Thunderbolts (Earth-616)

See Thunderbolts (Red Hulk) (Earth-616) for the Red Hulk's group of mercenaries, and Thunderbolts (Revolution) (Earth-616) for Bucky Barnes' association of anti-terrorists.

Thunderbolts
Name	Thunderbolts
Aliases	The Alcatraz Avengers, Funderbwolts, Hope League, T-Bolts, Masters of Evil, Fulgar Victoris
Members
Leader(s)	Citizen V (Valentina Allegra de Fontaine); formerly Hawkeye, U.S.Agent, Taskmaster, Baron Zemo (Helmut Zemo)/Citizen V, Winter Soldier, Luke Cage, Scourge, Black Widow, Songbird, Moonstone, Abner Jenkins
Current Member(s)	Citizen V (Valentina Allegra de Fontaine), Fixer, Mach-Doom (Abner Jenkins), Moonstone, Atlas
Former Member(s)	Abomination, Agony (Gemma Shin), Ajaxis, Amazon, America Chavez, Ampere, Ant-Man, Batroc the Leaper, Beetle (Gary Quinn), Beetle (Joaquim Robichaux), Beetle (Elizabeth Vaughn), Blackheath, Blacklash, Black Mamba, Black Widow ("Yelena Belova"), Blizzard, Bloodstrike, Boomerang, Bullseye, Bushmaster, Luke Cage, Centurius, Charcoal, Citizen V (Helmut Zemo), Coachwhip, Cobalt Man, Coronary, Crossbones, Cyclone, Doctor Octopus, Eegro, Eel, Electro, Figment, Foolkiller, Ghost, Grizzly, Gutsen Glory, Harrier, Hawkeye, Headsman, Iron Fist, Ironclad, Jack O'Lantern, Jester, Jolt, Joystick, Juggernaut, Killer Shrike, King Cobra, King Hyperion, Kobik, Kraven the Hunter, Lady Deathstrike, Man-Bull, Man-Thing, Mister Fear, Mister Hyde, Mister X, Mongoose, Ogre, Norman Osborn, Overmind, Ox, Paladin, Paladin (William Russo), Penance, Persuasion, Punisher, Photon (Genis-Vell), Power Man, Pretty Persuasions, Puff Adder, Quicksand, Radioactive Man, Rattler, Red Ronin, Rhino, Satana, Scourge, Shocker, Skein, Slyde, Smiling Tiger, Smuggler, Snake Marston, Snakehead, Songbird, Spectrum, Speed Demon, Star, Andrea von Strucker, Swordsman, Taskmaster, Tatterdemalion, Techno, Texas Twister, Troll, Unicorn, U.S.Agent, Vantage, Vapor, Vector, Venom, Vermin, Whiplash, Whiplash (Anton Vanko), Whirlwind, Winter Soldier, X-Ray, Zaran
Affiliation and Identity
Identity	Public
Allies	Angel, Helen Astrantia, Doctor Doom, Wilson Fisk, H.A.M.M.E.R., Nighthawk, Gayle Rogers
Enemies	Agents of Atlas, Anomaly, Arnim Zola, Baron Strucker, Baron Zemo, Black Widow, Brute Force, Caged Angels, Circus of Crime, Count Nefaria, Crimson Cowl, Cyclone, Deadpool, Deviant Skrulls, Doc Samson, Elements of Doom, Elite, Fathom Five, Gothenvald, Grandmaster, Graviton, Great Game, Green Goblin, Growing Man, Hand, Hydra, Iceni, Jury, Justin Hammer, Knull, Kosmosians, Luke Cage, Mad Thinker, Man-Killer, Masters of Evil, Mentallo, Nazis, Plantman, Purple Man, S.H.I.E.L.D., Scourge, Shocker, Squadron Sinister, Squadron Supreme, Swordsman, Taskmaster, Thunderbolts, Wrecking Crew
Origin and Status
Origin	Formed by Baron Zemo as a new Masters of Evil, the Thunderbolts were originally villains adopting heroic identities for access to public resources. Most chose to give up their lives of crime and reform.
Status	Active
Reality	Earth-616
Base of Operations	Formerly Ravencroft Institute; Thunderbolts Clubhouse, North Pole; New Mexico; The Raft; The Cube; Thunderbolts Mountain, Colorado; Thunderbolts Headquarters, Brooklyn; Four Freedoms Plaza
Place of Formation	Baron Zemo's castle
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Kurt Busiek, Mark Bagley
First	Incredible Hulk #449 (November, 1996)
First	Incredible Hulk #449 (November, 1996)

"Justice, like lightning, ever should appear -- to few men ruin, but to all men fear." Our hope is that we can be that lightning -- that justice.

—Citizen V[source]

In light of most prominent super heroes of Earth being declared dead, Baron Zemo placed his criminal Masters of Evil in a position of trust by deceiving the authorities and the public, secretly rebranding them as the Thunderbolts, heroes who brought upon justice, like lightning. Zemo eventually outed his own schemes to the world, but his Thunderbolts defected, deciding to reform and enjoy the respect their charade had brought them instead. Throughout the years, the Thunderbolts operated as a virtuous group when led by Hawkeye, Luke Cage, and Bucky, as well as a patrolling force for the corrupted when commanded by Norman Osborn, Wilson Fisk, and Doctor Doom.

History

Justice, Like Lightning

In an array of unsuccessful attacks against his adversaries, the aristocratic Baron Helmut Zemo succumbed to frustration. By chance, he made contact with his familial henchman Goliath, who had been trapped in a parallel dimension. Helped by the tinkerer villain Fixer, Baron Zemo idealized reforming the Masters of Evil, his former band of super villains created to destroy Captain America and the Avengers. The next recruit was the wrestler Screaming Mimi, who was in deep grief after the death of her partner and lover Angar the Screamer after a bank robbery. The high-flying engineer Beetle joined next, to leave a career of failures. Before the Masters could strike at the Avengers, Zemo's plans were foiled because most of Earth's Mightiest Heroes were declared killed in action against the psychic villain Onslaught.

Without a cause, Baron Zemo embraced Goliath's idea, initially uttered as a joke, of replacing the Avengers and the Fantastic Four in their heroic duty. Masqueraded as heroes with new identities, the Masters of Evil broke the psychiatrist Moonstone out of the super prison known as the Vault to round up the team. In the staged riot, the Masters arrested super villains they once had as allies to build a reputation. Completely rebranded with new technology and appearances provided by the Fixer, Baron Zemo rebaptized them as the Thunderbolts, a name that was crypto-fascist and friendly, as he desired to access the Avengers Mansion to profit with underworld distribution of privileged data. Baron Zemo acted as Citizen V, an ironic homage to one of his father's World War II adversaries; the Fixer became the well-resourced Techno; Goliath took on the role of the gargantuan powerhouse Atlas; Screaming Mimi made herself over as the adorable Songbird, with alterations to her powerset similar to those of the master of sound Klaw; the Beetle readapted his flying armor to become the human warship MACH-1; Moonstone adopted the identity of the shining Meteorite.

The Thunderbolts made their first public appearance combating the scavengers of the Rat Pack. In a heavily publicized introduction, they shared complex and convincing lies, instantly gaining popularity in a world with no protectors. By defeating their former allies of the Wrecking Crew at the Statue of Liberty, the Thunderbolts were cheered by the people of New York City and approached by Dallas Riordan, who offered to be an official liaison between the "heroes" and the city hall on the mayor's request. In another display of heroism, they tackled a rampaging Hulk, but had no success as the Hulk ruptured a dam on purpose distract the Thunderbolts and flee. Being more admired after fighting the Circus of Crime and saving Franklin Richards from the Mad Thinker, the Thunderbolts saw the fruits of their plan by being granted access to the Fantastic Four's Four Freedoms Plaza, which became their new headquarters.

New Member!

Surprisingly, with the Plaza's systems, the Thunderbolts witnessed leader of the defunct Avengers, Black Widow, in direct conflict against the "Masters of Evil." Led by the mysterious Crimson Cowl, the criminals vanished in retreat. The Black Widow informed that these new Masters worked as mercenaries involved in the criminal underworld and that she would bring all opponents of the Avengers down with no exception. When Riordan assigned the Thunderbolts to capture Spider-Man for being implicated in a murder accusation, they ultimately teamed up with the web-slinging menace to defeat the actual culprits, the Enclave. The Thunderbolts secured the villains' mind-controlling bio-modem in secrecy. Genuinely succeeding as superheroes, most Thunderbolts began to actually think of themselves more heroically. This was exacerbated by the presence of Jolt, a girl orphaned in the Onslaught incident who was given bioelectric powers by crazed geneticist Arnim Zola and looked for the Fantastic Four for help. The Thunderbolts destroyed Zola's operations involving captive children in Latveria. Having secretly broadcast their mission to earn more respect, they were forced to recruit Jolt since she became adored by the public. She honestly trusted her teammates at face value, while her upbeat nature reinforced their newfound noble inclinations. In fact, Moonstone wanted to use Jolt's addition to confront and undermine Zemo's influence.

