Thunderbolts #19
Thunderbolts #19 (October 1998) is the first appearance of Charcoal (Charlie Burlingame), a carbon-transforming teenager who debuted as an antagonist controlled by Arnim Zola before defecting to eventually join the team — making him one of the few Marvel characters whose villain-to-hero arc truly stuck. The issue also marks the conclusion of the series' second major story arc, with the Thunderbolts — still a team of secretly villainous Masters of Evil operating as heroes — fighting to save the small Colorado town of Burton Canyon against a Masters of Evil assault, all while their own public standing erodes without Jolt's presence. Charcoal's origin is itself a piece of comics-industry history: he was the winning creation from a 'Create-A-Villain' contest jointly run by Marvel and Wizard Magazine, making his debut here a genuinely fan-produced addition to the Marvel Universe. The subsequent legal dispute over copyright ownership of the character — Wizard failed to lock down clear IP terms — ultimately led to Charcoal being permanently killed off in Thunderbolts #56 with no resurrection, an exceedingly rare fate in superhero comics.
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The issue was written by Kurt Busiek and penciled by Mark Bagley, the core creative team who launched the Thunderbolts concept in 1997 under editor Tom Brevoort (with Bob Harras serving as Marvel's editor-in-chief). Inking was provided by Scott Hanna, with colors by Joe Rosas and letters by Richard Starkings. Charcoal's design was submitted by fans through Wizard Magazine's contest and was adapted for the page by Busiek and Bagley; the character's alter-ego name, Charlie Burlingame, is credited to contest winner Timothy Luke Foote. The issue falls squarely within Busiek's celebrated original run, which ran through issue #33 and is now collected across multiple Epic Collection and Omnibus editions by Marvel.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Charcoal (Charlie Burlingame), a teenager who can transform his body into dense carbon and shift between charcoal, coal, and diamond forms.
- Charcoal was the winning character from a 'Create-A-Villain' contest co-sponsored by Marvel Comics and Wizard Magazine; his alter-ego was created by Timothy Luke Foote.
- The issue is the conclusion of the Thunderbolts' second major story arc, set in Burton Canyon, Colorado, featuring the team under siege by the Masters of Evil (Cyclone, Flying Tiger, Klaw, Man-Killer, Tiger Shark).
- Also marks the first appearance of the Imperial Force (of America), the extremist organization that Charcoal's father Calvin Burlingame belonged to and through which Arnim Zola facilitated Charlie's transformation.
- Written by Kurt Busiek with art by Mark Bagley (pencils) and Scott Hanna (inks); cover date October 1998, released during Week 34 of that year.
- The Thunderbolts lineup in this issue includes Moonstone (Karla Sofen), Mach-1 (Abe Jenkins), Songbird (Melissa Gold), Atlas (Erik Josten), and Jolt (Hallie Takahama).
- Charcoal went on to appear in Thunderbolts from issues #19 through #56 before being killed by Graviton; due to unresolved copyright disputes, writer Fabian Nicieza was told by Marvel the character was not worth reviving, making his death permanent in Marvel canon.
- The issue is collected in Thunderbolts Classic Vol. 3, Thunderbolts Epic Collection Vol. 2: Wanted Dead or Alive (2024), and the Thunderbolts Omnibus Vol. 1 (2021).
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Reprints
Reprinted in Marvel Select #21 (1999), Marvel Special #24 (2000), Thunderbolts Classic #3 (2012), Thunderbolts Omnibus #1 (2021), Thunderbolts Epic Collection #2 (2024)
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