Marvel’s Thunderbolts was officially confirmed to be coming this past weekend at San Diego Comic-Con, formally putting the rumors and theories to bed about whether or not Marvel Studios would be doing this movie.
This team may have been recently confirmed to be coming, but that doesn’t mean that the team hasn’t already been set up, with projects like Black Widow, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Hawkeye setting the team up. Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ character, Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, looks to be the one that will be putting the team together for the upcoming movie.
The biggest and most likely candidates as members of this team are Kate Bishop (Hawkeye), Baron Zemo, Winter Soldier, Yelena Belova, U.S. Agent, Taskmaster, Ghost, and Abomination. If you go on social media, these are the characters you will almost always see mentioned as going to be part of the lineup. However, going over these likely members is not what we are trying to do here; instead, we will go over the more unlikely members who still have a possibility of joining the lineup.
No lineup has been confirmed, but these are the 10 unexpected MCU characters that we believe the Contessa could also be scouting out for her Thunderbolts team.
Samuel “The Leader” Stern
Unexpected MCU Characters We Want on the Thunderbolts Squad
The Leader is a Hulk villain that was only seen in his human form all the way back in The Incredible Hulk. This movie was a long time ago, so you’re forgiven if you don’t remember him, but he was a scientist, Samuel Sterns, who assisted Bruce Banner while he was on the run. After Bruce and Betty Ross showed up for help, which the scientist couldn’t provide, a standoff occurred between Bruce and Thaddeus Ross.
Meanwhile, Emil Blonsky forces Sterns to help him, resulting in Blonsky fulling turning into the Abomination, causing an accident in the lab that makes Sterns come into contact with Banner’s blood. While we do end up seeing Samuel Sterns begin to mutate due to the blood, we never see the aftermath, leading us to question what happened to him. It’s clear that the end was meant to set him up as the villain The Leader, a villain he becomes in the comics, but we never got to see that.
This is a thread that has been floating around for basically as long as the MCU has been around, but given that Abomination was in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and is in the upcoming She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, maybe we can finally get to see The Leader in action. With Sterns’ old pal Blonsky likely joining the Thunderbolts, why can’t he do the same?
Sharon Carter
Unexpected MCU Characters We Want on the Thunderbolts Squad
Sharon Carter, aka Agent 13, aka The Power Broker, we last saw Sharon in the end-credits scene of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, where she was officially pardoned by the U.S. government but still is looking to proceed down her villainous path. Carter ended up becoming a character who is in between anti-hero and full-on villain, something that describes a lot of what the Thunderbolts are about, giving her another reason to show up here. Also, with characters like Winter Soldier, U.S. Agent, and Baron Zemo being likely members of the Thunderbolts, this reestablished relationship that she has with them could make her fit in with the group well.
It is also worth noting that fans tended to not be on board with this shift in Sharon Carter, so a movie like Marvel’s Thunderbolts would not only be an excellent place for her to show up next but could provide a way for Sharon to go on a path towards redemption as well
Batroc the Leaper
Unexpected MCU Characters We Want on the Thunderbolts Squad
This is another character included on this list due to his proximity to the world of Captain America, a world that is likely bringing a lot of characters into the team. We last saw Batroc in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the same place we last saw Sharon, Zemo, and U.S. Agent, where he assisted in the Flag Smashers in the final battle until revealed to truly working with the Power Broker, Sharon.
Sharon decided to turn on Batroc and seemingly killed him, but his death was left open enough that he certainly could later be revealed as surviving the encounter. Batroc would undoubtedly fit in with the team, given his criminal status, and with Valentina Allegra de Fontaine being involved in the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it’s reasonable to think that the French criminal caught her eye.
Trish “Hellcat” Walker
Unexpected MCU Characters We Want on the Thunderbolts Squad
Jessica Jones’ former best friend, Trish Walker, was captured by the private detective after turning into a vengeful killer. Walker became a vigilante and wanted to help her best friend and adoptive sister after seeing all the good Jessica could do with her powers. After her mother’s death, though, Walker became much more vengeful and violent, killing her mother’s killer, after which she decided to escape the country. Jessica was able to take Trish Walker, or Hellcat, down and was convinced by Luke Cage that the best place to send Hellcat was to the Raft.
