Thunderbolts #1 panel (Image credit: Marvel Comics) Thunderbolts became a best-seller as well as a massive hit among fans and critics alike because of and not despite the secrecy, and it might never have broken out like it did if Marvel didn't sit on the genuinely shocking reveal and not telegraphed it beforehand. DC's reveal of the identity of the Next Batman is an example from early 2021, and Marvel themselves didn't even wait a day before telling anyone who would listen the Scarlet Witch was seemingly murdered in X-Factor #10 in June. Marvel also let the secret lie, not hyping it for months in advance as the publisher might do today, allowing readers an open road to speculate on how the Thunderbolts would fit into the Marvel Universe.īoth of these approaches were rare (and still are) in an age when publishers often tease surprises and plot twists for months only to reveal the surprises themselves before the book hits the shelves or can be widely read. Part of why the secret of Thunderbolts was so impactful was that back in the day, fans actually didn't know there was a twist coming in Thunderbolts #1 at all - let alone that the characters who had been billed as Marvel's next big thing were in fact the same villains who had, in the '80s, literally destroyed the Avengers Mansion and nearly killed several members in the story Avengers: Under Siege.
Busiek then revived the concept when the absence of the Avengers and Fantastic Four left room in the Marvel Universe for a whole new team to debut, with the publisher diving in wholeheartedly for the secret.
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