Another MCU character that could be involved is Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross himself. Many fans are hoping he will become the Red Hulk and fully ingrained in the Thunderbolts. And while that could be a possibility, especially with She-Hulk coming to Disney Plus, it is also possible that Ross is already involved. Valentina is an extremely enigmatic character with her true motivations unclear. It seems like a possibility that she could be working with or for Ross in some capacity as she collects a new batch of potential “heroes.” If this is the case, Ross could be the one inside the government backing or even running this team.
There are a ton of characters who have already been introduced into the MCU that could be brought into the Thunderbolts. Ghost from Ant-Man And The Wasp could be recruited and could see using her phase abilities to help people as a way to atone. Abomination could be another interesting character to bring into the Thunderbolts especially with his return not only in Shang-Chi, but She-Hulk the MCU could be setting up an interesting future for him.
Black Widow’s Taskmaster could also be a good fit possibly seeing this team as a way to use her skills for good. Yelena doesn’t seem interested in becoming a superhero to “wipe out the red in her ledger” like Natasha was. Instead she seemed to be working for Valentina because her only skills are those that she learned in the Red Room. Eagle eye fans spotted another former Widow as part of Xhialing’s underground fighting ring which sets up the idea that Widows are trying to find their place in the world, but are inevitably pulled back to what they know. Taskmaster knows how to fight and the Thunderbolts could give her something to fight for on her own terms.
Throughout the comics, heroes have been a part of the team to help or keep an eye on them, which could be a perfect position for Bucky Barnes. Bucky himself knows what it is like to be a villain looking for redemption. He might be the perfect mentor for some of these characters as they try to begin again as heroes instead of villains.
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The Thunderbolts will undoubtedly need tech to help them on their missions, but who will provide it? There are two intriguing possibilities for this. One is Sharon Carter who during her time as a fugitive became the Power Broker. Sharon Carter could either assist the Thunderbolts from afar essentially being a broker for Valentina, or if she gets caught as the Power Broker she could lose her pardon and be sentenced for her new crimes. This could lead to Sharon joining the Thunderbolts instead of being sentenced to prison.
Another possibility could be Justin Hammer. Many fans are hoping to see Sam Rockwell make his return in Phase Four possibly in Armor Wars. If Hammer does make his long-awaited return in Armor Wars, possibly attempting to steal Stark’s technology, it could be the perfect set up for him to become a part of the Thunderbolts.
This doesn’t even scratch the surface of characters that have yet to be introduced into the MCU, but the Thunderbolts seem to have an impressive possible line up already with these established characters. Fans have been excitedly speculating about a Thunderbolts project since The Falcon And The Winter Soldier and Marvel Studios seems to be doing an impressive job of building to the rumored film.
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Hopefully more is revealed about this project and the makeup of the team soon. The Thunderbolts are an exciting way to focus on characters that are complicated and morally grey in a way the more heroic characters usually aren’t and with so many MCU projects coming there is a lot of time to set up this unique MCU team.
Are you excited about the rumored Thunderbolts film? Who do you want to see on the Thunderbolts? Which other projects do you think will set up the Thunderbolts? Leave your thoughts in the comments below or on our social media and check back with The Illuminerdi for more.
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