MAJOR SPOILERS are ahead for the latest of new Marvel movies, Thunderbolts*, now playing only in theaters.
Ever since the title of Thunderbolts was changed to Thunderbolts*, we’ve been suspicious about what the movie is hiding, and now that the film is out in the world, we officially have an answer. The asterisk hullabaloo had everything to do with setting up The New Avengers ahead of Avengers: Doomsday’s release next summer. While I wasn’t exactly surprised about the reveal when the movie reached its end (especially considering we already know the Thunderbolts* cast are part of the Avengers; Doomsday cast), I did become rather confused about another aspect of the post-credits scene.
What the heck is going on with Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson, and why do they appear to be on opposite sides of a feud after their sweet moment in Captain America: Brave New World? Let’s get into it.
Thunderbolts* End Credit Scene Suggests That Bucky Barnes And Sam Wilson Are The Leaders Of Conflicting Avengers Teams, And Excuse Me?!?
The ending of Thunderbolts* has Julia Louis Dreyfus’s Valentina Allegra de Fontaine introducing the world to the New Avengers, which currently consists of Bucky, Yelena, Red Guardian, Ghost, U.S. Agent and Sentry. Of course, as we know, there’s no way this is ultimately going to be the full Avengers lineup, but it promotes the Thunderbolts straight to hero status.
And in the post-credits scene for Thunderbolts*, which takes place 14 months later, the established team is still set up at Avengers Tower together by their lonesome. As we soon learn, Sam Wilson is separately assembling his own Avengers team and is even going after the copyright with a lawsuit. This leads to a hilarious bit where David Harbour’s Red Guardian tries to get everyone on board with calling themselves the Avengers with a “z” – but I was paying attention to another detail during the moment.
Aren’t Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson now buddies? Why would they have conflicting teams to begin with if the pair of original Avengers weren’t on good terms? Is it possible that the public rejected these heroes and they didn’t play nice with Sam Wilson’s Avengers, but they still have Avengers Tower to themselves? What happened?
I’m Officially Confused About The Relationship Between Sam And Bucky Going Into Avengers: Doomsday
To back up a bit, we know that the events of Brave New World have to have been before Thunderbolts* because there’s mention of Red Hulk’s rampage and Bucky isn’t known as an Avenger when he makes his cameo in the Captain America movie (not to mention the exposition that he was running for congress). With all that in mind, there’s clearly a disconnect being illustrated in the post-credits scene when it comes to the relationship between these two heroes.
Now, when it comes to Sam Wilson’s side of things, his reason for setting up an Avengers team seems pretty straightforward after Brave New World, yet not complete. He was warned by Samuel Sterns in the movie's post credits scene about protecting the world against “others,” and he seemed ready to bring together a team after going through his own solo trial with Harrison Ford’s Red Hulk. But I’m not sure what specific threat will actually entice him to get the gang back together. Particularly, I’m curious why Bucky Barnes wouldn’t be instrumental in Sam's plan that if they are on good terms?
It Feels Like It Totally Contradicts What Happens Between Them In Brave New World
This development is especially surprising to me because of Brave New World. When Bucky shows up in the movie, he arrives during Sam’s darkest hour when he’s worried about Joaquín Torres a.k.a. Falcon and isn’t sure he’s cut out to be the next Captain America. In an emotional moment, Sam questions to Bucky why he was chosen by Steve over him, but Bucky comes back with these sweet words:
He gave you that shield not because you're the strongest, but because you're you. You think if you had that serum you'd be able to protect all the people you care about. Steve had it, and he couldn't. You're a human being and you're your best. Steve gave people something to believe in. But you, you give them something to aspire to.
To me, the whole point of this scene was to remind the audience why Sam Wilson is the right man for Captain America, and show how the two friends connected via their relationships with Steve Rogers are stronger than ever. So, I have some major whiplash now that I know that they are in separate corners with their own Avengers teams going into Avengers: Doomsday. Perhaps when the New Avengers goes public Sam doesn’t approve of the team, and they have some kind of disagreement? It does feel like the 14 months time jump is rather specific, so I assume there’s some missing context Marvel wants us to have questions about.
Confusion Aside, I’m Definitely Intrigued By This Development
While I don’t know where they are going with this, I do think it could lead to an interesting dynamic for the full collection of Earth's Mightiest Heroes going into Avengers: Doomsday. Currently, I am picturing the 2026 release starting by following Sam Wilson as he puts together his team with names like Danny Ramirez’s Falcon, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man, Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi, Letitia Wright’s Black Panther and Tenoch Huerta Mejia’s Namor.
And on the other side of the fence, so far we have the Thunderbolts and the Fantastic Four, which they seem to be set to meet just minutes after the post-credits scene ends. All that’s left from the cast list to account for are the X-Men actors, including Channing Tatum’s Gambit and our villain, Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom (both of whom must be from other worlds) to make an entrance.
All that being said, if Bucky and Sam are not playing nice with each other at a time when all these heroes need to come together, it would be kind of fun to see half of the team at odds. Prior to Thunderbolts*, I really didn’t think that would be because of Sam and Bucky, but the more I think about it, these two really are the main anchor of the Avengers now that Tony Stark and Steve Rogers are gone. It was between both of them when it came to Steve passing on the shield, and they have different backgrounds that could easily make them butt heads.
It won’t be long until we find out… just a year! Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on May 1, 2026.
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