I stopped following Thunderbolts a while back. Honestly, I'm not sure why. I was intrigued by the plotlines that Nicieza was developing, and the characters have remained as strong as they were when Kurt Busiek came up with the idea of villains-turned-heroes a few years ago. The writer provides a fitting ending to that story that Busiek started in the first issue, but that story has evolved into such a complex entity that only fans who have been along for the ride for a while will really reap the benefits.
Two teams of Thunderbolts -- one led by Hawkeye and the Counter-Earth team led by Baron Zemo -- are reunited, but before the myriad of emotions and legalities can be dealt with, a spacial rift has to be closed first. Hawkeye is confused about his relationship with Moonstone and is concerned about the incredible power augmentation she's undergone. Songbird and Mach-5 are overjoyed to be back together, but something weighs heavy on Abe's mind. And then there's the matter of what to do with Baron Zemo. Is he truly reformed?
I was pleasantly surprised to find Manuel Garcia's name among the credits for this issue, as I enjoyed his fill-in work on Avengers. But as I made my way through the book, that previous strength was not to be found. The pencils were rough and rushed. Fortunately, the art is redeemed in the latter part of the book. Garcia's work is much more polished and mature there, reminding one of the work of P. Craig Russell.
Nicieza's choice to develop this title into one about not one, but two teams was a clever one, but here, with both teams reunited, he's faced with a large and unwieldy cast of characters. As a result, he's not able to fill the reader in on everything they need to know about all of them (even with the benefit of an oversized issue)... and this is an ending for everyone's story. Even one-time T-Bolts fans like me will be at a loss as to who Harrier and Skein are, and exactly what's happened to Plantman and the villain once known as Man-Killer.
Ultimately, this issue will be a must-read for those who have been following the book, but will serve only to confuse others. I have to give Nicieza credit, though; this concluding chapter to the first T-Bolts direction is for the most -- save for a cliched cosmic threat at the outset -- focused on characterization, which was what made the Thunderbolts concept so engaging from the start.
