The following contains major spoilers for Devil's Reign Omega, available now from Marvel.
The events of Devil's Reign have seen New York City nearly torn apart. Former mayor Wilson Fisk's personal war on the city's superheroes not only sent his enemies scattering, it did so with the force of his very own Thunderbolts team. While Fisk himself is no longer a threat, the unregulated Thunderbolt Units he created still very much are. Thankfully, there is at least one hero willing to take the reins of both the city and Thunderbolts initiative, and there is no one more qualified for either of those jobs than Luke Cage.
After Fisk's downfall, the city has struggled to rebuild in the immediate aftermath. Although Luke Cage has ended up running for the mayor's office unopposed, he is still faced with the Thunderbolt Units that have remained on the streets even without their founder. As seen in "Cleaning House" (by Jim Zub, Luciano Vecchio, Carlos Lopez, Java Tartaglia, and VC's Joe Sabino), Fisk's Thunderbolts are at the top of Luke's list, and for good reason. It isn't just that the likes of Crossbones have used their position to hunt, steal, and kill without repercussions, but that they have done so under a banner which means more to Luke than most.
When the Thunderbolts were first introduced to the Marvel Universe in 1996's Incredible Hulk #449 by Peter David and Mike Deodato Jr., they were operating under the command of the enigmatic Citizen V. As it turned out, this was just Baron Zemo in disguise, having reformed his Masters of Evil under a new name. Over the years, the Thunderbolts would see members come and go -- including Zemo himself. Eventually the team found itself under the leadership of Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, who hoped to give others the chance to make a heroic turn away from villainy just as he had. Though Clint was not entirely successful in that endeavor, those efforts became an indelible part of his story, one that Luke attempted to emulate during his time as the leader of the Thunderbolts.
Back in 2010's Thunderbolts #1 by Jeff Parker and Kev Walker, Steve Rogers personally asked Luke to take charge of the Thunderbolts in the hopes of turning their lives around. For Luke, that task was more than just a job. Rather, it was an opportunity to save lives the same way his had been saved, specifically by being given a second chance when it seemed like one would never come. Now that Fisk is out of the picture, Luke has the chance to return the Thunderbolts to their former, begrudgingly heroic ways. At least, until he can find someone to head up the program. Luke has also been rejected by many heroes including Monica Rambeau, Sam Wilson, Dane Whitman, Janet Van Dyne, and more.
Luckily, Hawkeye is once again an ideal candidate for a leadership role. Much like Luke, Clint is fully aware of what the Thunderbolts are capable of meaning to people who have lived their specific brand of explosive lifestyle. Having powers in the Marvel Universe is never easy, especially when you are nominally considered a villain. Clint might not have powers of his own, but his impossible skills and rough past still left him stranded before the Thunderbolts came along.
Throughout his heroic career, Hawkeye was able to transition from C-list villain to a full-fledged Avenger, not to mention one of the most famous of all time. Beyond that, Clint's time on the team taught him how to both accept himself for who he was and reject the reputation he had previously established. Assuming Luke can get Clint on board, the two of them might already be well on their way towards making the next Thunderbolts the best of them all.
