Thunderbolts (2013) # 32

"The Punisher Vs. the Thunderbolts, Part 6"

Cover Date: December 2014; Publication Date: October 2014

Writers: Ben Acker & Ben Blacker; Artist: Kim Jacinto; Letterer: VC's Joe Sabino; Colorist: Isreal Silva; Editor: Jordan D. White; Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonso; Cover Artist: David Yardin

Six months after the dissolution of the Thunderbolts, the Red Leader (who faked his own death at the Punisher's hands) has taken control of the Central American county Kata Jaya, where the Thunderbolts had their first mission.  With an army of Crimson Dynamos and soldiers powered by gamma radiation, Red Leader has established total dominance over the country and rules it with an iron fist.  He goes on a tour of his compound with his assistant, Caitlin, where he has renegotiated his deal with Mephisto to own a pocket of Hell in which to torment his brother, Madman.  The Leader has established an empire by providing scientific resources to other villains and criminal organizations, but what he really wants is the love of Caitlin, who constantly rebukes his attempts at winning her heart. 

The compound is attacked by the reunited Thunderbolts (Red Hulk, Deadpool, Elektra, and the Punisher), who have arrived with the Avengers to take out the Red Leader.  Following their imprisonment six months ago, Red Hulk and the Punisher were given a deal to "clean up their mess" and be awarded their freedom.  While Hawkeye and the Avengers stay to deal with the army of soldiers and demons, the Thunderbolts go into the compound, where the Leader successfully evades all of their attempts to capture him.  To the villain's surprise, he is shot in the back with tranquilizer darts by Caitlin, who is an undercover SHIELD agent.

Back in a prison facility in the United States, the Red Leader is imprisoned.  The Punisher holds up Ghost Rider's severed skull, which uses the Penance Stare to place the Leader in a cycle of torment.  Hawkeye and the Thunderbolts leave, but the team disbands, leaving Red Hulk alone.  Inside the prison, Ghost Rider's skull is deactivated by Mephisto, who has Leader sign a new contract (upon which the power of the Ghost Rider returns to a relaxing Johnny Blaze as he's reading a book in his home).  Mephisto then escorts Red Leader to Hell for an eternity of torture and damnation. 

Thunderbolts (2013) # 29

"The Punisher Vs. the Thunderbolts, Pat 3"

Cover Date: October 2014; Publication Date: August 2014

Writers: Ben Acker & Ben Blacker; Artist: Kim Jacinto; Letterer: VC's Joe Sabino; Colorist: Isreal Silva; Editor: Jordan D. White; Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonso; Cover Artist: David Yardin

After surviving the bomb placed inside his safe house, the Punisher begins his war on the Thunderbolts.  He starts with Deadpool, who he cuts into several pieces and seals inside vibranium canisters to keep him from regenerating.  At Thunderbolts headquarters, Elektra argues with Ross and Johnny Blaze about the attempted murder of the Punisher, which Ross neither admits or denies culpability.  Elektra disappears, quitting the team, and Ross orders the Ghost Rider to go get the Punisher.  Unbeknownst to her, however, Hawkeye has placed a tracking device on Elektra, and he has used SHIELD resources to determine that the Red Hulk has been with her.

Ghost Rider's search for the Punisher does not take long, as he finds Castle waiting for him in the middle of the street.  Months ago, when Blaze joined the team, the Punisher went to great lengths to work up a contingency plan to kill the Ghost Rider.  Visits to Dr. Strange and Elsa Bloodstone led Castle to a satanic church, where he met the fallen angel Zadkiel, who Blaze had sent to Hell.  Due to Blaze angering Mephisto, Zadkiel was sent back to Earth to kill the Ghost Rider with Mephisto's mystical sword, stating that only a weapon "forged in the beyond" can remove the Spirit of Vengeance from its host.  Castle grabbed the sword and killed Zadkiel, and now has the weapon for his face-off with Ghost Rider. 

The battle between the two vigilantes does not go well for the Punisher, who uses "uru shivs" provided by Elsa Bloodstone and Carter Slade's "spirit guns", neither of which have any effect on Ghost Rider.  While the Rider whips him through the air with his chains, Castle throws Mephisto's sword at him, but Ghost Rider catches it and pulls Castle in to hit him with the Penance Stare.  To Ghost Rider's surprise, the Penance Stare has no effect on the Punisher, who feels no regret for anything he's done.  Castle attempts to use the sword again, but Ghost Rider shatters it and wrestles Punisher to the ground.  Realizing that the Spirit of Vengeance can "only be felled by weapons forged in the beyond", Castle chokes the Rider with his own chains, which somehow removes the demon from Blaze's body.  Blaze is overjoyed that he is freed from being the Rider's host, prompting him to thank Castle and wander away to live his life.  Frank is then approached by Elektra, who attempts to make peace, but Castle merely smiles and tells her that she too is on his list.