Hydra Supreme Baron Strucker used the Growing Man to attack the Thunderbolts for their intervention with the Masters of Evil's operations, but failed. Baron Zemo grew angrier for not having access to the Avengers' systems and, by noticing the team's growing heroic tendencies, even considering murdering Jolt to achieve his goals. In a confrontation against the Elements of Doom, he ordered his team not to intervene. However, in order to save lies, the Thunderbolts disobeyed his orders. After being apprehended, the Thunderbolts were ignored by Zemo on purpose to force S.H.I.E.L.D. grant him access to the Avengers Mansion's files. This caused Techno to be killed in action, as his neck was broken during battle, though he had downloaded his conscious to his Tech-Pac and created a robot copy of himself. Following the public defeat of the Elements of Doom alongside other super heroes, the Thunderbolts not only achieved glory but also the intelligence they had wished to gather for so long. What Baron Zemo really wished for is the trust of the world. Meanwhile, the Black Widow secretly contacted some Thunderbolts, insinuating she knew their true identities and suggesting they had a chance of redeeming themselves if they opposed their distasteful leader.

In an ironic coincidence, as the Avengers and Fantastic Four returned, Baron Zemo schemed to expose his Thunderbolts' true identities. Outed as the Masters of Evil, they were hunted down by S.H.I.E.L.D. official G. W. Bridge and forced to run away in disgrace. Sensing his allies had been seduced by the respectful life of a hero, Baron Zemo blackmailed them to ensure their loyalty. After destroying the Four Freedoms Plaza, he carried out a plan of forcing his will upon Earth's authorities with the bio-modem, coronating his allies as the Masters of the world. Moonstone influenced the Thunderbolts to rebel against their leader, with Jolt providing the necessary inspiration, although Techno and Atlas sided with Zemo. The Thunderbolts had their hopes restored when the Avengers and the Fantastic Four intervened. However, the heroes were also controlled by the bio-modem, being commanded by Zemo to destroy his former underlings. Having no option, the Thunderbolts escaped, now joined by Atlas, who had abandoned Zemo for brutalizing Jolt. The Avenger Iron Man resisted the mind conditioning and assisted them in stopping Baron Zemo. The Thunderbolts freed the heroes and thwarted the plot by deceiving Techno. However, Baron Zemo escaped thanks to Atlas, who acted out of a sense of obligation unbeknownst to his teammates. Although the Thunderbolts agreed to cooperate with the authorities, they mysteriously vanished before the heroes could take them into custody.

Most Wanted

The Lightning Rods

Still fugitives, the Thunderbolts were unwittingly transported to the dimension Atlas had been previously trapped in, Kosmos. The Kosmosians had been alerted that in the future they would be enslaved by Kang the Conqueror and forced to build an army of Growing Men for him. For that reason, they decided to capture those who had last confronted a Growing Man. The Thunderbolts attempted to dialogue with the Kosmosians with no success, being ultimately imprisoned and sentenced to death. Moonstone cunningly incited a rebellion to bargain for the Thunderbolts' return to Earth. To accomplish her plan, she committed regicide, swearing the others to secrecy to keep Jolt ignorant about what had actually transpired. Returning to Earth, the Thunderbolts set up shop in Colorado and decided to redeem themselves. As independent heroes, they went straight under new civilian identities. Atlas furtively abandoned his teammates seeing himself as an incompetent ally. Upon learning about his departure, the Thunderbolts were tackled by Bridge and a S.H.I.E.L.D. squad and chose to escape. Tackled by agents hired by S.H.I.E.L.D., the Great Lakes Avengers, rebranded as the Lightning Rods after being inspired by the false heroes, the Thunderbolts defeated their opponents and evaded capture one more time. Retreating into one of Beetle's hideouts, the Thunderbolts directed their forces against the Hulk ravaging a town in Wyoming. In fact, the Hulk was a robot doppelgänger, secretly created by Techno under Zemo's orders to release the powerful and insane Graviton from his extradimensional exile and blame the Thunderbolts for it. During a brutal fight that counted with the return of Atlas, Graviton easily overpowered the Thunderbolts and the Lightning Rods, but was ultimately convinced by Moonstone to retreat as he had no clear vision for his actions.

The hideout of the Thunderbolts was attacked by Cyclone. The villain lured the Thunderbolts to his base to be ambushed by Crimson Cowl's Masters of Evil, who offered them a place in her organization of mercenaries. Although seduced by the invitation, the Thunderbolts insisted on going on with their heroic duty. Finding no glory in their actions, they were contacted by locals about a menacing and burning monster, Charcoal, which represented a chance for them to improve their reputation. However, the Masters of Evil sabotaged their operation, ruining their chance of gaining public approval. In retaliation, they stroke back at the Masters. Although initially against the Masters, Moonstone's selfish orders got the team captured. Unexpectedly, the Thunderbolts were rescued by the Dreadknight while the authorities, who had been previously alerted, intervened.

Returning to their hideout after escaping, the Thunderbolts discussed the potential future of their leadership and were surprisingly interrupted by the Avenger Hawkeye, who revealed to have impersonated the Dreadknight. He outmatched the Thunderbolts to convince them he could get them pardoned if elected as the new leader of the team, part of a deal made with the Commission on Superhuman Activities. The Thunderbolts welcomed their new leader with optimism. However, unbeknownst to the Thunderbolts, Hawkeye did not have any official sanction for his plan as he had claimed. Hawkeye also demanded MACH-1 to turn himself in as he was the only Thunderbolt wanted for murder. Before they could come to a decision, Hercules attacked them, seeking revenge against Atlas for previous animosities. After Hercules was fended off by Hawkeye, MACH-1 agreed to surrender as a way to help the Thunderbolts restore their reputation. Hawkeye's involvement became public and covered by Gayle Rogers as they battled a Hydra squad. Hawkeye then moved the Thunderbolts to the mountain headquarters that once belonged to the alien Dominus. The Avengers assessed the situation, but ultimately agreed to give Hawkeye and the Thunderbolts a chance to prove themselves after joining forces to defeat the Dominex automaton.

Becoming Heroes

After going public, the Thunderbolts were approached by Charcoal, who was revealed to be only a teenager and wished help in clearing his name. They were interrupted by U.S.Agent and the Jury who attempted to arrest them. Although the Thunderbolts escaped, they lost their cabin. Decided to prove their worth, the Thunderbolts planned to permanently take the Masters of Evil down. The Masters of Evil forced the Thunderbolts to protect a town from being engulfed by an artificial storm cast by a weather machine. During the battle, the villains escaped, while Hawkeye clashed with a new Citizen V, who wished for vengeance against those who damaged his legacy, but was ignored so the town could be saved. The Thunderbolts met public prestige and tracked the Masters to a high-tech headquarters inside Mount Charteris. There, a final confrontation against the Masters of Evil army of twenty-five super criminals ensued. Moonstone pretended to have interest in joining the Masters to gain their trust, being caged as a precaution measure. Meanwhile, the Thunderbolts infiltrated the mountain, being exposed by Moonstone to incite a chaotic battle against the Masters of Evil. The Crimson Cowl escaped with Moonstone, who ultimately betrayed her. The would-be heroes surprisingly discovered the Crimson Cowl to be Dallas Riordan, who refused to provide any explanations for her actions. When visited in prison by Atlas, Riordan was kidnapped by the V-Battalion, Citizen V's supporters.

Unexpected Ally

Hawkeye asked the Black Widow for the flying vehicle used by the Champions, the Champscraft. When retrieving it, the Thunderbolts were attacked by the former Champion Archangel. After calling a truce, the group found out Graviton had claimed domain over an air-floating island in San Francisco. They got into combat against the master of gravity, but were captured. Using Machine Man's technology, Jolt and Charcoal nullified Graviton's control over the Thunderbolts as the insecure villain lost his mind once again and became a victim of his powers. Back to their base, the Thunderbolts found the Champscraft totally repaired and redesigned, in addition to other small improvements in their gadgets. Before they could investigate, Charcoal was kidnapped by his former masters from the Imperial Forces. The Thunderbolts infiltrated the criminals' base and were attacked by Zola's experiments known as the Brute Force. Counting with the unexpected help of the Jury and the mysterious Citizen V, the Thunderbolts fended off the Imperial Forces, who had associations with Zemo. They then found the secret tech support benefactor to be Ogre, a former member of Factor Three, an obscure group of mutant villains and the base's original owners. Tasked to be a caretaker when the group disbanded, Ogre hid himself for years. Offered a place in the team as a resident engineer, he accepted, but was immediately subdued and secretly replaced by Techno, who impersonated him as the Thunderbolts' "new" mechanic.

