There is a very small possibility that you have not heard of the Thunderbolts, regardless of whether you are a recent Marvel fan or an old hand. The best way to describe them is probably as a superhero team made up of supervillains, and these swords of sin will soon be making their big-screen debut.
Fans have been going crazy over the potential characters they might see ever since Marvel announced the Thunderbolts movie. Baron Zemo is one among the more obvious picks, along with US Agent and Yelena Belove, but you might also see the Winter Soldier, Agatha Harkness, and other comic book characters.
The Thunderbolts have been alluded to in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s end credits and easter eggs for quite some time. It will not be long before we learn the specifics of this movie’s plot and its cast of characters.
Here is everything you need to know about them, though, up until then. In this video, we will take you on a thrilling journey from their initial appearance to their origins and resources where you can learn more about them. Shall we get started?
Who Are Thunderbolts?
In 1997’s The Incredible Hulk comic book number 449, the Thunderbolts made their debut. The Hulk and Janis Jones are hit by a rocket at the start of the comic. A man in armour saves Janis from a terrible fall just before it is about to happen. It just so happened that Mach 1 was the first Thunderbolts member we met in this comic. She swings her staff at him in response to her thanks.
The remaining Thunderbolts, which consist of Meteorite, Techno, Atlas, and Songbird, who present themselves as a new superhero team and go by the name of the Thunderbolts, must be dealt with by the Hulk in the meanwhile. To their surprise, despite being warned and asked to submit, the Hulk does so without resistance. Songbird uses her powers to form a cage around Hulk, trapping him there.
This is when Meteorite approaches Hulk, establishing that they have a history, although not much is revealed about it in this particular comic issue. Meteorite orders Hulk to lower his arms, but he doesn’t, not talking to her. It doesn’t take long for Meteorite to give up and call Citizen V, their team leader. Meanwhile, the battle between Mach-1 and Janis doesn’t last very long as he flees away, but Janis is far too curious and knows he is up to no good, so she decides to follow him.
On the other hand, Hulk is still trapped in his cage, unwilling to talk to anyone or give away any information as the Thunderbolts try to figure out what they need to do next, all the while waiting for their leader. Citizen V arrives just in time, heading straight to Hulk and introducing himself, trying to get Hulk to open up. This is when Hulk finally shows a glimpse of the true extent of his powers, admitting that he was waiting for the whole team to get together. He breaks his cage without much of trouble.
However, he is struck by one of Mach-1’s missiles, and he crashes near a dam, but the Thunderbolts are hot on his trail. As they catch up to the Hulk, Janis arrives, serving as a helping hand to the him. Janis and Hulk decide to divide and conquer, as Janis takes on Mach-1 and Meteorite, and Hulk takes on Atlas and Techno. If Hulk was angry now, he was only about to get angrier when Techno and Atlas tried to convince him that they were working toward saving innocent people.
This triggers Hulk, which leads him to smash open the dam, which floods the entire city below. The Thunderbolts don’t have much of an option as they make their way into the town and save the people from drowning, giving Hulk and Janis a window to escape. One would think that the Thunderbolts would follow Hulk and Janis, but instead, Citizen V asks them to prioritise, leaving them alone for the moment at least.
Although this comic introduces the Thunderbolts, we learn very little about their powers and what they’re capable of doing. Nevertheless, they make for an exciting addition to the comic series and the Marvel comics as a whole.
However, the comic book that introduces the Thunderbolts and serves as one of the comics with the best plot twists in the franchise’s history is Thunderbolts Volume One, Issue One. The comic begins with a news reporter, Megan McLaren, who is seen standing in a ruined neighborhood behind her as she explains the loss and suffering that took place there. What was once a thriving, bustling neighborhood, full of life and hope, filled with men, women, and children, had now turned into a graveyard of bodies and their belongings were dumped in what looked like humanity’s tomb.
The rescue workers have tried and put their best foot forward, trying to recover bodies while also hoping to find some survivors. However, the work is slow, and the clean-up isn’t expected to be completed within a few months at least, and these numbers only explain the damage that was caused. Meanwhile, a fifteen-year-old girl watches her city burn down, and her parents crushed right in front of her eyes as she hides behind the walls, too scared to come out, afraid she might not make it alive.
Once she finally finds the courage to come out of hiding, she is taken away by a masked stranger who uses chloroform, making her unconscious. Megan McLaren continues her newscast as she reports about the heroes who have sacrificed themselves and saved the world one last time. However, the threat continues to loom in the form of underground lava men and races that live beneath the crust of the earth, maybe even extra-dimensional invaders.
