Thunderbolts Ending Explained: What Happens to Valentina, Bob and the Group?
Thunderbolts brings together a group of antiheroes from the Marvel universe for a high-risk mission that even the Avengers would not have accepted. Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster, John Walker, and a harmless man named Bob are forced to collaborate under the supervision of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. What starts as a sting operation soon turns into a struggle to survive … and to find out who is using them. The group, made up of outcasts with dark pasts, must face not only external enemies but also their ghosts. Everything gets out of control when The Void appears, the dark version of the almighty Sentry. The premiere of Thunderbolts finally reached theaters. The new film from the Marvel Film Universe features its unusual new team made up of broken toys from its past. Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Guardian Network, Ghost, US Agent, and Taskmaster join forces to deal with a great threat that could destroy all traces of life on the planet. In addition, the film has a highly anticipated debut. Sentry, one of the most powerful characters in comics, lands once and for all at UCM.
There is indeed a kind of fatigue due to the Marvel content, too many have been released and not all have met expectations, but Thunderbolts is one of the most anticipated films of the year and one that breaks with the classic formula that we have seen so far. The film has Florence Pugh, Lewis Pullman, Sebastian Stan, and David Harbor, among others, and it is a story of redemption and second chances, where what we see is a group of former villains working together to carry out an important mission (in favor of humanity), which forces them to face the decisions they made in their pasts and to find a way to become heroes. It is an important film because it connects with the future of the MCU and with other films that are already being developed, and watching it can give many clues about what films to see later and about the direction that Marvel is taking. That said, many of Marvel’s plans have been revealed in post-credit scenes, connecting one movie to another, and that has many wondering if Thunderbolts also has one or two.
Thunderbolts Ending Explained: What Happens to Valentina, Bob and the Group?
In Thunderbolts‘ final stretch, the team faces The Void, Bob’s dark side physical manifestation, the new “Sentry”. Bob, a former addict turned subject to experimentation, has acquired enormous powers, but his dark side threatens to devastate New York. The Thunderbolts enter the Void to rescue Bob from himself, and they succeed. The city is saved … although Bob is quite misplaced after the chaos he has generated. This is when it is revealed that Valentina has manipulated everything: it was she who made Bob the new Sentry through inhuman experiments. When the group goes to unmask it, Val sets them up a media trap: he introduces them live at a press conference as “The New Avengers”, proclaiming that he has been secretly training them. Thus, it cleanses its name, protects its position, and, incidentally, gives a new face to the public image of superheroes in the MCU. But Yelena makes something clear to her ear: “Now we belong to you, yes. But you also belong to us”. In other words, the group knows the truth, and if Val wants to get on with his career, he will have to finance the team and let them operate from the Watch Tower… or risk being exposed.
A Twist out of The Comics
This final scene is very reminiscent of two key moments from Brian Michael Bendis’s comics: the birth of the New Avengers after Avengers Disassembled and the creation of the Dark Avengers, a group of villains who supplanted classical heroes. Marvel Studios has combined both ideas into a smart and amazing movie.
Who Dies in “Thunderbolts*”?
And what about Lucius? In Thunderbolts, the big threat is The Void, but oddly enough, none of the main members of the group dies. There are moments of tension, especially with Ghost and Bucky, but they all survive … at least this time. The real victim is the credibility of Valentina, who is trapped under the blackmail of her team. Bob survives, although visibly affected by the power within him. The rest of the group rethinks their future, now more united than ever, but with internal scars.
Implications for ‘Doomsday’ and the future of the MCU
Credit titles as well as the second post-credit scene, they bring us to the new Valentina formation embracing their new heir group status. However, the newspapers show a population divided between those who welcome the new saving gang and those who dismiss the election. 14 months after the events of Thunderbolts *, we meet them again in the tower that belonged to Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), now their headquarters, discussing the rejection they generate in part of society. Among them, in Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), the new Captain America, who is not very happy with the heirs of the title of Avengers, and has chosen to take the copyright of the name.
