Thunderbolts* Review | Marvel Fans Sigh with Relief!

Ensnared in a death trap, an unconventional team of antiheroes -- Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and John Walker -- embarks on a dangerous mission that forces them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.

Marvel’s newest venture sees a motley crew of killers all forced together by extenuating circumstances, this unconventional team of misfits come to be know as ‘The Thunderbolts’. I think it is safe to say Marvel has brought us a group of characters who are genuinely likeable, engaging but most of all flawed. These imperfect heroes make for a realistic band of unpredictable carnage. Thunderbolts* (2025) feels like the beginning of something new for the MCU, it’s fresh, it’s smart but it is also made up of just enough nostalgia to tether it to the original Marvel characters we know, love and miss. The group is glued together by Florence Pugh’s Yelena and Sebastian Stan’s Bucky, without these two the film would have crumbled apart but with them it made for an action packed, heartwarming, moving piece of superhero cinema. 

The film opens with Yelena, top of a building discussing her inner monologue - feeling lost, without purpose, bored of her current position in life. Moving from one job to the next, she is screaming for something new in her life; luckily for her this is in the form of The Thunderbolts. This cinematic moment  creates an instant sense of realism, she is human, she is vulnerable and she is struggling after the loss of her sister. Yelena is such a strong character both physically and metaphorically, she exudes charisma and Pugh solidifies her as a leader within this new strain of heroes. 

Although Thunderbolts* follows a familiar narrative, the classic story of turning villains into hero’s, similar to The Suicide Squad structure it gives the villains vulnerability and relatability. The MCU have done this switch up with countless anti-heroes from Loki to The Winter Solider himself, although the tale has been told before this band of characters has not and luckily for Marvel these characters work together- it simply works well. 

The other members of the motley crew include Red Guardian (aka Alexei Shostakov, aka Yelena’s father) and Taskmaster both who we met in Black Widow (2021), Ghost who we met in Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) and John Walker from Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Each character has a history with the Avengers until we meet Bob - Bob miraculously appears when the antagonists are fighting, suspicious of him but also assuming he is a civilian, the team work together to save Bob but in reality, Bob does not need their help. Bob is a mysterious character, he identifies with the antagonists, feeling misunderstood and incredibly self critical. Bob, for now, is a simple character who is hiding from the truth about himself, pushing down his feelings and ignoring his pain. 

This film isn’t just a ‘superhero’ movie, it adds layers of humanity and emotion to the story. This film isn’t packed with action sequences, it also takes us on a journey of self discovery and self acceptance, particularly for Yelena and Bob. Yelena acts as an emotional tether, through all the fighting and chaos she remains emotionally in tune and continues to reflect and comment on her mental health and vulnerability. She was an incredibly relatable character in this film, we got to see more of her humanity and that only made me love her more. 

The film has structure, it was written well and flowed effortlessly. It wasn’t packed with action sequences like some Marvel movies but it also wasn’t boring, when the action subsided the emotional and intimate moments were still engaging and enjoyable. Thunderbolts has just enough heart and plenty of impact - this film packed a punch and I thoroughly enjoyed it. One scene which stood out the most was the Limo scene, Alexei has gone into a slight depression as his hero work has gone quiet. His Red Guardian limo business is also a miss but he finally sees the perfect moment to break out the limo and rescue Yelena. This whole scene was one of the strongest of the film, it had hilarious dialogue, memorable action sequences and an incredible hero take down. 

Thunderbolts* (2025) is essentially the first in a long line of upcoming features, this movie sets up a lot of plot, a lot of characters and a lot of mystery for the future of the MCU. As I said previously, this movie truly feels like the beginning of something new, something fresh and something reminiscent of the original MCU - bringing us core characters with strong action, threat and impact. 

Overall, Thunderbolts* (2025) exceeded my expectations. In all honesty I was not expecting a lot, recently the MCU has not been able to harness the essence from the original Avengers team and I had no expectation they were going to bring it to this film. I was wrong, they did. Marvel reached into their bag of tricks and somehow pulled out nostalgia, impact and entertainment - Thunderbolts* really feels like an Avengers homage movies, it showed us what the future of the MCU is going to look like and that excites me beyond belief. 

Probe Points

★★★★☆

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Spoilers Ahead | Do not keep reading if you haven't seen Thunderbolts* (2025) 

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*The New Avengers 

Finally, we know what was asterisk means and I can confidently say I was not surprised. Marvel thought they were clever but this reveal was obvious from the beginning, not to say I am not incredibly excited just not surprised. The Thunderbolts are a charming crew of antagonists and I am truly excited for the future of this group and their impact on the MCU timeline, when the credits roll we are met with the second post credit scene (the only one worth watching).

The Post Credit scene sees the ‘new avengers’ on the top floor of the old Stark building, settling into their new roles. An alert appears on the computer, an unidentified space craft entering the earths orbit - again, if you know anything going on in the MCU, you know exactly what this is before it is revealed. Of course… it’s The Fantastic Four. We see their iconic logo painted on the side of the spaceship, setting up their highly anticipated film The Fantastic Four: First Steps releasing July 25th, 2025. Although the Fantastic Four film is set to take place in a different timeline to Thunderbolts, this guarantees that the teams will meet in the near future of the MCU - most likely Avengers: Doomsday. 

By now we all know Bob’s true identity as Sentry and The Void, he is undeniably Marvel’s answer for Superman and he does a great job at creating both vulnerability and villainy. Alongside Valentina Allegra de Fontaine played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, this pair make for a terrifying duo. Julia Louis-Dreyfus has featured in both Black Widow (2021) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), we know this character is a major antagonist in the Multiverse Saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and I am excited to see if we get anything else form her in the future. 

The doors are left open at the end of this feature, we know who our new avengers are and we assume who they will be fighting in the future but do we know what their future looks like for sure? No. The Thunderbolts have a rich history within the Marvel comic books, The Thunderbolts first appeared in The Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #449 in January 1997. The team was created by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley. The original Marvel Comics Thunderbolts team featured villains disguised as heroes, often compared to DC’s Suicide Squad. The addition of ‘The Thunderbolts’ to the MCU opens the flood gates for cross overs, cameos and endless possibilities. One version of the team was led by the Red Hulk and was filled with kill-happy heroes like the Punisher and Deadpool - the scope is huge for the future of these characters and the team itself.

Would I like to see Harrison Ford return as Red Hulk? Yes. Would I have loved to see The Thunderbolts team up with Deadpool? Yes. But sadly, now our Thunderbolts have turned ‘good’ so quickly, I fear these potential team ups and cameos are never going to happen. I am excited for the future of The Thunderbolts and it is intriguing to see how they will act as the new avengers but am I allowed to say I am a little disappointed we didn’t see them as a suicide squad esque team for longer? Despite this pointless statement, the Thunderbolts are a team of good people who were forced to do bad things, unlike the Suicide Squad these are not strictly bad people and they deserve a second chance. 

Bring on the future of the MCU… I am officially ready for it.