Thunderbolts: Back on Target

Thunderbolts (2022) #1-5

by Jim Zub, David Nakayama (Cover Art), Sean Izaakse (Artist)

Collects THUNDERBOLTS (2022) #1-5.

Redeeming justice, like lightning! Super-powered crooks take hostages in Staten Island? A dimensional rift tears open in Chinatown? Monsters running amok at the Met? Call in the Thunder! New York City's finest are here to save the Hawkeye, Spectrum, America Chavez, Power Man, Persuasion and the all-new cyber-soldier called Gutsen Glory! You know 'em, you love ' They're the Thunderbolts! In the aftermath of DEVIL'S REIGN, the Big Apple has big problems, and it's up to a new group of Thunderbolts to turn things around. But when Clint Barton is tasked with heading up this squad, the first opponent he's going to have to face…is himself. And the second just might be his teammate Monica Rambeau! The Thunderbolts battle the rampaging Super-Apes in Central Park - and must save Manhattan from the towering threat of Terminus!

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 28, 2023

About the author

Jim Zub is a writer, artist and art instructor based in Toronto, Canada. Over the past fifteen years he’s worked for a diverse array of publishing, movie and video game clients including Disney, Warner Bros., Capcom, Hasbro, Bandai-Namco and Mattel.

He juggles his time between being a freelance comic writer and Program Coordinator for Seneca College‘s award-winning Animation program.

Reviews

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading the first issue of the Thunderbolts it was magic. I have always tried to keep up with them. Recently, they have had a bit of a fall from grace, and Hawkeye has had a similar journey recently. This is acknowledged in the story of this book as well, which I think was a great choice.

The Kingpin draged the Thunderbolts name through the mud. This does not sit well with Luke Cage (now the man in charge), wants then redeemed. This is part marketing campaign part superheroing.

A great cast of characters, each with their own hopes and insecurities. This makes the characters more relatable to me. I definitely want to see what is next for this team. There is a lot of potential here.

[James DeSantis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Coming off Zub's previous Thunderbolts run, I was definitely looking forward to this new mini-series. Unfortunately, it leaned a little too heavily into the absurd for my taste. The super-powered monkeys and cartoonish head injury visuals felt out of sync with what I expect from a Thunderbolts title. Plus, this particular team didn't quite click for me. Ultimately, this one just didn't land.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jim Zub nem sempre acerta nas HQs que faz, mas dessa vez ele acertou de longe. Conseguiu fazer dos seus Thunderbolts, numa estadia curta, mas impactante, uma espécie de Liga da Justiça Cômica da Marvel, com todos os personagens com personalidades bem trabalhadas. Apesar de o foco da minissérie ser em Clint Barton, o Gavião Arqueiro, o escritor consegue dar espaço para todos os personagens. Gostei de ver Mônica Rambeau e América Chavez. Fiquei querendo saber mais sobre Glorioso e Eeucrece. Mas gostei muito mais de ver ser resgatada Persuasão, a Garota-Púrpura, filha de Zebediah Killgrave. Também os desenhos de Sean Izaakse performam de forma a completar toda essa boa impressão que as novas aventuras dos Thunderbolts passam, com um estilo e expressões ótimas. Não por acaso ele foi cotado pra desenhar o Arqueiro Verde na DC Comics. Se tem uma coisa ruim nessa minissérie é que ela acaba e não se tornou uma série regular como acontece com outras séries da Casa das Ideias.

[Adam Rodgers · Rating 2 out of 5]

This latest iteration of The Thunderbolts sees instead of a group of villians playing hero, misplaced heroes banded together to improve the Thunderbolts 'brand'.

Zub has definitely found a new direction for the Thunderbolts and while it has potential, many of the concepts hinted at in the first issue fizzle out, replaced with bog standard superhero fare. The Thunderbolts have always been a manufactured team so it was an entertaining idea to have them now be the brainchild of a pair of PR gurus however staffing the team with relative unknowns, or carbon copies of other characters (this is even referenced in the book during one of the fantasy sequences sees Gutsen Glory dressed as Cable, Power Man as the original one, America Chavez as Miss America etc) comes off as weak and cheap. Its almost as if Zub got bored and decided to wrap up the idea as just a fantasy in Hawkeye's head!

