Thunderbolts*, Marvel’s latest blockbuster, wrangles together a ragtag group of misfits who are neither super nor heroes. So who are they, exactly? Liam Maguren runs through the roll call.
A lot’s been going on with the Marvel Cinematic Universe recently, eh? Too much, probably.
I can’t blame anyone for not keeping up with it. All these different characters, relationships, plots, subplots, timelines, universes… it’s intimidating to think you must cram all of it to enjoy the current MCU. Who wants to go into a film feeling like they haven’t caught up with their homework?
But that may not be the case with Thunderbolts*. Branded as a bunch of rejects who must reluctantly team up, they’re more like Guardians of the Galaxy than The Avengers. And James Gunn managed to make us fall in love with Star Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Groot without relying on a bunch of solo outings or TV show cameos.
Though we’ve seen the headliners of Thunderbolts* in prior MCU films and shows, you probably don’t need to see all that to enjoy this latest film. Still, it couldn’t hurt to have a little catch-up on the main players. Some of these might even call out for a (re)watch.
Here’s all you need to know about this new crew of Marvel misfits.
From 2021’s Black Widow: Yelena Belova, Alexei Shostakov & Taskmaster
Florence Pugh reprises her role as Yelena, who we first saw in Black Widow’s standalone film as the estranged sister of Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff. She would reappear in Disney+ series Hawkeye where she playfully antagonised Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop. Like Natasha, Yelena was trained to be a human weapon who could be pointed towards any target up for assassination. But unlike Natasha, Yelena never got a redemption tour with a group of do-gooders. Until now, perhaps?
David Harbour returns as Alexei, who we also saw in Black Widow as the dad figure in Natasha and Yelena’s dysfunctional family. Going by the moniker of Red Guardian, Russia’s heavily-marketed answer to Captain America, you can bet a sweet buck he’ll continue to crack jokes and be the big goof of the Thunderbolts* squad. We can also expect him and Yelena to reflect on, and mourn over, the death of Natasha in Endgame.
Completing the trio of prominent Black Widow returnees is Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, a contract killer that can analyse and copy people’s moves. The daughter of widow-maker Dreykov, Natasha originally thought she assassinated her when she was a girl, only to (unintentionally) help make her who she is. Dreykov controlled his daughter via a chip in her head, but now that he’s dead, she’s free to make her own choices.
From 2021 series Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Bucky Barnes, John Walker & Valentina Allegra de Fontaine
Bucky’s the veteran in the Thunderbolts* crew. We caught him all the way back in Phase One with Captain America: The First Avenger. He then grew to prominence in Phase Two as reluctant antagonist The Winter Soldier before getting rehabilitated in Wakanda during Phase Three. He finally shined as a lead superhero in Phase Four series Falcon and the Winter Soldier with his boy Sam Wilson, who graduated from Falcon to Captain America as per Brave New World.
The series also introduced us to Wyatt Russell’s John Walker, a man who was originally anointed the Captain America title before he royally messed that up. Unlike Sam, who upholds all off cap’s upstanding morals but without the super soldier serum, John’s juiced up with serum while upholding a dirt-poor sense of justice. Episode four of Falcon and the Winter Soldier famously saw him crush a Flag Smasher to death in public with the star-spangled shield FOR AMERICA.
Devious enabler Valentina Allegra De Fontaine, played by the ever-excellent Julia Louis-Dreyfus, appears to be pulling more strings in Thunderbolts*. In Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the Contessa gave John a brand-new outfit and the codename US Agent after he lost the Captain America moniker. If anyone can be considered the Nick Fury of this new B-vengers squad, it’s her.
From 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Ghost
The main antagonist in the second Ant-Man film, Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost—AKA Ava Starr—has a power fitting of her name. Surviving a blast from a failed experiment that killed her parents, Ava became afflicted with “molecular desequalibrium,” which is made-up science garble for “can phase through solid things.” Ava’s condition is also slowly killing her, and while she was able to gain temporary stabilisation in the film, she hasn’t fully escaped her fate.
And then there’s some guy named Bob?
Yep. Bob. No surname. Just Bob. As far as we know, his first appearance in the MCU has been this trailer, which either makes him an elaborate joke of a member in the squad or something super secretive that the film wants to keep as a surprise. All we really need to know is that he’s played by Lewis (son of Bill) Pullman, who previously played another Bob (Lt. Robert Floyd) in Top Gun: Maverick.
