Thunderbolts* Easter eggs: all the Marvel references you might have missed

Welcome to our list of Thunderbolts* Easter eggs! On this page we're tracking all the links to Marvel Comics and the wider MCU that we spotted in the new movie.

Thunderbolts* follows a scrappy team of heroes, headed up by Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes and Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova who must band together to defeat a common enemy.

On this page we'll break down all the Thunderbolts* Easter eggs. That means we'll be touching on the entire film, so there will be major spoilers here for the Marvel Phase 5 film, including its post-credits sequences. If you've not seen Thunderbolts* yet then save this page and come back later. If, however, you're up to date, then read on for everything you need to know...

Thunderbolts* Easter eggs

Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and O.X.E.

The film's main antagonist is Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (as played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who made her MCU debut in 2021's The Falcon and The Winter Soldier streaming series.

Valentina is also a long-running comics character, having first appeared in 1967's Strange Tales #159, in the ongoing 'Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.' strip. There she quickly became a complicated love interest for Fury.

Thunderbolts* reveals that Valentina is heading up O.X.E. – a secretive organisation, that has been developing Project Sentry.

O.X.E. was first referenced in the alternate universe-set Marvel comic Ultimate Fallout #3 in 2011, then later appeared in the prime Earth-616 reality in 2023's Thunderbolts #1.

President Hulk

A throwaway line from Valentina about the former president turning into "giant red superhuman rage monster" is, of course, a call back to Captain America: Brave New World, where President Ross was transformed into Red Hulk.

The Red Room

Both Yelena and her now sadly-deceased adoptive sister Natasha Romanoff – the original movie Black Widow – were trained in the Red Room – the shadowy Soviet-Russian assassin training program, which gets a name-drop in Thunderbolts*.

Mel

Valentina's assistant Mel, as played by Geraldine Viswanathan, is a bit of an enigma in the film, both helping and hindering the Thunderbolts. Her first name has led to some fans speculating that she may turn out to be Melissa Gold AKA Songbird – one of the original Thunderbolts from the comics – but the film doesn't provide any firm evidence for this and she is only ever referred to as Mel. Still, perhaps she'll be one to watch in future instalments.

The Battle of New York Gala

In a film that consciously calls back to the first Avengers movie several times, this is the most direct nod. Valentina is hosting a gala with items retrieved from the Avengers' fight with the Chitauri – a pivotal moment in the MCU. Some of the items on display include Loki's Scepter and some Chitauri handcuffs.

The Westchester Big Valley Thunderbolts

In the comics, the original line up of Thunderbolts are all villains pretending to be heroes. The name derives, according to Baron Zemo, from a poem by Thomas Randolph: "Justice, like lightning, ever should appear to few men's ruin, but to all men's fear." Zemo adds, "Our hope is that we can be that lightning – that justice."

In the movie, "Thunderbolts" is always used as a kind of placeholder name, mainly insisted on by Red Guardian, who plucks the word from Yelena's old football team, the Westchester Big Valley Thunderbolts.

Sentry

The film’s most interesting – and dangerous – character is, of course, Robert Reynolds AKA Sentry AKA The Void.

The character was created by Paul Jenkins, Rick Veitch, and Jae Lee and made his debut in 2000's five-issue Marvel Comics The Sentry miniseries. In that book, Reynolds discovered that his arch-enemy, the Void, was in fact another aspect of himself. You can find out more about Sentry in our comics explainer.

Five years later Brian Michael Bendis added the Sentry to the line up of the New Avengers – a position he also tentatively gains at the end of Thunderbolts*, though he doesn't appear to have control of his powers yet.

A golden guardian of good

Sentry is referred to by this somewhat cheesy moniker in the film. This is a reference to one of the character's occasional nicknames in the comics.

It's also said that he has "the power of 1000 exploding suns." One of the taglines of the Sentry in the comics is that he has "the power of a million exploding suns." So the movie Thunderbolts* has had a bit of a downgrade!

Finally, Valentina also calls him "Earth's mightiest hero" – a riff on the Avengers' tagline.

Avengers Tower

The former Avengers Tower in Manhattan now belongs to O.X.E. and has been converted into their base, which provides the backdrop for much of the action in the film's final act.

That Sentry/Void strikes at the heart of New York is no coincidence. Thunderbolts* repeatedly nods towards the original Avengers film, so it makes sense that the gang's battle with the Void – before everything goes a bit trippy – takes place on the site of the Battle of New York, where the original Avengers once fought the Chitauri.

"At least one god"

As Sentry starts to go rogue and turn on Valentina, he notes that the original MCU lineup of the Avengers included "at least one god" – a direct nod to Thor, the Asgardian God of Thunder.

Anya

Yelena dreams of a young girl who was killed during her Red Room training. The child is called Anya and we witness her being shot several times.

It's an odd choice of name, given that there's already been a young girl called Anya who is associated with the Red Room who died – albeit in a largely-forgotten part of the MCU.

In the Marvel's Agent Carter episode 'The Iron Ceiling' we're introduced to Anya, a young assassin training in the Red Room alongside another girl named Dottie. The two-spar and, when Dottie wins the bout, we see her break Anya's neck killing her instantly. There appears to be no connection to the Anya that Yelena is dreaming of.

That * explained at last

At the end of the film the victorious Thunderbolts set out to bring Valentina down in public, only for her to spin it into a promotional opportunity. She introduces the heroes to the world – live on TV – as the New Avengers. This is something that a lot of fans had guessed would happen, though most assumed they would be named the Dark Avengers, as several of these characters have gone by that team name in the comics.

The post-credits scene

Surely one of the most talked about aspects of the film is Thunderbolts* post-credits scene, which reveals there are tensions between Bucky's New Avengers and Sam Wilson's own version of the super-team.

In the comics it’s not uncommon for there to be multiple different factions of Avengers – and sometimes they fight. You can find out more about all that in our New Avengers explainer.

As if that wasn't enough, the film then goes on to reveal that a starship from another dimension has appeared above Earth – and it's bearing the logo of the Fantastic Four, a clear set up not for the FF's movie (which we know takes place in an alternate universe) but for the currently-filming Avengers: Doomsday, which we know will include all of the Fantastic Four and the Thunderbolts/New Avengers.

Thunderbolts* is in theaters now. For more, check out our Thunderbolts* review for our spoiler-free verdict, or see our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows for everything else the MCU has in store.

If you're just in the mood for a marathon, try our rundown on how to watch the Marvel movies in order.