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On May 2nd, the fifth phase of the MCU (Marvel Comic Universe) came to a close with Thunderbolts*: a movie that a lot of people were unsure about. This has become the norm for most MCU projects in recent years. Ever since the release of Avengers: Endgame, fans have been left disappointed with each new film or TV show that Marvel has pushed out. It didn’t start out this way, though. The first couple of projects to follow Endgame were received fairly positively compared to how fans and critics view projects now. At first, the MCU’s shift to streaming with the TV shows Wandavision, Loki, Falcon and the Winter Soldier had a strong amount of support and hype around their releases. Fans loved these shows. They offered something new and fun to the tired MCU formula. The shows themselves were also genuinely well-made and entertaining.
The same went for the films released the same year: Shang-Chi and the Legend Of The Ten Rings and Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, after 2021, the momentum of the MCU started to slow down, not in quantity but in quality. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, She-Hulk, Secret Invasion, and The Marvels are just some of the worst-received projects from the MCU in recent years. Almost every project was met with a good amount of criticism and general disappointment about the direction the MCU was headed. There were some exceptions like Guardians 3, Deadpool and Wolverine, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. These movies gave fans temporary hope that maybe the MCU was going to get back on track, but for every good project, there was a bad one waiting around the corner. For the most part, optimism for the MCU was at an all-time low. Now, with the release of Thunderbolts* there is once again a flicker of optimism for the MCU’s future.
Thunderbolts* follows a group of misfit antiheroes as they are forced to work together and confront their internal conflicts. The movie focuses on Yelena Belova, Red Guardian, John Walker, Ghost, Bucky Barnes, and a new face for the MCU: Bob Reynolds (or the Sentry). This film was one of the last installments for Marvel before their next big phase with the New Avengers and main villain Doctor Doom, so a lot was riding on it to be an entertaining and quality movie. Thankfully, Thunderbolts* turned out to be just that. The movie succeeds in telling an entertaining story, building onto existing characters, and having its jokes land (something that’s rare for Marvel nowadays). The chemistry between the cast of characters is on point. The actresses and actors did a wonderful job at conveying these characters as a group of people with real-world issues that audiences can relate to and connect with.
The movie focuses on the themes of purpose and amendment, having these characters acknowledge their messy past and find a way to move forward, seeking purpose for themselves. At first, these characters are at each other’s throats, but after being forced to work together to escape a death trap, they find that they are all just broken people trying to make a future for themselves and amend for the past. At the center of the story is Bob Reynolds: a man with a troubled upbringing, a history of substance abuse, and who is struggling with depression and Bipolar Disorder.
He is introduced as a fish out of water type, waking up in a government storage room with Yelena, Walker, and Ghost. He doesn’t understand how he got there or what he was doing at that facility. After befriending and escaping with the rest of the cast, he ends up discovering he has superhuman abilities exceeding the strength of the Avengers. It was discovered that Reynolds had signed up for a program where troubled people who wished to make something of themselves were experimented on in order to produce a new super-powered individual. Reynolds was the only remnant of that project. He is planned to be the new face of heroism for the world as “The Sentry” by the film’s antagonist, Valentina Allegra. However, Reynolds becomes obsessed with the idea of being an all-powerful godlike figure and goes rogue on Valentina and his friends of antiheroes, shifting into “The Void”, an extension of himself and his powers who seeks to envelop New York in darkness. Yelena, another highlight of the movie, is the first to help Bob out of his depressive, manic state. Yelena is the one who is able to really connect with Bob at the start of the film, as she is able to relate to having a troubled childhood and an immense pile of regret, all while seeking a better future. The two’s friendship is a standout of the film and highlights the importance unity can have when dealing with emotional turmoil. With the help of the rest of the group, Yelena and Bob are able to confront The Void and restore New York.
The movie concludes with the new group of antihero friends being deemed The New Avengers by Valentina in order to save face for her failed Sentry plan as a last-minute twist. This ending cements this cast of characters as big players who will be involved in the future Avengers movies. Bob and Yelena’s story encapsulates the central message of self-acceptance and new beginnings that Thunderbolts* illustrates to audiences. It’s satisfying to get to see these characters come together and succeed in forging new paths for themselves and finding happiness with it. It’s great that these characters that were introduced in earlier projects have become something more than they originally were and have ended up being one of the better parts of a post-Endgame MCU. Fans are relieved and delighted that Thunderbolts* was able to produce a new likable cast of characters that will no doubt have a large role in the future of the MCU. Hopefully, Marvel is able to keep this momentum with the upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps, which has even more riding on its success than Thunderbolts* did.