MARVEL'S THUNDERBOLTS
The past decade has seen an alarming increase in the number of enhanced individuals who intentionally use their abilities in the commission of criminal and violent acts that threaten the safety of many U.S. citizens. However, there has also been an increase in the number of enhanced individuals who unintentionally pose a threat to the safety of themselves and others and desperately seek help regaining a sense of normalcy in their lives. To address these concerns, the President and the Secretary of State have initiated a U.N. approved, inter-agency program called Project: Reintegration which enlists specially trained enhanced individuals to help safely resolve high-risk situations and help garner goodwill between the so-called "super-powered" community and the general public. Spearheaded by retired Lieutenant General and current Secretary of State Thaddeus E. Ross, the first team to successfully run off-site missions for the program have been nicknamed "The Thunderbolts" in the media.
This is a relatively long read with lots of obscure references. Links provided where necessary. Hope you dig it!
Secretary of State Thaddeus E. Ross (General Thunderbolt Ross)
Actor - William Hurt
Personality - Stoic. Encouraging. Driven.
Enhanced Abilities - N/A
Character History - MCU Wiki
Secretary of State Ross is a former Lieutenant General of the United States Army and one of the principle architects of Project: Reintegration (aka The Thunderbolts program) - which was initially designed to fill the power vacuum left by the recent exit of many of the members of The Avengers following the implementation of the Sokovia Accords. While addressing a recent graduating class at The Citadel military college, General Ross spoke movingly about how beneficial serving his country has been to him and how important he believes second chances are. At the launch of Project: Reintegration, Ross drops in unannounced during the first staff meeting to personally thank everyone for the amount of hard work and energy that has been committed to getting the program up & running, then surprises many of the people on hand when he breaks security protocol in order to shake the hand of each of the Thunderbolts.
Brigadier General Glenn Talbot (Major Talbot)
Actor - Adrian Pasdar
Personality - Strong willed. By-the-book, Quick tempered.
Enhanced Abilities - N/A
Character History - MCU Wiki
General Talbot is a decorated officer in the United States Air Force, the current director of the ATCU, and a U.S. Ambassador for the Conference of Inhuman Affairs. In addition to overseeing and supervising the Project: Reintegration program, his office also manages internal security for all facilities used by the program, maintain the Implantable Dendrotoxin Devices that are to be used for incapacitating any team member in the event they he or she becomes compromised or goes rogue while in the field, and provides 24 hour surveillance of any team member that is appointed on a probational status.
Dr. Anne Weaver (Agent Weaver)
Actress - Christine Adams
Personality - Analytical. Observant. Astute. Perceptive.
Enhanced Abilities - N/A
Character History - MCU Wiki
Dr Weaver is a noted particle physicist and biologist, SHIELD academy professor, and a board member of the Special Counsel to the SHIELD Director. In addition to overseeing and supervising the Project: Reintegration program, her office also processes and contains any and all unstable and potentially dangerous items that are acquired by the team while on their assignments. Dr Weaver was also very instrumental in designing and constructing the acoustic-kinetic harness that allows Melissa Gold to better control her sound-energy constructs.
Senator Eugene K. Stivak (Sen. Kligger "Big Man" Stivak)
Actor - Rex Linn
Personality - Abrasive. Competitive. Efficient. Intimidating.
Enhanced Abilities - N/A
Character History - Marvel Wikia
Senator Stivak, is an attorney, a former lobbyist, a Republican senator, and the chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support. In addition to overseeing and supervising the Project: Reintegration program, his office also secures facilities, equipment, transport vehicles, and ancillary staff for the program. Stivak's staff also manages a large portion of the program's budget and serves as a "necessary evil" meant to minimize political opposition to the program.
Delroy Garrett Jr. (Triathlon)
Actor - Brian White
Personality - Skilled tactician. Decisive. Affirming. Observant. Natural problem solver. Easy to relate to. Occasionally too impulsive.
Enhanced Abilities - Superhuman speed. Superhuman strength. Elevated stamina. Superhuman senses and reflexes. Accelerated healing factor. Heightened resistance to sedatives and depressants.
