Thunderbolts* Ending Explained: A Twist Pulled Straight from the Comics

Marvel’s Thunderbolts isn’t your typical superhero spectacle – it’s darker, messier, and bursting with raw emotion. As fan screenings spark global buzz, all eyes are on this explosive Phase 5 finale.

With twists, betrayals, and a mind-blowing ending, the question isn’t just what happens – but what’s next for Marvel’s most unpredictable team?

What makes Yelena’s story so hauntingly personal?

When Thunderbolts opens, we meet Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) teetering on the edge of a skyscraper – not just physically, but emotionally.

There’s a gnawing void inside her, a hole no mission or memory can quite fill. That leap from the rooftop? It’s not suicide – it’s espionage. But the metaphor’s impossible to miss.

This isn’t just another action-heavy Marvel intro – it’s a character in free fall, emotionally and literally. By the time she meets The Void – yes, that’s a real villain – it’s clear Marvel’s playing a clever game of psychological chess.

So, who are the Thunderbolts anyway?

They aren’t daddy Avengers. The team is a patchwork of MCU misfits: Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) is still aching from the Winter Soldier days. Red Guardian (David Harbour) is all bravado and buried guilt.

Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) is a silent mimic of violence. Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) phases in and out, haunted and hunted. U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell) is a walking PR disaster. And leading this dysfunctional ensemble is Yelena, who’s clearly not looking for glory – just some semblance of peace.

Thrown together by CIA power-player Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, deliciously slippery as ever), the Thunderbolts aren’t a team – they’re bait.

Sent into a nightmare trap, they’re manipulated, betrayed, and forced to confront a power so terrifying it nearly tears them apart.

What (or who) is The Void – and why is it such a game changer?

Ah, The Void. The kind of villain you don’t punch – you survive. The Sentry, introduced here as “Bob” (Lewis Pullman), is the very definition of duality: a god-tier superhero plagued by a monstrous alter ego.

Turns out, Val created him – yes, created – through shady experimentation on vulnerable people, including Bob, an ex-drug addict. That’s some next-level moral murkiness, even for the MCU.

The final battle isn’t a mere CGI slugfest – it’s a descent into Bob’s tortured psyche. The team literally walks into the manifestation of The Void to save him from himself.

The world nearly crumbles, New York almost falls, and when the dust clears, Bob is a mess of confusion and regret. But here’s the kicker – it’s not just about defeating darkness. It’s about rescuing someone from it.

Did Val just turn the Thunderbolts into the Avengers?

Here’s where the movie throws its wildest punch. Right when our antiheroes are ready to expose Val and hold her accountable for her Frankenstein-level crimes, she pulls a fast one.

Boom – a press conference. Cameras flash. Reporters cheer. Val unveils her “new team” – the New Avengers, formed in secret, polished for the public eye. And who’s front and center? The Thunderbolts, bewildered and betrayed.

It’s pure Bendis-style comic book sleight of hand, lifted straight from the New Avengers and Dark Avengers runs. But this isn’t just homage – it’s transformation. These lost, broken people have been recast as icons.

Val saves her career. The world gets heroes. And the Thunderbolts? They gain leverage. As Yelena coolly tells Val, “We own you now.” Meaning CIA money, the Watchtower as a base, and a team that can finally operate on its own terms. Or so it seems.

Is this the end – or just the beginning of something wilder?

Thunderbolts isn’t about saving the world. It’s about saving the self. And in doing so, Marvel’s messiest crew might just redefine what it means to be a hero.

The film’s success rides on its heart – its willingness to show these characters not as punchline machines, but as bruised, bitter, brilliantly human souls.

Thanks to sharp writing by Eric Pearson, Lee Sung Jin, and Joanna Calo, and the dead-on direction by Jake Schreier, we’re not just watching another chapter – we’re witnessing a reboot of the MCU’s soul.

So what now? Avengers who lie, steal, and carry scars deeper than any vibranium shield? Sounds like a future worth watching.

Final Thoughts

With Thunderbolts, Marvel doesn’t just close out Phase 5 – it flips the entire formula. This isn’t about perfect heroes or clean victories.

It’s about the cost of survival, the price of power, and the unexpected ways redemption can come wrapped in chaos. The MCU’s most damaged team might just be its most dangerous yet.

About Thunderbolts*

Thunderbolts* is an upcoming American superhero film based on Marvel Comics’ Thunderbolts. The 36th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) will be produced by Marvel Studios and released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Jake Schreier directed the film, which was written by Eric Pearson, Lee Sung Jin, and Joanna Calo. The ensemble cast includes David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Geraldine Viswanathan, Lewis Pullman, Olga Kurylenko, and Florence Pugh. In the film, a squad of antiheroes carry out government operations.

The film’s principal cast was unveiled in September, with additional casting continuing through early 2023. Lee, one of several creatives that returned to work with Schreier from the Netflix series Beef (2023), agreed to rewrite the film’s script by March 2023.