The Marvel Cinematic Universe concludes Phase 5 with its 36th film, Thunderbolts*. A very unlikely group of characters from assorted movies and shows comes to face what they think is a threat before finding out they really don’t know what’s going on at all.
I’m going to give a brief recap of the history of the group in the comics. There will be spoilers, but it’s to a story that started in 1997, so I kind of feel that the prohibition there is long gone. The team using that name has undergone a lot of different changes.
After one bright initial episode, and a second one that was a lot of fun, Marvel’s What If…? has gotten steadily darker. I’ve commented before that I wonder if the writers are in a contest to see who can come up with the most depressing storyline.
The first, but hopefully not last (rumors abound, but no confirmations) season of the Falcon and the Winter Soldier wraps up with “One World, One People,” the slogan of the Flag-Smashers.
“The World Is Watching” was the perfect title for last episode, as John Walker crossed the line, killing one of the Flag-Smashers in a spectacularly brutal way, and using Cap’s shield to do it. Now, the ramifications roil through the world of the major characters as everyone tries to figure out what to do next.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has done a great job of exploring the post-Blip world. The complications were largely glossed over in Spider-Man: Far From Home, and WandaVision has a somewhat tighter focus. In a world that’s been through so much, and lost two high-profile heroes like Iron Man and Captain America, it makes sense there’s a lot of upheaval going on.
One of things I enjoy so much about the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the way they circle back to tie up loose ends you might not even have thought of. All the Easter Eggs are great, too, but I really like how they devote some thought to “What have we not cleared up so far?”
They keep that high bar going, and we learn about the new Captain America they introduced us to, with “Star Spangled Man.” Even the title is a callback to Captain America history, which happens a lot in this episode.
We get to see a bit of characters actually having lives, which has been largely lacking in the MCU (do I need to say why either Tony Stark or Wanda’s “homelife” doesn’t count?). Sam Wilson and James “Bucky” Barnes are trying to find their places in the “New World Order.”
ComicBookClog 