So, remember when Marvel released that teaser for Daniel Way and Steve Dillon’s Marvel NOW! title a week ago? And I jokingly said “Hey, what if it’s a Thunderbolts book with The Punisher and Deadpool on the team?” Well, I guess it turns out that it IS a Thunderbolts book starring The Punisher, Deadpool, Red Hulk, Venom and Elektra. After seeing this line-up you’re sold, I’m sold and we’re all adding this to our pull lists. Check out Steve Dillon’s cover for issue number one of Thunderbolts! Just shut up and take my money Marvel!
Editor Jordan White speaking to Newsarama about the title:
“The idea for this team of Thunderbolts actually came from a Marvel retreat, where ideas are flying fast and furiously. The question of how to shake-up Thunderbolts and take it in a new direction came up, and the idea of a Red Hulk-led team got the room excited. From there, the question became who he would tap for his team, and everyone agreed the main roster you see here (Punisher, Venom, Elektra, and Deadpool) would be an awesome team book. Looking for the right fit for this book as far as writers go, Dan Way was at the top of the list — and once we brought the idea to him, he leapt in with both feet, with tons of ideas of his own to add to the mix. He quickly shaped what was a rough idea for a team into a book with a specific idea and direction behind it… and added in a few more characters to the team, who shall be revealed over the first few issues.
Unlike the most recent Thunderbolts, this group is not working for any government program — this is Red Hulk’s team, to do with as he sees fit. In case you forgot, big red’s secret ID is that of General “Thunderbolt” Ross, a well-respected military official who the world thinks was KIA. Well, just because he can’t be part of the American Armed Forces doesn’t mean he can’t put together an armed force of his own (in fact, as a side note, I’d considered suggesting we call the book “Thunderbolt’s” with a possessive, but decided I would be laughed out of editorial if I mentioned it). And again, if you look at the crew ol’ T-Bolt has put together, you can get a sense of the kind of things he might be looking to do with them. They’re a team of loners, but all highly trained and highly skilled as either mercenaries or soldiers. This is a black ops dream team… or perhaps red ops, as the case may be. They’re all characters with their own very particular morality, who do the things they do because they believe in them. They believe they are doing right, even if the world around them might not. Now that they’re working together, they can set their sights even higher… and the world had better look out, because they won’t take no for an answer.”