The Thunderbolts Strike!

To the surprise of no hard-core fan, Marvel Studios announced a Thunderbolts movie will end Phase 5 of their overarching saga. Currently scheduled for July 26, 2024, it’s been building up as Valentina (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) has been gathering up darker versions of the icons of the MCU — US Agent (Wyatt Russell) and the new Black Widow (Florence Pugh).

The team has always been a mix of light and dark in comics, originally a group of super-villains masquerading as heroes when the Avengers disappeared in… you know what? Let’s not go there as to why they disappeared.

Some of those villains discovered they liked being heroic. Like the Avengers themselves, the Thunderbolts have had several line-ups using that name, and while the name is currently buzzing in MCU fans’ ears, it’s time to strike… like lightning! Led by the original Hawkeye and featuring America Chavez and Spectrum, this mini-series will introduce new characters — as no doubt the film will, too.

Both America Chavez and Spectrum have been introduced in the MCU — in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and WandaVision respectively. (Actor Teyonah Parris will make at least one more confirmed appearance in the MCU in The Marvels, though her character Monica Rambeau has not yet been called Spectrum onscreen.) (By the way, that’s not to be confused with the current and excellent Marvel comics called The Marvels.)

As the movie is part of what Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige calls “The Multiverse Saga,” my prediction there is there will be a great shake-up that allows for a reformation of the Avengers. But in the comics, there’s always a great shake-up, so here’s what Marvel has to say on this mini-series that has an electric creative team.

From Marvel:

In the wake of DEVIL’S REIGN, super heroes have been outlawed in New York City but starting next month, a new team of authorized super heroes will assemble in THUNDERBOLTS #1! The five-issue limited series will be written by former THUNDERBOLTS scribe Jim Zub and drawn by artist Sean Izaakse, known for his recent work on Fantastic Four: Life Story. In the classic Thunderbolts tradition, Zub and Izaakse will introduce an unexpected lineup that mixes together iconic Marvel super heroes, fan-favorite breakout stars, conflicted anti-heroes, and exciting newcomers. Carefully selected by Mayor Luke Cage to bring justice like lightning throughout his city, the new team will led by Hawkeye and include Spectrum, America Chavez, Power Man, and Kara Killgrave, AKA Persuasion. Also joining this ragtag squad be new two new recruits: mystery man and experienced supersoldier Gutsen Glory, and debuting in issue #2, a strange creature known as Eegro the Unbreakable. The team’s first mission will be taking down Kingpin’s own corrupt Thunderbolts that wreaked havoc throughout the DEVIL’S REIGN saga and restoring the team’s name in an action-packed brawl you won’t want to miss!

“A lot of times people will look at a cast of characters and say, ‘This team lineup is different so this isn’t the team I want,’ but, it’s like you said, the Thunderbolts have gone through so many iterations. There have been incarnations where they’re purely criminal, others where they’re criminals trying to be heroes, and everything in between, but I’ve always felt like, at their heart, the Thunderbolts are a team struggling for redemption,” Zub said about the new roster in an interview with CBR. “Individual members and the team as a whole struggled to dig themselves out of their worst selves or resist the natural pull of who they’ve been in the past. So, for me, redemption is the heart of the Thunderbolts concept.”

Be there for the all-new era of THUNDERBOLTS on August 31! For more information, visit Marvel.com.

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