Recently, I wrote about Thunderbolts* for Halftone Magazine, but I didn't get to cover everything I wanted to there. Check that out of you want a more focussed discussion of the film, because here, I'm going to casually discuss, well...everything else.
First off, characters: Like everyone else, I agree that the best part about this movie is its characters, particularly Yelena and Bob, but it was able to make Red Guardian and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine bearable. Truly a Herculean effort. Its not that David Harbour or Julia Lousie-Dreyfous are bad actors, of course not, but its hard to salvage some of their material. All of Val's previous appearances did little to inspire confidence, but here, she isn't nearly as annoying, and instead, is portrayed as pretty damn capable. Before, her scenes traded on her potential as an antagonist, but watching her put together her plan wasn't nearly as interesting as watching her execute it. And they got rid of that awful purple streak in her hair. What the hell were they thinking with that?
I also liked Mel (Geraldine Viswanathan), Val's assistant and my newest celeb crush, (I'm lying, its actually Lewis Pullman). She has a small part, but its important to the plot, and it doesn't go where you'd expect. The scene where Bucky tries turning her to his side is hilarious, and seeing Bucky interact with a Gen Z individual reminded me that he's like 100 years old. Lowkey how I feel interacting with people younger than me. Its clear that Mel has a conscious, as she calls Bucky when things get hairy, but she's still ambitious, as she uses Sentry's kill switch to save Val and get a raise out of it. Running counter to the Thunderbolts' narrative is Mel, who at the end of the day, is still selfish. Sure, she's young, but in a movie where we're supposed see the best in people and give them a second chance, I think its worth noting when a character's arc ends in them making the selfish choice.
Oh, and there's Taskmaster. Oh, and Taskmaster's dead. I think we're all kidding ourselves if we didn't think this is how it was going to go, but some overzealous Twitter accounts are trying to gaslight me into thinking there are MCU Taskmaster fans, so I don't know what to think. I understand the argument that its lazy to simply execute Taskmaster in the first 20 minutes of your film,, but I'd call it clever and a great use of your time. This movie already has enough connective tissue to Black Widow, which is honestly one of my least favorite MCU movies, and has poisoned the idea of found families due to how badly it tried to execute its own. There was potential is reconciling Yelena and Taskmaster, but I think Marvel made the right call and put this character to bed. There were too many characters as it was, and adding one who might be worth the time clearly wasn't the right move. I don't even think the death is for shock-value; it was pure and simple universe maintenance. Like excising a tumor for the health of the body.
Red Guardian might be my least favorite addition to the MCU post-Endgame. He's loud, unfunny, and a straight up child trafficker that we're supposed to see as a loving father figure. Marvel's treatment of this character is weird, but David Harbour's a good actor, and the script is able to get some great stuff out of him and Florence Pugh. That scene with them talking on the street is nearly worth all of...him. This movie needed a character like him, a more positive force to balance out the sardonic negativity radiating off of these guys. I peg him to die in the next big crossover. He's the obvious pick, since he's a father figure, and honestly, redundant in terms of powers and looks. He's expendable, and I won't be sad when he's gone, only sad for Yelena.
Ghost was an interesting pick for the cast, and honestly, I wanted more of her. She's the only one here besides Bob with any unique powers, and she's pretty instrumental in their escape from the Vault, but that's about it. Her coldly killing Taskmaster is one of the movie's first big "what the fuck" moment, so she gets points for that, but ultimately, she fills out the ranks. I liked her banter with John Walker, but most of my enjoyment of this character stems from the little moments. I like when we see Walker pull her back into the car during the desert chase, and how she grabs Bucky's arm when they retreat to from the Sentry. She's responsible for the film's first moment of these characters pulling through for each other when she opens the door to the Vault's kill room. She's used as well as she could be, given the circumstances. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually looking forward to seeing more of Ghost.
As someone who thinks that The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is the best MCU show, I feel vindicated. John Walker is one of the best new additions to this universe, and I think he was well done here. At first, I found it annoying how he was the team punching bag, but throughout the film, like Ghost, we see him repeatedly come through for the team, like sticking to Yelena's plan and protecting Bucky from Sentry's bullets. Walker is one of the most hated characters in the Marvel stable, and I'm sure this movie did a lot to repair his image. Not because he's some fan favorite now, but people finally see him as the layered, deep character he always was. He's a bit of a clown, but its good that you can laugh at John Walker, because if you couldn't, he wouldn't be a great adaptation. USAgent is epitome of loser Marvel characters, so being able to make fun of him is essential. I also appreciate how the movie doesn't linger on Bob and Walker's little feud. The more you learn about Bob, the more you understand that Walker reminds him of his abusive father, and that's why they don't get along. Walker even calls him "Bobby" like his dad did. Its subtle—well, maybe not "subtle," but at least the movie doesn't spell it out for you.
James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes, my beloved. I was surprised at how little of the movie he's in. In total, I'm sure he's in it more than I think he is, but I expected him to be the leader of the team, honestly. I'm kinda glad that there's no real leader, at least when we see them in action. I guess its Yelena? But they move more as a group, on instinct. Bucky's short-lived Congressional career is a holdover from Captain America: Brave New World, a film I haven't seen and have no intention to. Its does its job here, facilitating the plot when needed and not being a distraction.
Bucky's inclusion here is small, but it works. He doesn't really forge any strong relationships with any new characters, but he fits in nicely. This movie's already long, but a couple extra moments that establish a real connection between Bucky and...anybody, would've been nice. We only get one line acknowledging he and Walker's past, and most of his dialogue is exposition or plot-necessary. Love that he's here, but its a real "go girl, give us nothing" situation. He shows up, looks cool, and gives some legitimacy to this team being "The New Avengers." If anything, this feels like character maintenance, like we needed a blip on the Bucky radar before the next big thing with him before Avengers: Doomsday.
