Summary
- Thunderbolts* introduces a diverse cast of heroes, anti-heroes, and villains for a new Avengers team.
- Characters like Ava, Alexei, and Yelena struggle with their roles and traumas, adding depth to the team.
- Bob, as Sentry/Void, emerges as the strongest character with godlike powers but struggles to control them.
After Avengers: Endgame, the MCU has struggled to find a team to replace the Avengers or a villain for a group of heroes to rally around. It’s mostly been a set of dead ends like Kang the Conqueror, who may or may not return in some capacity later. With Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*, there seems to be a clear path again.
Marvel: 9 Best Characters In Thunderbolts*, Ranked
Thunderbolts* presents a diverse cast of heroes, anti-heroes, and villains, from Yelena Belova as the new Black Widow to the debut of Sentry.
A new Avengers team is brewing behind the scenes and there are some big candidates in Thunderbolts*. Will they be the new generation of heroes or did the movie end a bit differently than expected? Either way, this list will rank the characters in the latest MCU movie based on their power levels.
Spoilers Ahead for Marvel's Thunderbolts*
6 Ava Starr (Ghost)
A Ghost In The Machine
Ava has been missing in the MCU in a major way since Ant-Man and the Wasp, where she played the main, albeit misunderstood, villain. It seems like she has been helping Valentina behind the scenes on some black ops missions, but that hasn’t been explored thoroughly in the MCU as of yet. Her powers consist of expert weapon handling and the ability to phase in and out of existence for what she says is a minute at best.
This can get her into rooms she doesn’t have access to, which makes her the ultimate stealth master. The problem is that Ava has a weakness: sound can interrupt her Ghost suit technology, and it happens a lot in Thunderbolts*. A secret weakness is the bane of any superhero or villain if someone discovers it, which makes Ava a character who is easy to exploit.
5 Alexei Shostakov (Red Guardian)
He Wants Fame So Bad
Similar to his status in Black Widow, Alexei is kind of washed up in Thunderbolts*. He may have escaped Russia, but his life in the U.S. Has not been great, as he became a limo driver. That means he is not in the greatest shape in Thunderbolts*, but the flash forward later on shows that he has slimmed down a bit.
Like Captain America, he has super strength and stamina, which allows him to break concrete or embrace it, but because he is a little thick, he’s not that good at coordinating his moves. Also, he doesn’t get to flex as much, as he only comes in halfway through the movie. Still, Alexei has one advantage over all the other heroes in the film: heart. He wants to be a part of a team again so badly, perhaps for the wrong reasons, but he undeniably wants to help people at least.
4 John Walker (U.S. Agent)
A Troubled Captain America
John Walker and Sam Wilson have a lot in common in the MCU. Sam was picked by the Captain America, aka. Steve Rogers, to succeed him, but Sam didn’t want the job initially. He was okay with the government nominating Walker as Steve's official replacement, as Walker was given a replica super soldier serum, and he actually wanted the job. The trouble is, Walker was not embraced as Captain America because of anger issues, which led to his being stripped of his title.
That’s when Valentina scooped him up to become a U.S. Agent, an off-the-books Captain America, and this deluded Walker further into thinking he was still needed. Like other characters in the movie, he was manipulated to keep his ego strong. Even so, Walker still has a lot of power from his strength, Shield, jumping ability, and stamina. He just needs some therapy to become more hero-like, which he somewhat gets throughout the movie.
3 Yelena Belova (Black Widow)
Strong Of Body, Strong Of Heart
Yelena struggles to fill the shoes of a decorated hero, too, like her foster sister, Natasha Romanoff. While skilled enough, Yelena struggles in the movie to find peace with Natasha’s death and cannot cope with being alone. It’s just one dirty job for Valentina after another, without the front-facing rewards that Natasha got with the Avengers team.
Like Ava, Yelena is a skilled weapons expert, and she has a useful stunner to incapacitate enemies. She’s quick and agile too, able to get over or under something in a flash. Yelena excels most at identifying trauma, which helps her break through to Bob. She may be jaded, but Yelena is willing to hear people out instead of automatically being mean or standoffish.
2 Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier)
A Senator And A Cyborg Terror
Bucky is one of the coolest characters in the MCU, especially as the main antagonist in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. He was injected with the original super soldier serum to make him just as strong as Steve Rogers back in the day, but instead of a cool shield, Bucky got a cybernetic arm. This gives him an extra boost in strength beyond Walker, as the cyborg arm allows him to punch harder and block certain attacks (or giant slabs of concrete).
Marvel's Thunderbolts: 11 Most Powerful Members In The Comics, Ranked
When it comes to sheer power, these members of Marvel's Thunderbolts are the strongest in the comics.
Beyond his strength, Bucky is also great with all types of weapons and explosives. His opening action scene on the motorcycle is one of the best vehicle moments in the MCU thus far. His Senate position didn’t suit him, but most MCU fans probably saw that coming.
1 Robert Reynolds (Sentry/Void)
Embrace Darkness
Robert, or just Bob as they say a million times in the movie, is without a doubt the strongest character in Thunderbolts* and ranks up there as one of the strongest in the MCU so far. Bob was brought into Valentine’s organization many years ago under Project Sentry, which was scrapped. Unbeknownst to her, though, Bob is the one survivor of the project, and he came out on top.
Bob can fly, is bulletproof, has psychic powers, and can punch like nobody's business as the godlike Sentry. His dark side, Void, is even stronger and can eradicate anyone within his shadow to enter a world of trauma. It’s one of the creepiest powers shown thus far, on par with Thanos snapping half the world out of existence. Bob’s only downside is his inability to control these powers, but controllable or not, Bob is beyond powerful.
- Release Date
- May 2, 2025
- Runtime
- 127 minutes
- Director
- Jake Schreier
- Writers
- Eric Pearson, Joanna Calo
- Producers
- Kevin Feige
- Franchise(s)
- Marvel Cinematic Universe
Cast
-
Florence PughYelena Belova -
Sebastian StanBucky Barnes
