For one, the 36th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe arrives with the full awareness that its audience is weary and increasingly disillusioned. The once-flashy illusion of mesmeric cinematic greatness has crumbled, and nearly every post-Endgame and No Way Home title lies artistically dead on arrival. In that sense, Jack Schreier’s interpretation of Marvel’s very own Suicide Squad works not only as a much-needed industrial course correction but also as a sobering testament to the franchise’s persistent dependence on meta-winks—something it can no longer untangle from, and perhaps the very ballast weighing it down.
Even so, this pivot into relatively expectation-less territory offers some of the most refreshingly legible ‘movie moments’ the studio has managed in years. For starters, the script—co-written by Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo—strips away prestige delusions and meets the current state of superhero cinema where it stands: past redemption, but not past honesty. That self-awareness allows even the smallest gestures of conviction to register. The green-screen-free cinematography by ace DOP Andrew Droz Palermo makes the film look compelling without resorting to visual noise. And crucially, the performers carry real arcs: Florence Pugh’s mix of volatility and humour offers a breezy echo of her Little Women charm, while Lewis Pullman emerges as a genuine revelation in his anchoring of both Sentry and Void.
All said and done, Thunderbolts* may be an entertaining diversion, but it also offers a workable blueprint. What follows is an attempt to walk you through the key structural jargon embedded in its narrative.
Thunderbolts* (2025) Plot Summary and Movie Synopsis:
In Malaysia, Yelena Belova spirals into an existential crisis while reflecting on her life. Minutes later, she demolishes a laboratory on orders from CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, who’s desperately erasing traces of her connection to the O.X.E. Group’s “Sentry” superhuman project. With impeachment looming over her role in O.X.E., de Fontaine dispatches mercenaries Yelena, John Walker, Ava Starr, and Antonia Dreykov to a covert O.X.E. facility—under the guise of a mission—intending for them to kill each other. In the ensuing chaos, Ava kills Antonia, and a suspended animation pod is accidentally triggered, releasing an amnesiac man named Bob.
What do the survivors discover?
The survivors realize they were all sent to be eliminated along with any remaining evidence. Banding together, they escape the trap. Upon touching Bob, both Yelena and Walker are hit with intrusive visions of their most painful memories.
Where is Bob taken?
De Fontaine is alerted to the breach and learns that Bob is a presumed-dead volunteer from the Sentry trials. When she arrives at the site, Bob creates a diversion by attracting enemy fire, allowing Yelena, Walker, and Ava to flee. Despite being riddled with bullets, Bob is unharmed. He suddenly levitates into the sky, only to crash-land back at the compound, where he is captured and transported to the former Avengers Tower in Manhattan, now rebranded as the “Watchtower.”
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Who rescues the group?
Planning to spin Bob as a symbol of redemption and power, de Fontaine hopes introducing him to the media as a new superhero will sway public opinion and delay her impeachment. Meanwhile, Alexei Shostakov—having overheard fragments of her plot while working as a freelance chauffeur—intervenes and rescues Yelena, Walker, and Ava. He jokingly dubs the group the “Thunderbolts,” after a childhood soccer team Yelena played for that, in her own words, “never won a single game.”
What happens to Bob at the Watchtower?
De Fontaine’s agents pursue the group, but they are ultimately detained by Congressman Bucky Barnes. He intends to use them as witnesses in the impeachment case and has already convinced Fontaine’s assistant, Mel, to help bring her down from within.
Once he learns the truth about Bob’s involvement in her experiments, Barnes joins the team. Together, the Thunderbolts head to New York to infiltrate the Watchtower. By the time they arrive, Bob has already been manipulated into aligning with de Fontaine. He easily overpowers the group under her orders but chooses not to eliminate them, judging them no longer a threat. However, the power begins to distort his mind. Inflated by delusions of grandeur, Bob turns on de Fontaine. In panic, her assistant Mel triggers a failsafe embedded in Bob—a kill switch—which incapacitates him but inadvertently unleashes his monstrous alter ego, the Void.
Thunderbolts* (2025) Movie Ending Explained:
How is the Void stopped?
The Void, born of Bob’s depression, trauma, and fractured psyche, begins consuming New York in supernatural darkness. Citizens are trapped in pocket dimensions as the city collapses into metaphysical ruin.
Knowing the only solution lies within Bob himself, Yelena enters the darkness to reach his consciousness. There, she confronts her own past as a Black Widow and eventually finds Bob hiding in a reimagined version of his childhood bedroom—his place of refuge from an abusive father. The other Thunderbolts arrive, and together they trace Bob’s trauma to the memory of his initial experimentation in Malaysia, where he had volunteered in a desperate attempt to change his life after descending into drug addiction and despair.
The team faces off against the Void, but it overwhelms them quickly. As Bob begins slipping away, the Thunderbolts rally around him—not to fight, but to believe in him. Their support helps him fight back from within, allowing him to regain control and extinguish the Void. Light returns to the city. The trapped citizens are freed.
What is implied in the post-credits?
With the threat neutralized, the Thunderbolts move to apprehend de Fontaine. But before they can act, she stages a press conference, framing them as her personal task force—the “New Avengers.” The Thunderbolts play along for now, letting her take the credit. But Yelena quietly leans in and warns her: “We own you now.”
In the mid-credits scene, Alexei is seen flirting with an Asian woman in a supermarket, showing her a cereal box featuring the Red Guardian. She doesn’t recognize him and walks off with the box, thinking he’s a creep.
In the post-credits, the newly formed New Avengers and Bob argue over an ongoing feud with Sam Wilson, who is preparing to sue them over the “Avengers” trademark. Just as the bickering escalates, a distress signal arrives from a mysterious extra-dimensional spacecraft marked by a glowing “4.”
