Thunderbolts (Charles Soule) Books in Order

Charles Soule's Thunderbolts run uses an unlikely team of damaged, volatile characters as a rescue unit for problems that are too strange or dangerous for ordinary channels. The lineup includes Red Hulk, the Punisher, Elektra, Deadpool, Venom, and later members with their own reasons for being there.

This is not a traditional superhero team. These people do not agree on methods, morality, or whether teamwork is a good idea. They are connected by a willingness to go where cleaner heroes may not.

The job is usually worse than the briefing.

Soule takes over with Thunderbolts, Volume 3, sending the group into conflicts involving hellish dimensions, supernatural danger, and the wider fallout of Marvel events. The series plays to the contrast between its members. Frank Castle wants direct solutions. Deadpool makes every situation harder. Elektra has her own agenda. Red Hulk has to somehow keep the operation moving.

The tone mixes black comedy, violent action, and monster-movie weirdness. It can be grim, but the team dynamic prevents it from becoming too solemn. Even in a dangerous mission, someone is likely to be arguing over tactics or making an awful joke.

Begin with Thunderbolts, Volume 3 for Soule's portion of the series. Volume 4 continues the main arc and takes the team deeper into the crossover-heavy Marvel landscape. Some background helps, but the books quickly establish why these particular characters are together.

Read this run if you like morally messy Marvel teams, supernatural missions, and characters who keep saving the day despite themselves.