Plot: The vipers are nesting.

Comments: Sociopath, liar, mercenary and paranoid...pick any of the Thunderbolt team and those words describe him (or her); it's just a question of which adjective you put first. What a twisted bunch of nut jobs King Nut Job Norman Osborn's got working for him. Of course, that's what makes reading Thunderbolts so much fun.

These last two issues have been a gear shift from the full throttle slugfest the Tunderbolts had against Deadpool in the "Magnum Opus" arc. There isn't much explode-o; instead Diggle has been ratcheting up the internal tension, priming for a big explosion. The Thunderbolts have set up shop in the decommissioned "Cube" prison and await marching orders. Taking advantage of this downtime Diggle and company are able to establish the team dynamic in a dank, claustrophobic setting. As expected, the dynamic isn't too healthy--secret alliances are being forged, everybody is cagey and trying to figure everybody else out, and (most significantly) everyone is looking over their shoulder. The overwhelming feeling of paranoia is well earned, considering their boss, and instead of being able to relax in the HQ, the team is getting wound tighter. The closest comparison I can think of is a good jittery caper flick--no one is who they appear to be, secret agendas clash, and unstable personalities (in the best of conditions) simmer in stress. Somehow this gang still has to pull off difficult capers and not kill each other in the process. Oh yeah, such flicks always have someone working undercover for the "Good Guys" and a wildcard psycho. Check on all accounts.

This issue does a lot in shaping some characters that were pretty formless up till now, just not subtly. "I think you are most dangerous man on team. I think you are untrustworthy, unpredictable, borderline paranoid schizophrenic," Black Widow 2 says to Ghost, the bold is really in the lettering just in case you didn't get it. But caper flicks are more plot driven anyway. Characters tend to fill slots needed to drive said plot and a lack of subtly is forgivable, to a degree. As long as the dialogue remains steadfastly in the "tough guy" realm and the plot whirrs along, any good character stuff is gravy.

An extended scene between Paladin and Ant Man shows promise in just such a direction. Ant Man confesses to Paladin that he's in over his head and Paladin, the cool headed mercenary, advises him to ride it out 'cause things are bound to change. There are several possible ways the conversation can be interpreted and the uncertainty is reflected in an engaging bit of business with Paladin on a robotic platform doing target practice. An air of casual conversation mixes with gun violence and loaded statements all while Paladin is literality bobbing and weaving. Visually it's disorienting and that's exactly what it's supposed to do; a cool visual metaphor for how topsy turvey this book is.

The art on this book has a great look to it. From something as small as the detail in Ghost's camera eyes to something as big as the atmosphere and tone of the whole book. Sepulveda's art is gritty and realistic at the same time, and he can keep drawing shots prominently featuring Black Widow 2's butt for as long as he wants. Martin's colors might take even more credit for the atmosphere--slabs of murky green coloring everything in the cube, the creepy red glow of Ghost's camera eyes. He also uses the colors to punctuate the emotional impact of a scene--all the violent acts have a dirty red background and nothing else. Songbird's return shines in a pinkish glow. The colors raise the emotional tone to a nearly hyper real level. It might be manipulative if you think about it but damn if it don't work!

Points of Interest:

● Who is Scourge under that mask? My money's on fellow (but different) nut job Speedball/Penance.

● The logo on Ant Man's beer looks a lot like the brand Homer Simpson drinks.

Final Word: Thunderbolts has been enjoyable for quite some time. Diggle expands on the straight up bad guy fest groundwork laid out by Ellis and Gage. Things are only going to get more intense with the addition of mystery Thunderbolt "Scourge" and the re-emergence of Songbird. He's made a smart move by playing the book like a caper flick. The book is tense and fun. When the characters really start popping this book will hit a great stride.

"Logos728"

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