Thunderbolts Doomstrike #5: A Strong Finish

Bucky is free and the Thunderbolts are united in one last stand against Doom’s Fulger Victoris. Thunderbolts Doomstrike #5 catches up with the team as they try to fight their way to freedom. In the process, Bucky says the three biggest words he ever could to Nataasha. And when all is said and done, the Thunderbolts might be setting a match to a powder keg Doom hasn’t seen coming.

Most of Thunderbolts Doomstrike #5 is a running fight as Bucky is rescued and the team escapes Castle Doomstadt. This aspect of the plot is rather anticlimactic. The setting and circumstances scream for the team to contribute in some large way to a blow against Doom, but the nature of One World Under Doom doesn’t permit that. Even so, it works well enough as the resolution to the series’ main plot and successfully leads into a strong coda that succeeds thematically with what Thunderbolts Doomstrike set out to accomplish.

A particularly bright spot in Thunderbolts Doomstrike #5 is Bucky’s character advancement and the developing relationship between him and Nat. While the series is grand in scope, it revolves heavily around Bucky as a character. The final issue doesn’t forget that in the name of action expediency. Indeed, the characters’ final interaction in the issue’s closing pages is a highlight.

Lanzing and Kelly again seek to tie One World Under Doom’s concept to the reality of World War II. Thunderbolts Doomstrike #5 is their least clumsy attempt yet, largely relegating it to a final speech near the end of the issue. What works better than that is the more general ideas the writers weave into the issue’s latter half. They start with a familiar idea, that of standing up and saying “no” to something that is wrong despite it being difficult when everyone else is saying “yes” out of expediency. This sort of speech always sounds good, and because it is always written for one of the heroes, readers can assume that saying “no” is the objectively correct choice.

The exchange that follows this speech, though, is where Lanzing and Kelly find a level of nuance that the series has been missing. They include a small bit of dialogue pointing out that Doom is overwhelmingly popular and from that point of view, opposing him could be seen as terrorism. Thunderbolts Doomstrike #5 doesn’t seek to legitimize authoritarianism as a concept or Doom’s in-universe actions, but it does invite the reader to think about larger issues. And by giving the dialogue to Steve Rogers, Lanzing and Kelly legitimize the idea behind his point that “right” isn’t necessarily black and white. It’s a deft bit of writing that has eluded most of the series’ attempts to weave larger ideas into the series’ plot.

Bianchi delivers fun action panels again, but as was the case throughout the series, these individual moments don’t cohere into a particularly exciting action sequence. Much of that owes to how the larger fight is often depicted in encounters between two to four characters against a monochrome background. These moments feel like they exist in isolation as opposed to part of a bigger fight. Despite the possibilities offered by the Castle Doomstadt setting (and Bianchi depicts it with very compelling details in other instances), this action sequence doesn’t feel terribly different from other such sequences in the series.

Sabino’s sound effects work does add extra heft to some action panels. A combination of text orientation and color fully integrates the sound effects into the action and makes those specific moments stand out.

More successful is Bianchi’s work in closeups on characters–especially characters’ faces. Fine lines combine to create effective shading and definition. Bianchi’s work coheres well with Nitro’s subtle variation in color tones to give characters dimension and extra heft in the more emotional moments. This is of particular note late in Thunderbolts Doomstrike #5 with respect to Fixer who steals the show for a few pages.

Art and color collaboration also stands out in large scale moments such as the final escape from Castle Doomstadt and the issue’s chaotic final page. Bianchi’s linework showcases varying levels of thickness, at times sharp and other times more chaotic. This creates significant dimension that Nitro further enhances with different tones of color layered together.