Thunderbolts

Origin

The originals

The first members were Meteorite ( Moonstone), Atlas (Goliath), Songbird (Screaming Mimi), Techno ( Fixer), Mach IV (Beetle) and newcomer Jolt.

They first made their apperance when the Rat Pack was looting a destroyed neighborhood, Citizen V declared he was making a citizen's arrest on the Rat Pack. They thought that they had the advantage until more Thunderbolts members arrived and the whole fight was recorded and broadcasted on television. The team gained a lot of public fame for their heroic efforts and it gained even more after defeating the Wrecking Crew and helping to repair the broken Statue of Liberty. For their next challange they were pitted against Mad Thinker, however Citizen V showed that he was nothing more than a robot when he had his head at the tip of his sword. Next they would face a group of villians calling themselves the Masters of Evil. Citizen V (Zemo) took this as an offense and claimed that they weren't worthy to take that name.

Once heroes returned Zemo put his plan into motion, he gave evidence that the Thunderbolts were the Masters of Evil and they escaped. Jolt was shocked to hear that her teammates were villians and the Thunderbolts fled to their headquarters and escaped into space. There Zemo took control over the heroes minds and they became his slaves.However they soon began to like the life as heroes more than being villains and rebelled against Zemo's plans for world domination. They were beaten back by the mind controlled heroes and Atlas, just as Zemo was about to kill Jolt Atlas stopped him. The team fled to another space station and with help from Iron Man freed the heroes minds. During which Moonstone had brutally beaten Zemo. Since then many of them has actually redeemed themselves and saved the world on several occasions, even Baron Zemo in his own way.

Original Team:
Citizen V (Baron Zemo)
Mach-1 (Beetle/Abner Jenkins)
Songbird (Screaming Mimi)
Atlas (Goliath)
Techno (Fixer)
Meteorite (Moonstone)

Osborn's Thunderbolts:
Green Goblin (Norman Osborn)
Songbird
Venom (Mac Gargan)
Bullseye
Radioactive Man
Moonstone

Current Members

Yelena Belova 
Headsman
Ant-Man ( Eric O' Grady)
Paladin
Ghost
Mister X 
Scourge ( Nuke)

Former Members

Atlas, Baron Helmut Zemo, Blackheath (Plantman), Blizzard, Charcoal, Cobalt Man, Cyclone, Citizen V ( Dallas Riordan ) , Fixer, Harrier, Hawkeye, Jack O'Lantern, Jester, Jolt, Joystick, Lady Deathstrike, MACH-IV, Man-Killer, Nighthawk, Photon, Ogre, Skein, Smuggler, Speed Demon, Taskmaster, Bullseye,  Green Goblin, Moonstone, Penance ( Robbie Baldwin), Radioactive Man, Songbird, Swordsman ( Andreas Strucker), Venom (Mac Gargan)

Thunderbolts Army

This was a bunch of villains captured by the Thunderbolts before and during Civil War. They chose to serve in the Thunderbolts army rather than spend time in jail.

Ajaxis, Aqueduct, Asylum, Batroc, Beetle (Joaquim), Beetle (MK-II), Beetle (MK-III), Blacklash, Bloodstrike, Boomerang, Bushmaster, Coronary, Death Adder, Doctor Octopus, Eel, Ironclad, Killer Shrike, King Cobra, Machete, Mathemanic, Snake Marston, Mongoose, Overmind, The Ox, Porcupine, Pretty Persuasions, Primus, Quicksand, Rattler, Red Ronin, Scarecrow, Silk Fever, Slyde, Smiling Tiger, Tatterdemalion, Texas Twister, Unicorn, Vapor, Vector, Vermin, Whiplash, Whirlwind, X-Ray, Zaran

Civil War. Hunters Of The Heroes.

The newest line-up

Zemo's Thunderbolt Army grew rapidly, the team vastly expanding because of the villains caught. It now included dozens of other supervillains, including most notably Doctor Octopus, the Wrecker, Green Goblin, Venom, etc. The new team dispersed to battle super-villains, capture them and offer them a choice: join the Thunderbolts or go to prison. It is obvious what almost all of the villains chose, since they wanted to remain free. Baron Zemo convinced Captain America not to stop him from battling the Grandmaster, while Nighthawk was revealed as being a spy for the Squadron Sinister inside Captain America's Secret Avengers. Zemo then informed Songbird that in the coming battle, he knew that she would betray him, which she had been planning to do all along, in revenge for his killing of Photon, and he would sacrifice himself to save the world.

Zemo then saved the Wellspring of Power from the Grandmaster, who planned to use it for his own ends. Believing that all of his visions were subject to the flow of time, and that nothing was set in stone, Zemo defeated the Grandmaster, and boasted to his teammates that the power was now all his and theirs. He insisted that he would use it to help the world, despite the consequences for doing so. Songbird, who had temporarily lost her powers during the final battle, was told by Zemo "...now is when your betrayal would have come." The vision of her betrayal turned out to be somewhat correct after all, though. Although she could not use her super-sound, Songbird used a simple opera note to crack the moonstones, sending Zemo into a whirlwind of cosmic time/space. In his final words before he was completely sucked into the vacuum, he screamed out that he would never have hurt a world he worked so hard to save.

Faith in Monsters

With the end of the Civil War the Thunderbolts were given new members and a new director Norman Osborn. The new team included Moonstone, Songbird, Penance, Swordsman, Venom, Radioactive Man, and the secret member Bullseye. Their first assignment was to capture Jack Flag and Moonstone had Radioactive man destroy a number of cars in the area in an attempt to cripple Jack. She then sent in Venom and Swordsman to finish the job, however Jack wasn't out of the fight yet, he shattered Swordsmans sword and kicked the broken piece into Venom. Mac became enraged and was about to eat Jack when Moonstone activated his nano chain shocking him. She then had Penance use his energy blast to hit Jack. Jack went into a warehouse were Bullseye had stabbed him in his spine which couldn't allow Jack to walk again.
After that they were sent to capture Steel Spider, who Norman is constantly mistaking for Spider-Man. It is also revealed that Moonstone wants to be the leader of the Thunderbolts and asks Swordsman to help her with it. Swordsman too shares a grudge against Osborn for not yet cloning his dead sister. When the Thunderbolts go after Steel Spider, American Eagle and Sepluchre. They all fought against each other and the Thunderbolts took loses with Moonstone having an arrow shot through her wrist, Swordsman getting tossed into a building, and Penance having  a mental breakdown. In the end Venom bit off Steel Spider's arm and ate it. Songbird not wanting to see her team become monsters tried to get rid of everyone, she talked to Bullseye saying that his nano chain was disabled and he was free. Bullseye killed his handlers and decided to kill American Eagle anyway, when Bullseye fought him he was hardly a match. Swordsman saw that Bullseye had killed his handlers and called Moonstone. She ordered his nano chain to activate, Bullseye was paralyzed from the combination of electric shock and getting punched American Eagle across his head.

Secret Invasion

Secret Invasion hits the Thunderbolts

The New Thunderbolts

Reasons for Joining the Thunderbolts 

While most members have joined the team seeking redemption or goverment pardons the most recent team of Thunderbotls have joined for their own reasons.  
 
Ant Man (Eric O'Grady) joined the team as a way of trying to get a quick ride to fame and thought the Thunderbolts were the best way to. 
 
Paladin sole reason for joining was idea of getting paid for his services. 
 
Headsman reason is same as Paladin and is in it for the money. 
 
Ghost joined to cause anarchy and since Norman Osborn has become the establishment he thought of no better way of bringing it down then from the inside. 
 
Mister X joined on the promise from Osborn that he would get the chance to test his skills and fight a worthy adversary. 
 
Scourge (Nuke) wanted to join just as a way to serve his country. 
 
Black Widow (Natasha Romanova) Joined to keep an eye on the team and keep them under control while spying on Norman. 
 
Black Widow (Yelena Belova) reason unknown as of yet...

Alternate Versions

Counter-Earth

Counter-Earth is not really an alternate reality. It is an alternate earth in the Earth-616 reality created by Franklin Richards. The members of the Counter-Earth Thunderbolts were: Heinrich Zemo, Chain Lightning, Solarr, Iron Cross, Makeshift and Phantom Eagle (Lloyd Bloch).

MC2 (Earth-982)

Many of the original members have not appear in the MC2 universe, save for Jolt. There is a government sponsored team that was assembled which is very much similar to the Thunderbolts. They are consisting of: Big Man (son of Hank Pym and Wasp), Kaine, Normie Osborn (wearing the Venom symbiote), Quickwire and Raptor.

Days of Future Past (Earth-811)

The Thunderbolts are a super-being private security force lead by Baron Zemo employed by the Sentinels. But Zemo is secretly working with Shinobi Shaw and Psylocke as members of the Hellfire Club to bring the Sentinels down.

Marvel Zombiverse (Earth-2149)

A zombie version of the Thunderbolts are seen terrorizing . They were later killed by Nova, Thor and the Fantastic Four. 

Earth-58163

In the House of M reality,  the Thunderbolts are super villian outlaws calling themsevles "freedom fighters". Their knonow members inculde Baron Von Strucker, Andreas and Andrea Strucker, Radioactive Man, and Flash Back.