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With the Thunderbolts making their live-action debut soon, Marvel Comics has big plans for the team on the printed page. Not only is the current incarnation of the team playing a major role in the One World Under Doom crossover event, an entirely new Thunderbolts team will arrive shortly after the movie hits theaters.
Marvel just revealed New Thunderbolts*, a series written by Sam Humphries (Uncanny X-Force) and drawn by Ton Lima (West Coast Avengers), with cover art by Stephen Segovia. Check out the cover to issue #1 below:
While the new series is clearly intended to capitalize on the movie in some ways, including featuring Bucky Barnes as team leader and adding the mysterious asterisk to the title, the general team lineup is far different. This new roster includes Thunderbolts newcomers Clea, Wolverine (Laura Kinney), Namor, Hulk, and Carnage (with ex-Venom Eddie Brock currently holding that mantle).
The new series opens with Bucky and Black Widow responding to the existential threat that arises when doppelgangers of the Illuminati begin threatening the Marvel Universe. They’ll assemble a new team of heavy-hitters to deal with the crisis, but leading such an eclectic band of monsters and killers is going to be far easier said than done.
“I love every iteration of Thunderbolts,” Humphries said in Marvel’s press release. “I’m thrilled to continue the franchise’s proud tradition of hard hitting action, powder keg personalities, and explosive surprises into a new era. This is a gang of seven of the biggest badasses and loose cannons from different corners of the Marvel Universe. Assembling a super team is like inviting the right combination of guests to a dinner party. So I imagined a dangerous, disastrous, unhinged Marvel dinner party, and went with that.”
“I’m having a blast working on this book with Mr. Humphries and the team,” Lima added. “Look at this lineup… it’s crazy. They’re not here to talk; they jump straight to the action! And that’s the most fun part to draw. None of them are known for taking it easy on the job, so I can’t either.”
New Thunderbolts* #1 will be released on June 11, 2025.
For more on the Thunderbolts* movie, learn more about Lewis Pullman’s character The Sentry and find out what the asterisk in the title may mean.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
