Hiya!

Marvel‘s Thunderbolts* has been out for a while now. I do agree with my companion on this site in that the movie is pretty good. However, I am not as forgiving when it comes to its climax as, to me, it just ended and I just wasn’t satisfied as there were a lot of things left unanswered.

Normally, this would be the time when one of us would list down five inconsequential questions about a movie. These usually be some funny observations based on the movie but don’t really affect its story in the grand scheme of things. Thunderbolts* is… different. No, I left the cinema with some silly things to talk about but I also had some really nagging questions I need to get off my chest. So, I’m mixing things up for Marvel’s latest outing! These are my 4 inconsequential questions and 1 really huge consequential question I have after watching Thunderbolts*!

Inconsequential Question #1: What happened to the guinea pig?

The first scene of Thunderbolts* had Yelena infiltrating a covert ops science base in Malaysia to retrieve or destroy whatever evidence it may have linking back to her employer, Valentina. During the excursion, she does find a little guinea pig in the laboratory and, as she is unable to break into one of the lab’s locations, opts to demolish it with explosives. However, she is seen walking away with the guinea pig in her hands.

The thing is, the guinea pig never shows up in the movie ever again! A part of me was half expecting Yelena taking it on missions and it would prove its worth by somehow saving her life or something like that. Nope! It never appears again! So, what happened to the guinea pig? Did Yelena take it home? Did she leave it in Malaysia because she can’t bring it back home? As someone who loves the little rodents, I need to know!

Inconsequential Question #2: What happened to Yelena’s “mother” and Red Guardian’s “wife”?

I can’t be the only one who was disappointed with 2021’s Black Widow. This was Marvel’s first female-centric superhero movie and it was a bust for me. However, it is important to Thunderbolts* as this is where we first see Yelena as well as Red Guardian. In that movie, it’s shown that Natasha, the Black Widow from the earlier Marvel movies, had a mission in the United States where she had to be with a “family,” which included Yelena as her “sister,” Red Guardian as her “father” and Melina as her “mother.”

Cut back to Thunderbolts* and we see Yelena visiting Red Guardian’s home to, hopefully, get some meaningful advice. He’s moved to the United States but he’s living in a dump… and not with Melina. If I remember correctly, at the end of Black Widow, Red Guardian leaves with Yelena, the freed Red Room Academy assassins and Melina. So, what happened to Melina and why isn’t she living with Red Guardian? It’s never explained and it didn’t look like Yelena even question why she wasn’t with Red Guardian! Did they “divorce” in-between the events of Black Widow and Thunderbolts*? Did Melina go back to her farm to take care of the Red Room Academy girls better? It seems like the 27 fans who enjoyed Black Widow deserve an explanation.

Inconsequential Question #3: Why is Sam Wilson trying to get the Avengers trademark just now?

So, by the end of Thunderbolts*, Valentina spins the destruction and says she has been working in secret to assemble a new set of heroes and play off this new ragtag group as the New Avengers. We then cut to a post-credits scene and 14 months have passed, with some debate if this new group of “heroes” can be called Earth’s Mightiest Heroes now. This debate also involves Sam Wilson, who is also applying for the trademark for the Avengers name.

Why now, though? At the end of Captain America: Brave New World, Sam Wilson says to Joaquin Torres how the world needs the Avengers, strongly hinting he’s going to assemble a new team of Marvel heroes. The aforementioned post-credits scene takes place 14 whole months after Valentina “revealed” the New Avengers! Did Sam Wilson just call in heroes and start saving the world before the events of Thunderbolts* and just forget to start calling his newly assembled team the Avengers? C’mon, Sam Wilson! You’re better than this!

Inconsequential Question #4: What kind of missions did the New Avengers go on during this 14 month time skip?

During the credits of Thunderbolts*, you can see the New Avengers aping very recognizable pictures as well as see headlines on how the general public isn’t really accepting of them. I’m guessing all of this is happening during the 14 month time skip as mentioned in the final post-credits scene.

However, I can’t believe all they did were photoshoots, right? I mean, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are at least one major worldwide crisis in a year. So, what kind of missions did these New Avengers get into during this 14 month time period? Were they all very easy missions? If that were the case, then I would say the negative public opinion they’re getting is appropriate since they’re not exactly saving the world. If they were super dangerous and world threatening, why aren’t they getting the respect they deserve for protecting the planet then?

Okay, the fun stuff is over. Let’s get to the more serious question…

Consequential Question #1: What happened to Valentina?

One of the major plotlines in Thunderbolts* is how Valentina is being impeached as the CIA Director for her clandestine operations with a non-government organization. This is why she hired various Marvel characters such as the aforementioned Yelena as well as US Agent and Ghost to help clean up any loose threads. She then has them, along with Taskmaster, try to kill each other in a base in the hopes to eliminate them as they themselves have become loose threads.

As mentioned earlier, Valentina spins the news that she had created the New Avengers using these same people, along with Congressman Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Red Guardian and Bob/Sentry. Yelena whispers to Valentina that they now “own” her. Cut to the credits!

Wait! You can’t just cut to the credits after this because we need to know what happened to Valentina! All of this started because of the impeachment trial so it’s important to know what happened to the trial! Was everything thrown out because she actually did the things she’s being impeached but, since she created the New Avengers, everything is forgiven? What about all the crimes she did including trying to get the heroes killed? Did Bucky Barnes, who only got involved because he was personally investigating her crimes, just do nothing? This really grinded my gears because this really needs an answer!

Oh, I do have one more silly inconsequential question to close out this list…

BONUS Inconsequential Question: Why is Taskmaster such a chump in this movie?

Look, I get this version of Taskmaster is generally hated by fans. I’m just not sure if she deserved to be taken out without any fanfare! Even Yelena, who is supposed to be something like a sister to her and possibly lived with her after the events of Black Widow, didn’t really care all that much that she got shot in the head!

That’s cold!

Byee!

Do you have any other questions after seeing Thunderbolts*? Are you also upset they didn’t explain what happened to Valentina? Let me know in the comments section below!