Tom, are there any plans for a return to the original Thunderbolts concept (villains attempting to be heroes?) I like the current series, but it seems like its just using the name similar to the "Fightbolts" or everything that happened after Ellis came on the book.
I suppose it all depends on whether you consider characters like Red hulk, Elektra, Deadpool, Venom and the Punisher villains. Looking over that list, I kinda think they qualify. Sorry if it’s not doing it for you.
I’d say they’re more antiheroes than villains, but that’s really just a quibble. The bigger issue is whether just being a bunch of villains is enough to justify using the title. I just don’t see it that way, anymore than I think that either the New Warriors and Young Avengers are interchangeable just because they’re all teenagers.
So to me, “Fightbolts” and “Redbolts” both miss the mark by reducing the concept down to the single dimension of “must feature bad people.” The current series just happens to be more successful because it features more popular bad people.
If Red Hulk’s team had ambitions or goals similar to past incarnations of the T-bolts—or heck, if they even seemed to notice that they weren’t the first team to use the name—I might grudgingly admit that it’s a bold new twist on what came before. Instead, though, “Redbolts” is about homicidal vigilantes joining together to frag the foes no single homicidal vigilante could assassinate. It’s a fine idea, but it’s a complete break from what had been Thunderbolts.
I suppose I can’t complain too much, because there is Superior Foes of Spider-Man and Avengers Undercover, and I figure Moonstone and Songbird will turn up sooner or later. But I don’t understand why Marvel wouldn’t just call the Red Hulk team “Code Red” (or whatever’s available), instead of plastering it on top of an existing brand that they might want to bring back someday.
