‘Thunderbolts*’ Asterisk Meaning Revealed
With Marvel’s latest blockbuster Thunderbolts* now in theatres, we finally know the meaning of the mysterious asterisk at the end of the title.
When Marvel first premiered the teaser trailer for Thunderbolts* back in September, many finished the trailer confused as the title card displayed an asterisk about the end of the logo. This asterisk would go on to be a major part of the marketing campaign being highlighted in almost every promotional video and even used as the focus in some posters.
Kevin Feige even went on to say that they “won’t talk about the asterisk until after release [of the film].” during 2024’s Comic Con hinting that this asterisk may hold special value. With Thunderbolts* now available in theatres, we finally know the meaning of the asterisk.
What Does The Asterisk In Thunderbolts* Mean?
WARNING: Spoilers for the movie ahead
While most of the posters used taglines such as “Careful who you assemble”, “Everyone deserves a second shot” or “Not Super, Not Heroes, Not Giving Up”. There was one poster with an interesting disclaimer message stating “*The Avengers are not available”. This was the first hint we got to the greater meaning of the mysterious asterisk.
Throughout the movie, there are many references to a super team not being available to save the day from a threat. As a result, Val sees creating a superhero as her opportunity to get good press and be saved from being impeached. Her great plan is to test on humans in order to craft the perfect one, but this goes wrong when it works earlier than expected and Bob gets given god-level powers.
Whilst he wears the suit and entertains Val’s ideas, he eventually realises that he doesn’t have to listen to her and fights back, causing The Void to be unleashed.
Of course, the Thunderbolts manage to stop him and are about to head for Val when she leads them through a fallen piece of debris right into a press conference, where she claims she has been building this team and announces them to the world as The New Avengers, which is revealed to be the meaning behind the asterisk in the final credits when Thunderbolts* changes to The New Avengers.
Thunderbolts* is directed by Jake Schreier and stars Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell and more. The film is available now in theatres.
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