Thus, a new ‘civil war’ is looming among the MCU’s head heroes for whom they deserve to be part of the New Avengers, something they will probably address. Doomsday. Hence, all members of the Thunderbolts so far, as well as Wilson and other veterans such as Thor (Chris Hemsworth) or Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), are in the Russo film. While we are convinced that the New Avengers will have more members than the Thunderbolts, such as the heroes now mentioned, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men who arrive, or the Young Avengers we trust will join at some point, It does not stop impacting that the most misfit and gray characters that the MCU has on staff are the original ones to continue the legacy of Tony and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans). This selection also predicts an unexpected and necessary change of course: Other, less perfect and more human heroes will take charge of a universe that has already squeezed the canonical watchers to the fullest. Never did an asterisk have so many implications, nor did it awaken so much hope in the Marvel-lite cinephile heart.
Thunderbolts: The Explanation of the Post-Credits Scenes
As per tradition consolidated in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thunderbolts also does not give up the usual appointment with post-credits scenes. More attentive fans know how much these final inserts can reveal key clues to the future of the shared narrative universe, and the new cinecomic directed by Jake Schreier is no exception. This time, in fact, not only are we given a light and fun moment, but also a sequence that has the potential to shake the entire continuity of the MCU. So let’s see in detail what happens in the two post-credits scenes of Thunderbolts * and why you should sit down to the last frame.
The First Post-Credits Scene. A Fun Moment and a Personal Reward for Red Guardian
The first post-credits content takes us to a daily context, starring Red Guardian, interpreted once again by David Harbor. The scene opens in a supermarket, where the character walks through the shelves with a satisfied expression. The reason? On the cereal shelf stands a package with its image in plain sight.
A banal moment, but it represents the evolution of the character. After living in the shadows as a distorted symbol of Soviet patriotism and facing one’s insecurities during missions with the Thunderbolts *, Red Guardian finally finds recognition in the civilized world. His face on a cereal box then becomes a ransom emblem and, in a sense, a normalization: he is now perceived as a hero by ordinary people.
An ironic and affectionate sequence, which lightly closes Alexei Shostakov’s personal arc, but which also anticipates a turning point in the tones of the next scene.
The Second Post-Credits Scene. The Marvel Universe Expands (again)
The second content is quite different and has all the features to become one of the most discussed moments by fans.
It is Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), the new Captain America, already the protagonist of Brave New World. Let’s see Thunderbolts, now renamed New Avengers, which discusses precisely the legitimacy of that name. Sam is officially building as the new Avengers incarnation, so the name New Avengers is not usable. There are those who, like Red Guardian, propose the name New AvergerZ (with the zeta).
However, the dialogue is interrupted by a sudden alert from space. One appears on the operating room screen massive interdimensional spaceship which is approaching Earth’s orbit. The detail that captures the attention is unequivocal: on the spaceship stands a huge number “4”, an iconic symbol of the Fantastic Four.
This scene, which takes place 14 months after the end of the film’s events and is set after the events of the next film, The Fantastic Four: The Beginnings, out in summer 2025, announces the arrival of the quartet in the heart of the cinematic Marvel universe.
It is a key passage that unites three strands: the Avengers, the Thunderbolts, and now also the Fantastic Four. The ground is therefore ready for Avengers: Doomsday, the first large crossover of the Multiverse Saga, currently in production under the direction of the Russo brothers.
A New Balance in the MCU?
The two post-credits scenes of Thunderbolts offer an interesting double reading. On the one hand, the most human and ironic side of secondary characters, who finally find their dimension outside global conflicts. On the other hand, an explicit reference to the epic scope of the future of the franchise, with increasingly close connections between characters and storylines.
The introduction of the Fantastic Four in the main universe of the MCU is an event that could rewrite the balance of power between the supergroups, especially if we take into account the multiversal and scientific implications that the team members, especially Reed Richards, can bring.
It is not yet clear whether the Avengers and the New Avengers /Thunderbolts will end up clashing or collaborating permanently, but one thing is certain: Marvel is preparing a new narrative phase full of alliances, betrayals, and twists.
With Thunderbolts *, Marvel Studios adds another important element to the post-Endgame mosaic. And if these two final scenes are just a taste, we can expect spectacular developments in the months to come.
