Why Marvel’s Thunderbolts Is the Perfect End for MCU Phase 5

The very first Disney+ Marvel shows more directly set the stage for the founding of the Thunderbolts. WandaVision’s Director Hayward of SWORD is in the bottom tier of Marvel villains, but he is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what we’re dealing with. He desecrated Vision, helped drive Wanda further into madness, betrayed his allies, and even shot at children, all while claiming it was to fortify the government to fight for the greater good.

Then Falcon and the Winter Soldier was even more explicit. The government, already showing that they’re shady when it comes to Captain America’s history, lied to Sam Wilson and got him to give up his potential run as the new Cap in order to instead give the shield to someone they approved of and could easily order around. And then, once John Walker proved to be a horrifying disaster as Captain America, they rebranded him as US Agent and used him to their advantage.

All the while, the mysterious Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, played by the great Julia Louis-Dreyfus in the MCU, has been recruiting the likes of US Agent and Yelena Belova, but we don’t know exactly why. Whatever it is, it doesn’t sound quite as heroic as the Avengers.

Secret Invasion is coming up early on in Phase 5, and while it likely won’t directly follow the comic event of the same name, the aftermath can easily go the same way. In the comics, the Skrull invasion creates a gigantic mess, and thanks to a mix of mistrust and propaganda, Nick Fury’s spot as government big wheel and “boss of all superheroes” goes to Norman Osborn. While I don’t expect to see an MCU version of Osborn anytime soon, somebody else taking that spot could be a way to finally make the Thunderbolts a reality.

And who would complain when the Avengers are nowhere to be found? Which Avengers are even left in Phase 4? Hawkeye is retired and has PTSD. Scarlet Witch is a mass murderer who is possibly dead. Spider-Man has stepped away from being the next Iron Man thanks to magic. Thor, Captain Marvel, and Doctor Strange are off-world. We’re left with Hulk and the new Captain America.

The same Captain America who is getting a movie just under three months before Thunderbolts happens. The fact that the movie is titled Captain America: New World Order, and with Thunderbolts around the corner, this all suggests that things could be getting very dystopian very soon. Captain America might represent our country’s potential, but by contrast, the Thunderbolts will be a dark take on what our government is capable of in the wrong hands.