Thunderbolts* Revealed: How the Latest Marvel Film Impacts Your Favorite TV Heroes! (Spoilers)

In the recent MCU Phase 5 team-up movie, Thunderbolts, now showing in cinemas, it was unveiled that John Walker, also known as U.S. Agent from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier—often seen as a quirky imitation of Captain America—has joined the ranks of the Avengers.

Well, kind of.

First announced in September 2022 and initially scheduled for a July 2024 release, which was subsequently delayed three times, Thunderbolts features “a unique squad of antiheroes.” This group includes Yelena Belova (portrayed by Florence Pugh from Black Widow and Hawkeye), Bucky Barnes (a recurring MCU character played by Sebastian Stan), Alexei Shostakov aka Red Guardian (from Black Widow, played by David Harbour), Ava Starr aka Ghost (from Ant-Man 2, portrayed by Hannah John-Kamen), Antonia Dreykov aka Taskmaster (also from Black Widow, played by Olga Kurylenko), and the previously mentioned John Walker aka U.S. Agent (played by Wyatt Russell from Falcon and the Winter Soldier).

And Bob (portrayed by Lewis Pullman from Outer Range).

This group of misfits, self-named “Thunderbolts” after Yelena’s childhood soccer team, find themselves caught in a lethal snare orchestrated by the soon-to-be-ousted CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus from Falcon and the Winter Soldier). They embark on a perilous mission alongside (and occasionally against) Bob, also known as Sentry or The Void. This journey forces them to face the darkest aspects of their histories.

As the movie concludes, following the team’s successful rescue of a beleaguered New York from yet another disaster, Yelena and her team emerge onto a rally stage. Here, Valentina introduces them to the media and spectators as “The New Avengers!” (The ending credits clarify that this was the significance of the asterisk in the Thunderbolts* “placeholder” title, as the asterisk vanishes and transforms into The New Avengers.)

This indicates that John Walker, who first appeared in one of the initial Marvel series on Disney+, has ascended to Avenger status. Other team members like Bucky (also from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Yelena (from Hawkeye), and the rest have also made the leap.

Provided, however, that this “New Avengers” lineup can survive a copyright infringement lawsuit initiated by Bucky’s friend Sam Wilson, who is concurrently assembling his own set of Avengers. Alexei quickly suggests a possible solution (changing the team’s name’s ending letter from S to Z), but this legal dispute is promptly overshadowed when Yelena brings attention to a space crisis—an incursion event shown by footage of a spaceship, marked with the Fantastic Four logo, entering New York’s atmosphere.

The film then confirms that “The New Avengers.. and Bob… Will Return.” This isn’t entirely new information, given the early cast announcement for Avengers: Doomsday, which is currently in production.