Summary
- Thunderbolts* trailer draws comparisons to Suicide Squad, but MCU aims for its own unique style.
- Unlike DC's Suicide Squad, Thunderbolts* may not rely on death threats to enforce loyalty.
- MCU's success lies in distinguishing itself from DC even when borrowing ideas, Thunderbolts* must follow suit.
It was inevitable from the start for Thunderbolts* to draw some obvious Suicide Squad parallels, but there’s still scope for the MCU movie to find its own voice. The recent trailer has only made the comparisons more intense, as it seems to mirror the DC team in its characters, premise, and even storytelling tone and intent.
Marvel has faced a lot of flak for borrowing too many ideas from DC throughout comic book history, and the Thunderbolts-Suicide Squad connection is a typical example. Both groups are essentially misfit teams of bad guys sent on dangerous missions by some governmental authority, as they later become reluctant heroes while trying to redeem themselves.
A New Team Assembles In The First Official Thunderbolts* Trailer
Fans finally get an official first trailer for Thunderbolts*, and the film's stock seems sure to rise following a compelling preview for the team.
However, comic books and their movie adaptations are two different ballgames, and Marvel has consistently eclipsed DC on the big screen. For instance, the Justice League is way more popular on paper, but the “inspired” Avengers franchise overpowered them in theaters, and the MCU would aim to repeat just that with Thunderbolts*. While the DC Extended Universe took two shots with David Ayer’s Suicide Squad (2016) and James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad (2021), Marvel has more at stake. What works in Marvel’s favor is that most Thunderbolts members have already appeared in the MCU. Given their familiar moral ambiguity, it wouldn’t take much time to convince audiences that they’re villains.
Moreover, with the DCEU now virtually obsolete, the Suicide Squad movies lack long-term relevance, except maybe the Peacemaker spin-off series. In contrast, Thunderbolts* is a key film in the build-up to Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, and it marks the final chapter of the MCU’s Phase Five. Interestingly, the asterisk (*) in the Thunderbolts* title hints that the team might even get a name change after the first movie. This level of significance alone helps the film escape its "MCU’s Suicide Squad" label, and instead makes it the spiritual successor to another MCU misfit team, the Guardians of the Galaxy.
To make the Thunderbolts* look fresh, the MCU should focus on the subtle yet significant difference between morally gray anti-heroes and outright villains. In the limited comic series Justice League vs. Suicide Squad (2017), the Squad intends to keep the Justice League in check and fight them if they go rogue. Right now, the MCU doesn’t need a group to counter the Avengers or any other heroes. Instead, the Thunderbolts should be more than disposable assets, and hold the same weight as the marquee heroes.
One thing is clear: Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier should consciously avoid imitating the “James Gunn signature”. It’s hard for any Marvel film to escape the director’s trademark humor and needle drops, but it’s crucial for giving Thunderbolts* its own style despite similar plot elements to The Suicide Squad or the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. The writers must ensure that the Thunderbolts don’t turn into a B-team for missions that the “bigger” heroes are too busy to do or avoid due to excessive violence. With Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes already in the picture, the MCU should also lean into bringing older, familiar heroes into the new team, which could transform Thunderbolts* into an instant fan favorite.
In terms of central characters, both Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and Amanda Waller lead secret government operations and create the two teams in their respective franchises. However, unlike Waller, Valentina doesn’t appear to hold any of her team members hostage or implant explosive devices in their heads. This imminent death threat worked well for DC, but it doesn’t align with the MCU’s current tone, so they can skip such concepts altogether. Moreover, if they go another step further with a twist and rebrand the Thunderbolts as the Dark Avengers, it would massively set them apart from being a mere Suicide Squad clone.
Drawing inspiration isn’t inherently negative, but sometimes Marvel’s DC-borrowed ideas blow the originals out of the water, especially in terms of the success they enjoy. One could argue that they have a counterpart for nearly every DC hero or group – like Iron Man and Batman, Quicksilver and the Flash, the Avengers and the Justice League, and case in point, the Thunderbolts and the Suicide Squad. On the flip side, whenever the MCU tries to force a spotlight on a hero that DC has already brought to the screen, it often struggles to escape that shadow.
Captain Marvel was intended to be the MCU's answer to Wonder Woman, but it never quite achieved the same level of fan reception, despite similar box office success. There have also been some cautionary tales in the post-Endgame era, such as the box-office bomb The Marvels (2023) and the forgettable Eternals (2021). These outings were meant to expand the universe with new-look superhero teams, but they all turned out to be duds. Nevertheless, Marvel has consistently found ways to stand out, even when borrowing elements from elsewhere, and the Thunderbolts* might do it too, when it releases on May 2, 2025.
Thunderbolts*
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- May 2, 2025
Marvel's Thunderbolts is a superhero movie based on the comic team of the same name. The movie acts as a part of the MCU's fifth phase of films. The film sees the likes of Bucky Barnes, Yelena Belova, Wyatt Russell, the Red Guardian, and more as an unlikely group of heroes and villains brought together to fight for good.
- Cast
- Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lewis Pullman, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen, Olga Kurylenko, Geraldine Viswanathan, Wendell Pierce, Chris Bauer, Violet McGraw, Alexa Swinton, Eric Lange, Chiara Stella, Stefano Carannante, Gianfranco Terrin, Charlotte Ann Tucker, Gabrielle Byndloss, Regina Ting Chen, Mallory Hoff, Julia Aku, Clayton Cooper
- Director
- Jake Schreier
- Franchise(s)
- Marvel Cinematic Universe
