Thunderbolts #104
Thunderbolts #104 is the second chapter of the 'Taking Civil Liberties' arc and one of the densest Civil War tie-in issues Marvel published in 2006, presenting the fullest single-issue snapshot of the 'Thunderbolts Army' concept — Baron Zemo's radical expansion of the team into a mass-conscription enforcement force operating under the Superhuman Registration Act. The issue is notable for introducing two new legacy characters simultaneously: a new male Blacklash and a new female Whiplash, both assuming the identities of previously deceased villains, marking a rare moment where Marvel quietly passed two torch-and-mantle transitions in a single issue. Nicieza also uses the story to plant the seeds of Zemo's hidden agenda — publicly recruiting super-powered criminals for Iron Man's registration drive while privately plotting against the Grandmaster — a duplicity that would define the T-Bolts narrative until the series' post-Civil War creative handoff to Warren Ellis. The sheer breadth of the issue's cast, pulling in the U-Foes, the Serpent Society's alumni, and other deep-catalog villains, stands as one of the most ambitious villain-team assembly sequences in Marvel's modern era.
In "Taking Civil Liberties [Part 2]," the Thunderbolts press forward with their controversial mission under the Registration Act, tracking down supervillains with ambiguous motives. With Zemo's true intentions veiled beneath the guise of reform, the team's next move could reshape the balance of power—though not necessarily for the better. Written by Fabian Nicieza and illustrated by Tom Grummett, with inks by Gary Erskine and colors by Sotocolor's J. Brown, the issue's cover by Tom Grummett and Gary Erskine captures the tension of a team walking a razor's edge.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Writer Fabian Nicieza and penciller Tom Grummett had been the core creative partnership on the Thunderbolts since the New Thunderbolts relaunch in 2004, and issue #104 fell squarely within the collaborative run they carried into the renumbered series at #100. The issue was edited by Molly Lazer and Tom Brevoort under editor-in-chief Joe Quesada, and went to a second printing — with a new cover showing a large group of villains charging forward — reflecting strong reader demand during the height of the Civil War crossover. The story was subsequently collected in the Civil War: Thunderbolts trade paperback (ISBN 0785119477), which gathered issues #101–105.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Written by Fabian Nicieza with pencils, inks, and cover art by Tom Grummett; inked by Gary Erskine; lettered by Richard Starkings; cover date September 2006, released July 12, 2006.
- Part 2 of the 'Taking Civil Liberties' arc, a tie-in to Marvel's Civil War event (issues #103–105 constitute the tie-in block).
- Features the first appearances of a new Blacklash (male) and a new Whiplash (female), both explicitly noted in-story by the Swordsman as individuals who chose to 'assume the identity of a dead villain.'
- Baron Zemo's secret dual agenda is developed: publicly, he is expanding the Thunderbolts Army to enforce the Superhuman Registration Act on behalf of Iron Man; privately, he is using the chaos to recruit pawns against the Grandmaster.
- Depicts the training of the massively expanded Thunderbolts Army at a desert-flats quadrant in New Mexico, featuring a remarkable assemblage of third- and fourth-tier Marvel villains including the U-Foes, Serpent Society members, Boomerang, Vermin, Porcupine, Eel, and many more.
- Henry Peter Gyrich and Dallas Riordan appear in a presentation of 'Operation: Justice Like Lightning' to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, situating the Thunderbolts' activities within the formal government bureaucracy of the Civil War era.
- The issue received a second printing, with a distinct cover image, due to elevated demand during the Civil War crossover period.
- Collected in the Civil War: Thunderbolts trade paperback (collecting #101–105) and also in the Civil War: Heroes for Hire/Thunderbolts collection alongside the relaunched Heroes for Hire series.
Cast · 40 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Civil War: Thunderbolts Swimming with Sharks #[nn] (2006), Civil War: Thunderbolts #[nn] (2007), Civil War: The Underside #[nn] (2010), Civil War #8 (2016), Civil War: Heroes for Hire / Thunderbolts #[nn] (2016), Thunderbolts Omnibus #3 (2023), Thunderbolts: Dark Reign Omnibus #[nn] (2026)
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