‘Thunderbolts*’ brings back Marvel’s familiar spark with no pointless quip

L-R: Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (David Harbour), and Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) in Marvel Studios’ ‘Thunderbolts*’. Image: courtesy of Marvel Studios

“Thunderbolts*” is a whack job at first glance. The so-called superhero team—or whatever they’re called —is made of D-list heroes not everyone knows of. It is the final installment of the lukewarm Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Five. Yet it reignites a familiar spark fans have missed from the franchise.

Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Red Guardian (David Harbour), and Bob (Lewis Pullman) are annoying misfits. They are antiheroes battling with their respective inner demons. Not everyone knew who they were. But they were somehow brought together by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) because she wanted to kill them. Or mold them as her “protectors” to keep her position in the government.

Before “Thunderbolts*,” each misfit had been introduced in one way or another. Either through mere mentions or side characters. While some—or all—of the characters are confusing to a viewer who has long moved on from the MCU, the film manages to introduce them in a simple way without having them bogged down by the typical web of multiverses the franchise has been pushing for years.

(L-R) Allana Williams, Lewis Pullman, Wyatt Russell, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Florence Pugh, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Geraldine Viswanathan, Wendell Pierce, Jake Schreier, Brian Chapek and Kevin Feige, President, Marvel Studios attend the European Premiere of Marvel Studios’ ‘Thunderbolts*’ at Cineworld Leicester Square on April 22, 2025 in London, England. Image: Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for The Walt Disney Company Limited

While Yelena is familiar to some so-called experts, her emptiness is reduced to sleepless, drunken nights in the bathroom. Bob seems innocently happy at first. Yet an experiment exposed his inner demons, almost transforming him into a mentally unstable Superman. John is the captain of the US Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment and a “junior varsity Captain America,” struggling to heal from the aftermath of his wife leaving him.

On the other hand, Ghost is confused about living her life. Red Guardian is struggling to come to terms with his former glory, and pinned his hopes of being a hero to an old soccer team. Taskmaster was there. And Bucky is a congressman now with a “great” past.

But these flaws made them work as the Thunderbolts. They are still learning to accept each other (except Yelena and Red Guardian). But the portrayal of how their respective traumas culminated with Void became the piece of the puzzle as to why they fit as a team. Each character, despite being jerks in their own ways, was introduced well, and each actor did their homework.

“Thunderbolts*” is not meant to be a superhero origin story. The film wanted to show how each misfit is still in the process of fighting through the void to discover what they truly stand for. It doesn’t have the pompous excess of Iron Man and Thor, nor the respectful reverence of Captain America and T’Challa. It doesn’t have the magnetic charisma of the Guardians of the Galaxy. The Thunderbolts are mirrors of the ordinary man with skillful abilities and reluctance to embrace what lies beneath them.

Understandably, the days leading up to its premiere were met with low expectations. Marvel has unfortunately gone in full circles from its obscurity, rise, mainstream success, superhero fatigue, and ultimate downfall. But “Thunderbolts*” is the spark of hope the MCU needed to gain at least a bit of its loyal following back.

But still, the film is not safe from its glaring flaws. The mystery surrounding Taskmaster has been a favorite in the comics, yet her presence left much to be desired in the film. It was almost as if she didn’t exist and didn’t mean anything to the characters after her final scene.

Another flaw was the lack of a key moment that would ultimately bind the Thunderbolts. They didn’t need to have the signature space cloud or sky beam à la Avengers and X-Men—although they had their own battle in New York moment—but getting in touch with their respective inner demons as a unit, and not because of a single person, would’ve planted the seeds for their potential bond.

It is clear that Marvel has been frustrated with matching the glory of “Avengers: Endgame” in its post-snap era, which consistently failed. After all, the formula has drastically changed since Phase One. But it looks like “Thunderbolts*” somehow found its much-needed kickstart.

“Thunderbolts*” premiered in theaters in the Philippines on April 30.