One of the many reasons comic book fans love their comics so much is because of their ability to interconnect storylines into one massive epic. Batman and Superman fight crime across the bay from each other, but band together alongside the many other DC heroes to form the Justice League. In a different universe, Nick Fury recruits a team of supers from New York to Asgard to fight otherworldly villains as The Avengers. But, as are the ways of nature, their must be balance.
When there is a league of heroes to fight crime justly, there is inevitably to be a league of antiheroes who may fight crime, but will do it on their own – oftentimes violent – terms. This band of antiheroes are represented by the Suicide Squad in the DC universe and the Thunderbolts in Marvel. With the DCEU already incorporating twoSuicide Squadfilms into its storyline, the MCU is stepping up in 2024 to bring their own antihero squad with theThunderboltsfilm.
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DC and Marvel are definitely the two most prominent comic book brands and CBM industries, with a combined 46 films in their respected universes – and that’s not even including the animated films and numerous TV shows. With that, they are bound to have characters of very similar natures, like the childhood billionaire turned vigilante crime fighter (Iron Man and Batman), or the super strength alien who was sent to earth and chose to defend its people against their own alien enemies (Thor and Superman). While fans have accepted these similarities and have been able to separate each character,Suicide SquadandThunderboltsshare even closer relationships with one another, and so the MCU needs to verify they don’t rip off the DCEU antihero team with their upcoming antihero team film.
The obvious similarity bothThunderboltsandSuicide Squadshare is that they are both teams of antiheroes. The Suicide Squad (in reference to the 2016 film) is composed of Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Rick Flag, Captain Boomerang, El Diablo, Killer Croc, and Slipknot – all of whom are criminals and at one point or another villains of various members of the Justice League. Then there arethe Thunderbolts, whose team consists ofYelena Belova, Bucky Barnes (aka the Winter Soldier), John Walker (aka US Agent), Red Guardian, Ghost, and Taskmaster, among other former criminals seeking redemption that have yet to be confirmed for the film.
In addition to being a band of antiheroes, each group was recruited by a government agency. The Thunderbolts are being recruited by the CIA while the Suicide Squad were brought together by US intelligence officer Amanda Waller. Both recruitments were under somewhat sketchy circumstances, with the DC villains being used to basically cover up the government’s mistakes, and the Thunderbolts' formation remaining a mystery to fans and viewers alike.
Thunderbolts Is Using More Established (But Less Popular) Characters
Between themany DC animated shows and video games, most fans were already very familiar with the characters of the Suicide Squad. However, for the two films that came out as part of the DCEU, they were the first time any of the characters were introduced on the big screen (minus theSuicide Squadpost credit scene featuring the Ben Affleck/Bruce Wayne cameo that hinted at the formation of the Justice League).
So, one thingThunderboltshas going for it is that every character that will make up the team has already been established in a previous MCU film. They’ve accomplished this by the continuing recruitment which has been orchestrated by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine of the CIA (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus), starting with the recruitment of John Walker inTheFalcon and the Winter Soldier. She again appeared at the end ofBlack Widowto recruit Yelena Belova, and once more inBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever.
While the MCU has done well in establishing these characters, many casual fans may not have been familiar with them until their introductions in the MCU, while other more dedicated Marvel comic book readers might have already known the characters and the potential of the Thunderbolts team. That’s not to say that the casual fans can’t get to know these characters, as theMCU has already begun creating each of their character arcs.
Thunderbolts Has To Be Its Own Thing
While having two major comic book universes may, at the surface, seem repetitive and unnecessary, it can also be extremely enjoyable for fans to see the different turns that each respective story can take while infinitely expanding the list of characters being used – both heroes and villains. That’s why it is so essential thatThunderboltsstands on its own, which, so far, it’s already on the right track to do so.
The antiheroes inSuicide Squadare villains who don’t fully regret the route their lives has taken them up until that point. Their main motivation is to either escape prison or to see their freedom sooner than expected. As for the Thunderbolts, the antiheroes are mostly characters who want a shot at redemption. For instance, both Yelena andBucky were victims of brainwash enforced by enemy powersand went on terrorist rampages unbeknownst to themselves.
So, the MCU is already on course to separate itself far enough fromSuicide SquadwithThunderbolts. The only piece of information left is the mystery behind why the Thunderbolts are being formed in the first place.
Thunderboltsis set to be released in theaters on July 09, 2025.
