Thunderbolts* was released the other day. Geekly hasn’t yet watched the movie, to the best of my knowledge. There is a chance that while you’re reading this, we’re watching Thunderbolts*, but that got me thinking, which Thunderbolts* characters interest me the most before watching the movie?

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’re trying something a little different with this post. It’s a pre-viewing post of Thunderbolts* where we’ll cite which characters on the Thunderbolts roster interest us the most. This list will be subjected. I fully expect people to leg-wrestle me to move a character up or down a spot. Without further ado, here’s our ranking of which Thunderbolts* characters are the most interesting before watching the movie.

Unranked: Bob/Sentry

I know Sentry from the comics. He can be the most interesting character on this list. If I were to rate him ahead of Thunderbolts*, I would’ve struggled with putting him at 1 or 2. Yes. Sentry can be the most interesting character in this lot. He’s also making his MCU debut.

The MCU’s version of Sentry may not be as intriguing as what occurred in the comics. I’m playing it safe and leaving him unranked, but make no mistake, if Sentry were included in this list, he’d be high. I don’t want to spoil any potential plot points (I haven’t seen the movie, so I don’t know particulars about the MCU Sentry), but Sentry can be a lot of fun.

6: Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian

I liked David Harbour’s portrayal of Red Guardian in Black Widow. I also don’t think there’s much left for the character to explore. I hope I’m wrong.

Red Guardian serves as comic relief and little else. Going back to Sentry, there’s little chance that the Thunderbolts encounter Sentry, and everyone survives. There’s a good chance Red Guardian becomes a martyr. I could see the loss of Red Guardian deepening Yelena Belova’s storyline (the loss of a mentor/father figure). I could also see the death of one or more Thunderbolts reminding viewers that no one’s safe.

5: Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster

I considered not ranking Taskmaster either. The character’s a blank slate. No longer brainwashed by her father (in Black Widow), Antonia Dreykov’s character could go in any direction. Heck. She suffered an accident (bombing) and became brainwashed by her father at a young age. Her character could go in multiple directions at once, while she tries to find herself.

This fact also made me want to raise her ranking. I want to see who she is in a different setting. She has plenty of trauma for Thunderbolts* to mine.

4: Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier

Stop me if this sounds familiar. I like Sebastian Stan as the Winter Soldier, but I don’t think there’s much left for his character to explore. I hope I’m wrong.

Okay. There may be more for the MCU to explore with Bucky than there is with Red Guardian. Bucky is an iconic character and there are plenty of Bucky stories to tell that don’t include Steve Rogers and some of those stories include the Thunderbolts. But if you know much about the Thunderbolts, you know that they don’t keep leaders for long, and the Winter Soldier is the team’s de facto leader. I can see the team getting a change in leadership at the end of the movie. A change in leadership may be necessary.

3: Yelena Belova/Black Widow

Florence Pugh is too electric as Yelena for her not to show up multiple times in the MCU. I also liked Pugh’s voice-over as Yelena during the second trailer. She shares that there’s something wrong with her, an emptiness. She’s just drifting. She doesn’t have a purpose, so she throws herself into her work. This shows how human Yelena is as a character.

There are a couple of other characters who narrowly edge out Yelena Belova. Seriously, you could rearrange these top three, and I’d be okay with it. I can’t wait to watch Yelena in Thunderbolts*.

2: John Walker/U. S. Agent

Wyatt Russell’s John Walker lives a disgraced life as the man who tarnished Captain America’s name. That has some depth. Throw in the fact that someone else (Sam Wilson) wears Captain America’s uniform, and Walker must be a bundle of emotions.

I could see Walker finding his redemption story. Does that mean that he has a story beyond this one? Perhaps. Does that mean that he could sacrifice himself for the good of the team? Maybe. There’s a high probability that Walker doesn’t survive the events of Thunderbolts* either. I’m not kidding. One or more members of the Thunderbolts could die before the credits roll. Sentry is no joke.

I can’t imagine a group of assassins and super soldiers will fare well against Marvel’s version of a psychologically unstable Superman. Oops. Spoilers. Sentry has a power set like Superman’s.

1: Ava Starr/Ghost

Ghost was the best thing out of Ant-Man and the Wasp. She deserved another vehicle, and I’m glad that Thunderbolts* is giving her that vehicle. Starr gained the ability to render herself intangible and generate extreme amounts of power following a quantum accident that killed her parents. The United States government took advantage of her powers and turned her into an assassin in return for a cure for her condition. They lied.

After Janet van Dyne heals Starr, she’s free to forge her own path. Unfortunately, it looks as if old habits die hard. Ghost only knows how to be an assassin. I can’t wait to see her fight against her training.

Did we get the list right? Let us know who you would rank where. Thank you for reading and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’re preparing for the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World with another Top 5 Villains List. Captain America has an interesting group of villains, to say the least.

We’ll have two official honorable mentions, but I’m going to cheat a bit and add a few in this introduction: MODOK, Batroc, and Adolph Hitler. MODOK stands for Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing. I’d shorten it to MODOK, too. MODOK is a floating head. Batroc’s full name is Batroc the Leaper. He leaps. And Adolph Hitler needs no introduction. Cap spent most of his early days punching Adolph Hitler in the face. With those villains out of the way, let’s get to our official honorable mentions.

Honorable Mention 2: Winter Soldier

Spoiler Alert for one of the MCU’s best films Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Steve Rodgers’ old friend Bucky Barnes is the Winter Soldier. He didn’t make the top villains list properly because even though he was the title villain in one of the greatest Captain America stories and recontextualized Captain America’s past, he became a hero. And he’s stayed a hero for the most part. The Winter Soldier even became Captain America in the comics for a time.

Honorable Mention 1: Serpent Society

The Serpent Society is a supervillain group rather than one villain, but they deserve a mention, especially since they’ll receive their MCU introduction in Captain America: Brave New World. Several factions exist within the Serpent Society. That’s to be expected since the group consists of dozens of snake-themed villains. Sidewinder, Princess Python, Anaconda, Constrictor, Fer de Lance, Puff Adder, Death Adder, Bushmaster, Asp, Cottonmouth, Rattler, and many, many more are part of the Serpent Society. We’ll have to see what the Serpent Society’s plot will be in the upcoming movie, but I wager it won’t be poisoning Washington DC’s water supply to turn everyone into Snake-People. That happened in the comics once. It took Diamondback rebelling against Madame Hydra’s rule to put an end to the plot.

5: Crossbones

Crossbones is often viewed as a Red Skull henchman—another spoiler, Red Skull will make the list—and he often gets attributed as a Sharon Carter villain. But Crossbones instigated Captain America’s assassination in the comics. Crossbones takes pleasure in murder. He even laughs when the Winter Soldier and Falcon take him down following Cap’s death. In the MCU, Crossbones (Brock Rumlow) was the one who hinted that HYDRA may have infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. Near the beginning of Captain America: Civil War, he laughs about the torture he put Bucky through when Captain America apprehends him. Crossbones wears a suicide vest, and Scarlet Witch hurls him toward a building filled with Wakandan relief workers, which causes a rift within the Avengers. Crossbones is more than your average henchman.

4: Arnim Zola

Originally a HYDRA scientist, Arnim Zola conducted numerous biochemical experiments. He messed around with the genes of human subjects and even brought back Adolph Hitler. Zola has a mean streak. He doesn’t care who he teams up with so long as he can continue his experiments. Most of what Zola does is in service of these experiments. He even uploaded his mind into a robot body, granting himself a type of immortality. Don’t let Zola’s goofy appearance of a giant TV screen with arms and legs fool you. Zola is one the deadliest villains in comic book history.

3: Baron Strucker

It was Baron Strucker all along. Baron Wolfgang von Strucker founded Hydra in the 1800s. He fought for Germany during World War I and brought the Red Skull into the fold during World War II. It was Strucker who recruited Arnim Zola. Following the end of World War II, Strucker became near-immortal by obtaining the Satan Claw, a strength-enhancing gauntlet. Strucker infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. with HYDRA agents. For years S.H.I.E.L.D. fell under HYDRA’s corruption, feeding the villainous group all its information. Decade after decade, Baron von Strucker earned his place as one of the greatest criminal masterminds in comics.

2: Baron Zemo

Two characters have taken the name Baron Zemo, a father-son tandem of Heinrich (father) and Helmut (son). I’m cheating—a little—by combining the two characters for this entry. Father Heinrich Zemo was one of the most despicable figures of the Third Reich. He, like Zola earlier on this list, loved testing inventions like ray cannons and disintegration guns on innocent people. He founded the Master of Evil, a thorn in the side of the early Avengers, and eventually killed—or at least we believed he killed—Steve Rodgers’ best friend Bucky Barnes. Following Bucky’s “death,” Captain America kills Heinrich Zemo. Heinrich’s son Helmut Zemo swears vengeance on Captain America. Where Captain America wants to make the world better for everyone, Zemo strives to ruin it because of his vendetta against one man. Helmut Zemo formed the original Thunderbolts, which were villains masquerading as heroes.

1: Red Skull

Red Skull appeared in the first-ever Captain America comic book. No other villain has come close to capturing the menace and imagination as Johann Schmidt, the Red Skull. The Red Skull is the antithesis of Captain America. He’s the super soldier experiment gone wrong. His imagery of a bloody skull dressed in a black coat contrasts the symbology of Captain America’s outfit. While Captain America represents the American ideal, the Red Skull did the same for Nazi Germany. Post World War II, the Red Skull has joined forces with HYDRA, a Nazi stand-in, and he continues to clash with one of the oldest comic book characters. No Captain America villain has ever reached the Red Skull’s status and malice.

Who is your favorite Captain America villain? Let us know who you would add or remove in the comments. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Tag: winter soldier

Ranking Thunderbolts* Characters Before Watching the Movie