Character History - Marvel Wikia
Garrett is an ATCU operative and team leader for The Thunderbolts who is enlisted in Project: Reintegration on a voluntary basis. He is a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corp who was court-martialed and discharged after severely assaulting the man that his fiance had been having an affair with - an attack which left the man severely injured and in a coma. Garrett worked as a private military contractor after his release and sustained serious injuries during a security assignment in Bogota, Colombia where an armed group attempted to kidnap his client, Dr. Jonathan Tremont - the CEO of Triune Pharmaceuticals. In gratitude for saving his life and the life of his family, Tremont handled all of Garrett's medical and personal expenses while he recovered from the attack, and offered him the opportunity to enter into a research trial that his company was holding for the treatment of nerve damage, neuropathy, and chronic pain. For unknown reasons, the drugs and the galvanic processes used during the trial did more than treat Garrett's symptoms, they also enhanced his strength, speed, agility, and sensory acuity to roughly three times that of peak human potential. However, two notable side effects have arisen since the treatment concluded. Garrett now suffers from relatively long periods of insomnia as well as infrequent episodes of brief but intense tremors.
Actress - Eliza Dushku
Personality - Tough. Protective. Intense. Devoted. Intuitive. Takes commitments very seriously. Stubborn. Does not take criticism well.
Enhanced Abilities - Can generate powerful sonic blasts, sonic force fields, and various other sound-energy constructs. Flight. Enhanced strength (with and without force field use). Voice-induced manipulation of others.
Character History - Marvel Wikia
Gold is an ATCU training specialist and asset handler for The Thunderbolts who is enlisted in Project: Reintegration on a voluntary basis. She is also a well-trained mixed martial artist and former professional fighter from Boston, Massachusetts who is skilled in a number of combat styles, including Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Traditional Boxing, and Jeet Kune Do. She ran away from the home of her abusive father shortly after her mother was sent to prison. Over time, she became a talented and rising fighter in the MMA community and was making in-roads to fight professionally in the Artemis Fight League. However, her career was derailed when she was arrested for felony assault. The so-called victim of Gold's attack was a man who had previously lost a large amount of money to her friend & roommate in a card game and brutally attacked and robbed the young woman after the game ended. Before an arrest could be made, Melissa tracked down the man on her own and was moments away from choking him to death when authorities arrived on the scene and made their arrests. After serving more than two years in jail for aggravated assault, Gold returned to her old gym in Boston, doing odd jobs for the owner and helping to train fighters whenever the opportunity arose. During the events of the Inhuman Outbreak, Melissa was accidentally exposed to some Terrigen contaminated health supplements and underwent the physical transformation called Terrigenesis. The transformation enhanced Gold's strength and allowed her to vocally generate powerful sonic blasts, force-fields, and solid sound energy constructs. For some time, Melissa was able to remain under the radar of most authorities, including SHIELD and the ATCU. However, Melissa eventually went to authorities seeking help when her powers became harder and harder to control and she unintentionally attacked a long time friend after waking up from a nightmare.
Anthony Masters (Taskmaster)
Actor -Anson Mount
Personality - Disciplined. Reserved. Quiet. Calm under pressure. Jack-of-all-trades. Difficult to read. Intimidating. May not work well in a team/group environment.
Enhanced Abilities - Possesses “photographic reflexes” which enables him to watch another person’s physical movements and duplicate them precisely without practice, no matter how complex. He is also able to quickly process and retain large amounts of information, an ability that has allowed him to become a savant in regards to firearms, melee weapons, automotives, aircrafts, and explosives.
Character History - Marvel Wikia
Masters is a SHIELD detainee and internationally wanted mercenary enlisted in Project: Reintegration on a tenuous probational basis at the request of Nick Fury. The former black ops agent's history is unclear, even to himself. However, it is known that he has crossed paths with agents on both sides of the law over the years, including such noteworthy operatives as Georges Batroc, Marcus "Blacklash" Scarlotti, Ted "Spymaster" Calloway, Grant Ward, Clint “Hawkeye” Barton, and even Steve “Captain America” Rogers - managing to evade death or capture on every occasion. While some suspect that the infamous soldier-of-fortune is actually a deep-cover SHIELD agent working covertly for former director Fury, his addition to the team proves to be a bitter pill to swallow for many of the military and intelligence officers that work for the program who view Masters as little more than an immoral and murderous hitman. His presence seems especially suspect considering the events that lead up to his capture. After apparently living as a civilian in rural Pennsylvania for almost a year, the high priority fugitive unceremoniously walked into a sheriff's office, told the deputy at the desk that he believes he is a wanted fugitive named Anthony Masters, and that he needed to speak to the "...beautiful SHIELD agent..." that had been serving him the same breakfast at a local diner for the past 8 months - a young woman who suddenly disappeared after breaking her cover during their first date. When asked directly by team leader Delroy Garrett what he was really doing on the team, Masters simply stated that he was trying to find out who he is and if he's really as terrible as everyone seems to think he is. Due to his probationary status, Masters is only authorized to use nonlethal force on assignment.
