Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts has been a major talking point this week, primarily because the team itself was revealed during D23 on Saturday. Led by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, the group will consist of Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, U.S. Agent, Red Guardian, Ghost, and Taskmaster.
It's an impressive lineup, though perhaps not what a lot of fans were expecting or hoping for.
More anti-heroes than full-blown villains, the MCU's Thunderbolts will clearly be quite a bit different from what we're used to seeing in the comic books. That's not necessarily a bad thing, of course, though there's no denying that the team boasts a lot of Super Soldiers. Still, they're a formidable group and we can't help but wonder who they're assembling to go up against.
With that in mind, we've compiled a pretty awesome list of bad guys who could give the Thunderbolts a hard time in 2024. Some have already appeared in the MCU, while others would be new additions to this shared world.
Find out who made the cut by clicking on the "Next" button below!
7. Sin
Sin is the Red Skull's daughter and every bit as twisted as her father. Like The Winter Soldier, she was reprogrammed, albeit by S.H.I.E.L.D. rather than HYDRA. Eventually, her true nature replaced the "normal" American girl everyone else saw her as, and she made the Marvel Universe pay in a big way.
In the MCU, Sin would obviously have to be the Red Skull's granddaughter or great-granddaughter. However, the Super Soldier Serum that hideously deformed him could quite easily have passed down to her, making Sin - and whatever twisted plan she has in store - a real threat to the Thunderbolts.
With a former Captain America, the real Captain America's sidekick, and Russia's own Captain America (Red Guardian) on this team, who better to pit them against than a Nazi?
6. Blackheart
We were tempted to put Mephisto here because, at this point, the villain has basically become a meme. After those hints in WandaVision went nowhere, fans are constantly on the lookout for the MCU's devil, with will theories even placing him in the likes of Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to no avail.
Something tells us we will see him eventually, but he's far too powerful for this team of Thunderbolts.
Instead, why not start with his son, Blackheart? Determined to usurp his father, the villain has taken aim at the likes of Spider-Man and Daredevil over the years and would be a perfect choice to use this movie as an excuse to throw Ghost Rider into the mix. While powerful, he's probably on the right power level to make him a realistic choice of foe for Yelena and company.
5. Scarlet Witch
Sticking with the supernatural side of the MCU for a moment, why not have the Scarlet Witch make her grand return in Thunderbolts? It's pretty obvious she didn't actually die in the closing moments of the Doctor Strange sequel, but what would Val want with Wanda Maximoff?
Well, she's bound to be a wanted felon after what happened in Westview, while the government now also knows about her power to reshape reality itself. Even without knowing what went down with the Darkhold, that makes her a threat to the world, and Val creating a team of "Avengers" who don't have a history with Wanda to take her down does add up.
She may even have her own nefarious reasons for targeting the Scarlet Witch. After all, we're sure the U.S. Government would love to make those powers their own. Plus, if this leads to White Vision joining the team, it would be a win for fans.
4. M.O.D.O.K.
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is set to introduce M.O.D.O.K., and based on what little we know about the threequel, it will be Corey Stoll's Darren Cross who is transformed into that villain.
After what happened to him in Ant-Man, we probably shouldn't be too surprised, and it looks like the MCU's take on this character will be mostly cybernetic (a shame in some ways, but it makes more sense for Yellowjacket's deformed body to be housed like that rather than Cross returning with a massive head).
Assuming he escapes the Quantum Realm, then we'd say him immediately making trouble in the MCU will tee M.O.D.O.K. up as a great choice of foe for Val and her team. It's hard to say what he'd be up to without seeing him in action next year, but it would be suitable evil, we're sure.
3. Mister Hyde
Yes, we know a Variant of this character appeared in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but c'mon, the ABC series didn't exactly do 'ol Dr. Calvin Zabo justice. After creating a formula that transformed him into a Hulk-like monster, the Marvel Universe got its own Jekyll and Hyde, hence why the unhinged villain took on the Mr. Hyde moniker.
In the MCU, we're sure his origin could be tied into the Super Soldier Program, perhaps explaining why this team of Thunderbolts looks the way it does. It's also worth noting that he has a history with them on the page.
Why else would he a be good choice for this project? Well, just like in the aforementioned TV series, his comic book counterpart is also Daisy Johnson's father. That could mean Chloe Bennet finally getting the opportunity to return as Quake, albeit on the big screen this time!
2. Baron Zemo
One of the biggest complaints coming out of D23 is that there's no sign of Zemo on this team. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier kind of killed the chances of that happening when he as put back behind bars, of course, and as this is a team of heroes...well, what would Zemo be doing there?
Yes, he's a formidable fighter and a very clever guy, but he hates The Avengers and Super Soldiers. Despite that, we're confident he could factor into this movie as someone pulling the strings from the shadows or as the outright villain who the team is assembled to deal with.
He'll need some backup, of course, and we'd actually like to see him put together his own team more akin to what we've seen from the Thunderbolts in the comic books. That could make this movie a little too busy, but there has to be a place for Zemo given his storied history with this team.
1. Red Hulk
Actor William Hurt has sadly passed away, and we have to believe that there were probably once plans for his character, General "Thunderbolt" Ross, to be part of this movie.
As it stands, we can picture Val telling these heroes that their team is named after him following his in-universe demise, but if the Red Hulk comes into play, that's where things could get really interesting. The group finding out that the Hulk they're pursuing is, in fact, an out-of-control and out-of-his-mind Ross would be a killer twist and a way to write Hurt out of the MCU.
While we'd have loved to see the actor lend his voice and personality to the villain, making him a seemingly unstoppable monster who needs to be put down would end Ross' story in a unique way. It would also expose Val as a liar and someone who has assembled these Super Soldiers because she's among those trying to create new ones.