The Secret History Behind the Game-Changing Marvel Team Introduced in Thunderbolts

Warning: This nonfiction contains afloat spoilers for Thunderbolts!

All passim the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, fans person been asking 1 question: who are the Avengers now? Only now, with the merchandise of Thunderbolts* astatine the extremity of Phase 5, bash we yet get an reply to that question. It turns retired that the Thunderbolts themselves are present the Avengers. Or the New Avengers, to beryllium precise. At slightest that pesky asterisk is yet making sense.

What does this mean for the MCU starring into The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Avengers: Doomsday? What does it mean to beryllium a New Avenger, exactly, and however does this twist gully upon Marvel’s assorted New Avengers comics? Here’s what you request to know.

The MCU’s New Avengers Revealed

The Thunderbolts movie ends connected a somewhat unexpected note. No sooner bash Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova and her squad regroup from their confrontation with Lewis Pullman’s Sentry and hole to face Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra De Fontaine than they recognize they’ve walked close into a PR trap. Valentina stages a property league wherever she introduces the befuddled Thunderbolts to the nationalist arsenic “The New Avengers.”

For those keeping people astatine home, the afloat New Avengers roster includes:

• Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh)
• Red Guardian (David Harbour)
• Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan)
• The Sentry (Lewis Pullman)
• Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen)
• U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell)

Basically, everyone who was a Thunderbolt (minus Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster, who is killed disconnected aboriginal into the film) has present graduated to go a New Avenger. It’s not needfully the Avengers lineup we would person predicted earlier successful the Multiverse Saga, but fixed however they managed to bushed overwhelming likelihood and prevention New York City, possibly they’re the squad the MCU needs close now.

Of course, it’s already becoming wide that the New Avengers aren’t the lone Avengers squad connected the block. Captain America: Brave New World ends with Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson deciding he’s yet acceptable to measurement up and spearhead his ain squad of Avengers. Whether Cap has really gotten astir to forming that squad is unclear. But we bash cognize from the post-credits country successful Thunderbolts that he’s nary excessively thrilled astatine the imaginable of different radical co-opting the Avengers name.

That country shows america that the New Avengers person present been progressive successful the MCU for 14 months. They’re presently embroiled successful a ineligible conflict with Sam, who seemingly owns the existent Avengers trademark. That seems to foreshadow large friction betwixt the New Avengers and Sam’s Avengers successful Avengers: Doomsday. But we’ll get to that successful a bit. For now, what precisely is simply a New Avenger, anyway?

What Are the New Avengers?

The conception of the New Avengers was archetypal introduced successful Marvel’s 2004 New Avengers comic. That bid debuted successful the aftermath of a large calamity successful Marvel’s Avengers: Disassembled comic, wherever a mentally sick Scarlet Witch loses power of her powers and kills respective members of her team. The Avengers disband, until 1 fateful time wherever they’re called backmost into action.

The crushed Marvel branded this squad “New Avengers” is that the roster was rather a spot antithetic from immoderate that had travel before. While Captain America, Spider-Woman, and Iron Man represented the aged guard, the bulk of the squad was made up of characters who would usually ne'er beryllium associated with the Avengers franchise - Spider-Man, Wolverine, Luke Cage, Sentry, and the mysterious Ronin. Not dissimilar the MCU’s Thunderbolts, these heroes ne'er expected to go Avengers, but they rapidly emergence to the situation anyway.

Art by David Finch. (Image Credit: Marvel)

At first, the “New Avengers” word was wholly literal. Over time, however, it came to correspond a much underground, unsanctioned alternate to the accepted Avengers. Following the events of 2006’s Civil War crossover, the Marvel Universe abruptly has 2 Avengers teams. Iron Man leads the Mighty Avengers, a S.H.I.E.L.D.-sanctioned squad that operates successful afloat enactment of the Superhuman Registration Act. Meanwhile, the heroes who garbage to enactment the SHRA, similar Spidey, Wolverine, Luke Cage, and Bucky, signifier different incarnation of the New Avengers. Needless to say, the 2 teams don’t truly get along.

That divided lone intensifies during Marvel’s 2009 Dark Reign storyline, arsenic Norman Osborn usurps Tony Stark’s presumption and spearheads his ain squad of Dark Avengers. The Dark Avengers are notable for featuring galore large villains masquerading arsenic heroes. For example, Bullseye becomes Hawkeye, Venom becomes Spider-Man, Daken becomes Wolverine, and truthful on. The Sentry besides sticks around, arsenic helium proves sadly each excessively susceptible to Osborn’s intelligence manipulation.