Dr. Karla Sofen (Moonstone)
Actor -Laura Vandervoort
Personality - Self-confident. Intelligent. Direct. Unafraid. Manipulative. Antagonistic. Confrontational. Possibly unbalanced.
Enhanced Abilities - Able to manipulate the Kree gravity stone bonded to her central nervous system in a variety of ways, including (but not limited to) : the ability to create laser-like force blasts, generate superhuman strength, take flight, manipulate the gravity of objects, become intangible, and discharge blinding flashes of light from her eyes.
Character History - Marvel Wikia
Dr. Sofen is a former occupational psychiatrist for the StatiCorp corporation and a current SHIELD detainee who is enlisted in Project: Reintegration on a probational basis. Sofen worked closely with a team of scientists who were tasked with quietly continuing the research started by a Utah-based StatiCorp lab that was destroyed when it inadvertently created an inter dimensional portal. During her regular staff screenings, Dr Sofen noted that one of the researchers had become increasingly preoccupied with an item that he informally referred to as "The Moonstone" - hinting that it was an artifact retrieved from a newly produced portal within the lab. Some time after the young researcher stopped showing up for his screenings, he accosted Sofen outside of her home. After admitting that he stole the artifact from the lab, he began acting extremely erratic and claimed that the stone had somehow become a part of him. After several uneasy hours of being held captive by the young man, a disastrous arrest attempt was made by the local police, which lead to the researcher becoming completely unhinged and attacking several officers with previously unknown supernatural abilities. However, after pursuing and cornering Karla in an alley, the “Moonstone” abruptly phased out of the attacker's body (an act which left him comatose) and quickly fused itself to the psychiatrist's nervous system. Shortly after the transfer, Sofen single-handedly and completely destroyed the StatiCorp site where she worked - including the the new inter dimensional portal that the Moonstone was retrieved from - for reasons that have never been fully explained. Karla only surrendered to SHIELD officials when an overwhelming sense of empathy for the many injured and frightened victims of her attack caused her to power down. Recently, the Asgardian Elliot Randolph revealed that the “Moonstone” artifact is actually a piece of Kree technology that was designed to interact with a race of beings known for their resolute mental strength and incredible will power and that this unprecedented connection with Sofen appears to be having a new and extraordinary effect on both the stone and its host.
Raymond "Ray" Bloch (Ox)
Actor -Randy Orton
Positive Personality Traits - Tough. Resourceful. Adaptable. Practical. Outgoing. Amoral. Blunt. Ignores the long-term impact of his behavior.
Enhanced Abilities - Superhuman strength and invulnerability which increase exponentially with rising levels of adrenaline and other unidentified hormones in his system.