The Arrival of Mach-2

Scourged

In order to boost their reputation as heroes, the Thunderbolts hunted the Hulk down again, with no success. Amidst this crisis, Jolt was shot dead by a mysterious hitman. Simultaneously, MACH-1 started to operate as the Beetle again, this time as a secret agent for the Commission on Superhuman Activities due to his heroic tendencies in the Seagate Prison. The Thunderbolts intercepted Beetle when smuggling the top-secret Omega-32 technology from Roxxon for evil industrialist Justin Hammer, a cover assignment from the Commission to combat Hammer. They fought Beetle and Hammer's supervillainous goons, who escaped. Hawkeye secretly arranged for Beetle's freedom with agent Henry Peter Gyrich. Beetle was freed for acting as an illegal agent for the Commission and for having arrested Hammer. Rebranded by Techno as MACH-2, he rejoined the Thunderbolts. Tricked by Daimon Hellstrom, Hawkeye marched to hell in order to rescue his late wife Mockingbird. The Thunderbolts decided to help him, making deals with the gods Enchantress and Pluto. In hell, the Thunderbolts confronted their inner demons. Ultimately, after fighting Mephisto, the Thunderbolts rescued not Mockingbird, but Patsy Walker.

While coping with the recent tragedies, the Thunderbolts were surprised by Citizen V, who was revealed to be Riordan, being ambushed by her own team, the V-Battalion. However, before they could help her, she was kidnapped by the real Crimson Cowl. Atlas infiltrated the V-Battalion ship to find Riordan, and the Thunderbolts followed him to Symkaria with MACH-2 hiring Sandman to be their guide. When fighting V-Battalion's super-human agents, an unstable Moonstone went missing and Sandman turned against his allies to attack his former associates from the Wild Pack, especially his boss Silver Sable. The Thunderbolts and the V-Battalion joined forces to stop Sandman. Lamenting this disappearance of Riordan, Atlas was subdued by the brainwashed Avenger Wonder Man, under Count Nefaria's command. Black Widow enlisted the Thunderbolts to help the Avengers against Nefaria, who planned to command the world by bombarding it with ionic energy, with his daughter Madame Masque at his side. Madame Masque betrayed him, assisting the Avengers instead. The two teams joined forces to fight Count Nefaria, who was incapacitated by Madame Masque. The bomb was rendered useless by Wonder Man and Atlas after they broke free from Nefaria's control. Moonstone was found on the Moon, where the Kree Supreme Intelligence was kept locked. Alongside Captain Marvel, the Thunderbolts helped her understand the soul duel her powers had incited within her. On Titan, Captain Marvel's allies, Mentor and I.S.A.A.C., attempted to forcibly extirpate Moonstone of her abilities for judging her unworthy of them. Captain Marvel sided with the Thunderbolts to convince his allies of their heroism. Moonstone was restored, body and soul.

Simultaneously, a brainwashed Gyrich sought to destroy the Thunderbolts, having his agent, the mentally conditioned puppet assassin Scourge, carry on a systematic assassination campaign against them. He had been responsible for Jolt's and Baron Zemo's deaths. He finally entered the Thunderbolts' base, where he destroyed Techno and imploded Atlas into a storm of ionic energy. However, his attack unpredictably revived Jolt, who had been tended to by Techno, and also resurrected Techno in his organic body as the Fixer. Scourge escaped, and the chaos he had incited led S.H.I.E.L.D. to Mount Charteris just when the Thunderbolts reunited with Jolt. Forced to retreat, the Thunderbolts intercepted Scourge. As the team discussed the recent revelations, the real Ogre asked to be left alone and Jolt accused Hawkeye of fooling the team by falsely promising them a pardon, straining relations. After being freed, the Scourge indicated he had acted on Gyrich's orders to help him eliminate every super-human on the planet. They confronted Gyrich just as Dr. Valerie Cooper gathered her own team of government-sanctioned heroes that mirrored the Thunderbolts, the Redeemers. Using the stolen Omega-32 technology, Gyrich carried out his plan, infecting the Redeemers with nanites to serve him, except for their leader, the new Citizen V. The Thunderbolts, joined by Scourge, Citizen V and ultimately the Redeemers, stopped Gyrich's plan to utilize experimental nanite technology to kill off all known superhumans. After his scheme was foiled, it was quickly revealed that Gyrich was infected with the nanites himself; Baron Strucker was the real mastermind behind the operation. Hawkeye used the events as leverage to get pardons for the Thunderbolts in exchange for their silence about the conspiracy within the Commission. However, Hawkeye had to go to jail for aiding the then-fugitive heroes evade capture. Since Hawkeye agreed, the Thunderbolts disbanded without his leadership, being forced into civilian lives.

No Redemption

The Redeemers program became an operation based at Mount Charteris. Jolt and Charcoal, the only Thunderbolts with no criminal records, were folded into the Redeemers program under the temporary guidance of Captain America. In secrecy, their leader Citizen V had been possessed by Baron Zemo's consciousness as part of a plan envisioned by Techno. The Redeemers were targeted by Graviton, who sought revenge against the Thunderbolts. The Fixer abandoned the Redeemers to join Graviton's ally and counselor, Moonstone. Save for Citizen V and the Fixer, all other Redeemers were promptly slaughtered by the super-villain as he restrained all super-heroes and sequestered many capitals of the world to reform it under his image. Using V-Battalion's technology, Citizen V was able to bring Songbird and MACH-3 back to action. Atlas also joined them, being revived in the body of a paraplegic Riordan. Together, the Thunderbolts stroke at Graviton, being joined by he Fixer and Jolt; the latter had managed to rebuild her electric body after being dissipated by Graviton. A divided Moonstone ultimately turned against Graviton as well, marking the reassembling of the original Thunderbolts. With Graviton's mental and physical collapse, a black hole threatened to engulf the world. The Thunderbolts restrained the effect of the gravitational field, with Songbird encasing it in a solid sound shield. As a result, all the others Thunderbolts vanished, sacrificing their lives to save Earth. Citizen V escaped the effect by teleporting away and, as a result, got free of Zemo's consciousness, which was downloaded into Fixer's Tech-Pac.

In fact, the Thunderbolts were transported to Counter-Earth, the artificial world where the Avengers and the Fantastic Four resided after their fight with Onslaught. In a decaying world with no heroes, they met their analogues, Thunderbolts led by Baron Heinrich Zemo and formed by Helmut Zemo a.k.a. the Iron Cross, the original Moonstone's alternate Phantom Eagle, Solarr, Chain Lightning, and Makeshift. Faced with a moral dilemma, the Thunderbolts were torn between either help the tragic world or abandon it and return home. They ultimately used their abilities to help people and tricked their counterparts into helping them design a rocket that would take them home but also allow the fascistic Thunderbolts to seize control of Counter-Earth. The Fixer took the opportunity to transfer Zemo's disembodied mind into his double's unscarred body. Zemo then killed his alternate "father." The Thunderbolts ultimately destroyed the rocket to protect the world, ruining their chance of returning home. Instead, Baron Zemo suggested them to rule the planet as Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

The Thunderbolts turned Attilan into a haven for the hurt people of Counter-Earth. By nullifying a deadly entropic energy field that grew bigger in Japan, they started to be celebrated as saviors of the planet. However, Jolt questioned the morality of their ways. In the meantime, Moonstone stole the alien gem of the mentally vulnerable Phantom Eagle for herself, causing her powers to increase to cosmically dangerous levels. The Thunderbolts kept restoring the world from the catastrophes that had destroyed it, but a victim of the energy field in Japan ascended as the villain Anomaly to combat them. Seeing them as opportunistic people who took advantage of Counter-Earth, Anomaly tortured the Thunderbolts, but was easily defeated by omnipotent Moonstone. Tracking the source of his energy field, they found a spaceship linked to the mainstream Earth. The Young Allies intervened, claiming that only one planet could keep existing. To stabilize the situation and separate the link between the two Earths, Anomaly sacrificed himself, Atlas and Riordan got separated by wasting all of their ionic energy, and Jolt acted as an energy source to force the Thunderbolts into the portal.

