The Thunderbolts: Who Are Marvel’s Most-Wanted?

Storm Clouds Gather Around The Thunderbolts

An army of robots attack a city. Several murderous machines advance on a school before a bolt of lightning fries them. Students see a costumed teenage girl flash a thumbs up as other figures burst into action. A swordsman wearing an American flag as a cape effortlessly slices through several robots while two men in power armor blast them with weapons.

A woman soars through the sky, blasting flying drones, while a giant man swats them like gnats. Another woman flies above the bulk of the army. She hesitates, then screams. Waves of sound shred the robots, leaving only a handful functional. The caped man taps his gauntlet and the robots shut down. He smiles beneath his mask as the public cheers The Thunderbolts.

The Thunderbolts are one of Marvel’s most infamous superhero teams. They debuted during a tumultuous time and ended their first story with an unthinkable plot twist. So who are they? Why are they so important? What is their startling secret? Let’s find out.

Blood and Thunder: The Thunderbolts’ Backstory

The Thunderbolts debuted In The Incredible Hulk #449 in 1997. The team was created by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley to replace A-list heroes who were unusable because of conflicts with Marvel’s Heroes Reborn series. The Thunderbolts were presented as new heroes, but had appeared in prior stories using different identities.

The year was 1997. The Avengers and the Fantastic Four had fallen in battle against a monster called Onslaught and villains ran rampant without fear of the remaining heroes. A high-profile terror attack was stopped by a new team calling themselves The Thunderbolts.

The Thunderbolts fought many villains and terrorists, earning acclaim from fellow heroes and the media. Civilians ignored minor oddities like one of the Thunderbolts acting overly aggressive or the team being unusually skilled for newbies. The public demanded new heroes and they were the perfect symbols. There was just one problem.

The Thunderbolts were villains.

They were the newest incarnation of The Masters of Evil, assembled by Nazi aristocrat Baron Zemo to act as fifth columnists. The Thunderbolts were infiltrating superhero society to destroy it from within, but who were they?

Meet The Thunderbolts

Citizen V

True Identity: Baron Zemo
Played By: Daniel Bhrul, David Kaye

Baron Zemo is the latest in a long line of supervillains sharing the same name. He assembled the Masters of Evil to seek revenge on Captain America for his father’s death. While recruiting for the latest team, Zemo saw Captain America and the Avengers sacrifice themselves to stop Onslaught. He lost all drive until one of his allies inspired the Thunderbolts’ infiltration scheme.

Baron Zemo stole the Citizen V identity from a hero his father had murdered and led the Thunderbolts with military precision. A few months into the infiltration, Zemo went public in an attempt to conquer the world. He failed because the team revolted against him and went on the run.

Want more on the Thunderbolts’ creator? Our Baron Zemo Backstory has the details.

Meteorite: Second in Command of The Thunderbolts

True Identity: Moonstone
Voiced By: Elizabeth Dailey, Susan Roman

Karla Sofen was a sociopathic psychiatrist. She hated relying on clients for money and manipulated them with terrible advice, driving many to suicide. Karla discovered that one of them was the supervillain Moonstone and talked him into giving her his namesake power source. 

Karla went on a crime spree as the new Moonstone, but was defeated repeatedly by The Hulk and Captain Marvel. Moonstone was sent to jail and planned to serve her time until Zemo orchestrated a breakout and press-ganged her into joining the Thunderbolts as Meteorite.

Meteorite hated her new role and manipulated her teammates with abandon. Her ultimate goal was to overthrow Baron Zemo, but he went public with their true identities before she could. Meteorite served as the interim leader while they were on the run and flip-flopped over whether to reform.

Meteorite has the standard powers, plus flight, lasers, and intangibility. The downside is that her moonstone has bonded to her nervous system and she’ll die if she isn’t exposed to its energies. Meteorite is a ruthless psychiatrist, but often undermined by her own mental health.

Techno

True Identity: The Fixer
Played By: Marc Margolis, Rick D. Wasserman

Paul Ebersol was a scientist and odd jobs man with a pathological need to invent. He became The Fixer and robbed banks to bankroll his creations, though stroking his superiority complex was a bonus. He fought Iron Man several times while attempting to steal the Armored Avenger’s secrets.

The Fixer was Zemo’s first recruit, and joined because he was bored. He became Techno, the team’s tech expert and wild card. Techno was murdered early into the team’s career, but uploaded his mind into a robot. He eventually resurrected his original body at the cost of becoming a cyborg.

Techno invented many weapons, including mind control pods, sonic cannons, guided missiles, and anti-gravity discs that allow him to fly. After becoming a cyborg, he gained the ability to generate weapons from his body, shapeshift, and absorb electronics while adding their technological distinctiveness to his own. Resistance is futile while fighting Techno.

