Marvel

By Eric Drumm Thanks to his unique genetic makeup, Robbie Baldwin, the plucky New Warrior Speedball, survived the explosion at Stamford the started "Civil War." However, that may not be entirely accurate. Realizing that he had a hand in the death of over 600 people, many of them children, he was devastated with guilt. Also realizing that his kinetic powers had undergone a transformation due to his trauma, he took on a new persona in Penance, a self-mutilating Thunderbolt. With the mini-series PENANCE: RELENTLESS, he takes being a moody teenager to new and dangerous levels. Written by Paul Jenkins (CIVIL WAR: FRONT LINE) and illustrated by Paul Gulacy (PUNISHER VS BULLSEYE), Penance's brooding is about to boil over. Having a complete attitude change as well as a terrifying new costume, Robbie Baldwin has become exceeding unstable in the pages of THUNDERBOLTS. With PENANCE: RELENTLESS, Assistant Editor Molly Lazer says that Robbie has a personal mission, despite his Thunderbolts duties. "PENANCE: RELENTLESS is about Robbie Baldwin's continuing quest for vengeance after the event at Stamford that started the super human Civil War," she explains. Since joining the Thunderbolts against his will, Robbie has been withdrawn, distant and preoccupied with beating himself up mentally and physically over the events at Stamford. As his pain crescendos, his status as an active Thunderbolt may come into question. It's hard to be on a team if you're isolated by your own demons, and Lazer says that will become apparent in the mini-series. "We'll see how Robbie interacts with some of his team members—notably Norman Osborn and Moonstone—and see what happens when his interests run opposite to theirs. Robbie has become a loner on the team—he doesn't fit in with the 'old' T-Bolts members, and doesn't have any attachment to the newer members either. So he's pretty much on his own." Being so isolated gives Robbie plenty of time to himself. When you're as conflicted and devastated with self-guilt as Robbie is, being alone is not a very healthy thing. With all that death on his hands, Robbie's madness and hatred of himself is seemingly coming to a head. Will he finally snap? "Absolutely," confirms Lazer. "Although whether his actions in this series are due to a psychotic break or due to his desire to atone for what happened in Stamford remains to be seen." It's hard to hide when you're on a team like the Thunderbolts, and Robbie is no exception. Director Norman Osborn has become a little obsessed with getting to the bottom of Robbie's pain, wanting to know why he mutilates himself and why he has become so powerful because of it. If history teaches us anything, it's when Norman Osborn becomes infatuated with a super-powered teenager, it ain't pretty. Still getting nowhere after countless "counseling" sessions, Norman knows that Robbie is hiding something, and is not above using force to get it out. "Norman is not thrilled, to say the least, about Robbie's actions at the beginning of this series," warns Lazer who also works on THUNDERBOLTS. "Robbie is a nut that Norman can't crack, and it's getting to him. And after Penance goes rogue, Norman must deal with the consequences." Spiraling into pain-soaked madness, Penance is breaking away from his team but his motives remained veiled. Looking at the facts, we can guess that it might have something to do with repenting for all the dead children. For Robbie, nothing is going to stop him from paying for his crimes as Penance, and with limits of his pain-based powers unknown, it may not even be possible to stop him. Lazer lays down what we what's in store for the series. "We can expect a plan to be formulated that might not turn out how you'd expect it to…Penance is a tough one to figure out, and Norman and Tony Stark are both racing to discover exactly what he is up to. We can expect Wolverine, the T-Bolts, the FF, a trip to Latveria (and maybe a certain armored villain) and lots of explosions. It should be a fun ride!" Feel the pain with PENANCE: RELENTLESS by Paul Jenkins and Paul Gulacy, on sale September 19.