After the battle is over, while Genis is being checked by Kree medics, Josten and Ms. Marvel discuss Strucker’s motivations, and even get a little questioning about how worthy Genis is to take over his father’s legacy, as he didn’t act like his father on the battlefield today. Carol leaves, not bothering to say goodbye to Genis, and he wonders just how she feels about him and his father.

Inside the building knows as the Valhalla Mountain Research Facility, outside of which the battle was fought, lobbyist Zebediah Killgrave gives Judge Advocate Ronan of the Kree a tour of the facility. This is a place where some of the greatest minds on the planet work, including Forge, someone who looks like the Mole Man, and Wendell Vaughn and Abe Jenkins, the last two of whom are detecting strange photonic surges, and wonder, as Jenkins nervously clicks a pen, what all is happening with a possible treaty between the Kree and the people of the Earth.

Josten is walking through another part of the facility with Dum Dum Dugan, and they are talking about just that, and how they can’t let the treaty be signed. They walk into a lab to meet James Sanders, as Dugan nervously clicks a pen, and talk to him about their plan to develop a bio toxin to kill all the Kree. But Sanders says that the Kree might have just brought something to take care of that themselves that could tear reality apart.

Back outside, all of the fighters are bonding except for Genis, who narrates that his heritage hasn’t made socializing easy for him, so he just turns his feelings inwards. But that causes a reaction once again, as he begins to feel what the true reality is supposed to be like, and that causes him to tap into his powers of Captain Marvel, giving him cosmic awareness, and he flies off. This gains the attention of everyone at the facility, who identfy him as the source of the photonic surges, and everyone hastily begins pursuit.

Genis continues to have more and more thoughts of the real reality flow through him, as he desperately sifts through them trying to find some help. He is soon attracted to one memory, which leads him to a certain spot. A graveyard, where he finds the person he is looking for; Rick Jones. But rather than an actual person, Genis just finds his tombstone. He becomes even more frustrated at this, wondering just why everything feels so wrong, and lets of a tremendous burst of energy.

All of his pursuers feel this as well, with Dugan even saying that it felt like time stopped. Ronan reveals that it was his private Vell, and shares that the medics found that he has become a sort of spatial conduit, and if they don’t find him soon, the entire universe could disappear. As he and the rest of the Kree and mutant personnel leave, Killgrave turns to Josten and Dugan, while clicking a pen, and tells them that maybe they could see Vell as an opportunity rather than a threat.

So the two meet back with Sanders, who has indeed developed the toxin to kill the Kree, but also a second one that will just induce a state of hibernation, but he wonders just how they plan to deliver them.

Josten is driving Dugan and Jenkins along a deserted road, as Jenkins complains what they’re driving towards hasn’t even been tested yet. Josten says that they have no choice because the only way for the humans to survive is to start fighting back.

The Kree, human, and mutant forces are converging on Genis, who’s powers are starting to grow out of control with his body changing into different alternate versions of himself, as Ronan announces that he is bisecting space and time, but Genis lets off a huge blast taking out all the forces. He tries talking to Rick again, wondering if this is wrong, why does it feel right? Is this the real life he was supposed to lead? Just then, a large blast signals the arrival of Josten, piloting an Atlas class Sentinel. They get into a confrontation as Josten tries to persuade Genis to join the humans, but he says that humans can’t stop the natural evolution and his growing powers affects Josten, making him half of his present state, half of his normal state as the hero Atlas. Now, Genis confronts Josten with the truth of what has been happening, and challenges him with questions of whether he would want to live as a good man on a doomed world, or as a bad man on a world of potential. He also reveals that he knows about Josten’s toxins, saying that using the one that would kill him could accelerate his powers and destroy the universe, but using the one that would put him to sleep would expose his plot against the Kree. He says he could die on this world as a hero to billions even though they lost hope, or he could live on a world as a flawed man with weak principles, the choice is his. Josten demands to know why it’s up to him if Genis is the one with all the power, but Genis says that he feels his decisions are always wrong and would choose this reality because he has less responsibility. Josten has had enough, calling Genis weak and a coward. Life is responsibility. He’s not going to risk everyone’s lives to advance his cause or stop trying to do what’s right. That’s something Genis’ father would have understood, and with that, as Genis narrates that Josten didn’t realize how hard it was to do nothing and live on in a world where he gladly accepted being less, Josten fires a toxin gas.

Ronan, Forge, Dugan, and Killgrave stand around as some Kree medics examine the still, frozen body of Genis Vell, which has several energy fields floating around it and reveal that his powers have subsided. Ronan feels it is ironic that it was the toxin the people developed to destroy the Kree that ended up saving them. Forge tries to specify that it was just humans who engineered the toxin, but Ronan just says that to the Kree, they’re all humans, and leaves. Forge then turns to Dugan to try and get answers as to why Josten was made it all the way to Phoenix before he was captured, how a Sentinel exploded close to that area, or why there is part of a Sentinel arm here. Dugan has no information, but Killgrave says that there were rumors of the human resistance trying to get Sentinels to use against them. Forge wonders what he means by them, and Killgrave says that he’s always likened himself to a mutant with the power of persuasion. Forge somewhat brushes this off and orders Dugan to find out what he can about Josten, as it would be a shame if he were a traitor and would take him down with him. When he’s gone, Dugan immediately turns to Killgrave saying he didn’t have to see Josten out, but Killgrave says he would have just watched the network they worked hard to build fall apart. It’s Dugan’s turn to wonder what Killgrave means by them, and he explains that sometimes the best way to pull the strings, is to play the part of the puppet, as he walks away clicking a pen.

Review: This was just an awesome, AWESOME issue. Probably the best New Thunderbolts to come out so far. I’ve read this series since it came out about a year ago, but this one just seems to stand above all the rest Nicieza has done already. He’s crafted a fast paced drama with tremendous characterization, and some decent surprises. Especially when it comes to the revelation that it is Killgrave, aka the Purple Man, an extremely evil man in the regular reality, that is the one behind the whole plot of this issue to do what’s best for people. Also, the involvement of Dugan in the human resistance also hints towards how big Nick Fury’s role is in the resistance as well.

For those who don’t usually read this book, the Thunderbolts members from before the reality switch that are involved in this issue are the Radioactive Man, Erik Josten/Atlas, Abe Atkins/Mach IV, James Sanders/Speed Demon, and of course, Genis-Vell/Photon, formerly the third Captain Marvel. Suspiciously absent are the characters of Songbird, Joystick, and Blizzard, but I guess they couldn’t fit everyone in.

This book wasn’t without its holes though. Mainly is the strange fact of having Forge being the leader of that research facility all the way out in Colorado, but also works for Tony Stark in Chicago. And if it indeed was the Mole Man working there as well, that also makes no sense because in the Fantastic Four tie in, he made it clear that he doesn’t really want anything to do with anyone on the surface. Plus, he’s now dead.

The art, however, was great, as is typical with this series. I’ve always liked the art on this book, as Grummett and Erskine do work that has a very classic feel to it, but with a modern edge. The designs throughout this issue are great, especially with the Atlas Sentinel and showing Genis’ powers. I also liked the touch in the panel where Genis is changing into different versions of himself when part of him has changed into how he looks in the Ultimate universe.