THUNDERBOLTS ARE GONE? Life with Hawkeye ...

I'll admit the only recent comic I have ever regretted being forced to drop was The Thunderbolts.

My soft spot for the bad guys point of view dates back to the old 1970s Super-Villain Team-Up series so I liked THIS book's premise from the start. But what really what drew me to the book was scripter Kurt Busiek. Knowing his love for Marvel history, I expected that he would work in copious amounts of back-story as he wove new plots into existing continuity. I was right on target. Very early on he started bringing back forgotten characters like the Elements of Doom, who had previously only appeared in a single issue of the Avengers! And his new Masters of Evil featured old timers like Klaw, Flying Tiger, Tiger Shark & Man-Killer, characters having their origins back in the 1970s. Not since the days of Steven Englehart and Roy Thomas did any Marvel comics contain references to such obscure parts of their history.

If I have one criticism against Busiek it was that the real identities of Zemo and his gang should have remained hidden for a few more stories. Giving it away at the end of the very first issue did nothing for suspense, though I suppose in this era of the internet nothing is really a secret for long anyway.

That said, once their ruse was up and the TBolts were exposed as villains, I thought the book should have folded. With their identities now publicly known, for the title to continue the whole focus of the book would have to change. They couldn't be villains anymore. They would have to become the sickly sweet superheroes I loathe, kissing up to the public for adulation and acceptance. (That's why I think I've always sided with the villains, they don't give a damn what the public thinks!) The Thunderbolts title continued to drift aimlessly for quite a few issues further convincing me that Marvel should have ended the book right there.

But Busiek, who must have left his white stick and dog at home, drafted in probably the lamest character who ever wore spandex to lead this new incarnation of the TBolts ...Hawkeye. Can you believe this? And here I was thinking that all Hawkeye did was be impulsive, totally hot-headed, argumentative, rub people the wrong way and get beat up without his stupid arrows. The most he ever did for me was comic relief! With the advent of Mr. Failure I'm shuddering with dread that this book will slowly degenerate into nothing more than a West Coast Avengers clone. And we know how really successful Hawkeye was at running that team.

He had lots of experience ruining the Wackos as with most everything else he touches. If I weren't afraid of running out of space in this mag I'd try to list all of his failures but suffice if to say that a flopped career as a second-rate Goliath (twice), a stint as head of security at Cross Technologies that sizzled like a wet firecracker and a marriage that stumbled from the time it stepped out of the starting blocks should be ample evidence that ol' Clint should have hung up his bow and begun grazing in the pasture.

How much longer are we going to have to treat Hawkeye with kid gloves while he works through his personal demons, trying to gain glory for himself in the eyes of his peers? I'm especially fed up of his continuing attempts at vindication in the eyes of Captain America. USAgent certainly recognized his ineptitude when he wiped the floor with him in WCA #69. That story actually ranks as one of my favorites even though the writer straddled the fence, never endorsing but neglecting to condemn this stupid archer and his trick arrows for the weakling he is. Even when the Agent had beaten the crap out of him, Roy Thomas kept on trying to evoke heroism from this dead-@$$ character by making him refuse to stay down. Come on, it worked for Daredevil when he fought the Sub-Mariner 'cause DD had innate nobility. Hawkeye always comes across only as a character who's woefully out of his depth. Even the Agent taunted him, "In case nobody ever told you before ... you've been fighting out of your league all these years ..."

I can understand Hawkeye's attachment to the Thunderbolts. After all, he started out his career as a criminal before joining the Avengers where, during their first line-up change, he also served with two ex-criminals Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. So he has a lot in common with reformed bad guys who want to go straight. But he's the wrong man for the team. He'll do exactly as he did in the Wackos, play the authority figure until they get fed up of him, try to rule every action of his team members, single one of them out for a personal vendetta, split the team into factions and cause infighting. That's his track record.

If it hasn't happened already, it will eventually. As long as Hawkeye remains on the team, even worse the leader of it, The Thunderbolts are doomed to failure.