The overwhelming consensus around Marvel’s Thunderbolts* — or, if Marvel advertising is anything to go by, Marvel’s New Avengers — is that it brings back the ineffable magic of the Avengers movies of the past. There’s an unlikely team, clashing personalities, and a massive battle in Manhattan, all classic hallmarks of 2012’s Avengers.
But this is Marvel in a new era, one that’s a little darker and morally gray, just like the Thunderbolts themselves. They’ve all worked for Valentina on special ops duty, and all have way too much blood on their hands than they’d care to admit, a fact that fundamentally changes how they operate — and how Thunderbolts* compares to other super-squad movies.
