Thunderbolts

When I was 13, my mom rented Captain America: The Winter Soldier on DirecTV.
Fun fact: DirecTV will replay a rented movie on loop if you don’t change the channel. I have no idea how many times it played, but when I fell asleep on the couch that night, I had a dream that Bucky Barnes climbed through my bedroom window and told me he was hiding from Hydra—and that I needed to help him. I’ve been obsessed with Marvel ever since.

My brothers, my dad, and I

Before I get into my movie analysis, I want to talk about my family. We’ve always been superhero people. Superhero movies were the thing that connected me and my siblings to our dad after our parents split up. I remember him taking us to the Sunday morning showing of every new Marvel release. We’d sit in the theater and watch it all unfold in the most beautiful way. I think that’s where I fell in love with movies. Stan Lee’s characters made me feel closer to my father, and acting out the movies in the basement was the most fun my brothers and I had as kids. Marvel has been my safe space since then—so after a disappointing Phase 5, Thunderbolts felt like a homecoming.

As always, here’s your only spoiler warning!

Thunderbolts was so fun!
(Not the third act—but we’ll get to that.)

I am a tried-and-true found-family stan. I love a ragtag group of people coming together to create something beautiful. The comedy was punchy and smart, the action had me on the edge of my seat, and the stunts were stunning! I was genuinely impressed by this film. If Sinners is my number one of the year, Thunderbolts is a strong number two.

Found family is my favorite trope of all time. But even more than that, I love a forged family: people coming together against all odds, committed to doing the right thing. It reminds me of the quote:

“The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.”
The family we find in impossible circumstances often becomes the one we cherish most.

Favorite Characters

Yelena:
I’ll admit—I didn’t watch Hawkeye. After WandaVision, I lost interest in Marvel’s TV content. Not that WandaVision was bad—it just felt confusing. Every episode felt like its own movie, and I struggled to stay engaged. So I lost track of the shows.

But I’d seen clips of Yelena in Hawkeye, and I was excited to see more of her. This movie did not disappoint.

Yelena was a consistent, grounded force in this film. Her emotional numbness and yearning to feel something was such a raw and honest response to her grief over Natasha. Her action sequences were incredible—so well shot. I learned during my research that Florence Pugh does her own stunts, and wow, you can tell. She cleared every fight scene. Watching her jump off Alexei into combat gave me déjà vu—it echoed Natasha jumping off Steve’s shield in The Avengers.

I also loved how deeply she cared for Bob. From the moment they found him in the bunker, she stepped into a big-sister role. It was beautiful to see her as a caregiver. And when she stepped into the Void to try to save him, she showed unshakable belief that he could still be reached. And she was right. Bob came back because she reached for him, and he reached back.

I can’t wait to see more of Yelena in future Marvel projects.

Bucky:
As I said earlier—I’m a Bucky Barnes stan.

BUCKY FINALLY HAS A THEME THAT ISN’T DEPRESSING
seeing Bucky ride in on his motorcycle with this new theme playing in the back was such a lovely moment. I feel like he has finally found his footing in the world and is no longer being seen as the Winter Soldier. The “Falcon and Winter Soldier” show did an incredible job of setting Bucky up in a gorgeous redemption arc and Thunderbolts gave him a perfect chance to shine. He was fun and witty as always but we also got to see him have some more sincere moments as he tries to find a new place in an ever changing world. I really loved having Bucky back on my silver screen.

Bob:
Lewis Pullman, you will always be famous.

I first fell in love with him in Top Gun: Maverick (where he also played a character named Bob—iconic behavior, honestly).

In the first act, he was hilarious. Nervous, quirky, and endearing—watching Yelena tie him to her back to keep him safe? I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.

He’s such a cutie patootie

He was fun to watch and when he got out of the car to give Walker, Ava, and Yelena a chance to escape I was so hurt. The moment when he’s shot and falls down, I could already feel the tears pricking at my eyes.
Then… he stood back up.
His shirt was all ripped up.
He had an INSANE six-pack.
And suddenly I was very, very interested in all future Marvel projects.

In the second and third acts, Bob’s mental health struggles took center stage. His depression quite literally manifested as the movie’s main villain, The Void. That metaphor—his inner darkness becoming the external threat—was devastatingly well done. This was my first time seeing Pullman in a serious role, and he crushed it.

In the end, he couldn’t save himself—but the people around him did. That choice—to have the villain defeated by the power of friendship—was bold and deeply meaningful.

Final Thoughts:
I’m so in love with how Thunderbolts turned out. The Marvel fangirl in me—long dormant—is BACK and RAGING. I need all the Avengers Tower fanfics delivered directly to my inbox by close of business, please and thank you.