Thunderbolts will never match comics’ greatest twist (but it will have to live up to it)

MCU Thunderbolts* the movie won’t be able to recreate the team’s best comic turn, so Marvel will have to find a new way to match it instead. The MCU Thunderbolts team will be officially introduced in 2025 and will include several famous MCU anti-heroes. People like Elena Belova, Bucky Barnes, John Walker and others will unite under the leadership of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine to fulfill the mission of the American government. Although the Thunderbolts are new to the MCU timeline, the group has been involved in Marvel comics for a long time.

The Thunderbolts appeared briefly in other Marvel comic book series before appearing in their first solo issue in 1997. Created by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley, Thunderbolts the comic followed the team after the apparent deaths of the Avengers and Fantastic Four during the Heroes Reborn era. The Thunderbolts step up to fill the gap on Earth left by the heroes, but the final page reveals a big surprise about their true identities. It’s a significant plot twist, but it will be almost impossible for Thunderbolts* to make it happen.

Marvel’s Thunderbolts team has always been associated with big twists and turns

Thunderbolts has one of the greatest twists in comics

In the comics, the Thunderbolts have what is considered one of the best comic book plot twists of all time. The Avengers and Fantastic Four were marooned in another universe and believed dead by the public, so the Thunderbolts decided to step in to protect Earth in their absence. The team consisted of MACH-1, Techno, Atlas, Songbird, Meteor and their leader Citizen V, and they became the heroes Earth needed. However, the last page of the first issue shows that The Thunderbolts were actually the villainous group “Masters of Evil” in disguise..

Citizen V was Baron Helmut Zemo, who reunited his old supervillain allies from the Masters of Evil to pose as a team of superheroes. Their plan was to gain the trust of the public and the government so that they could strengthen their position of power and gain access to the valuable secrets of the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. This was an incredibly well-hidden surprise on Marvel’s part, as no information was released about the Thunderbolts. The true identity was ever revealed beforehand, making this one of the most shocking twists in Marvel Comics.

“Thunderbolts”* will not be able to repeat the comic book twist

The identities of the MCU Thunderbolts have already been revealed

Even though it’s original Thunderbolts The plot twist would make for an amazing on-screen adaptation, but it would be nearly impossible for the MCU. Thunderbolts* do it. Aside from Zemo, none of the original members of the Thunderbolts comics have appeared in the MCU, so the film uses characters that audiences already know. Having an established cast of characters is a much better option than introducing an entirely new team with unknown members, but it robs the MCU of the opportunity to pull off the very plot twist that put the Thunderbolts on the map.

Since fans have already seen the backstories of most of the Thunderbolts members, Marvel now has no option to hide their identities and portray them as villains cosplaying as heroes. All of the Thunderbolts have appeared in previous MCU projects and range from villains to anti-heroes, so their identities as bad guys are already common knowledge. Although the film treats the Thunderbolts as a group of heroes, each member is aware that they are not a hero in the traditional sense of the word, and it is this dynamic that unites them all.

How will the MCU honor the legacy of Thunderbolts “Shock Twist”?

Some team members may still be hiding their true intentions

As the name of the Thunderbolts becomes synonymous with plot twists in the comics, the MCU needs to find a way to honor their legacy in some way. They may not be able to recreate the exact twist that the comic books popularized, but there are still ways the film can include surprises. While some have been more well received than others, Marvel has never shied away from incorporating shocking twists into a project. Thanks to the variety of characters in Thunderbolts* cast, there is a possibility.

The MCU has been pretty open about revealing the Thunderbolts’ true identities so far, but the film could still misrepresent one of them. Initially, the teams will definitely clash, so Marvel may force one of the characters to hide their true intentions while working with the team. It may also be discovered that the American government is using the team with malicious intent, under the pretense that they are somehow helping, splitting the morale of the members. Thunderbolts* won’t be able to replicate comics’ biggest twist, but they can still pay homage to his legacy.