Fan Fridays: Does Baron Zemo in Captan America: Civil War Mean the Thunderbolts are MCU Bound?

Captain America: Civil War is right around the bend! With only a few weeks until the Marvel blockbuster hits theaters, earlier still for international folks, the main antagonist of the film has been surprisingly low key. Baron Zemo, a longtime Captain America villain who stood shoulder to shoulder with the likes of the Red Skull during World War 2, will be the top threat for Steve Rogers to face in the movie, outside of Tony Stark and his crew of course. Marvel Studios has already stated that Zemo will be appearing in more movies down the line, but would one of those be related to Marvel’s team of villains masquerading as heroes known as the Thunderbolts? Comicbook.com fan, Zemonaut, believes that Civil War will be the opening salvo on rolling out the possibility of the Thunderbolts entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe proper.

As some background, the Thunderbolts were in fact the team of super villains known as the Masters of Evil. Led by Baron Zemo during an age when both the Avengers and the Fantastic Four were thought dead, the Thunderbolts emerged under the idea of posing as heroes to gain the public’s trust, eventually turning the tables and taking over the world. Daniel Bruhl’s interpretation of Zemo in the upcoming Captain America sequel could point at the opening building blocks for laying the foundation of the Thunderbolts becoming a threat for the future of the Avengers. The Thunderbolts were also involved in the original Civil War in the comics, acting as a team created for the sole purpose of wrangling up heroes who were not registered with the Super Human Registration Act.

Aside from Zemo’s influence on the film, the Thunderbolts joining the MCU would make sense for a couple of reasons. Firstly, they had already been discussed joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe earlier by Guardians of the Galaxy director, James Gunn! It’s true; Gunn had originally pitched the Thunderbolts as an idea for the MCU to try out, along with the GOTG. While Guardians eventually was the idea that was chosen, you have to think that the studio is still percolating on the idea that these villains would translate to a great idea for film. With the upcoming Suicide Squad movie from Warner Bros hitting this summer, the idea of a team of super villains assembling under a common goal is one that audiences will already be familiar with so it should be easier to grease the wheels on bringing the T-Bolts into the limelight.

There have been many interpretations of the Thunderbolts in the past, but nearly all of those interpretations now have members that the folks at Marvel can use with the recent partnership at Sony. Alongside Zemo, T-Bolt members Norman Osborn and Venom can also be thrown into the mix, making for a serious threat for both Spidey and his fellow Marvelites in the future. Following Infinity War, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be needing a new “Big Bad” and what better threat than a team of super villain parading as heroes?

Have a fan theory you’d like seen on our Fan Fridays? Drop us a line at Fans@Comicbook.com and your theory may be our next one read!