It turns out that Earth has lost its mightiest heroes, the protectors of the planet. Megan then mentions Masters of Evil, a virtual battalion of super-criminals, most of whom are currently at large worldwide, including their leader, Baron Zemo. The Masters of Evil were strong enough to demolish the Avengers’ mansion once, and a newscast like this would only scare the people more, but according to Megan, the people are already scared and are fumbling for the answer to one simple question, who will save them?
On the other panel of this comic, we see Number One and Number Fourteen talk to each other through comms, both of whom are part of the Rat Pack, which was essentially a pack of scavengers and thieves hired by Arnim Zola. They proudly retrieve several valuables from the ruins of New York, scavenging for anything that might be worth something in the black market.
However, just as the Rat Pack gathers to count what they’ve collected, they are interrupted by Citizen V, the leader of Thunderbolts, who frowns upon the pack for stealing and appropriating property that doesn’t belong to them, and then goes on to make a citizen’s arrest for the same. The Rat Pack are confident they can take him down, and that is when Citizen V reveals the most powerful weapon in his arsenal, the Thunderbolts!
However, this doesn’t deter the Rat Pack as they begin shooting at the largest member of the Thunderbolts, Atlas, who doesn’t feel a single thing. The Thunderbolts are quick to show off their strength. They are cocky because they know how robust they are compared to the Rat Pack. However, Citizen V stops them, demanding they focus on the battle ahead and show the Rat Pack what they are up against.
As the battle ensues, thunderbolts have the upper hand at the beginning, but the Rat Pack don’t back down as they try to use a rocket launcher to try and hurt Atlas, who is still unbothered by their bullets. As they continue fighting, the news of this battle doesn’t go unnoticed as the mayor’s office is notified about it and how the Earth might have some new heroes protecting it this time around.
Meanwhile, at the battle, Citizen V applauds the Rat Pack for putting up a good fight, but ultimately their efforts are pointless. Number One is the only one to remain out of the entire pack, and he knows he must complete his contract, so he launches a craft as the ground shudders. Citizen V sends Mach-1 and Songbird after the craft.
And so, they take flight, and Mach-1 almost has a fatal accident, but Songbird is quick to protect him as she forms a shield around him, caging him. Meanwhile, the rest of the pack isn’t doing too well, and after Number One has completed his mission, he tries to escape, but Citizen V gets a hold of him, making him surrender as he calls out for the rest of the Rat Pack.
However, the surrender was only a trick as the whole place was covered with tunnels and the entire pack, or what was left, escaped into these tunnels, with the entrances rigged with explosives. The team is disappointed, but Citizen V assures them that what is important is the fact that the Thunderbolts have made themselves known as the protectors of the city. The Thunderbolts head back to their base, where Techno complains that superhero teams don’t live in garbage dumps like these, and Citizen V tries to make him understand that they do not have the funding for a high-tech base.
Techno protests again, but one look from his leader is enough to shut him up. Meanwhile, Mach-1 takes this opportunity to thank Songbird for saving his life earlier. While she appreciates his thanks, she also expresses her concern about not being good enough despite all the practice, but Mach-1 is quick to reassure her and offers to teach her some combat manoeuvres.
While they do that, Meteorite decides to check in on the others, starting with Atlas, who complains about Techno, but Meteorite tells him to focus on his job. Citizen V and she will take care of the other things, more importantly, the big picture. Atlas might be sulking, but Techno wasn’t as his little robot gets him a can of beer, immediately angering Meteorite, who is offered a drink by the robot.
It is then revealed that the news helicopter saw the team return to their location and there were people now at the headquarters. Citizen V asks Meteorite to call the team together. Curious reporters hound the team as they step outside, asking several questions simultaneously. Citizen V takes it upon himself to introduce the Thunderbolts, clarifying that they have no government conditions and are merely volunteers who protect innocent people. He wouldn’t call them heroes. Citizen V also introduces every team member, opening the floor for questions.
As the questions flow, they clarify that they could never replace the Avengers and admit that Earth suffered a great loss. Meteorite talks about how this is a dangerous world for men and women and that she has taken this job to try and keep them safe from all the dangers. Citizen V also quotes a poem by Thomas Randolf, which explains why they were called Thunderbolts and covers the title of this comic.
He explains that the Earth has more experienced heroes who seem busy, according to the tabloids, which led to the creation of Thunderbolts. However, they have no intention of trying to replace anyone. They begin conducting individual interviews with the team members, but soon enough, someone makes them aware of a Rat Pack sighting, and just like that, the Thunderbolts snapped into action, making their way to where the pack might be. However, this time the Rat Pack are more prepared, but Citizen V is almost too sure that this is an entire trap, and they have to be one step ahead.
