Summary
The most recentThunderbolts*trailer makes for ominous viewing regarding its eponymous team. It’s already been made pretty clear that the misfit group of antiheroes — made up of Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes, David Harbour’s Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell’s U.S. Agent, Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster, and Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost — will be facing Lewis Pullman’s Sentry. They could really use the Avengers' help against him, but the trailer explicitly says the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s flagship team won’t be coming to their aid.
In Marvel’s comic books, the Sentry is incredibly powerful at his base level, with colossal superhuman strength, speed and durability, flight, regenerative healing, energy projection and manipulation, the ability to alter matter at the molecular level, various psionic powers, and more. However, as an unfortunate side effect of his unstable nature, he also has a dark and monumentally powerful entity inside him. It’s called the Void and presents itself as a vast black malevolent force with tendrils strong enough to casually break every bone in the Hulk’s body, the ability to control the weather and create storms, shapeshifting abilities, and several other terrifying powers at its disposal. The aforementioned trailer hints that this even more dangerous being will emerge inThunderbolts*.
A massive dark shadow looms over New York City 18 seconds into the trailer. There’s a good chance it could be the Sentry’s dark side unleashed, presenting a threat to the Big Apple worse than… well… the other 700 times it’s been threatened since the Marvel Cinematic Universe began. If that’s the case, the Avengers' absence (which is confirmed just seconds into the trailer, whenJulia Louis-Dreyfus' Valentina Allegra de Fontainesays, “Let’s face facts. The Avengers are not coming”) will leave the Thunderbolts with the unthinkable task of fighting the Void themselves. The team consists entirely of street-level characters who will be tragically outgunned in that scenario. So why aren’t the Avengers coming to aid them when what would undoubtedly be considered an “Avengers level threat” is running rampant on their home turf? Well, there are several possible explanations for their absence.
The Sokovia Accords
The Sokovia Accords have become an almost forgotten concept in the MCU. Introduced in 2016’sCaptain America: Civil War, the Accords are an extensive set of rules requiring superhuman activity to be regulated by the United Nations. The precise status of the legislation hasn’t been addressed in recent projects, so it’s unknown if they’re still active. However, if they are, it could explain why the Avengers aren’t interfering in the events ofThunderbolts*. Perhaps the U.N. believes a battle between the Avengers and Sentry or the Void would cause too much collateral damage, asseveral battles involving the Avengershave previously.
The Avengers Believe Those At Fault Should Deal With It
Assuming MCUSentry’s powers are derived from a serumlike they are in the comics, the Avengers may be of the opinion that the powerful organization that provided him with it has the means and responsibility to deal with the fallout from it. Whether it turned out that the Avengers' assertions on the subject were incorrect or that the organization in question intended to bring forth the Void (and, therefore, have no intention of stopping it) would remain to be seen, but it would be a valid reason for the superhero team not to get involved.
The Avengers Believe It’s Too Dangerous
It could be the case that the Avengers simply believe the Void is too dangerous to tangle with, so they avoid the conflict against it as a method of self-preservation. Granted, that’s not the most heroic stance to take, but there could be mitigating circumstances to justify it. Perhaps, for example, they instead suggested an evacuation of New York City that was ignored. Or maybe they wanted to await the return of the mighty Thor from a space quest orthe immensely powerful Captain Marvelfrom a cosmic mission before facing the entity with a team lacking the power to do so. Regardless, if the Avengers believe it’s too dangerous, and the Thunderbolts ultimately prevail in the battle, it would give the antihero team some serious legitimacy in the MCU.
The Avengers Are Otherwise Occupied Elsewhere
There’s always the chance that the Avengers are preoccupied with another threat of cataclysmic proportions, possibly on the other side of the planet, which is ample justification for their absence in New York City during the events ofThunderbolts*.The MCU is teeming with powerful villainous threats, and the Avengers have been shown operating in Europe (Sokovia and Germany, for instance) and Africa (Nigeria and Wakanda, for example), among other places. Hence, it’s far from unrealistic that they’d be on another continent dealing with an equally nasty problem again.
The Avengers Are Off-World
Similarly to the point about the Avengers potentially being occupied elsewhere, they could also be out in space. Several team members are now familiar with space travel, having ventured into the cosmos in2018’sAvengers: Infinity Warand 2019’sAvengers: Endgame, with Captain Marvel having been based there for longer. They may be out there dealing with a cosmic threat or setting up bases or outposts on different planets. Let’s face it: there would be no better excuse for failing to help in the fight against the Sentry or the Void than being several light-years away when it’s occurring.
Fans will undoubtedly learn more about the Avengers' whereabouts whenThunderbolts*hits theaters on Jun 06, 2025.
