I sure am glad I shlepped my ass to the theater last night to see Marvel’s Thunderbolts* (on the saddest IMAX screen known to humankind) because a new marketing push for the film is spoiling one of its most significant surprises. Turn back now if you don’t want to discover what I’m talking about, though it’s difficult to avoid this news. It’s everywhere today. Are you ready to find out why there’s an asterisk in Thunderbolts*? Ready or not, here we go!
In Marvel’s Thunderbolts*, Yelena Belova, Winter Soldier, Ghost, John Walker, Alexei Shostakov, and Bob (kinda/sorta) become the New Avengers! You heard me! Marvel’s rag-tag group of anti-hero underdogs is the New Avengers! Down is up! Up is down! Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria! Despite their differences, the Thunderbolts discover a way to come together and fight the good fight by the film’s conclusion. Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) also sees their heroism as a way to spin the team to her advantage by dubbing the group the New Avengers. What first comes off as a joke is quickly proven legit as an after-credits sequence (taking place 14 months after the team’s reveal) finds the team monitoring villainous activity inside the Watchtower (a new base of operations housed in what used to be Avengers Tower).
According to online posts, Marvel Studios gave fans exactly one weekend to see the film before revealing the film’s title change to The New Avengers. I doubt anyone will call the movie by that name. It’s just marketing. Today, Marvel posted a video of the Thunderbolts* team tearing at the film’s title to reveal the New Avengers logo underneath. Florence Pugh’s face is priceless as she lets the cat out of the bag.
What does this mean? Well, we have a new Avengers team, and it’s not led by Sam Wilson’s Captain America, much to his dismay. Does this mean Marvel just dashed our hopes for a Young Avengers team? Unlikely. Both teams exist in the comics. I don’t see a reason why both can’t exist in the MCU.
What do you think about the Thunderbolts* becoming the MCU’s New Avengers? Notably, innumerable teams exist in Marvel Comics, meaning New Avengers isn’t the end-all for the Avengers brand. I’ve no doubt the MCU’s latest development will set keyboard warriors aflame. However, it’s important to remember that the MCU is an evolving entertainment beast, and new isn’t necessarily bad. Let Marvel cook. Let’s see what they’ve got.
