The idea of a Thunderbolts movie has been in my mind since Iron Man 2. If you’ll remember the villain was jealous of Tony Stark and slightly less intelligent than him too. He’d make a great member of the badguys-go-do-good-things team known as The Thunderbolts. I know what you’re thinking, and no, he didn’t die at the end of the film. Justin Hammer was arrested if you remember correctly. See what I did there? Bah, the punchline is in the title of the article anyways.

We know General Thunderbolt Ross is in the (supposedly) upcoming Black Widow and his Red Hulk persona is set to appear in the She-Hulk Disney+ series. We also know Zemo from Civil War is going to be in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The pieces are in place, now how do we fill out the roster and esecute?

Well, I’d “resurrect” Killmonger from Black Panther. We know he asked to die, but we never see him buried at sea as he requested. It would be easily possible for Wakanda to heal him and put him on ice, much like they did Bucky. Secondly, I’d find a Songbird (yes I know she’s similar to Birds of Prey’s Black Canary), and lastly, I’d bust Hammer out of Jail.

Ross, Zemo, Songbird, Killmonger, and Hammer are my MCU Thunderbolts. I would have loved to have Andy Serkis’s Ulysses Klaue on the team, but there’s no realistic way to bring him back. I could see Deadpool being a part of this team too, but I think it’d be funnier if he turns them down with a line about not belonging “in this universe” and I really don’t want the Sony and Marvel universe to combine to get Venom.

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So, I have my team, what’s their purpose for coming together, their inner conflict, and the final result? Also, do we make a movie or a series? Honestly, I think a series would be better and provide more time for character development. I would love to see Ross bringing this group together to take on a dirty job, like an assassination or something. It has to be completely different than the Suicide Squad movies and I think some dirty/wet-works would be perfect. The inner conflict would come from Killmonger not wanting to take commands from Ross. You could have some past bad blood from Killmonger’s time in the U.S. Military, maybe even having spent time on Ross’s Hulk unit.

The comedy relief, of course, would be Justin Hammer and his interactions with the team, and I think he could become the “heart” of the team. I think it should be his unique approach to the world and his tech that saves the mission. Using the series method, instead of film, allows us to build a great relationship with Sam Rockwell’s Hammer. We could have him and his tech blunder a few times before it comes to him saving the day.

Rockwell is a great actor, and I don’t think people appreciate his body language and facial expressions enough. Hammer would be the center of my Thunderbolts team because of Rockwell’s talent. He may even be the apparent sacrifice at the end of the film, but I’d have his attempt at a Stark like energy shield (that failed in the past) work at the last moment and save his life for season or part 2.

So we discussed the purpose (assassination) the inner conflict (leadership struggle with Ross and Killmonger, maybe even through Zemo in there too towards the end) and I gave a resolution to the conflict. What else do you need Marvel? The specifics? You can reach me at [email protected] for those!

What do you think of bringing the Thunderbolts to the MCU? Would you prefer a film or series? Let us know in the comments below!

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