Marvel's Thunderbolts* Title Has An Asterisk: Marketing Gimmick Or Does It Have A Deep Meaning?

Thunderbolts* Title's Asterisk: Marketing Gimmick Or Deep Meaning?

Till now, no Marvel movie has had a punctuation mark in the title that will spark so many discussions and debates. The moment Thunderbolts* was launched, fans and followers were intrigued by the asterisk mark. Some started wondering whether it was one of Marvel's smart marketing gimmicks or if it indicated something with a deep meaning.

Now, grammatically, an asterisk (*) in a title usually means that some additional information is connected to that specific part or there's a footnote attached. It can also indicate something attention-worthy in that particular word or phrase. Given this, the asterisk in Thunderbolts* might mean that the superhero film has links to Marvel's forthcoming movies and so won't be a standalone one. But, intra-universe connections are like a norm for almost every MCU project, whether films or TV series. All of them are usually set and connected in that certain universe. So, the asterisk might not stand for that. Then what else?

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Thunderbolts*: Marvel's Japanese X Handle Offers Some Insights

Marvel's official Japanese X handle, in February 2025, posted an image showing all the six Thunderbolts team members- Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Yelena Belova/Black Widow, Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster, Ava Starr/Ghost, and John Walker/U.S. Agent- inside the asterisk mark.

At the centre of the image, the text read, "Not Super. Not Hero. Not giving up," while the translated version of the Japanese caption read, "In a world without heroes, a team of outlaws, all of whom have their own problems, rise up 《Thunderbolts》The true identity of the mysterious man, Bob. What is the hidden meaning behind the asterisk in the title?"

『#サンダーボルツ*』5/2(金)日米同時公開🎬
◢◤◢◤💥最新ポスター解禁💥◢◤◢◤

ヒーロー不在の世界で立ち上がるのは
全員“ワケあり”のならず者チーム⚡️
《サンダーボルツ》

謎の男・ボブの正体。
タイトルのアスタリスクに隠された意味とは…⁉️

「*THE AVENGERS ARE NOT AVAILABLE」 pic.twitter.com/LdKcaIH5Hm

— マーベル・スタジオ［公式］ (@MarvelStudios_J) February 10, 2025

The reply was: The Avengers Are Not Available. Now, Avengers not being around when the world is facing crisis was understood when Louis-Dreyfus' likely antagonistic character Valentina Allegra de Fontaine tells the government in one of the trailers, “Let’s talk facts, the Avengers are not coming.” Their absence gains significance since there are rumours suggesting Thunderbolts team to be the next official Avengers.

That's because in Captain America: Brave New World, President Ross asks Sam Wilson to assist him in building a new Avengers team. So does that asterisk mean Wilson failed to do so? Or, it may mean that he is doing it discreetly.

Now, since that February 2025 poster was all about the asterisk, we know Marvel is serious about it, and thus is not a marketing ploy. Even Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige told at CinemaCon 2024 that he "won’t talk more about that (asterisk mark) until after the movie comes out," implying thatThunderbolts* will reveal why the punctuation mark is there.

Eventually, this led to speculations that Thunderbolts might be an unconfirmed name for a team of anti-heroes or unusual heroes that might finally be known as Dark Avengers or New Avengers.

Whatever it may be, the mystery revelation behind the asterisk mark in Thunderbolts title will be an interesting unfolding of a long-standing query.

Thunderbolts* hits cinema halls on May 2, 2025.

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