June 6, 2025 – Superhero team-up stories, from the Justice League (which dates back to 1960) to the Avengers (which dates back to 1963) have always been popular, and Marvel Studios is trying to revive its movie superhero team-ups this year with Thunderbolts* and a new remake of its least successful team, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” due for a July 25 release.

Superheroes come in two flavors: The Born Hero, raised with a strong moral background (like Superman) and the Dark Hero (like Batman) whose heroism is born of tragedy. The Dark Hero's motivations are not so much a positive love of the good, but a hatred of evil, and a strong desire for redemption to atone for past sins.

The Thunderbolts are mostly the latter kind, with two of the main characters, Bucky Barnes, AKA The Winter Soldier (played by Sebastian Stan, reprising this role from previous Marvel films dating back to “Captain America: The First Avenger” 14 years ago) and the former Black Widow assassin Yelena Belova (played by Florence Pugh, reprising her 2021 role from “Black Widow”) whose ledger is gushing red. Both Barnes and Belova seek redemption for their many past killings.

Joining them is Bob Reynolds (played by Lewis Pullman, who played yet another Bob in “Top Gun: Maverick”). Bob is a man with severe mental health issues who has been enhanced with incredible powers, exposing his deadly dark side. He means well, but can't control himself.

Another member of the team with a checkered past seeking redemption is a disgraced former Captain America John Walker (played by Wyatt Russell, reprising his role from “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” series). Another kind of super hero joining this group is Alexei Shostakov AKA The Red Guardian (played by David Harbour, reprising his role from “Black Widow”). Alexei is a Russian enhanced super soldier like Captain America, who has been largely forgotten. He desperately wants to regain his lost glory as a superhero, as does John Walker.

Yet another assassin, Ava Starr, AKA the Ghost (played by Hannah John-Kamen, reprising her role from “Ant-Man and the Wasp”) reluctantly joins the group, when she realizes that she has been targeted for death by her boss, rogue CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, reprising her role from previous Marvel shows, including “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”). Valentina sets a trap to kill Ava Star, along with Wyatt Russell, Yelena Belova and yet another Black Widow assassin, Antonia Dreykov (played by Olga Kurylenko, reprising her role from “Black Widow”) in order to cover up her own illegal activities.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is best known for playing Elaine Benes on 170 episodes of “Seinfeld.” She uses her comic chops in this movie to play a ruthless, amoral character with a comic twist. There is a good deal of comedy in this well-written action film, which takes full advantage of the versatility of its talented cast. From Bob's clueless amnesia, to Yelena Belova's guilt and emptiness, to the Red Guardian's child-like enthusiasm and desperate need to be in a heroic team, this is a memorable cast of characters.

Of course there is plenty of action in this action movie, to go along with all the comedy and drama. It doesn't always make sense, but it is entertaining. I see a lot of similarities to “The Suicide Squad” in the basic plot of this movie, the main difference being the much darker, more serious tone in “The Suicide Squad” compared to “Thunderbolts*.” Of the two, I prefer “Thunderbolts*.” It rates a B.

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