Thunderbolts (2013) # 28

"The Punisher Vs. the Thunderbolts, Part 2"

Cover Date: September 2014; Publication Date: July 2014

Writers: Ben Acker & Ben Blacker; Artist: Gerardo Sandoval; Letterer: VC's Joe Sabino; Colorist: Isreal Silva; Editor: Jordan D. White; Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonso; Cover Artist: David Yardin

During the Avengers' battle with a giant monster in New York City, Hawkeye notices something going on atop a nearby building.  After the battle, Hawkeye and Iron Man investigate the rooftop and find evidence of both the Punisher and Ghost Rider being present.  Iron Man tells Hawkeye to find out what happened, and when Hawkeye later uses a SHIELD station to look in on one of the Punisher's safehouses he learns that the building had recently been site to an explosion.

At Thunderbolts Mountain in Michigan, Red Hulk addresses the remaining team members (Deadpool, Elektra, Ghost Rider, and the Leader) about the Punisher's recent departure.  Ross tells the others that they need to decide if they're in or out, especially since he's running the team and making all of the decisions, such as the one to keep the villain Dr. Faustus around as a conscripted prisoner/associate of the team.  Johnny Blaze goes to a nearby bar and encounters a pack of killer werewolves, prompting him to transform into the Ghost Rider to destroy them, all the while contemplating whether he should stay with the team or not.  The Leader makes his decision to stay, while also thinking about ways to incapacitate the others.  Deadpool discusses the team with his wife, the vampire Shiklah, during a battle with various assassins.  Red Hulk interrogates the captive Faustus, telling him that he's part of the Thunderbolts now whether he likes it or not.

Meanwhile, Elektra visits the Punisher's destroyed safehouse and finds Hawkeye there investigating.  After a brief fight, Hawkeye tags the departing Elektra with a tracking device.  Deadpool resigns from the team by phone, leaving Hulk and Ghost Rider to be confronted by an enraged Elektra, who accuses Ross of killing the Punisher out of revenge for quitting the team.  Their fight is interrupted by the sound of gunshots, and they find both the Leader and Faustus dead.  The Punisher has killed the villains and taken the anti-Hulk gun taken from Faustus' mercenaries, leading Red Hulk to realize that the Punisher "has declared war on the Thunderbolts".

Thunderbolts (2013) # 27

"The Punisher Vs. the Thunderbolts, Part 1"

Cover Date: August 2014; Publication Date: June 2014

Writers: Ben Acker & Ben Blacker; Artist: Carlo Barberi; Inker: Carlos Cuevos; Letterer: VC's Joe Sabino; Colorist: Isreal Silva; Editor: Jordan D. White; Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonso; Cover Artist: David Yardin

While the Avengers fight a giant monster in the middle of Manhattan, a group of mercenaries specially armed with weapons designed to kill the heroes are preparing to attack from a nearby rooftop. The soldiers are stopped and killed by the Thunderbolts, their bodies incinerated by Ghost Rider to remove all evidence of their presence. The Punisher and Deadpool note that they have perhaps been seen by Hawkeye, but Castle dismisses it as impossible from that distance. The Red Leader has traced the signal from the soldiers communicators back to their source, and while en route Elektra notes that all of the guns are specially designed to kill their target except for the one meant for Captain America, which is loaded with tranquilizers.

They trace the signal to a high school, where inside they find all of the students not only dead but petrified in place. Overwhelmed with the deaths of so many innocent children, Ghost Rider nearly erupts into a tantrum before transforming back to Blaze. In the school's auditorium, the dead students come alive as zombies and attack the team, biting and infecting them until only Deadpool and Ghost Rider remain. This, however, is merely a horrific dream sequence brought on by a type of gas released by an old foe of Captain America, Doctor Faustus. Deadpool, however, was unaffected by the gas and kills Faustus' men, taking the villain hostage. While each of the other Thunderbolts see their own personal terror (the Punisher turned into a zombie, Red Hulk having killed his teammates, Elektra learning she is a Skrull, and Blaze being given the Penance Stare by Ghost Rider), Deadpool wakes them up by spraying them with a water hose. Castle wants to kill Faustus, but is stopped by Ross, who says he will make Faustus work for them to help as many people as he's killed. Punisher refuses to go along with this and quits the team. Castle returns to his personal safehouse in a rage, hoping that he's not still feeling the effects of Faustus' gas, and finds a bomb in his refrigerator that reads "you don't quit us, you're fired". Then the building explodes.

