Thunderbolts #1: Power & Control!

05.13.2016 – There’s a new Thunderbolts and the team is led by Bucky Barnes AKA The Winter Soldier. Like the original concept the series is formed by a team of super villains who where brainwashed to do good, but this new series takes off from Avengers: Standoff which all them are not controlled by any entity. It’s written by Jim Zub and with art Jon Malin, who has stylish 1990s vibe going through the pages of this latest incarnation of “Thunderbolts” which was previously composed of another team led by General Thaddeus Ross or known as the Red Hulk. But this new team goes back to the basics how they where known and this time they’re not controlled by any agency or cabal group vent on world domination. Bucky gets to become a team leader for a group of villains who are not mind controlled or brainwash, which adds the dynamics or drama in the narrative on how Jim Zub navigate these characters on how they coexist. The roster have Atlas, Mach-X, The Fixer, Moonstone and Kobik, a reality warping energy from a cosmic cube made to manifest in the form of a 4-year-old girl rounding up the team.

But this is the not first time Bucky has led a team when he was previously have taken the mantle of Captain America he was the leader of the Avengers on the run during the aftermath of the original Civil War saga. So there’s nothing much new to seeing Bucky take the lead, but what’s different is he has four super villains he takes care of while trying to uncover the dark side of S.H.I.E.L.D. being the one who partly created the Thunderbolts initiative in forming a team of brainwashed super villains.

In this first issue Bucky and Moonstone are already butting heads which add the challenges where the story goes while dealing a potential threat that has something to do with the Inhumans and when you see Terrigen wombs that means trouble.

Jim Zub certainly weaves a challenging narrative blending character personalities that’s interesting at the same time trying to make Jon Malin’s works look freshly coloful that has that nostalgic vibe, which is something current comicbook readers have never seen in a while. The first issue introduce a new team that’s unfamiliar characters with Bucky and Moonstone in the mix this group can also be compared to how Cable and the original X-Force was also on the run, but the difference is they’re trying to uncover the dark side of how S.H.I.E.L.D. was putting together the program that created this team.

Overall a fun read that brings back the ‘old school’ flavour at the same time reading up on what Bucky is doing next. The roster is an interesting group of unfamiliar characters at the same time weaving it, and dismantling them to the core is interesting as its fast paced story.

But for someone has seen how team books go this is a challenge for readers to appreciate its aesthetics. If you’re a fan of colorful art at the same time following a character named Bucky by all means check out the first issue of the newest incarnation of Thunderbolts its sure going to be a riot.

NEXT: Thunderbolts #2