'Thunderbolts*': Why Did No Other New York-Based Heroes Help In The Final Battle?

WARNING!: SPOILERS for Thunderbolts*.

Marvel Studios' latest theatrical event, Thunderbolts*, has earned praise from fans and critics alike, deemed by many as a return to form for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, the film's final act, in which the newly minted team of anti-heroes must save New York City from The Void, has resulted in a common question: Why did none of the MCU's other New York based heroes show up to help?

The easy answer is that it wasn't there movie. However, there are also some valid plot-related explanations for their absence.

Some of them might have been away from NYC

After Yelena's memorable scenes with Kate Bishop in the Hawkeye series, fans have been eager to see the two characters together again. Many were hoping for a Kate cameo in Thunderbolts*, and as Kate is based in New York, questioned where she, among other NYC heroes, was during the Void's attack.

Well, it's possible that she was simply away.

Kate Bishop was last seen in the final scene of The Marvels, with Kamala Khan appearing in her apartment wishing to recruit her to a new team. In episode 1x05 of Daredevil: Born Again, Matt Murdock meets Kamala's Father, Yusuf Khan, who, in an offhanded coment that means much more to the audience than it does to Matt, mentions that his daughter is visiting friends in California. Fans have theorised that Kate is accompanying Kamala on this trip, and that they are attempting to recruit Cassie Lang, who is based in San Francisco.

Other heroes could be faced with similar situations. A number are primarily based in New York, but that does not necessarily mean they are in, or in easy reach of the city all the time.

The Final act takes place in a very short amount of time

The Void is obviously a major threat, doing damage to a number of buildings and trapping many citizens in a loop of the moments they are most ashamed of. Surely such an incident would draw the attention of any other local heroes, right?

You might think so, until the following point is taken into account: While there may have been some time dilation at play while the team is actually within The Void, the attack itself only lasts around ten to fifteen minutes in real time. For example, the Press Conference that Valentina uses to announce the Thunderbolts as the New Avengers is the same one she had originally intended for the announcement of the Sentry project. Even if anyone else had wanted to help, the crisis was most likely already over by the time they arrived.

They Most Likely would have been Voided, with no way of escape.

As mentioned earlier, The Void's attack results in people trapped in a loop of the moments in their lives that cause them the most shame or trauma. In the situation as presented in the film, there is no real way to prevent being taken by The Void. The most prominent New York based heroes, such as Spider-Man and Daredevil, carry perhaps more than their fare share of shame for tragedies they failed to prevent.

So, even if another hero was alerted to the situation and tried to go help, they most likely would have been trapped in a shame spiral by The Void just like everyone else. These other heroes would have had no means of escape once this happened, because they, unlike Yelena and the Thunderbolts, do not have the advantage of knowing that the best way of getting out would involve reaching Bob, The Void's placid alter-ego.

No matter who or what else happened to arrive, the events of this film would have unfolded in exactly the same way. It was always the Thunderbolts* who were destined to save the day.