Deadpool's ingenious trap for Venom...

...or 'What's up with the Thunderbolts at the moment'...

Having been neglecting my boy Wade Wilson's team book a little lately, I got caught up on Thunderbolts last night, and it was another strong issue in writer Charles Soule's solid run.

Individual team members have been getting to choose the T-Bolts' missions lately and in Thunderbolts #23 it was Deadpool's turn.

However, as Wade began to detail the wacked-out job he had in mind (which would kick off with the team kidnapping Ryan Reynolds), Agent Venom requested his turn (as he was about to leave the team), and Deadpool let him have it...

Concerned that the Venom symbiote might one day take him over, Flash Thompson wanted to prove to himself that it could be taken down. So Flash let the symbiote take the controls, and while most of his team-mates worked out scientifically feasible ways to stop Venom, based on its vulnerabilities--Deadpool had the idea of using a magic marker to make his own costume look like Spidey's and propping this up to use as bait for Venom - with the intention of dropping a jet plane on it.

Charles Soule writes good Deadpool and it's not the first time he's riffed on the similarities between the Merc with a Mouth and Spider-Man; this from an earlier issue...

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Thunderbolts has been a joy since the much-in demand Soule came on board, and with his departure imminent (presumably because he's currently on the hot list), writers Ben Acker & Ben Blacker (!?)--who worked on the last Deadpool and T-Bolts annuals--have big shoes to fill when they come on board with Thunderbolts #27. Though their debut arc looks promising...

You can check out Acker & Blacker talking to Comic Book Resources about their plans for Thunderbolts here.

Meanwhile, here's a Preview of next week's Thunderbolts #24:

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Marvel NOW! Thunderbolts #1

The Thunderbolts are to get the Marvel NOW! treatment in December with writer Daniel Way and artist Steve Dillon at the helm, bringing the new line-up of Deadpool, Venom, Punisher, Elektra - led by Red Hulk (with more members to be added down the line).

Way and Dillon previously worked together on a Deadpool-'frienemy' Bullseye mini-series (also featuring The Punisher), Way has of course been writing the current Deadpool series since it began, and Dillon initially brought a new feel, and humor, to The Punisher as artist on some of writer Garth Ennis's run on Frank Castle.

There'd been rumors that there were new plans for Red Hulk after his book gets taken over by Red She-Hulk, and that The Punisher was going to be joining a team after his book ends--and this is a helluva line-up. Meanwhile, it's also been announced that writer Rick Remender will be leaving Uncanny X-Force and that will also be getting a Marvel NOW! relaunch--so does this mean the Merc with a Mouth will be jumping ship with him, or is Wade Wilson gonna 'do a Wolverine' and pull double-duty?

More news on that here when it hits, but for now, here's the promo blurb and a bit more on the new Thunderbolts, courtesy of editor Jordan D. White and Newsarama:

Forget the courts, the jails, the system--this team of Thunderbolts fights fire with fire, targeting the most dangerous and lethal players in the Marvel Universe with extreme prejudice. Led by General “Thunderbolt” Ross, AKA the Red Hulk, this hand-picked team of like-minded operatives is going to make the world a better place…by all means necessary.

"Unlike the most recent Thunderbolts, this group is not working for any government program — this is Red Hulk's team, to do with as he sees fit. In case you forgot, big red's secret ID is that of General "Thunderbolt" Ross, a well-respected military official who the world thinks was KIA. Well, just because he can't be part of the American Armed Forces doesn't mean he can't put together an armed force of his own.

"And again, if you look at the crew ol' T-Bolt has put together, you can get a sense of the kind of things he might be looking to do with them. They're a team of loners, but all highly trained and highly skilled as either mercenaries or soldiers. This is a black ops dream team. They're all characters with their own very particular morality, who do the things they do because they believe in them. They believe they are doing right, even if the world around them might not. Now that they're working together, they can set their sights even higher... and the world had better look out, because they won't take no for an answer."

As many of you know, I'm gunning to work on Deadpool, and having followed and enjoyed the various incarnations of the T-Bolts for some time, this is a book I'd also love to get my teeth into. But like Marvel NOW! Deadpool, obviously this a new book and a brand new creative team. Let's see what they bring.