In galore ways, the MCU’s New Avengers look arsenic inspired by the Dark Avengers arsenic they are the New Avengers of the comics. Like the Dark Avengers, Valentina’s New Avengers consists of respective characters who are fundamentally borrowing the costumed identities of past Avengers. Yelena is Black Widow. John Walker is simply a failed Captain America. Even Red Guardian is fundamentally a Russian Captain America. Also similar the Dark Avengers, Sentry is some a squad subordinate and a ticking clip weaponry looming implicit their heads. Valentina herself is fundamentally the Norman Osborn figure, close down to the mode she manipulates Bob.

The Dark Avengers are introduced to the nationalist overmuch successful the aforesaid mode Valentina's New Avengers are. Art by Mike Deodato, Jr. (Image Credit: Marvel)

Even arsenic the Dark Avengers are introduced arsenic the government-approved incarnation of the team, the New Avengers proceed to enactment from the shadows successful defiance of the law. They are inactive operating adjacent erstwhile Osborn’s crimes are yet exposed and their names are cleared. At this point, it’s go contented for Marvel to diagnostic 1 halfway squad of Avengers and different squad of New Avengers. They aren’t ever arsenic bitterly divided arsenic they were successful the post-Civil War era, but the Marvel Universe is simply a large capable spot for 2 teams. Most of the time.

The New Avengers successful Avengers: Doomsday

Now that we’ve established that the MCU’s New Avengers gully inspiration from some the New Avengers and Dark Avengers comics, what tin we foretell astir their future? Why is it important that the New Avengers are being introduced successful the lead-up to 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday?

It seems harmless to presume that determination volition beryllium struggle betwixt Valentina’s New Avengers squad and Sam’s ain Avengers squad. Again, the post-credits country sets up that rivalry beauteous clearly. One Avengers squad is backed by the US government, portion the different is spearheaded by astir apt the astir high-profile superhero successful the MCU. Which squad is much legitimate? Which 1 volition the nationalist accept?

In immoderate ways, this seems to beryllium a lawsuit of Marvel recreating the presumption quo of Avengers: Infinity War. At that point, the MCU besides had 2 Avengers teams, 1 led by Iron Man and the different by the fugitive Captain America. The calamity of Infinity War is that the Avengers were excessively divided to enactment up a agreed beforehand successful defence of their homeworld. Had they been 1 cohesive, afloat functional unit, they mightiness person stopped Thanos from succeeding successful his extremity of eliminating fractional of each life. Only erstwhile the Avengers genuinely came unneurotic again successful Endgame did they acceptable things right.

The script isn’t truthful antithetic now. We’ve got the erstwhile Thunderbolts-turned-New Avengers and Sam’s Avengers team, and they intelligibly aren’t seeing eye-to-eye. Now the Fantastic Four are arriving successful the MCU, heralding the large catastrophe that forced them from their location universe. The MCU faces different existential menace successful (we’re consenting to bet) the signifier of the collapsing multiverse. It definite would beryllium bully if the 2 Avengers teams could enactment speech their differences agelong capable to combat Robert Downey, Jr.’s Doctor Doom and prevention the multiverse.

But that astir apt won’t happen. If anything, we tin envision a script wherever 1 Avengers squad throws its batch successful with Doom and seeks to prevention the MCU by immoderate means necessary, wherever the different squad pursues a much noble solution to the Incursion problem. And that’s not adjacent getting into the question of wherever Fox’s X-Men characters acceptable into this equation.

In short, determination seems to beryllium a wide intent successful introducing the New Avengers astatine this signifier successful the larger MCU roadmap. However bully their intentions, this squad promises to make friction and hostility successful a clip erstwhile the satellite needs its heroes to beryllium united. Only clip volition archer if the MCU’s New Avengers tin genuinely unrecorded up to the illustration of the archetypal team.

Be definite to cheque retired our afloat Thunderbolts Ending Explained, and cheque retired each Marvel movie and bid successful development.

Jesse is simply a mild-mannered unit writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intelligence thicket by pursuing @jschedeen connected BlueSky.