Marvel Films MCU Thunderbolts - Team suggestions?

[Zarex]

I am thinking the main difference between the onscreen versions of Marvel and DC's anti-hero teams will be a) the Marvel squad will primarily be made up of previously established characters and b) they will be mercenaries and not imprisoned slave labor. There will probably be some strong similarities as well and include a pivotal moment in which the some Thunderbolts members choose to be heroes.

One potential member I left off the squad is Deadpool. He was in at least one comic book iteration, and would add some star power to the team. If Reynolds won't commit fully to a team up film it would be nice to have him for a cameo.

 

[Batgirl0202]

I loved the Thunderbolts concept in the books. Great avenue to explore themes of redemption and what actually constitutes heroism. If a villain does something good but for all the wrong reasons, is it still heroism or does it become opportunism?

As for a lineup, I'd love to see a healthy mixture of both obscure characters as well as some of the more obvious choices. Zemo, Beetle, Moonstone, Screaming Mimi, Fixer, Blizzard, Photon, Speed Demon... I hope Marvel gets weird and creative with this one....

I can also see this tying in with the rumored Secret Wars saga. Perfect way to explain the vacuum of power left by the absent heroes after they teleport to Battleworld or somewhere else in the Multiverse. Provides an ideal environment for the Thunderbolts concept to grow organically.

 

[Batgirl0202]

I loved the Thunderbolts concept in the books. Great avenue to explore themes of redemption and what actually constitutes heroism. If a villain does something good but for all the wrong reasons, is it still heroism or does it become opportunism?

As for a lineup, I'd love to see a healthy mixture of both obscure characters as well as some of the more obvious choices. Zemo, Beetle, Moonstone, Screaming Mimi, Fixer, Blizzard, Photon, Speed Demon... I hope Marvel gets weird and creative with this one....

I can also see this tying in with the rumored Secret Wars saga. Perfect way to explain the vacuum of power left by the absent heroes after they teleport to Battleworld or somewhere else in the Multiverse. Provides an ideal environment for the Thunderbolts concept to grow organically.

Just realized that some of the characters I suggested are probably owned by Sony, dammit!

 

[Kev4000]

One potential member I left off the squad is Deadpool. He was in at least one comic book iteration, and would add some star power to the team. If Reynolds won't commit fully to a team up film it would be nice to have him for a cameo.

I had the same idea at first, but after some thinking I am not a fan if this idea. Deadpool would outshine every other character in my opinion, so everyone else felt more supporting. If you push Deadpool to the side in favor to push someone else, audience would complain about this.

 

[BoredGuy]

I figure Zemo (hopefully the ridiculous star-spangly costume at least makes an appearance) US Agent, Widow, and Abom are the obvious ones.

I could definitely see Ghost but idk about Taskmaster. Maybe Red Guardian instead, David Harbour needs to come back. Plus his and Pugh's chemistry is delightful, and when have we ever had Dad and Daughter on a superteam together.

Bullseye would be fun, Bethel deserves a shot at being actual full-on Bullseye and not fake Daredevil

And from the comics, the main one I wanna see is Songbird, I love her look so much

I just hope they have a vision for it that is fully unique from Suicide Squad and doesn't feel like just "Marvel's version"

 

[Zarex]

Just realized that some of the characters I suggested are probably owned by Sony, dammit!

The only one who is likely with Sony is Abner Jenkins/Beetle. But I would rather Marvel Studios put Justin Hammer in the Mach 1 suit anyway.

Speed Demon could be with Sony as well, but since he started out as an Avengers adjacent character I am not sure.

 

[SirStrangefolk]

The only one who is likely with Sony is Abner Jenkins/Beetle. But I would rather Marvel Studios put Justin Hammer in the Mach 1 suit anyway.

Speed Demon could be with Sony as well, but since he started out as an Avengers adjacent character I am not sure.

I think some people have said that Beetle may be with Marvel actually, Something about him not being mentioned as IP that Sony could use in leaked documents from the Sony leaks iirc. Might be because he was originally a Human Torch villain in Strange Tales.

For Speed Demon I imagine it's a bit weird. He was originally an Avengers villain and member of the Squadron Sinister as Whizzer. However, he changed his name and costume to Speed Demon when he became a Spider-Man villain in a Spider-Man comic. It's possible James Sanders may be owned by Marvel but the Speed Demon identity by Sony. If that were the case you could probably just make James Sanders Whizzer or Blur, which are both names versions of him have also gone by.

 

[Venom 1988]

The only one who is likely with Sony is Abner Jenkins/Beetle. But I would rather Marvel Studios put Justin Hammer in the Mach 1 suit anyway.

Speed Demon could be with Sony as well, but since he started out as an Avengers adjacent character I am not sure.

According to the Sony leaks, they don't have the rights to the Beetle

 

[GREEN =w= DAY]

Lineup I’d like to see:
Abomination
Zemo
US Agent
Ghost
Yelena
Red Guardian

 

[Dr. Evil]

Lineup I’d like to see:
Abomination
Zemo
US Agent
Ghost
Yelena
Red Guardian

Having Alexei on the team would prevent Yelena from being manipulated by either Val or Zemo.