Best Intentions

On Earth, Hawkeye escaped from prison during Graviton's attack alongside Mentallo, Plantman and Cottonmouth as a consequence of Mentallo's machinations involving Justin Hammer's last legacy. Under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director Dum-Dum Dugan's orders, Songbird contacted him with a pardon offer after they clashed with Cyclone. Hawkeye, Songbird and Plantman became the Thunderbolts of Earth and searched for Cyclone to learn about Justin Hammer's secrets. They tracked Cyclone back to one of Hammer's mansions in France, where they were attacked by Crimson Cowl's Masters of Evil. Crimson Cowl wished to use Plantman to disseminate a biotoxin to control the world. However, Hawkeye was able to convince the Masters Gypsy Moth, Man-Killer, Cardinal and Cyclone that they were at risk of being harmed by the biotoxin by associating themselves with the Crimson Cowl. As such, the Thunderbolts fully reformed with brand-new members: Plantman evolved as Blackheath; Cardinal as the flying machine Harrier; Cyclone; Man-Killer as Amazon; and Gypsy Moth as the sensual Skein. The Thunderbolts alerted Silver Sable about the Cowl's chemical weapon and its potential use in Symkaria. Together, they hit the Cowl and her Masters, learning she was in fact Hammer's daughter, Justine. Subdued by the Masters of Evil, the Thunderbolts were hopeless with Hawkeye apparently killed and Skein having run away. However, Blackheath managed to deactivate the toxin at the cost of his own humanity, for he evolved into a vegetal existence. This led Crimson Cowl to be defeated thanks to Skein returning and disassembling her costume. Dugan initially attempted to arrest the new Thunderbolts, but was convinced of their good intentions and offered them the opportunity to save the world.

The group was recruited by Citizen V to the V-Battalion's base regarding a spatial rift disturbance coming from an alien spaceship called Vanguard. While Cyclone deserted the team, Silver Sable used Crimson Cowl's costume to act as a teleporter and help the Thunderbolts. Hawkeye ventured into the rift, meeting the Thunderbolts who had just stabilized the void generated by the Vanguard spaceship on Counter-Earth. The two planets were saved, and the Thunderbolts, reunited. Moonstone teleported the Thunderbolts away from Silver Sable and the V-Battalion. In the aftermath, Amazon and Skein decided to leave for believing there was no place for them in the team. Atlas lost his ionic powers, and Riordan was granted super-human strength and reflexes as a result. The Fixer then empowered Atlas using Pym Particles. MACH-3 decided to return to prison to walk a decent path, being accompanied by Harrier. Ultimately, Hawkeye left the team, giving an allegedly reformed Zemo the opportunity to lead, helping the world instead of ruling it. Baron Zemo then went on to reveal to his team that he had lied. He still wanted to conquer the world... in order to save it.

Zemo led the Thunderbolts -- which included Riordan under the codename Vantage -- to perform anti-terrorism acts all over the globe, as part of his Project: Liberator. Although Hawkeye was proud of his former team, his teammates in the Avengers were suspicious of Zemo. Project: Liberation was ultimately an attempt to siphon the powers of all other superhumans on Earth. In need of a nuclear specialist, the Thunderbolts searched for the unstable Cobalt Man, who at the time was fighting the Avengers. The two teams joined forces to stop Cobalt Man, and Zemo opportunistically took him to their base. However, the Cobalt Man who joined the Thunderbolts was in fact Iron Man in disguise, as a spy for the Avengers. When the Avengers confronted the Thunderbolts, it was revealed that, as a backup plan, any power absorbed by the Liberator was to be channeled into Moonstone. Rancorously caught in an overwhelming spiral of madness from possessing such enormous levels of power, she dangerously planned to rip Earth's magnetic field to punish the Avengers. Blackheath, Songbird, Vantage, and Atlas sided with the Avengers to attack Moonstone. She fired a deadly shot of energy on Captain America, but he was ironically saved by Zemo, who was gravely hurt. Despite Jolt appearing a last-minute attempt to pull Moonstone back from the edge, Hawkeye shot her with a scrambler in order to stop the destructive rampage. A burnt and disfigured Zemo took the opportunity to seize Moonstone's twin gems and flee, vowing to get revenge; Moonstone was left catatonic due to the experience; Fixer escaped in the tumultuous ordeal; Jolt returned to the Young Allies and Counter-Earth; a depowered Blackheath was imprisoned again by his own volition; Vantage retired to work for the Commission; Atlas was once again depowered; Songbird was offered reserve membership in the Avengers, but turned it down for mistrusting them; the Thunderbolts were no more. Meanwhile, MACH-3 was then paroled from prison and publicly announced his intentions to form a new team of Thunderbolts.

New Thunderbolts

The return of the Thunderbolts

Following the Avengers' disassembling and Hawkeye's demise, the creation of the new Thunderbolts team by MACH-3 was made imperative. In order to get funding, he made a repulsive deal with Baron Strucker's Hydra. As MACH-IV, he worked alongside Atlas and recruited the Blizzard for their group. Songbird also joined them, being kept ignorant about their association with Hydra. The new team battled Atlantean super-terrorists Fathom Five. During the battle, Captain Marvel, who bore a special interest in Songbird, teamed up with the new group to help them gain success. However, Atlas reacquired his ionic powers and secretly beat Captain Marvel to death, wishing to prevent him from spoiling even further Songbird's and MACH-IV's broken relationship. When the new Thunderbolts battled the Wrecking Crew, Speed Demon requested for membership under Strucker's orders. The group then decided to stop the Fathom Five, causing diplomatic distress with Atlantis' king Namor. When the Great Game targeted Namor at the United Nations Headquarters, the Thunderbolts helped him. With the rist of the building collapsing, the Thunderbolts forced the Gamers' employee Joystick to join them. In the end, they also counted with the Radioactive Man, who had been under the Chinese government's orders to retaliate at the Fathom Five. The new team was fully assembled.

ThE Fathom Five attacked MACH-IV and his ally from the Commission Carol Danvers, who had the Beetle armor restored as an alternative resource. When the Thunderbolts intervened, the Five was defeated, but Strucker had Hydra invade Manhattan during the fomented crisis in an attempt to obliterate it. All the Thunderbolts decided to save the city from Hydra. Baron Strucker escaped and his agents retreated. A last nuclear bombing was prevented by a mentally unstable Captain Marvel, who got revived as Photon to help the Thunderbolts. Due to MACH-IV's association with Strucker, Songbird decided to leave the team. Venerated as rising heroes, the Thunderbolts rebuilt a solid reputation as crime fighters. However, the team counted with illegal money from robbery to operate. King Namor stroke at the Radioactive Man for his action of having contaminated the Fathom Five's Llyron with a contagious radioactive illness. The Thunderbolts went to Atlantis and the Radioactive Man was convinced of purging the contamination.

The mass-manipulator Purple Man plotted to enslave New York City by drugging the water supply with his mind-controlling pheromones. His puppet Swordsman tricked Songbird into being framed for murder, prompting the Thunderbolts to investigate the situation. Having manipulated the Thunderbolts since their reformation, the Purple Man managed to have them turn against each other, and MACH-IV was wounded by a treacherous Swordsman. He was nursed while the Thunderbolts were ultimately able to destroy Purple Man's plans. Photon led the villain to madness by giving him access to the Cosmic Awareness. However, the Purple Man was mysteriously teleported away and brought before his real boss, Baron Zemo. This mission also allowed Songbird to get the position of team's leader and expel MACH-IV from the team. As part of the Commission on Superhuman Activities, Dallas Riordan offered to pardon the members of the Thunderbolts who still had outstanding legal problems in exchange for the group publicly attacking the new and unsanctioned Avengers, a plan envisioned by Carol Danvers and Hank Pym. The Thunderbolts lured the Avengers into leaving Avengers Tower, and only Spider-Woman escaped the sneak attack, beating Joystick senseless. The rest of her team was beaten by the Thunderbolts. Songbird told Captain America that her team could beat the Avengers any time. In the end, it was discovered that Baron Zemo was also the mastermind behind the entire scenario, working with the Commission to save the world. Simultaneously, the Fixer resurfaced and recruited both MACH-IV and Blizzard to work with him on a top-secret project led by Baron Zemo as well. They also recruited Man-Killer and Blackout for their cause.

Speed Demon was approached by the new Doctor Spectrum, who looked to reform the Squadron Sinister and take over the world. Meanwhile, former Squadron's member Nighthawk had been robbed by Speed Demon and looked for the Thunderbolts for explanations. The Thunderbolts fought the Squadron Sinister. Speed Demon pretend to join the Squadron by kidnapping Nighthawk, allowing the Thunderbolts to force a retreat. However, Songbird kicked Speed Demon out of the team due to his erratic behavior and offered membership to Nighthawk instead. Swordsman had been investigating Zemo and approached the Thunderbolts in seek of help. He was chased by a mindless Moonstone, who teleported the Thunderbolts to the Microverse. Zemo revealed himself with his own group of Thunderbolts, confronting Songbird's team about Photon's increasingly unstable powers which put the fabric of reality at risk. Baron Zemo blackmailed Atlas into joining him by offering him, through Blackout, the safety of his lost brother, the former Redeemer Smuggler. Baron Zemo ended up killing Photon. By convincing Songbird, he resumed his leadership over the Thunderbolts and consolidated the team. Songbird was revealed to be secretly working in coalition with Zemo since MACH-IV first restarted the team, acting for his best interests.

