For months, we’ve had two big mysteries leading into the release of Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts*. The first, why would the team take the name “Thunderbolts,” and the second, why does the title have an asterisk? Well, it is a mystery no longer, folks! Thankfully we get both answers in the course of the movie. (And that’s what you want from a movie mystery so relatively minor. No need to hold that one over for the sequel.) So let’s discuss both of these things right now!
Why Is the Team the “Thunderbolts?”
Surprisingly, unlike the comics, this team’s name has nothing at all to do with General-turned-President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, as played in Captain America: Brave New World by Harrison Ford. In fact, the movie only has a single, off-handed reference to the finale of that film. You know, where Ross turned into Red Hulk? But despite having what seemed like a reference in a trailer, the final film doesn’t even allude to “Thunderbolts” and President Ross.
The real reason is that we learn Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) was once on a very bad little league soccer team called the Thunderbolts, which her father Alexei (David Harbour) coached. During the course of the first part of the movie, Yelena reveals this seemingly innocuous fact to the other mercenaries. John Walker (Wyatt Russell) then makes an offhanded joke when Alexei asks if this team has a name. “Yeah, the Thunderbolts,” Walker says, to Alexei’s delight.
While the characters never a hundred percent agree to this team name, Alexei shouts it a lot of times and it’s at least a good placeholder until…
Why Is the Asterisk in the Thunderbolts* Title?
This answer is one we speculated—as did most of the internet—for a while. The idea is that the asterisk points to the real team name as a surprise for fans of the MCU and Marvel Comics. We had a few theories, but ultimately the most likely choice was the real one. They aren’t the Thunderbolts by the end of the movie. They are the New Avengers.
This happens as, after the events of the finale in which our would-be heroes help pull Bob (Lewis Pullman) out of his Void, thus saving New York, the team is about to take Val (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) into custody for her crimes. Val, ever the opportunist, had already called a press conference and to the team’s surprise, she’s there to proclaim this all part of her great plan and that these people would be the New Avengers. Val had already bought and refurbished the original Avengers Tower anyway. So it makes sense.
Knowing full well that the team could testify against her and she’d be shit out of luck, Yelena whispers “This means we own you,” which I suppose to Val is better than going to prison for sedition.
So the entire movie was a prelude to the New Avengers, which is a team at odds with Sam Wilson’s other group of heroes who want to use the name Avengers. But that’s for another day.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.
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