Thunderbolts (2013) # 24-26

Cover Date: June & July 2014

On Sale Date: April & May 2014

Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Paco Diaz
Letterer: VC's Joe Sabino
Colorist: Isreal Silva
Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonso

Cover Artists: Julian Totino Tedesco & Paco Diaz

In a forgotten river town called Estrella City in Honduras, General "Thunderbolt" Ross and his team are at a bar where he's meeting with a criminal named Cordoba. Years ago, Ross sent a three-man team down the Rio Patuca River and Cordoba was their guide, but they disappeared and Cordoba was the last person to see them alive. Cordoba responds neither to Ross' offer of payment nor his threats, saying that he now runs the town and the General needs to go home. Ross wagers that one of his men can beat two of Cordoba's, with the criminal getting to choose the fighters. He goes to each of the Thunderbolts in turn (Elektra, Johnny Blaze, the Punisher, Deadpool, and the Red Leader), but finally chooses Ross himself. Ross agrees, but like Castle explains to Blaze, he cannot turn into the Red Hulk without revealing his secret, so Cordoba's men are likely to kill the General. Ross does beat both men, setting one on fire and burning the hands of the other with gamma radiation, then tells Cordoba to honor the deal and guide them down the river.

Soon, on a boat heading down river, Punisher reminisces to Blaze about his time on river patrol and how easily it would be to ambush them. Ross tells Elektra that he sent his first team into the jungle to find a power source that would have helped him to kill the original Hulk. Ross possesses the only map, which he had originally given to his first team. He was on a plane when one of his soldiers, Mancuso, appeared in the seat next to him and demands he come look for them...then the plane disappeared, Ross changed into the Red Hulk in mid-air, and when he landed the map was in his hand. Ross gives the map to the Red Leader, who is able to read it and says it was created by the Deviants, an ancient race created by the Celestials long ago. At the back of the boat, Deadpool takes off his costume and jumps into the river for a swim, but he's attacked and bitten nearly in half by a grotesque creature before he can get back aboard. Castle sees a woman parachuting into the river, a woman that Ross recognizes. The General jumps into the water after her and throws her aboard the boat before the monsters can eat her. The woman, Helen, kisses Ross and then puts a gun under his chin. When she realizes she's outgunned by the team, she gives up and goes into the boat's cabin to speak with the General. She's angry because she's the person who told Ross about the artifact and she never heard from him again; he responds by saying he's there to find his missing men, not the artifact. The boat is attacked by the tentacle monster living in the river, which starts breaking the ship to pieces. Ghost Rider snags a nearby tree on the shore with his chain and holds the boat in place through the attack while the other Thunderbolts escape to shore. Before Ghost Rider can flee the boat himself, the Red Leader whispers an incantation that transforms the Rider back into mortal Johnny Blaze. The creature grabs Blaze with its tentacles and rips him to pieces, seemingly killing him. While the Punisher is unimpressed with Blaze's sacrifice, Ross orders the rest of the team into the jungle toward the artifact.

They come to the remnants of a village, which their criminal guide Cordoba says was once a peaceful place until Ross' first team of men came. The skeletal remains of the villagers are disfigured, turned into monsters. The team bunk down for the night, with most of them pairing off: Ross and Helen, Castle and Elektra, and Cordoba and the Leader, leaving Deadpool on sentry duty. Cordoba tells the Leader that he saw what he did to Blaze, and the Leader knows that Cordoba's men have been shadowing them ever since they left the river. Sterns tells Cordoba that they should partner up and will tell him how best to kill the Thunderbolts, starting with Deadpool. Cordoba tricks Deadpool into eating a poison frog that knocks him unconscious, but when the mercenaries advance to kill the other heroes the Leader yells out a warning. Cordoba escapes, though the Thunderbolts kill most of his men.

