With theThunderbolts*’ new film fast approaching, it’s time to take a look back at the various comic iterations of the team. The team was first founded by Baron Zemo and a collection of other villains as a means to disguise their villainy as heroism. However, over time, some villains found their call to heroism and thus the team transformed.
The strongest forms of the Thunderbolts are the ones that adhere tothe team’s new primary directive, rehabilitating villains.While readers often compare the Thunderbolts to DC’s Suicide Squad, Marvel’s version of the team is designed to turn villains into heroes, not recklessly expend them like paws. The farthera Thunderbolts teamstrays from that path, the more likely they’ll turn on themselves and collapse apart. Villain teams always collapse internally, while heroes prevail. The strongest Thunderbolts teams aren’t just packed with power but are resistant to internal collapse. So, without further to do, here isevery Thunderbolts team, ranked from weakest to strongest.
Snakehead
Ampere
DuringKnull’s invasion of Earth, Wilson Fisk, New York City’s mayor at the time, assembled an eccentric bunch of low-level villains to infiltrate the Ravencroft Institute and make contact with Norman Osborn. While Taskmaster, a frequent member of the villainous Thunderbolts teams, led the operation,many of the group were killed by Knull’s symbiotesbefore ever reaching Ravencroft.
As entertaining as this team is, their numbers were bolstered by thugs and street-level villains. Unable to keep up with the crew’s stronger members, more continued to die and be replaced during their limited run. In the end, the team betrayed Fisk, ultimatelyabandoning the “Thunderbolts” title.Unfortunately, these Thunderbolts were a one-and-done.
Harrier (Cardinal)
Amazon (Man-Killer)
Shortly after legitimizing the team after being outed as a ruse by Baron Zemo, SHIELD created their own version of the Thunderbolts. WithHawkeye at the leadand veteran member Songbird beside him, SHIELD’s Thunderbolts performed mildly okay. It became clear that, whenever Hawkeye was gone,the party couldn’t manage themselves.
Their one major group of enemies, the Masters of Evil, pummeled the Thunderbolts without Hawkeye’s guidance. When put to the test, challenged to see if their powers were enough to hold the team together, they failed. By the end of this Thunderbolts’ run,Hawkeye called it quitsand handed the team over to Baron Zemo, believing he had turned a new leaf. While Zemo still secretly planned to take over the world, he possessed some new altruistic tendencies within his master plan.
Crossbones
Moonstone
Immediately following Norman Osborn’s corrupted Thunderbolts, the directorship ofthe team was officially passed to Luke Cage.This time, the team was kept in the Raft, a super prison designed to hold super criminals. To overcome the Thunderbolts’ tendency to turn on themselves, Cage vowed to never forget that many of his team were villains.
“You Did Well”: Thanos Admits He Respects a Shock Thunderbolts Hero
There are few heroes in the Marvel Universe who Thanos actually respects, but he does admit that one member of the Thunderbolts impresses him.
Except for Songbird, MACH-V, and Man-Thing, the Thunderbolts provedLuke Cage’s fearsto be true. Crossbones betrayed the team, causing an internal collapse before they could ever become useful. These Thunderbolts had promise. Songbird was a veteran at this point and was even named Captain of the team. Man-Thing was used as a teleporter, increasing the team’s global effectiveness. However, theirinability to wrangle Crossbones and the Juggernautproved to be a fatal failure.
Paladin
Grizzly
During theDark Reignevent, Norman Osborn assembled a team of Thunderboltsto operate as a black-ops military forcewhile the Dark Avengers kept the public’s eye. Immediately, the group was stockpiled with volatile and morally corrupt powers, sealing the team’s inevitable collapse. Eventually, the Thunderbolts andthe Dark Avengersclashed, turning Osborn’s work into a public relations disaster.
The ensuing combat took a harsher turn after members of the Thunderbolts, including a disguised Natasha Romanoff, switched sides mid-fight. Ultimately, the Secret Thunderbolts were so far from the purpose of the team’s primary directive that itisn’t a surprise that it experienced an internal collapse.As was said earlier, the more corrupt the Thunderbolts are, the shorter their life expectancy becomes.
Meteorite (Moonstone)
Beetle (MACH-1)
The very first iteration of the team, the Thunderbolts were created asa ruse by Baron Zemo and the Masters of Evil.Parading as heroes, the team’s purpose was to win the government’s trust. By doing so, Zemo hoped to leverage his new authority to access classifiedSHIELD and Avengers intelto sell to the criminal underworld. Zemo’s neo-fascist yet friendly-sounding team was deeply grounded in Zemo’s Nazi rhetoric, although many of its members did not share the same ideals.