As the action begins, there’s a buzz all over the city, people comparing Atlas to Thor, and the mayor’s office knowing that the Thunderbolts will be the next big thing. New York was excited once again. Meanwhile, the Thunderbolts continue their mission, chasing the Rat Pack out of Manhattan, when we witness the Wrecking Crew, a team of four supervillains who are clearly unhappy with Thunderbolts’ involvement in the city, ready to take the Thunderbolts down. Now, the Wrecking Crew attacks Thunderbolts, but they are quick on their feet, with punches and comebacks as another battle ensues, making it a rather eventful day for New York.
The tourists are entertained, the new cameras are taking pictures and sending them back to the station, and for once, someone was able to affect Atlas in the middle of a fight. The Wrecking Crew threaten to bring the entire Statue of Liberty down if the Thunderbolts don’t surrender, knowing its importance. But just in time, Mach-1 puts his skills to use by using knockout gas, and Songbird cages their heads so the gas can go nowhere but in their lungs.
Meanwhile, Atlas starts growing bigger. It is the biggest he has ever been in front of his team, ready to go after the one member of the Wrecking Crew who wasn’t attacked by the gas and cage. The Thunderbolts had won, and the whole city was cheering for them. They finally have some time to debrief as Dallas Riordan approaches them from the mayor’s office, who will eventually play an important role.
She’s here to thank the team on behalf of the mayor for saving the city whilst also catching Atlas’ eyes. The whole city was in love with them, and in fact, even Spider-man applauded how well they handled the Wrecking Crew; however, Natasha Romanoff didn’t seem too thrilled about them.
The Thunderbolts finally have some time alone as Citizen V removes his mask, showing his distorted face for the first time, and shocking the rest. He then proceeds to put on an older mask, one with darker associations, the mask of Baron Zemo, the leader of Masters of Evil. He then turns around to face his team, using their other code names, which were Fixer, Beetle, Screaming Mimi, Goliath and Moonstone, the official members of Masters of Evil.
Everything We Know About MCU’s Thunderbolts Movie
There has been a lot of buzz around the announcement of the Thunderbolts movie, and the fans have already begun with possible theories and plots after the little information that has been revealed to them so far. Of course, as of now, the biggest possibility is that the character Baron Zemo will appear in the upcoming film because he is the leader of the Thunderbolts in the comics.
He most recently appeared in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier with a considerable amount of screentime and importance given to his character arc, which only furthers the fact that we will be seeing more of him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and what better place than the film where he could be one of the main characters? The other possibilities of who might be a part of the Thunderbolts are characters like the US Agent, which seems like a safe bet since this character was recently added to the Thunderbolts in the comics, which should be a good enough indicator.
There’s also the fan favourite Yelena Belova, who made her way into the void left in the fans’ hearts after the death of her sister, Natasha Romanoff. Apart from her appearance in the Black Widow film, she also appeared in Hawkeye, where she was hired to kill Clint Barton, and there’s no doubt this is the beginning of her long-haul career in the Marvel franchise. The Thunderbolts could definitely use a Black Widow.
Apart from these three prominent characters, there have been hints toward Agatha Harkness, Elektra, Winter Soldier, Ghost and Abomination as possible appearances in the Thunderbolts movie. It would be a shame if we didn’t mention Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, whose MCU appearance confused many fans.
There is no doubt that she is creating a team, and some speculations do point towards Thunderbolts after her interaction with Yelena and the US Agent. Still, at this point, there’s no telling since there are several villainous groups in Marvel. Although we know very little about the film since the production won’t start until 2023, it is safe to say that it will be taking references from the comics. We can only hope that the Thunderbolts comprise some of the best villains and some heroes turned into villains.
Thunderbolts In Various Forms of Media
Since the fans have been hyped up about the Thunderbolts movie, it is essential that they have other forms of media to lean on until the release of this film. Those who have already read the comics, know that apart from having comics dedicated to their team, they also appear in other comics, merging themselves into different storylines. For example, their first appearance took place in the Incredible Hulk comic.
As for video games, the original Thunderbolts appear in Lego Marvel’s Avengers, consisting of Citizen V, Atlas, Jolt, MACH-V, Meteorite, and Songbird. Thunderbolts have made their appearance on the screen, although only on television in Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors animated show which has a loose depiction of Norman Osborn’s Thunderbolts.
Baron Helmut Zemo’s Thunderbolts also appear in the Avengers: Ultron Revolution animated show consisting of Citizen V, Mach-IV, Songbird, Atlas, Meteorite, and Techno. Marvel Animation produced Marvel Rising, based on characters from Marvel Comics and features a musical group called Screaming Mimi and the Thunderbolts, led by Melissa Gold and consisting of Atlas, Jolt and Moonstone look-alikes.
Undoubtedly, the fans will have to wait a while before the Thunderbolts movie releases, but Marvel will make sure that it is worth the wait. This criminal group consists of some of the best characters from the franchise, some of which have already been introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which makes it all the more exciting. So, until the release, sit back and relax, or read all the comic books possible.