Meet Blue Bolt, the "biggest jerk in the Marvel Universe" and the newest member of the Avengers

News
By published

This former henchman is about to join the Earth's mightiest heroes

Blue Bolt joins the West Coast Avengers
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

As revealed at this year's San Diego Comic Con, the West Coast Avengers will return this November with an all-new and surprising line-up headed up by Iron Man and also featuring Spider-Woman, War Machine, Firestar, and even Ultron. Now Marvel has revealed that another former villain will be joining the squad: Blue Bolt. 

Unsure who that is? Don't worry, it's a new character, though one that riffs on the '40s Joe Simon creation of the same name. Real name Chad Braxton, the new Blue Bolt is described as being an "experienced Marvel henchman with unrefined lightning-based abilities." He will cross paths with the Avengers thanks to a new prison release program. 

"Reckless, undisciplined, and downright rude, Blue Bolt may just be the biggest jerk in the entire Marvel Universe," says a statement about the new book. "Can the Avengers whip him into shape or will Blue Bolt's abrasive attitude – and lack of morals – tarnish the team's legacy forever?"

Image 1 of 2
Art for West Coast Avengers.
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

The new series comes from the creative team of writer Gerry Duggan and artist Danny Kim. Above you can see some promo artwork by Todd Nauck for the new book highlighting Blue Bolt's appearance, as well as a design sheet by Kim. Is it us, or is there a hint of David Bowie in there? It would make sense given the latter's fondness for a lightning bolt...

"The Avengers have seen a lot of rough customers over the years," said Gerry Duggan in a statement. "Hell, even Deadpool and Wolverine have been Avengers at different points. But the Avengers haven't seen a bigger @$!&^% than Blue Bolt. He's mean, he's self-centered, narcissistic, and he's only on the Avengers West Coast squad to shave time off his sentence. And wait until you find out what he's in jail for. Yeesh."

West Coast Avengers #1 is published by Marvel Comics on November 27.

The original West Coast Avengers is one of the best Avengers teams of all time. 

Will Salmon
Will Salmon
Streaming Editor

Will Salmon is the Streaming Editor for GamesRadar+. He has been writing about film, TV, comics, and music for more than 15 years, which is quite a long time if you stop and think about it. At Future he launched the scary movie magazine Horrorville, relaunched Comic Heroes, and has written for every issue of SFX magazine for well over a decade. His music writing has appeared in The Quietus, MOJO, Electronic Sound, Clash, and loads of other places too.