Warning! This article contains spoilers for Thunderbolts*.
Despite answering a great number of the MCU"s mysteries, Thunderbolts* was the perfect chance to resolve a specific one from four years ago, yet it missed the opportunity to do so. Based on just how many mysteries it answered, the story of Thunderbolts* proved to be a vital one to the overarching MCU. Even beyond that, the teases that link to future Marvel movies in the ending of Thunderbolts* proved even more so just how big a film this was for the franchise and its future.
Be it Thunderbolts*" post-credit scene revealing the newly-renamed New Avengers team as a link to The Fantastic Four or the tease of a rift growing between Bucky and Captain America, the film answered several lingering questions about how the franchise could possibly sustain two big Avengers movies after such uncertainty in Phases 4 and 5. Then there were the more individual, smaller mysteries answered about the cast of Thunderbolts*. However, one mystery concerning a specific cast member first introduced four years ago was left strangely unanswered, despite Thunderbolts* being the perfect place to address it.
Thunderbolts* Answered Several Questions About Valentina Allegra de Fontaine Val's History Was Addressed Firstly, it is worth exploring the character in question and how Thunderbolts* answered some mysteries about her: Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Val has appeared in four MCU projects thus far, with the previous three before Thunderbolts* being The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Black Widow, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. In all three she was doing shady things without giving any real insight into why, yet Thunderbolts* finally changed this by addressing many of these mysteries.
For one, her appearances in Black Widow and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier were for recruitment. She recruited John Walker and Yelena Belova in these projects, leading to their appearance in Thunderbolts* as covert operatives who carry out her missions. Thunderbolts* also explored Val"s backstory via a brief flashback to her childhood and her establishment of the OXE company, despite some of these elements still being shrouded in secrecy.
Related Valentina Allegra de Fontaine's Backstory And OXE Are Still Mysterious Even After Thunderbolts* Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is one of the MCU’s most intriguing new characters, but those expecting answers in Thunderbolts* might be more puzzled.
Posts 2 Finally, Thunderbolts* backstory involving Bob/Sentry explained Val"s actions in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Val revealed that she has spent years trying to somewhat monopolize hero work in the absence of The Avengers, hence Sentry"s creation. With Vibranium, it likely would have been easier to do so, explaining her questionable actions in the 2022 film.
Thunderbolts* Did Not Explain Why Valentina Wanted Clint Barton Dead In Hawkeye What Did Clint Barton Do Wrong? Close This leads me to the one question about Valentina that Thunderbolts* did not answer: why did Valentina want Hawkeye dead? Val"s appearance in the final moments of Black Widow saw her manipulating Yelena, insisting that Clint Barton was the reason Natasha Romanoff died. Yelena took this as gospel, appearing in 2021"s Hawkeye in an attempt to assassinate Clint.
Although Yelena and Clint eventually settled their feud, it was never addressed what Val"s motivation was. Surprisingly, Thunderbolts* did not divulge this either. This means that, four years later, we know that Valentina wanted a major MCU hero to be killed by Yelena without knowing exactly why.
Thunderbolts* Was The Perfect Opportunity To Explain This Marvel Mystery The Answer Doesn't Seem Likely In Any Other Project One thing that makes Thunderbolts*" lack of answers about this mystery all the more baffling is that it was the perfect film to provide an answer. For one, it is hard to imagine Valentina Allegra de Fontaine appearing in any of the confirmed upcoming MCU movies. As such, there is little opportunity for Val to reveal why she wanted Hawkeye dead.
Secondly, a core subplot of Thunderbolts* was the team members discovering that Val had used them for many of her dark, discreet motives. This all came out and the team confronted Val about her deceit, which would have been the perfect moment for Yelena to raise the question of why she was manipulated into attacking Hawkeye. Nonetheless, Thunderbolts* withholds the answer from Yelena as much as the audience, forcing a four-year-old MCU mystery to continue.
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Like Follow Followed Thunderbolts* PG-13 Adventure Action Sci-Fi 8/10 251 8.9/10 Release Date May 2, 2025 Runtime 126 Minutes Director Jake Schreier Writers Eric Pearson, Joanna Calo Franchise(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe Cast See All Florence Pugh Yelena Belova Sebastian Stan James Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier
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