Civil War

The acting directors of the Commission on Superhuman Activities Riordan and Gyrich contacted the Thunderbolts about the Superhuman Registration Act. The superhuman community had become ideologically divided in a war, with Iron Man supporting the registration of superhumans under S.H.I.E.L.D. and Captain America resisting it illegally. Baron Zemo met with Iron Man, Hank Pym and Reed Richards, and they expressed their wish of recruiting former supervillains to hunt down unregistered superhumans and suggested to incorporate the Thunderbolts into the pro-registration Initiative. As such, the Thunderbolts became jailers for the government, building an army of supervillains as part of Operation: Justice Like Lightning. In secrecy, Zemo allied himself with Captain America as well, promising ways to liberate his imprisoned allies. Meanwhile, Songbird made a deal with Riordan to betray Zemo after fully integrating with the Initiative. With his allies defecting, Iron Man assembled a Thunderbolts unit to capture Captain America's secret Avengers. The unit was formed by Songbird, Radioactive Man, Atlas, Venom, Bullseye, Taskmaster, Lady Deathstrike, Jack O'Lantern, the Jester, and the U-Foes. Not taking chances, Richards tagged these erratic Thunderbolts with nanobot technology to monitor and curb their actions. Before fighting as a unit, Jack O'Lantern and Jester were deployed to capture Spider-Man, but were promptly killed in the process by the Punisher.

Baron Zemo then focused on the Squadron Sinister's master, the Elder of the Universe Grandmaster, in a dispute to acquire the Wellspring of Power. Joystick was actually working for the Grandmaster and crippled Speed Demon, prompting him to assist the Thunderbolts with intel in order to recuperate his powers. With his main Thunderbolts team, Baron Zemo was able to overpower the Grandmaster and tap into the Wellspring's forces, but the traitorous Joystick destroyed the Wellspring. The effects of its destruction unleashed its power to the world, with the Thunderbolts army ultimately defecting when they should tend to the crisis in various cities. With the help of the telepath Overmind, Songbird convinced Zemo to resurrect the Grandmaster to save the world. Overmind also influenced Doctor Octopus to lead the Thunderbolts army alongside Captain America's and Iron Man's forces to protect the planet, leading the superhumans of the world to rechannel the Wellspring's powers to Zemo. The omnipotent Zemo killed Grandmaster one more time and seized his powers to stabilize the Wellspring. Songbird then ultimately betrayed Zemo, destroying his moonstones and rendering him powerless. MACH-IV's, Blizzard's and Smuggler's suits were ruined in the fight, and Atlas sacrificed himself to seal the Wellspring. The Thunderbolts drastically changed: Speed Demon escaped; Joystick was incarcerated; MACH-IV and Fixer were offered to work with Riordan for the government as engineers; and Moonstone reclaimed her original powers, being fully restored.

Initiative

Hunters of Heroes

The pro-registration forces the Thunderbolts were part of won the war, and all superhumans were forced to register under the law. Songbird, Radioactive Man, Swordsman, Moonstone, Venom, and Penance -- the traumatized New Warrior formerly known as Speedball -- composed the superhuman hunting team. As a secret agent, they counted with the lethal and psychotic mercenary Bullseye. Moreover, Norman Osborn -- the original Green Goblin -- was named Thunderbolts' director, laying down a bold new order. Locked in the Thunderbolts Mountain as the Initiative team of Colorado, the Thunderbolts, except for Moonstone, who got promoted by Osborn as field leader, were controlled with a nano-chain that could trigger an incapacitating electrical discharge. They were also heavily advertised as the Initiative's golden heroes. In their first missions as specialized superhuman marshals they brutally hunted down Hurricane and Jack Flag. During these different missions, Moonstone had the Thunderbolts manipulate the situation to save face on television broadcasts, making the targets look like genuine threats to the public by causing mayhem on purpose. In the shadows, they were unable to escape the wrath of Bullseye, who paralyzed them. Songbird and Radioactive Man grew uncomfortable with the drastic changes in the team's modus operandi Moonstone and Osborn implemented.

Another target of the Thunderbolts was the Steel Spider in Phoenix. Through the timely intervention of Sepulchre and American Eagle, he was able to hold the brutal Thunderbolts off. American Eagle harpooned Moonstone's hand to the Thunderbolt's Zeus aircraft, taking her away from the battle but earning her fury. She sent Bullseye on the loose to end him. With Radioactive Man's help, Songbird tricked Bullseye into believing his nanochain had been disabled. He killed his handlers and pursued American Eagle. Upon learning of his escape, Moonstone fired his nanochain. Debilitated, he stood no chance against the Eagle, who injured him into a vegetative body. American Eagle and Sepulchre escaped, but Steel Spider became the battle's casualty, with his arm being ripped off and devoured by Venom before he got apprehended.

The Thunderbolts vs the Caged Angels

The dysfunctional team coped with their demons as the superhuman community started to see them as scum. Superhuman specialist psychiatrist Leonard Samson visited Penance to assess his mental health after he was violently subdued by Moonstone during a dissociative episode. Simultaneously, their mountain headquarters started to receive the Initiative's prisoners. Four telepaths held captive used their powers to turn the team members against each other. They coerced Swordsman into taking his father's legacy as Baron Strucker and into blowing up the Zeus transport, urged Venom on a cannibal rampage, and unhinged Osborn into resuming his mad Green Goblin persona; such actions killed countless support staffers. By forcing the Thunderbolts to forget about the nanochain resource, the telepaths descended them into madness. Swordsman and Venom fought each other in a deadly combat that left Venom maimed. In retaliation for it, the Green Goblin savagely crucified Swordsman. Songbird and Radioactive Man were telepathically misled, leading to a barbaric fight between Green Goblin and Songbird that collapsed both of them. Meanwhile, Moonstone was nudged into attempting to kill the Samson and Penance, but was knocked out. Unexpectedly, the secret Thunderbolt Bullseye recovered and killed the telepaths in the detention area, unaware he was actually saving the team. Osborn tried to downplay and dismiss the entire incident, but Songbird revealed the existence of incriminating footage, which Samson had furtively acquired. This guaranteed Songbird field leadership again, and she exhibited a harsher attitude after blaming Osborn and Moonstone for the death of her mother.

After allowing Arnim Zola to escape during a mission, Swordsman was rewarded with a clone of his deceased twin Andrea who appeared in the Thunderbolts Mountain, circumvented Osborn's leverage over him. Another interloper was the apparently resurrected original Captain Marvel, who attacked the unworthy Thunderbolts. Osborn soon realized he was in fact a Skrull agent part of a Secret Invasion on Earth. Since Starktech was compromised, he went on the offensive against the invaders by using his Oscorp technology in Washington, D.C.. During the fight, Moonstone and Bullseye took part in executing Andrea under the wrong suspicion that she was a Skrull spy, with Skrulls framed for the deed. Additionally, Radioactive Man was the cause of a reactive explosion after being a victim of the aliens, but the Thunderbolts managed to prevent any harm from it. By defeating the Skrulls in D.C., Osborn played up his team's role in the defense effort to the media, making them out as the force saving the Earth from Iron Man's bungling. His favorite Thunderbolts Moonstone, Venom and Bullseye journeyed with him to New York, gloriously aiding in the final battle against the Skrulls. Osborn gained focused publicity as he had the kill shot on the Skrull Queen across worldwide broadcasts. Having triumphed over Iron Man's disgrace, Norman Osborn replaced him by being promoted to head of the Initiative.

Dark Reign

Under Osborn's rising dark reign, the Thunderbolts were to suffer drastic changes. Officially, Osborn's first action was to disband the team. Penance was sent to a mental institution by Moonstone, Radioactive Man was convoked back to China, and Bullseye was free to get revenge at Songbird, being aided by Moonstone and Venom. She was saved by the Swordsman's intervention, since he told the other Thunderbolts she had been vaporized when the Zeus, which she had stolen, crashed. However, Swordsman met his fate by being impaled by Osborn with his own sword. Osborn then transferred his Thunderbolts into a dark Avengers team.

