Thunderbolts: What Does Asterisk Mean? Here is the Official Explanation
The title Thunderbolts has been discussed since its announcement. It is not common for a blockbuster of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to include an asterisk in the official name of a film, and this detail has immediately fueled theories, speculations, and questions from fans. Now that the film has been released in theaters, we can finally explain clearly and definitively the meaning of the asterisk.
Thunderbolts: A Name Born By Chance
Within the narrative, the name “Thunderbolts” is not the result of an official decision, let alone a government initiative. During one of the initial scenes of the film, the group of characters, formed by Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, John Walker, Taskmaster, Ghost, and others, finds itself involved in a high-risk mission. In the middle of a moment of pause, Yelena tells a personal anecdote related to her childhood: as a child, in Russia, she was part of a football team called “Thunderbolts”.
The sharing of this memory brings the group, up to that moment made up of wary and dysfunctional individuals, to use that name as an informal nickname. The term “Thunderbolts”, therefore, becomes a sort of temporary label, almost affectionate, born from below and shared spontaneously among the team members.
Valentina Allegra De Fontaine’s Move
It is only in the final part of the film that the asterisk in the title assumes its true narrative meaning. After the defeat of the main villain and the completion of the mission, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine – Machiavellian mind behind the formation of the group – surprisingly convenes a press conference. Here, in a strategic move to take control of the public narrative, Valentina officially presents the group not as the Thunderbolts, but as the New Avengers.
This statement radically changes the perception of the team: from improvised anti-hero band to new official face of global defense, especially at a time when the real “Avengers appear to be absent or missing. In this context, the asterisk becomes a visual signal that recalls the temporary nature of the name “Thunderbolts”. In other words, the title Thunderbolts * indicates that that name has never been definitive, but a transitory nickname destined to disappear in front of the new public identity imposed by Val.
A Narrative (and Communicative) Choice
This narrative gimmick reflects perfectly the irony and complexity of the characters involved, but it also has a metatextual function. The asterisk in the title of the film is, in fact, also a comment on marketing and the perception of names in the Marvel universe, where the brand “Avengers” has a fundamental symbolic and commercial weight. Choosing to title the film Thunderbolts and not New Avengers allows you to build a path of growth and redefinition around the team, which culminates in the final act.
Furthermore, this development opens the door to the possible evolution of the team within the MCU, especially given Avengers: Doomsday. Some of the characters introduced into the film will return to the next choral film, confirming that the “Thunderbolts” was only a step in their transition to a new central role within the Marvel universe. The mysterious asterisk in the title Thunderbolts is not just a graphic habit, but a narrative key that summarizes the fluid identity of the leading group. It is the visible sign of an internal transformation, of an identity under construction that, from an improvised team, aims to become the new backbone of the MCU.
