Thunderbolts* released in theaters on May 2, and officially ended Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Starring Florence Pugh as Yelena, David Harbour as Alexei or the Red Guardian, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Wyatt Russell as John Walker, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, Lewis Pullman as Bob, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Thunderbolts* has come after a few years of mediocre after mediocre movie releases from Marvel. Many believe Captain America: Brave New World, released only three months ago and taking place a few months before Thunderbolts*, broke the monotonous failing superhero movie formula of the mediocre Phase Five of the MCU. However, the marketing of the movie, namely every preview spoiling the twist of the Red Hulk, led to the movie becoming nowhere near its potential or the glory of the pre-Avengers: Endgame MCU. With this in mind, many believed Thunderbolts*, as the final Phase Five movie, would just top off the mediocre mess. However, this movie officially ended the MCU’s streak of average movies.
Thunderbolts* is the first MCU movie with a purpose aside from entertainment; rather than the entire movie being about the superheroes’ teamwork issues and fighting the villain, Thunderbolts* uses its screen time to focus on mental health. Using pre-established heroes, the movie focuses on how much of an absolute wreck each of them are mentally, and manages the villain by trying to help each other not be a group of mental disasters anymore. Making the characters a mental mess broke the traditional superhero narrative of strong and practically invincible protagonists. While some examples of this exist in the MCU, like in Iron Man 3, a team of imperfect, mentally ill disasters is a refreshing change. Another refreshing change was the villain being so much of a mental mess that he wasn’t even hurting people on purpose. He would rather not be hurting anybody at all. The heroes fighting a villain who doesn’t even want to be villainous was a new take for the MCU, and made the movie even more intriguing.
Thunderbolts*’s success was also amplified with the actors caring about their characters. The actors were able to work with writers, directors, and producers to make adjustments to bring their characters to life fully. When actors connect with and believe in their characters, the audience can better connect with and believe in the characters. One example of this is during the opening scene. During a press conference, Harbour revealed that, in the original script, Yelena was supposed to be wearing her classic skin-tight Black Widow outfit. Pugh instead thought that wearing a worn sweatsuit would better fit Yelena’s character and reflect her mental state as described in her monologue, which she gave at the same time. Although this was a small change, it significantly improved the scene and helped the audience connect with Yelena.
Although the MCU has not been returned to its former glory with Thunderbolts*, the company has finally taken a step back and begun focusing on quality over quantity. Phase Six of the MCU will kick off in July with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which is no longer looking to make the same mistakes as Phase Five, a promising sign for all MCU fans.
A refreshing change giving the MCU a bright future.