Osborn's secret Thunderbolts

The Thunderbolts were redesignated Osborn's personal black ops covert squad. He recruited Yelena Belova, the rancorous legacy of the Black Widow to be his field leader. Her first target was Samson, as a way to destroy the footage he had of the massacre in Thunderbolts Mountain, which could undermine Osborn's rule. The Thunderbolts hijacked an airplane Osborn, Samson and the president travelled in. As part of the operation, the irredeemably immoral Ant-Man poisoned Samson to make him go berserk and the saboteur known only as the Ghost secured the footage data. Then, the Green Goblin raided the plane. Osborn saved the president from the Goblin, boosting his credibility while damaging Samson's. In fact, the Green Goblin was the Thunderbolt Headsman, who was helped in the ruse by his teammate, the mercenary for money Paladin.

For attempted blackmail against Osborn, Deadpool infiltrated the Avengers Tower. Osborn employed his Thunderbolts to kill him. Deadpool ambushed the Thunderbolts, but could not harm the Black Widow due to being infatuated with her. The Thunderbolts stroke back, but Deadpool managed to evade the attack. With unlikely assistance from the Taskmaster, Deadpool thwarted them but was beheaded by Headsman. Secretly, Black Widow restored him to health and released him, contrary to Osborn's orders.

The Thunderbolts then traveled to Madripoor to recruit the master martial artist and killing addict Mister X. Ghost approached Black Widow about her true allegiance to Nick Fury. On the other hand, Osborn also included a new incarnation of Scourge who was loyal only to him and was in fact the volatile supersoldier known as Nuke. The Thunderbolts were then assigned to end a resurfaced Songbird under Scourge's leadership. Black Widow defected, joining Songbird and revealing not to be Yelena Belova but, in fact, the original Widow, Natasha Romanoff. Helped by the Ghost, Black Widow and Songbird made it to Fury's location. However, they were followed by the Thunderbolts since Ant-Man had secretly accompanied them. When killing Fury, Osborn revealed to the Widow that she had never been in contact with Fury, only with Osborn himself. Fury was revealed to be a Life Model Decoy. Headsman and Paladin betrayed the team to free Black Widow and Songbird, who were rescued by MACH-V and the Fixer. The Ghost scrambled the memories of their insubordination episode from Scourge's and Mister X's minds in order to allow them to stay with the team, although Ant-Man witnessed his action.

Wishing to torture and brainwash the Avengers Luke Cage and Iron Fist, Osborn had his Thunderbolts tackle them, but they were able to resist the dysfunctional team. The confrontation made Mister X uneasy, since he had not been capable of murdering anyone during his time as a Thunderbolt. He unleashed his deadly rage on guerrilleros in the jungles of Colombia, and the Thunderbolts retrieved him after a destructive conflict. On their way home, they were tasked of terminating the Agents of the Atlas Foundation, having the Grizzly added to the team. The fight between the Thunderbolts and the Agents raged on as deadly chemicals caused both teams to retreat. However, the Agent of Atlas Uranian implanted a hypnotic suggestion in Scourge's mind before departing. Upon seeing Osborn's face as a hologram, the latent programming in Scourge misfired and he shot Headsman in the cranium, horrifying his teammates.

Despite being eroded from within, the Thunderbolts immediately marched to war in Broxton, Oklahoma, site of the mythic city of Asgard. As part of Osborn's Siege of Asgard, the Thunderbolts were ordered to infiltrate Asgard's armories and steal Gungnir, Odin's spear, capable of turning the tide in his favor. The Ghost sent a call for help which got the attention of Hank Pym's Avengers. During the clash between the two teams, Scourge used the spear to sever U.S.Agent's left limbs. Paladin, Ant-Man, and the Ghost betrayed the Thunderbolts to defeat Scourge. Ant-Man finished Grizzly, while the Avengers Quicksilver cruelly maimed Mister X. Meanwhile, Osborn's plans failed with the return of the Avengers led by Steve Rogers and his reign of darkness fell.

The Raft

After Norman Osborn's fall, a new team of Thunderbolts formed at the behest of Steve Rogers, who wished to prevent super-villains from rising to power again. Based out of the Raft maximum security super-prison directed by a handicapped U.S.Agent as Warden Walker, the operation was spearheaded by Luke Cage and included Songbird, MACH-V, and the Fixer as handlers, providing support to an all-new field team of rehabilitating prisoners. The convicts selected for the program were the Ghost, Moonstone, the unstoppable Juggernaut, and the vile Crossbones. Operating from the island prison, the team utilized a very unique transportation system: the dimensional-warping abilities of Man-Thing, now housed at the Raft in a special swamp-like terrarium.

During the team's first training session, they were approached by Baron Zemo. While Crossbones immediately joined him, Moonstone rejected him. The Ghost then recognized it was a ruse staged by Cage to test their new nanite system, since Zemo was in fact the Fixer in disguise. With the team secured, they went to Broxton to deal with damage control concerning Trolls after the fall of Asgard. The Thunderbolts clashed with and apprehended a girl born and raised with the Trolls. Next, they investigated the disappearance of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in a mine of radioactive Terrigen Crystals. Attacked by monstrosities, the Thunderbolts' handlers fell. However, the team of convicts still accomplished their mission; during the incident, Crossbones was contaminated by Terrigenesis. Back to the Raft, a blackout took place during a visit of Hank Pym's students from the Avengers Academy and the Thunderbolts helped to fend off the rioting prisoners, preventing any escapes.

When the vigilante Daredevil built a empire of shadows in Hell's Kitchen as the leader of the Hand, Cage learned police officers were being kept captive in underground dungeons and sent the Fixer to lead the Thunderbolts to rescue Darry Kimbro. With the Fixer critically injured, the Thunderbolts were left unwatched. Moonstone led them to accomplish the mission in order to gain a reputation. However, Crossbones killed Kimbro with his volatile Terrigen-based powers. Shaken by this death, Cage wished to deactivate the program. The Avengers then visited the Thunderbolts to supervise them. The Ghost sabotaged the Man-Thing's teleportation, leading both teams to an alternate dimension. The Thunderbolts attempted an escape, but the Ghost gave up after learning Iron Man had dismantled his conglomerate empire while Juggernaut was restricted. A corrupted Crossbones succumbed to his contamination and got expelled for wanting to kill Steve Rogers. Back home, Rogers convinced Cage to carry on with the project.

In need of manpower, Cage added Hyperion to the team in order to combat kaiju-like creatures created by M.O.D.O.K. and the Leader. The evil and very powerful new member proved to be a poor choice after turning against his own teammates. The Thunderbolts joined forces effectively to brutalize the traitor. The Man-Thing's absence from its natural habitat proved to be a local problem for extradimensional invaders took advantage of the situation. The witch Jennifer Kale broke into the Raft to free the shambling muck monster. However, Man-Thing returned of his own accord. It became then apparent how susceptible to magical attacks the Raft was. To this end, Cage worked with Doctor Strange to recruit the devilish sorceress Satana into the team.

Moreover, with Warden Walker promoting Songbird to be the captain of the Raft's handlers, the Thunderbolts program expanded. New convicts called in for the secondary squad were the Shocker, the savage Troll girl, the witty Centurius, the tricky Boomerang, and the nefarious Mister Hyde. After the main team returned from a mission to oppose the horrible Baron Gothenvald, the new recruits were assigned to join fight an army of the undead in Iraq. Meanwhile, Juggernaut was benched at the Raft by Cage for having acted out in field. He was summoned by the Asgardian God of Fear to become one of the hammer-empowered Worthy, Kuurth, Breaker of Stone. Juggernaut destroyed the Raft, causing a massive prison break in the ensuing chaos. The Thunderbolts returned, but were too late to stop the large group of escapees. Songbird led the untrustworthy new Thunderbolts to regain control over the ravaged Raft.

Lost in Space-Time

With the world thrown into panic, the Thunderbolts targeted Juggernaut, being unable to exorcise him of the destructive Kuurth. Satana returned to gather reinforcements and teleported their command tower, the Raft's only remaining undamaged structure, from the island to a ravaged Chicago using Man-Thing's powers. This was schemed by the Fixer, who secretly kept contact with Baron Zemo and knew about a project regarding an upcoming and accidental invasion of genetically engineered monsters where the Thunderbolts were located. The Fixer led the secondary team of Thunderbolts to avert the chaos, during which he assembled Centurius, Boomerang, Mister Hyde, Moonstone, Satana, and, accidentally, Troll. Due to the Man-Thing being in the throes of an evolution the Thunderbolts tower was caught teleportational vortex, the team and their tower were cast backwards through time, giving their handlers the impression of a most elaborate jailbreak.

