Thunderbolts #81

Background

This isn't the Thunderbolts you used to know. No Hawkeye or ex-Masters of Evil turned good. Instead you've got a fighting ring with nasty charcaters involved, some ex super villians. Daniel Axum is current champion of the ring, he's also had some run-ins with Spidey in the past...

Story 'Getting Even More'

Axum, Man-Killer, Delilah and Scorpion discuss Spidey and there hate for him in the bar. They fantasise about beating him. Man-Killer, Delilah and Scorpion want Axum to join with them to beat Spidey, but Axum is doubtfull, but says he'll think about it as he leaves. As he walks home he considers how Spidey whipped him in the past and takes out his anger on a defenseless newspaper dispenser.

Later, Axum meets up with Man-Killer at the gym. He indicates he wants in on the Spidey bash. He then start to palm off his family and girl friend for his revenge trip. He ends up talking to Armadillo. He finds out where all the fighting left Armadillo and is left depressed and considering his life. Meanwhile, Man-Killer finds out her charges (after being arrested for her fight with Spidey) are dropped and she's free to go. Sort of giving her a new lease on life. Becuase of these experiences, when they meet up they both decide to not go after Spidey.

We end with happy scenes of Axum with his family. Man-Killer with her friends. And the Scorpion and Delilah webbed to a pole after being beat by Spidey.

General Comments

This was an okay story, a little unclear in places, but okay.

I really liked some elements. Well mainly one. Man-Killer comes off as a real psycho in the script and art. And its kind of funny. Particularly with some of the situations she gets in. These issues are worth buying for some her facial expressions alone! I also liked the bar scene where the villains tried to imagine what Spidey was like when he went home. That was really amusing aswell.

I guess I wasn't really interested in Axum and his story. It was okay, but seemed predictable for some reason. But, I did think the end provided a bit of twist for him when he decided against his revenge on Spidey.

Spidey's appearance is pretty minimal really, if you're wondering about picking this up just because of his appearance (like I did) in case he plays a significant role, I wouldn't worry too much. I guess you could compare this to some issues of Tangled Web if you wanted to get an idea of his involvement. It's more about the effect Spidey has on villains, but the only real Spidey villains that appear are Scorpion and Delilah and their roles are pretty minimal.

Overall Rating

Okay stuff, everyone loves a good psychotic female with violent tendencies which brings this up to 3 webs!