Synopsis / Summary / Plot
The Thunderbolts are out there capturing unregistered supervillains. Atlas, Smuggler and Songbird take down Mongoose. The 3 Beetles have been inducted and are working with Mach-IV to bring in Eel and Porcupine. And Quicksand, the other villain caught last issue, is with Blizzard, Fixer and Joystick against the U-Foes (despite the fact that 1 of them, X-Ray, was shown already captured last issue).
Their progress is monitored by Dallas Riordan and Henry Peter Gyrich of the Commission on Superhuman Activity, who are now presenting Operation: Justice Like Lightning to the Joint Chiefs and the Intelligence Community. The live satellite feed of the battles shows how the ex-villains are taking care not to harm the public. The new inductees have been fitted with Subdermal Phase-Shift Locators which will teleport them to jail if they misbehave.
The idea is that the Thunderbolts will be expanded into a permanent army of ex-villains. For those who won't submit to this regime, a new prison is being built. Dallas shows the audience Thunderbolt Radioactive Man working with Mr Fantastic and Yellowjacket to create it. Their work is being recorded in case anything goes wrong - someone else can learn from their mistakes.
We now see Zemo visiting that workplace. They are making use of his Static Spatial Fold technology (that I guess is part of what makes the Thunderbolts' Folding Castle base work). Henry Pym is more gung-ho about the project than Reed Richards (but then he is an unrevealed Skrull replacement), but he's suspicious of Zemo's motives. Baron Z counters by pointing out that Pym isn't beyond reproach - he blackmailed the Thunderbolts into attacking the Avengers for CSA purposes (#94-95 - he was a Skrull then too).
Zemo returns to the Folding Castle (through a portal he generates using the Moonstones) where Mongoose has been told about O:JLL (and also about the 50 State Initiative). The captive villain agrees to join, and Zemo sends him with Atlas and Smuggler to Swordsman for training.
Zemo reviews his grand plan with his confidante Songbird. They intend to build a supervillain army to fight Grandmaster and the Squadron Sinister in the near future. He also promises Melissa they will have a special ally when the time comes.
The other 2 teams return with their catches, who also agree to join the army.
We now look in on the last Thunderbolt Swordsman, whose job it is to train all these new recruits in the New Mexico desert. He's currently dealing with King Cobra, Ox and Unicorn. Watching are Ox-s fellow-Enforcer Snake Marston and Cobra's fellow Serpent Society members Bushmaster and Rattler. Then Andreas Strucker is challenged by 2 new users of the names Blacklash (male) and Whiplash (female), who it seems were S&M buddies from his dissolute days.
The reunion is interrupted by the arrival by space-fold of Zemo and some of the team (including for some reason Radioactive Man). And our view expands to encompass loads more villains at the training centre. Including Dr Octopus who is very sceptical about the long-term benefits of the deal. But Zemo leaves again to deal with that very question.
His destination is a meeting with Captain America and other Resistors Falcon and Hercules. He says that when they're captured by the government's forces, he will be able to free them. And he hints at a way of becoming heroes again in the eyes of the public.