Not long ago, we broke the news that Nick Spencer and artist CAFU would be relaunching the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS in November – along with a lovely cover by superstar artist Frank Quitely. But why stop there? Editor Wil Moss was kind enough to not only shoot over some lovely CAFU character designs, but he also kept me on the phone for a few minutes to talk up just what you guys are looking at. So, what’s the score, Wil?
“When tasked with reviving the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS property for a modern audience, we needed an exciting new take on the concept, so we went to writer Nick Spencer.
But how do you make a 50-year-old superhero team like T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS look fresh and modern? Hire a one-of-a-kind artist like CAFU. Problem solved! Let’s take a look at the brand new cast and CAFU’s terrific designs of them …
DYNAMO
The new Dynamo has a number of demons to wrestle with, and how better to do so than strapping on a belt that gives you super-strength and beating the snot out of some terrorists?
This character more than the others was just a name on a piece of paper until CAFU brought him to life with his pen. He gave the classic Dynamo costume a striking update and filled it with a pensive-looking flesh-and-blood character.
LIGHTNING
Lightning’s past is one readers of the sports page will be familiar with. It’s one of failure, self-doubt and, ultimately, redemption – if he can manage to outrace death long enough, that is.
CAFU came up with a number of designs for Lightning’s suit, but we ultimately settled on this one as it seemed both the most stylish and the most practical. Zipping around that fast, you’re going to need some protection!
NOMAN
The only original member returning to (active) duty on the book, NoMan has become so out-of-touch with his humanity after years of jumping from one body to another that he just doesn’t know what to do with himself – hence being foolish enough to return to the team.
We didn’t want to change NoMan’s look too much from the original, so CAFU just gave it some thought and figured out what a guy who doesn’t care about appearances at all would be wearing.
MENTHOR
Menthor is a bit of an enigma. His identity and true motives are elements that will be up in the air for quite a while. All we can say is, whatever you think you know about Menthor based on the original series, don’t expect things to turn out the same way here.
This design is certainly a favorite – there’s just something so bizarre about seeing a superhero wearing a suit like that, especially with a covered face. For the helmet, CAFU came up with a very sleek-looking update of Menthor’s original look – a nod to the original, yet still thoroughly modern. Just like the book!
One of the best parts of this new T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS series is finding out who all these people in the costumes really are. What kind of person willingly takes on something like this that they know will kill them? You can find out starting November 10 when T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS #1 hits stands!”
