Everything You Need To Know Before Watching Thunderbolts*

Written by: Zoe Yoo

Marvel’s Thunderbolts* is one of the most anticipated movies of the year—a movie exciting audiences everywhere with its promises of action, comedy, found family, and a dark, grungy vibe similar to the DC Extended Universe (DCEU)’s Suicide Squad. But with Marvel’s millions of movies, shows, and animations, how can anyone catch up in time for the film’s release on May 2nd? Well, you’re in luck because here is everything you need to know before watching Thunderbolts*! 

From this point on, there will be SPOILERS for several Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies and television shows, including the recent Captain America: Brave New World. Read at your own risk. 

Yelena Belova/Black Widow

Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova is Natasha Romanoff (the original Black Widow) ‘s sister. Although not biologically related, the two girls share a sisterly bond after their time spent in the Red Room, the infamous organization that trained them to become unrelenting spies and assassins. Marvel’s Black Widow tells the tragic story of their separation, eventual reconciliation, and the Red Room’s destruction. The conclusion has Yelena dedicating herself to freeing others from the organization’s brainwashing. We last see Yelena in Hawkeye as she attempts to kill Clint Barton for supposedly being responsible for her sister’s death in Avengers: Endgame. However, instead of killing him, the two reconcile and bond over their love for Natasha before she disappears. 

Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier

Bucky Barnes, the best friend to the universe’s original Captain America, has been through it all. After falling to his presumed death in Captain America: The First Avenger, getting brainwashed into a ruthless assassin, breaking out of the brainwashing, and fighting alongside the newest Captain America (Sam Wilson), Bucky Barnes is, somehow, a United States Congressman. How he got to this point or even got any votes, no one knows. But we will certainly find out in the upcoming film. 

Alexi Shostakov/Red Guardian 

Also introduced in Black Widow is Natasha’s father figure, Alexi Shostakov. Alexi was the Soviet Union’s response to the United States’ Captain America and was given the Super Soldier Serum to work for the Red Room. By the time Natasha reunites with him, he’s long since retired the suit, but he works with her and Yelena to take down the Red Room. In the Thunderbolts* trailer, the comedic character is seen ordering DoorDash, living alone in disarray, before Yelena reaches out to him. 

John Walker/U.S. Agent

John Walker is a very controversial character as he was picked to be the official Captain America after Steve Rogers without the consent of Sam Wilson, who Steve himself had chosen to take up the mantle. During his short time as Captain America, John Walker gave himself the Super Soldier Serum, which amplified his negative qualities. This caused him to become increasingly more violent and cruel as he tarnished the shield (both symbolically and literally) by killing an unarmed man using the shield as a bludgeon. Sam Wilson eventually takes the mantle back from him, and John Walker falls into public disgrace. Widely hated by the fandom now, it will be interesting to see how Thunderbolts* attempts to redeem him, along with his interactions with Bucky, with whom he also came into conflict in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. 

Ava Starr/Ghost

Although introduced as the antagonist of Ant-Man and the Wasp, Ava Starr still succeeded in capturing the audience’s intrigue. With her tragic backstory of a Quantum experiment gone wrong, her resulting in her attaining powers, and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s manipulation, Ava Starr is nothing if not complex. Her story is made even more heartbreaking as we find out that the same experiment that gave her powers (the ability to harness energy and phase through objects) was also slowly killing her. After Janet Van Dyne stabilizes her with quantum energy, she is last seen hiding from the authorities with scientist Bill Foster. 

Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster

There is a reason why there’s a question mark in the above caption for this image. This is because of the wide speculation surrounding this character. Taskmaster has been very noticeably missing from scenes in the Thunderbolts* trailers, the press events, and the recent Avengers: Doomsday cast announcement, where the rest of the Thunderbolts were confirmed for the upcoming movie. These discrepancies have led to mass speculation of whether Taskmaster dies early in the film or if it’s even Antonia Dreykov under the suit. In any case, here is what you need to know about the character. 

Antonia Dreykov is the daughter of the Red Room’s infamous leader. After a failed assassination on her father’s life (at the hands of Hawkeye and Black Widow), where she was left gravely injured, Antonia was cybernetically enhanced and imbued with a microchip that left her mind and body controlled by her father. She was then made into the right-hand assassin of her father with the ability to replicate any skill, weapon, or move by just watching it. By the end of Black Widow, she is freed from the Red Room’s control and left to her own devices.  

Bob/Sentry

Despite being introduced as the elusive “Bob” in trailers, it is widely known that Bob is the very popular comic character Sentry. We don’t know much about the MCU’s version of the character outside of the fact that he is stronger than all of the Avengers combined and is the government’s response to the lack of the superhero team. In the comics, however, Bob is a high school freshman with schizophrenia and anxiety who accidentally takes a version of the Super Soldier Serum. As a result, he gains powers such as super strength, speed, flight, intelligence, energy projection, and psionics. But because of his psychiatric battles, he also ends up manifesting a darker, evil persona known as The Void. Bob is stuck fighting a constant internal struggle of good versus evil. 

Valentina Allegra de Fontaine

Valentina is a mysterious character who has been popping up a lot in the post-Endgame MCU. She first appears in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to recruit and reinvent John Walker after his failing as Captain America. She continues to make her rounds as she also appears in the post-credits scene of Black Widow to give Yelena her new assignment of killing Hawkeye by manipulating her and falsely claiming that he killed her sister. Finally, it is revealed that Valentina is the director of the CIA in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. She seems to be taking on a shadier, more morally gray Nick Fury kind of role in the recent MCU, and audiences are excited to finally discover her true motivations in Thunderbolts*. 

Thunderbolts* is in theaters everywhere on May 2nd. 

Featured Image Caption: From left to right: David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Olga Kurylenko, Florence Pugh, Lewis Pullman, Wyatt Russell, and Sebastian Stan in Thunderbolts*