The Marvel Cinematic Universe has launched many superhero groups past the Avengers, from the quirky Revengers to the legendary Improbable 4. Nevertheless, Thunderbolts is exclusive in that followers appear extra centered on why the crew has shaped slightly than who’s in it. With the movie’s title carrying an asterisk, hypothesis is rising that Thunderbolts isn’t simply one other anti-hero squad—it would secretly be the MCU’s manner of assembling a brand new Avengers crew.
Little is understood about Thunderbolts’ plot, besides that Bucky Barnes has gathered a crew of misfit anti-heroes and assassins. Their probably adversary seems to be CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, however a serious impediment arises within the type of a personality named Bob—nearly actually the Sentry. A latest Empire article additional fuels hypothesis by revealing that Val has renamed Avengers Tower because the Watchtower, a reputation deeply linked to the Sentry in Marvel Comics. This transfer raises questions on Val’s true motivations and whether or not Thunderbolts is organising the subsequent iteration of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
The thriller deepens when contemplating Avengers Tower’s murky destiny. Since Tony Stark bought the constructing after Avengers: Age of Ultron, followers have speculated whether or not a villain like Norman Osborn or the Improbable 4 had bought it. Nevertheless, Val’s acquisition suggests she could also be taking over a job just like Osborn’s within the Darkish Avengers storyline. Given her historical past of assembling morally ambiguous operatives, it appears probably that her plans contain making a government-controlled superhero crew, one which stands in direct opposition to Bucky’s Thunderbolts.
The Watchtower itself has a wealthy historical past within the comics. Initially, it was a gothic construction related to the Sentry, housing a complicated AI generally known as CLOC, which monitored world threats. The Watchtower grew to become a vital factor in a number of Marvel storylines, together with Siege, Secret Invasion, and Civil Battle, the place the Sentry performed a key function. Extra ominously, rumors steered it was additionally the jail for the Void, the Sentry’s darkish alter ego. By repurposing the Avengers Tower into the Watchtower, the MCU could also be hinting on the emergence of an analogous, doubtlessly harmful power.
If Thunderbolts is actually a New Avengers film in disguise, it could comply with a well-known sample. Within the comics, the New Avengers shaped after the unique crew disbanded, uniting unlikely allies in opposition to an amazing menace. With the MCU’s Avengers largely inactive, President Ross has steered that superhero groups at the moment are extra about optics than necessity. Nevertheless, if the Thunderbolts find yourself going through an unstoppable power just like the Sentry, it may function the catalyst for a brand new crew, mirroring the Avengers’ unique formation in opposition to Loki’s Chitauri military.
The introduction of the Watchtower in Thunderbolts is greater than only a title change—it could possibly be the important thing to understanding the movie’s bigger function. Simply as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier remodeled into Captain America and the Winter Soldier, Thunderbolts could also be paving the way in which for the New Avengers. As Avengers: Doomsday looms on the horizon, this movie could possibly be the stepping stone that redefines the MCU’s superhero panorama, proving that even a crew of outcasts can rise to fulfill the subsequent nice problem.