By now, most fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) are aware of how the latest MCU film, Thunderbolts* ended, including its post-credits scene. Anyone who hasn’t at this time should stop reading this because we’re going into full on SPOILERS for Thunderbolts* and what is next for the MCU, including next year’s Avengers: Doomsday.

Introducing the New Avengers

To no one’s real surprise, the asterisk in the film title Thunderbolts* was an indication that the title team of dysfunctional mercenaries with personal demons, stood for something else. For most of the film, the team’s comic relief, Alexi Shostakov, the Red Guardian, kept referring to the team as the West Chesapeake Valley Thunderbolts, after the soccer team his adopted daughter, Yelena Belova, played in as a child. By the end of the film, after the Thunderbolts saved New York City, they were introduced to the world as the New Avengers by the film’s antagonist, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, in a move to save her political career and to stay out of prison.

Speculation had been going on among fans ever since the film title included the asterisk. Some thought maybe it was a placeholder for a subtitle that would be spoilery. They were right to an extent because the asterisk was actually a placeholder for the film’s supposed real title, The New Avengers, which Marvel Studios began to openly flaunt just a few days after the film’s release.

Was the supposed title change to The New Avengers a desperate marketing attempt to drum up more interest in Thunderbolts*? Maybe. Then again, the marketing has been incredibly inventive for the film with innovative posters and some trailers that made the film out to be something that A24 would release. In any event, the fact that the Thunderbolts are actually the New Avengers does increase their profile and hints at what lies ahead for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

In the film’s two post-credits scenes and the montage shown during the initial credits, the so-called New Avengers are not well received by the world. Who could blame them? Just as how many of us complained about the lackluster lineup of the Thunderbolts when the film was announced, it was natural that most people would have a negative reaction to the replacement for the original Avengers. Where were the heavy hitters like Hulk or Thor? The New Avengers was made up of a bunch of mercenaries/super soldiers with similar and limited skill and power sets. As Yelena quipped at one point, “we just punch and shoot.” Then add in their questionable pasts, which probably could not be glossed over by marketing; although the original Avengers team members also had checkered backgrounds, including Yelena’s sister, Natasha Romanov, a fellow assassin.

But unknown to most of the world, deep down, these characters had heart and faced down their insecurities and flaws, which made them more endearing to audiences. Each of the Thunderbolts wanted a chance at redemption and to be part of something greater. This was obvious with Alexi who dreamed of recapturing the glory he had during the Cold War in Russia, Yelena dealing with depression and wanting something else in her life, or John Walker, who couldn’t fill in the shoes of Captain America as seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and wanted to prove himself. They just didn’t expect it to be as the lineup for the new incarnation of the Avengers.

Sure, these Thunderbolts were not superstars like Tony Stark, but they grew on us as they created a sort of family bond forged by the events they underwent together. What made the film so quickly beloved was that these characters were deeply flawed, yet had great chemistry, which helped them succeed in the end as they came together as a team. How they will carry on going forward is anyone’s guess, but we can speculate based on the final post-credits scene.

Teams of Rivals

After the initial closing credits showed the world’s mostly negative reaction to the New Avengers, and a mid-credits scene where a shopper refused to buy a box of Wheaties that displayed the New Avengers on it (Side Note: we all want that box!), there was a final, important scene.

The scene takes place 14 months after Thunderbolts* ends and updates us on the New Avengers. They’re still facing scrutiny and negativity, but more importantly, it is revealed that Sam Wilson, the new Captain America, has formed his own team of Avengers. Relations between the two teams are downright frosty to the point that Sam has filed a copyright claim to the Avengers. One nagging question about this is why Sam Wilson didn’t introduce his team sooner? He had a head start in Captain America: Brave New World, which took place months before Thunderbolts*. Instead, de Fontaine beat him to the punch when she abruptly announced the Thunderbolts as the New Avengers.

As the New Avengers lament their situation and how they are still disrespected by the public, they get an alert of an incoming extra-dimensional ship entering Earth’s atmosphere. It turns out the ship belongs to the Fantastic Four, who are now entering the MCU. It will be interesting to see how the Fantastic Four, a team of hopeful heroes, react to this team grappling with low self-esteem and insecurities.

This scene not only was one of the MCU’s longest post-credits scenes, but it was one of the most important ones. Unlike recent post-credits scenes which were largely wastes of time, this one set up two upcoming films, The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Avengers: Doomsday. In fact, it was recently reported that the scene was filmed on the set of Avengers: Doomsday, so do not be surprised if this scene turns out to be a clip from next year’s Avengers film.

This rivalry between the two teams calls back to the Avengers comic books that took place after the Civil War event. In those comics, a team made up of supervillains were declared to be the new Avengers while a secret team made up of actual superheroes emerged to challenge them. As per procedure, the MCU will only make a loose adaptation of comic book storylines, and it looks like this team rivalry will be a major story beat in Avengers: Doomsday. It will also explain why the collected heroes could lose to Doctor Doom and set up Avengers: Secret Wars, just as it happened in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. The only concern with this is that Avengers: Doomsday will also feature the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. In other words, there is only so much screen time that can be devoted to the Avengers team rivalry or the Thunderbolts.

New Thunderbolts?

Given how Thunderbolts* has been well received, it’s only natural that fans want to see more of this team. They probably won’t get the same in-depth character studies in the upcoming Avengers films that we saw in Thunderbolts*, and who knows if a proper sequel will ever be made. Given that the next MCU phase will be devoted to the X-Men that seems unlikely.

Prepare yourself to find out that not all of the New Avengers survive the events of the next two Avengers films. Their deaths will raise the stakes for those films, although fan reactions to such calamities will be harsh. It is also likely that some of the New Avengers will become members of the Sam Wilson team. One way to keep the Thunderbolts concept fresh is to continuously introduce new incarnations of Thunderbolts composed of anti-heroes, other D-list superheroes or supervillains, which would be more accurate to the comic books.

Still, the MCU Thunderbolts team and their film have earned the right to a sequel or two. Give thanks to the enormously talented filmmakers who went out of their way to deliver one of the best MCU films. It may not be a super blockbuster film, but Thunderbolts* or The New Avengers has shown that the MCU still can put out great characters that resonate with fans. Maybe if fan support is strong enough, we’ll see more of the Thunderbolts.

José Soto