Review by Tim Robins
SPOILERS AHEAD!
In Thunderbolts*, Marvel Studios assembles an unconventional team of antiheroes – Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and John Walker. After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap set by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, these disillusioned castoffs must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts. Will this dysfunctional group tear themselves apart, or find redemption and unite as something much more before it’s too late?
I didn’t know what to expect from Thunderbolts* but I know I didn’t expect it to be so entertaining. The film brings together mismatched superfolk, including Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), The Red Guardian (David Harbour), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) and a man called “Bob” (Lewis Pullman), and pitches them against Valentina de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), a mistress of marketing and covert operations.
Although Thunderbolts* has been described as the MCU’s “answer” to the DCU Suicide Squad movies, it’s very different in tone and style. Here, the characters are more endearing and the humour less forced. And, although the plot is absurd, the film doesn’t revel in its absurdity. Visually, it is grounded, far more so than I expect the forthcoming Fantastic Four movie to be.
Andrew Palermo’s cinematography is excellent. Although the orange-blue palette is over used in cinema today, Palermo adds subtle hues of gold and red. The film is dark where it needs to be dark, in corridors and barely lit rooms, although I’ll admit that there are a couple of desert mountain scenes that look like they’ve come from the kitsch aesthetic of an AI’s “thought” processes.
(Mark Kermode, reviewing the film after seeing it at an IMAX, complained that the on-screen image was murky. My advice? Don’t see the film at an IMAX).
In a bravura move, the script recasts superheroism as a psychological conflict in which the Thunderbolts* must battle their own selves, overcome personal trauma and throw a lot of psychic furniture at each other. The action is to be expected but what I wasn’t expecting was a “Crisis in an Existential-verse”.
Thunderbolts* is concerned about how its heroes got where they are today, how they have changed and where their lives will go from the here and now. When we meet The Red Guardian, he is in full goblin mode – unwashed, overweight and surrounded by snacks, in a low rent flat. He has retired to become a chauffeur for his own cheesy limousine company. Yet, somehow, he still manages to inspire his daughter, Yelana, played by Florence Pugh, to leave the shadows and become a public face of superheroism.
Pugh is the film’s undoubted star. Her character is the Red Room trained, adoptive sister of The Black Widow, now acting as an agent for de Fontaine. We meet her on a mission for de Fontaine, who has tasked her with taking out an O.X.E. laboratory. During this opening action scene, we learn that Yelana is riddled with self doubt and traumatised by her violent past. So it is troubling when she decides to hurl herself off the edge of a skyscraper.
(Far from incidentally, Pugh did the tower jump stunt without the use of a stunt or CGI double, a personal commitment that contributes to the film’s more authentic than usual action scenes).
At first, I fretted about how many characters I would be expected to remember from previous MCU products. But enough work is put into establishing them that it really didn’t matter that I couldn’t recall where I had last seen the anti-heroes. The first third of the film has them all trapped in the same room, and goes to prove that Hell is other people. We come to know their powers and their characters through advanced bickering.
Outside the hit squad is Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier, acting as an undercover agent for the government. Here, actor Sebastian Stan makes a play for being the MCU’s answer to Mission: Impossible’s Ethan Hunt but without all the running.
Like Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts* has lots of political intrigue, including threats of impeachment, but it’s a much better structured film. Most of the characters have their own story arc so that, by the end, we come to respect even the apparently dim-witted and definitely obnoxious US Agent (a convincing performance by Wyatt Russell).
In the comics, the Thunderbolts stepped in to fill the shoes of The Avengers after they vanished into a pocket universe created by Onslaught (Franklin Richards). In the film, the Thunderbolts step into the gap created by the “Blip.” The comic revealed the Thunderbolts to be genuine villains. In the film, the characters are just cynics.
The payoff for all the self torturing angst is the third act, in which the Thunderbolts finally work as a team and a ‘family’ of sorts. They must use the power of unconditional love and a sense of belonging to overcome “The Sentry” – an adversary powered entirely by low self esteem. He seems to be able to smear his victims into shadowy blobs on the road. Sure, the climactic battle involves psychoanalysis by fisticuffs but it is a far cry from the usual boring CGI figure on CGI figure that we’ve come to expect.
Apparently, some of the film’s budget was shaved off for the forthcoming Fantastic Four movie. That actually may have helped. Thunderbolts* has already made me bored of Fantastic Four: First Steps (forthcoming) heavy, retro-pop stylings.
As the last movie of the MCU’s phase five, Thunderbolts* risks being consigned to a small riverlet in the Marvel time stream. Like Captain America: Brave New World, it has nostalgic call backs to the early days of the MCU, specifically the first Avengers’ movie. It reminded me of a time when Marvel movies were good and eagerly anticipated. As the end credits rolled, I believed that the Thunderbolts could even be a new Avengers.