Atlas

True Identity: Goliath
Voiced By: Paul Kligman, Jesse Burch

Erik Josten was an AWOL Marine with an unlucky supervillain career. He became the first Power Man, but lost the name to Luke Cage and his powers were later stolen by Count Nefaria. He briefly worked as a thief called The Smuggler before becoming the size-changing Goliath. Unfortunately for Josten, his power source left him trapped in another universe and at the mercy of its criminals.

Baron Zemo found Goliath by accident and freed him, earning Josten’s loyalty. He became Atlas and unwittingly inspired Zemo to have The Thunderbolts masquerade as heroes. Atlas was torn between enjoying his new heroic reputation and loyalty to Zemo, but decided his debt was settled after saving Zemo’s life.

Atlas can grow to 60 feet tall, gaining superhuman strength and durability matching his height. He’s able to overpower other heavy hitters like Thor and Namor the Sub-Mariner. Atlas can also resurrect himself given enough time. He prefers following to leading and is one of the most empathetic Thunderbolts, even when others use his heart against him.

MACH-1: Turn-Coat of The Thunderbolts

True Identity: The Beetle
Voiced By: Christopher Collins, John Reiley

Abner Jenkins was a frustrated mechanic who turned to crime. He created a suit of power armor to commit aerial robberies as The Beetle. Jenkins was defeated several times by The Human Torch and Spider-Man. The Beetle became a joke in the villain community, disrespected even by his own goons.

Zemo recruited The Beetle when he hit rock bottom. Jenkins became MACH-1 and fell in love with fellow Thunderbolt Songbird. MACH-1 was the first to voice the team’s growing enjoyment of being the good guys and led the revolt against Baron Zemo. Jenkins left the team to atone for his crimes in jail and became a true-blue superhero.

The Beetle suit allowed Jenkins to fly, discharge electricity, and lift heavy objects with suction cups. The Mechanized Aerial Combat-Harness gave him superhuman strength, durability, and hidden weapons. He’s upgraded the armor and changed his name to keep up with other heroes. Jenkins is up to MACH-X now.

Songbird

True Identity: Screaming Mimi
Voiced By: Tara Strong, Jennier Hale

Melissa Gold was a professional wrestler called Screaming Mimi. Her all-female team, The Grapplers, were underpaid compared to male wrestlers, a disparity that led them to become supervillains for the Roxxon Oil Company. Melissa was given a superpowered scream and left the Grapplers after falling in love with superpowered hippie Agnar the Screamer.

Agnar was killed during a robbery, leaving Melissa to destroy her vocal cords by screaming in grief for 43 minutes. Baron Zemo was shocked by the devastation she caused and recruited her. Melissa was given prosthetic vocal cords and became Songbird, despite her trauma. She led the revolt with MACH-1 and later joined The Avengers. 

Songbird is The Thunderbolts’ big gun. She has super strength, flight, and can make constructs from sonic energy. Screaming at different pitches causes varied effects in victims, from headaches to hallucinations. Songbird’s death wail for Agnar was like a sonic nuke, but it isn’t something she can repeat.

Jolt

True Identity: N/A
Voiced By: N/A

Hallie Takahama was a survivor of Onslaught’s rampage. She was kidnapped by HYDRA and experimented on, giving her lightning powers. Hallie escaped and asked the Thunderbolts to save the other young victims. Zemo mercy-killed the mutated children, but allowed Hallie to join them as Jolt for PR purposes.

Jolt believed her new family were heroes and served as their moral compass. She was shattered when Zemo revealed the truth to the world, but rallied the newly-heroic Thunderbolts to stop him. Jolt became a superhero and appeared infrequently after. She’s been MIA since villains captured her in 2017’s Secret Empire.

Jolt has standard powers, plus the ability to generate lightning and enhance her punches with its energy. If Jolt dies, she can resurrect herself through her bio-electricity. Hallie lacks training, but is a walking superhero encyclopedia, like a prototype Ms. Marvel.

Dreadknight: Redeemer of the Thunderbolts

True Identity: Hawkeye
Played By: Jeremy Renner, Matthew Mercer

Clint Barton was a circus archer who Iron Man upstaged. He became a hero called Hawkeye, but was mistaken for a supervillain. Hawkeye fought Iron Man a handful of times until he could convince the Avenger that he was a good guy. Clint was exonerated and joined the team.

Hawkeye felt sympathy for the Thunderbolts since he could tell most of them wanted to be true heroes. He infiltrated the team as Dreadknight, then convinced them to make him their leader and public handler, giving the Thunderbolts legitimacy by having an Avenger in charge.

There’s more to this marvelous marksman’s tale, so check out our Hawkeye Backstory.

Didya Get All That?

Masters of Evil turned second chance superheroes.

Image: (L-R): Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (David Harbour), and Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) in Marvel Studios’ THUNDERBOLTS*. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2024 MARVEL.

Jared Bounacos

Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.