Thunderbolts #39

Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Penciller: Mark Bagley
Inker: Scott Hanna
Letters: RS & Comiccraft's Troy P.
Colors: Joe Rosas
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor in Chief: Bob Harras

The battle leads further into Zemo's home while Scourge uses spring coils underneath his boots to leap thirty feet and catch up with Zemo.

The battle continues into Zemo's study with figures of Citizen V, Baron Heinrich Zemo, the Red skrull, and Zemo's phoenix costume. Zemo has an emotional attachment to the room and the Scourge plays with that for awhile kicking Zemo into his father old china cabinet "...stocked with Der Fuhrer's personal table settings from the bunker!"

Scourge finally speaks while Zemo stares up a big portrait of his mother and father until finally responding. The Scourge attacks next with a blast of fire burning the picture from the wall. Zemo enraged at the picture being destroyed grabs a sword from the wall and attacks Scourge knocking off his helmet leaving only a black mask with red eyes and white teeth.

Back in Boulder Colorado at a Roxxon energy research facility Peter Gyrich questions Mr.Higgins the boss of the place about Omega-32 and the death of his employee who was killed by a poisoned quill like dart that was fired into her neck. While they talk about Omega-32, Gyrich advises him to purge it completely and that he will do the same on his end.

Meanwhile at the sports bar in Burton Canyon Man-killer tries to get a better reception on the Television while forgetting to keep her superpowers in check accidentally knocking the Television loose from the wall. Man-killer ducks into a backroom thinking about the news report that was about an electromagnetic disruption near Mt. Charteris. She thinks of the Thunderbolts and Atlas. She takes her Man-killer outfit out of a bag and thinks about how she has not worn it in weeks and wonders about helping the Thunderbolts out and if they would give her a chance to redeem herself.

Back at Zemo's home in Central America Zemo is on the run from Scourge. Zemo makes his way to some guns and uses one that is an electromagnetic disrupter. Scourge avoids the shot from Zemo by turning his legs into stilts while the shot hits something else behind him causing a big explosion. The Scourge retracts his stilts and attacks Zemo knocking the gun from Zemo's hands.

Zemo flees into another room and closes the door behind him locking Scourge out. Zemo wanders through a weapons depot wondering if the weapons contained in it would be enough to defeat Scourge. Zemo speculates on how the Scourge gets his weapons since Zemo doesn't remember where all the weapons came from. He didn't hear him drop any of his weapons to draw another and there wasn't a place for Scourge to conceal all of his weapons on his armor. He thinks its perhaps teleportation. Passing by a model of Citizen V Zemo thinks that being Citizen V was probably the best thing he's done since it was his most successful scheme even though it ultimately failed. He concludes Moonstone was right "Why rule the world, when manipulating it is so much more...satisfying?" Zemo doesn't want to die and thinks he can't defeat Scourge so he decides to use his old V-wing platform to escape.

Scourge is still busy trying to burn through the wall to get to Zemo having tried four different methods and thinks he can't waste anymore call-ups for things to break into the room. Scourge discovers bodies floating in vats and wonders why they are there since Zemo's not a geneticist. Scourge decides to think about it later and let his boss figure it out.

Zemo blasts his way out of the room he was in getting Scourges attention while escaping on a V-wing. Scourge charges after Zemo on a glider that resembles one that the Green Goblin or the Hobgoblin would use. Scourge uses his gloves to cause the trees to bend to his will and entangle Zemo causing Zemo to fall off his V-Wing and later through a window below and into a room with a picture of Captain America fighting Baron Heinrich Zemo.

Scourge flies into the room wondering what's in the room while Zemo gets up. Scourge finds that there is an old uniform of Bucky's torn and with holes and is absolutely stunned by it trying to stay focused and not make the confrontation with Zemo personal.

Zemo starts talking to Scourge some more while Scourge calls on another sword right in front of Zemo. Zemo ponders how the sword appeared when Scourge said Storage access. The sword appeared out of thin air and Zemo thinks the method is familiar somehow and wonders how Scourge could have access to that sort of technology and concluding "...The Weapons he's used--signature trademarks of others, all of whom have been--of course!" Zemo and Scourge fight some more until Scourge calls on another weapon Captain America's shield which breaks Zemo's sword. Zemo remarks, "It couldn't be you--aah--if you are who I think you are...then it is most fitting for me to die in this room--most fitting for you to betray everything you believed in here...in that then, at least...I have won..." "No! I thought---it can't be you--you are dead--" Zemo falls to the floor in a heap while Scourge says "Yes I am." With the display of Bucky's costume in a display case behind the Scourge, his face still mostly in the shadows he raises his sword and brings it down on Zemo's head killing him, "And now, finally, Helmut Zemo--So are you! Justice...is served..."

prologue:

At Mt. Charteris the Atlas tries to talk to Dallas revealed as Citizen V while the Thunderbolts and the V-battalion watch on. Dallas comments about how Atlas and the Thunderbolts ruined her life. The visual representations of the V-battalion say that Dallas "...can no longer carry the burden of responsibility of Citizen V." And that she must renounce the mantle and that her family name will not be tarnished among them for her recent actions if she gives up the mantle now. Dallas argues with the projection of Roger from the Penance council while the Thunderbolts watch on curiously.