As far as we know, Hellcat has remained in the Raft ever since the Jessica Jones Season 3 finale, making her an excellent candidate for a member of the Thunderbolts. The Raft is the place where the Thunderbolts might be located, which would mean that Hellcat would have all eyes on her from the Contessa and whoever she works for/with.
Trish Walker isn’t a true villain, more of an anti-hero with a harsh code of justice, something that makes her a perfect fit with the team as that describes most of them. The Marvel Netflix shows are being brought back, with Daredevil characters being the first to return. There are rumors that Jessica Jones may be next, which makes the inclusion of Hellcat in future projects even more likely.
Willis “Diamondback” Stryker
Unexpected MCU Characters We Want on the Thunderbolts Squad
The half-brother of Luke Cage, Willis Stryker, confronted Cage in his war against the unbreakable man in Harlem. As Stryker was born out of wedlock, he was the lesser child in the eyes of Luke Cage’s father, causing resentment to build up in Diamondback despite being brotherly with Cage.
Diamondback would have an arsenal of weapons that could be used against his half-brother, including a suit that boosted his strength and durability and bullets that can pierce Luke Cage’s skin. In the end, Luke Cage ended up defeating his half-brother and got him sent away to what would later be revealed as the Raft.
In the Jessica Jones Series finale, Luke Cage made Jessica feel better about sending Hellcat to the Raft by citing that it is where he sent his very own brother, of course, meaning that both Trish and Willis are in the same prison. This means that Val has easy access to Stryker as well, so if she’s going to stop over and get Zemo, she could also get Hellcat and Diamondback as they are likely only a few cell blocks over.
W’Kabi
Unexpected MCU Characters We Want on the Thunderbolts Squad
The former head of security of Wakanda and husband to Okoye, W’Kabi, was played by the fantastic Daniel Kaluuya, who unfortunately isn’t going to return to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever due to Nope commitments. This means that we won’t see more of the relationship between him and Okoye anytime soon, which is tragic as it could’ve been something really interesting but was overshadowed during Black Panther. W’Kabi and Okoye found themselves at odds during Black Panther due to Killmonger, resulting in W’Kabi being arrested by his love at the end of the final battle.
W’Kabi is imprisoned somewhere, but his exact location is unknown at the moment, something that would make him coming over to Marvel’s Thunderbolts a bit challenging. A big reason why he is on this list is that it would be great to see more of the Wakanda characters crossing over, but also because we would take having Kaluuya be in anything.
For all we know, the Wakandans could have handed W’Kabi over to the Raft as they did with Zemo, though this is unlikely and would defeat many of the purposes of the Wakanda story. Instead, perhaps W’Kabi is on the run somewhere and comes to interact with the Thunderbolts, or perhaps the Thunderbolts’ mission has them cross paths with the Wakandan in Africa, as who’s to say that all the Thunderbolts members need to be members right off the bat.
Mac “Scorpion” Gargan
Unexpected MCU Characters We Want on the Thunderbolts Squad
This is a character who might get bogged down due to Sony having the rights to the Spider-Man characters, but let’s put that aside for a minute and acknowledge two of his characters who are already in the MCU and would be perfect fits.
First, there’s Scorpion, aka Mac Gargan, who some people may not have realized was featured in Spider-Man: Homecoming, as he was just in his human form in the movie, portrayed by Michael Mando. The only reference in the film to Gargan’s supercriminal self was that he had a tattoo of a scorpion on his neck, something that could actually be used as a plot point if the character were to show up again, namely in Marvel’s Thunderbolts. Perhaps Mac Gargan uses the scorpion tattoo as a source of inspiration for his criminal name or even maybe for a super suit he gets his hands on or even designs.
Scorpion could be a fantastic addition to the Thunderbolts team as he is obviously in prison, and if he has his hands on a super suit, he could be extremely deadly. A big reason to want to have him on the team is that Michael Mando would be a fantastic addition to the cast.
