I haven't been as enamored of the Counter-Earth half of the Thunderbolts as the more Earth-bound stories, but with this issue, I'm officially intrigued. For one thing, this is a fantastic jumping-on point, with narrator Jolt giving a quick rundown of all five years of the series continuity in fairly seamless fashion and Nicieza taking the story of the Thunderbolts into Squadron Supreme/Authority territory, exploring what can happen when heroes actually try to change the world. In fact, my main complaint this issue was with the art, which didn't quite click with me.
The idea of heroes changing the world instead of upholding the status quo is a rare enough idea, but Nicieza has introduced the additional twist that these agents of change are (former?) villains. The morality is slippery enough when it is being carried off by those of noble goals, but given the uncertain aims of characters like Moonstone and Baron Zemo, or the psychological instability of MACH-3 and Atlas, it's even more fascinating to watch.
In addition, Nicieza has seized upon one of the most interesting things about Counter-Earth, which is its somewhat post-apocalyptic status quo. Given how outside the mainstream continuity this world is, Nicieza really has a pretty free reign, and he can do things like nuke countries, rebuild shattered economies or reshape the minds of world leaders without requiring every other Marvel writer to follow his lead. This freedom makes for an uncertain end to the story which really draws me in.
Part of the reason for my rekindled interest in the Thunderbolts has been the split of the Counter-Earth and Hawkeye/Songbird stories, allowing each one room to grow. The downside to the streamlined storytelling is a bi-weekly shipping schedule which sees Chris Batista on art instead of Pat Zircher, and while Batista is certainly decent, something about his figures just doesn't sit well with me. I see elements of Adam Hughes and Kevin Maguire in his faces, and those are certainly strong, but his work on backgrounds and technology seems somewhat flat and uninspired compared to Zircher's strong designs, and some of his costume designs, particularly the new one for Baron Zemo, are clunky and ugly, reminiscent of the costumes that paraded through various books in the mid-90s.
One of my problems with the directions these characters have taken has been the unlikely redemption of a couple of the villains. I always found Moonstone's change of heart to be unlikely, and what's more, it made her a less interesting character to me, so I'm glad to see Nicieza taking her in a more morally ambiguous direction once again. I'm not quite so sure about Baron Zemo, who never really seemed like a candidate for redemption, and who I have a hard time seeing the characters accepting in a leadership position, even given their dire circumstances. However, there are hints in this issue that perhaps his redemption is no more real than the one where he took up the mantle of Citizen V, that he might be running another power scheme, and that would make me perfectly happy.
