Marvel Studios has fired up the hype machine for Avengers: Doomsday, but we still have two movies to go between now and then. Thunderbolts* is next, premiering on May 2nd, and fans are expecting it to do a lot of the legwork in setting up the conflict of the next big Avengers title. Marvel is doing its best to keep its secrets as always, and by all appearances, Thunderbolts* is a thriller about a group of anti-heroes who “all just punch and shoot,” without the flashy, galactic-level powers of the Avengers. Still, fans have come up with some intriguing theories about how Thunderbolts* could surprise us and lay the groundwork for Doomsday.
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The Marvel Cinematic Universe is in a unique place right now, having pivoted away from Kang the Conqueror in the middle of a story arc to focus in a new villain, Doctor Doom. At the same time, the way Marvel was setting up Kang was also quite different from the way they teased Thanos in the previous story arc, so the franchise would have been treading new ground either way. As it is, some fans are skeptical and feel like a lot of story needs to be told before we can get to a big crossover event that feels earned.
Thunderbolts* can get us there, as the theories below show, and there are many other ways this story could work as well. Read on for three of the top theories online for the Thunderbolts’ contribution to Avengers: Doomsday.
Avengers Are Off-World
The Thunderbolts* trailers all but tell us that there are no Avengers present on Earth at the time of the movie. Early on, that made sense because there didn’t really seem to be an official Avengers team lineup at the time, and with many of the characters from the Infinity Saga gone, maybe no one was using the moniker at all. However, a big part of Captain America: Brave New World was Sam Wilson growing confident enough to accept a leadership role, and deciding to get the Avengers up and running again.
Now, fans are theorizing that Sam’s new Avengers will be formed by the start of Thunderbolts*. It makes sense for this team-building to take place off-screen, and for the anti-heroes to see it on the news and roll their eyes. Fans are already pretty confident about who Sam will ask to join his new team, so it’s not really worth doing on screen. Instead, we can swipe past this news casually here, and come back to it when it’s relevant in Doomsday.
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Still, for the Thunderbolts to face a major threat without Avengers intervention, the Avengers would need to be preoccupied and out of reach. That’s where this theory comes in — when Valentina says “The Avengers aren’t coming” in the trailer, she’s reminding Congress that Sam’s new team is off-world, and can’t help with whatever threat they’re facing. This exposition about the new Avengers’ first high-stakes mission could serve as set-up for Doomsday — perhaps they’re investigating an incursion from another universe, or perhaps they’ve been trapped in another reality.
This really works when you think about Bucky’s role in Thunderbolts*. When we last saw Bucky in Brave New World, he was running for Congress and had given up his superhero ways. However, in the Thunderbolts* trailer, we see him pursuing the other Thunderbolts, Winter Soldier-style. Maybe Bucky declined to join Sam’s Avengers on their high-stakes mission, and he regrets it. He would be extra motivated to whip the Thunderbolts into shape if they’re the best chance he has at protecting the planet, and/or rescuing Sam.
Trading Powers
Another fun theory brings together a 2006 comic book and the MCU’s Secret Invasion to explain how Yelena Belova might become powerful enough to hang with the Avengers. Secret Invasion gave us “Super Skrulls,” who had been enhanced with a drug that included DNA from many of the MCU’s most powerful characters, allowing them to use all their powers at once. This is not all that different from the Super-Adaptoid — a long-running Marvel Comics hero who could siphon the super powers away from others to empower themself.
In New Avengers Annual #1 in 2006, Yelena was given the powers of the Super-Adaptoid by Hydra scientists, who planned to use her to destroy the Avengers. In that story, her power peaked when she stole the powers of Sentry, who just so happens to be introduced to the MCU in Thunderbolts*. It seems likely that Yelena will get some kind of power-up here, which will cast a bit of irony on her line about only being able to “punch and shoot.”
There are several ways this power-up could impact Avengers: Doomsday. It could simply prove that Yelena and her friends are a force to be reckoned with, making the Avengers take them seriously. It could also draw the attention of others — perhaps even enemies from other universes. The transfer of power might even be enough to cause an incursion of some kind, perhaps making this the inciting incident for the whole crossover.
Surprise Doomsday
Finally, it’s clear that Robert Downey Jr. cannot wait to get back on screen in the MCU, this time with a green cloak and steel mask. Considering how much Marvel has been teasing us with this villain, it seems quite likely he’ll appear somehow in Thunderbolts*, tying the two movies together irrevocably. Many fans are expecting to see him in the post-credit scene, but we can speculate even further that he’ll tear through a wormhole in the main story itself.
Strong as this idea sounds, there’s not much we can do but speculate at this point. One sign that does look promising is the fate of Sentry — some fans expect him to be the “big bad” of Thunderbolts*, yet Marvel just confirmed he will be appearing in Doomsday. That means he not only survives the film, but remains relevant enough to show up again. Maybe Sentry will join the Thunderbolts in their fight against Doom when he shows up to be the real villain?
It’s a great time for fan theories, as we’re only weeks away from the real answers. Thunderbolts* hits theaters on May 2nd, 2025, followed by The Fantastic Four: First Steps on July 25th. Avengers: Doomsday is filming now and is scheduled to premiere on May 1, 2026.
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Image courtesy of Marvel Comics.