He has incredibly unrealized potential, given that he never donned the iconic suit and was relegated to being a minor villain in the movie. He was additionally in Spider-Man: Homecoming’s end-credits scene, where he was teased as being a bit more critical going forward, something that never came to fruition.
Aaron ” The Prowler” Davis
Unexpected MCU Characters We Want on the Thunderbolts Squad
Another character who’s unlikeliness to show up – due to the Sony rights – is Aaron Davis, who debuted in Spider-Man: Homecoming, an appearance that was extremely unceremonious and one that deserves redemption. The uncle to Miles Morales, the inclusion of Aaron Davis could’ve been a big deal, but instead, he got relegated to having pretty much a glorified cameo in that he was only in two scenes in the movie.
This is a man who would go on to become the anti-hero, the Prowler, who, if Marvel could work out a deal with Sony, could be a huge deal for this movie and provide some much-needed redemption for not only the character within the MCU but also the way the character was treated. Donald Glover deserves more time to shine as the character, as he certainly deserves more time as the character as we never even got to see him in any sort of costume.
Furthermore, if you need evidence as to why this character deserves to have more screentime, look no further than Sony’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse movie, where the Prowler was an epic anti-hero who looked incredible in his fight scenes. If we can get even a fraction of this, it could provide a major assist to the fight scenes in said movie, which is where he comes in with Marvel’s Thunderbolts.
Not only would he be a perfect fit with the team as an anti-hero who could be looking for redemption, but he could be a standout character.
Justin Hammer
Unexpected MCU Characters We Want on the Thunderbolts Squad
Justin Hammer was one of the villains in Iron Man 2, where he was a jealous rival of Tony Stark and planned to take him down by one-upping his Iron Man suits. After breaking out and using Ivan Vanko, Vanko betrayed Hammer, causing his crimes to go public, resulting in his arrest. He ended up being imprisoned where Trevor Slattery was, resulting in Hammer being interviewed during the Marvel One-Shot: All Hail the King, which was the last project we saw the Iron Man 2 villain in.
This was years ago, so who’s to say that Hammer isn’t out and about again, where he is maybe even providing black market weapons. He is the one person on this list who doesn’t have powers and/or abilities, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t provide services in other ways.
Perhaps Justin Hammer could still be in prison and is recruited into the Thunderbolts, not as a field member, but instead helping with the weapons that the team needs, as this is a squad that enjoys having some serious weaponry.
Ghost Rider
Unexpected MCU Characters We Want on the Thunderbolts Squad
Ghost Rider is undoubtedly one of the most unlikely MCU characters to appear in Marvel’s Thunderbolts, but this doesn’t mean that he can’t make for a fantastic addition to the roster. While it is the Johnny Blaze version of the character who has served as a member in the comics, the Robbie Reyes version of the character is much more likely to appear in the MCU this soon due to already being a supporting character in the fourth season of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
This is a series that has proven to have a hardcore and dedicated fanbase as the series not only ran for seven seasons, but the show has majorly trended on Twitter multiple times in the years since going off the air. Having Robbie Reyes version in Marvel’s Thunderbolts could have this fanbase rally around the movie if he is portrayed by the man who portrayed him in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Gabriel Luna.
While this would be a great business reason to include the character, there is also the matter of how having him could work creatively and how he would work with the team, which shows why this unlikely character would be amazing. For starters, Marvel Studios wouldn’t need to do an origin story for the character and could thrust the character into the movie right away with little explanation, making him an easy character to bring in quickly.
We have no idea what happened to Robbie Reyes after season 4 of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., as he was supposed to have his own TV series for Hulu, but this was canceled as the team would go on to cite as being because of “Creative Differences.”
The Ghost Rider would obviously be a person of interest for Val, so perhaps she could even send her squad after the Ghost Rider, either the Johnny Blaze version or the Robbie Reyes one. Having Ghost Rider in Marvel’s Thunderbolts would be a fantastic choice as there are not only story reasons to do it, but it would also get fans even more hyped for this movie.
