Thunderbolts #1 Review

Writer:  Daniel Way
Artist:  Steve Dillon

Thunderbolts have undergone many roster changes over their many years of existence.  They’ve been villains pretending to be heroes, actual heroes, back to villains, heroes, villains, etc etc.  With Marvel NOW! being a jumping on point for new readers, it makes sense for Thunderbolts to once again transform.

Red Hulk is taking control of the Thunderbolts mantle.  Issue one shows him assembling his team to help him deal with a situation from his past.  All recruits agree without much hesitation except one.  I’ll let you guess who that is.  My only hint is he/she has never been associated with a team before.

What I Liked

The back and forth between General Ross and the individual he is trying to convince to join is subtle, yet effective.  This individual wants Ross to give his reason for wanting them to join the team.  Ross uses a unique negotiating method to sway this individual.

Steve Dillon’s art seems cartoonish in some panels (mostly when blood is being spilled) but its crisp and clean.  I need to see how he orchestrates more action sequences.

What I Didn’t Like

There is one individual shown in the image above who has not been listed as a member of the team.  She is the woman with the purple hair.  Perhaps there is a mystery character working behind the scenes for Red Hulk.  Dillon does illustrate some action in this book, but it’s cannon fodder being taking out by different Thunderbolts members during the recruitment process.  It looks very slapstick-ish, which again reminds me of a Looney Tunes cartoon.  If that cartoon contained bloodshed instead of anvils.

Not much of relevance happened in issue one.  It was the typical “recruiting the team” mission.  We need to see the Thunderbolts interacting with one another and the tension that will cause.

Overall I would say this issue was okay.  Could have been better, but it wasn’t horrible either.  It stayed in the middle ground, which is a shame since this is a covert ops team of killers.  We need to see the type of threats they will face together, and the conflict inside the team.

This review is written in partnership with Pop Culture Network.  They can be found at their website http://www.popculturenetwork.com/

Timdogg

#ComicBookChronicles @CBChron founder. Editor-in-Chief of @thekliqnation. Comic book reviewer, podcaster #RABBLERABBLE