The Thunderbolts are coming to the MCU. At San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced that Thunderbolts would be released on July 26, 2024, and would be the end of Phase 5 of the MCU. Fans were already aware that Thunderbolts was getting a film prior to the announcement ever since June 2022 when Robot & Frank filmmaker Jake Schreier was announced to direct the film. The announcement was still big news, as the Thunderbolts are a popular concept in the comics and one the MCU seems to have been teasing through Phase 4.
Created by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley in 1997, The Thunderbolts were originally presented as a new team of superheroes to take the place of The Avengers who were missing in action at the time, only to be revealed in the final pages to be the super villain team The Masters of Evil in disguises, a twist that Marvel closely protected. Since then, the concept has mainly been used by Marvel as a team of reformed supervillains recruited by the United States government. In many ways, they are Marvel’s answer to The Suicide Squad at DC.
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The Thunderbolts Are Coming
Marvel Comics
The seeds of Thunderbolts have been planted throughout Phase 4. Much like the comics where the Thunderbolts sprang up from, there is no official Avengers team in the MCU. A mysterious woman named La Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) showed up in both The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Black Widow, recruiting characters in a manner similar to Nick Fury throughout Phase 1. The inclusion of projects like Secret Invasion and Agatha Harkness: Coven of Choas leading into the Thunderbolts in Phase 5 suggests that this phase is some adaptation of Dark Reign, where the villains were running the show in the Marvel Universe for a time after the public became disillusioned with superheroes.
That storyline introduced The Dark Avengers, a team of supervillains that were taking on the mantle of popular heroes like Spider-Man foe Norman Osborn ditching the Green Goblin person for the more heroic Iron Patriot. The Thunderbolts movie is likely an amalgamation of the Thunderbolts and Dark Avengers concepts in the comics; it’s worth noting that the Dark Reign comic storyline was born from the fallout of Secret Invasion, and now in the MCU Secret Invasion miniseries will premiere before Thunderbolts.
Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine appears to be recruiting the Thunderbolts, and will likely pop up in more MCU projects in the near future. With her acting as the team’s Nick Fury, the question now centers on whom she’ll recruit to be in her team. While past MCU phases have killed off popular villains, Phase 4 has shown a lot more kept alive and more anti-heroes pop up for Valentina to recruit. These are the eight best possibilities for recruits in Thunderbolts.
US Agent
Disney Platform Distribution
This one seems like a safe bet, as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier ended with Val giving John Walker (Wyatt Russell) a new suit and codename: US Agent. It appeared to be a tease of what is to come, and the Thunderbolts are likely going to need a strong face for the public and a Captain America figure makes sense.
US Agent was also recently added to the Thunderbolts in the comics, and the comics are often a good indicator of what the movies are setting up. Marvel wants a certain synergy to both prepare current readers and attract audiences who are first introduced to the concepts by the film.
Yelena Belova
The second character audiences saw recruited by Val in the MCU (although she was technically supposed to be in Black Widow first before The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) is the adopted sister of Natasha Romanoff and is set to take on the mantle of Black Widow within the MCU. Yelena becoming the team’s Black Widow seems obvious. Yelena already showed up in Hawkeye, with Val pointing her in the direction of killing Clint Barton, and it appears she is still employed by Val for whatever she has planned.
Abomination
Marvel Studios
Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) also known as The Abomination made one appearance in The Incredible Hulk back in 2008, and was not seen or heard from for years. 13 years later, he showed up in a cameo role in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, where the character was fighting/working with Wong (Benedict Wong) from the Doctor Strange films. Abomination will appear in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law in what appears to be a major role, though, possibly being the major case of the series and maybe laying the groundwork for the character to appear in Thunderbolts as the team’s Hulk figure.
Abomination was showcased as one of the major zombie characters in the upcoming Marvel Zombies series, so Marvel Studios is heavily invested in the character after a long absence. Abomination also became a member of the Thunderbolts for the first time in the comics during the event ‘Devil’s Reign’, a strong indicator that Marvel wants audiences to associate the character with the team.
