Why Does Florence Pugh’s Thunderbolts* Have an Asterisk in the Title?

The Avengers were last seen together in Avengers: Endgame, and Marvel felt like it might be the time to again put together a group of heroes or maybe anti-heroes. As a result, the MCU is now coming with a team of misfits called Thunderbolts. 

Thunderbolts* will have Florence Pugh’s Black Widow, Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes, David Harbour’s Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell’s John Walker, Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost, Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster, and Lewis Pullman’s Sentry. However, the thing that has been the reason for most speculations is the asterisk on the title of Thunderbolts*.

Potential Reasons Behind Thunderbolts*’ Asterisk

While Avengers was truly a team of heroes that had a positive impact around the world, Thunderbolts doesn’t seem anything like that. Almost all the members of the team have had a dark past and history of crimes.

The tagline in the teaser of Thunderbolts* also says “Be careful who you assemble,” which is a nod to the assembly of the Avengers. However, it also hints that this time, the assembly might not go well. The asterisk might have a role here, as it is often used when something needs to be elaborated or clarified.

When Kevin Feige was asked by Screen Rant about the asterisk, he said that it is the official part of the title and he can’t talk about it until the movie comes out. Now it has raised various speculations, and one of them is related to the Dark Avengers.

The asterisk might mean that Thunderbolts are a replacement for Avengers. In the comics, when Norman Osborn gained popularity after stopping Skrulls in Secret Invasion, he became the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and changed its name to H.A.M.M.E.R. He then recruited his own team of Avengers’ replacements, who became the Dark Avengers.

Osborn’s agenda was to gain people’s trust for his own benefit. Although MCU has not introduced Osborn, Julia Louis-Dreyfus‘ La Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine could possibly play that role, as she was seen recruiting Wyatt Russell’s U.S. Agent and influencing Florence Pugh‘s Black Widow earlier.

Another speculation is connected with Secret Avengers, which was a team created by Captain America in response to the Civil War/Superhuman Registration Act, which was much like the Sokovia Accords in MCU. Although Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, and Black Widow were a similar version of Secret Avengers in Infinity War, the Thunderbolts might be playing it with a twist.

Another possible reason might be related to the nature of the team. It might be possible that Thunderbolts were gathered as a team initially to serve a mission, but later they find out that it was all a trap and they themselves were the target. This thing is also hinted at by Yelena in the trailer.

Who Were Thunderbolts in Marvel Comics?

Thunderbolts’ characters and origins in comics were not like the ones shown in the MCU. In the comics, Earth was left with almost no Avengers or other superheroes after a battle with Onslaught, which was an entity created from the consciousness of Professor X and Magneto.

Using this as an opportunity, Baron Zemo created his own team consisting of all the former members of the Masters of Evil, Beetle, Fixer, Goliath, Moonstone, and Screaming Mimi. The team was then joined by Jolt, who didn’t know the dark past and intentions of Thunderbolts. 

The name ‘Thunderbolts’ was given by Zemo after getting inspired by the poem of 17th-century poet Thomas Randolph. The team spread complex lies and worked accordingly to gain trust and authority over people and were successful to some extent.

However, due to Jolt’s true heroic nature which was supported by Moonstone, along with the resistance of others, Zemo’s plans began to fail, and he had to flee along with Fixer. The other members became outlaws who worked again to gain people’s trust in a positive way.

There have been multiple storylines of Thunderbolts in the comics with different team members. However, the one shown in the MCU definitely looks like it has more things to reveal as the audience knows very little about the characters, which again justifies the placement of the asterisk.

Thunderbolts* will be released in theaters on May 2, 2025.