Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Two days earlier the Thunderbolts consider going to help Hawkeye out in his mission in hell to save Mockingbird's soul. Moonstone leaves angry while the Thunderbolts wonder how they are going to get to hell. Atlas thinks he has an idea on whom to contact he puts an ad in a paper to Amora dating service, Amora being the Enchantress.
Eventually Atlas meets up with the Enchantress in New York. Meanwhile downtown Moonstone converses over lunch with the ScarletWitch about Hawkeye. Moonstone finds out that ScarletWitch imbued some of Hawkeye's arrows with chaos-magic.
The Thunderbolts arrive at the entrance to Hell. Atlas owes the Enchantress something for her helping the Thunderbolts to get to Hell. Pluto leads the Thunderbolts to Hell as Moonstone arrives with something of Hawkeye's to create a sympathetic alignment to help them on their journey through Hell.
In Hell Hawkeye fights an apparition of the swordsman and ends up in the arena of tainted souls during the battle. Hawkeye meets up with Mephisto in his realm and sees someone all wrapped up behind Mephisto and demands Mockingbird to be released. Mephisto shows Hawkeye that the Thunderbolts have entered Hell and talks of how the T-bolts souls will be tasty for him.
Each Thunderbolt faces one of their fears. Moonstone faces another just like herself only it's the warrior from her dreams.
Charcoal faces Jolt and over comes the illusion by shouting at Jolt that he's proud he saved his own life rather than trying to save Jolt's as well. Atlas is in a sports bar-n-grill with Man-killer and Carl. Carl is Atlas' older brother that died and is now trying to convince Atlas that he isn't a hero, which Atlas eventually gets out of saying he's not going to stop trying. Songbird is confronted with the death of Angar the screamer. Songbird quickly recovers from the scenario since they picked the wrong approach with her and that she never blamed herself for Angar's death. Mach-2 faces Goulding the man he killed in a Beetle suit. Mach-2 unmasks the Beetle finding Goulding inside but Mach-2 breaks out the scenario since he thinks about what he did everyday to remind himself of what he has to atone for.
Hawkeye runs to the Thunderbolts rescue but gets stopped by the many people wanting his help as one of Mockingbird's battle staves frightens them off. Hawkeye uses the Battle stave to draw psychic energy of hope from the souls in the arena. Hawkeye attaches the battle stave to one of his chaos-imbued arrows and shoots it at Mephisto who explodes for the time being until he can reform himself from evil passing through his realm from sinners.
The Thunderbolts escape from Hell and Hawkeye brings who he thinks was mockingbird all wrapped up from hell. Hawkeye unwraps the figure and finds out its actually Patsy Walker. Hawkeye has a meeting with Daimon Hellstrom at his fire lake mansion later, saying Hellstrom used him and the Thunderbolts. Hellstrom explains that he was just carrying out Mockingbird's wish which was "Avengers--you've got to reach Hawkeye for me! Tell him that he--tell him he's got to--help Daimon--Patsy Walker is going to be used by Mephisto as a pawn to kill him!" Apparently Mockingbird appeared in Hellstrom's throne room after disappearing from the avengers and completed what she was going to say.
Hellstrom says he couldn't invade Mephisto's realm to rescue Patsy with out causing a war so he had to do exactly what Mockingbird's message said.
Hawkeye thanks the Thunderbolts for going to hell to help him out and the T-bird flies off.
Physician, Heal Thyself?
Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Penciller: Mark Bagley
Inker: Al Vey
Letters: Comiccraft
Colors: Joe Rosas
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor in Chief: Bob Harras
Moonstone contemplates her mysterious dreams, her past, present and future and her strange feelings of doing the heroic thing.
The Kree Moonstone that she is more than just a conduit for her powers but also a living spirit inside of her. Moonstone feels this has forced things on her and that's how she explains her love for Hawkeye. Moonstone has buried these new feelings and ignored them for fear that she doesn't deserve them. She also ponders "What if I've refused to embrace all those concepts because I'm really just afraid of becoming a better person?"
Comments: This wasn't the best of Thunderbolts for other people to see since undoubtedly some Avengers fans and others were picking up this issue to see who was going to be resurrected. This didn't have the feeling of greatness that the regular issues of the Thunderbolts does and if those extra fans who picked up this issue were going to judge the Thunderbolts series by this annual I'm not sure they would want to pick it up.
The art by Norm Breyfogle in the main story of the annual wasn't as good as Bagley's regular art.
Atlas actually thought up a something instead of someone else which was a change but the way he goes about it is putting an ad in a newspaper for the Enchantress? The Enchantress reads newspapers just in case there is something for her? This could have been handled better as with the deal Atlas made with the Enchantress off panel. Should be an interesting follow up later since he owes her.
This annual came out at a bad time being that everyone seemed to be fine with how Abe is now I hope in the next issue of Thunderbolts we get to see a lot of a reaction since Songbird did faint.
The tired device of heroes facing their own fears was a bit dull and something was off in a few of them. Mephisto not knowing what to use against Songbird so that she easily beat her scenario. Charcoal being proud he didn't die and Jolt did and shoving it in her face didn't seem to be the way to beat his fear. Maybe this will be picked up on in the regular issues. At least the Moonstone sequence further developed the moonstone's dreams subplot that has been neglected for awhile. Who really did throw that battle stave to help Hawkeye? Was it Mockingbird and are we going to find out, maybe in the avengers annual?
The resurrection of "cheese and crackers" Patsy Walker wasn't that great to see. Rather would have mockingbird resurrected since she had a rather pointless death and it would have been more interesting for the Thunderbolts I would think. The whole mockingbird's message being resolved didn't seem right. The intensity of the original message in the Avengers sure didn't seem to match the other half of the message to rescue Patsy Walker. Why is Mockingbird asking just hawkeye to rescue Patsy and not some other magician or the avengers themselves? I wonder if this is even what the real message was intended to be it just doesn't go together well. I suppose its possible that the message Hellstrom relayed to Hawkeye was really a fake one and only Hellstrom knows the real message from Mockingbird.
The small backup story on Moonstone was neat to further what she saw in hell and to advance the plot of her turning into a hero and learning more of the Kree Moonstone.
I look forward to the regular monthly issue of Thunderbolts to bring everything back up to its usual level of greatness and the Avengers 2000 annual that will have Hawkeye and Songbird in it.
Thunderbolts and all associated characters are the property of MARVEL COMICS TM&©2003.