The time-travelling Thunderbolts ended up in the Alps during World War II, where Nazi agents attacked their mobile tower. Pretending to be American heroes from the 1940s, the Thunderbolts teamed up with the Invaders in battle. The Invaders asked the Thunderbolts for help in rescuing their teammate, the Human Torch from Baron Zemo and the Red Skull. In order to guarantee a future for themselves, the Thunderbolts had to protect both sides of the ensuing conflict. The Thunderbolts rescued the Human Torch and destroyed the clones Zemo had created of him. At the same time, Moonstone ensured Zemo survived to sire a son, who would found the Thunderbolts in the future. Empowering their tower with Baron Zemo's source of power, the Thunderbolts travelled back in time even further.

In Victorian London, the Thunderbolts hid their tower on the River Thames. Mister Hyde escaped them, being seduced by the 19th-century setting. Satana followed him, but she awoke the Iceni, demonic spirits that possessed local street walkers. To help Satana, Hyde slew the creatures killing the women they inhabited in the progress. The Thunderbolts joined the police in investigating the situation, eventually freeing Satana. In the end, all Thunderbolts were responsible for the murders attributed to "Jack the Ripper", causing the Whitechapel Murders to remain a mystery. For their next jump, they were secretly accompanied by the Ghost, who traced Troll's battleaxe's signature from the present in a ritual performed by Valkyrie. This allowed the Raft staff to know the Thunderbolts were trapped in the past. Ending up in King Arthur's court in Camelot, Troll fought the medieval Black Knight and Boomerang stole his Ebony Blade. The mage Merlin and the Round Table intervened, defeating and locking the Thunderbolts in their castle's dungeons. The Ghost freed them, igniting a messy fight. Merlin wished to get rid of the interlopers and helped them direct their tower back to the modern times using Moonstone's gem as a beacon.

Arriving to the period the original Thunderbolts team pretended to be brand-new heroes, the group attempted to hide but was intercepted by their past counterparts. During the fight, Moonstone approached her younger self to forge an alliance for their benefit. Baron Zemo realized he was fighting a version of his own Thunderbolts, just when the Fixer and Satana attempted to out everybody inside the Thunderbolts' tower. The two groups of Thunderbolts joined forces to find a solution for the faulty time-travelling apparatus. Baron Zemo suggested to use Doctor Doom's Time Platform. However, the Fixer from the past hacked into his future self's database, learning the tragic future that awaited him. They fought each other and the younger Fixer was accidentally killed by his older counterpart. A collapse in reality was triggered, forcing the Fixer to paradoxically assume his younger self's place. Centurius reversed the Fixer's aging and erased his memory about the incident as well as the original Thunderbolts'. With his sacrifice by being trapped in an eternal loop, the Fixer allowed the Thunderbolts to continue their adventure.

In the present, while attempting to recover his teammates, Cage reformed project Thunderbolts in the ruins of the Raft by commanding some of Osborn's criminal Avengers under F.A.C.T.'s orders. The Thunderbolts found themselves in prehistory, where they found a debilitated Doctor Doom. Back to the early moments of Earth, the Man-Thing finally woke up from his dormancy state, revealing to be the cause of the malfunctioning in the Thunderbolt's transport. However, before they could safely return, Doom attacked them to force a return to the present. However, the Thunderbolts were beaten by the Latverian army, forcing them to retreat. Satana momentarily banished the villain to Hell, incapacitating him just enough for the Thunderbolts use their tower's teleporter.

They were unintentionally sent to a dark future where the Thunderbolts Tower got exploded by one of Doom's bombs. They had no extra luck by being tackled by the brutal enforcer Boss Cage. The Thunderbolts escaped due to the intervention of the criminal Outlanders and learned that they were in a dystopian totalitarian system. A shard of hope came to them in the form of a message transmitted by Cage with a new beacon to help them return. This allowed them to realize that having the criminal Avengers added to Cage's team was a scheme envisioned by the Thunderbolts' corrupted superiors in F.A.C.T., which would create the tragic future they were in through the collapse an energy-storage device. After leading a war against the totalitarian bosses in Mondo City, the Thunderbolts ultimately convinced Boss Cage to let them go in order to destroy any chance of that horrible reality coming to be. In the present, Warden Walker, Songbird and MACH-V combatted F.A.C.T. while Cage and the Juggernaut attempted to prevent the dark Avengers from finishing their mission and triggering the catastrophe. Guided by Man-Thing, the Thunderbolts returned and stopped the Avengers, saving the world from getting corrupted. In the end, Cage vouched for the heroic Thunderbolts, disbanding the team. The former Thunderbolts refused to go back to jail and, with Cage's blessing, went to different ways with Man-Thing providing the best destination for each of them.

Hydra Empire

S.H.I.E.L.D. director Maria Hill ran a rehabilitating facility for super-criminals using Cosmic Cube technology to create a simulation. In the peaceful town of Pleasant Hill, the convicts lived ordinary lives with no recollection of their previous existence. However, the fragments of the Cube gained sentience, assuming the form of a little girl baptized Kobik. Kobik acted on her free will sometimes and, sensing that some of the Fixer's former allies missed him, she recovered him from the paradoxical loop he had been trapped in. The Fixer was able to use his gadgets to see through the ruse and helped Baron Zemo to overcome the cosmic conditioning. Together, they decided to secretly create an army to end Pleasant Hill.

Another opponent to Pleasant Hill was Captain America's former sidekick Bucky, also known as the lethal Winter Soldier. He exposed the controversial method of incarceration to Steve Rogers, and Zemo took the opportunity to attack Hill when Rogers visited the town, sparking a riot to grab hold of Kobik. Manipulated by the Red Skull, Kobik restored Steve Rogers to his vigor as Captain America but also reshaped his history in order to turn him into a Hydra sleeper agent. The Avengers ultimately intervened putting an end to Baron Zemo's plans. Kobik ended the conflict in distress and vanished, deactivating Pleasant Hill for good. Kobik then contacted Winter Soldier for help in evading S.H.I.E.L.D. alongside her friends from the prison: the Fixer, Moonstone, Atlas, and the disappointed jailer MACH-VII, who would soon upgrade to MACH-X. As such, the Thunderbolts were reborn as fugitives.

As part of their war against S.H.I.E.L.D., the Thunderbolts raided their bases to keep them behind by stealing their intel. Simultaneously, Bucky wanted to keep stepping on Nick Fury's shoes in protecting the planet from alien invaders, with the Thunderbolts helping him in his mission. However, Kobik's presence proved to be dangerous as her childish temper and immense reality-shaping powers made the team uneasy. This escalated when she momentarily ripped Moonstone's gem out of her chest as part of a game. After destroying a Chitauri brooding nest, the Thunderbolts were attacked by Crystal and her Inhuman rescue crew, who believed the aliens to be their people. Although the Thunderbolts restricted the Inhumans and escaped, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Steve Rogers were able to get information about their activities as a consequence.

S.H.I.E.L.D. portrayed the Thunderbolts as terrorists, causing the powerful Squadron Supreme to hunt them to neutralize Kobik. With the Thunderbolts standing no chance against them, Moonstone convinced Kobik into using her abilities. As such, the Thunderbolts Clubhouse was transported to the North Pole, secluded from interlopers. By acting solo to protect Rogers, Bucky was detained by S.H.I.E.L.D. Without Bucky around, the Fixer and Moonstone attempted to manipulate Kobik for their interests with no success. They elaborated a plan to break Winter Soldier from S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, asking for Songbird's help for the operation. As an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Songbird was able to get the Thunderbolts in the facility where Bucky was kept locked in. Unexpectedly, they clashed with Steve Rogers. In the end, Winter Soldier stood down to Rogers, but decided to leave without surrendering Kobik. In their next mission, the Thunderbolts tracked a faction of Zn'rx and easily defeated them, convincing Songbird to stay with the team.

Unfortunately, Baron Zemo's new Masters of Evil ambushed Thunderbolts' base after pinpointing Atlas' phone signal. He was beaten up, but ultimately saved by Jolt. Zemo was then able to capture Kobik for Rogers. Songbird freed her, causing Bucky to learn about Steve Rogers being a Hydra agent. Kobik went on a mad rampage due to the fight between the Thunderbolts and the Masters. Songbird, MACH-X and Jolt were saved from death by the Ghost, who had been secretly living with the Thunderbolts for some time. However, Moonstone and the Fixer betrayed Bucky. Believing Kobik to be a danger, the Fixer shattered her into many pieces. With no other option, Atlas also joined Zemo, taking Winter Soldier prisoner. Stuck out in the middle of the Arctic, Songbird woke up in the ruins of the battle and realized the Thunderbolts were no more. Counting with an Army of Evil, Baron Zemo helped Rogers establish an empire ruled by Hydra in the United States. Eventually, the heroes of the world were able to overcome the Hydra's supremacy.

