Marvel is bringing back its classic '90s super team the Thunderbolts for a new series tying into the publisher's upcoming Venom-centric event King in Black, which brings Knull, the evil god of the symbiotes, to Earth.
The three-part limited series, announced through SyFy Wire, will be written by Matthew Rosenberg, with art from Juan Ferreyra, and will bring together a new team with a new concept.
The Thunderbolts were created by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley in the late '90s, while Marvel's core heroes in the Avengers and Fantastic Four were believed dead. The original team, led by Baron Zemo, were secretly his Masters of Evil in disguise as heroes in order to gain the public's trust before enacting Zemo's evil scheme – a ruse that eventually led some of them to turn on him and actually become heroes.
Over the years the Thunderbolts have evolved a few times, from a Suicide Squad black-ops team led by Norman Osborn, to a rehabilitation program for villains looking to reform led by Luke Cage.
The latest incarnation of the team will follow a slightly different path – they'll be organized by Mayor Wilson Fisk, AKA the Kingpin, to protect New York from Knull's symbiote invasion. As with former line-ups, the team will consist of villains and anti-heroes, including Rhino, Taskmaster, Mr. Fear, Star, Batroc the Leaper, and more.
"Thunderbolts is one of the best concepts Marvel has ever produced. It's a book that constantly reinvents itself in fun ways and it's a real honor to carry on that tradition," Rosenberg tells SyFy Wire. "I think we have a really wild premise and unique team, and letting them cut loose during the epic events of King in Black is going to be a really fun trial by fire for them."
King in Black begins in December. King in Black: Thunderbolts #1 is due out in January.
King in Black is a wide-reaching crossover with numerous tie-ins. Here's everything you need to know going in about King in Black.
