As exciting as Captain America: Brave New World and The Fantastic Four might be, I’m more excited about Thunderbolts* sandwiched between them. It’s a movie about former MCU villains and antiheroes that will have to team up to fight some sort of greater evil. Thunderbolts* is Marvel’s equivalent of the Suicide Squad, and that’s one good reason for wanting to see it as soon as possible.
The other concerns the Thunderbolts* title, which is unlike anything we have seen in the MCU so far. As you can see, it has an asterisk, as if it needs some sort of correction or a footnote. It seems that the movie’s real title won’t be revealed until very late before the film premieres or right at the end of it when you get to watch it.
We’ve already looked at what the Thunderbolts* title might mean, and we probably won’t stop doing it until next May when the crossover hits cinemas. We’ll do it whenever someone at Marvel has to find ways to talk about it and every time a leaker teases what it might mean.
That’s what happened recently. David Harbour, who returns to his Red Guardian from Black Widow for Thunderbolts*, teased that the asterisk in the title is “very cool.” This prompted a well-known MCU leaker to offer an explanation for said asterisk. Mind you, some very cool spoilers might follow below.
The asterisk wasn’t always there. Marvel added it along the way without explaining why. Initially, the movie had a simple, clean Thunderbolts title. Those involved in the project must know what it means. That asterisk has to be explained at some point, so the film’s stars have to know what it all means.
Talking to ComicBook, Harbour offered the following teaser that’s rather cryptic:
I mean, they retroactively put the asterisk [in]. The asterisk was an idea that that someone had… What can I say that’s not going to get me in trouble? …The asterisk is very cool. I understand why people might put an asterisk there. I’m excited for the viewers to see that as well. But I, again, I just can’t say anymore.
I wouldn’t expect any of the other big Thunderbolts* stars or the people working on the movie to share more details about the asterisk. The title will probably remain a mystery up until the movie premieres. That doesn’t mean MCU fans won’t have an idea of what it means.
Many of Marvel’s secrets were leaked for almost every single Multiverse Saga movie. Deadpool & Wolverine is a solid exception, where only parts covering the first 30 minutes of the story got out before the first trailer. Marvel confirmed all of them with the trailers.
The current speculation on the asterisk is that the title is a sneaky placeholder for the Thunderbolts team name. Parts of the Thunderbolts* plot leak indicate that the team name they chose initially has nothing to do with Harrison Ford’s Thunderbolt Ross. Instead, they’re called after Yelena Belova’s (Florence Pugh) soccer team.
The actual name of this team of not-quite superheroes might be the Dark Avengers. That’s according to speculation you’d have found online before Harbour’s teaser above.
I think it would be an amazing development for the MCU. Who would blame these characters for thinking they’re doing Avengers-grade work by defeating a major villain? And Thunderbolts can’t be their final name. On second thought, would they label themselves as “dark” Avengers?
Well-known Marvel leaker MyTimeToShineHello reacted to Harbor’s teaser and posted the tweet above that says: “*New Avengers.”
Now, that would be an even cooler title, one that makes more sense than Dark Avengers. The post-Endgame MCU Earth doesn’t have an acting Avengers team.
Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) will assemble his new Avengers in Brave New World. But it’s unclear what the chronology of events is. Maybe Thunderbolts* happens before Brave New World despite their theatrical premiere order. Or perhaps these are events that play out around the same time.
Again, who would blame these characters, especially Red Guardian, to think of themselves as New Avengers? He is terribly excited about this team in the leaked Thunderbolts* trailer.
Considering the massive threat they’ll face, thinking of themselves as Avengers would not be wrong. Thunderbolts* will introduce a new hero/villain who might not be the actual real villain of the film. But Bob (Lewis Pullman), aka Sentry) will be incredibly dangerous, at least initially.
From a different point of view, the lack of Avengers has been one of the biggest issues with the Multiverse Saga so far. Marvel stayed away from using the remaining Avengers in any meaningful way. Also, it failed to explain why the Avengers disbanded on screen. Instead, it said so while announcing other MCU attractions.
There’s also the matter of Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). He is considered an Avenger after the Endgame events. He might be a congressman by the time the action in Thunderbolts* unfolds. And he’ll become a Thunderbolts team member. That would give this new team of misfits ideas.
With all that in mind, having a different team of superpowered individuals consider themselves Avengers makes so much sense. It would be an interesting twist and a great surprise for the audience. What could be cooler than that?
