Lots of interesting developments this issue, including an identity revelation that has been a long time coming, but this still was one of the more disappointing issues of Thunderbolts for me in a while. Nicieza's script jumps around in time and space a bit too much, and Zircher doesn't do a great job of keeping up, and the end result is a read that, while clear in retrospect, is confusing and disjointed while reading. The split into two bi-weekly stories in this book seemed like it was going to make the sometimes cramped pacing of the book a thing of the past, but it appears with this issue that the creative team is still shaking out the kinks.
Nicieza starts the story in two different places, first a flashback to a relatively minor character's history and then in the middle of a combat where the reader doesn't know the context. While I can see what he was going for, a deception that the character is gunning for one of the lead characters, the payoff isn't enough to make up for such a confusing opening. It doesn't help that the real reason the character is shooting is never made clear in the artwork, and only becomes clear later through some labored dialogue. For me, this story started about the time Hawkeye and Silver Sable started talking, and we were let into the same story that all the characters already knew about. Unfortunately, we were already nine pages in at that point.
Once you get past some clunky storytelling, though, you're introduced to a story that is well worth following. The identity of the Crimson Cowl, a mystery that began way back in Kurt Busiek's first year on the title, is finally solved this issue, and it's a satisfying revelation. The character isn't one that anyone had guessed, but it makes a certain amount of sense and doesn't come off as a one of those "The Crimson Cowl is who again?" revelations. It also ties her in more solidly with the story of the Earth-bound Thunderbolts seeking out Justin Hammer.
Thunderbolts has always been a book based on a shifting status quo, and Nicieza is continuing that tradition with the addition of a new team to the book. I liked the brief moments where we get to know the villains formerly known as Gypsy Moth, Man-Killer, Plant-Man and Harrier, although I did think that Nicieza name-checked code-names a little too often in dialogue, which makes the book accessible but also sometimes grinds the dialogue to a halt. I'm also a little wary of the time being spent on these characters, because when time was spent building up the Redeemers, Nicieza undercut any potential they had by simply killing them off in what was really something of a pointless exercise.
I had my complaints with Zircher's work on Avengers this week, but you need only look at this issue to see how much the inks and colors adversely affected him on that title. Here, his characters are clearer and the detail put into facial expressions comes through much stronger. His storytelling is also generally pretty solid, although I did sometimes find the backgrounds a bit lacking, and I don't think it would have killed him to show a couple of guys behind Hawkeye in order to make the storytelling and the opening reveal/action sequence flow more smoothly.
