Thunderbolts
PURPOSE: Gain acceptance as Heroes. Defend Humanity from threats foreign and domestic.
AFFILIATIONS: Avengers, Baron Zemo, Masters of Evil and United States Government
ENEMIES: Masters of Evil, Avengers, Wrecking Crew, etc
BASE OF OPERATIONS: Pier 4 Warehouse, New York
FIRST APPEARENCE: The Incredible Hulk # 449
HISTORY :
When the The Mighty Avengers and the Fantastic Four seemingly died fighting
the terrible menace of Onslaught, many super-villains rejoiced. Most took it as
a chance to fulfill their dreams of greed or power without having to worry about
meddling heroes. One Villain Mastermind saw an even greater opportunity,
Baron Zemo, always plotting to achieve world domination, formulated a brilliant
plan. With the foremost heroes gone the common people were left without hope.
The Vacuum needed to be filled. Who better to give them hope than a new group of
heroes? Baron Zemo assembled a team of villains from among the ranks of The
Masters of Evil.
His first recruit was The Fixer, whose technical ingenuity would become a
cornerstone of the Baron's plan. He next selected The Beetle after yet another
failed robbery attempt and easily convinced him to join. He discovered Screaming
Mimi after the death of her partner, Angar the Screamer, and offered her sanctuary,
which she gratefully accepted. The Fixer then freed Goliath from imprisonment in
the dimension of Kosmos; Goliath, in gratitude, swore loyalty to Zemo as the
architect of his release. Finally, this new team staged a breakout at the
super-villain prison called the Vault, liberating a great number of villains to
cover its true goal: freeing Moonstone. She was perhaps the most unexpected choice,
considering the fact that she had betrayed Zemo when she was a member of his Masters
of Evil group. But as the Baron himself explained, the team needed a trained
psychiatrist to help guide its members in their heroic identities.
With the help of The Fixer who now called himself "Techno", Baron Zemo gave the
Villains new heroic identities, and presented them to the public as the
Thunderbolts Super Hero team.
After intensive training, Zemo unleashed his new team upon the world as the
Thunderbolts. His plan worked perfectly! Six disguised villains--Citizen V
(Baron Zemo), Techno (the Fixer), MACH-1 (Beetle), Songbird (Screaming Mimi),
Atlas (Goliath), and Meteorite (Moonstone)--soon became New York City's newest,
most welcomed protectors.
The common people were eager to embraced the new heroes as the stalwart champions
they appeared to be. Within a few weeks, the "ThunderBolts" had utterly won the
city's devotion and the trust of its officials.
Not long after its debut, the team encountered a young woman named Hallie Takahama,
who had been given superpowers through horrible experiments. Meteorite convinced
Zemo to allow "Jolt" to join the team, secretly hoping to create a power base of
support from which she might eventually overthrow the Baron's authority.
The Thunderbolts fought a number of super-villains, including the Wrecking Crew,
the Circus of Crime, a paramilitary cadre called the Rat Pack, the Mad Thinker
and his Awesome Android, Arnim Zola, Kang's Growing Man, the Elements of Doom,
and perhaps most ironically, a new incarnation of the Masters of Evil! Zemo took
great offense at the usurpation of his old team's name, but could do little about
it while posing as Citizen V. Mach-I, Songbird, Atlas and Moonstone found that
they enjoyed the fame of being heros the trust given them by the people. This
conflict grew as time went on.
The sudden, unexpected return of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four gave Baron
Zemo incentive to step up his plan for world domination. He leaked the T-Bolts'
identities to S.H.I.E.L.D., thus ensuring that they would be forced to rely on him
for protection. In a final, massive conflict, several T-Bolts rebelled against
Zemo and foiled his master plan. After a brief adventure on Kosmos, they returned
to Earth and tried to establish new civilian identities for themselves; the
deception lasted only a brief while before they were discovered.
The remaining Thunderbolts (Atlas, Jolt, MACH-1, Moonstone, and
Songbird) now faced the hatred of the people they deceived with their heroic
hoax, as well as the wrath of Baron Zemo, who was intent on revenge. Luckily
for them, the Avenger Hawkeye saw their potential and realized that they were
indeed sincere about switching sides. Hawkeye himself was a reformed Villain.
He led the team for awhile, hoping to steer it in the right direction, because
he knows what it's like to be a fugitive seeking acceptance as a hero. Techno
is no longer a member of the Thunderbolts. He remained loyal to Zemo but
sometimes helps the group out, no doubt with ulterior motives.
Mach-I (Beetle) took over the group after Hawkeye left and tried to keep the group
viable but in doing so, accepted money from Baron Stucker and Hydra. When Songbird
discovered his deception, she agreed to remain with the group only if Beetle gave
up leadership. With Songbird in charge, the team recruited more villains who
expressed an interest in going straight. Most, however, have expressed doubts or
are simply using the group as a cover.
Atlas
Blizzard
Joystick
Mach-IV
Photon
Songbird
Radioactive Man
Speed Demon
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