Possible Thunderbolts movie; which team/era?

[pageturner]

To really go with the Thunderbolts theme, it would make sense to build the cinematic Thunderbolts out of villains we've already seen in the Marvel cinematic universe.

That said, movies tend to kill off their villains, or otherwise render them unusable for this sort of story-arc. Obadiah Stane's dead. Ivan Vanko is dead. Killian is dead. Mandarin wasn't real. Malekith and Kurse are dead (and neither they nor Loki would really work on a Thunderbolts team, and other Thor villains who might, like the Enchantress and Executioner, haven't been introduced).

The only surviving bad-guy from the Cap, Thor, Iron Man and Avengers movies thus far is Frank Grillo, who isn't even Crossbones yet anyway... Add the Abomination, from one of the Hulk movies, I suppose.

While I would very much prefer the original Thunderbolts; Songbird, Moonstone, Fixer, Atlas, etc., they haven't been introduced as villains in the cinematic universe, and so the entire premise of them being former villains is kind of empty. "Ooh, these new heroes are actually people you've never heard of that apparently have criminal records! Woo!"

Agents of SHIELD, being written as a serial storyline (like comic books themselves), is doing a better job of not murdering off all of it's villains, and leaving behind a few characters suitable for a Thunderbolts style storyline, with characters like Deathlok and Lorelei.

That would be a big hurdle especially since most of the bad guys die in the movies.

It would be hard to make them the transition from bad guy to good guy have any weight if you crammed it all in one movie. If you wanted to build that it would take years to get to a tbolts movie.
If the Dark Avengers team or the current teams approach you get the story moving a lot quicker. Personally I would like a version of Rulk's team.

[Doc Omega]

I'd like the team that really were ex-villians looking for redemption. I can't remember the exact roster

Mach IV
Atlas
Genis-vell
Whatever the Fixer was calling himself

[HUTHAIFA]

The original makes the most sense, the story of redemption being a powerful one. You could bring in fake mandarin and Justin hammer as a part of the scam.

[Dabrikishaw]

They will need a lot more living established villains in order to pull it off. Abomination and Loki are good starts but all they have to spare.

[shades of eternity]

abe
melissa

some other guys and gals .

[Draegwolf]

Personally I would prefer they start out with a variation of the team's original incarnation mostly since I want to see Songbird and MACH VII, plus I'm not really a fan of the current team since it really doesn't follow true to what the Thunderbolts are supposed to be. Still I could see it being a good way to salvage Ghost Rider and Electra which were both disasters, and Punisher could work depending on the lineup.

Still my preferred roster would be Songbird, MACH VII, Ghost, Red Hulk, and either Ghost Rider, Blizzard, or Punisher filling in Venom

[Viz]

They will need a lot more living established villains in order to pull it off. Abomination and Loki are good starts but all they have to spare.

Red Skull? Winter Soldier? Arnim Zola? Someone new in Iron Monger?

[Kisinith]

Or go the Usual Suspects route, introduce the characters in the movie as villains at the begining and have them for more selfish/surivval reasons go against a worse or more manipulative villain. Let them use the facade of hero's to try and get close and take down their target. Have the big bad be Zemo and the twist ending is that he was in charge of the group the whole time and that it was all a con and never about him just getting whatever the macguffin plot device was. The reveal at the end is that it wasn't a superhero movie but a heist movie with superpowers.

[Viz]

Or go the Usual Suspects route, introduce the characters in the movie as villains at the begining and have them for more selfish/surivval reasons go against a worse or more manipulative villain. Let them use the facade of hero's to try and get close and take down their target. Have the big bad be Zemo and the twist ending is that he was in charge of the group the whole time and that it was all a con and never about him just getting whatever the macguffin plot device was. The reveal at the end is that it wasn't a superhero movie but a heist movie with superpowers.

Great idea!

Thunderbolts original team is a must for a movie, however if it isn't villains we met already in the movies, it won't work for a big surprise. Also, Marvel movies like to kill the villain at the end of the movie. That makes it difficult to cast them again.

One idea that might work would be to subtly introduce the Masters of Evil in the beginning of the movie, next have the Marvel Heroes disappear or something and then magically this new hero team shows up aka the T-bolts. Other than possibly using say Red Skull for the Baron, I am not sure any other way could work.

