The Thunderbolts are about to make their MCU debut, which could spark an evolution fans are currently seeing in Marvel Comics that actually turned the team of antiheroic misfits into Avengers-level gamechangers. This development completely redefines the team’s upcoming role in the MCU, raising the question: does Valentina Allegra de Fontaine want her own superhero team, or her own deadly Avengers?
In Avengers: Twilight #2 by Chip Zdarsky and Daniel Acuña, the world is in a state of cyberpunk dystopia. The people are ruled by corporations whose CEOs are secret dictators pulling the strings of a false democracy – and no one seems to care. So long as their lives aren’t noticeably impacted, the masses couldn’t care less about the true horrors of their world. That’s why Captain America – now an old man – put the suit on once again, to stand up against this corrupted government. And that’s why the government called in the Thunderbolts to stop Captain America.
When the President of the United States (and, more importantly, the people controlling him) got word of Captain America’s efforts as a vigilante freedom-fighter (aka terrorist), there’s a moment where they consider calling in the new, government-controlled Avengers. But then, it’s decided that Captain America is someone they don’t want to mess around with, as they needed him taken out quickly, quietly, and overall more proficiently than if the Avengers were assigned the mission, which is why they called in the military spec-ops team consisting of the greatest killers alive: the Thunderbolts.
This future landscape portrays the Thunderbolts as a team that’s deadlier than the Avengers, which creates an interesting dichotomy. Both teams are controlled by the United States government, and they seem to play off each other as the sword and the shield – the Avengers protecting America, the Thunderbolts destroying its enemies. Even the President was reluctant to use the Thunderbolts on American soil, indicating that this small group may as well be a traveling warzone.
The powers-that-be in this world trust the proficiency of the Thunderbolts over those of the Avengers, which is a startling legacy, indeed. The Thunderbolts, in the current landscape of Marvel Comics, are a deadly team of government-contracted superhumans, to be sure, but they are nothing compared to the Avengers. So, for their legacy to be one that puts the team in a position where they’re actually the deadlier counterpart to the Avengers is truly exciting, especially since the MCU now has the chance to do the same thing.
In projects such as Black Widow and Falcon and the Winter Soldier (and a little bit in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is establishing her own team of government-controlled superhumans that fans know will become the Thunderbolts. The Thunderbolts movie is set to release in May 2025, and that will be the team’s official debut. This means the MCU has every opportunity to mold the Thunderbolts into what they would become in Avengers: Twilight right away, positioning them as a true Avengers-level gamechanger.
So, does the MCU’s Valentina Allegra de Fontaine want her own superhero team, or her own deadly Avengers? In other words, will the MCU adapt the Thunderbolts as they currently are in the comics, or as they will become in Avengers: Twilight? As of now, it’s impossible to predict, but one thing that’s certain is that Marvel Comics’ new evolution of the Thunderbolts gives the MCU the chance to turn this team of misfits into an Avengers-level gamechanger.
