New Thunderbolts #15-16

[BobMM]

NEW THUNDERBOLTS #15-16 form a two-issue arc that appears to take place over a few hours on a single day.

NEW THUNDERBOLTS #15 (January 2006) - Alternatively numbered THUNDERBOLTS #96

"Does Anyone Remember the Squadron Sinister?"
Writer: Fabien Niceza; Penciler: Rick Leonardi

Appearances:

Atlas
Jim Sanders (as the Whizzer)
Joystick
Photon (Genis-Vell)
Songbird
Radioactive Man

MACH IV
Fixer
Blizzard

Nighthawk
Dallas Riordan
Alice Nugent
Martha Gomes
unidentified CSA lab assistants
unidentified Richmond Enterprises guards
unidentified Richmond Enterprises security tech
unidentified Chinese Consulate technician

Notes:

* Reveals that the female Dr. Spectrum who appeared in TB2 12 and 13 is Martha Gomes.

* The new Dr. Spectrum who debuts on the last page will shortly be revealed to be Alice Nugent.

* Narration tells us that "Speed Demon has been stealing money...He had funneled much of that money into an account to keep the Thunderbolts operational...But when Songbird took over the team, Sanders never told her..."

* Narration confirms that Photon believes he did not weave the energy cocoon that saved him after Atlas beat him up in TB2 1. "But he didn't weave it...who did?" (The answer is Helmut Zemo, but that is not revealed here.)

* Although narration refers to him as Speed Demon, Sanders only appears in his Whizzer costume.

Summary:

At CSA headquarters in Washington DC, Dr. Alice Nugent examines the female Dr. Spectrum caught by the Thunderbolts in TB2 13. An aide reveals that Dr. Spectrum is Martha Gomes, "divorced factory worker from Des Moines."

Two levels down, in the Communications Archives, Dallas Riordan show Eriks how Conrad Josten died [from TB 56, although the context of the image is not clear -- maybe a computer silumation?].Something shakes the building. (Unstated here, it is a manifestation of the power prism taking Alice Nugent as its new host.)

Long Island, Richmond Enterprises Division of Accounts Transactions: Four unnamed guards unload sacks from an armored car. The Whizzer swipes the bags. He considers sharing it with the team as he returns to Thunderbolts HQ, where he flirts with Joystick. In an adjoining room, Photon ponders his metamorphosis.

Back at Richmond Enterprises, an unnamed security tech shows Kyle Richmond video tapes that reveal Whizzer as the thief.

Manhattan: Songbird and Abe have lunch. Songbird invites Abe back to the team, but he declines and they go their separate ways. Abe heads for a warehouse where Fixer has developed an improved ice suit for Blizzard.

Nighthawk flies over Thunderbolts HQ, where Photon and Speed Demon banter in the kitchen.

At the Chinese Consulate, Radioactive Man steps from a chamber after purging his excess radiation. A technician hands him his street clothes.

At Thunderbolts HQ, Nighthawk scuffles with the team scuffle, then Nighthawk tells the team about Sanders' theft. Suddenly, Erik calls from CSA HQ over video link. He reports that "Dr. Spectrum's power prism reactivated itself -- it took on a new host". On queue, Dr. Spectrum and Hyperion break in through the ceiling.

To Be Continued!

Flashbacks:

Smuggler battles Graviton from TB 56; no new information.

Sanders recalls his battle with Spider-Man (TB2 13-14); no new information.

---

NEW THUNDERBOLTS #16 (February 2006) - Alternatively numbered THUNDERBOLTS #16

"Supreme Power!"
Writer: Fabien Nicieza; Penciler: Rick Leonardi

Appearances:
Jim Sanders (as both the Whizzer and Speed Demon)
Songbird
Joystick
Photon (Genis-Vell)
Radioactive Man
Atlas

Nighthawk
Swordsman

Hyperion
Dr. Spectrum (Alice Nugent)
Grandmaster

Henrique Gallante (Asylum II)

Notes:

* The first mention that Alice Nugent is the new Dr. Spectrum is on the recap page. There is no reveal within the story proper; Nighthawk just starts refering to the (unmasked) Spectrum as "Dr. Nugent."

* Nugent explains that, while the Grandmaster gave the original Squadron Sinister their powers, "he didn't create those abilities -- he drew from an existing Wellspring of Power." Implicitly he has empowered the new power prism the same way.

* The new Hyperion explains that he was "the elected leader of a world in the...Microverse. The repeated incursions into our dimension by the alien known as Genis-Vell...disrupted my planet's axis," causing his world to explode.

* Swordsman declares "A transport carrier just took off..." and wonders if his father is aboard. It will later be revealed that his father is Wolfgang von Strucker, but it is never specifically confirmed that he is on this particularly transport.

Summary:

Picking up where TB2 15 left off, The Thunderbolts lock horns with Dr. Spectrum and Hyperion. Nighthawk immediately sides with the 'Bolts, but Speed Demon chooses to join the team that now calls itself "Supreme Power." Supreme Power flees, abducting Nighthawk.

Nugent Technologies, Old Tappan, New Jersey: Spectrum explains to Whizzer and Nighthawk that their abilities stem from the Wellspring of Power. She invites Nighthawk to join them in assembling a super powered army to save the world.

Wiley Institute for Debilitative Mental Health, the Bronx: MACH IV, Blizzard and Fixer find an inmate named Henrique Gallante (Asylum), who is a human portal to the Darkforce dimension.

Back at Nugent Tech, Whizzer switches to his Speed Demon duds as he and Nighthawk try to escape. The Thunderbolts arrive, but before anything can be resolved, Spectrum and Hyperion vanish. Songbird fires Sanders for stealing Nighthawk's money -- then invites Nighthawk to join.

Epilogue one, Tunisia: The Swordsman tears through a Hydra facility.

Epilogue two, Manhattan: Jim Sanders, again costumed as the Whizzer, comes to Alice Nugent's apartment where he encounters Dr. Spectrum, Hyperion and the Grandmaster.