Thunderbolts’ [SPOILERS] Ending Twist Isn’t Exactly What It Seems

Thunderbolts* ended with a surprising twist where the anti-hero team was officially named the New Avengers, but many misinterpreted the scene's true meaning. With under a year until Avengers: Doomsday, Thunderbolts* is among the projects laying the groundwork for the next MCU ensemble and setting up the new Avengers who will face Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom.

Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) are leading the New Avengers alongside U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and once-villain Sentry (Lewis Pullman).

The True Meaning of Thunderbolts' New Avengers Reveal

From the beginning of Thunderbolts*, Marvel Studios makes it clear that "the Avengers are not coming," and the world is looking for new ways to defend itself from super-powered threats in place of these superheroes.

When the godly-powered Sentry was overtaken by his darker side of The Void, no Thor, Captain Marvel, or Doctor Strange came to save the day (find out where each Avenger was during the movie); there were only the Thunderbolts.

Having collectively got Sentry's Void persona under control, the Thunderbolts were tricked into pursuing Valentina Allegra de Fontaine behind a curtain and into a press conference where she took credit for assembling the MCU's new heroes.

Not just that, Valentina officially introduced the team to the world as the New Avengers, finally explaining the asterisk in the Thunderbolts* title.

Many have interpreted the scene as introducing these six heroes as the founding members of the next generation of the Avengers going into Doomsday, but Marvel Comics history indicates this isn't exactly the case.

In most interpretations of the superhero team in Marvel Comics, the New Avengers are not simply the next generation of the established team, but rather a separate unit that exists in parallel to the premier group.

The New Avengers formed in the aftermath of Avengers: Disassembled, which disbanded the team when Scarlet Witch accidentally killed several members of the team. Marvel branded the team under the fresh "New Avengers" umbrella as the roster was somewhat different from what had come before. 

While these were initially just the latest evolution of the Avengers, they eventually became a separate, more underground, and unsanctioned team that existed in parallel. They formed during the Civil War storyline as a group of heroes who rebelled against the Superhero Registration Act.

Thunderbolts*'s post-credit scene confirms that while the New Avengers are operating out of the Watchtower, Sam Wilson, aka Captain America, is assembling a separate team, leaving the question of which are "the real Avengers."

This has positioned Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes into conflict as the new Captain America has "filed for copyright of the [Avengers] name," which may be setting up the MCU's second superhero Civil War.

The MCU looks to be adapting the New Avengers concept rather loyally, as Sam Wilson will form Earth's "official" Mightiest Heroes with the support of the U.S. government, while Yelena and Bucky lead their unit with Valentina's backing.

Despite the similarities in the greater concept, the team line-up is completely different in the MCU and features no members from the comics, except Bucky, who joined the New Avengers during his brief stint as Captain America. Frequent New Avengers in Marvel Comics have included Luke Cage, Spider-Man, and Wolverine.