And let's talk about that post-credit scene. Good job, Carmen Carnero, for getting your bag for Bucky's new costume, but I can't lie; I think the new looks are pretty ugly. I hate that Walker hasn't undone his taco shield, how Bucky looks like an action figure, and how cheap the logo looks, but given how Sentry's was basically a parody of MCU suits, this could be tongue-in-cheek. Since they're not really the Avengers, of course they look like knock-offs. It wouldn't surprise me if in they're next appearance, they go back to being called the Thunderbolts just to differentiate them from the team Sam Wilson is assembling. I'm hoping that conflict has time to breathe before its rail-roaded by Doomsday. Also, the post-credit teasing Fantastic Four confirms that the movie will take place on a parallel earth, and the FF will be universal travelers. Normally, I'd be annoyed by that, but it fits these characters.
Finally, let's talk about Bob and Yelena. Yelena wasn't a character I was particularly fond off (see the Black Widow connection) but Thunderbolts* gave her so much depth that I couldn't help but fall in love with her. As the film's protagonist, she just works. She can be the standard quippy Marvel hero, but her struggles are so real and human that they cut straight to the heart.
And there's Bob. God, I love Bob. Between Val, Bucky, and Sentry, there's so much Bob. I think the Sentry has finally returned and secured his place as "the mental health superhero." Of course, there's Moon Knight, and while I really liked his show, I'm in no way a DID expert. I think Paul Jenkins, Rick Veitch, and Jae Lee envisioned this character to be, despite having specific disorders of his own, a stand-in for mental health issues across the board. To some extent, we all struggle with mental health, and to have a superhero who embodies that struggle, and it doesn't become his superpower or magically go away, is something special. This movie discusses those theme in a hell of a lot more productive and mature way than the Joker movies do. It helps that I don't feel nearly as embarrassed watching this as I watch those movies. While I love Sentry's origin in the comics, the movie adapted him beautifully. Well done, team. You still got it.
Lewis Pullman absolutely smashes this role, but his chemistry with Florence Pugh is what keeps me coming back. Their relationships has caused a lot of discourse online regarding shipping and "sibling-coded" characters, but I think we're kidding ourselves if we don't think there's something going on here. Like, we all watched the same movie. I hate to get bogged down in fandom bullshit, but it does get on my nerves a bit. I keep thinking of this tweet that said "We can't even ship a male and female characters with mad chemistry anymore because of woke." People want straight ships with depth and when they get one, they cry that they're just platonic or "sibling-coded." I just find it annoying that people will make up a label for these pairings and get mad when something else doesn't also assign the same arbitrary label. Gang, we're all in the same psych ward, we can't be infighting. This feels like Sam and Bucky all over again, where people will cry "But what about representing platonic friendships!?" as if nearly every story ever told has platonic friendships in it.
A lot of this also comes from Yelena being aroace in the comics, and implied to be so in the MCU. That hasn't stopped people from shipping her with Kate Bishop, but that besides the point. Personally, I don't have much of a dog in this race other than I like Bob and Yelena a lot. They got me shipping like its 2014. They're relationship is the cornerstone of the movie, and that's undeniable. Regardless, we haven't had an MCU relationships have this much tension in a long, long time, and if they're smart, Marvel will milk this until the end of time. I want these two in everything. Play out the will-they-won't-they even if its all bullshit; I don't care. I'll be there every time.
I fear that found family, as a trope, has gone too far. Its melted people's brains. I understand that the trope hits home for marginalized communities, and that's great. I like the trope, but why I like Thunderbolts* stems from the fact that it doesn't do what Suicide Squad (either film) does and go all in on it. The Thunderbolts are not a found family. By the end of the movie, only Bob and Yelena have forged a profound bond. This isn't Guardians of the Galaxy, and that's a good thing.
Unfortunately, the trope is so ubiquitous that its become mutated by fandom brain. Suddenly, if a group of characters are a "found family," then every single member has some typified, exact analog to a real familial relationship. I thought the appeal was that people could form bonds that weren't defined by societal expectations? I've gone on a long tangent, but you can see how this is affecting fandom discourse. People primarily view things through the lens of shipping, and while that has its place, its a shallow way to discuss a film that's about complex relationships. Wading in that complexity is far more interesting that attaching a label.
Anyway.
The marketing for this movie was crazy, right? The asterisk played a huge part of course, beginning as the unofficial logo for the movie until it was revealed to herald the movie's real title, The New Avengers. Nobody's gonna call it that, but good try. I do really like this stunt, though. Its a shame they couldn't wait more than a week after the movie's release, but that was likely part of their plan. The strategy was probably that they'd do as much as they could in selling a Thunderbolts movie then hit them with the New Avengers twist to get butts in seats. Besides, the posters getting updated with the new logo is pretty cool. Viral marketing stuff like this just tickles me.
It is a shame how much of this movie was spoiled. Sure, the Taskmaster stuff wasn't exactly a spoiler, but it wasn't hard to figure out. They even went as far as to CGI her into scenes later in the final that occurred after her death to preserve the secret. But then the Sentry's costume was revealed by, of all things, a Hasbro Marvel Legends stream. Having the action figure out there before the real thing just feels bad, man. It wasn't even a leak. This was pre-meditated. We all knew the Sentry was going to be in the film, but it would have been nice for the suit to be a genuine reveal.
Thunderbolts* was a welcome surprise. I did not have the MCU being back on my 2025 bingo card, and I didn't expect this movie to mean so much to me. Something about the maturity with which it handles its themes got me. Let's hope that Avengers: Doomsday doesn't mess it up, and if it does, then we'll remember how good we had it.
