“The Avengers are not coming,” says Val in the latest Thunderbolts* trailer, which debuted during the Super Bowl – and with just those five words, the new teaser proves exactly why we should be so excited for the Marvel Phase 5 finale.
It’s no secret that Marvel has been floundering ever since Avengers: Endgame, and the debate over superhero fatigue has only become even more intense in its wake. High profile flops like Ant-Man: Quantumania and The Marvels seemed to cement that audiences were growing tired of watching spandex-clad heroes save the day, instead craving something different.
And then, last year’s release Deadpool and Wolverine seemed to finally break the mold, grossing over $1 billion at the box office and proving a success with critics to boot.
This year, it looks like Thunderbolts* is primed to be something of a successor to the R-rated hit. For one thing, both movies take on a more irreverent and self-deprecating tone. Most importantly, though, they’re also focused on more unconventional ‘heroes,’ who aren’t really heroes at all – but Thunderbolts* is going bigger with a whole team of them.
The Thunderbolts* line-up is an eclectic mix of characters, featuring some former antagonists like Ghost and Taskmaster, along with anti-heroes like Yelena Belova and Bucky Barnes. Bringing a bit of grit to the MCU is very welcome indeed, and it allows for something genuinely fresh. This isn’t yet another superhero team-up – and with Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars on the way, we surely have enough of those in the pipeline after The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Instead, it’s an oddball crew with plenty of potential.
Yelena stole the show when she was introduced in 2021’s Black Widow, and Red Guardian provided tons of laughs. John Walker has a real, terrifying dark side too, while Taskmaster has her tragic past, Ghost her intriguing powers, and Bucky his own complicated history (and dry sense of humor). Marvel has dabbled in misfit team-ups before with the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, but this group of characters are far more morally gray than the Guardians ever were. None of the Thunderbolts are straightforward ‘good guys,’ but they’re not villains, either, and that’s what makes them – and the movie – so interesting.
It looks like the eccentric team will be going up against a real threat in Sentry, too, who is seen vaporizing people fleeing in terror in the new trailer. If Lewis Pullman is indeed the one playing the character, then that’s another intriguing twist, since his character ‘Bob’ is also seen hanging out with the team.
First Family
Now, don’t get me wrong. The Fantastic Four: First Steps has plenty of potential to be a standout superhero movie too. But I was slightly let down by the movie’s first trailer, which borrowed the ’60s aesthetic of WandaVision without really showcasing what makes this film so special. When the trailer finished, I found myself thinking “this looks like any other Marvel movie,” which really wasn’t the reaction I was hoping for after the promise of the illustrated first look.
Thunderbolts*, meanwhile, really does look like something new for the MCU. “It’s not a straightforward Marvel movie as you’ve seen in the past,” John Walker actor Wyatt Russell has teased before (via The Hollywood Reporter). “I think that it’s gonna be a lot of fun but I think it will be something that hopefully Marvel fans will look at and go, ‘Oh OK, this is a little different, let’s go hard at it.'”
I’m not writing off Fantastic Four just yet, of course. It certainly does have a lot of potential with its retro-futuristic setting and family dynamics. But so far, what I’ve seen of Thunderbolts* is far more exciting, because it really seems to be throwing out Marvel’s tried and tested playbook for a tale that focuses on the MCU’s shades of gray, rather than its shining heroes.
Time will tell if I’m right and Thunderbolts* turns out to be the more interesting of the two Marvel movies. It’s undeniable that there’s a lot riding on both their shoulders – along with February’s Captain America: Brave New World – and 2025 is something of a make or break year not just for the MCU, but for DC, too, with the much-anticipated release of Superman.
It really feels like this year will reveal the fate of superhero movies going forwards – and it’s one of either continuing diminishing returns, or a revitalized future with an enthusiastic audience. Here’s hoping the Thunderbolts really can save the day.
Thunderbolts* arrives on May 2, while The Fantastic Four: First Steps lands on July 25. Next up for Marvel, though, is Captain America: Brave New World, which releases this February 14.
In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows for everything else the MCU has in store.