Thunderstrike (Kevin Masterson)

Thunderstrike
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Created by	Tom DeFalco Ron Frenz
In-story information
Alter ego	Kevin Masterson
Team affiliations	A-Next
Abilities	Superhuman strength and durability Sonic blasts

Thunderstrike (Kevin Masterson), a fictional character that appeared in Marvel Comics. The character was first introduced as a supporting character in Thor and later in spin-off series Thunderstrike, as the son of Eric Masterson, the featured character of both series. Kevin Masterson was later re-introduced MC2 series A-Next, as the superhero Thuderstrike, a theme which would be revisited in an Heroic Age of Marvel Comics in the eponymys limited series .

Fictional character biography

In the alternate future of MC2, Eric's son, Kevin Masterson was granted the Thunderstrike Mace by Jarvis, the Avengers butler, as per his father's will. As the mace was made for his father alone, Kevin was unable to use it as his father had. The mace was later stolen from Kevin and eventually came into the possession of Loki, who had created a spell to tap the dormant power within the mace. Kevin leapt into the midst of the spell, absorbing the mace and the magic it contained into his body. He became his own version of Thunderstrike and would go on to reform the Avengers. Kevin thought that he could use his powers to in some way connect with his deceased father's memory.

Kevin made friends with teammate J2, as they both had inherited their superpowers from their missing fathers, and worked well with Stinger and Mainframe. When his team gained new members, he tried to form friendships with them, but he wasn't as close with them as he was his original teammates. Kevin tried to do some good as just his normal self, by volunteering at a housing project with his childhood friend Maria. But he found himself embroiled in a battle with the Sons of the Serpent. However, Kevin couldn't change without revealing his secret identity to Maria. The intervention of Blacklight helped hold off the Serpents, but when the building Kevin and Maria were hiding in collapsed he had to change, making Maria swear to keep his secret.

Thunderstrike's biggest challenge though, was when the Avengers travelled to a dark parallel dimension, where he encountered a dark version of his own father. But when the alternate Eric Masterson recognized Thunderstrike as Kevin, Thunderstrike learned that in this reality, his counterpart had died, not Eric (as in Thunderstrike's reality). The alternate Eric and Kevin bonded, and once the Avengers defeated the dark dimension's ruler, Kevin stayed behind to be with his "father".

Kevin returned to his home reality, and rejoined the Avengers to aid in the battle with Seth. But When Galactus destroyed Asgard, Thunderstrike seemingly lost his powers in Last Planet Standing. He was kidnapped by Ulik and Sylene, daughter of Loki, as part of a plan to restore Asgard. During the course of the series, Kevin Masterson struggled against his captors, and ultimately was responsible for turning the tables on the two villains. Thena, daughter of Thor, who had also taken part in the battle against her cousin, was able to restore Kevin's power, allowing him to become Thunderstrike once more.

Powers and abilities

Kevin has the ability to change from his normal form into the superhuman Thunderstrike. As Thunderstrike, he has the powers contained within the mace. Thunderstrike is superhumanly strong and durable. He can generate explosive bursts of sonic force (his "thunderbolts") from his hands, and direct them as blasts of force, or focus the energy into his fists to deliver super-strong punches. Thunderstrike can direct his blasts downwards to launch himself into the air, and while he cannot fly, can propel himself great distances. He even learned how to modulate the frequency of his sonic energies, to shatter objects just by touching them, without harming nearby people.

References

• Thunderstrike (Kevin Masterson) at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)