Thunderbolts For The Post-Sokovia Accords MCU?

[Ascended]

So in one of the MCU threads we were talking about what comes after Avengers 3 and 4 and what 2020's schedule will look like.

And I was thinking, the Avengers are essentially non-existent now. The only ones who aren't wanted felons are Tony, Vision, and Rhodes (who'll likely be on active duty again by Infinity War). And Ross isn't too thrilled with Tony. Plus there's no knowing how many heroes might not make it out of the next batch of movies.

So if I were Ross and the Avengers were broken (and Marvel needed a new property to introduce), I might take the opportunity to pull an Amanda Waller and recruit some villains to the cause of protecting America, or whatever it is Ross is telling himself his crusade is about.

But who? The MCU has a bad habit of killing off it's villains, and generally doesnt develop them enough for anyone to give a damn anyway. But there's a few bad guys out there who might fit the bill.

Abomination. Last we saw him he was laying at Ross' feet after being defeated by Hulk. Haven't seen anything from him since. He's likely been stuck in the Raft.

The Leader. The Incredible Hulk film shows Sterns beginning to transform but we have no idea what becomes of him. I read that a MCU tie-in comic had the Black Widow shoot him in the leg before taking him into SHIELD custody though. Regardless of where he's been since 2008 he might make a good addition.

Zemo. Although his role in Civil War was pretty weak and his plot was ridiculous and convoluted, a lot could still be done with him.

Justin Hammer. Someone's gotta outfit these guys right? And since Stark stopped making weapons Hammer Industries has been the go-to arms supplier for the military (as has been referenced a couple times). A returning cameo could be fun.

Deathlok. The movies only do subtle shout-outs to the tv side of the MCU but we haven't seen Deathlok since season 2 of Agents of SHIELD, so perhaps it'd be possible. Honestly I have no idea what became of him but I dont think he died, and its not like that would actually be a problem anyway. It might be fun to bring that character (or a new Deathlok, there's dozens of them!) into play, and the original's connection to SHIELD makes for an easy introduction. And even if its someone new under the zombie cybernetics it could add a sense of consistency to the wider MCU. Speaking of....

The Punisher. Yeah, I know, this isnt gonna happen (and likely shouldnt). But Frank Castle would make a damn fine addition to the MCU Thunderbolts.

Winter Soldier. After all the trouble Steve went to getting Bucky's name cleared, it'd be ironic if Bucky ended up working for Ross, and the Soldier would bring some much needed name recognition to the party.

Mordo. Not sure about this one at all, but I dont see Ross giving a damn about Mordo's plans for magic. They might be able to find a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Anyone else who might make a solid addition? And if Marvel did a Thunderbolts film, what would the plot be? Who would the threat be? Any ideas or thoughts?

[Digifiend]

No. Just use the classic roster. After the villains in disguise thing is revealed, which would be early on (it was at the end of the first issue in the comics), they could show the established heroes fighting the future Thunderbolts in flashback. For example, Iron Man vs Fixer, Ant-Man vs Goliath, Spider-Man vs Beetle, Captain Marvel vs Moonstone, Captain America vs Zemo, and Scarlet Witch vs Screaming Mimi? Then, as in the comics, they find they enjoy being good guys (show them beating up some B-list villains), and turn on Zemo. Hawkeye would then show up and help them fight him (in the comics, the Avengers outed them but Hawkeye defected to the T-Bolts after Zemo was already out of the picture). Jolt's involvement is optional.

[Frontier]

I think, given we've seen the classic T-Bolts get both a relaunched comic and a big debut in the Avengers Assemble cartoon, there's a good potential to see them show up in the MCU as well.

And I imagine something T-Bolts/Masters of Evil related is why Zemo survived Civil War and Marvel Studios claims there are "big plans" for him.

They'd probably just have to gloss over their villain identities, since you we're probably past the point of Marvel Studios introducing several one-shots villains to appear in a Thunderbolts movie.

[CraigTheCylon]

Yeah, I had more or less the same thought about General Ross trying to build his own team after having such a falling-out with the Avengers. A few of the same picks too, albeit also some different ones:

Helmut Zemo as Citizen V
Ross just might be angry enough to ignore the obvious legal and ethical quandaries in putting a convicted terrorist on work probation. Zemo, for his part, will have grown restless from confinement, especially since the Thunderbolts movie would likely be in Phase 4 and he'll have already heard that the Avengers are back in business despite his best efforts to shatter them. He now sees the potential in fighting fire with fire, and agrees to all of Ross' conditions - including masking his identity behind a garish costume styled after a country that isn't his own - as it's step one in building his own power base. On the field he's team tactician, away from the spotlight he slowly works his way into the confidences of his fellow T-Bolts in hopes of twisting their loyalty to the team into loyalty purely to him.

Emil Blonsky/Rick Jones as the Abomination/A-Bomb
Abomination remains one of the depressingly few MCU powered villains left notably alive after their one spotlight movie, and since it's apparently okay to reference The Incredible Hulk now there's no reason not to try getting Tim Roth back to shout and sweat through the long years of gamma-neutralizing withdrawals he's been suffering in captivity. The chance of regaining his nigh-godlike strength is too tempting to pass up even with so many conditions meant to keep him in check. One of those conditions is that of his 'secret identity'. Post-Harlem throwdown, the Abomination's face was all over the news; people know to fear him, and that's no use for a hero. Nor is Blonsky's own less-than-stable attitude. A two-fold solution was conceived. First, tweaking the mixed-up formula that makes Blonsky hulk out changes Abomination's physique enough to make him pass as another monster altogether (maybe give him the scaled skin and frilled 'ears' of his comic self, who knows). Second, a stand-in is used to pose as Abomination's human form in Blonsky's stead for the inevitable media appearances. Said stand-in is Rick Jones, a chipper D.O.D. intern and massive Hulk fan. When things kick off, Jones takes a powder and Abomination - or A-Bomb as he's rechristened - makes a dramatically timed appearance. Needless to say all this cloak and daggers business is deeply wearisome for Blonsky.

