What does the Thunderbolts* asterisk mean? The big MCU mystery unpacked with what the Marvel comics tell us

The secret is out - the asterisk in the Thunderbolts* film title does indeed have a meaning, and it's not too far off from what everyone expected. And what's more, the reveal of what the asterisk means could alter what we're expecting from Marvel Phase 6.

Before we get into it, please be warned that there will be discussion of spoilers for Thunderbolts* and for the MCU at large. If you want to stay totally unspoiled, turn back now!

For everyone who stuck around, here's the big reveal: by the end of the film, the team has been renamed from the Thunderbolts to the New Avengers. That's a slight difference from what many expected, which was for the team to take on the name Dark Avengers, thanks to that team's comic connection to the Thunderbolts.

Nonetheless, the name New Avengers comes straight from comic books. And like in the MCU, the formation of the New Avengers marked a major shift for the team - one which eventually led to two warring factions of Avengers existing at the same time.

Who are the New Avengers in comics?

In 2004, the Avengers were coming off of a big return to form that reestablished them at the forefront of the Marvel Universe. But these glory days weren't to last, as the team was devastated by the events of Avengers: Disassembled, in which the Scarlet Witch was manipulated into killing several of her teammates, leading the Avengers to disband.

Still, you can't keep a good team down, and when a breakout on the supervillain prison known as the Raft put New York City in peril, a new team sprung up to respond to the crisis. Led by Captain America and Iron Man, the team brought in newcomers to the Avengers including Wolverine, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, and Spider-Woman, who were soon joined by the all-powerful Sentry, and Ronin (an identity then used by Echo).

The team's adventures were relaunched under the New Avengers title by writer Brian Michael Bendis, who would go on to shape the multiple branches of the team for years, along with artist David Finch.

For a little while, the New Avengers began to form their own niche in the Marvel Universe, taking the Avengers in a new direction. However, the team would soon be threatened by one of the biggest conflicts ever between Marvel heroes: Civil War, the landmark comic event that pitted two factions of heroes against each other.

Led by Iron Man and Captain America, the two factions each enlisted members of the New Avengers, going to battle over the Super Human Registration Act, which Iron Man supported as a way to make superheroes more accountable, while Captain America opposed the act - just like in the MCU's adaptation, Captain America: Civil War.

Following Civil War, Captain America is seemingly killed, leaving his New Avengers faction to regroup as fugitives, while Iron Man goes on to form his own, more classic style Avengers team partially intended to bring in the New Avengers.

This marked the first time in Marvel history that there were two opposing Avengers teams with separate philosophies, separate members, and an ax to grind with each other.

On one hand, the New Avengers, including Spider-Man, Clint Barton (then in his Ronin guise), Luke Cage, Doctor Strange, Echo, and Iron Fist, who were on the run from the law.

And on the other side, the Mighty Avengers, including leader Tony Stark (who was then the leader of SHIELD as well as being Iron Man), Wasp, Black Widow, Ares (the Olympian god of war), Carol Danvers, and Wonder Man, who worked to uphold the SHRA while taking on global threats.

Avenger Vs. Avenger

Things continued on this way for a little while, but as often happens, they were united by a bigger threat that required all of Earth's Mightiest Heroes working together to overcome. In this case, the shapeshifting alien warriors known as the Skrull had infiltrated Earth society, taking the place of key world leaders, and even superheroes in the Secret Invasion comic event.

At first, the New Avengers and Mighty Avengers each dealt with the Secret Invasion separately, but by the end of the saga, they reunited in common cause with all of Earth's heroes, including the Thunderbolts, who were then a team of bloodthirsty villains led by Norman Osborn (often better known as Green Goblin).

Though the reunion of the Avengers should have been joyous, things were quickly complicated when Osborn himself managed to land the kill shot on the Skrull Empress, leading to Tony Stark falling out of favor as leader of SHIELD, with Osborn replacing him.

Osborn wasted no time in disbanding SHIELD, declaring himself the leader of a new organization known as HAMMER (with no actual acronym behind the name). Seizing Stark's tech, Osborn became the armored anti-hero the Iron Patriot, going on to form a hand-picked team of villains and anti-heroes to serve as his personal Dark Avengers.

In the end, the New Avengers and Mighty Avengers are reunited to defeat the Dark Avengers in the story Siege, in which Osborn's schemes for power lead to the destruction of the city of Asgard, then floating above the United States, and the death of Loki at the hands of the Sentry, who had been fully corrupted by Osborn.

Even after the reconciliation of the different branches of the Avengers, New Avengers would carry on as a title for several volumes, with the theme of the title usually centering on bringing new heroes into the fold as Avengers, and establishing teams with niches that Avengers had never occupied before.

The New Avengers title also played a key role in the lead up to 2015's Secret Wars comic event, which will be adapted into the sixth Avengers film, Avengers: Secret Wars. And as for the Dark Avengers, the team was later relaunched from a later volume of Thunderbolts, leading to the speculation that Dark Avengers would become the name of the team in the film thanks to the asterisk.

The last volume of the title wrapped in 2016, meaning it's been almost 10 years since the New Avengers team has appeared on shelves. But with a new volume of the Thunderbolts* comic launching with the asterisk of the film intact, it's possible we'll be seeing the reveal of a relaunched New Avengers title sooner than we think.

The New Avengers in the MCU

What's for certain is that the New Avengers are definitely coming to the MCU in the aftermath of Thunderbolts*, with the team established in that film carrying on to Avengers: Doomsday.

It was assumed that the MCU Thunderbolts would be granted Avengers status thanks to the reveal that they'd be involved in Doomsday, which was unveiled in Marvel's five hour livestream that showed off much (but not all) of the cast.

We now know their Avengers status is already confirmed by the time they arrive in Doomsday. And we also know that their team seems to be somewhat at odds with Sam Wilson's rival Avengers team, which he's been assembling since Captain America: Brave New World.

This means we're going into Doomsday with two rival Avengers teams in the mix in the MCU, just like when the New Avengers and Mighty Avengers were begrudgingly co-existing in comics.

What that will mean as the Avengers meet the classic Fox X-Men and face off with Robert Downey, Jr's Doctor Doom remains to be seen, but it's certain to inform the future of Earth's Mightiest Heroes throughout MCU Phase 6, which kicks off in July with The Fantastic Four: First Steps. For more, check out our guide to the other upcoming Marvel movies on the way in 2025 and beyond.