Are the Thunderbolts the Perfect Replacement for the Avengers in the MCU?

By now, Marvel’s Thunderbolts* has made it very clear that this team is stepping in to do some hero work simply because the Avengers are not available. However, there are a lot of hints that by the end of the Multiverse Saga, many of these characters could be actual Avengers. On top of that, we may look at Thunderbolts* as a “replacement” for the Avengers movie that should have come somewhere in Phase Four or Five of the MCU. Marvel hasn’t used the Avengers title since Endgame, but in many ways, this is just as broad of a crossover. Until fans see the movie, they won’t for sure if the Thunderbolts are fit to replace the Avengers, but it’s certainly a brilliant move to have Thunderbolts* stand in for the heroic team.

The Thunderbolts are a group of complex characters from throughout the MCU — former villains, rogue agents, and antiheroes. Yelena Belova, Red Guardian, and Taskmaster all come from Black Widow, while Bucky Barnes and John Walker both come from the Captain America side of things. Ava Starr — a.k.a. Ghost — comes from all the way back in Ant-Man and the Wasp in 2018. Objectively, these characters have all been around longer than the original Avengers had been when they first assembled in 2012, and they’re drawn from disparate parts of the MCU. The crossover may not feel as grand, but it’s just as ambitious when you think about it.

What’s missing compared to the Infinity Saga Avengers is heavy-hitting superpowers, but it seems like this movie’s newcomer, Bob Reynolds — a.k.a. Sentry — has that covered. The Thunderbolts* trailer joked that these are not the strongest characters in the franchise; they all “just punch and shoot.” There is a bit more to it than that, but before analyzing the Thunderbolts’ real firepower, we should note that that’s not really what a superhero crossover is all about. This team is coming together out of necessity for a fight that seems insurmountable. They’ll need to set aside their personal agendas and bend their principles just to work together, and it still may not be enough. That sounds like an Avengers team-up if ever I’ve heard one.

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With all that in mind, trading in the predictable Avengers title for an all-new crossover with characters that might be considered obscure seems like an absolutely brilliant move for the MCU. It could revitalize the franchise without re-treading old territory or compromising the story that’s already underway. It proves that these stories aren’t just about certain characters, the actors who play them, or any other lightning-in-a-bottle elements of the past movies. Instead, there’s something innate about superhero stories that resonates with audiences.

In-World Avengers

As for the Thunderbolts’ in-world position as the “new Avengers,” it seems clear enough that that’s where this movie is headed. Back in February, Marvel released a poster finally explaining what the asterisk in the movie’s title means — “The Avengers Are Not Available.” In other words, these characters are stepping in to do a job that seemed like it could only be handled by the Avengers, which means that if they pull it off, they’re top contenders for the team.

There are plenty of interesting fan theories about how this could play out, and those are evolving as we speak now that the movie is available to general audiences. Even without spoiling anything, we know that most of the Thunderbolts have officially been announced for the cast of Avengers: Doomsday — Bucky Barnes, John Walker, Yelena Belova, Sentry, Red Guardian, and Ghost. The only one missing is Taskmaster, so it’s possible that the Thunderbolts will just be folded into the new Avengers lineup wholesale.

On the other hand, by the end of Thunderbolts* it’s possible that this team will be strong enough to stand on its own. If Sentry comes around and joins their ranks, as many theorize, he would raise their overall level of superpowers substantially. They also get a unique boost from Ghost’s phase-shifting ability, and they have three people augmented by some version of Cap’s Super-Soldier Serum. On top of that, there’s a very interesting fan theory about Yelena getting a major power-up, possibly bringing her into the highest echelon of MCU power sets.

Narratively speaking, it would feel a bit wrong for the Thunderbolts to simply join the Avengers and fall in line. The whole point of this scrappy team is that they’re outcasts, poorly-suited for the spotlight and public relations. That could begin to change with a world-saving mission, but it wouldn’t erase their pasts or absolve them overnight. To the extent that this team is redeemed, they’d likely be proud of earning that redemption for themselves, and they’d want to build that legitimacy on their own without borrowing from the Avengers’ name.

That said, that still makes the Thunderbolts a pretty fitting replacement for the Avengers as they were early in the story — a team of remarkable individuals who believe they can achieve the most good by working on their own, without orders from on high. This could be a refreshing new step for the MCU, and a subtle return to form for the first time since Civil War.

Whatever the Thunderbolts’ legacy will be, we’ll see for ourselves soon enough.

Thunderbolts* is now in theaters, and the MCU will be making a mad dash into Phase Six from there. You can catch up on all the franchise’s titles now on Disney+.