[Petotto Parkavius]

While I have loved me some Bolts over the years (especially issues 1-50, written by Busiek and Nicieza and drawn by Bagely), I don't see how the original team could work without first introducing all those characters as villains in future movies. Perhaps they will do so, but even then it would be tough to convincingly pull off a redemption arc in one movie. Zemo and Moonstone are two of my favorite Marvel characters, and even if it's not a Bolts movie, I'd still live to see them as villains in future cap and Avengers movies.

[Cthulhudrew]

Interesting. I was just talking to friends about a Thunderbolts movie earlier.

In terms of what hasn't yet been done on-screen in the MCU, I'd say an Ellis 'Bolts concept would probably be the most unique. Get a group of existing MCU villains (and/or add some new ones) and have them put to work Suicide Squad style for the government.

In terms of what I think would be the best way to do it, particularly given Marvel's ability to stretch plot elements across multiple films in an unprecedented way- would be to go with Kurt Busiek's original concept, introducing a few "new" heroes across the course of several movies, and then in one film have them suddenly turn out to be villains (the Masters of Evil) masquerading as heroes all along. You'd have one massive Avengers/Masters of Evil movie, and the remnants of that fallout could then become your Thunderbolts.

[Cthulhudrew]

The only surviving bad-guy from the Cap, Thor, Iron Man and Avengers movies thus far is Frank Grillo, who isn't even Crossbones yet anyway... Add the Abomination, from one of the Hulk movies, I suppose.

There is also Justin Hammer. You could put a twist on his comic-book shtick of being the financier behind the technology and assemblage of supervillains and have him create his own corporate "Avengers" in the Thunderbolts.

[L.R Johansson]

Going with the original line-up is probably for the best.

However... there are a few problems with this, as has already been stated. In order to get around this, I feel that a few changes have to be made.

Have the entire movie be about these new, mysterious heroes, who interact with several of the established Avengers, gaining their trust. Have it be a big show-down with a powerful villain, like Graviton - have the bolts keep the facade up, throughout the entire movie - display them as sympathetic, yet flawed.

But THEN..! In the end, when patriotic super-leader Citizen V, takes off his mask, with the others assembled around him - HE RIPS OFF A TARPET REVEALING A GIANT HYDRA-SYMBOL!!

HAIL! HAIL! HAIL! * cue the Thunderbolts doing the semi-nazi hydra-greeting to Zemo* HYDRAAA!!

It's the rebirth of everybody's favourite fascist nazi-bastards... It's a form of variation on the Agent Ward -revelation in SHIELD, and the whole hidden Hydra -thing, in Winter Soldier.

Might be a bit derivative and repetitive, but it's the only way to make the Thunderbolts work, in the original conception, in ONE movie.

Of course, it probably wouldn't work anyway - because every reporting of the movie will state that in the original comics they were all revealed to be villains, working for old Captain America -foe, Baron Zemo, associate of Red Skull, Baron Von Strucker, member of Hydra, nazi-scum, etc...

So in essence, the original appeal of the Thunderbolts-reveal, is IMPOSSIBLE in today's world.

[GreenScar1990]

I loved Jeff Parker's Thunderbolts run.

Still, I would much like to have most of the original team members.

Baron Zemo, Songbird, Moonstone, Atlas, Fixer, Hawkeye.

Though I wouldn't mind Mr. Hyde, Troll-Girl, Boomerang, or Satana added to the roster for more diversity.

Now that I think of it, I wouldn't mind seeing a TV or film adaptation of Parker's Agents of Atlas.

[Viz]

Interesting. I was just talking to friends about a Thunderbolts movie earlier.

In terms of what hasn't yet been done on-screen in the MCU, I'd say an Ellis 'Bolts concept would probably be the most unique. Get a group of existing MCU villains (and/or add some new ones) and have them put to work Suicide Squad style for the government.

In terms of what I think would be the best way to do it, particularly given Marvel's ability to stretch plot elements across multiple films in an unprecedented way- would be to go with Kurt Busiek's original concept, introducing a few "new" heroes across the course of several movies, and then in one film have them suddenly turn out to be villains (the Masters of Evil) masquerading as heroes all along. You'd have one massive Avengers/Masters of Evil movie, and the remnants of that fallout could then become your Thunderbolts.

While it hasn't happened in the MCU yet, the concept of bad guys doing good things isn't new. The Dirty Dozen comes to mind. Probably many others. Still T-Bolts would be a great movie.