Thunderbolts #36

Meanwhile in Burton Canyon a police officer discovers the Thunder watch car down a hill after it had apparently skid off the road and through a barrier. The officer discovers that Gayle Rogers lies dead inside the damaged car.

The Thunderbolts continue fighting the Beetle back in Vancouver. The villains Justin Hammer hired as his bodyguards (Hydro-Man, Whiplash, Blizzard, and Speed Demon) now awake join the fight against the Thunderbolts. Hawkeye thinks during battle that something isn't right and that the Beetle might be missing the Thunderbolts sometimes on purpose like he's putting on a show. The Commission members Peter Gyrick and Valerie Cooper watch the battle on a monitor that the Beetle relays to them through the camera on his helmet. They wonder if Hawkeye suspects but Gyrich says Hawkeye is too stupid but tells the Beetle to escape and return to base before one of Thunderbolts gets hurt and the mission having been completed. The Beetle starts destroying the facility in his escape and Justin Hammer's hireling's run to escape as well. Moonstone and Atlas peruse the escaped villains while Hawkeye, Charcoal and Songbird go after the Beetle.

Elsewhere in Symkaria Citizen V is running away from the V battalion saying she's not going to follow her orders. The V battalion attempts to catch Citizen but they all fail but they remind her that she has signed her death warrant for not following the dictates of the Penance council and disobeying orders for an assassination. Citizen V thinks that her orders contradict everything she was taught to believe and leaves on a V-wing.

Back in Colorado the Beetle is heading towards Burton Canyon while the Thunderbolts chase after him. After the Beetle dispatches of the T-bird keeping Hawkeye and Charcoal occupied Songbird chases after the Beetle alone. All the while Songbird is commenting on how much she is missing Abe and if he loves her anymore as the Beetle tries to escape. The Beetle turns back around to Songbird without a response and attacks Songbird causing her to fall out of the air as Charcoal catches her. Hawkeye arrives back into the battle having a frequency transmitted to the on-board systems of the T-bird and downloaded into the input feed on the scrambler arrowhead.

The arrow hits the beetle causing him to fall to the ground and Songbird goes to remove the helmet to find out who is inside. What Songbird, Hawkeye and Charcoal find is that the armor is empty. The Commission watching on a monitor thinks the situation was unexpected and Songbird wonders just where Abe is.

At the Roxxon Energy Lab outside of Denver Colorado the one that the Beetle broke into and stole the Omega-32 from the facility co-ordinator Samuel Higgins walks into the office of Bobbie Haggert. [Bobbie had supplied Gayle Rogers with Information last issue.] Higgins talks to Bobbie about someone hacking into the eyes-only database and after a brief conversation Bobbie is shot with a dart. As Higgins walks out his face starts to change as if his facial appearance was just a hologram but the real face is never shown as he's turned around and walks out of the office commenting...

"My Job isn't to take out civilians. But I have no choice if their actions comprise my mission objectives. So as much as it hurts me to say it with your death--Justice is served!"

Comments: This title is so much fun. Ever since Fabian Nicieza came on board as the new writer things have become more interesting then they had been in recent memory. I get that feeling of the first 12 issues, after about #25 things perhaps things became a little too easy and somewhat predictable.

The Beetle fights impressively in this issue although the armor is a tank. I am becoming used to it so it is all right but I still like the design from before when I first saw the beetle. I kept on flipping through this issue waiting to see who was in the armor, to see if I was right it certainly didn't look like Abe in that profile in the shadows last issue. How many hints are they going to have before it has to be him in the armor? Finally finding out there was no one in the armor was quite the revelation and possibly for once I will not be wrong on guessing something. Another character is killed Gayle Rogers. I can't say I'm happy with this turn of events but I'll see where this leads. Gayle was a character I liked more than the death of Jolt last issue and Gayle was a great supporting character in the title as well. How many more characters are going to be killed? I hope this doesn't get tiring as just another death every single issue but things are interesting.

The Ogre (Techno) has three hibernation chambers with people in them? Another sub-plot to guess about. The middle chamber with no life signs was just added to days ago. It could very well be Jolt but I do hope she isn't resurrected, I'm holding out hope that its Techno's dead human body or someone else interesting. The other chamber was waiting for him when he got down there. Maybe Ogre had someone hiding in one of the hibernation chambers that intrigued Techno; it's an interesting mystery. Maybe even on a wild guesses its Dallas Riodan in that one.

Citizen V's appearance with the V Battalion I watched with interest again as it appears as though Citizen V will not be following the orders she was given last issue. Maybe she will turn out helping the Thunderbolts some time soon then. I still want to know more about this V Battalion and all about their operations and the penance council that was introduced. Citizen V is training in Symkaria where I believe Silver Sable lives maybe there's some connection, maybe one of the wild pack or someone involved that country is Citizen V.

The mysterious Sniper is revealed at the end just like promised only we never see their real face, as there's that shimmering effect as they show they real appearance that we never see. Now that Gayle Rogers is no longer alive and Bobbie the one that gave Gayle the information is dealt with this issue I guess that ends that leak of information. The "Justice is served" line looks to point to the villain Scourge, since there's still two of them alive maybe the sniper is one of them or possibly someone else taking up the name in another form. Getting rid of innocent people would have to serve a purpose in their scheme since their target has been targeting super villains before. The next issue box is just so full of listing all the on going plots which is great since I wouldn't want this title any other way.

Definitely, a great issue of Thunderbolts possibly even better than the last one. One last thought is that I'm hoping to see Abe as Mach-2 next issue since he wasn't in the Beetle suit, another painful month long wait till the next issue.