Melissa Gold as Screaming Mimi/Songbird
New character introduced for this film. Melissa discovered her eardrum-shattering sonic scream powers aged 17, and used them to start a career in the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation, a legally-grey underground wrestling promotion exclusively employing talent with superhuman abilities, of which there are increasingly many around New York. When one of the promoters stiffed her on a paycheck, she resorted to attacking him in a parking lot and wound up arrested. The T-Bolts are simply a way for Melissa to cut down her sentence...at first. But pretty soon the hero's life grows on her, and while she appreciates Zemo's leadership and moral support of her, ultimately she will be forced to stand against him. The program also kits her out with her fancy choker-harness that uses her natural screaming to fuel solid-sound projections.

Abner Jenkins as The Beetle/MACH-1
Another new character. Abe is the kind of guy who's just smart enough to suss out how a lot of Iron Man's tech works purely from watching video clips of it, and reverse-engineer said tech into a less sophisticated but nevertheless effective suit of his own. Alas, he's also the kind of guy dumb enough to put himself into massive debt paying for all the hardware, and turn to petty theft in order to pay the bills. On his first bust, he gets his ass handed to him by Spider-Man (cameo woot) and that was that. Another prison find for the T-Bolts, Abe agrees to go along with it on the condition that the government settles his debts, and sticks around mostly due to falling immediately in one-sided love with Melissa. He doesn't have anywhere near her moral character and is actively afraid of confrontation, so when the chips are down it takes a lot of convincing for Abe not to just slink back to his cell, where at the very least the loan sharks can't get him.

Karla Sofen as Moonstone/Meteorite
Not necessarily a new character: ideally I'd introduce her as featured supporting cast in Captain Marvel, including some part where she happens across and steals her namesake power source. Karla has an enormous superiority complex and would have spent most of her screentime before now doing therapy work for a stubborn, self-critical USAF hotshot that's recently mutated into a human nuke; having now gained powers of her own, Karla figures this hero stuff will be a walk in the park. Her early 'victories', however, are met with...less than positive reactions, due to her gloryhogging antics and lack of concern for other peoples' property. Ross and Zemo offer her a re-do and (what she considers to be) a bunch of second-stringers to dot the 'i's while she does the cool stuff, and Karla swallows just enough pride to go along with it. Her acidic tongue proves to be a liability, especially since her new powers mean she has no reason to fear reprisal in most cases, and she loves tearing Melissa and Abe a new one whenever they pipe up. But Karla is a complicated person, and her love for the spotlight might accidentally lead her down the right path.

Amora the Enchantress as the 'Jade Sorceress'
New introduction, and yes I made that name up. Anyway, Amora would've left Asgard at some point between The Dark World and Ragnarok, spent a year or two running a very successful casino and *cough* adult entertainment venue, before getting arrested for tax irregularities. Specifically, she never paid them because she didn't know what they were. It was only after her 16th cell escape that the government started to realize who/what they were dealing with. Amora point-blank refuses all of Ross' pleas, but a meeting with Zemo makes her change her mind and sign up. It turns out there's nothing more interesting to her than the one man who can resist her powers of persuasion - the one whose heart is a black chasm too deep to ever fill with affection. Forced to wear a masked get-up, with a codename some say deliberately chosen to call out Wanda Maximoff, Amora offers the T-Bolts an edge against supernatural threats, and is responsible for keeping a lid on any botched operations or collateral damage through illusion-casting and mindwipes. Her ultimate goal is unclear, but she seems content to remain with Zemo for now, quietly confident that she can kill him instantly the moment he becomes a threat to her...or simply stops being amusing.

Haven't really figured out a full plot layout, but it should be pretty straightforward. Opening triumphant battle with T-Bolts looking like Big Goddamn Heroes leads into them being transported back to base under guard, flashbacks to establish who's who, plotting of next few operations showing behind-the-scenes power struggle between Ross and Zemo, one or two more setpieces with characters growing more defined, interspersed with Zemo worming his way into everyone's heads, then the team make a daring escape and the military come down on them - but it's all a mirage from Amora while Zemo launches an assault on the now-unguarded HQ from within. Zemo gets a working registry of every known superhuman criminal, and prepares to turn the HQ's defenses against Ross and his troops as they return, but faces dissension in the ranks from Melissa, Abe and Rick. Zemo is too smart a fighter for them, and Abomination looks set to squash them flat - when Karla decides to lay out Blonsky and side with the people she's been relentlessly mocking this whole time. Unwilling to be caught between 2 enemy sides, Zemo gets Amora to magically transport Blonsky and himself out, while Melissa, Abe, Rick and Karla are left to be recaptured by Ross.

Thus, the film ends with a shaken and depleted - but determined and heroic - Thunderbolts team pleading their case to be let out since they know Zemo better than anyone now and have the best chance of stopping him...and Baron Zemo heading up a proto-Masters of Evil with the potential to add any other suitable villains to the ranks in future.

[Inversed]

I could see them making Thunderbolts down the road, but I don't think it'd happening anytime soon, especially because Infinity War seems to basically have all the Avengers come right back together again, and a new team will be formed by the end of Avengers 4. So when Thunderbolts is a thing, it'll probably be it's own thing, with Avengers still around.

Also they might want to wait a few years just to be sure no one will decide to label this film as "Marvel's Suicide Squad."