There’s a new superhero team in town and they seemingly came from out of nowhere. Justice, like lightning, ever should appear… the Thunderbolts are finally here on “Avengers: Ultron Revolution” in all their animated fury, but what is their sinister secret? Meet me after the mysterious jump for my thoughts on “The Thunderbolts.”
The Growing Man
As the huge Avengers fan I am you can imagine my squeeee when I saw the Growing Man in the opening moments of this episode. This artificial stimuloid creature is a weapon of Kang the Conquerer, my favorite Avengers villain, and also represents a new era in my Avengers education as a kid. The Growing Man, and his attack on the heroes on the cover of Avengers #69 was my introduction to the Roy Thomas Avengers.
As I mentioned a couple reviews back, Avengers #106 was my first issue of the regular comics series, and I knew of the team’s beginnings from reprints in Marvel Triple Action, but seeing Avengers #69 at my cousin’s house that summer opened my eyes to the years in between. With that issue my love affair with characters like Goliath and Yellowjacket began, so yeah, seeing the Growing Man again made me smile.
New Kids in Town
As I said we open on the Avengers fighting the Growing Man, notably a creature they’ve never faced before when a new team of heroes arrive on the scene. Calling themselves the Thunderbolts, Hawkeye mentions that this is the third time this week they’ve run into them. I think with two giant-sized combatants in the ring, the Avengers are regretting letting Ant-Man go. When will they call him back?
My favorite part of this little clash is that while the Thunderbolts confront the Growing Man, the Avengers are saving lives and preventing property damage. That’s what heroes do, they save lives. Are you listening, Zack Snyder? Heroes save lives. Meanwhile the Growing Man might not be Kang’s sadly enough. Iron Man says it’s stolen Stark tech. Perhaps what the Masters of Evil stole?
Tracking the Thunderbolts
This new super-team has quickly become media darlings, but Iron Man and the Avengers don’t completely trust them. Techno, Songbird, Meteorite, Atlas, and Mach IV, led by Citizen V even have a publicist, a website, social media, and are making the rounds on the talk show circuit, but Iron Man thinks there’s something fishy.
Tony, in his impatience and assumptions, along with the Falcon, raids the Thunderbolts’ headquarters, and although they are nice at first, it quickly turns to meelee. In the midst of combat, old friend Justin Hammer drops a bomb on them. Working together, the two teams are able to disarm the bomb. Afterward however, Stark is still acting like an ass. Does he never learn… even though he’s right.
A Tale of Two Teams
Together the teams launch an assault on Hammer, spending precious animated minutes tussling with and breaking Mandroids. The fight does however give the Thunderbolts a nice spotlight for their powers and abilities. Of course once the teams are both inside his lair, Hammer blows it up. Never let it be said he doesn’t learn from mistakes.
Of course the disadvantage of getting two super-powered teams mad at you is that they combine to stop you – even if you have a giant Mega-Mandroid that doubles as a Transformer crossed with a reverse-Voltron. Cooperation between the Avengers and the Thunderbolts win the day, a day filled with trust and new friends.
Those of us who read the comics know what’s coming, but for those who don’t know, have you figured out the Thunderbolts’ secret?
Next: Thunderbolts Revealed!
