Thunderbolts #3 Review and *SPOILERS* - Marvel Mondays

Koncerned About Kobik

Writer: Jim Zub

Artist: Jon Malin
Price: $3.99

Release Date: July 20, 2016

Reviewed By: Paul B. aka DatBeardedBastard

*NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM*

Out of all the Marvel titles that I read, this book is one that I picked up on a whim and was intrigued enough to keep reading. Issue one was my Book of the Week when it came out, along with Zub's D&D book. I really enjoyed issue two, but felt it was a repeating the same patterns other ongoing series fall into. So how does issue three hold up? Let's find out.

I'll start with the cover, since Atlas is my favorite Thunderbolt! It reminded me of some 80's comic book covers, minus the dialog boxes. I miss dialog on the covers, it was one of the selling points for me in my youth. Also it is nice to see the cover actually tie into the issue, instead of being a splash page not related to the story at all. Enough of that, lets get to this book: it begins with Crystal screaming her ass off like and acting irrationally (like the leader of the Poison Ivy League?!) while Bucky tries to explain what went down. The Inhumans are not having it, and start attacking the Thunderbolts. The plotting does a good job telling you who these Inhumans are and what their power sets, which I was glad for since I only followed the Inhumans back in the 80's.

My favorite part of the battle was between Atlas and Flint, who is a rip-off of GeoForce from the Outsiders. It was pretty much a slugfest and the rest of the Thunderbolts are actually getting their asses handed to them. Kobik wants to help, but as usually Bucky tells her no. I would have her zap those bastards back to their base, but then the issue would be over.

Fixer has a plan of his own as well: instead of fighting the Inhumans, he takes over control of their ship and puts an end to the fight. I like how Kobik thinks it awesome that they took the ship, and she wants to keep it. Bucky tells them what happened and why they had to destroy the rest of the pods, but Crystal still doesn't believe them. Bucky allows them to get control of their ship and return to their base in New Attilan, where they explain to Medusa what happened.

I really liked the art here with Medusa and Lockjaw. It reminded me of their appearances in the old Fantastic Four books. Medusa orders Crystal to remind the American agencies that they are not to interfere with the Inhumans or it will be considered and act of war.

Back on the SHIELD helicarrier, Maria Hill is debriefing about what went down with the Thunderbolts, and one of the agents asks if Kobik is an Inhuman. We see Cap say that it could be, but he is cut off by Hill who recognizes it is Kobik right away. This leads me to believe Cap knew as well and was hoping they wouldn't figure it out.

Hill spazzes out, and Cap tries to convince her that Bucky must have a good reason for taking her Good n’ Plentys, and says that he will bring them back. She isn't willing to wait and puts the Thunderbolts on the Most Wanted List, and freezes all their assets in an attempt to get the team to surface. We see Cap on his cell phone speaking over an encrypted channel that loses signal. The art here has a less blocky Romita Jr. style. I guess it is to make us believe Cap is a member of Hydra, or it is just a coincidence. Either way this Bearded Bastard refuses to believe Cap is a bad guy, and I will wait and see how this plays out. I am not reading Cap's book, so I have no idea what is happening there at this point.

Back to the T-Bolts: the team is recovering from their beatings, and Atlas offers Bucky a beer. He declines, but Kobik wants one! This part made me wonder what would happen if a four year-old cosmic cube girl would do if she was drunk. It would either be pretty funny or scary as hell. Maybe we should see this in a future issue, Mr. Zub!

Cut over to Fixer and Moonstone, and these are the two characters that I really hate! I've hated them since the formation of the Thunderbolts!! They discuss Kobik and how Fixer wants to kill her, while Moonstone wants to control her. Personally I would like to see Kobik send these two bastards to the cornfields like Anthony Fremont from the Twilight Zone!

Bucky is reading a bedtime story to Kobik, and she asks him why she is not allowed to help. He tells her that he is worried that someone will try to use her powers and manipulate her. He tells her about things that he did that he regrets, and does not want her to go through that as well. Kobik then offers to take away his regrets and the things that he has done with her cosmic cube powers. He is silent for a moment, and tells her no as he leaves her room. He then falls to the ground and appears to be crying.

Bits and Pieces:

When I was reading the parts with the battle, it seemed like this was going to be a typical, traditional issue of the Thunderbolts that we've all read before. But in quieter scenes with the scene, there was some good storytelling and character development. This was a strong issue, but fell short of the previous two issues overall. I will continue to read it, and I'm looking forward to see where the story goes from here.

7.5/10