The Thunderbolts come across an ancient temple, the artifact waiting inside. Ross, Helen, Castle, and Elektra enter the temple, with the Leader left behind as their radio guide and Deadpool as his bodyguard. Deadpool runs off into the jungle, while within the temple the team splits up to cover two possible pathways. Outside, the Leader destroys his radio, cutting the team off from his directions. Elektra and the Punisher stumble into a trap, where Elektra saves Castle from a barrage of poisonous darts. One of the darts hits Elektra in the leg, paralyzing her, while the floor opens up to drop them into another trap. The walls of the room begin to close in on them, with the helpless Elektra tells Castle that this is the best way she's ever died, in his arms.

While he sits outside the Honduran temple, the Thunderbolts' former guide Cordoba rallies his men to kill the Leader and the rest. They are attacked and slaughtered by Deadpool, who causes Cordoba to flee right to the spot that Samuel Sterns is sitting. Before Cordoba can kill Sterns, Deadpool finds him and kills him with the same poisonous frog he'd attempted to kill Deadpool with before. Deadpool returns to the Red Leader, and the two of them enter the temple through a side entrance that should bypass the booby traps.

Inside the temple, General Ross and Helen continue looking for the last team sent to find the power source inside. Ross tells Helen that one of the soldiers, Mancuso, appeared to Ross like a vision and told him he would end the world if Ross didn't come find him. They discover a huge chamber that contains the severed head of a Celestial, which is leaking streams of cosmic fluid into the temple. Elsewhere inside, Red Leader warns Deadpool not to step on a stone that will trigger a booby trap. Deadpool comments that Sterns talks in his sleep and that while the other members of the team all treat the Leader like a joke he knows he isn't helpless or friendly. Deadpool says he's not dumb and steps on the stone that Sterns said was booby trapped, then stabs him through with his sword. Leader then triggers the actual booby trap, sending Deadpool into a pit of lava, killing him.

Inside the Celestial chamber, Helen explains that she's been searching for the place for hundreds of years before transforming into a monster. Ross turns into the Red Hulk, thwarting "Helen's" attempt to kill them. She tells him that she is a member of the Deviant race that killed the child of a Celestial and severed its head, letting its blood seep into the world so they could use the power to make them its rulers. The Deviant is incinerated by a blast of energy from the awakened Mancuso, who has been mutated by the Celestial's energy. Mancuso murdered the rest of his team and led Ross to the temple to talk. A badly wounded Red Leader enters the chamber unseen and drinks the Celestial fluid, which causes his brain to expand so quickly that his head explodes. Mancuso shows Ross a vision of his team of killers: one of which he drove away, another he sent to Hell, and the rest all dead on this latest mission. Mancuso explains that Ross is now an unkillable monster since he became a Hulk, and that the Thunderbolts are another failed attempt to ease his guilt in sending men off to die in his name. Mancuso offers Ross a choice: he could die there in the temple or he could use his power to make a difference in the world. Ross makes his choice and is enveloped by white light...

And the once-again alive Thunderbolts are back in their headquarters, ready for Ross to tell them about their next mission. He holds the map to the Honduran temple in his hands, but changes his mind, saying "let's try something different."

Thunderbolts (2013) # 23

Cover Date: May 2014

On Sale Date: March 2014

Writer: Charles Soule

Artist: Kim Jacinto
Letterer: VC's Joe Sabino
Colorist: Isreal Silva
Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonso 

Cover Artist: Julian Totino Tedesco

At the Crucible, current headquarters of the Thunderbolts, the team are drawing names for who gets to pick the next mission. Deadpool's name is drawn, but Venom asks if he can choose the mission instead because he's leaving the team. Thompson has a problem with the team's methods, and it's causing him to lose control of the Venom symbiote. He wants to let the symbiote take over and for the team to take it down, and surprisingly Deadpool agrees to the mission. Thompson immediately lets Venom take control, but before the team can react he jumps into the vents above them and disappears. Hulk explains that while Thompson wanted to fight, Venom just wants to escape. He orders the team to split up and find him, but to be careful.

Soon, Ghost Rider is attacked by Venom, but he can't use his hellfire (flame being one of Venom's weaknesses) without killing Thompson inside the symbiote. Venom tells Blaze that Thompson thinks he's an abomination that he only pretends to like. Blaze attempts to give Venom the Penance Stare, but it's too much sin for Ghost Rider to handle. Venom then steps on the Rider's skull, shattering it. Elsewhere, Elektra and the Punisher are in Castle's quarters arming up when Venom attacks them as well. While he taunts Castle with the idea that Thompson wants Frank to die so he can have Elektra for himself, Elektra grabs a white phosphorous grenade and throws it. She manages to rescue Punisher and is able to seal themselves off from their enemy. Venom gets doused with white powder, pure magnesium thrown on him by the Leader, but it does nothing to stop him. He stabs Leader in the shoulder before the Red Hulk slams him against a wall. Venom escapes, and Ross regroups with the team. While Ross forms a plan, they realize that Deadpool isn't with them.

