The MCU Now Has Its Own Evil Nick Fury & Gave Them A New Avengers Team

Thunderbolts* introduced an unconventional parallel to the Avengers, and the group is even set with their own version of Nick Fury. The Thunderbolts are a group of antiheroes, with a few of them even acting as antagonists in their past MCU projects. Even if not everyone will agree that they managed to find full redemption by the end of Thunderbolts*, each member at least has a newfound sense of purpose in life. The catalyst for this reform is Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, as the Thunderbolts wouldn’t have come together without her interference.

Although their respective methods for recruiting a new Avengers team were vastly different, Valentina now acts as a parallel to Fury. Phase 1 featured Fury heavily as the creator of the Avengers since he was responsible for recruiting the original six heroes. Even if he wasn’t always present during the Infinity Saga, his influence was felt with every Avengers team-up that occurred. The same is being set up for Valentina going forward with the New Avengers, though her intentions are clearly much more unpredictable.

Valentina Allegra de Fontaine’s Mission In Thunderbolts* Is Essentially A Villainous Version Of Nick Fury’s Goal In The Avengers

Valentina And Fury Both Wanted To Form A Superhero Team

Valentina is facing impeachment from her CIA position at the start of Thunderbolts* because of her ties to several black ops projects. One of them was the Sentry Project, which Valentina explains was her way of finding an Avengers replacement. She attempted human experimentation to create one hero who could be more powerful than all of the Avengers combined, which she could then use to protect the world under her command. Bob was the only Sentry Project test subject to survive, and while it was somewhat of a success, his Void persona adds a layer of unpredictability.

It’s obvious throughout Thunderbolts* that despite Valentina’s goal being to protect the world, her intentions are slightly more villainous than that. She created the Sentry Project so that she could have full control of whatever Avengers replacement ended up being created. While Fury did also have a level of control over the original Avengers, he was never set on being their overall leader. He wanted the Avengers to make decisions among themselves, while Valentina was seen giving direct orders to Sentry that she expected him to obey.

The Thunderbolts* Movie Ending Sees Valentina Announce “The New Avengers” & Tie Herself To The Team

Valentina Rebrands The Thunderbolts As The New Avengers

Bucky, Red Guardian, John Walker and Ghost walking together in New York in Thunderbolts*

As most fans predicted, the Thunderbolts come together at the end of the film to create their own team. However, the twist is that they are now officially dubbed the New Avengers. After saving Bob from the Void, the team finally goes to confront Valentina, but she is saved by the arrival of the press. She spins the Thunderbolts into something of her own doing, proudly claiming them as her new team, the New Avengers. It’s not a move that the Thunderbolts are thrilled with, but they know they have enough on Valentina to keep her in line going forward.

Valentina immediately taking credit for the New Avengers obviously had to do with her reputation, but she may genuinely feel like she is responsible for this new team-up, since the Thunderbolts only united because of her, even if it wasn’t under positive circumstances. Fury is a well-known name in-universe and people know him as a huge help to the Avengers. Seeing Fury’s success as a leadership figure to the Avengers was what probably inspired Valentina to do what she did, perhaps thinking that she could eventually rise to his level.

Valentina’s Ties To The New Avengers Makes Their MCU Future All The More Interesting

The New Avengers Will Not Let Valentina Take Full Control

Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Valentina Allegra de Fontaine a.k.a. Val faces the team in Thunderbolts

Considering each New Avengers member’s complicated background, the New Avengers are going to be a team that greatly differs from the original superhero group. Even the members themselves know that their new тιтle is going to cause issues, but they are going along with it because of the power they hold over Valentina. Though she wants to act as a Nick Fury leadership-type figure to this new group, the New Avengers have enough information on Valentina to turn her over to the government at any point.

The Thunderbolts were always seen as a rogue group, and their New Avengers rebrand is Valentina’s attempt to make them more palatable for the general public. However, the group’s essence comes from the fact that no one leader dictated that they come together, which is what will make Valentina’s ties much more interesting. She is arguably under their command despite being their self-appointed leader, and Thunderbolts* setting up a villainous parallel to the iconic Nick Fury is what’s going to make their MCU future all the more interesting.