I worked out Thunderbolts * Asterisk and the MCU theory pays off 16 years of super soldiers

Much has already been said thunderbolts* Title. The MCU’s most enigmatically titled movie lands as the second Marvel big screen project of 2025, continuing Bucky’s story, and seemingly bringing together a new team under him to the Marvel timeline.

It has long been assumed that the MCU’s Thunderbolts would be an adaptation of the Marvel Comics team, with the thunderbolts* cast replacing the original line-up. But then the asterisk was added to the title, without any explanation, and a lot of theories spread like wildfire. But there is very compelling evidence that everything that has been assumed so far is wrong, and the asterisk actually refers to the hidden history of Sentry. Let’s go through the theory.

The title of Thunderbolts* has given rise to many strange theories

The decision to include an asterisk to the thunderbolts* This title is probably Marvel Studios’ most subtly inspired marketing ploy. What was once presumed to be a reasonable(ish) adaptation, gained immediate intrigue that escalated into a self-sustaining hype campaign. Inevitably, Marvel fans also took to trying to solve the mystery with Gusto.

Does it mean the team is actually called something else? Is it an allowance for the fact that Harrison Ford’s General “Thunderbolt” Ross doesn’t bring them together like in the comics? Is it just a rude reminder that they are probably all dead meat? The theories are wild, just as Marvel Studios wanted them to be.

But there may be something that everyone is overlooking that explains both why thunderbolts* Bears the same name as the comics team, and also explains why it comes with an asterisk. And it could tie up a story that was first introduced back in 2008 and has been a long-running MCU story arc.

What if the Thunderbolts weren’t actually Bucky’s team?

So many of the US thunderbolts* Theories point to the team being the reason the asterisk is there; The idea that the title is hiding something. What if we look at it the wrong way entirely and The Thunderbolts are what the team is investigatingRather than what they are or become? The first thunderbolts* Trailer revealed that the presumed Thunderbolts cast of antiheroes were brought together without their prior knowledge for a multiway Mexican stand-off.

Clearly, they are not a team at this point. Superhero teams don’t tend to immediately kill one another. There is, of course, the distinct possibility that they become one, united by their shared mission to find out who founded them, but this would still not cause why they would be named in honor of the new MCU President of the country. United States.

Rather than assume that the “Thunderbolts” were unwittingly assembled and adopted the name, it is more interesting to look back at Thunderbolt Ross’ MCU history. Specifically, it might be fruitful to examine how the MCU’s 16-year-old Super Soldier story might tie into the emergence of Sentry, thunderbolts* New god-level superhero. What if he is the realization of Thunderbolt Ross’ long-standing super soldier dream?

Sentry could be Thunderbolt Ross’ dream super soldier

in 2008 The Incredible Hulk, Thunderbolt Ross’ secret plans to create super soldiers was uncoveredAnd ultimately led to the beginning of Tim Roth’s Abomination. We know he was trying to create super soldiers for his own ends, and was as far as a serum; We also, crucially, know that he aspires to have his own superhero team (because Captain America: Brave New World confirmed it with his attempted reformation of the Avengers); And we know that Bob displays super soldier characteristics (he is invulnerable to bullets).

In Marvel Comics, Sentry is a super soldier, as his powers level from a serum developed as a replacement for the original super soldier serum. Unlike Ross’ first attempt in the MCU, the experimental serum was incredibly successful, Give Sentry almost limitless powers. The thunderbolts* Trailer has already suggested just how strong he is, by making him invulnerable to bullets.

The MCU seemingly closed the book on Super Soldier Serum when Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) destroyed the remaining vials in The Falcon and the Winter SoldierBut for Sentry to exist, it needs to be a surviving package. That may even tying back to the experiments done on the MCU’s first Captain America – Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly).

Whatever the origin, Sentry could be arriving as a government resource (and the means by which Valentina and her handlers choose to take out Bucky, Elena and the MCU anti-heroes) would be the realization of Ross’ dream. He would be, in fact, his very own Thunderbolt.

Theory: Bucky forms his team in response to the MCU’s new super soldier program – Sentry

It seems very clear from these thunderbolts* Trailer that the government is trying to erase the red from their ledgers. Each of them represents evidence of underhand, black ops missions, so the desire to clean them up feels like compelling logic. Their existence speaks to government corruption, and with President Ross wanting to align himself with the Avengers, this kind of sad business hardly reflects well.

Bucky is the exception to the unifying rule of the team, because he is one of End games heroes, but it feels a lot like he’s positioned as an investigator, and becomes a target because of what he discovers. When he and the other Thunderbolts anti-heroes are locked in Sentry, there can only be one outcome. The near-immortal super soldier would win, and easily, regardless of who he is in that room with them.

In short, the thunderbolts* Of the title are in fact not the team that we all believe. Sentry is (and perhaps the plan is to make others like him to fulfill President Ross’ desire for government-sanctioned heroes): In other words, Thunderbolts is a codename assigned to the new breed of super soldiers, and Bucky, Elena and the others are Unwittingly formed in a team when the project’s first mission – to kill them off – back.