Mayor Fisk

A consequence of Hydra's attack was a boost in Wilson Fisk's popularity due to his efficiency in protecting New York City when it was trapped in a darkforce dome. He was elected as the mayor of the city and assumed a stance of anti-vigilantism in its streets. Simultaneously, the Punisher wished to execute Hydra's new leader Baron Zemo. Mayor Fisk came up with a plan to deal with the Punisher once and for all, having Baron Zemo, once again under the alias of Citizen V, introduce a new incarnation of the Thunderbolts during a press conference to the citizens of New York, promising that Punisher's reign of terror would end. His team counted with Moonstone, the Fixer, Radioactive Man, the Ghost, and the Punisher's enemy Jigsaw disguised as the Paladin. Black Widow helped the Punisher counter the Thunderbolts' brutal advances by gathering a team of vigilantes who killed dozens of Hydra agents infiltrated in the United Nations. In retaliation, Zemo had the Thunderbolts strike back and, after abandoning his team, managed to kidnap the Punisher's protégée, Sergeant Rachel Cole-Alves. Defeated, the Thunderbolts surrendered and were not offed by the Punisher only because Night Thrasher defended them. Baron Zemo was maimed by the Punisher and then terminated by a rogue Ghost under Fisk's orders.

When the dark god Knull was invading Earth, the Avengers warned Mayor Fisk to evacuate the city. Suspicious, he refused to comply and paid the price of having the city at risk in humiliation. He visited the Bar with No Name to recruit supervillains taking refuge there and illegally acting in Fisk's domain. They were promised a choice between prison and signing up. To show his ruthlessness, Fisk had Incendiary summarily executed when he chose the former option. Led by Taskmaster, the team initially consisted of Mister Fear, Batroc the Leaper, Star, the Rhino, and the inexperienced Snakehead and Ampere. The team's first mission was to contact Norman Osborn in the Ravencroft Institute to solicit a strategy for defeating Knull. The roster soon suffered losses: Snakehead was devoured by a symbiote-dragon, Ampere quit just before being murdered by Mister Fear to have his gadgets stolen, and the Rhino left unopposed. It became obvious that, for Fisk, those Thunderbolts were disposable.

With the Ravencroft Institute being stormed by infectious symbiotes, the Thunderbolts teamed up with the inmates Figment, Foolkiller, Man-Bull, Grizzly, and Mister Hyde, who were then invited to become "honorary" members of the team. Osborn's strategy turned out to be sending the Sentry to fight Knull -- a plan the Avengers had already tried to disastrous results. The Thunderbolts recovered the Sentry's corpse and set out to use it as a nuke to destroy Knull's lair atop the Empire State Building in a suicide-mission. Foolkiller was taken over by a symbiote and subsequently killed. Taskmaster then seemingly betrayed the other members of the team, before using Figment's illusion powers to trick Fisk into thinking they'd sacrificed themselves in a failed attempt to finish Knull. Once Fisk released a televised news statement proclaiming the Thunderbolts as martyrs after Knull had been defeated, the Thunderbolts revealed the deception and blackmailed him into not only increasing their pay but hiring them for further missions.

Not long after, Mayor Fisk implemented a harsh policy against costumed vigilantes and made his Thunderbolts the only sanctioned heroes of the city, also creating the Thunderbolt Units to assist them in handling any superhero threats. Initially, Taskmaster remained the leader of the erratic and violent team, which included the Rhino, Electro, Agony, and Whiplash. In addition to this, U.S.Agent also reported for duty, secretly wishing to sabotage Fisk and collect evidence for the FBI. He was promoted to be the new field leader of the team to force a sense of order among them. After the manipulator known as Conviction attempted to damage Fisk's electoral plans through his Thunderbolts, he reinforced his power. He had the powerhouse Abomination join the team and used the Purple Man's powers to keep the U.S.Agent submitted to his will. In order to tackle his opponents in New York City, Fisk had several agents operating with the Thunderbolts Units; Doctor Octopus arrested the Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, the Shocker targeted Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, Kraven the Hunter hunted Elektra, Puff Adder and Coachwhip clashed with Spider-Woman, and Crossbones hit Iron Fist. Beyond's Spider-Man was brutally taken into custody by the Thunderbolts as well.

Planning to expand his persuasion powers to his potential voters beyond the Purple Man's reach, Mayor Fisk ordered the Thunderbolts to retrieve him the Purple Children. Not agreeing with his methods, the Rhino betrayed Fisk and contacted the Champions to expose his employer's plans. The Champions and the Avengers were able to intercept the Thunderbolts before Fisk could get hold of the children. Fisk then released the Purple Man, chaotically leading an army of brainwashed agents against the superheroes. Mayor Fisk and the Purple Man were ultimately defeated. Fisk was removed from power, and Luke Cage was elected the new mayor of New York City.

Mayor Cage

First public appearance of the new line-up

Even as mayor, Luke Cage could not reinstate vigilantism. As such, the Thunderbolts and the support units remained the only official superhuman forces of the city. To make the best of the situation, Cage hired a public relations specialist named Helen Astrantia to create a new line-up that would redeem the Thunderbolts' brand. The team was envisioned to be appealing to the public. For that purpose, Hawkeye was invited back as the team's leader, America Chavez as the powerhouse, the new Power Man as "the brick," Gutsen Glory as the man of mystery, and Persuasion as the local psychic. Their first official mission was to detain the old Thunderbolts after they escaped custody and, despite a lot of collateral damage, the team performed admirably, even acquiring a new member, Monica Rambeau, who had in fact turned down the offer of being the new team leader before Hawkeye was contacted.

The Thunderbolts were dispatched to solve different crises in the city. Following an alert, they were tasked with handling a creature that terrorized people in the Met. The tiny monster called Eegro meant no harm, simply upset with the lack of a statue of himself in the Monsters Exhibit. Eegro joined the team at the request of Astrantia, despite Hawkeye's objections. In another assignment, they resisted the Super-Apes' attempt of conquering the zoos of the city. As the missions went by, Hawkeye and Rambeau clashed with different perspectives on the team's leadership. Seeking revenge against Hawkeye, the oneiric entity known as Nightmare psychically tormented the Thunderbolts. America managed to disrupt his influence, while the Thunderbolts defeated him on the physical plane. Persuasion ultimately knocked him out, ending his threat. The victory led Hawkeye and Rambeau settle their differences, while Cage congratulated the group for their accomplishments.

One World Under Doom

Being a member of the Outer Circle, Bucky gained privileged intel and resources to act against terrorism. He reformulated the Thunderbolts as a secret strike force to eliminate big threats on a global level. His main partner was a Life Model Decoy of Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine. These Thunderbolts successfully murdered the Red Skull in Latveria, catching Doctor Doom's interest. After rising to power as the ruler of the world, Doctor Doom offered Bucky a position as the leader of his own cryptic group of anti-terrorist agents, but was rejected. The enraged Doom launched an attack against Bucky, which destroyed the Life-Model Decoy of the Contessa. Instead, Doom also framed Bucky for the destruction of his hometown of Shelbyville to justify the reformation of the original Thunderbolts, now operating under his control as peacemakers. The leader of the new team was Citizen V, whose real identity belonged to the real Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine.

Paraphernalia

Weapons

Each Thunderbolt teammate's arsenal.

Transportation

T-Bird, Thunderjet, T-Wagon, Zeus.

Notes

• During the super-hero Civil War, an army of captured criminals was organized under the Thunderbolts moniker (often referred to as the "Thunderbolts Army"). Divided into numerous groups, they were stationed around the US and kept in contact through Overmind as they worked to quell the number of super-powered individuals created when the Grandmaster accessed the Wellspring of Power. As the number of super-powered civilians rose, the majority of the members deserted the ranks, hoping to save themselves.
• Steve Rogers gave a list of criminals who he was planning on enrolling into Cage's Thunderbolts team in Heroic Age: Villains #1. This list consisted of Absorbing Man, Answer, Badd Axe, Bison, Bloodshed, Constrictor, Doctor Sax, Grizzly, Hydro-Man, Mad Dog, Man-Killer, Redeemer, Ruby Thursday, Skeleton Ki, Vector, and the Young Masters.

See Also

• 305 appearance(s) of Thunderbolts (Earth-616)
• 10 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Thunderbolts (Earth-616)
• 19 minor appearance(s) of Thunderbolts (Earth-616)
• 107 mention(s) of Thunderbolts (Earth-616)
• 22 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Thunderbolts (Earth-616)
• 259 image(s) of Thunderbolts (Earth-616)
• 110 member(s) of Thunderbolts (Earth-616)
• 4 item(s) used/owned by Thunderbolts (Earth-616)

Links and References

• Thunderbolts on Wikipedia.org