Tim Robins
Thunderbolts* is in cinemas now
Dear reader, a review is an opinion. Other opinions are available, including yours
Further Reading
• Read Tim Robins’ review of Captain America: Brave New World
• Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts*: The Art of The Movie Slipcase (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)
By Jess Harold
Hardcover – Due 26th August 2025
The latest in the acclaimed series of art books celebrates thrilling blockbuster Thunderbolts*. Marvel Studios presents the next book in their line of deluxe “Art Of” tie-in books, filled with all the features you d expect, including a stunning gallery of never-before-seen artwork and in-depth interviews with the creative team. This slipcase edition includes exclusive lithographs.
Recent Thunderbolts Collections
Links below are AmazonUK Affiliates
• Thunderbolts: Winter Soldiers: 1
by Jim Zub (Writer), Jon Malin, Sean Izaakse (Artists)
The Winter Soldier leads a new team of Thunderbolts! Out of the ashes of Avengers: Standoff, Bucky Barnes recruits a squad of renegades – but are they heroes or villains? Do even they know for sure?! They’re on a rampage across the Marvel Universe, hunting down and destroying bizarre, mind-bending threats – all the while harbouring one of their own! And among their number is the serial manipulator Moonstone! What could go wrong? How about a gut-wrenching battle for leadership, an alien threat and super-team showdowns with the All-New Inhumans and the Squadron Supreme?! As Civil War II rages, the Winter Soldier takes on Spider-Man! But Steve Rogers wants to know where Bucky’s loyalties lie. Plus: The Thunderbolts used to be the Masters of Evil – and if Baron Zemo has his way, their villainous legacy will be reclaimed with the infinite power of a Cosmic Cube! Collecting: Thunderbolts (2016) 1-12
• Thunderbolts: The Saga of Yelena Belova (Black Widow)
by Devin Grayson, Greg Rucka (Writers), J.G. Jones (Artist)
Yelena Belova’s journey from adversary to ally of the Black Widow. Natasha Romanoff’s time as the Black Widow may be running out – because Yelena Belova is gunning for the mantle! Yelena is the first student in Red Room history to exceed Natasha’s skills – and now she’s determined to eliminate her predecessor and claim the title for her own! It’s a war of the Widows that will rage from the Middle East’s deserts to New York’s Upper West Side! But Yelena’s path will soon place her square in the crosshairs of her home country, alongside Alexei Shostakov, the Red Guardian! Together, they face a race across Russia… pursued by the Winter Guard! And Yelena finds her destiny as the White Widow, helping Natasha protect San Francisco from a terrible threat! Collecting: Black Widow (1999) 1-3, Black Widow (2001) 1-3, Widowmakers: Red Guardian and Yelena Belova (2020) 1, Winter Guard (2021) 1-4, Black Widow (2020) 7-10
• Thunderbolts: The Saga of The Winter Soldier (Captain America)
by Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting and others
The now-legendary story of Bucky Barnes’ return, and his career as the Winter Soldier! For years, Captain America mourned the loss of his wartime partner, Bucky. But when a lethal killer with a familiar face crosses Cap’s path, he discovers the truth – his best friend has, for decades, been brainwashed into serving Russia as an assassin called the Winter Soldier! When these two former allies clash, can Steve somehow get through to him and help Bucky overcome his programming? And if so, can the Winter Soldier find a new place in the world after all that he has done? Perhaps his second chance can be an opportunity to help others find salvation! Plus: The Winter Soldier clashes with S.H.I.E.L.D. in a high-octane flashback tale from the Cold War’s peak! Collecting: Captain America (2004) 6, 8-9, 11-14; Winter Soldier: The Bitter March (2014) 1-5; Winter Soldier (2018) 1-5
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
A freelance journalist and Doctor Who fanzine editor since 1978, Tim Robins has written on comics, films, books and TV programmes for a wide range of publications including Starburst, Interzone, Primetime and TV Guide.
His brief flirtation with comics includes ghost inking a 2000AD strip and co-writing a Doctor Who strip with Mike Collins. Since 1990 he worked at the University of Glamorgan where he was a Senior Lecturer in Cultural and Media Studies and the social sciences. Academically, he has published on the animation industry in Wales and approaches to social memory. He claims to be a card carrying member of the Politically Correct, a secret cadre bent on ruling the entire world and all human thought.
Categories: Comics, Features, Film, Other Worlds, Reviews, US Comics
In Review: Captain America: Brave New World 
In Review: Dog Man (U) 
In Review: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) 
In Review: The Marvels