 

[metaphysician]

One name I see people forgetting: Hawkeye. A Thunderbolts movie only makes dramatic sense if there ultimately is an actual choice in play of whether the fake heroes can actually choose to become real heroes. And the best character to serve as the mentor figure for those jumping in that direction? Clint Barton.

As for the question of "Why would Zemo be involved in this?" Its a bad idea to overlook that Zemo is *not* a mindless fanatic. He is entirely capable of making pragmatic decisions to advance his own goals, and "bringing a group of supervillains under his sway" is entirely a valid move. Especially if the people running the Thunderbolts are stupid enough to allow or demand his involvement, which they should be. So, what would those goals be? Well, the most obvious one would be "It would damage the reputation of the idea of the Superhero if a team of fake superheroes were very obviously and publicly exposed as just the opposite". There could be other goals, in addition or instead of.

 

[SirStrangefolk]

As for the question of "Why would Zemo be involved in this?" Its a bad idea to overlook that Zemo is *not* a mindless fanatic. He is entirely capable of making pragmatic decisions to advance his own goals, and "bringing a group of supervillains under his sway" is entirely a valid move. Especially if the people running the Thunderbolts are stupid enough to allow or demand his involvement, which they should be. So, what would those goals be? Well, the most obvious one would be "It would damage the reputation of the idea of the Superhero if a team of fake superheroes were very obviously and publicly exposed as just the opposite". There could be other goals, in addition or instead of.

I think that's a fine motivation for MCU Zemo. First use being on the Thunderbolts to gain access to information and resources that can help take out the Avengers and other superpowered people in the future while simultaneously gaining the trust of the public, then betray that trust and make everyone question if superheroes can be trusted going forward, radicalizing more people to his side on the idea that superheroes shouldn't exist.

 

[Dr. Evil]

I think that's a fine motivation for MCU Zemo. First use being on the Thunderbolts to gain access to information and resources that can help take out the Avengers and other superpowered people in the future while simultaneously gaining the trust of the public, then betray that trust and make everyone question if superheroes can be trusted going forward, radicalizing more people to his side on the idea that superheroes shouldn't exist.

As much as he hates superheroes, he's also a rational man. If his plan to turn the global public against superheroes isn't completed due to Kang, Galactus or some other threat bigger than Thanos, I think he would temporarily side with superheroes. He's more rational than General Ross was because in Infinity War, Ross still wanted Captain America and his team under arrest despite the fact that aliens had just landed on Earth causing mass chaos. If there was an alien threat on Earth, I think Zemo would abandon his plans in an instant, because I highly doubt that Zemo wants the deaths of millions of innocent civilians on his mind and I don't think he wants to be blamed for those deaths all because of his anti-superhero platform causing the imprisonment of many of our favorite MCU superheroes while millions innocent people die and I don't think Zemo wants that on his conscious. He wants to blame superheroes while at the same time cause as minimal casualties to innocent people at the same time. But he also knows that he might have to side with them if another alien attack comes.

 

[SirStrangefolk]

As much as he hates superheroes, he's also a rational man. If his plan to turn the global public against superheroes isn't completed due to Kang, Galactus or some other threat bigger than Thanos, I think he would temporarily side with superheroes. He's more rational than General Ross was because in Infinity War, Ross still wanted Captain America and his team under arrest despite the fact that aliens had just landed on Earth causing mass chaos. If there was an alien threat on Earth, I think Zemo would abandon his plans in an instant, because I highly doubt that Zemo wants the deaths of millions of innocent civilians on his mind and I don't think he wants to be blamed for those deaths all because of his anti-superhero platform causing the imprisonment of many of our favorite MCU superheroes while millions innocent people die and I don't think Zemo wants that on his conscious. He wants to blame superheroes while at the same time cause as minimal casualties to innocent people at the same time. But he also knows that he might have to side with them if another alien attack comes.

Oh he'll absolutely work with superheroes out of his own interest if needed. I wonder how he calculates what the minimal casualties would be. Like how dozen or so deaths at the UN bombing would save more people from the Avengers getting torn apart as a result or something.

 

[Spider-Fan]

When it comes to armored characters for this team, I would prefer Justin Hammer as Detroit Steel to the Beetle. I think using mostly familiar characters would be best for this movie, and Hammer for me was best aspect of IM2. So I say bring him back

 

[Dr. Evil]

Oh he'll absolutely work with superheroes out of his own interest if needed. I wonder how he calculates what the minimal casualties would be. Like how dozen or so deaths at the UN bombing would save more people from the Avengers getting torn apart as a result or something.

he would calculate that a dozen deaths is worth it if it meant the Avengers get blamed for it. However, as I said earlier, I think Zemo would not think it's worth it if millions die at the hands of an alien that has nothing to do with the Avengers or superheroes.