Swordsman
Tony Dalton was Hawkeye’s breakout character, playing Jack Duquesne who, in the comics, is a character that goes by the name Swordsman, and has been both a hero and villain. In Hawkeye, the character was a misdirect villain, ultimately revealing himself to be a caring potential step-father figure to Kate Bishop. The character had such a great presence, and it feels like too good of a character to just leave as a one-off appearance.
The character could be recruited by Val to join this team. Part of the fun of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is bringing in different characters from across the universe together and having them interact. A character like Jack Duquense would certainly have plenty of fun dynamics with the various team members, exploring new dynamics for the character and moving him outside his small segment of the franchise into the wider universe.
Agatha Harkness
Agatha Harkness is possibly a long shot but also seems highly likely. While one wonders why an ancient powerful witch would become part of a government-sponsored superhero team and how they think they could control her (look how that worked out in 2016’s Suicide Squad), Agatha Harkness being on the team actually makes a great deal of sense. If the Thunderbolts are a reflection of The Avengers, she can be seen as the counterpoint to Wanda Maximoff. One has to wonder if the residents of Westview probably view her as a heroic figure since she was seen fighting Wanda, their tormentor.
But also just from a story dynamic, putting the breakout character with a talented performer like Kathryn Hahn in an ensemble piece is a no-brainer. A lot of great comedic potential and banter with the fellow members of the Thunderbolts, particularly as characters like US Agent, Abomination, and Yelena are more militarized in nature.
It is also worth noting that the Agatha: Coven of Choas series premieres in late 2023/early 2024 before Thunderbolts opens in theaters in July 2024. Both are Phase 5 projects focused and centered on villains, allowing Agatha: Coven of Choas to lead directly into Thunderbolts.
Elektra
Netflix
With both Charlie Cox and Vincent D’noforio reprising their role as Daredevil and Kingpin respectively from The Defenders Saga series that premiered on Netflix, Marvel is open to bringing back past characters and performers. One important figure who was sadly short-changed was Elektra. While Elektra died at the end of The Defenders, her body was never shown, and she likely survived just like Daredevil did. Thunderbolts could be the perfect way to bring Elektra back into the MCU, with Eloide Young reprising her role. Elektra became a member of The Thunderbolts during the ‘Marvel Now’ run of the comics, and adding her to the film makes for an easily recognizable character for audiences.
Ghost
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
One of the most prominent characters in the Thunderbolts roster tends to be Ghost, who appeared as an antagonist in Ant-Man and the Wasp. Ghost aka Ava Starr (Hannah-John Kamen), is initially a threat to the heroes, but they make amends with Ghost when they realize she is not a villain but a victim of a serious ailment. Ant-Man and the Wasp end with the Pyms and Scott Lang vowing to help Ghost find a cure. The reason Scott Lang survived the snap and was stuck in the Quantum Realm for five years was that he was grabbing healing particles for Ghost. Since then, Ghost’s story has remained unresolved and there is no indicator she will appear in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
As a reformed villain, Ghost seems like an ideal candidate to join the Thunderbolts. The only issue would be in the fact that Ant-Man and the Wasp established Ghost was trained and weaponized by S.H.I.E.L.D./Hydra, and this was framed as tragic. The idea of doing it again with another government-sponsored black ops organization might not entirely fly. It could work if it is framed as the key to finally curing her, and along the way she could form some real friendships and comradery with her fellow teammates.
Zemo
Last but not least is the team’s wildcard and possible leader, Zemo (Daniel Brüh). Zemo first appeared in Captain America: Civil War and later reappeared in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In the comics, Zemo was the leader and founder of the original Thunderbolts and has been involved with several incarnations of the team.
In-universe, there is a great deal of sense to put Zemo in The Thunderbolts, as he already has military experience and ran the elite Sokovian kill squad. While the character has expressed his distaste for superheroes and superpowers, he has also shown his willingness to manipulate those with powers to achieve his goals. Many Phase 4 projects like WandaVision, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness have shown a world that is starting to distrust superheroes more. Zemo could play off that distrust and position the Thunderbolts to be heroes in a way he sees fit, creating a larger divide in the world. With him captive aboard the superpowered prison The Raft, he is just sitting there waiting to be recruited.
