Now that Thunderbolts* is available to watch on home media, it should inspire viewers to watch a litany of other MCU shows and movies. As a team-up movie featuring multiple pre-established characters, it is one of the most referential MCU movies since Avengers: Endgame, alluding to several prior installments throughout its runtime.

The fact that Thunderbolts* ultimately turned out to be an origin movie for the New Avengers is therefore fitting. After rallying together against Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and the Void, the unlikely team of heroes was re-branded as the government-sanctioned New Avengers, with the Thunderbolts* post-credits scene showing them to be operating within the old Avengers Tower.

Thanks to the team being composed of some wildly entertaining characters, with stand-out actors like Florence Pugh delivering some of the best performances in the MCU, Thunderbolts* is now one of the MCU’s most acclaimed installments. It also makes catching up on the team’s past work an even more enticing prospect, especially as they are also some of the MCU’s best installments.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain America: The Winter Soldier was released in MCU Phase 2 and set a new bar for the MCU’s overall quality. It picks up with the тιтular hero after the events of The Avengers, but also reintroduces Bucky Barnes as the тιтular villain, revealing that he had been captured and brainwashed by HYDRA and subsequently forced to carry out ᴀssᴀssinations.

This is essentially Bucky Barnes’ origin movie, detailing unscrupulous actions he was forced to carry out and would spend the rest of his MCU career regretting and attempting to make amends for. Thunderbolts* doesn’t depict Bucky Barnes’ shame room experience, although it likely involved events from this story, such as his brutal final fight with his best friend, Steve Rogers.

His time as the Winter Soldier likely contributed to his motive to impeach Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, a high-ranking government official who isn’t above using unscrupulous methods to get her way. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is another reminder of the MCU’s quality after Thunderbolts* was so well-received.

Ant-Man And The Wasp

Although she didn’t receive as much of the spotlight as characters like Yelena Belova, Ava Starr’s return to the MCU in Thunderbolts* was a reminder of her charisma and appeal. It is the first time that Ghost has been seen since Ant-Man and the Wasp, where she debuted as the arch-villain with a tragic backstory.

Ghost is a classic example of the MCU’s stellar track record with its villains. Nevertheless, Thunderbolts* arguably left fans wanting more of Ava Starr and her phasing abilities, especially as Hannah John-Kamen delivered an almost effortlessly cool performance in Thunderbolts*.

Ant-Man and the Wasp, despite being a relatively self-contained movie, ultimately became one of the most consequential, as it debuted the game-changing concept of the Quantum Realm. Now that Ghost is a member of the New Avengers, it has become doubly important to watch to keep abreast of her origin story as Avengers: Doomsday approaches.

Black Widow

As Thunderbolts*‘ de facto protagonist, Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova steals the show. She made her MCU debut in Black Widow, where she is introduced as Natasha Romanoff’s adoptive sister and Alexei Shostakov’s adoptive daughter. As such, it is an important watch in relation to two New Avengers. The Black Widow post-credits scene also debuts Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.

Black Widow is a lesser-known MCU installment but enjoyable nonetheless. Just as she did in Thunderbolts*, Florence Pugh delivers a fantastic performance in Black Widow. This is the first instance in which her skills as a Red Room ᴀssᴀssin are showcased, providing additional context to the contents of her shame room experiences and her relationship with Red Guardian.

Black Widow also depicts another, more playful side to Yelena Belova that she is deprived of in Thunderbolts* as she wrestles with her feelings of unfulfillment and regret. As Yelena now looks set to head up her own superhero team in Avengers: Doomsday, Black Widow delivers an in-depth look at her origins.

Hawkeye

Although Hawkeye doesn’t appear in Thunderbolts*, his self-тιтled series prominently features Yelena Belova. The super ᴀssᴀssin appears at first as an enemy of Clint Barton, having been hired by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine to ᴀssᴀssinate the ex-Avenger whom Yelena believes is responsible for her sister, Natasha Romanoff’s, death.

Hawkeye further fleshes out Yelena’s story ahead of Thunderbolts* and Avengers: Doomsday​​​​​​, and contextualizes her relationship with Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. With Hawkeye also being a hero who just punches and shoots, its action sequences are also evocative of the expertly choreographed Thunderbolts*.

The Falcon And The Winter Soldier

Thunderbolts* requires a significant amount of prior knowledge gleaned from other MCU installments. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is arguably the most important of these, as not only does it depict the deepest look yet at Bucky Barnes’ post-Winter Soldier mentality, but it debuts another New Avenger, John Walker.

John’s activities in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier are referenced multiple times in Thunderbolts*. Walker’s disgraced tenure as Captain America is a focal point of the series, establishing Walker as distinctly unlikable before largely reforming his image ahead of Thunderbolts*.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier also features Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, who winds up hiring John Walker for the first time in the show. It delivers an in-depth look at two of Thunderbolts* most important and entertaining characters, who will likely play even larger roles in future MCU installments.