Britin Frazey

Honestly, I’m already due for a rewatch at the time of writing this post, but I received a request to post about this film and I have lots to say, even now. I first heard of this film when a Mike and Ike’s truck was parked outside of my college in late March or early April. We had just wrapped a weekly Panhellenic council meeting when we saw it, and decided to go get some free candy. There was even a wheel to spin, with all the slots being packs of candy except for one slot for free tickets. I don’t know who ever said that redheads have bad luck, because I actually won those! Naturally, this made me really excited to see the movie, and my fiance and I went as soon as we could.

I used to be a devout Marvel fan, back in the golden days. Avengers: Age of Ultron was the movie that really won my heart– specifically the Maximoff twins and their story. I can’t really pinpoint when Marvel lost me, but I watched both Ant-Man and the Wasp, Black Widow, and Hawkeye, developing a love for both Ava and Alexei, but especially Yelena. I didn’t watch The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but I did watch all the Captain America movies, so I knew Bucky well enough, but had never met John Walker.

While I would argue that you don’t need to have seen this show to understand the events of this film, I still definitely plan to watch The Falcon and the Winter Soldier sometime soon. In fact, my enjoyment of this film makes me want to go back and watch just about everything I missed during my hiatus from Marvel. Because I feel like even if they aren’t good, they will still be valuable and enhance my understanding of this film and others moving forward, which hopefully will take from this film’s storytelling success– which it probably won’t, since it’s considered a box office flop.

I’m never really one for details, but especially when it’s been a few months since I’ve seen the film. The draw of this movie was the fact that it was supposed to be a Marvel version of Suicide Squad, with anti-heroes teaming up and fighting for good. This was just about all that I knew, going into the film, so I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be filled with angst and also important messages about mental health.

Spoilers are to follow, so be warned!

Brilliantly, the team starts off when they are all sent to the same location on missions to assassinate one another. I don’t remember who was whose target, but I know that only one person succeeded. Rest in peace, Taskmaster, I guess. I also know that this entire film sequence was incredible to watch, and felt really fresh and creative. Once the doors lock them all inside, they start to talk things through, realizing that they all have the same boss: Valentina, and she is trying to get rid of them all. In fact, the room they’re locked in is an incinerator. So, let the team begin!

As they start to make an escape plan, another person just kind of shows up. His name is Bob, and he doesn’t know who he is or how he got there. But he’s just a guy, so it’s okay. Together, Yelena, John Walker, Ava, and Bob get out of the incinerator. Actually, Ava gets herself out, using her awesome powers to transport her body through matter, and just when the other three are sure she’s left them, she opens the doors from the other side.

Another hilarious scene comes from the four of them linking arms and climbing up an elevator shaft (or something) back to back. That is perhaps my new favorite goofy sequence in a Marvel movie, though it’s hard to say. Once they get out, Yelena’s father Alexei joins the team, driving them around and sharing embarrassing details about Yelena’s childhood. Notably, she was on a peewee softball team called “the thunderbolts” when she was small, causing the team to take on this name a few times in the film, including in the title.

The team also picks up Bucky, who comes in for the rescue a couple of times. Valentina continues to interfere, and eventually takes Bob. It turns out he didn’t just come out of no where, but was a survivor of Project Sentry. This Valentina’s human experiments to try to make a superhero to replace the lost Avengers. But in helping Bob become the Sentry, he declines into a depressive state, instead turning into the Void.

I might have to write another post when I’ve watched this more freshly, but I know that I loved the way that all of this was shown and represented in the film, and found it really moving. The Void turns people into shadows– and if the darkness touches someone, they join the shadow, too– which was really interesting to watch. When entire city is in chaos, Yelena walks into the shadow realm without explaining to any of the remaining Thunderbolts.

Alexei cries out, but is comforted by his teammates, and they come to the conclusion that Yelena wouldn’t have done that without a reason. After all, Yelena and Bob have been the closest friends of all, and are connected. But then we see Yelena in the shadows, reliving her worst moments and greatest fears, and all the other skeletons in her closet. The entire sequence is gut-wrenching, and it doesn’t stop there.

Bucky, Ava, John Walker, and Alexei all get to Yelena, and the Thunderbolts find Bob where he is stuck reliving his own worst fears and stuck in his regrets. They all comfort him, but it comes down to Yelena and Bob sharing a heart-to-heart. She explains to him that he doesn’t have to do it alone, he has this team now– and realizes that is also true for her. Together, they all leave the shadows and return to the real world, where Bob sets things right.

Valentina tricks the group to appear onstage with her right as she announces that they are the “New Avengers” and introduces them. They are all caught off guard, but cannot say anything, because they can’t disagree with such a powerful person on live television. Exposing Valentina would only be bad for them, anyway– so they all bite their tongues and accept their titles.

At the end of the film, the title Thunderbolts* comes onscreen. Don’t make fun of me, but I didn’t notice the asterisk in title until that very moment, when it was revealed that it was a placeholder for The New Avengers all along.

Between the important messages that were infused, the heartfelt platonic love shared by the characters, the interesting cinematic sequences, and the story’s setup, this film really won my heart. It definitely can’t hurt that the tickets were free, but that’s only what got us in the door. I was impressed and charmed by all of the features I’ve discussed, and I hope to see more of the New Avengers in the future. For now, I will just have to watch this film over and over again. And also the recent Marvel stuff that I’ve missed. So, more than likely, there will be more Marvel content to follow!