After his psychological and physical transformation into Penance, Baldwin joined Norman Osborn's new government sponsored Thunderbolts team. This team is comprised mostly of supervillains who are being forced to reform, or at least give the appearance that they have in public. Penance believes he fits in with the rest of his new teammates as a reforming supervillain. Ironically, Norman Osborn has expressed concern about Penance's sanity, albeit for selfish reasons. Future solicitations for Nova feature Penance battling his former best friend and fellow New Warrior because he has yet to register since his return to Earth after eliminating the threat of the Annihilation Wave.