A new team of Thunderbolts is charging into action to take on a familiar Disney+ hero in the first look at their new series. Writer Jim Zub and artist Sean Izaakse are relaunching Thunderbolts, which spins out of the recently-concluded Daredevil event Devil's Reign. After former New York City Mayor Wilson Fisk corrupted the Thunderbolts name and filled the team with some of Marvel's worst villains, new Mayor Luke Cage turns to Hawkeye (Clint Barton) to rehab the brand. This deputized team of Thunderbolts has the backing of the mayor and will look to clean up the streets of New York, pitting them against the likes of Abomination and a former Thunderbolt, US Agent.
John Walker was one of the characters on Wilson Fisk's Thunderbolts, which would explain why Hawkeye is shooting him with an arrow in the Thunderbolts #1 first look from Marvel. We also see the new Marvel character Gutsen Glory using a flash bomb on the Hulk villain Abomination. US Agent made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, played by Wyatt Russell. Abomination will also make a Disney+ appearance in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, with Emil Blonsky reprising his role from 2008's The Incredible Hulk and 2021's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
The roster of the new Thunderbolts includes Hawkeye, Spectrum (Monica Rambeau), America Chavez, Power Man, Persuasion, and Gutsen Glory. ComicBook.com spoke to Jim Zub about picking the members of the Thunderbolts team.
"This new team is centered around New York City, so the list of heroes I put together is NYC-centered and each member is also meant to fill a specific team role model," he said. "In the series we talk a bit about these team roles as specific titles – the Leader, the Brick, the Mentalist, the Energy Slinger, titles like that. These are core roles we've seen countless times in superhero team line-ups, we're just calling them out specifically as part of the team building process. In terms of why the team is being put into place this way, all will be explained in issue #1."
Marvel Studios announced a Thunderbolts movie during its Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con. Scheduled to be released on July 26th, 2024, Thunderbolts will wrap up Phase 5 of the MCU.
The first look at Thunderbolts #1 is below, and the issue goes on sale August 31st.
THUNDERBOLTS #1
JIM ZUB (W) • SEAN IZAAKSE (A)
cover by SEAN IZAAKSE
…LIKE LIGHTNING!
Super-powered crooks have taken hostages in Staten Island?
You know 'em, you love 'em...they're the Thunderbolts!
In the aftermath of Devil's Reign, the Big Apple has big problems, and it's up to a new group of Thunderbolts to turn things around. But when Clint Barton gets tasked with heading up this team and proving they can go toe-to-toe with anything the Marvel Universe can throw at them, the first opponent he's going to have to face is himself.
