Writer: Fabian Nicieza Artists: Patrick Zircher (p), Al Vey (I)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Plot: The book opens with a bit of a shocker, as we see that Hawkeye's group has accidentally killed the Guardsman who confronted them at the end of last issue. We then look in on Songbird, as she volunteers her services to S.H.I.E.L.D. to aid in the capture of Hawkeye's group. Next up is the Thunderbolts trapped on the Heroes Reborn earth, as we see their journey to secure the rocket to head back to their native earth is derailed by a group of desperate people whose water-filtering system has broken down, thus leaving their community in dire need of any water they can lay their hands on. After a quick look in on Techno as he discusses what new body he should go about securing for Zemo, we look back on the rest of the team as they decide to help repair the broken water system. Back with Hawkeye's group we see Cottonmouth has come up with a rather creepy way of freeing himself from the others, but Hawkeye is able to keep him from going too far in this gruesome plan. The issue then ends by looking in on Songbird, as she sets out of her mission to locate Hawkeye in a rather unconventional manner.
Comments: The news that this book is going to be switching to a bimonthly format for well over a year was certainly an unexpected surprise, and I'm rather looking forward to the more focused issues that are going to result, as this book's two divergent stories are going to be neatly split apart. Even better is that both stories look to be quite capable of holding my interest for the better part of the year, as seeing the Thunderbolts settle in to save the Heroes Reborn Earth should be a very solid examination of how committed these characters are to being heroes. Plus, given the rather desperate state this world is in, there should be several heart-wrenching moments where the team realizes the task before them is simply too much for them to handle. Add to this mix the fact that a couple members of the group are clearly set in their villainous ways, and Karla is forever shifting back & forth, there should also be some nice moments where the Thunderbolts finds themselves trying to achieve opposing goals in the same conflict.
I actually had my neat tidy explanation for how Hawkeye could sidestep the complication that would arise from the murdered Guardsman, as I had written off the cliffhanger we got last month as a mental projection that had been implanted in Hawkeye's mind by Headlok as a test to see how far he was willing to go. However, the text on the opening page pretty much threw my theory out the window, and I must confess I'm at a bit of a loss when it comes to this story drawing to a close with Hawkeye a free man. I mean right now he's an escaped felon who has played a role in the murder of a law enforcement officer. Now Clint has skated this fine line before, as he did play a role in the accidental death of the villain Egghead, but this time Hawkeye's going to have a hard time convincing anyone this murder was an accident. Now Fabian Nicieza might have some secret twist hidden up his sleeve that will serve to exonerate Hawkeye, but right now I just don't see an easy out for the character.
Patrick Zircher is proving to be the ideal artist for this book, as his work is able to pack a wealth of detail into every panel, and the fairly complex ideas that this book does engage in are always presented in a clear, easy-to-follow manner. Fairly involved ideas like Baron Zemo's mind taking refuge inside the body of Techno are nicely detailed by the art, and while there's not a huge amount of action in this issue, there is an impressive shot of the Thunderbolts as they arrive to repair to water-filtering system. There's also some nice work on the quieter moments, as the sequence where Abe helps bury a woman's husband is given a nice solemn tone, and the sinister nature of Cottonmouth's attempted escape is perfectly conveyed by the art. The opening shot of the dead Guardsman is also a shocking visual to grab the reader's attention, and the final panel of this issue does a very good job presenting the idea that Mimi has returned to her villainous way, or rather that she wants to present the appearance that she has.
Final Word: A pretty solid issue that manages to achieve two very important things before the book switches to its new format. First, it clearly shows the reader that the company that Hawkeye is linked to are villains, as the murder in the opening pages, and Cottonmouth's chilling attempt to secure his freedom are very strong examples of this idea. Second, the state of the Heroes Reborn world is nicely detailed as a situation that would be very difficult to turn a blind eye to, as even though Fabian Nicieza does address the point that this world isn't real, this argument ends up looking pretty weak when faced with the mass of people who are in dire need of the Thunderbolts. The issue is a bit daunting in the amount of information it's offering up, but this book has always been pretty good at giving the reader the information one would need to follow the story, and this issue is no exception.
