Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Thunderbolts*Although the the Multiverse Saga's second movie, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, that the new Saga got underway in earnest, debuting a brand-new protagonist in the form of the titular hero.

It was around here that the Multiverse Saga began to stumble. Not only was Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings followed by the MCU's newer characters. Prospects were initially bleak as Marvel announced Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (now Avengers: Doomsday) for the latter half of MCU Phase 6 - but Marvel just flipped the script.

Marvel Revealed Thunderbolts* Is Actually A New Avengers Movie

Valentina Allegra De Fontaine Announced The Team In A Press Conference

Thunderbolts* helped to stoke the controversy over the Multiverse Saga when it was first announced, promising to star some of the MCU's lesser-known characters who were ostensibly taking up space that the likes of Shang-Chi or the Avengers could occupy. The conspicuous asterisk in the title, however, was enough to stoke a firestorm of speculation as it became clear that not everything was as it seemed. Vindicating many of the foremost theories to emerge from the last few years, Thunderbolts* then revealed by the end of the movie that its real title was The New Avengers all along.

The Thunderbolts* post-credits scene suggested that the New Avengers will be operating in tandem with Captain America's Avengers.

The Thunderbolts* post-credits scene then takes place 14 months later, with the team now embracing their government-sanctioned role as the New Avengers. In a wildly unorthodox move from Marvel, this led to the real-world replacement of the movie's title in official materials and billboards.

Thunderbolts*/The New Avengers Was The Final MCU Phase 5 Movie

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Is The First Movie Of MCU Phase 6

The decision to change Thunderbolts* from a relatively nondescript MCU team-up movie into a bona fide Avengers movie is huge. Not only does it confirm that a new iteration of the Avengers for which fans had been clamoring for years has been marketed to them for the past year, but it also means that MCU Phase 5 was punctuated by an Avengers movie after all. The only difference from other MCU Phases is that this one was announced after its release.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps will launch the final phase of the Multiverse Saga, MCU Phase 6, which will also play host to the expected Avengers double-whammy: Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027). This means that Thunderbolts* assumes a similar position to Avengers: Age of Ultron in being the Avengers movie to punctuate the penultimate phase of its saga. Thankfully, Thunderbolts* has fared better critically than Avengers: Age of Ultron and could herald a new and positive trajectory for the Multiverse Saga.

MCU Phase 4 Is Officially The Only One Without An Avengers Movie

This Didn't Help To Assuage Criticisms Against It

One of the main criticisms leveled at the Multiverse Saga is its lack of an Avengers movie. The Infinity Saga proved that the MCU's shared narrative is best served when each phase is punctuated by a team-up movie like the Avengers to help tie the narrative together. The absence of such a movie in MCU Phase 4 might have something to do with the generally negative reactions to it, as its lower-rated MCU movies are accompanied by others that have yet to be followed up on.

Although there are glaring outliers, Thunderbolts* revisited a surprising number of narratives. Black Widow, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Hawkeye, and, to a certain extent, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever are all connected to Thunderbolts* and its characters. Compounding this was the Thunderbolts* post-credits scene that directly set up an movie, instead of leaving yet another MCU tease that may never be elaborated upon. Sure, it didn't go as far as a traditional Avengers movie would to coalesce surrounding narratives, but it certainly helped to end MCU Phase 5 on a positive note.

MCU Movies

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  Thunderbolts*

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  The Fantastic Four: First Steps

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  Avengers: Doomsday

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  Spider-Man: Brand New Day

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  Avengers: Secret Wars

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