Thunderbolts (comics) - Publication History

Publication History

The Thunderbolts were first presented as a group of superheroes like the Avengers, both to readers and to the Marvel Universe, who became heroes to help protect the world when the Avengers were declared dead after the events of the 1996 "Onslaught" crossover. However the final page of the first issue of their comic book revealed that the Thunderbolts were the Masters of Evil in disguise, a surprise twist carefully guarded by Marvel.

Themes of redemption and the nature of heroism are often featured in Thunderbolts comics. In subsequent storylines, the group rejects their leader Baron Zemo and attempts to become heroes in their own right, eventually under the leadership of the Avenger Hawkeye. The book has also garnered critical praise for its use of secondary characters from other Marvel Comics and its use of continuity-themed storytelling.

The Thunderbolts was an original concept created for Marvel Comics by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley. Most of the characters used in the final concept were reimagined versions of existing Marvel characters, with additional original characters for the series developed by Busiek and designed by Bagley. The pair also created the new heroic identities for the Masters of Evil.

The Thunderbolts first appeared as a team in The Incredible Hulk #449 (January 1997), written by Peter David and illustrated by Mike Deodato. Originally intended to be a similar team known as the "Echelon," the synchronization of the plans led to the Thunderbolts being used instead as a "teaser" for their own series. No mention was made of the connection between the Thunderbolts and the Masters of Evil in this appearance, save perhaps for the Hulk almost recognizing Meteorite's voice (having fought Moonstone before). The twist would not be revealed until the first issue of their own series.

Soon after the publication of The Incredible Hulk #449, the team's own series premiered. The first issue, cover dated April 1997, was played largely as a straight superhero story, until the revelation of the Thunderbolts' true nature on the last page of the comic. This is considered one of the most well-conceived plot twists in the history of American comic books, with Wizard magazine readers voting it "Comics' Greatest Moment of 1997" and later, in 1999, placing it at #11 on a list of "The 25 Greatest Comic Moments Ever". Marvel managed to keep the secret of the Thunderbolts' true villainous identities tightly under wraps before the book launched. When word got out, the first issue sold out so quickly that Marvel not only offered a second printing, but also did a "mini-trade paperback" collecting the first two issues. Fabian Nicieza replaced Busiek in issue #34. Patrick Zircher, after a couple of fill-ins, replaced Bagley in issue #51.

The team also appeared in a one-shot called Tales of the Marvel Universe.

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. The move was done in part due to Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada's desire to emulate the success he had with X-Force, which was reformatted with a new cast of characters and status quo that was successful in sales and popularity. However, the new direction for the series—an underground fighting circuit that employed predominantly newly created super-villain characters—was a commercial failure and canceled after six issues.

In 2004, Marvel Comics launched a limited series titled Avengers/Thunderbolts, which continued one year after the events of issue #75. The limited series ran for the same number of issues as the reformatted Thunderbolts arc.

Soon after the completion of Avengers/Thunderbolts, Marvel Comics launched a second series featuring the characters with New Thunderbolts #1 (January 2005). The storyline continued the events from Avengers/Thunderbolts as well as the fall-out of "Avengers Disassembled" and returned to the original series concept, though with a roster that lacked many fan favorites (such as Baron Zemo, Moonstone, and Techno). With the combination of the eighty-one issues of the first series and the first eighteen issues of New Thunderbolts, the series reverted back to its original numbering with Thunderbolts #100.

Thunderbolts #110 saw another change to the direction of the series, with writer Warren Ellis introducing a new team of Thunderbolts, villains working for the government, tasked with capturing unregistered superheroes. Ellis has stated that he chose to approach the series "gently, but directly from a political agenda" and the relaunch was closely tied to Marvel's commercially successful Civil War event, with the team serving as a dark reflection of the event's controversial ending. The Thunderbolts also feature in the Spider-Man storyline "New Ways to Die", which is the first proper showdown between him and the team.

Ellis stepped aside in issue #121 and was replaced by Christos Gage, who wrote three one-shots and a four-issue tie-in with Secret Invasion. At the 2008 San Diego Comic Con, Andy Diggle was announced as the new ongoing writer, starting in issue #126 (November 2008) with a two issue story "Burning Down the House" which cleared the way for the introduction of a new team line-up. This team debuted in Thunderbolts #128-129, a story that dealt with "Dark Reign", the Secret Invasion aftermath, which was followed by "Magnum Opus", a 4-issue crossover with Deadpool (vol. 2). Miguel Sepulvida took over art duties with Thunderbolts #133 and Jeff Parker became the new writer with issue #138. Parker then piloted the title through the end of "Dark Reign", featuring a crossover with the Agents of Atlas team he was also writing, and into "Siege", following which the team was revamped again:

The Heroic Age team debuted in Thunderbolts #144 with a new main artist, Kev Walker. The title crossed over with Avengers Academy in issue #147, which was bookended by Avengers Academy #3 and #4. The series then went on to cross over with the Daredevil storyline "Shadowland" in issues #148-149, with artist Declan Shalvey stepping in for the two issues. The series then crossed over with the "Fear Itself" storyline in issues #158-163.

The Thunderbolts comic book was renamed Dark Avengers beginning with issue #175, but the creative team remained unchanged.