Theres a variety of artwork on show here, mostly decent but the constant change of style just adds to the inconsistency of the story. Ultimately the Thunderbolts just work better as rehabilitated villians rather than inexperienced heroes.

[Melia Glubka · Rating 4 out of 5]

sweet. ill be there

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jim Zub and Sean Iszaakse return to the Thunderbolts in the wake of Devil's Reign, with a new team, a new mandate, and new problems to deal with. Justice, like lightning, strikes again!

Jim Zub's last Thunderbolts run was marred by horrible art and a premature ending, so I'm glad he gets to come back and try again, with a slightly different team. Now mandated by Mayor Luke Cage (who has run the Thunderbolts in the past), Hawkeye must bring his new teammates in line and to bear against a variety of threats. Most of the story is fairly one and done, but there's a throughline that gets resolved quite neatly in the final issue. I feel like this mini was testing the waters to see if a new Thunderbolts ongoing would be a good idea prior to the movie, and if you ask me, I'd definitely read more of these dysfunctional heroes.

There's a good mix of old and new, with Hawkeye, Monica Rambeau, Miss America, and Power Man (the second one) counterbalanced by Persuasion (Purple Man's daughter), new character Guts N' Glory, and a little monster dude who is both adorable and terrifying all at once. Zub's character work is very good, as it was the last time he tackled this team, and he makes sure that everyone has something to contribute to the plot - no character is chosen just because they have to be there.

Iszaakse on art is always a good choice - I've loved literally everything he's drawn for Marvel so far, and these issues are no exception. He doesn't manage to draw all five, which is a shame, but I'd always grateful for whatever he puts out, because it's clean, clear, and beautiful to behold.

Back On Target is a good title for this mini - after the last ongoing series' missteps and the weird little King In Black and Devil's Reign minis, it's nice to see the Thunderbolts back where they belong.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought because of Hawkeye. And to be fair it isn't as good as other series he is in (such as HAWKEYE: FREEFALL or West Coast Avengers, Vol. 1: Best Coast)
He is the main character so it is a plus for me.
Other characters -
Spectrum - I have always liked this character (should have kept the Captain Marvel moniker for mine). She is good here.
America Chavez - Seems too often appear in short lived team books (actually I owned Defenders: Beyond and probably should have read that before reading this for this story, not that it is a huge issue). I assume that it is because she hits a few different diversity quotas. Anyway, she is good in team books although I have no interest in any solo books she leads.
Gutsen Glory - Is better than his name suggests although doesn't add much to the story.
Persuasion - a pretty terrible name (I prefer Purple Girl) but she is interesting and also doesn't impact the story.
Power Man - Not Luke Cage (although he has a small role as NYs Mayor). To be honest this character isn't the least bit interesting. Pretty forgettable.
Eegro - I couldn't tell whether this character was trying to ride the Baby Yoda/Jeff the Land Shark wave or subvert it. Also his 'ulitmate attack' wasn't very ultimate.
Anyway the story had ideas/characters in it that needed more pages to explore.

[Alex Sarll]