Character History -Marvel Wikia
Bloch is a former "personal protection specialist", security consultant, and a suspected "fixer" for the Roxxon-Blackridge security firm who is enlisted in Project:Reintegration on a probational basis at the request of SHIELD agent Tomas Calderon - who is currently investigating Roxxon Energy. Raymond has been implicated (but never convicted) in a number of murder and corruption cases going back at least 12 years. After the murder of his twin brother Ronald "Ronnie" Bloch, as ordered by Maggia underboss Carmen Nobili, Raymond cut all ties to his life in New Jersey and began working for Roxxon-Blackridge on the glowing endorsement of Roxxon Vice President and General Counsel Karl Stragg. During his employment, Bloch was sent to "clean up" a crime scene where one of Roxxon's top priority engineers - a gifted young lady named Cindy Shelton - had surprised and accidentally killed an intruder that was later identified as a SHIELD agent named Latcham. After successfully "fixing" the problem and reporting that the apparently rogue agent had been remotely accessing Shelton's work station via a home laptop, Bloch was assigned as her "personal protection specialist" while the firm investigated. Over time, Raymond and Cindy grew closer and eventually became more than coworkers. At some point after their relationship began, Shelton discovered that one of the scientists overseeing her research was a former HYDRA agent named Ava Lingenfelter and that she was conducting illegal experiments on human subjects on behalf of Roxxon Energy. Afraid of what to do with the information, Cindy brought it to Raymond's attention and the two decided to go underground while they tried to figure out their next move. While on the run, Cindy confessed to Bloch that she made her discoveries about Lingenfelter while trying to find out more about Ray - uncovering the fact that Roxxon had done research on Bloch's as well and discovered that his family's genealogy had been permanently altered by an Asgardian device called "The Berserker Staff". Though the pair were able to disappear for a short while, eventually a team of Roxxon-Blackridge agents caught up to them. Unleashing the "blood lust" that many members of his family had struggled with for generations, Raymond was able to single-handedly lay waste to 12 agents, becoming stronger, faster, and more resistant to injury as his rage grew. Unfortunately an enhanced operative called Bloodstrike entered the battle and used his ability to absorb and redirect kinetic energy to quickly subdue Raymond and brutally murder Cindy. The remaining strike team members quickly removed all incriminating evidence against Roxxon, and framed Bloch for Cindy's murder (as Lingenfelter and other Roxxon executives opted not have him killed as they felt he may prove useful in the future). Bloch was tried, imprisoned, and sent to a supermax detention center soon afterwards.
Paul Norbert Ebersol (Fixer)
Actor -Bob Morley
Personality - Imaginative. Intelligent. Creative. Idealistic. Undisciplined. Easily bored. Overly defensive.
Enhanced Abilities - Has had portions of his body cybernetically enhanced to allow for interaction with the cyber-organic software used exclusively by the Transhumanists group. Uses an advanced biomechanical backpack connected to a pair of forearm gauntlets which house many offensive (right arm) and defensive (left arm) capabilities - including sonic blast weapons, thermal plasma weapons, force blast weapons, electrical arc weapons, and energy shields.
Character History - Marvel Wikia
Ebersol is an untrained technological genius, Transhumanist, illegal arms dealer, and Department of Defense detainee that is enlisted in Project:Reintegration on a probational basis. Paul (or “Bert” as he prefers to be called) was a child prodigy with an almost supernatural understanding of technology and mechanical devices - a talent that enable him to deconstruct and enhance devices into new and seemingly unimaginable creations with widely available parts and electronics. Finishing most of his formal education at a relatively young age, Ebersol quickly became bored with his college studies and dropped out early on to become a noted member of the underground Transhumanist movement. His affiliation with the group and budding career as a dealer in advanced “one of a kind” weapons gave his access to much of the classified and tightly regulated technology developed by companies such as Stark Industries, Hammer Industries, Cybertek, Roxxon Energy, Transia Corp, and more. As a result, Bert was able to build a device he called "The Tech-Pack" which used a combination of Transia Corp’s nerve wiring interface, Transhumanist software, and various hardware to create a harness and duel gauntlet exoskeleton that held a wide variety of defensive and offensive capabilities. While attempting to gain a viable piece of tech from the Svartalfarian ship that was destroyed during The Battle of Greenwich, Ebersol was arrested by U.S. authorities and covertly held by the Department of Defense at an undisclosed location. While his time spent in the custody of the DOD is classified, it has been revealed that Bert has designed many “fixes” for military personnel requiring affordable, low-maintenance prosthetic devices after suffering injuries on the battlefield. After learning about Project:Reintegration, from his Dept of Defense handler Ebersol aggressively campaigned to be enlisted in the program - stating that he hoped to make amends for all the death and destruction that his weapons and arms dealing had caused.
Production Company - Left Bank Pictures (i.e. Strike Back, The Crown, Outlander)
Opening Theme - "PSA (instrumental)" by Jay-Z ( prod. by Just Blaze) (LISTEN)