Fuck Batman, is it Songbird RIP?

I’ve twittered on about my love for the comic Thunderbolts for some time now. Not news to many of you.

But amongst that team, a few characters stood higher than others. Jolt never really interested me, Fixer bothered me in a way I grew to find amusing but there was a place in my heart for tow T-bolts above all else.

One was Abe Jenkins aka The Beetle aka Mach One, Two Three and finally Four.

The other was his long time paramour Melissa Gold aka Screaming Mimi aka Songbird. She was clearly one of original Thunderbolts writer Kurt Busiek’s favourites too as she appeared in Avengers Forever as a future Avenger.

The hope of redemption was the core of the original take on the book. That dream gestated within the burgeoning romance between Abe and Melissa. Both low rent villains from the wrong side of the tracks, Busiek did a lot to flesh out their backstory and show us that a terrible upbringing and poor choices had made them into the people they had been in comics of yesteryear.

With a new wardrobe and new found respect coming from the public, Mach-1 and Songbird were the first Thunderbolts to question Zemo’s plans and dare to believe that they really could become heroes.

Melissa had many hurdles to face within her own confidence and resolve over the years but eventually grew in a smart capable woman who even lead the Thunderbolts for a time and was often their voice of reason when others were in charge.

Mark Bagley helped by giving her such a distinctive look, both in costume and hair. She was less femme fatale than Black Widow, more girl next door than She Hulk and grittier than the Invisible Woman. She had similar qualities to Rogue, a bad girl on a path of redemption but without the grating Southern Belle accent and convoluted history that made Rogue such a caricature.

When Warren Ellis took over writing the team after Civil War, he kept Melissa as part of the line up but it was clear she had a target painted on her. Much less malleable than the other former Thunderbolts and certainly not a hardened killer like both Venom and Bullseye, Melissa was a thorn in Norman Osborn’s side and he made that very clear.

Now as Andy Diggle takes over, Osborn is clearing house and at the end of Thunderbolts #126, Melissa found herself backed into a corner by the vicious Bullseye. I fnd myself nervous that Diggle is going to make me hate him by killing one of my favourite Marvel characters. She has been part of my life for twelve years after all.

Well, tomorrow will tell. A recent post on Newsarama shows she survives the first six pages, but after that who knows?

Yes, definitely nervous. I’m watching you Diggle.