I'd completely forgotten that I'd already read and been underwhelmed by a prior Jim Zub attempt at the Thunderbolts, so arguably this one is on me, but even so, ugh. This time out the redemption theme applies to the Thunderbolts name itself, traduced by Mayor Wilson Fisk using it as the title for his authorised enforcers while actual superheroes were banned in New York. Obviously there are vague gestures towards topicality regarding that, a once-proud organisation having become "a completely crooked operation, killin' and stealin' while wieldin' their badge like a weapon", but that doesn't last. Initially it's replaced with the notion of a superteam facing outlandish foes while torn between operational and PR responsibilities which, yes, is itself hardly novel at this point, but bar X-Cellent there hasn't been a Marvel book along those lines in a while, so fair enough, even if the jokes are more joke-shaped spaces. But then that too fades out into psychodrama, so fuck knows. Hawkeye likewise alternates between loveable good and tormented fuck-up; the new character who's meant to be a man of mystery is just a Cable knock-off, whose utterly uninteresting backstory is then given away in a backmatter fact-file rather than the story proper; reuniting Monica Rambeau and America Chavez serves mainly to remind me how much better they were in Ultimates, though I suppose the story at least offers a route to undo America's nerfing in that dreadful solo miniseries. Bar which small scrape of a silver lining, this is a deeply pointless exercise in cargo cult superhero comics.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the team returning to their evil roots and being used as enforcers for Mayor Fisk during the Devil's Reign event, new Mayor Luke Cage wants the sanctioned team to be restored to their former glory as a superhero team. Leading the new team (after Monica Rambeau refuses) is Clint Barton/Hawkeye with the rest of the team: Spectrum, Power Man (Víctor Álvarez), Persuasion (Kara Killgrave), Gutsen Glory, Eegro the Unbreakable, and America Chavez.
The story is simple and funny, making it seem like Marvel is just testing out "Thunderbolts" with the movie coming soon. The fight against Nightmare at the end is good, especially with the huge amounts of mind control happening.
Guess we'll have to see whether or not this team sticks around.
Recommend, but with slight hesitation.

[Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable book. I don't think you need to do any prior reading to understand this. There were some characters I didn't recognize, but the book does a good job of introducing them. Eegro the Unbreakable added some humor. This book does seem slightly related to West Coast Avengers, Vol. 1: Best Coast based on the tone and appearance of Hawkeye and America Chavez. I like how the book dealt with each character's flaws. I didn't expect all their concerns would be brought by Nightmare. That was a nice twist and the final battle against him was good.

[Raul Reyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty solid, didn’t really have high hopes when first going into it, and was reading it solely because Hawkeye is in it, but while the first few issues were not great it really picked up on issue 4, it’s still not the greatest thing I’ve ever read, first because it should’ve been 6 issues since the ending is really rushed and not that believe and also second because it never fully goes into either a) the media circus of the team, or b) how everyone kind of feels like a charlatan/Hawkeye’s insecurities, but what it does do which those things is still interesting enough, really great read if you’re a Hawkeye fan because it goes into his psyche, and really gets the character.

[Dallas Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun team continuation from The Ultimates with Monica and Chavez, as well as Luke Cage's Mighty Avengers with Monica and Power Man!

This book has a lot of love for Clint Barton.
Sets up some new characters!

Maybe most importantly does some things with America Chavez that I think really needed to happen after her most recent solo run, which is one of my least favorite Marvel books, with what they did to her.

This book is funny and charming, albeit short and likely not used much in the future.
As a big fan of most of these characters, you got to get them where you can.

Also a lot of great Luke Cage here!

[Allysa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love a redemption arc and that is what this volume is aiming for, reclaiming the Thunderbolts after the events in Devil’s Reign and putting Hawkeye back on the heroic path and the public’s good graces. When it comes to Hawkeye, nothing with ever touch Matt Fraction’s work but I’m pretty uninformed about the Thunderbolts. Do I think this volume achieves what it sets out for? Not quite, there are too many disparate parts for it to come together perfectly. But I do feel like it makes a solid attempt at establishing this team as heroes.

[Tyler Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s not bad. I was hankering for a Thunderbolts comic after seeing the movie, and although this is nothing like it, I got some enjoyment out of it. The art is solid and Zub’s writing is decent. I think I like his work on Champions more, though.

This book introduces Eegro and Gutsen Glory. I think the both characters are underdeveloped and the former has a poorly conceived name. There was a lot of potential with these two that felt untapped. The book is mostly about Hawkeye’s challenges with being a leader, which can only carry a team story so much.

[Sesana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't really work for me. I like America, Monica, and Clint, but I didn't love how they were used here. Honestly, it felt super contrived to make Clint and not Monica the leader of the team, at least in the way it was presented here. None of the characters who were new to me were that interesting, and the stories felt dull. Not at all what I was hoping for.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 2 out of 5]

A surprisingly mediocre work from Zub. The characters are mostly cardboard cutouts, with us still really not knowing some of them five issues in. Two of the issues are taken up with an annoying dream sequence and the rest is just hammering into the ground the idea that Clint isn't very good at what he does. The whole idea of Thunderbolts being a marketing exercise was old by issue one as well.

[Scarred Wizard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wait, why is this only rated 3.3? You guys hate fun. I had fun reading this. Decent artwork, action-packed & awesome teamwork! Had a good laugh too (which i rarely do when reading comics). Hawkeye (Clint Barton) is so bad-ass & hot 🥵. Jim Zub is a fun & cool writer. I enjoyed most of his stories. What an underrated Marvel mini series.

[Jefferson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mediocre, forgettable story that doesn't go anywhere. Even if you're heavily invested in the minutia of these characters and Marvel's ongoing storylines, I don't think you'll find this particularly interesting.

[Adrian Montanez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun enough storyline to help bring back the Thunderbolts as a force for good in the aftermath of the Devil's Reign event.

3 stars out of 5.

[David Codd · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was fine, but Knowing this is all the run had to offer makes it all fall a bit flat

[Gary Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Great Marvel Readthrough, pt 292

[Morgan]

good book to clear my head

[Shawn Ingle · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Wish there was more. Check out the best new character of 2022 in issue 3. He’s got a great last name ;)

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hitting with too many unresolved mysteries for my taste.

[Rajit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty OK story about Hawkeye forming another new team of Thunderbolts. Don't think I care enough to continue reading this particular run

[Max · Rating 2 out of 5]

This had a very promising start to it, with the themes being set up in the first few issues (with the main one of the use of superheroes for political benefit and capitalist goals especially being interesting, even if it was decently light) having the potential for a fun and interesting self-contained story. Unfortunately, the pacing and the themes present in the first 3 issues take a major nosedive for me in issues #4-#5, with the focus going to hastily resolving a seemingly unrelated plotline from previous sister-comics. These kinds of conclusions and issues are exactly what come to mind when people mention they can't get into comics due to the years of lore build-up being too dense to get through. I am not really in that boat any more, but I hadn't read anything leading up to this comic's conclusion, which didn't even seem to matter until I was already over halfway into the book either way. Ultimately a pretty harmless book, just one I personally found pretty disappointing.

[Brannigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story as a whole was slow to start. Spent too much time on who the “leader” of the team was. Once the actual action started it was fun. Hopefully if there’s a book two things continue to go better.

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

A once great team title...reduced to this??

'Devil's Reign' gave us yet another iteration of the Thunderbolts team. The 'Omega' issue of that crossover gave us a peek at what form a new team would take. Who could lead them when your first and second picks say, 'Hell no!'? The last team, sanctioned by Wilson Fisk, was the only superhero team allowed in NYC. Were they villains? Yes. It's always been the premise of the team to have them either be ACTIVE villains or ones being rehabilitated. The newest version is less villains and more 'superheroes with no place to write them in'.

What if you tried running them as a PR team for superheroes in a city full of disenfranchised natives? Got to get those metrics and 'likes' on the 'gram.

This could be something....sometime....somewhen. It still needs some work, though.

Bonus: Gutsen Glory reminds me too much of Kane from the Weapon Plus/Weapon X program.
Bonus Bonus: So THAT's why America Chavez has been woozy for so long??

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hawkeye was reinvented by Matt Fraction, mostly to the point that almost no one can really remember his previous self. They gave him a imposter syndrome and a severe "dented iron" self with hearing aids as well as an awareness most people consider him useless. It's an interesting take that doesn't contradict the fact that he was always the most boisterous as well as arrogant of Avengers in his various runs. THUNDERBOLTS (2022) makes him the leader of the team again and gives him mostly people he's never worked with and some newcomers. It also puts him on a team with Monica Rambeau and a guy who is very obviously X-men's Cable, both of whom are arguably more qualified to lead the team than him.

I had a lot of fun with the comic but it is also pretty thin on actual character development save for anyone but Hawkeye.