Thunderbolts is the anti-Avengers movie Marvel fans are waiting for. From the moment Julia Louis-Dreyfus appeared as Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine, the looming threat of a new group of anti-heroes (or villains) has hung over the MCU. We now know the team’s complete lineup, but there’s still a big mystery: why are they being assembled?
Two ignored Marvel properties may hold the answer, which is quite literally in plain sight.
Redditor Quite_Effective7234 suggested the reason the Thunderbolts are different from their comic book parallels, who are all criminals disguised as heroes, is because they have a completely different mission. The lineup of Ghost, Red Guardian, Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, US Agent, and Taskmaster seems random, especially since three of them used to be Russian agents.
But what if the split between Americans and Russians is on purpose? This theory suggests the Thunderbolts are a joint task force meant to enact the Anti-Alien Act President Ritson announced at the end of Secret Invasion. Sure, Val started recruiting the Thunderbolts before Secret Invasion, but this could be a new assignment with a stronger Russian contingent. After all, Russia was the home of Skrull HQ; they have a vested interest in stopping evil aliens.
The Thunderbolts are named after General Thunderbolt Ross, who will appear as President in the upcoming movie Captain America: Brave New World, which is rumored to be centered on the giant Celestial head that emerged from the ocean after Eternals. It’s quite literally the biggest piece of alien tech on Earth, and it’s been increasingly strange that other Marvel projects haven’t acknowledged it.
President Ross will take over from President Ritson, but knowing what we know about him, it’s unlikely he’ll be any softer on alien life. In fact, there are rumors he’ll lead a force to seize Tiamut Island (aka the giant Celestial corpse) because it contains adamantium. What better way to justify such a mission than to frame it as an essential anti-alien initiative?
Secret Invasion and Eternals may not be the most beloved Marvel projects, but every MCU chapter is important to the broader picture. Secret Invasion may hold the reason the Thunderbolts have assembled, and Eternals could be the origin of their first big mission. And in Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts, we may just see all these elements come together.