Some of the team, mainly MACH-1, Songbird, and Atlas, enjoyed the love and respect that heroes received. Songbird would continue to prove herself while secretly harboring a relationship with Zemo. Atlas liked being a hero but was rash and violent if provoked. Of the team,MACH-1 was the only villain to show remorse,turning himself in for punishment after the team’s inevitable collapse. These Thunderbolts rank higher on the list because of their tight cooperation, but their lack of unified ideals ultimately caused the team’s dissolvement.
Chain Lightning
Makeshift
These Thunderbolts come from an artificial reality called Counter-Earth. This reality wascreated by Franklin Richardsto save many heroes who had sacrificed themselves following theOnslaughtevent. Counter-Earth fabricated a similar yet alternate timeline, designed to seamlessly transition the heroes into the new world. Just like Earth-616,Counter-Earth possesses its own alternate Thunderbolts.
While this team was short-lived, these dimensional variants possessed noticeably more firepower than Earth-616’s original team. However, when they clashed with Earth-616’s Thunderbolts,the Counter-Earth team failed to prevail.It’s unclear if the variant Thunderbolts are still in action, but when they were last seen, Moonstone was imprisoned in Attilan and Heinrich Zemo had been killed by his son from Earth-616.
Jolt
MACH-2
These are the Thunderboltswho immediately followed the original team. Hawkeye, a former villain-turned-hero himself, petitioned to lead the team and give them a second chance. MACH-1, having previously turned himself over to the authorities, was provisionally released over to the Thunderbolts under the new moniker, MACH-2. Overall,Hawkeye’s Thunderbolts set the standard for the organization’s directivemoving forward.
Marvel’s Thunderbolts Proves Why Heroes Should Never Kill Villains
The Thunderbolts team proves that heroes shouldn’t kill villains as being treated like a hero in the team can lead criminals to change their ways.
Every member of this team served in Zemo’s first iteration but had decided to pursue the fame and glory that heroism offered. For a while, the Thunderbolts were of the same mind, each determined to prove their heroic nature. While they aren’t as immediately powerful as other versions of the team, their cooperation and adherence to Hawkeye’s leadership proved the Thunderbolts to be a viable investment for organizations like SHIELD.
Agony
Abomination
After his first Thunderbolts collapsed due to its members’ weaknesses, Mayor Wilson Fisk’s second attempt at the Thunderbolts proved to be much more successful.This time, Fisk gathered villains with experience, many of whom had worked together before. In addition to the primary team, Fisk created Thunderbolt units. These squadrons of grunts were led by other villains not featured on the primary team.
As Fisk had passed a law asserting that his Thunderbolts were the only legally recognized heroes,these villains executed firm control over New York Cityuntil a shocking internal defection. The Rhino believed that Fisk and the Thunderbolts were too corrupt and had tipped offthe Championsand the Avengers of a Thunderbolt mission. While the team was defeated and Fisk was ousted, these Thunderbolts were efficient and powerful, possessing a wide spectrum of criminal talent.
MACH-IV
Radioactive Man
During a period when the Avengers were disassembling and Hawkeye was dead, MACH-IV stepped up to create a new team of Thunderbolts to stand in the Avengers’ place. However, to fund the team,MACH-IV made an under-the-table deal with Baron Strucker,delegitimizing the Thunderbolts’ noble intentions. This decision ultimately led to the team’s collapse, as much of the group were members of the original team and had long rejected Hydra’s fascist ideology.
However, Songbird had secretly continued her relationship with Baron Zemo and knew of MACH-IV’s dealings with Strucker the entire time. Like Doctor Doom’s current scheme, Zemo wanted to unify the world under Hydra’s banner to bring an end to its constant cycle of chaos. Unfortunately,corruption often kills Thunderbolts teamsand this version of the coalition was no exception.
Spectrum
Hawkeye
After Wilson Fisk was deposed as mayor of New York City, Luke Cage was elected to fill the position. Wanting toreestablish the Thunderbolts brand to be appealing to the public, while still adhering to Fisk’s previous legalization of the team’s status, this iteration was stocked with nothing but true heroes and the rehabilitated children of villains. The Thunderbolts were then NYC’s official security force.
This team, while no longer active, is the last official Thunderbolts team in the comics. Unlike previous iterations, these Thunderbolts were pure heroes and operated as such. PossessingAmerica Chavez’s interdimensional powers, Power Man’s chi-manipulation, and Spectrum’s cosmic abilities, these Thunderbolts were a stacked team of powers and motivation. Their only major issue was their general disorganization due to the team’s age.
