Marvel Already Revealed The Best Name For The Thunderbolts 6 Years Ago (& No, It"s Not The Dark Avengers)

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The mysterious asterisk in the Thunderbolts* title may have been teased back in the MCU"s Phase 3. The Thunderbolts* trailers have done a great job hiding the movie"s main antagonist and the meaning of the asterisk in the Thunderbolts* title. The most likely characters to serve as the team"s principal enemy are Lewis Pullman"s Bob a.k.a. Sentry, due to his unpredictable nature; or Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, due to her leverage on the titular anti-heroes.
Meanwhile, theories around the asterisk in the Thunderbolts* title abound, ranging from a simple name change to the possible death of all members of the team and their subsequent replacements. Going by the team"s banter about their name in the second Thunderbolts* trailer, it seems like the first option is most likely. There are also various possibilities for the Thunderbolts" definitive moniker, including the Dark Avengers, the New Avengers, or a less threatening version of the team"s original iteration from the comics — the Masters of Evil. However, the Thunderbolts" rebranding may have been decided six years before the movie"s release.
Why The Thunderbolts Won't Be The Thunderbolts The Thunderbolts Will Likely Form Their Own Brand After Being Assembled Against Their Will

Custom Image by Lewis Glazebrook As suggested by the Thunderbolts* trailers, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine will bring together the titular team by giving each member an individual mission that will require them to face off against the rest of the team, leading to a free-for-all showdown. Later on, the titular anti-heroes will come up with a name for themselves, and Red Guardian will embrace "Thunderbolts", to his colleagues" chagrin. Since "Thunderbolts" isn"t as popular with Red Guardian"s teammates, they will probably conceive a better moniker at the end of the movie.

Related The Answer To The Thunderbolts* Asterisk Could Make A Major Avengers 5 Theory Come True The new Thunderbolts* trailer has a moment that might have revealed the meaning behind the MCU movie"s asterisk, and it could connect to the Avengers.
Posts It"s also possible that the Thunderbolts will change their name after breaking out of Val"s control. In the source material, Marvel Comics" original Thunderbolts form their own team apart from their founding member, Baron Zemo, in order to act as actual heroes. Likewise, the MCU"s Thunderbolts could decide to sever their ties to Val and make their existence open to the public. To cement the change, they could pick a different name — possibly one derived from Earth"s Mightiest Heroes: the Avengers, the New Avengers, the Dark Avengers, etc.
The Best Name For Bucky's New Team Was Introduced In Infinity War The MCU's Thunderbolts Bear Various Similarities To Steve Rogers' Secret Avengers Close The Thunderbolts" secret operations under Val"s command resemble an often overlooked MCU team introduced in Avengers: Infinity War. Following the Avengers" split in Captain America: Civil War, Steve Rogers dropped his Captain America title and formed his own Avengers subdivision alongside Natasha Romanoff, Sam Wilson, and Wanda Maximoff. As the Secret Avengers, Steve, Natasha, Sam, and Wanda carried out secret missions while escaping from the law. If the Thunderbolts have any knowledge of the Secret Avengers" heroic deeds, they might want to inherit the name.
Natasha Romanoff"s blonde look from Avengers: Infinity War was inspired by Yelena Belova. Concept art also reveals that Steve Rogers almost wore a US Agent-inspired costume as the Secret Avengers" leader.
Apart from the fact that "Secret Avengers" is a much less threatening name than "Dark Avengers", the Thunderbolts already have a couple of subtle connections to Steve Rogers" undercover team. Most of the Thunderbolts have drawn inspiration from Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff: US Agent, Bucky Barnes, and Red Guardian have all followed in Captain America"s footsteps as heroic Super Soldiers; Yelena Belova looked up to her mentor Natasha Romanoff, and Natasha caused Antonia Dreykov to become Taskmaster. Thunderbolts* anti-heroes like Yelena and Bucky may come up with the idea to respect their mentors" legacy by reviving their secret team.

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Thunderbolts*
Director Jake Schreier Writers Lee Sung-jin , Eric Pearson , Joanna Calo Cast Florence Pugh , Sebastian Stan , David Harbour , Wyatt Russell , Olga Kurylenko , Hannah John-Kamen , Julia Louis-Dreyfus , Geraldine Viswanathan , Lewis Pullman , Joshua Mikel Release Date May 2, 2025 Budget $200 million Studio(s) Marvel Studios Expand Upcoming MCU Movies

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