This was a beast of a book! I'm not completely sure what the page count is, but it was at least the size of three regular comics.
The book was broken into three sections: the Thunderbolts versus the Avengers story, the Thunderbolts SAGA as presented through the eyes of Moonstone and Songbird and then a re-print of Thunderbolts #1.
The main story was good. Luke Cage was on the cusp of quitting as team leader of the T-Bolts. He just wasn't sure he could reform this particular group. It appeared as though his misgivings were coming true when he saw the team in a whole new light. Sure, it was during an attempted escape, but Luke saw some potential nonetheless.
There were a couple surprises in the main story that helped keep it interesting. Ghost easily bests Iron Man, raising his street cred in my eyes. Steve Rogers finally exacts revenge on Crossbones, in a very un-Captain America manner and Juggernaut increases his stock as a legitimate leader.
All in all, a fun read. The weirdest thing bugged me about this issue though. It was the last page. Maybe I'm just stupid, but I don't understand why the frog had to die! I must be missing the point, but it seemed to ruin the tone writer Jeff Parker was trying to end on.
The SAGA section was well done, and very helpful for anyone not familiar with the Thunderbolts storied history. And for once, I thought the reprinting in the back of the book was really well timed and necessary. It fit the overall tone of the issue and was well placed being this was a benchmark book at #150.
Thanks again for a solid read T-Bolts. I am enjoying this team.