 

[metaphysician]

As much as he hates superheroes, he's also a rational man. If his plan to turn the global public against superheroes isn't completed due to Kang, Galactus or some other threat bigger than Thanos, I think he would temporarily side with superheroes. He's more rational than General Ross was because in Infinity War, Ross still wanted Captain America and his team under arrest despite the fact that aliens had just landed on Earth causing mass chaos. If there was an alien threat on Earth, I think Zemo would abandon his plans in an instant, because I highly doubt that Zemo wants the deaths of millions of innocent civilians on his mind and I don't think he wants to be blamed for those deaths all because of his anti-superhero platform causing the imprisonment of many of our favorite MCU superheroes while millions innocent people die and I don't think Zemo wants that on his conscious. He wants to blame superheroes while at the same time cause as minimal casualties to innocent people at the same time. But he also knows that he might have to side with them if another alien attack comes.

There's also that Zemo's goals and beliefs are not necessarily about specific people so much. At least as I read it, he's more focused on the idea of Men Bowing Before Gods than on the people themselves. Hence why he could get along somewhat well with Sam and Bucky, since while they might inadvertently inspire hero worship, neither of them had god-complexes or the desire to actually encourage people to bow to them. Contrast with the Flagsmashers, who *absolutely* wanted the world to bow before their wishes and saw themselves as better because of their power to make it so.

In this context, a team of leashed supervillains would serve to advance this cause even if they *aren't* making runs at killing Avengers. Just the fact that they are engaging in open villainy while mocking the idea that they are heroes, or that heroism is important, would inspire fear and cynicism. In Zemo's semi-perfect world, superhumans may be around, but nobody worships them, or expects them to save the day. They can't be fully trusted, as they might turn evil, or just fail. He's sort of like Billy Butcher, except with more self-awareness and less psychopathy.

 

[metaphysician]

Oh he'll absolutely work with superheroes out of his own interest if needed. I wonder how he calculates what the minimal casualties would be. Like how dozen or so deaths at the UN bombing would save more people from the Avengers getting torn apart as a result or something.

I think its less about balancing specific numbers of casualties, and more that he sets an objective based on ideological reasons, and *then* sets up strategies and tactics to achieve that goal with an eye to minimizing collateral damage. He wouldn't refuse to pursue an objective just because his plans exceed some arbitrary number of people killed ( at least without things going *really* extreme, and reaching his "one blasphemy too many" threshold ), but otherwise only kills the 'undeserving' if its actually purposeful.

That said, I would note that he's a very intelligent, and very rationalizing, person. This means that he could potentially justify a *lot* on the grounds of 'necessity'; but also that if felt a tinge of conscience about some potential plan he could easily justify a refusal as 'not morality, simply good tactics'. Like, Zemo probably isn't a big enough monster to actually countenance a scheme to kill Thor by blowing up a nuke in the middle of a city. However, he'd probably tell himself "such a move would be counterproductive, even if it worked it would create sympathy for the victims and give me such a terrible reputation that I couldn't achieve anything ever again", thus allowing himself to still remain calculatingly ruthless in his own eyes.

 

[TheVileOne]

I think some people have said that Beetle may be with Marvel actually, Something about him not being mentioned as IP that Sony could use in leaked documents from the Sony leaks iirc. Might be because he was originally a Human Torch villain in Strange Tales.

For Speed Demon I imagine it's a bit weird. He was originally an Avengers villain and member of the Squadron Sinister as Whizzer. However, he changed his name and costume to Speed Demon when he became a Spider-Man villain in a Spider-Man comic. It's possible James Sanders may be owned by Marvel but the Speed Demon identity by Sony. If that were the case you could probably just make James Sanders Whizzer or Blur, which are both names versions of him have also gone by.

The rights are weird. Kingpin was with Fox/Daredevil, yet as a character, he first appeared in a Spider-Man book.

Also, if Zemo is in Thunderbolts, I definitely want him disguised as Citizen V.

 

[metaphysician]

Even if the Thunderbolts start as a government super team, I could imagine Zemo having the Citizen V identity. All it takes is that Val wants to deploy Zemo with the Thunderbolts in the field rather than as just an advisor at base, but doesn't want the PR hit of having *Zemo* with the team, publicly. There is a difference in image between "this member of the team used to be a supervillain" versus "this member of the team is the guy who blew up the Avengers". And even if you assume the public doesn't know the details about the events of Civil War ( not a smart assumption IMO, based on the general trend of the shows to date vis a vis general knowledge ), it would still be a bad idea for immediately creating negative attention from both Wakanda and pretty much all current and former Avengers.

 

[Rice Eater]

Bumping this thread for the official announcement tweet

 

[Gamma Goliath]

Abomination
Zemo
U.s. Agent
Bucky
Yelena
Task master
Ghost
Ezekiel Stane

 

[Dcs72]

[

Abomination
Zemo
U.s. Agent
Bucky
Yelena
Task master
Ghost
Ezekiel Stane

I would think there'd be some kind of Rick Flagg figure in there.

 

[Gamma Goliath]

That's what U.S. Agent is for. And this isn't suicide squad.

 

[Dcs72]

Except US Agent is no more trustworthy than the rest. I also think this film will be massive for Yelena's arc, perhaps due to Florence Pugh's busy schedule, and I think they would need such a character to service some change, and Walker isn't it. Unless, of course, that relationship is so overly toxic that it causes Yelena to seperate from him and Val.