2024's Thunderbolts, the very last film in MCU Phase 5, sets up for the Marvel Cinematic Universe's adaptation of the "Dark Avengers" story arc. That said, the setup for the cinematic debut of the Dark Avengers could also begin as early as the first MCU Phase 5 series Secret Invasion. This is because Marvel Comics' "Secret Invasion" ends with the formation of the Dark Illuminati, a crucial turning point in the evolution of the Thunderbolts, and the birth of the Dark Avengers – a move which, if repeated in the MCU, could define whether the Thunderbolts are good or bad in their on-screen depiction.
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Inspired by a henchman's joke about the Masters of Evil replacing the Avengers, Zemo turned his super-villain team into fake heroes known as the Thunderbolts, with the goal of gaining the trust of the public and the authorities for Zemo's personal gain. When Thunderbolts members started enjoying the public adulation and turning into legitimate superheroes, Zemo blackmailed them and outed his evil schemes, causing the first Thunderbolts split. Over the years, Marvel's first antihero team-up was led by a variety of heroes and villains, each imposing their own respective agendas on the members. More than a decade later, "Secret Invasion" saw Norman Osborn's Thunderbolts climbing up the ranks after Osborn killed the Skrull queen and put an end to the invasion. Officially, Osborn dissolved SHIELD and the Thunderbolts Initiative to form HAMMER, Osborn's own super-powered law enforcement agency. In reality, however, Osborn simply turned the Thunderbolts into the personal black ops team of the Dark Illuminati, a.k.a. the Cabal. Alongside Victor Von Doom, Emma Frost, Loki, the Hood, and other criminals, Osborn's Dark Illuminati fostered cooperation between the villains – in exchange for HAMMER's Mighty Avengers looking like real heroes to the public.
Echoing Zemo's original Thunderbolts scheme, Osborn's Mighty Avengers recruited villains disguised as popular superheroes and unstable actual heroes like Sentry, Ares, Wolverine's son Daken, Noh-Varr, and Osborn himself as the Iron Patriot – the original Dark Avengers. Though Norman Osborn's MCU future remains uncertain following his exit in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the MCU debut of Thunderbolts itself already begins the MCU's Dark Avengers story arc. Apart from the two Marvel teams essentially sharing the same exact premise – villains and morally gray heroes with their own agendas working for the government – the Dark Avengers were actually born out of the Thunderbolts, which technically also birthed the Dark Illuminati. Many have wondered if the Thunderbolts are good or bad in the MCU – and ultimately, the answer to this will depend on who will lead the Thunderbolts if Norman Osborn doesn't return in time for the movie. While the Thunderbolts are an engaging group, the potential of the Dark Avengers for the future of the MCU is an expansive one, and thus it makes sense for the franchise to look at moving in this direction.
Are The Thunderbolts Evil In The MCU?
Thematically, the Thunderbolts are the anti-Avengers – but this doesn't necessarily mean that they're evil. This just means that the Thunderbolts' character roster is as large and varied as Earth's Mightiest Heroes. While the Avengers represent traditional superheroes, Thunderbolts allowed Marvel to tackle heroism from angles that were impossible to do with its traditional teams. In the hands of Zemo, Wilson Fisk, or Norman Osborn, the Thunderbolts were a corrupt and fascist police force for the supervillain elite. However, the Thunderbolts legitimately reformed criminals into superheroes when it was led by the likes of Luke Cage, Winter Soldier, Hawkeye, and even Captain America.
Currently, Valentina de Fontaine and Baron Zemo are the two most likely candidates for leading the Thunderbolts, suggesting that they will be an evil organization for at least the time being. That said, anyone recruited into the MCU's Thunderbolts – forcibly or not – will have their own agendas to fulfill. In any case, as it will be a long wait before the release of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, it seems that the MCU will be filling the glaring lack of a super team with the MCU's Thunderbolts, potentially leading to the Dark Avengers, and maybe even its own version of the Dark Illuminati.