Real Name: William Carver
Occupation: Assistant district attorney
Identity: Secret
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record
Other Aliases: None
Place of Birth: Harlem, New York
Place of Death: Queens, New York
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Lonnie (brother, deceased)
Group Affiliation: None
Base of Operations: New York City
First Appearance: (as William Carver) DAREDEVIL #69, (as Thunderbolt) POWER MAN #41
Final Appearance: POWER MAN AND IRON FIST #62

History: Shortly after returning home to Harlem, having served in the military overseas, William Carver was approached by several members of a local violent street gang called the Thunderbolts. The gang members were eager to have Carver join their group as they believed his military training would be useful in their illegal activities. Carver, however, had no desire to join and refused. The following day, Carver went to work as an assistant district attorney under then-District Attorney Franklin Nelson. When Nelson heard of the Thunderbolts' offer, he instructed Carver to infiltrate the group and gather as much information as possible against the gang members. The increasingly violent methods of the Thunderbolts had become a cause of concern in recent months and Nelson was determined to end their illegal activities, in the end, Carver gathered enough evidence to send several Thunderbolt leaders to prison.

Several months later, Carver's younger brother, Lonnie, was gunned down before Carver's eyes. On the day of Lonnie's funeral, Carver spotted the murderer and chased him through the cemetery. As the two men fought for control of the gunman's pistol, they were struck by a bolt of lightning. The sniper was killed instantly, but Carver survived, although he was seriously injured.

He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where it was decided that Carver's only chance lay with an experimental cobalt ray treatment designed by Stark International. After Carver underwent the treatment, the doctors discovered that there had been a slight radiation leak in the cobalt ray device, and they feared it would have an adverse effect on Carver's recovery. Despite this, Carver apparently suffered no ill effects, and completely recovered in a matter of hours. It was only afterwards that Carver discovered that the treatment and the accidental exposure to excess radiation had a secondary effect. The cobalt had seemingly mutated Carver's body chemistry. His muscle coordination and reflexes now functioned on superhuman levels. Thus, Carver was able to achieve incredible speeds and his reaction time was far above that of a normal human.

Seeking to learn the identity of the man who had ordered his brother's murder, and developing a growing hatred for all criminals, Carver began his career as a costumed crimefighter. He called himself the Thunderbolt, after his first underworld foes.

Shortly thereafter, Carver discovered that the cobalt ray treatment had done far more than give him superhuman speed. It had also accelerated his aging rate. His body's metabolism had been speeded up to such a degree that he was actually aging at a rate of several years per week. William Carver had only a few months to live before he died of old age. His quest for Lonnie's murderer now became more desperate than ever.

It was with the aid of Carver's old ally, Power Man, and his partner, Iron Fist, that the mystery of Lonnie Carver's murder was solved. They discovered that it had been attorney "Big" Ben Donovan who had ordered Lonnie's death. Donovan's younger brother, Paul, had been one of the leaders of the Thunderbolts that William Carver had sent to prison. Paul Donovan was killed in prison, and his brother Ben blamed the assistant District Attorney for that death. In revenge, he sought to rob Carver of his own brother.

Having confessed to his crime, Donovan pulled a gun on Thunderbolt. As the two men struggled, the gun went off, accidentally killing Donovan. His mission completed, Thunderbolt succumbed to his body's accelerated aging. He died content that his brother's murder had been avenged.

Height: 5 ft. 10 in
Weight: 155 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black, later white

Strength Level: Thunderbolt possessed superhuman strength primarily in his lower body as part of his body's adaptations for running at superhuman speeds. With his upper body he possessed little more than the normal human strength of a man his physical age, height, and build. He could leg press approximately 1000 pounds under optimal conditions.

Known Superhuman Powers: Thunderbolt possessed the superhuman ability to move and run at speeds greater than those a normal human being could achieve. Although he was not as fast as the mutant Quicksilver, Thunderbolt could still attain speeds of up to 85 miles per hour.

Thunderbolt's body had mutated in various ways similar to Quicksilver's, adapting it for the stresses of moving at superhuman speed. His cardiovascular and respiratory systems were many times more efficient than a normal human being's. He metabolized somewhere over 50% of the caloric energy content of foodstuffs (normal human use is about 25%). The chemical processes of Thunderbolt's musculature were so highly enhanced that his body generated unusually low amounts of fatigue poisons, the normal by-products of locomotion that force the body to rest. His joints were smoother and were lubricated more efficiently than a normal person's, and his bones contained unknown materials significantly more durable than calcium to withstand the dynamic shocks of his feet touching the ground at superhuman speeds. Thunderbolt's practical reaction time was about four times faster than a normal human being's, and the speed at which his brain processed information was heightened to a level commensurate with his bodily speed, enabling him to perceive his surroundings while traveling at high velocities. The lachrymose of his eyes was also more viscous than normal, thus preventing rapid evaporation and replenishment of surface fluids on his eyeballs under the influence of high wind velocity to occlude his vision.

Other Abilities: As a former Marine, Thunderbolt was an expert in hand-to-hand combat. He could use this training in conjunction with his superhuman speed to disarm or overpower several opponents within seconds.

Weapons: Thunderbolt's visor was equipped with a powerful light, called the thunderbolt lightning flare, which he used to disorient and blind his opponents temporarily. Thunderbolt only used the visor as a means of last resort.