Post contains spoilers for “Thunderbolts*”
Following the events of “Thunderbolts*,” it appears that a motley crew of heroes has steadied the ship and looks to be finally sending the franchise in a direction that’s compelling and worth investing time in. What’s truly surprising is that the post-credits scenes of director Jake Schreier’s latest chapter set it all up so wonderfully.
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By the end of “Thunderbolts*,” the titular team is no more. Instead, thanks to some quick-thinking PR work from Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and The Sentry (Lewis Pullman) holding back the entity known as The Void with the help of his new friends, the world has now been introduced to a fresh group of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes — the New Avengers (yes, that’s what the asterisk means). For a brief moment, after assuring Valentina, “We own you now,” Yelena (Florence Pugh) lets out a sigh of relief, seemingly accepting that she has finally stopped simply existing and instead has a purpose in a world where she could actually do some good.
The only concern, for now, is how long that will last and what kind of confrontation she and her team could encounter. They may have saved the day this time around, but with a potential new threat entering their airspace, how will this cosmic event be dealt with by the new team of Avengers, while another is waiting to reassemble? Let’s not jump ahead of ourselves, though. First, let’s catch up with the Red Guardian (David Harbour), who has finally had his wish come true and become a breakfast of champions.
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The first Thunderbolts* post-credits scene focuses on Red Guardian
After all that talk about becoming a hero on the cereal box that comes with the little kiddie toy, it’s revealed during the mid-credits scene that the New Avengers have now become exactly that. While a simple civilian is at the supermarket, she’s pressured by Alexei into buying a brand new box of Wheaties that he and the team are pictured on. Unfortunately, his salesmanship isn’t so great, and the woman kinda weirded out, immediately putting the box back while Alexei isn’t looking, proving that the Red Guardian should stick to what he’s good at in the future.
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As far as mid-credits scenes go, this is certainly in line with the comedic moments tacked onto the end of some other great Marvel movies. Proving that this team of New Avengers might be getting marketed to a greater extent than their predecessors (though Hulk and Iron Man did have their own Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavors), it’s just a nice add-on gag and a decent payoff for Alexei’s obsession with reaching hero status.
Taking the time out to have a giggle at the Red Guardian’s expense is just a nice note to leave things on, but it’s the final scene with Alexei and his team that should have fans buzzing for what’s coming next. Besides spending its final seconds on a bombastic and fantastic note, it’s the matter of legal trouble and conflict with another world-famous team that could be setting up some interesting plot threads for the New Avengers going forward.
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The second Thunderbolts* post-credits scene hints at New Avengers vs The Avengers
The New Avengers have settled into Stark Tower, or the Watchtower as it’s now known, 14 months after their inception. Unfortunately, while they might still be getting into the swing of things as a team, they’re also receiving kickback from the older iteration. Bucky (Sebastian Stan) reveals that former Avenger and new Captain America, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), is suing them for taking the name of Earth’s original hero squad. When Yelena asks him if talks of settling the issue were successful, the former congressman admits that things didn’t go well with his old friend, implying that they might be back on squabbling terms. Worry not, though, as Alexei’s master plan to avoid such an issue is simply to turn the group into the “New Avengerz,” thereby dodging the incoming lawsuit.
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While this might be a minor superhero spat to begin with, it’s worth noting that the New Avengers was a real group formed in the comics in 2004, following the dissolution of the original team. Referred to as “New” only in the book’s title, the team consisted of Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Wolverine, along with Spider-Woman (who was secretly a Skrull), Echo (posing as Ronin), Luke Cage, and eventually The Sentry. Just like the film, things got a little heated with The Avengers reformed during Civil War, pitting heroes and teams against one another. With this in mind, it seems evident that a New Avengers vs. Old Avengers story could come to fruition eventually, but there’s five reasons why that will have to wait — and four of them have just entered the atmosphere.
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The Fantastic Four arrive in The Thunderbolts*
It was always expected that Marvel’s First Family would be making an appearance elsewhere before their own film, so literally soaring into the sky for “Thunderbolts*” made for the perfect entrance. After Yelena gets reports of an unknown space invader, satellite imagery picks up an aircraft that looks like it’s flown straight out of a Gerry Anderson show. Shiny, silver, and hurtling through the air, the angular vessel (previously seen in the trailer for “The Fantastic Four: First Steps”) reveals the team’s logo emblazoned on the side. From there, Michael Giacchino’s hair-raising score kicks in before we’re assured that “The New Avengers and Bob Will Return.”
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It’s a tease-worthy moment that does enough to hook us and tap back into the kind of classic MCU post-credit moments we’ve missed these past few years. It also raises more questions about the approaching team and the chain of events yet to unfold. Just how far into “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” story does this moment occur, and how does the shift from their reality to Earth-616 happen? We already know that the trailer teases Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) and his family on a highly dangerous mission, but will it be one with enough time to make it into the final act and tee up the equally iconic rival that’s set to follow them? Doom is coming, and if we do the inter-dimensional math, there’s a lot of ground to cover, and there might not be enough time to fill it.
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What the Thunderbolts* post-credits scenes man for Avengers: Doomsday
What we can confirm so far from “Thunderbolts*” is that when Latveria’s fearless leader arrives, his longtime comic book foes will already be there to meet him. Now, as awesome as it might be seeing Robert Downey Jr. in a different metal suit meet Pedro Pascal’s stretchy scientist for the first time, Doom might have to get in line.
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For now, we can only assume that the first encounter with Earth-616 will be the New Avengers, given that they’ve got a lead on the world-saving family that may have just fled their own to save it. Such a cross of characters could spark the same kind of fun when Downey’s Tony Stark met the Guardians of the Galaxy in “Avengers: Infinity War,” with the likes of John Walker (Wyatt Russell) and Pascal’s Reed coming with the same energy as Peter Quill and Tony crossing paths for the first time. Of course, the race is on to see who gets to meet them first.
Given that Bucky and Sam appear to be no longer on speaking terms, would a space race of sorts be on for both Avengers teams fighting to get to the Fantastic Four first, and will they be able to put name ownership aside when they’re faced with… Doom? Whatever happens, it will demand a lot of time even before Victor arrives and these things can’t be rushed.
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We’ll just have to see what else is on the way when “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” lands in theaters on July 25, 2025
