The cover for Thunderbolts: Doomstrike #3 promises a matchup between Bucky Barnes’ covert team of Thunderbolts, and the original Thunderbolts that were formed under Baron Zemo. While the creative team of Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, and Tommaso Bianchi do deliver that matchup, they do deliver a few surprises in the process. There’s also some very high stakes at play: having discovered that Doctor Doom is utilizing vibranium in his weapons, Bucky travels to Wakanda to cut off Doom’s source, drawing upon the help of the Midnight Angels in the process.
This leads to the battle with the original Thunderbolts, led by Citizen V, aka Valentina de Fontaine. This new team also has Mach-Doom, who Thunderbolts fans might recognize as Abner Jenkins, the love interest of Songbird. It’s here that Lanzing and Kelly deliver an emotional upset, and I’m not just talking about the fact that Abner has willingly thrown in with Doom. In fact, Doomstrike #3 ends on a down note as Bucky’s Thunderbolts have to make some hard choices. It’s this approach that’s made Doomstrike one of the more interesting One World Under Doom tie-in; Jackson and Lanzing aren’t afraid to have their characters lose.
That doesn’t mean Bucky’s team is just going to roll over and take the loss. They fight to the bitter end, and it results in some action packed moments under Bianchi’s pen. Atlas has them overpowered with raw strength and size? The Midnight Angels hit him hard and fast. Moonstone outranks Sharon Carter in raw power? Sharon keeps her on the ropes. Songbird is pushed to her emotional limits? She lets out a wave of sonic energy that sends everyone flying.
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Bucky takes the worst of it. Throughout this issue, his arm is destroyed, he’s stabbed, and he takes a massive fall. Bianchi depicts this in a glorious two-page spread, jumping between Bucky’s battle with Valentina and the other Thunderbolts’ struggles. It’s only eclipsed by the arrival of the original Thunderbolts, which has a literally striking effect due to Yen Nitro’s color work: emerald green lightning slams into the ground, leading to the big reveal. Bianchi’s artwork also communicates emotion through Bucky’s eyes, which go wide in shock when he learns of a potential catastrophe being shrouded in shadows when faced with a hard choice.
But even though Thunderbolts: Doomstrike #3 does end on a dark note, Lanzing and Kelly offer a glimmer of hope at the end. It’s growing to be a theme with the two; nearly every comic they’ve written from their Star Trek run to the severely underrated Outsiders has pushed its cast to the brink. But that’s also led to some good character work from the pair, and I feel that Doomstrike will bring the same energy – especially with the struggle it’s been putting Bucky through.
Thunderbolts: Doomstrike #3 doesn’t just pit Thunderbolt against Thunderbolt, but hits the series’ darkest point as Bucky Barnes is once again pushed to the limit. Next issue will see him come face to face with Doom once again, and hopefully the creative team has his salvation in hand.
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