Suddenly there is a crackling hum of energy and the cowl of the Crimson Cowl appears with the words "As per pre-programmed evasion protocol:..." Dallas tries to say something but can't be heard because of the crackling hum of energy and the cowl wraps up Dallas and then disappears. Everyone looks on in shock as the mask Dallas was holding falls from the air.

"The mask of Citizen V falls. They all watch as it bounces...twice...three times...and shatters. And the unvoiced Question trapped on everyone's lips: What is going on here?!"

Comments: This issue contains one of the most spectacular fight scenes I have read which is what I have come to except from this title. The thoughts of Baron Zemo and Scourge do a great job of showing how they view each other and we get to see just how much Zemo has changed. If he should fight or if he should flee and how his experience as Citizen V was for the better and even admits that Moonstone was right.

Its neat to see Scourge using all these different weapons from different villains some of which are dead and some that are still alive. The ability of Scourge to have his weapons able out of thin air could be explained with Pym particles.

Great attention to detail in Zemo's home creating pretty neat things to look at in the background. I especially enjoyed seeing Zemo's study which I even used on the latest banner. The Scourge using the stilts looked funny. As for Zemo's weapons shouldn't he have more than that one gun to use against the Scourge?

Vats with floating bodies? This must be some hint as to how Zemo is going to come back from the dead or something else to wonder about since I can't see Zemo being gone forever. He's the one who always survives these obscure and impossible deaths, its part of his character.

Now Scourge has a boss, so two people are really crazy to be carrying out this scheme which raises the question of whose justice is being served does the Scourge really care about that? Is he just doing this for his boss?

It sure would helpful to hear the ending of some of Zemo's sentences and thoughts like when he sees the trees wrapping around him and when he actually sees Scourge call upon a weapon. He has all these weapons stored somewhere apparently. Signature trademarks of other, all of whom have been, targets of the Scourge? Can't be dead villains since some are still living. And he used Captain America's shield although after Zemo said that particular phrase. It could have been weapons of all villains if you discount the Pym particle idea.

Scourge sees Bucky's old costume and has a hard time not taking things personal so this better not be the original Bucky. Fabian better tread carefully this might get even more tense when Jolt was killed off. There's plenty of Bucky's that he could use anyone of them or someone that that has a connection to Captain America or Bucky. If this was another writer or another series like the spider-man titles these days I think I would be worried where this was going but I'm pretty sure this will turn out well.

Zemo had to be thinking it was Captain America that was going to kill him when Scourge was apparently inspired to call upon a replicate of Captain America's shield unless it was the real shield that would be freaky.

So the Scourge is someone who Zemo thought was dead and Scourge still says he is. And the Bucky costume hangs behind him as he says it. I wonder if that's the real remains of the costume or just one that Zemo had made.

The two small scenes that give a breather for the Scourge and Zemo battle are interesting. The mystery of what Omegea-32 is continues I wonder how this is going to tie into anything else if at all. I'm assuming it is something to do with the hard air. Man-killer thinking of redemption? Are all the previous masters of evil going to go this way? This looks interesting though and I can see her showing up to help them sometime. She's changed from her appearances with cowl's masters of evil and even refers to herself as Wilma her fake Id in her thoughts, scary. As for the ending of the issue, I didn't really mind not seeing the Thunderbolts much in this issue it's always a pleasure to see Zemo and I was rooting for him the whole issue.

One mystery gets solved and another replaced it with only the cowl appearing to whisk Dallas away. I wonder if Dallas really was the Crimson Cowl and she had the cowl programmed to take her away after a certain amount of time? Probably unlikely I'm also wondering if the Crimson Cowl was anyone to begin with or just this robot maybe made by someone else. Maybe they are not even anyone we know. If the cowl retrieved Dallas I wonder if this cowl also retrieved Graviton awhile back. Maybe the real Crimson Cowl was busy doing something so they sent the Cowl to retrieve Citizen V. A possible Crimson Cowl, Citizen V fight I suppose could be in the future since Citizen V was looking for the Crimson Cowl before probably since she was brainwashed? Into being the Crimson Cowl In thunderbolts # 25. Then there was someone Citizen V was supposed to assassinate before which could have been the Scourge himself or maybe his boss if their intelligence is as great as we are lead to believe.

The V-battalion don't seem to be that far of from the Scourge in there methods to eliminate certain people and villains from the world then they did mention that they don't want any innocents hurt and the Scourge has done that.

With Zemo dead it looks like the Scourge will be headed into Colorado again to kill off another Thunderbolt the wait between issues is indeed way to long for this title.