WARNING: The following contains spoilers for King in Black: Thunderbolts #1 by Matthew Rosenberg, Juan Ferreyra, and VC's Joe Sabino, on sale now.
The heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe have nowhere left to run in Marvel's King in Black crossover. With the symbiote god Knull centralizing his invasion efforts around New York City, one classic Marvel villain, the Kingpin, has taken it upon himself to reform the Thunderbolts in an effort to combat the carnage, and get the name of the team that he now owns back in the spotlight.
As Marvel's heroes work tirelessly to do everything they can to find a way to defeat Knull, Wilson Fisk is busy gathering various still villains who have been operating in his city without his permission. As mayor, not to mention the former Kingpin of Crime, Fisk holds more sway over what happens to the others than they could ever imagine, threatening them with a cozy prison cell where they can await their own horrific deaths at the hands of Knull's forces if they turn down his cash offer to become heroes. Not everyone is interested in going up against those odds, and Incendiary excuses himself to take his chances in prison only to be executed by his police escort on the way out. Now that everyone understands the cost of walking away, it's time for them to go over the last couple of caveats before heading out to deal with the nightmare that the city has become.
The first is that they operate without masks. They're working as heroes now, and they represent the office of the mayor and the city of New York, so they're going to have to operate in a manner reflective of their new position. When it comes to a name, that's easy enough, as Fisk personally owns the rights to the Thunderbolts, a name with pedigree in the Marvel universe.
The first incarnation of the Thunderbolts was introduced in 1996's Incredible Hulk #449 by Peter David and Mike Deodato Jr. as the latest version of Baron Zemo's Masters of Evil. While the team would come and go over the years, its most important change would come on the heels of Civil War, wherein Norman Osborn was appointed as Thunderbolts Director. Osborn's iteration of the team might not share any of its roster with the current lineup, but that doesn't mean they aren't connected.
Previously, the last time the Thunderbolts were seen was under the purview of Mayor Fisk to oust the Punisher, following which he apparently purchased the rights to the team. Fisk has also been working alongside the team's former director in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man, only furthering their shared connection to the Wall Crawler, and setting the Thunderbolts themselves up for a potential run in with Spider-Man.
The Thunderbolt's first mission sees them tasked with making their way to Ravencroft to aid Norman Osborn, who seems to have some plan for taking on the symbiotes that have attacked the city. It's not outside the realm of possibility that, with the Green Goblin's experience with Spider-Man, and subsequently Venom and other symbiotes, that he knows something the others haven't thought of yet. Still, the Thunderbolts can only hope that Osborn doesn't turn green on them while the entire world is still a walking deathtrap.