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Thunderbolts (2006) (Collected Editions) #3-9
Thunderbolts: Dark Reign Omnibus
A dark era for the ever-changing Thunderbolts! In the aftermath of CIVIL WAR, the country has lost faith in its heroes - and it's ready to put its faith in monsters! As Norman Osborn assembles his new team of Thunderbolts, Songbird and Moonstone must learn how to work alongside vicious killers like Bullseye and Venom! And the Skrull Secret Invasion might be just the opportunity Osborn has been waiting for to take his plans to the next level! A whole new squad includes Yelena Belova, the Irredeemable Ant-Man and the Ghost - but when Deadpool targets Norman Osborn, which side will the unpredictable Thunderbolts take? Plus: solo adventures of key members, including the mysterious Penance! And a super-villain fight club turns the T-bolts concept on its head! Collecting: Thunderbolts (1997) #76-81, 110-143; Thunderbolts: Desperate Measures (2007); Thunderbolts: Breaking Point One-Shot (2007); Thunderbolts: International Incident One-Shot (2008); Thunderbolts: Reason in Madness One-Shot (2008); Penance: Relentless (2007) #1-5; Deadpool (2008) #8-9; Secret Warriors (2009) #7-9; material from Civil War: Choosing Sides (2006), Civil War: The Initiative (2007)
1328 pages, Hardcover
Published May 19, 2026
About the author
Andy Diggle
543 books174 followersAndy Diggle is a British comic book writer and former editor of 2000 AD. He is best known for his work on The Losers,Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, Adam Strange and Silent Dragon at DC Comics and for his run on Thunderbolts and Daredevil after his move to Marvel.
In 2013 Diggle left writing DC's Action Comics and began working with Dynamite Entertainment, writing a paranormal crime series Uncanny. He is also working on another crime series with his wife titled Control that is set to begin publishing in 2014.
In 2013 Diggle left writing DC's Action Comics and began working with Dynamite Entertainment, writing a paranormal crime series Uncanny. He is also working on another crime series with his wife titled Control that is set to begin publishing in 2014.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 12, 2026
Story: 3/5
Art: 3.5/5
Mixed bag. First six issues are horrible, I assume they were only included for completion’s sake to collect the entire Thunderbolts run but man does it give a bad taste in the mouth as a first impression. Almost unbearable to get through.
The next two arcs are thankfully the best in the book. Warren Ellis is an excellent writer (bad person) and he is very good at writing Green Goblin as the megalomaniac leader and Moonstone as a solely self interested scumbag woman. I liked those characters in this book in particular. He breeds good interpersonal intrigue and the motivations of everyone are always muddy which keeps you on your toes. I do think he relies too heavily on using sexual promiscuity as a “edgy bad guy” trope for the women, though. The arc by Deodato the best in the book, I always love his book. I think it is pretty clear he used Tommy Jones as a reference for Norman Osborn and that is a bit distracting to be honest.
I thought the arc by Christos Gage was pretty weak and just served to tie into the Secret Invasion Event, which Norman has a pretty large part in so this book is especially stuffed into that. Art was just okay.
Diggle was quite good in his run as well. Unfortunately all of the cool characters got upgraded to Dark Avengers so we are stuck following some pretty lame D-list villains, but he still weaves some interesting plots. I thought ghost was a very compelling and mysterious character in particular and by far the most intriguing. Art was mixed depending on who was drawing the book for these issues.
Art: 3.5/5
Mixed bag. First six issues are horrible, I assume they were only included for completion’s sake to collect the entire Thunderbolts run but man does it give a bad taste in the mouth as a first impression. Almost unbearable to get through.
The next two arcs are thankfully the best in the book. Warren Ellis is an excellent writer (bad person) and he is very good at writing Green Goblin as the megalomaniac leader and Moonstone as a solely self interested scumbag woman. I liked those characters in this book in particular. He breeds good interpersonal intrigue and the motivations of everyone are always muddy which keeps you on your toes. I do think he relies too heavily on using sexual promiscuity as a “edgy bad guy” trope for the women, though. The arc by Deodato the best in the book, I always love his book. I think it is pretty clear he used Tommy Jones as a reference for Norman Osborn and that is a bit distracting to be honest.
I thought the arc by Christos Gage was pretty weak and just served to tie into the Secret Invasion Event, which Norman has a pretty large part in so this book is especially stuffed into that. Art was just okay.
Diggle was quite good in his run as well. Unfortunately all of the cool characters got upgraded to Dark Avengers so we are stuck following some pretty lame D-list villains, but he still weaves some interesting plots. I thought ghost was a very compelling and mysterious character in particular and by far the most intriguing. Art was mixed depending on who was drawing the book for these issues.
May 27, 2026
Thunderbolts: Dark Reign is a book that starts great but ends weakly.
The Ellis, Gage and Diggle runs are all solid and build off one another as they take the Bolts into easily the darkest part of their tenure. Seeing Songbird forced to work with killers like Bullseye and Venom is very compelling and the writers here do an excellent job of building off one another.
Unfortunately the Songbird plotline eventually wraps up and the team's roster completely changes (most of the members moving to the Dark Avengers series). These issues while not bad are essentially just filler as the book waits for Dark Reign to wrap up so it can relaunch.
On top of that the crossover issues with Deadpool and Secret Warriors aren't anything to write home about and are largely skippable.
In general I'd say the first three quarters of this book (up to #136) is a must read while the end portion can be skipped without missing anything.
The Ellis, Gage and Diggle runs are all solid and build off one another as they take the Bolts into easily the darkest part of their tenure. Seeing Songbird forced to work with killers like Bullseye and Venom is very compelling and the writers here do an excellent job of building off one another.
Unfortunately the Songbird plotline eventually wraps up and the team's roster completely changes (most of the members moving to the Dark Avengers series). These issues while not bad are essentially just filler as the book waits for Dark Reign to wrap up so it can relaunch.
On top of that the crossover issues with Deadpool and Secret Warriors aren't anything to write home about and are largely skippable.
In general I'd say the first three quarters of this book (up to #136) is a must read while the end portion can be skipped without missing anything.
Review of advance copy
Amazing book
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews