Creator Credits for Thunderbolts* (2025)

In short: This was better than I assumed it would be; it had precious little to do with the comics, but it took itself more seriously than most Marvel Cinematic Films.

My full list of Marvel Cinematic Universe creator credits is here. Let me know what I missed!

Jack Kirby: co-creator of the Avengers, a team of super heroes including Thor, Hulk and Iron Man, banded together as "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" (Avengers #1, 1963); of Captain America as one of the Avengers (Avengers #4, 1964); of Hawkeye as one of the Avengers (Avengers #16, 1965); of Captain America, Steve Rogers, who received the Super-Soldier Serum that made him a perfect specimen of humanity; of Captain America's red, white and blue costume with 'A' on forehead and stars and stripes on his chest; of James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes, Steve's friend and partner who joins him in battle (Captain America Comics #1, 1941); of Captain America's mask being fastened to his costume; of Captain America's round, red and white shield with star in its center (Captain America Comics #2, 1941); of the Fantastic Four, adventurers (Fantastic Four #1, 1961); of the Hulk, large green monstrous hero; of Thaddeus Ross, an official (Incredible Hulk #1, 1962); of Thor, Norse god of thunder (Journey into Mystery #83, 1962); of S.H.I.E.L.D., an espionage agency; of Hydra, a terrorist army (Strange Tales #135, 1965); of Iron Man, armored hero (Tales of Suspense #39, 1963)

Stan Lee: co-creator of the Black Widow's red hair, black bodysuit, Widow's Bite wrist weapon and carrying explosives (Amazing Spider-Man #86, 1970); of the Avengers, a team of super heroes including Thor, Hulk and Iron Man, banded together as "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" (Avengers #1, 1963); of Captain America as one of the Avengers (Avengers #4, 1964); of Hawkeye as one of the Avengers (Avengers #16, 1965); of Sam Wilson, hero and ally of Captain America (Captain America #117, 1969); of the Fantastic Four, adventurers (Fantastic Four #1, 1961); of the Hulk, large green monstrous hero; of Thaddeus Ross, an official (Incredible Hulk #1, 1962); of Thor, Norse god of thunder (Journey into Mystery #83, 1962); of S.H.I.E.L.D., an espionage agency; of Hydra, a terrorist army (Strange Tales #135, 1965); of Iron Man, armored hero (Tales of Suspense #39, 1963); of the Black Widow, a Russian spy (Tales of Suspense #52, 1964); of Hawkeye, an archer hero (Tales of Suspense #57, 1964); of the Black Widow's Widow's Line device (Tales of Suspense #64, 1965)

Mark Gruenwald: co-creator of John Walker, a blond-haired patriot with superhuman strength who likens himself to Captain America (Captain America #323, 1986); of the US government assigning the identity of Captain America to John Walker; of John Walker background in the military (Captain America #333, 1987); of a variant Captain America costume in black and red with red stripes across the chest (Captain America #337, 1988); of John Walker's identity as Captain America as public knowledge (Captain America #341, 1988); of a variant Captain America shield with black and red stripes (Captain America #342, 1988); of John Walker losing control as Captain America and murdering his opponents (Captain America #345, 1988); of John Walker falling out of favor with the US government after committing murders as Captain America, leading to him losing the identity and shield (Captain America #350, 1989); of the U.S. Agent, John Walker's new costumed identity after losing the Captain America alias; of Walker wearing the variant Captain America costume and shield in black and red; of the U.S. Agent working for US intelligence (Captain America #354, 1989)

Kieron Dwyer: co-creator of John Walker's identity as Captain America as public knowledge (Captain America #341, 1988); of a variant Captain America shield with black and red stripes (Captain America #342, 1988); of John Walker losing control as Captain America and murdering his opponents (Captain America #345, 1988); of John Walker falling out of favor with the US government after committing murders as Captain America, leading to him losing the identity and shield (Captain America #350, 1989); of the U.S. Agent, John Walker's new costumed identity after losing the Captain America alias; of Walker wearing the variant Captain America costume and shield in black and red; of the U.S. Agent working for US intelligence (Captain America #354, 1989)

Paul Jenkins: co-creator of the Sentry, Bob Reynolds, a costumed hero with blond hair, yellow bodysuit and blue cape with large 'S' on belt; of the Sentry's massive power; of the Sentry's arch-foe the Void; of the Sentry called "the Golden Guardian of Good" and having the "power of a million exploding suns"; of Bob receiving his powers through a secret formula; of Bob forgetting about his career as the Sentry after his enemy the Void was bested (Sentry #1, 2000); of the Watchtower, the Sentry's skyscraper base (Sentry #5, 2001); of the Void revealed to be Bob's alternate personality (Sentry vs. the Void #1, 2001); of the Sentry's formula based on the Super-Soldier Serum and made by Project: Sentry (Sentry #8, 2006)

Jae Lee: co-creator of the Sentry, Bob Reynolds, a costumed hero with blond hair, yellow bodysuit and blue cape with large 'S' on belt; of the Sentry's massive power; of the Sentry's arch-foe the Void; of the Sentry called "the Golden Guardian of Good" and having the "power of a million exploding suns"; of Bob receiving his powers through a secret formula; of Bob forgetting about his career as the Sentry after his enemy the Void was bested (Sentry #1, 2000); of the Watchtower, the Sentry's skyscraper base (Sentry #5, 2001); of the Void revealed to be Bob's alternate personality (Sentry vs. the Void #1, 2001)

Joe Simon: co-creator of Captain America, Steve Rogers, who received the Super-Soldier Serum that made him a perfect specimen of humanity; of Captain America's red, white and blue costume with 'A' on forehead and stars and stripes on his chest; of James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes, Steve's friend and partner who joins him in battle (Captain America Comics #1, 1941); of Captain America's mask being fastened to his costume; of Captain America's round, red and white shield with star in its center (Captain America Comics #2, 1941)

Brian Michael Bendis: co-creator of Bob Reynolds as a meth addict (Dark Avengers #13, 2010); of a revived Avengers team called the "New Avengers" (New Avengers #1, 2005); of Avengers Tower, the Avengers downtown Manhattan skyscraper base (New Avengers #3, 2005); of the Sentry as one of the Avengers; of Sentry's Watchtower perched atop Avengers Tower (New Avengers #10, 2005); of the Avengers forming two factions, one approved by the government, one not (New Avengers #27, 2007); of Bucky as one of the Avengers (New Avengers #48, 2009)

David Michelinie: co-creator of Sam Wilson as an Avenger (Avengers #183, 1979); of Taskmaster, a villain who wields a variety of weapons including a shield and sword, wears a skull mask (Avengers #195, 1980); of the Ghost, an anti-corporate industrial saboteur garbed in white and a hood with the power to phase through solid matter and appear invisible (Iron Man #219, 1987)

Don Heck: co-creator of the Black Widow as an Avenger (Avengers #111, 1973); of Iron Man, armored hero (Tales of Suspense #39, 1963); of the Black Widow, a Russian spy (Tales of Suspense #52, 1964); of Hawkeye, an archer hero (Tales of Suspense #57, 1964); of the Black Widow's Widow's Line device (Tales of Suspense #64, 1965)

Paul Neary: co-creator of John Walker, a blond-haired patriot with superhuman strength who likens himself to Captain America (Captain America #323, 1986); of the US government assigning the identity of Captain America to John Walker; of John Walker background in the military (Captain America #333, 1987)

Tom Morgan: co-creator of the US government assigning the identity of Captain America to John Walker; of John Walker background in the military (Captain America #333, 1987); of a variant Captain America costume in black and red with red stripes across the chest (Captain America #337, 1988)

Devin Grayson: co-creator of Yelena Belova, a blonde-haired Russian graduate of the same program as Natasha Romanoff who also serves as the Black Widow (Black Widow #1, 1999); of the Red Room, the spy program which created the Black Widow (Black Widow #2, 1999)

J. G. Jones: co-creator of of Yelena Belova, a blonde-haired Russian graduate of the same program as Natasha Romanoff who also serves as the Black Widow (Black Widow #1, 1999); the Red Room, the spy program which created the Black Widow (Black Widow #2, 1999)

Roy Thomas: co-creator of the Red Guardian, Alexei Shostakov, a Russian Cold War operative from the Black Widow's family, wears a red costume with a star in imitation of Captain America's costume (Avengers #43, 1967)

John Buscema: co-creator of the Red Guardian, Alexei Shostakov, a Russian Cold War operative from the Black Widow's family, wears a red costume with a star in imitation of Captain America's costume (Avengers #43, 1967)

Steve Epting: co-creator of the Winter Soldier, a legendary Russian assassin, has a cybernetic arm (Captain America #1, 2005); of Bucky losing his arm from an injury in World War 2 (Captain America #11, 2005)

Ed Brubaker: co-creator of the Winter Soldier, a legendary Russian assassin, has a cybernetic arm (Captain America #1, 2005); of Bucky losing his arm from an injury in World War 2 (Captain America #11, 2005)

Bob Layton: co-creator of the Ghost, an anti-corporate industrial saboteur garbed in white and a hood with the power to phase through solid matter and appear invisible (Iron Man #219, 1987)

David Finch: co-creator of a revived Avengers team called the "New Avengers" (New Avengers #1, 2005); of Avengers Tower, the Avengers downtown Manhattan skyscraper base (New Avengers #3, 2005)

Andy Diggle: co-creator of Yelena Belova and the Ghost as members of the Thunderbolts; of the Ghost wearing a round helmet (Thunderbolts #128, 2009)

Roberto de la Torre: co-creator of Yelena Belova and the Ghost as members of the Thunderbolts; of the Ghost wearing a round helmet (Thunderbolts #128, 2009)

Kurt Busiek: co-creator of the Thunderbolts, a team comprised mainly of villains who emerge after the Avengers disband (Thunderbolts #1, 1997)

Mark Bagley: co-creator of the Thunderbolts, a team comprised mainly of villains who emerge after the Avengers disband (Thunderbolts #1, 1997)

George Perez: co-creator of Taskmaster, a villain who wields a variety of weapons including a shield and sword, wears a skull mask (Avengers #195, 1980)

Steve Englehart: co-creator of the Black Widow as an Avenger (Avengers #111, 1973); of the Vault, a secure government holding facility (Avengers Annual #15, 1986)

Larry Lieber: co-creator of Thor, Norse god of thunder (Journey into Mystery #83, 1962); of Iron Man, armored hero (Tales of Suspense #39, 1963)

John Romita: co-creator of the Black Widow's red hair, black bodysuit, Widow's Bite wrist weapon and carrying explosives (Amazing Spider-Man #86, 1970)

Jeph Loeb: co-creator of the Red Hulk, a red-skinned version of the Hulk (Hulk #1, 2008); of the Red Hulk revealed to be Thaddeus Ross (Hulk #23, 2010)

Ed McGuinness: co-creator of the Red Hulk, a red-skinned version of the Hulk (Hulk #1, 2008); of the Red Hulk revealed to be Thaddeus Ross (Hulk #23, 2010)

Leinil Francis Yu: co-creator of the Avengers forming two factions, one approved by the government, one not (New Avengers #27, 2007)

Steve McNiven: co-creator of the Sentry as one of the Avengers; of Sentry's Watchtower perched atop Avengers Tower (New Avengers #10, 2005)

John Romita Jr.: co-creator of the Sentry's formula based on the Super-Soldier Serum and made by Project: Sentry (Sentry #8, 2006)

Jim Steranko: creator of Contessa Valentina Allegro de la Fontaine, a government agent (Strange Tales #159, 1967)

Bob Harras: co-creator of Valentina de Fonatine serving in the C.I.A. (Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, 1989)

Bob Hall: co-creator of Valentina de Fonatine serving in the C.I.A. (Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, 1989)

Bryan Hitch: co-creator of the Chitauri, an extraterrestrial army who battle the Avengers (Ultimates #8, 2002)

Mark Millar: co-creator of the Chitauri, an extraterrestrial army who battle the Avengers (Ultimates #8, 2002)

Nick Spencer: co-creator of the Winter Soldier as leader of the Thunderbolts (Avengers Standoff: Assault on Pleasant Hill Omega #1, 2016)

Daniel Acuna: co-creator of the Winter Soldier as leader of the Thunderbolts (Avengers Standoff: Assault on Pleasant Hill Omega #1, 2016)

Angel Garcia: co-creator of the Winter Soldier as leader of the Thunderbolts (Avengers Standoff: Assault on Pleasant Hill Omega #1, 2016)

Gaspar Saladino: creator of the Avengers logo with enlarged letter "A" (Avengers #96, 1972)

Steve Ditko: co-creator of the Vault, a secure government holding facility (Avengers Annual #15, 1986)

Danny Fingeroth: co-creator of the Vault, a secure government holding facility (Avengers Annual #15, 1986)

Gene Colan: co-creator of Sam Wilson, hero and ally of Captain America (Captain America #117, 1969)

Mark Waid: co-creator of Sam Wilson as Captain America (Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #8, 1999)

Cully Hamner: co-creator of Sam Wilson as Captain America (Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #8, 1999)

Billy Tan: co-creator of Bucky as one of the Avengers (New Avengers #48, 2009)

John Byrne: co-creator of Sam Wilson as an Avenger (Avengers #183, 1979)

Mike Deodato Jr.: co-creator of Bob Reynolds as a meth addict (Dark Avengers #13, 2010)

Review: The Once and Future Riot

The Once and Future Riot is a recent piece of comics journalism by Joe Sacco, published last year. Sacco is best-known for his work Palestine; given his areas of interest, I think if Sacco shows up in your hometown, your hometown has got some issues.

For this book, Sacco went to Muzaffarnagar, India, where a riot erupted between Hindus and Muslims. But as Sacco finds in interviewing the people there, the precise details as to how the violence started and who suffered change depending on who's telling the story (which Sacco presents with his usual skepticism).

The moment I found most fascinating came when Sacco visited a camp of Muslim refugees who had fled after the riot and had yet to return home, despite government assurances that it was safe. One of the refugees spoke passionately about his former Hindu neighbours and the good will that had existed between them. Another refugee responded with the armor-piercing question, "Why are you here, if you have a house there?"

The book does not paint a pretty picture of India but I came away affected by many scenes such as the one I described. It's another fine piece of work by Sacco.

Radio Recap: The Adventures of Frank Race

"Many things were changed during the war; the face of the Earth was altered and the people of the Earth changed. Before the war, Frank Race was an attorney, but he traded his law books for the cloak and dagger of the O.S.S., and when it was over, his former life was over too; adventure had become his business: The Adventures of Frank Race!"

The Adventures of Frank Race was a syndicated program that ran from May 1, 1950 to February 19, 1950. It starred Tom Collins as Frank Race and Tony Barrett as Mark Donovan, Frank's sidekick. It was written and director by Buckley Angel and Joel Murcott (writer on Suspense, Escape and Tales of the Texas Rangers). Ivan Ditmars (of Escape) supplied the music.

Post-World War II, there seemed to be a sub-genre of radio programs about men back from the service who were trying to assert their new position in society by taking on odd jobs and, inevitably, solving mysteries; Let George Do It, Box 13, I Fly Anything and the Adventures of Christopher London are all examples of this type.

In the case of Frank Race, he worked as an insurance investigator (Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was already on the air). The sidekick, Donovan, was present to supply muscle when Frank needed, but otherwise he was written as a complete lunkhead (although he did supply Frank with someone to explain the plot to). The supporting roles were filled with familiar voices like Bill Johnstone, Jack Kruschen, Frank Lovejoy, William Conrad and Virginia Gregg.

The production quality of the Adventures of Frank Race was pretty high - they're professional and polished. Unfortunately, despite all the talent working on them, I don't find the stories memorable. It's an okay program, but given the premise and talent, it should have at least as good as, say, the Amazing Mr. Malone. So far as I'm concerned, it's just okay.

You can hear the Old Time Radio Researchers' collection of the Adventures of Frank Race episodes with the YouTube playlist below:

The Unofficial (?) Cabin B-13 Comic Book Adaptation

Well, it's time for another in my recurring series on adaptations of the radio series Suspense that appeared in Marvel comics of the late 40s and early 50s but weren't credited to Suspense - even though Marvel had an arrangement with CBS to publish a Suspense comic book from 1949-1953.

Like most of the other stories I've found, this is an adaptation of a John Dickson Carr story originally written for Suspense - in fact, it's the most famous of all of Carr's Suspense plays - "Cabin B-13," first performed on Suspense March 16, 1943; in 1948, Carr had a series on CBS called Cabin B-13.

Our uncredited adaptation is from Girl Comics#7 (March, 1951) and it's called "If a Girl Be Mad." From the title, you might think Girl Comics was one of the many Marvel romance books of the era; actually, it was an unusual anthology book that featured stories from pretty much every genre, simply geared towards a female audience.

As in the original radio play the protagonist is a woman named Meg. She and her recently-wed husband are taking a voyage aboard a ship. He shows her to their cabin on B deck, number 13. Just a few minutes later, both he and the cabin disappear. The ship's doctor helps Meg and determines her husband was really the ship's first officer and had contrived a seriously, ridiculously complicated plan to murder her.

