Well it’s been an interesting run for the new set of Thunderbolts so far. Over the past 12 months Red Hulk has put together a team that consists of himself, The Punisher, Venom, Elektra, Deadpool and Red Leader. His team basically is the equivalent of Wolverine’s little X-Force team doing black ops work that no one should know about.
While Wolverine’s team was dealing with some big baddy’s, for the most part, Red Hulk’s team is taking down terrorists. In the last couple of issues we found out that Orestez Natchios, Elektra’s brother, was acting as a revolutionary trying to expose multiple national secrets and because of his sister, the Thunderbolts were one of his targets.
Things didn’t go well for him though and the issue ended with Elektra telling Frank Castle (The Punisher) that she had taken him out and it would no longer be a problem.
Frank isn’t exactly someone you lie to as he has a way to figure things out. Sure Frank and Elektra may have ended up as a couple, but that doesn’t change who he is at the core of his being. He’s The Punisher. Elektra’s brother is a murderer. There really is only one true solution for him here.
The majority of the issue follows Frank as he is tracking down Orestez. In typical Punisher sytle, he slowly moves his way through Orestez’s accomplices and guards to take the big man down himself. The interesting part? How he interacted wit Elektra at the end of the issue.
The one couple to have arisen within the pages of Thunderbolts is one of the least likely with the history between the two. However it has been working. At least, it has so far. What is going to happen now that he knows she lied to him and basically committed a criminal act in the process? Double standards and The Punisher technically fit together as he is himself a murderer. Can he make an exception for the woman he’s falling in love with or will this end with Elektra dead? Again.
This entire issue could easily be told by opening the pages of any Punisher comic so if you are looking for the team dynamic here and aren’t a fan of how Frank takes care of business this one won’t be for you.
If you ARE a fan of The Punisher this one is going to help fill the void in his lack of appearance in print as of late and you are going to eagerly read and re-read this one. I’m not sure if this was just a bookend to the last story arc before they launch into something new or if we are about to see a few issues that each focus on just 1-2 characters, either way I loved this read! Now to find out how this will affect the dynamic for both Frank and Elektra and what it will mean for this already unstable team on the whole.
