Thunderbolts*: The Meaning Of The Asterisk, Explained

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• Why Is There An Asterisk In Thunderbolts*?

• A Brief Introduction To The New Avengers

Aside from being the 36th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and having a star-studded cast, there was one other reason that kept Thunderbolts* in the conversation during the months leading up to its release. When Kevin Feige announced that there was going to be an asterisk in the title of the superhero film, it gave rise to many theories making their way online about what the symbol could mean.

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Since it was the first time that the franchise had actually done something like this, it brought up questions that Feige promised would be answered when the film releases, and Thunderbolts* lived up to that promise by showing the asterisk's purpose at the very end of its runtime.

Major spoilers for Thunderbolts* below.

Why Is There An Asterisk In Thunderbolts*?

Asterisks are mainly used to divert the attention of the reader towards a footnote, which is exactly what it seemed like in the case of Thunderbolts* as well when an international poster was released for the film. On that poster, the footnote stated that "The Avengers Are Not Available," which felt like more of a tagline than anything else, considering that the Thunderbolts seemed like Marvel's answer to DC's Suicide Squad when the Justice League is nowhere to be found.

However, a major theory that was circulating even before the film's release was that the asterisk in Thunderbolts* was present to symbolize the team's ever-changing nature from the comics.

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That is because the Thunderbolts have had plenty of personnel changes in the source material, ranging from Baron Helmut Zemo creating the initial version of the team to Norman Osborn taking the helm and making his own squad, each featuring different members. But with the release of Thunderbolts*, it was revealed that the asterisk was actually put in the title as a placeholder name for the Marvel Cinematic Universe's latest team of misfits.

In the film, Alexei Shostakov, better known as the Red Guardian and played by David Harbour, suggests the name Thunderbolts for the group consisting of him, Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), John Walker/U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), and Ava Starr/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen).

Unfortunately, no one on the team is really too fond of the name, including Yelena, the daughter-figure whose childhood soccer team was the main inspiration behind Red Guardian's suggestion. As Thunderbolts* nears its end and the titular team has gotten through the climactic confrontation, they go to capture Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), the person responsible for sending the individual squad members on dangerous missions, trapping them, and leaving them for dead.

But the CIA director, who is involved in illegal superhuman projects, knows exactly how to handle the situation, as she arranges an unexpected press conference that catches the Thunderbolts by surprise and without many options.

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That is when Valentina publicly announces that everything that she has been doing for the past few years has been to create a new team to protect the people and uphold national security, calling the team the New Avengers instead of Thunderbolts. After that, the title of the film, Thunderbolts*, appears on the screen, which gets ripped like a page from a comic book, revealing the new name of the team, The New Avengers.

The New Avengers are not to be confused with the Young Avengers in the MCU, a team that will potentially include the likes of Kate Bishop, Ms. Marvel, and America Chavez.

Due to the placeholder name that the team uses throughout the film, Thunderbolts* has an asterisk in its title, and from this point forward, they will be referred to as the New Avengers, unless someone in the Marvel Cinematic Universe takes their copyright claim a bit too seriously.

A Brief Introduction To The New Avengers

The New Avengers are just one of the various Avengers teams that started showing up in Marvel Comics around 2005, with the main catalyst behind it all being a mentally unstable Scarlet Witch who caused the original Avengers to disband. Things quickly started going south after that, as there was no team of heroes willing to act to uphold the law and protect the people.

But one fateful day at the Raft, courtesy of an unhinged Electro, brings together Spider-Woman, Luke Cage, Captain America, Iron Man, and Spider-Man, as they try to control the breakout situation at the maximum-security prison.

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Interestingly enough, Yelena Belova actually acts as opposition to the New Avengers in the initial comics, unlike the Florence Pugh character, who is a central part of the team. Sentry is also not really on board with the idea, as he initially refuses to become a part of the team and flies away, only to join the squad later on.

Since then, the New Avengers have found themselves involved in numerous iconic Marvel storylines, including House of M, which the MCU television series WandaVision is loosely based on, and Civil War, similar to the third Captain America film in the franchise.

The New Avengers are basically a team of superheroes who are not registered with the government and controlled by the state, operating on their own and not taking orders, unlike the government-registered team called the Mighty Avengers. Aside from the founding members mentioned above, the New Avengers have also recruited various other superheroes to their roster throughout the years since their inception.

These members include Doctor Strange, Iron Fist, Bucky Barnes, Daredevil, and the Thing, most of whom joined during different eras in the comics after important events like the Secret Invasion took place.

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However, the majority of the New Avengers members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Thunderbolts* never joined the team in the comics, including Yelena, U.S. Agent, Red Guardian, and Ghost, making Bucky and Sentry the only ones to be featured in both versions of the team. It is also interesting to note that every member of the Defenders from Marvel's Netflix television shows, consisting of Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist, has joined the New Avengers in the comics, which opens up even more possibilities for the team in the Marvel Cinematic Universe if it chooses to bring those characters to the mainline narrative.

Naturally, with so many Avengers teams running around in the comics, there were bound to be arguments regarding which team could be considered the real Avengers, which is also a plot point that Thunderbolts* touches upon, and the MCU will likely develop in the future.

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