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Finally, the latest ensemble movie from Marvel, Thunderbolts*, is here, and fans can finally find out why the title has an asterisk in the ending.
When it was first revealed, it felt like Marvel was trying to do something cheeky with its title (Remember the Agatha All Along name changes?). However, the Thunderbolts* reveal has big implications for the future of the MCU.
So, without further ado, let's get into the ending of Thunderbolts*.
Warning: Spoilers ahead for the ending of Thunderbolts*
What does the asterisk in Thunderbolts* mean?
Marvel holds back its asterisk reveal until Thunderbolts*'s title card in the credits after the movie's ending. There, it is revealed that it means they are the New Avengers, almost implying the asterisk meant the team's name was temporary.
The name change does make sense. While some may think the team's name was a reference to Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford) — this is not the case. Yelena's (Florence Pugh) childhood soccer team was called the Thunderbolts. Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (David Harbour) loves hearing her reference her childhood and runs with it as the team of misfits' name.
What exactly does this mean? The later post-credits scene delves into it further, but the Thunderbolts are now a sanctioned superhero group.
How do we get there?
After Yelena and the others save Bob/Sentry (Lewis Pullman) from the Void, they confront Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who is responsible for the team coming together.
She lures them into one last trap — this time, into a press conference. Originally, she was planning on having Sentry defeat the Thunderbolts, framing him as a hero standing up to low-level criminals. However, once Sentry gained a mind of his own and opened the Void, Valentina's plans changed.
So, she had to reframe the Thunderbolts as the New Avengers. The world is missing an Avengers-like team to save them from threats like the Void — Spider-Man must have been studying for finals during this movie — and the New Avengers are lined up to take on that role.
However, it is not met with universal praise. In the post-credits scene, it's revealed that Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) talked to Sam Wilson/Captain America (Anthony Mackie) about it. Apparently, Sam did not take the meeting well, and he is seemingly upset about the development.
Still, the teams will likely have to work together to some degree in the upcoming Avengers movies Doomsday and Secret Wars. It will just take a while for them to come to terms with each other.
Who is this Sentry?
The main “antagonist” of Thunderbolts* is Sentry, aka Bob (Lewis Pullman). When the team first meets him, he appears to be an impotent man incapable of any harm.
He was previously stowed away by Valentina. The team discovers her while they are fighting each other in the trap set up by Valentina, who is trying to erase all compromising evidence during her impeachment trial.
After being taken out by her combat team, Bob is transported to the Avengers Tower, which was purchased by Valentina. There, she tries to recruit him to harness his powers in her favor. She realizes that she can control the most powerful being in the world.
Her plan is to lure the Thunderbolts to the former Avengers Tower. There, she would call the press to witness Sentry defeat a team of scoundrels.
The Thunderbolts' initial efforts against Sentry do not work. Valentina orders Sentry to kill them, which confuses him as she says something to the effect of, “They are no threat to me. Why should I kill them?”
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Then, Sentry realizes he doesn't have to take orders from anyone. Valentina told him he is stronger than all of the Avengers, which includes a God (Thor), so wouldn't that make him one?
New York City becomes the Void
Once Valentina loses control of Sentry, he begins taking over New York City as the Void, Bob's dark side. The Void is able to turn people into shadows, sending them into a madhouse of their most tucked-away traumatic memories.
Yelena is the first to surrender to the darkness, entering the Void. She once again faces the memory of her first kill as a part of her Red Room training. Once she escapes that memory, she is transported to another with the Red Room. This time, young children are racing to load a gun, with all of the slowest kids being whipped.
Eventually, she finds Bob sitting in his childhood attic. It is the only good room he can find. Even then, the memory turns violent as he watches his younger self get beaten by his father after standing up to him.
Deescalating the Void
She tries to talk him down, telling him that he can trust her and cannot make it through this alone. Even with their best efforts, Yelena and Bob cannot do it themselves either. It requires the rest of the Thunderbolts to help them find their way out of the house of horrors.
They are once again confronted by Bob's dark side. As the Void holds the Thunderbolts back, he takes on Bob, encouraging him to succumb to the darkness. The Void keeps talking into Bob's ear, telling him he's a loner and no one is there for him.
As Bob beats down his downside, the Void begins engulfing him. However, the Thunderbolts, who are now his friends, save him before it completely takes over.
That leads them back to the streets of New York City. Bob doesn't remember a thing, reverting back to his old self. They find Valentina, who lures them into the media scrum.
As she introduces them as the New Avengers, Yelena walks over to her and whispers in her ear, “We own you now.” The title card then hits, revealing the asterisk misdirection in the Thunderbolts* title.
Thunderbolts* is in theaters.
