Marvel’s Thunderbolts* Has Already Ended Captain America: Brave New World’s Weirdest Story

WARNING: There are spoilers ahead for Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*! Marvel Studios unveiled some new details about Thunderbolts at CinemaCon last week, including a conclusion to one of the most surprising storylines in Brave New World. That movie revealed that Bucky Barnes was running for Congress, and was therefore on hiatus from his usual superhero antics as The Winter Soldier. That plotline will apparently be dropped as quickly as it was picked up, since Marvel’s CinemaCon presentation revealed that Bucky is giving up on his congressional aspirations to take a more direct approach. This gives us even more room to theorize before Thunderbolts* hits theaters on Friday, May 2nd.

Marvel showed new footage from Thunderbolts* at CinemaCon, and presented character bios for the team as well. Bucky’s new bio gave a bit of a synopsis on how he ended up with this ragtag team. “In a world without the Avengers, Bucky Barnes has discovered a new way to fight for good as the Congressman of Brooklyn,” it said. “When Bucky learns of Valentina Allegra De Fontaine’s dangerous plans, he knows he can’t wait for the gears of government to stop her. With a new threat on the horizon, Bucky will be forced to jump back into action and will discover what it truly means to be a leader.”

It’s nice to hear that Bucky won his campaign in the time between movies, though it is just as nice to see him give up on the role so quickly. Super Soldier Serum probably wouldn’t make C-SPAN any more exciting, and a suit doesn’t lend itself well to a Vibranium prosthetic. Still, some fans will likely feel a sense of whiplash, with an entire phase of Bucky’s career passing between movies, in the background of much larger stories.

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The new material shown this week emphasizes Valentina as the main antagonist of the film, which isn’t all that much of a surprise, even if it was revealed a bit casually. Attendees reportedly learned that all but two of the Thunderbolts were hired by Val for the missions that kick off this movie. The exceptions are Bucky and the Red Guardian, who both show up with dire warnings of Val’s treachery. Now, fans are speculating that Val hoped this handful of antiheroes would all be killed by the Sentry, leaving the way clear for her own plans.

What exactly those plans are remains a mystery, but we’re less than a month away from answers. Thunderbolts* hits theaters on Friday, May 2nd.