I’m Glad Captain America: Brave New World Didn’t Reveal Sam Wilson’s Avengers Team Roster Given How It Would Have Changed Thunderbolts*

The ending plot twist of Thunderbolts* was as effective as it was because of the MCU’s current Avengers secrecy. From the moment the Thunderbolts were announced, they were portrayed as a group of antiheroes who were not necessarily the good guys, but were going to do good anyway. Each Thunderbolts member was looking to redeem themselves in a way, and the film ends with all of them finding a newfound purpose in their respective lives. Even though it was predicted that Thunderbolts* would end with them joining the Avengers, Marvel set up a slightly different direction with the film’s ending.

The Thunderbolts’ main goal in the film was to stop Valentina’s Sentry project as it was dangerous and unpredictable. The team saving Bob from his Void persona resulted in them saving New York City as well, and with Valentina at risk of impeachment, she managed to spin the Thunderbolts into her own new superhero team instead. Thunderbolts* ends with the team being declared the New Avengers, which is a completely separate group from Sam Wilson’s Avengers for now. It was a pretty surprising plot twist, and it wouldn’t have worked without Captain America: Brave New World’s setup.

Captain America: Brave New World Reveals Little About The Next Avengers Team Other Than It’s About To Be Formed

Sam Wilson Just Started Rebuilding The Avengers

Joaquin Torres and Sam Wilson running in Captain America_ Brave New World

Though the Avengers came together for the culmination of the Infinity Saga, they haven’t been the same since the events of Captain America: Civil War. The team dynamic was fractured, and after Avengers: Endgame, many of the founding members were either gone or had moved on. President Thaddeus Ross pitches to Sam in Brave New World that he should reform the Avengers as the new official Captain America. Though he is reluctant at first, the events of the film show Sam that the world needs hope, and he agrees to reform the team by the end of the movie.

Although it’s now official that Sam will rebuild the Avengers, Captain America: Brave New World actually revealed very little about the team. The only members who are confirmed in-universe are Sam himself and Joaquin Torres, leaving it up to fans to speculate which other heroes will be joining in the future. Especially now that some of the Avengers: Doomsday cast have been revealed, there are some very obvious candidates as to who will join. However, the exact Avengers roster will likely be left unconfirmed until the film, and Brave New World left it vague on purpose.

I Think It Would’ve Been Way Harder For The Thunderbolts* Movie Ending To Feel Like As Much Of A Plot Twist Had Brave New World’s Ending Revealed More About Captain America’s Avengers

The Thunderbolts Are The New Avengers

The current mystery surrounding the MCU’s main Avengers team is what made the Thunderbolts* plot twist work. The two likely outcomes before the film’s release were that the Thunderbolts would accept their redemption arc and either be recruited for the Avengers, or stay as their separate Thunderbolts team and join forces with the Avengers in Doomsday. The twist now is that they’re actually supposed to act like a replacement of the Avengers, with their team even acting as an opposition to Sam’s plan.

The post-credits reveal that the Thunderbolts are not just a new superhero team but the supposed Avengers replacements was impactful because they are considered the anтιтhesis of the Avengers. If Captain America: Brave New World had revealed more about Sam’s roster, it would’ve been obvious from the start that the Thunderbolts weren’t going to mesh well with the other members of his Avengers, making the eventual New Avengers plot twist less surprising. Even any insight into Sam’s recruitment progress would’ve made it clear that most of the Thunderbolts weren’t going to make the cut.

Captain America: Brave New World & Thunderbolts* Make Avengers: Doomsday Even More Of A Must-Watch

The Two Avengers Teams Will Be Compared

Red Guardian, John Walker, Yelena Belova, Ghost, and Bucky From Thunderbolts Looking Up at the Void in the Sky

Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts* were already must-watch films going into Avengers: Doomsday, considering the overlap of characters. However, this unexpected development of two Avengers teams being formed in the MCU raises the stakes. Bucky already alluded to some tension between him and Sam in the Thunderbolts* post-credits scene as both teams fight for their name, meaning that fans will have to tune into Avengers: Doomsday to find out how the conflict unfolds. Considering that Doctor Doom will be the ultimate villain, the two sides will likely find a way to work together.

Fans will also have to tune into Avengers: Doomsday to see how the two Avengers teams fare head-to-head. With a predictable roster for Sam’s Avengers, the New Avengers are already being compared to their mainstream counterparts. It’s hard to say who would come out on top at this point, but Thunderbolts* has definitely managed to win a lot of MCU fans over when it comes to the group of antiheroes. Whether the in-universe general public of the MCU will be able to accept them, however, will remain to be seen.