Thunderbolts #131 (Magnum Opus Chapter 4) – Review

By Andy Diggle (Writer), Bong Dazo (Pencils), Joe Pimentel (Inks), and Frank Martin & Giovanni Kosoki (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: For as much fun as I’ve had with the “Magnum Opus” crossover, I’m disappointed by how heavily the story has leaned in favor of Deadpool. While there’s nothing wrong with that in particular, it’s done no favors for a new Thunderbolts team that has yet to escape the (massive) shadow of the Warren Ellis team. Let’s face it; Ghost, Paladin, Ant-Man, Headsman, and Black Widow II have looked rather incompetent for about 2 1/2 chapters out of 3. I wonder if they can turn things around in the final chapter of “Magnum Opus.”

The Story: The conclusion of the Deadpool and Thunderbolts crossover largely brings more of the same to the table. With Deadpool finally captured by the Thunderbolts last issue, Thunderbolts #131 is mostly about how Wade deals with the situation. As it turns out, dealing with it involves lots of action, violence, and various types of humor.

What’s Good: The latest issue of Thunderbolts succeeds almost entirely because of the energy that drives it forward. The pace is frantic, the action is pretty wild, and as a cool bonus, you get two Deadpools for the price of one. In addition, the humor hits more often than not and Bong Dazo’s kinetic visuals prove to be a great compliment to the style of story being told.

What’s Not So Good: As a conclusion to what’s come before, I don’t have a whole lot of complaints about the fourth chapter of “Magnum Opus.” That’s mostly because I had an idea as to what to expect out of it. Some of the visuals look either confusing or far too cluttered and a few attempts at humor are just lame, but that’s pretty much been par for the course no matter what creative team was in charge of things.

However, I do have complaints about the crossover as a whole. In short, it is just one big lost opportunity. It should have played up the distinct difference between the wacky, yet capable Deadpool and the cold, efficient team that the Thunderbolts is supposed to be. The darker aspects of all the characters involved weren’t highlighted enough and far too often the whole crossover felt like little more than a violent cartoon. Entertaining, yes, but not all that it could be.

Conclusion: A capable conclusion to a fairly disappointing (but still entertaining) crossover, Thunderbolts #131 works about as well as I expected it to. No more, no less.  I’m looking forward to seeing Thunderbolts get back to its regular business.

Grade: C

-Kyle Posluszny

Thunderbolts #127- Review

By Andy Diggle (Writer), Roberto De La Torre (Artist), and Frank Martin & Giovanni Kosoki (Colorists)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: While I had my qualms with the last issue of Thunderbolts, it did a nice job of establishing both the new creative team and the method by which they would “clean house” in order to usher in the new status quo. I look forward to seeing how the transitional period plays out. And of course, how the new Thunderbolts team will be put together.

The Story: With Swordsman missing, Radioactive Man en route to China, and Penance confined to a high security mental facility, Songbird seems to be all of options as she is hunted through Thunderbolts Mountain by the remaining team members. As expected, Moonstone, Bullseye, and Venom make for quite the team as they try to take down Songbird for Norman Osborn. An action-packed book all around, Andy Diggle’s restructuring of the Thunderbolts continues to prepare the series for a star turn as part of Dark Reign.

What’s Good: Thunderbolts #127 is a marked improvement over the last issue in almost every way. The reason being because it delivers the chaos surrounding the team in a much more focused and satisfying manner. A lot of the credit for that has to go to Andy Diggle for the way he handles the interaction between the characters. He clearly understands the appeal of the team and some of the venomous dialogue stands up well next to some of the best character moments from Warren Ellis’ fantastic run. The rest of the credit goes to the art team’s handling of the kinetic, well-choreographed action sequences throughout the book. Roberto De La Torre’s pencils, while a bit rough at times, do a great job of capturing Songbird’s desperation and the destruction caused by the hunt.

What’s Not So Good: Considering that the series is in something of a transitional period, Diggle does little to really move things forward all that much. In other words, the issue is all about dismantling some of the old without any real time spent on constructing the new. That aspect of the story really doesn’t change my opinion of the overall quality of the book too much, but it does leave me feeling as though it is a tiny bit lacking.

Conclusion: Some books struggle through transitional periods, but Thunderbolts clearly is not one of them. The action is intense, the dialogue is a blast to read, and Marvel’s least heroic team continues to be a source of great, edgy entertainment. Thunderbolts #127 is well worth checking out for a good time, especially if you are interested in seeing how the groundwork for Dark Reign is being laid out.

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny