Blah blah blah. Continuing Thunderbolts-themed blogs. Here's 5 characters who are better choices for any Thunderbolts team than those big name losers that worthless writer Daniel Way thinks people want to read about and idiots do read about because the misleading covers look "badass".

5. Tiger Shark

I can't profess to know all that much about Tiger Shark. All I've really read of him has cast him in interchangeable generic villain roles but I've always seen him as having enormous potential as a Thunderbolt. As a former Master of Evil, a badass tank with huge teeth and apparently once in an Aquatic-based superhero team, Tiger Shark is a character who I just think would work on the Thunderbolts the same way characters like Radioactive Man, Boomerang or Atlas have worked. In fact, he's worked alongside almost every one of those characters.

4. Constrictor

Once upon a time there was a comic book called The Initiative. It was really good. It starred an enormous ensemble cast of C-listers as they became superheroes, or in some cases didn't, and one of the runaway stars was without a doubt Constrictor. He had registered and was pursuing a more honest career as a hero at the behest of Nighthawk, driven initially by a desire for glory and then a need to impress his girlfriend but along the way he seemed happy in the role. It just really worked. The Initiative was cancelled and now Constrictor is back to being a background villain rarely even given lines. I can think of something better for him to do...

3. Daken

Marvel wanted us to love Daken. They give Wolverine's mopey son an enormous push and then when they found out he couldn't hold his own book, they decided to kill him. And then let Rick Remender bring him back again to kill him again because Rick Remender likes to think he can do everything better than everyone else. This is how Marvel treats characters they don't know what to do with. Better solution? Thunderbolts. As his solo book showed time and time again, Daken is a loathsome guy but he can and will do some good when he deems it necessary. He'd likely be the guy who hates his team-mates and is likewise hated by them, but would in a rare 5% of the time moment show some good. I'm sure working with them would be more appealing to him than being drowned in a puddle anyway.

2. Sandman

I'm fed up of mentioning Sandman in blogs. Sandman was one of the "first Thunderbolts". He was maybe even the first major Marvel villain to truly reform 100%. We all know he became an Avenger for a while but then John Byrne and Howard Mackie were given the reins to Spider-Man books and set everything back to the status quo. Sandman was brain-washed into being a villain again and revealed as Norman Osborn's cousin because they had the same hair. Both those are true facts. The character is now without character and just a dumb brute with constantly understated powers. God knows why someone hasn't come along and said "This is ridiculous, this character's motivation is he's brain-washed", undone it and then put him on the premier team of reform.

1. Diamondback

If you like Sharon Carter over Diamondback, you are a broken person. Diamondback is a character unlike Sharon Carter because she has character. She's another character who fits the criteria of being a Thunderbolt-before-it-was-a-thing. She's stayed on the straight and narrow but has a tough time staying relevant since one of Marvel's top editors dislikes the character and the hack of a former Captain America "visionary" says he hates anything from Gruenwald's run because he didn't want people to notice all he did was rip it off and personally called me stupid for liking characters with "lame names". Diamondback was, in fact, planned to be on New Thunderbolts until a certain idiot abused his power as editor to stop it from ever happening and presumably the role fell to Joystick instead which obviously evolved into a very different direction. But, yes, Diamondback should be a Thunderbolt, be best friends with Songbird and they should share hair dye and not only appear in comics so hack writers can put her in a coma to please their incompetent fat editors.

You lost all credibility when you called Brubaker a hack. But overall I like the choices except Daken...I really dislike Daken...good riddance!

@X35: Who's the team leader?Didn't know the thing about Sandman and Norman's hair, must be the waves.

@evilvegeta74: Well, Songbird obviously. xP

(this isn't a team, it's just 4 guys and a girl who i think fit the thunderbolts incalculable amounts more than the punisher or elektra or the chick who makes people kill themselves for a laugh)

@TheAcidSkull said:

@Night Thrasher said:

You lost all credibility when you called Brubaker a hack. But overall I like the choices except Daken...I really dislike Daken...good riddance!

a good writer can write every character, not just the ones he likes.

A good writer is a good writer...If a writer chooses not to write a particular character because of a dislike, then fine! Grant Morrison simply changes everything about characters he doesn't like and everyone seems to like him!

1

Wow. Sandman as a Thunderbolt is so obvious, though I would've never thought of it. Kudos.

i thought you liked Flash/Venom and Rulk....or did that change when they became "popular"

@TheAcidSkull said:

@Night Thrasher said:

@TheAcidSkull said:

@Night Thrasher said:

You lost all credibility when you called Brubaker a hack. But overall I like the choices except Daken...I really dislike Daken...good riddance!

a good writer can write every character, not just the ones he likes.

A good writer is a good writer...If a writer chooses not to write a particular character because of a dislike, then fine! Grant Morrison simply changes everything about characters he doesn't like and everyone seems to like him!

grant morrison seems to do good with characters and actually manages to make great character development, he doesn't just flat out remove the qualities, i'm not gonna argue over this since your opinion is yours but if your a capable writer you should be able to write everyone , not just the ones you like.

All I'm going to say is Emma Frost didn't have "diamond powers" before Morrison and certainly didn't show any inclinations towards Cyclops. Also Beast didn't look like Simba, Doom Patrol wasn't dead, etc, etc...Not knocking him, J/S

@Avenging-X-Bolt: Yeah, I'm a hipster, man! Get with it!

Nooo, I actually always thought R, Hulk was a perfect candidate for Thunderbolts. Especially under Jeff's pen. But then you have Daniel Way... the man who wrote such gems as the tentacle porn rip-off of "The Thing" known as the Venom series or a book starring Bullseye where Bullseye kills crossdressers and that's it... and then Steve Dillon the artist who is an unreliable indie artist at best who only got ahead by latching onto Garth Ennis. So, bad creative team writing R. Hulk... alongside an equally as ill-fitting and bad team of Punisher, Deadpool and Elektra...and then it still gets worse...after Jeff spent like 40 or so issues giving R, Hulk inventive rogues without ever resorting to a Red Analogue to a Green Hulk villain... first villain from Way: Red Leader. So, yeah...

Venom... ok design and alright concept i guess. never really thought it was anything but average, but i had an awakening... or its just that almost everything with the guy since Circle of Four has been abysmal. Or maybe seeing Jeff write him in Circle of Four made me realize things could be better... but... No interest in him at all. And his new design is horrid. Looks like a badly drawn Spider-Man 2099.

@Gambit1024: There was actually a two-parter where Hawkeye's Thunderbolts cross paths with him. iirc they tried to recruit him at one point...and hawk even pointed out that he was like a thunderbolt before they existed...but...........BRAINWASH TRUMPS ALL SENSE AND HE MUST KILL SILVER SABLE INSTEAD

@X35 said:

@Avenging-X-Bolt: Yeah, I'm a hipster, man! Get with it!

Nooo, I actually always thought R, Hulk was a perfect candidate for Thunderbolts. Especially under Jeff's pen. But then you have Daniel Way... the man who wrote such gems as the tentacle porn rip-off of "The Thing" known as the Venom series or a book starring Bullseye where Bullseye kills crossdressers and that's it... and then Steve Dillon the artist who is an unreliable indie artist at best who only got ahead by latching onto Garth Ennis. So, bad creative team writing R. Hulk... alongside an equally as ill-fitting and bad team of Punisher, Deadpool and Elektra...and then it still gets worse...after Jeff spent like 40 or so issues giving R, Hulk inventive rogues without ever resorting to a Red Analogue to a Green Hulk villain... first villain from Way: Red Leader. So, yeah...

Venom... ok design and alright concept i guess. never really thought it was anything but average, but i had an awakening... or its just that almost everything with the guy since Circle of Four has been abysmal. Or maybe seeing Jeff write him in Circle of Four made me realize things could be better... but... No interest in him at all. And his new design is horrid. Looks like a badly drawn Spider-Man 2099.

Interesting. Tell me more about this "Tentacle Porn"..............

@TheAcidSkull said:

@Night Thrasher said:

@TheAcidSkull said:

@Night Thrasher said:

You lost all credibility when you called Brubaker a hack. But overall I like the choices except Daken...I really dislike Daken...good riddance!

a good writer can write every character, not just the ones he likes.

A good writer is a good writer...If a writer chooses not to write a particular character because of a dislike, then fine! Grant Morrison simply changes everything about characters he doesn't like and everyone seems to like him!

grant morrison seems to do good with characters and actually manages to make great character development, he doesn't just flat out remove the qualities, i'm not gonna argue over this since your opinion is yours but if your a capable writer you should be able to write everyone , not just the ones you like.

All I'm going to say is Emma Frost didn't have "diamond powers" before Morrison and certainly didn't show any inclinations towards Cyclops. Also Beast didn't look like Simba, Doom Patrol wasn't dead, etc, etc...Not knocking him, J/S

@FadeToBlackBolt: I notice you didn't defend Morrison transforming Beast into a giant cat... he must really suck!!!

@X35 said:

And his new design is horrid. Looks like a badly drawn Spider-Man 2099.

Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait.

What new design?

You talking about the Agent Venom suit itself, or did I miss something?

@InnerVenom123:

BEAUTIFUL STUFF.

@X35: ....

What's the point of that?

Like, what possible reason could they have in-story?

"WOW LOOK AT THAT NEW RED GUY. WHOA. TOTALLY NOT THAT SECRET AGENT CHARACTER I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT IN THE FIRST PLACE."

@X35 said:

@InnerVenom123:

BEAUTIFUL STUFF.

Me no likey.

I get it that they are going for a red theme in the Redbolts but this is not nice.

I kind of like the idea of Steel Serpent being on the 'Bolts but maybe that's just me

@X35 said:

@Avenging-X-Bolt: Yeah, I'm a hipster, man! Get with it!

Nooo, I actually always thought R, Hulk was a perfect candidate for Thunderbolts. Especially under Jeff's pen. But then you have Daniel Way... the man who wrote such gems as the tentacle porn rip-off of "The Thing" known as the Venom series or a book starring Bullseye where Bullseye kills crossdressers and that's it... and then Steve Dillon the artist who is an unreliable indie artist at best who only got ahead by latching onto Garth Ennis. So, bad creative team writing R. Hulk... alongside an equally as ill-fitting and bad team of Punisher, Deadpool and Elektra...and then it still gets worse...after Jeff spent like 40 or so issues giving R, Hulk inventive rogues without ever resorting to a Red Analogue to a Green Hulk villain... first villain from Way: Red Leader. So, yeah...

Venom... ok design and alright concept i guess. never really thought it was anything but average, but i had an awakening... or its just that almost everything with the guy since Circle of Four has been abysmal. Or maybe seeing Jeff write him in Circle of Four made me realize things could be better... but... No interest in him at all. And his new design is horrid. Looks like a badly drawn Spider-Man 2099.

So true, especially that part about Agent Venom.

Anyway, I think it's a pretty good list and it looks way more interesting than what we currently have. Sandman in the Thunderbolts is so obvious, it's a shame it never happened. As for Daken, he really deserved better than that but with Remender writing him and Marvel's habit of butchering and killing off great characters... I'm not really surprised.

@hectorsquall said:

@X35 said:

almost everything with the guy since Circle of Four has been abysmal.

So true, especially that part about Agent Venom.

... No.

The Venom comic didn't get bad until Bunn's first solo arc, but since then he's improved. Plus Minimum Carnage was great till the ending.

You are both wrong and I am an expert telling you this.

I forgot to say that I really like your idea for using Daken.

I say the quality of that would vary based on who you get to play him off of, though.

@InnerVenom123 said:

@hectorsquall said:

@X35 said:

almost everything with the guy since Circle of Four has been abysmal.

So true, especially that part about Agent Venom.

... No.

The Venom comic didn't get bad until Bunn's first solo arc, but since then he's improved. Plus Minimum Carnage was great till the ending.

You are both wrong and I am an expert telling you this.

Whatever you say, kid.

Agree with you about Minimum Carnage though, enjoyable read.

@hectorsquall said:

Whatever you say, kid.

List what's wrong with the comic, then.... generic condescending nickname.

@InnerVenom123 said:

@hectorsquall said:

Whatever you say, kid.

List what's wrong with the comic, then.... generic condescending nickname.

LMAO, especially coming from you...

You already know what was my problem with it anyway. Some questionable decisions that made the book far less enjoyable for me. The fact that I, or anyone else, had the balls to express an unpopular opinion doesn't mean that we are wrong. Shame that you still don't get it but no need to derail this interesting thread any further.

You can always PM if you really want to continue this discussion, unless of course you only wanted to tell everyone that the "big Venom expert" around here dismiss my opinion.

@hectorsquall said:

LMAO, especially coming from you...

You know I'm just messing around with the first part. I just find the fact that you said "kid" randomly funny, that's all. :P

@hectorsquall said:

You already know what was my problem with it anyway. Some questionable decisions that made the book far less enjoyable for me. The fact that I, or anyone else, had the balls to express an unpopular opinion doesn't mean that we are wrong. Shame that you still don't get it but no need to derail this interesting thread any further.

I thought you were referring to something other than that. For some reason I confused you with someone from another site who was arguing that Savage Six was bad instead of just the Toxin thing.

@hectorsquall said:

You can always PM if you really want to continue this discussion, unless of course you only wanted to tell everyone that the "big Venom expert" around here dismiss my opinion.

I don't have "BIG VENOM EXPERT" on a t-shirt hung up on my wall or something. I could care less that I happen to be the most frequent poster with a Venom-centric username/page theme. I'm not actively seeking to only post Venom-related things or talk about Venom-related things. Sometimes it just turns out that way.

Really, I was just saying you were wrong for no other reason than you were wrong.

But like I said above, I thought you were talking about something else for some reason.

Possibly the lack of sleep I've experienced over the past day......s.

@hectorsquall: So you will have missed the switch-over to Secret Avengers where Remender decided to jettison the Betty Brant relationship entirely for a ridiculous out-of-nowhere relationship with Valkyrie instead like in his first appearance in Secret Avengers.

@X35: You forgot Mockingbird on your list?

@InnerVenom123: Ok, no problem.

@X35: Actually, I've only read his first story arc (until the Ant-Man reveal) and I was seriously unimpressed but really pissed off. If this LMD becomes a lame bad guy who will be killed off in a future Uncanny Avengers story arc or something like that then it'll just be another great character butchered by Marvel (and Remender).

@hectorsquall: Oh, better, yet, he's not lasting beyond Secret Avengers and he's already tried to kill a bunch of Avengers.

Such a talented guy. "I WILL KILL OFF CHARACTERS AND BRING THEM BACK IN A TWISTED FORM SO YOU WISH THEY WERE DEAD INSTEAD" must be his motto.

@X35: Can't say I'm surprised but this is quite a bummer.

It's a shame though, he can write good stories when he wants to but the vast majority of the time it's just lame gimmicks like that and people still buy his books.

Between Remender's questionable decisions, Hopeless' stupid Avengers Arena, Way's uninspired Thunderbolts at the expense of Rucka's Punisher...

Kinda depressing.

@FadeToBlackBolt: Never said I didn't like Morrison or said that his run on any of those books aren't good. I merely stated that when he doesn't like something about a book, he changes it. You can't say he didn't change Emma, she is sooooo different from what she was before Morrison and whether that's for the better is a matter of opinion. As for Doom Patrol, he killed off the whole roster except for one character and continued on from there. He completely wrote off Tim Drake and replaced him with Damien. Again, if it's good or not is opinion, the fact that it happened isn't.

As for Brubaker, his Captain America run is fantastic! The comparisons to Gruenwald to me don't seem quite right. To me, he seemed to have more in common with Englehart than Gruenwald. Gru did more of a super hero comic were Englehart did more of black ops espionage themes with Cap. His decision not to use Diamondback is a minor jab if any.

About Daken and Sandman yes,for the others not so much.

really hope Daken gets in on the Thunderbolts action

@X35: I think it's funny that you dissed Danny Way, because he created Daken.

@dmkicksballs13: Jeph Loeb created Rulk. That doesn't make him royalty who should never be dissed or automatically anywhere near the best writer ever, let alone anywhere near the best Rulk writer.

Totally agree with you about Constrictor, he was one of the best and most underrated characters in the Initiative series

Rulk, Deadpool, Elektra, and sorta Venom are great candidates for the team.

Venom does fit the anti-hero theme of the team, and his Spider-Man-like abilities are highly beneficial to the team, but he doesn't really fit the red motif.

I really can't get behind Punisher being on the team at all, or them making his skull red. He's an anti-hero, sure, but he's also extremely anti-social and offers nothing to the team that Deadpool and Elektra don't.

I don't like seeing Venom wear military gear and guns, so them forcing the traditional white spider to red just for the team's theme is the lesser of two evils.