All of Carr's original story is intact - a few characters have different names (while the ship's doctor isn't named at all), but the fact that the cabin is still B-13 demonstrates Marvel wasn't working too hard to conceal the story's origins. So, maybe this story was supposed to be printed in Suspense but was somehow shifted to Girl Comics.

I've always had some fondness for the "Cabin B-13" radio play even though, like so much of Carr's fiction, I find it daft; the husband's entire plan of "disappearing" is to hide on a ship where everyone knows who he is! The only reason he seems to "disappear" is that Meg keeps insisting she came aboard with her husband and all the literal-minded crewmen say they never saw her husband; none of them knew the ship's first officer had been married, so if just one of them had said, "I didn't see your husband, you were with the ship's first officer" his brilliant plan would have fallen apart then and there.

Missed It: Marvel Westerns: Outlaw Files review

Back in 2006 I managed a comic book project called Marvel Westerns: Outlaw Files; this blog wasn't up back then to promote it.

My books didn't often receive reviews from online critics, with the exception of Hannibal Tabu at Comic Book Resources. I was pleasantly surprised however, to find Marvel Westerns: Outlaw Files received a positive review in a print resource - the Comic Buyer's Guide!

Thank you, Comic Buyer's Guide! I don't write comics now, but I'm always surprised and pleased to see positive criticism of my work!

Radio Recap: Bright Star

Bright Star was a comedy/drama that starred Irene Dunne and Fred MacMurray; at the top of each episode announcer Harry Von Zell would introduce the series as "The Irene Dunne-Fred MacMurray Show," before giving the program's actual title, Bright Star. It was a syndicated program from Ziv syndication, and heard from October 23, 1952 to October 15, 1953; like most first-run syndicated radio programs (such as Ziv's Bold Venture) there were 52 episodes, totalling one full calendar year.

The series featured Irene Dunne as Susan Armstrong, editor of the Hillsdale Morning Star in the small town of Hillsdale. Fred MacMurray was George Harvey, the paper's top reporter, who had a knack of getting himself into trouble by tackling stories that were too big for him. The series was very gentle and homey; there were occasional sparks between Susan and George, but they were usually at odds with each other about what was best for the paper (somewhat like His Girl Friday).

At the time, Irene Dunne was coming off some hard times in film; Bright Star must have been an attempt to keep her name in the public; MacMurray, though, was doing just fine in his career, with plenty of big films (and a TV series, My Three Sons) still in his future.

Bright Star drew from radio's best performers to make up their supporting cast, with names like Sheldon Leonard, Howard McNear, Larry Thor, Hans Conreid and Betty Lou Gerson. Harry Von Zell was the announcer.

Unfortunately, Bright Star's cast also included Sammy the office boy (an uncredited role), the only other person newspaper staff. Sammy had one of those radio teenager voices that tried to emulate Henry Aldrich of the Aldrich Family. The usually sounded like he was holding his nose to make his voice sound higher; he also had a very annoying horselaugh (trying to sound like Richard Crenna's snicker from Our Miss Brooks). Since Sammy is in every episode, he brings down the entire series.

The Old Time Radio Researchers Library has 33 out of 52 episodes of Bright Star. As a syndicated show, I wouldn't be surprised if more episodes turned up. You can hear them through the YouTube playlist below:

Radio Recap: Old Gold Comedy Theatre

The Old Gold Comedy Theatre (or, as it was announced on air, "Comedy Theatre") was an anthology series heard on NBC Blue from October 29, 1944 to June 10, 1945. Like many 1940s anthologies (like Academy Award Theater, Lux Radio Theater and Screen Directors' Playhouse) it featured adaptations of popular films, truncated to fit a half-hour timeslot.

What makes The Old Gold Comedy Theatre stand apart is that it only featured adaptations of comedy films and it was hosted by the legendary Hollywood silent film comedian Harold Lloyd, who hadn't been involved in radio until the series launched (it's listed on some websites as Harold Lloyd Comedy Theatre). Lloyd would appear at the intro, half-way point (participating in the commercial) and at the close, engaging in banter with the program's guest stars. They even adapted one of his films, "The Milky Way" (February 18, 1945).

Many of the adapted films were popular choices on radio, like "Bachelor Mother," "My Favorite Wife" and "June Moon" but there are some great less-common comedy stories like "The Lady Eve" and "Vivacious Lady." My personal favourite is "True to Life" (November 12, 1944) with Dick Powell.

You can hear the Old Time Radio Researchers' collection of Old Gold Comedy Theatre episodes with the YouTube playlist below: