SPOILERS! How 'Thunderbolts*' Sets The Stage For Multiple 'Avengers' Branches

WARNING! SPOILERS for Thunderbolts*.

Thunderbolts*, the final film in Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has hit theatres to mostly positive reviews from critics and fans alike. The film follows a scrappy band of Marvel anti-heroes thrown together in difficult circumstances, who are then forced to step up and save the day when it turns out one of them has a monstrous, superpowered dark side.

For much of the film, Red Guardian refers to the new team as the Thunderbolts, in reference to his adoptive daughter Yelena Belova's childhood soccer team. However, during the marketing phase, it was stated that the asterisk following 'Thunderbolts' in the film's title was significant, and now we know why that is..

One more chance to avoid SPOILERS, folks.

From Anti-Heroes to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes

In the film’s final minutes, Val seizes on the team’s unexpected heroism and inspiration to the people of New York as an opportunity to announce and promote them as The New Avengers, claiming that this has always been her plan, never saying a word about the disastrous Sentry Project that nearly got the whole city killed just a few minutes earlier.

The New Avengers’ knowledge of the project, and their bond with Bob, the living proof, gives them a needed bargaining chip over Val, using the threat of the truth to ensure her compliance. Unfortunately, the team's new title does not come without it's challenges.

Avengers vs Avengers

By the post-credits scene of Thunderbolts*, the newly minted New Avengers have set up a base of operations in The Watchtower, aka the old Avengers Tower, purchased by Val. They have also been officially approved as the New Avengers by the Government. However, not everyone accepts them. This is hinted during the credits, with a few newspaper pieces and opinion articles questioning the credibility of the new team. The post-credits scene also reveals that public opinion has turned against them, mostly due to the opinion of a certain Captain.

Fans who have seen Captain America: Brave New World will remember that at the end of the film, Sam Wilson decides to reform The Avengers.

Who he has chosen to join is uncertain, altough Joaquin Torres, the new Falcon, seems a safe bet. Unfortunately, one thing Thunderbolts* post-credits sequence does make clear is that Sam is not eager to welcome The New Avengers to his own planned team. Sam even plans to place a copyright on The Avengers name, with the conflict apparently resulting in a fall-out between Sam and Bucky Barnes.

Obviously, this divide in the different factions of Avengers can not be allowed to remain feuding long term, as they will need to set aside their differences to deal with the much bigger problems approaching in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. However, that does not necessarily mean that everyone will live happily ever after in the Watchtower.

Branching Out

The world is a big place, the United States a big country, and despite the number of incidents that have happened there, trouble will not always be confined to New York City. The logistics of this were eventually raised in a 1984 comic storyline, when The Vision, then chairman of the main team, plans to expand the influence and reach of The Avengers by sending Hawkeye to establish a second branch of the team in California. This team, initially consisting of Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Tigra, Iron Man, and Wonder Man, becomes known as the West Coast Avengers.

As far as the Marvel Cinematic Universe goes, two heroes are currently based on the West Coast, with Ant-Man and Shang-Chi both living in San Francisco. Both of these characters are also set to appear in Avengers: Doomsday. Assuming they survive Doomsday and Secret Wars, they could form the basis of an MCU West Coast Avengers team, with the rest of the new potential Avengers dividing between the Avengers/Watchtower and the new West Coast base.

Whatever the case, it looks like the Marvel Cinematic Universe will only continue to get bigger.