The Thunderbolts break up the new Masters of Evil's attempt to rob the Western Currency Facility, fight the MoE yet again, and are captured (yet again).  Luckily, a surprise guest star is on hand to save the day and join the team.  Plus, Baron Zemo and Techno show up, scheming to make their enemies pay for their crimes.  

Last issue was quite a disappointment, so I was quite glad that this issue wasn't a disappointment (at least, not in the writing department).  However, I'm getting tired of seeing these new MoE fight (and beat) the 'Bolts.  Hopefully, they (the MoE) will be dealt with with some degree of finality soon.  

Still, I enjoyed the banter between Klaw and the Crimson Cowl (whose identity I'm very curious to discover).  This is probably the first time I've ever seen Klaw as a truly credible threat.  I especially enjoyed seeing Klaw use his powers to help the MoE get away from the authorities.  Of *course* he can travel at the speed of sound.  I can't believe no other writer has capitalized on this...  The rest of the MoE, however, I could do without.  And I want to know how Man-Killer's shirt top stays up... :D  

I finally figured out why I dislike Jolt, too.  She's not a very real  
character to me.  She sees things only in terms of right and wrong, black and white.  She simply does not see things in shades of grey, which I can't really grasp. It's also rather annoying since the whole premise behind T-BOLTS *is* the area between heroics and villainy, the grey between the black and white, and the middle ground between the right and the wrong.  

The leadership struggle between the 'Bolts was interesting, too.  It was nice to see Mach-1 finally speak out against Meteorite's leadership.  

I was quiet pleased to see DreadKnight, and even though I suspected that Hawkeey would should up in T-BOLTS, I didn't think he's show up as DreadKnight.  A nice surprise by Busiek.  

I was also pleased to see Baron Zemo and Techno again, although I was displeased to see that their plotline is going to be resolved not in T-BOLTS, but in *another* title . . . Sigh.  

What kept this issue from being really good (or even great), though, was Bagley's art, which is usually superb, but here was unusually mediocre.  Backgrounds seemed sketchy, figures weren't as defined, and the pencils just didn't have near as much "life" as they typically do.  

Overall, the writing is back up to par, but the art is below par for the first time since #12.  Hopefully, Bagley and Busiek'll get on the same page soon and this books will re-achieve greatness . . . 
  

Score:  B  
  

***Second Opinion review*** 
by Sander De Voogdt 
  

I had my doubts about T-bolts lately. After #12 the series seemed to go absolutely nowhere and although it still was a fairly good reading,  eventually I would have dropped it. With #20, it seems like we have a story again.  

Last issue, the T-bolts defeated Charcoal, but then the Masters of Evil showed up, telling them they even needed their permission if the Bolts wanted to go to the toilet (or something like that). Charcoal escaped and now the T-bolts are mad. They track the Masters down, catch them in the middle of "collecting" a very large sum of money and start a fight. It seems like they'll win, but then Meteorite screws it up by distracting Songbird/Screaming Mimi. Luckily, Dreadknight shows up to save the day.  Even better, he later turns out to be Hawkeye in disguise. Probably will be the next leader of the Bolts, 'cause Mach-1 was just about to take leadership from Meteorite, although he didn't really want to.  

Storywise, this issue promised something, which is a big improvement over last issues. Now I *really* look forward to the next issue... . It's also nice to see Meteorite losing her grasp on the Bolts, and Mach-1 becoming a stronger character. He always was my favourite. I still think that Songbird-plot is stretched too long, but next issue will solve that. Now the art. Bagley is superb in close-ups and he knows how to draw action, but the backgrounds are poor and so are the character's faces if he has to draw them small. I can't remember this problem when he drew ASM (I remember some extremely good backgrounds drawn by him) so I don't know why it occurs in T-bolts. Maybe Hanna's inking, but that can only be part of it...  
  

Score:  B+
  

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