective teams.

Suggestions for next one will be appreciated.

Today's Thunderbolts:

Hawkeye (Clint Barton)

Luke Cage

Don't forget to state your reasoning.

Suggestions for next one will be appreciated.

Today's Thunderbolts:

Photon (Genis-Vell)

Radioactive Man (Chen Lu)

Don't forget to state your reasoning.

Suggestions for next one will be appreciated.

Today's Thunderbolts:

Taskmaster (Tony Masters)

Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes)

Don't forget to state your reasoning.

A lot of people are doing this and I've decided to try it out.

If you want more of these, let me know in the replies. Suggestions for next one will be appreciated as well.

Today's Thunderbolts:

Moonstone/Meteorite (Karla Sofen)

Star (Ripley Ryan)

Don't forget to state your reasoning.