Commentary: ‘Thunderbolts*’ Reminds Marvel Fans That Great Characters Are The Key
by Frank Martin
It’s no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is in a bit of a lull. It was even joked about in Deadpool & Wolverine. There has been a lot of talk about how the MCU can course correct and recreate some of that magic that existed in the beginning. Some say that they are putting quantity over quality. Others say that they are merely tapping too many unknown characters in their roster rather than sticking with recognizable faces and names. But Thunderbolts* may offer some insight as to what worked so well during the MCU’s early years that’s been lost along the way. The film is filled with fun characters who have interesting interactions; very reminiscent of The Avengers. It’s these types of character relationships and having individuals to root for that may save the MCU in the end.
The majority of the characters in Thunderbolts* featured previously in other MCU installments. The only totally new character is The Sentry (Lewis Pullman), who basically serves as the film’s main plot. The others — Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), the Red Guardian (David Harbour), and U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell) — were all introduced in other films or television shows, so audiences were already familiar with them. Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) is the only member of that initial group to appear in two different projects. Over the course of Black Widow and Hawkeye, she already had a fair amount of characterization under her belt, so it made sense to make her the focal point of the movie.
Besides building the plot around a character that has the most appearances, the film’s roster wisely chose members with distinct personalities. As an egotistical father figure, the Red Guardian plays well with the others as he is eager for glory. This is in contrast to the stoic Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), who only joined the group at the end as the most experienced of the bunch. As for Ghost and U.S. Agent, both of them are bitter because of their past, causing tension and friction amongst the group. All of these characters are larger than life figures in their own way, which made for very entertaining dialogue that lasted throughout the entire film. It will be interesting to see how this group interacts in the future of the MCU.
Thunderbolts* is now in theaters.