Thunderbolts* is a fairly simple plot to follow. Valentina Allegra de Fontaine was a CIA director who then went behind the scenes to do some black ops stuff for her O.X.E. Group. This has led to impeachment hearings in the movie, and to get away from these black rumors, she decides to torch her entire portfolio, including the heroes and villains she hired.
Marvel: 9 Best Characters In Thunderbolts*, Ranked
Thunderbolts* presents a diverse cast of heroes, anti-heroes, and villains, from Yelena Belova as the new Black Widow to the debut of Sentry.
That’s how Yelena Belova, U.S. Agent, Taskmaster, and Ghost all meet up: to kill each other under false pretenses in Thunderbolts*. Can these anti-heroes embrace their past and unite to retaliate against Valentina? More importantly, are there any unanswered questions left?
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
6 What Were The New Avengers Doing For Fourteen Months?
Must Be Nice To Be On A Wheaties Box
Valentina seemingly tricks the Thunderbolts into becoming the New Avengers at the end of the movie. In most cases, fans would be wondering if this was going to stick, but the idea seemingly has for at least fourteen months, as there is a time skip. The whole team is there, including Bob and a slimmer Alexei.
Bob hasn’t been helping, though, as he can’t embrace his powers yet. What have the other team members been doing for fourteen months? Will this be left open for a movie sequel within this time, or perhaps a TV Show on Disney+? The timeline is very specific, so it seems like Marvel/Disney gave themselves some room just in case.
5 Will There Be Another Civil War?
The Copyright Wars Are Coming
One of the things discussed in this New Avengers time skip scene is that they are being sued over the copyright of the name. Sam Wilson, the new official Captain America, thinks he owns the rights to the Avengers. This ties into Captain America: Brave New World because President Ross wanted Sam to create a new Avengers team.
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When it comes to sheer power, these members of Marvel's Thunderbolts are the strongest in the comics.
By the end of that movie, it seems like a pipe dream, though, since President Ross gets thrown in jail and Sam didn’t seem that interested in starting a new team anyway. It seems a little petty for Sam to sue over the rights of a name. Is someone helping with these litigations for Sam like Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, or Jennifer Walters, aka She-Hulk? This could turn into another Civil War situation, except this time about naming rights, which seems like a parody plot Deadpool would come up with, but it could happen.
4 Is Valentina On The Level Now?
Once A Schemer, Always A Schemer
Thunderbolts* has basically two villains between Valentina and Sentry/Void, but all of the film’s problems fall back on her. While Valentina has no strength physically, her brain and social standing are her power. It makes her a bigger threat than Taskmaster, who was advertised to be on the Thunderbolts team, but Ava shoots her pretty quickly, leaving many audience members shocked.
It was pretty clever of her to gather the four main heroes together to try and eliminate them, but the plan ultimately backfired. Then she tried to get a hold of Bob as Sentry, but her pushing led to him becoming Void instead. All and all, though she didn’t die, get impeached, and now the U.S. Seemingly embraced her New Avengers group, so that’s ultimately a net positive for her. Can she keep this up and pull a fast one over the New Avengers with a backdoor scheme, or will Valentina actually embrace being on the straight and narrow for once?
3 Is Bob Going To Be Okay?
Can Ge Control His Powers Or Will He Become A Villain Again?
Bob has a troubling presence in Thunderbolts* as he has amnesia and wakes up in the middle of a fight between anti-heroes. He says he’s just a normal guy, but then he finds out Valentina created him through Project Sentry. She somehow manipulates Bob into thinking he should be the new protector of the Earth, even though he knows Valentina tried to kill him and the other characters in that storage vault.
This leads to Bob going haywire as Void, but Yelena thankfully calms her down. As mentioned previously, in the flash forward, Bob mostly sits around the old Avengers Watchtower doing menial tasks like doing dishes or reading. Will he get a hold of his powers in the future, or is he simply too strong, like Captain Marvel, to exist in a normal capacity?
2 The Fantastic Four Arrive
Are They From The Sacred Timeline?
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set to release in July 2025, and it’s the first movie based on the characters since 2015, which was a reboot. That went nowhere, so now Marvel/Disney is officially entering them into the MCU canon with yet another reboot. It takes place in the past, and fans have been wondering how it ties into the Sacred Timeline since no one in the MCU has mentioned these heroes before.
During the flash forward event in Thunderbolts*, the New Avengers see a ship in their atmosphere that has a big “4” on it, which could mean several things. At the end of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the heroes could get trapped in space and are now returning to the present day, similar to how Steve Rogers was frozen at the end of his initial movie and then thawed out for The Avengers and never aged. Or, The Fantastic Four could be from another timeline and then, through the power of wormholes, ended up in the Sacred Timeline version of Earth, aka Earth-616. So, which version is it?
1 Is Taskmaster Really Dead?
Kind Of Surprising If Yes
One of the most upsetting things fans experienced was witnessing the death of Taskmaster very early in the movie. What’s more, Ava, aka Ghost, is the one who kills her with a quick shot to the head. It seems like a very finite end for the character, especially since the room goes up in flames.
However, the death seems too abrupt to be final. Did Taskmaster gain some new powers to heal like Wolverine and escape that fire trap? That would beg the question of why she didn’t return in the rest of the movie. So, all signs point to Taskmaster being dead, but one never knows in the MCU. Taskmaster could have been cloned, too, or someone else could become Taskmaster.
- Release Date
- May 2, 2025
- Runtime
- 127 minutes
- Director
- Jake Schreier
- Writers
- Eric Pearson, Joanna Calo
- Producers
- Kevin Feige
- Franchise(s)
- Marvel Cinematic Universe
Cast
-
Florence PughYelena Belova -
Sebastian StanBucky Barnes