In the garage, Deadpool has a rigged a trap using a mannequin that's wearing his costume and a jet suspended over it to crush Venom when he attacks. The team finds him and recruits him to help with Ross's plan, which results in Venom eating Deadpool and spitting out the still-living pieces. Ghost Rider snares Venom with his chains and drags him outside the base, where he's assaulted by Punisher and Elektra, now wielding flamethrowers. Red Hulk and Leader use a sonic cannon that separates Thompson from the symbiote, the latter of which is then caught by Blaze's hellfire chains. While Ross wants to contain and eventually kill the symbiote, Thompson refuses to let it go because no one else could control it. Venom then decides to leave the team, content with knowing that they could stop him and the symbiote if they ever had to.

Thunderbolts (2013) # 22

"No Mercy, Part 3"

Cover Date: April 2014

On Sale Date: February 2014

Writer: Charles Soule

Artist: Carlo Barberi
Letterer: VC's Joe Sabino
Colorist: Isreal Silva
Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonso 

Cover Artist: Julian Totino Tedesco

In the throne room of Hell, the Thunderbolts have been brought by Mephisto to defeat the current ruler of Hell, Guido Carosella, and return the throne to Mephisto. Red Hulk balks at the idea of killing someone he knew as a hero, so Mephisto points out that if he does not adhere to the contract he signed then all of their souls are forfeit to him. Ghost Rider explains that they must first fight their way through a group of demons before they can challenge Strong Guy. The Thunderbolts attack the demon horde, but upon realizing that it will take too long to kill them all, Ghost Rider incinerates an allotment of the devils and uses their bones to create a new flaming hellcycle. He tells Ross to get on behind him and they race through the demons to the confront Guido.

On Earth, Mercy has attacked Elektra to find out the whereabouts of Ross and the Leader, whom she had previous made a deal with. The Punisher shoots her from behind, saving Elektra. Back in Hell, Red Hulk and Strong Guy start their fight, with Guido explaining that he's doing good in Hell by releasing souls and he refuses to give the throne back to Mephisto. On Earth, Mercy attacks Castle and crushes his hand before she is stabbed in the back by Elektra.

Ross finally defeats Guido, who abdicates the throne back to Mephisto. Deadpool points out that he owes not only the team, but him personally, so Mephisto opens a gateway that Deadpool enters. Hulk and Ghost Rider then order Mephisto to fulfill the rest of their contract. On Earth, Mercy is holding a defeated Punisher and Elektra by their throats high in the air when she disappears, causing the two to fall back down to the forest, Castle protecting Elektra as they hit the trees. Mercy appears in Hell and immediately begins devouring souls. Deadpool comes back through the gateway with a feather for his hat, to replace the one he lost on the previous mission, and through the gateway after him comes a host of warrior angels. Enraged at what the Thunderbolts have brought to Hell, Mephisto swears vengeance, until the Leader points out that their contract forbids him from any retaliatory action against them. If he breaks the contract, the throne of Hell will belong to the Leader. Red Hulk thanks Strong Guy, who decides to stay behind in Hell to get his soul back, and the Thunderbolts instantly reappear in their headquarters. Elektra has brought a grievously wounded Punisher there, begging them to save his life. The feather that Deadpool brought back from Heaven reaches out and heals Castle's wounds, restoring him to life, to the surprise of everyone. Blaze then asks Ross if he can join their team, saying he needs to fight evil as much as the demon inside him does. Ross agrees, and Ghost Rider consciously changes the flame surrounding his skull from orange to red.

Thunderbolts (2013) # 21

"No Mercy, Part 2"

Cover Date: March 2014

On Sale Date: January 2014

Writer: Charles Soule

Artist: Carlo Barberi
Letterer: VC's Joe Sabino
Colorist: Israel Silva w/ James Campbell & Thomas Mason
Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonso 

Cover Artist: Greg Land

Having been accidentally sent to Hell, Ghost Rider leads the Thunderbolts (Red Hulk, Venom, Red Leader, and Deadpool) up the Bonespire in search of a way out. Blaze tells the team that while getting into Hell is easy, "getting out's a bitch". They have to find "a personal hell", which is metaphysically closer to the world the soul left behind, in order to break through back to Earth. Blaze then comments that Hell feels different now, and he's not sure why. They find a damned soul wrapped in a cocoon of hair, which sucks them inside when the Leader touches it. While Ross is attacked by a giant facsimile of his own moustache, Ghost Rider finds the damned soul and frees him from the prison. Unfortunately, the soul has been driven insane and will be no use to them. When Ross complains that Blaze has no idea what he's doing, Johnny replies that he warned him about not being good at spells before they started. Blaze then points out the glowing pentagram on Hulk's chest, calling it a "Hell Mark" that means he's been claimed by someone in Hell. A moment later, the Thunderbolts find themselves transported before Mephisto, lord of Hell and the owner of Ross's "Hell Mark".

Back at Thunderbolts headquarters, the two members of the team that stayed behind, Elektra and the Punisher, decide to take care of an assassination job provided by Elektra's contact. Inside the complex, they find an assortment of vehicles confiscated by the government that they can use to get where they're going.

In Hell, Mephisto tries to call in the marker owed to him by the Red Hulk, but the team discover that the demon is no longer ruler of Hell and can't enforce the spell. Seeing an opportunity, the Red Leader engages in a deal with Mephisto: the Thunderbolts place Mephisto back on Hell's throne, and in return he will send them home and bring Mercy down to Hell. While Mephisto, Leader, and Red Hulk negotiate the terms of the contract, Ghost Rider has a conversation with Venom and Deadpool about the purpose of the Thunderbolts. On Earth, Elektra and Punisher travel a compound to assassinate a mob boss, but before they can they are both attacked by Mercy, who can no longer feel Ross and Sterns on Earth and wants to know where they are.

Back in Hell, Ghost Rider tells Venom about his failed attempt at becoming a movie star, which resulted in the Spirit of Vengeance becoming bored and killed one of the movie producers over a hit-and-run murder he'd done years before. Red Hulk signs the contract with Mephisto (with Deadpool standing in as a notary), and the heroes are instantly transported before the current ruler of Hell: Guido Carosella, formerly the mutant Strong Guy of X-Factor.

Thunderbolts (2013) # 20

"No Mercy, Part 1"

Cover Date: March 2014

On Sale Date: January 2014

Title: "No Mercy" Part 1

Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Carlo Barberi
Letterer: VC's Joe Sabino
Colorist: Isreal Silva
Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonso 

Cover Artist: Julian Totino Tedesco

At the abandoned Petoskey Stone Diner in Michigan, General Ross and the Thunderbolts (Deadpool, Venom, Elektra, the Punisher, and the Red Leader) find the place filled with robot guards that are activated by the team's arrival. After making quick work of the robots, Ross explains that beneath the diner is a research facility where the United States Government stored away all of the alien and exotic technology they have confiscated over the years. Ross leads them into the underground complex and the various team members start settling in: Punisher and Elektra talk about why Castle is still there since the team completed his mission in New York while the Leader fixes the gamma reactor that powers the complex. Later, the Thunderbolts talk about their next mission, which is being chosen by Ross: they have to take out their wayward teammate, Mercy, an alien "death goddess" who kills those she sees as "seeking death". The Leader suggests that they send Mercy to the place with the highest concentration of people praying for oblivion: Hell. When Deadpool asks how they're going to get here there, Ross and Venom have an idea.

At the Hoover Dam in Nevada, stunt biker Johnny Blaze is being interviewed by a reporter before he attempts to jump the dam (the single longest cycle jump ever attempted!). When the reporter mentions his failed attempts to become a Hollywood movie star, Blaze ends the interview and walks away. Despite the advice of his mechanic to cancel the stunt, Johnny guns his bike and jumps the ramp...then crashes straight into the canyon wall. He saves himself by transforming into the Ghost Rider, but transforms back when the safety crew extinguishes the flames from the wreck. At the hospital, Ross and Flash Thompson visit Blaze, having heard about the crash on television, and ask him for his help.

Later, back at the Thunderbolts' headquarters, Blaze has drawn up a mystical gateway shaped as a five point star with himself, Red Hulk, Leader, Venom, and Deadpool standing at each point. Elektra and the Punisher refuse to participate, and Blaze warns Ross that spells aren't really his specialty. Blaze transforms into Ghost Rider and tells the team to focus their thoughts on Mercy, who should be brought to them by the spell and then be sent to Hell. Unfortunately, the spell backfires and instead it's the Thunderbolts who get transported into Hell.