Be A Thunderbolt in 2022

Jeffrey Kass
4 min readDec 30, 2021

Self-reflection is a critical part of ending racism

Image: Hasehoch2/Shutterstock

In 1997, Marvel released a new superhero team known as The Thunderbolts.

Unless you’re a comic book aficionado, I doubt you know of these society-saving superhumans. I didn’t. Not just because there aren’t any blockbuster movies bearing their name (they’re finally creating one in 2023), but also because these superheroes were of a different ilk.

They weren’t born with a silver spoon in their mouths. They didn’t live in a wealthy Bruce Wayne mansion with an unlimited trust fund for their high-tech, criminal-fighting powers. They weren’t dropped from the sky into the fields of a loving home and raised on a farm with two kind parents. They weren’t the love childs of other superheroes.

Quite the opposite. They grew up in difficulty, like so many of us. Life challenges that then led to bad decision-making. They took many wrong turns, as most of us with trauma have. God knows I’ve taken too many. For a time, these men and women couldn’t even see their potential.

The Thunderbolts originated as a team of super criminals, wreaking havoc on society, all while masquerading as heroes. They were up to no good but had to sometimes pretend they were superheroes to carry out their sinister acts.

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Jeffrey Kass

A Medium Top Writer on Racism, Diversity, Education, History and Parenting | Speaker | Award-Winning Author | Latest Book: Black Batwoman V. White Jesus | Dad