Marvel Comics is filled with great characters. However, what makes many comic book fans happier than many solo comic book series is seeing some of their favorite characters team up with one another. This is pretty much how the Avengers team began. The idea was to put some of the most notable characters in Marvel together and then give them a major threat to take on. This led to the “Avengers-Level Threat” moniker that is now so well known in popular media. Marvel Comics teams are quite abundant, but which team or teams could become the next “Avengers” for Marvel Studios? By this question, we mean the big team-up film or films that could generate major revenue for the studio.
Of course, this could also mean films about notable teams of characters that have yet to be introduced into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. That would be similar to what we saw recently with the Eternals film. While this movie did not exactly do massive numbers at the box office, many feel there were simply a lot of issues making sense of them in today’s MCU. That does not mean that an all-new team of characters to the MCU could not do well though. We decided to discuss why several teams could become pretty huge for Marvel Studios & Disney alike if they really wanted something to replace the Avengers as their new cash cow. Let’s get started!
Thunderbolts
- Debut: The Incredible Hulk #449 (January 1997)
- Notable Members: Zemo, U.S. Agent, Taskmaster, Songbird, Nighthawk, Radioactive Man, Hawkeye, Fixer, Black Widow
It would be wrong of us to not get this one out of the way. The Thunderbolts have had a messy history, but an interesting one. They have been both villains and heroes over the years. Initially, they began their time as villains but chose to renounce this in favor of the heroic move. Sometimes this is a fake attempt to appear good but they’ll remain evil. Other times, it is completely genuine on their part. It really comes down to who is writing their comic series at the time. Interestingly, we know Marvel Studios is likely trying to build this team and could end up bringing it to the MCU within the next year or so. Currently, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is playing Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. She has been showing up randomly in Marvel movies and Disney+ shows.
Her role seems to be similar to her comic book role, where she operates as some type of agent in the government. She’s putting a team together, which seems to directly connect to the Thunderbolts team. Members of the Thunderbolts include U.S. Agent, Zemo, Black Widow, Taskmaster, Hawkeye, and Winter Soldier. She has been showing up in shows or movies with these EXACT characters. Need we say more? The Thunderbolts could be great to see, depending on how they are used. It could be a solid redemption or unlikely heroes storyline that would be compelling to see for many fans. It might also be a good way to introduce them as the “government’s Avengers” rather than one they cannot truly control, which could be fun story-telling.