November 2022: This article has been updated at the bottom to reflect new information after the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. This article contains spoilers.
Thunderbolts was officially announced at San Diego Comic Con to cap off the end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase Five. Although nothing has been confirmed, we can assume that the Thunderbolts is the team that Contessa Valentina Allegra De Fontaine is putting together with the recruitment of John Walker as the U.S. Agent and Yelena Belova. Where could it all be heading? Is it possible that Thunderbolts could lead us into the MCU’s introduction of the X-Men?
Bear with me because this theory is ultimately built on a baseless rumor, but for fun, let’s consider that the rumor was true. The rumor being that Thunderbolts is going to take place in the Savage Land.
What is the Savage Land?
The Savage Land made its comic debut in Marvel Mystery Comics #22 although it wasn’t given a name until X-Men #10. The Savage Land is a preserved prehistoric area in Antarctica that is surrounded and hidden by volcanos. An alien race, known as the Beyonders, contracted the Nuwali, another alien race to create game reserves on several planets, including Earth. The creation of the Savage Land took place over millions of years, so creatures and plants from several different eras were placed in there and preserved. Eventually, the Nuwali abandoned the project, leaving the area untouched and unknown until it was discovered by Atlanteans.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Atlantis
We’ve seen from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever teaser trailer that the film will introduce Namor and Atlantis to the MCU. As stated above, Atlanteans were the first humans to discover the Savage Land. They created a colony called Pangea, began to create human/animal hybrids in hopes of opening the area to travels as a type of amusement park. However, when Atlantis was destroyed, the colony was cut off from the rest of civilization and those who were stuck there eventually turned to savagery, hence the name. So, Atlantis has a connection to the Savage Land, now what? That may not be our only connection…
There is another rumor about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever that has to do with Riri Williams’s role in the film. Her role is rumored to involve her having created a device that can detect vibranium in the Earth. In the comics, a scientist Robert Plunder travels to the Savage Land in search of vibranium and ends up discovering Antarctic Vibranium, also known as the anti-metal which has the opposite effect on Wakandan Vibranium. It emits vibrations that causes the molecular bonds of nearby metals to break down and liquify. Now, we know that Marvel Studios likes to put its own spin on comic stories to fit into the universe so I’m not sure we’ll be meeting Robert Plunder at all, but…
‘Thunderbolts’ Plot Theory
With the rumor of the Thunderbolts team headed to the Savage Land, I theorize that Contessa Valentina manages to get her hands on Riri’s device which will ultimately lead them into the Savage Land in search of vibranium. Whether they know of its true effects or not, it’s hard to say but I could understand why someone would want their hands on such a thing. It could be extremely powerful and extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. The search won’t come easy, however. Ka-Zar is a superhero who was raised in the Savage Land by a sabretooth tiger after his parents died. He is a protector of the land but also of the Antarctic Vibranium. While Ka-Zar is generally a protagonist, I believe that he may be an antagonist in Thunderbolts, at least at the start. I think it’s possible also that Ka-Zar will end up teaming up with the Thunderbolts to fight an even larger threat. Either way, I think this will be a large part of the story.
Meeting Magneto
I think that ultimately, this is going to all lead into our first introduction to Magento.
In X-Men #62-63, Magneto, after having been defeated (and assumed dead), retreats to the Savage Land. He creates a headquarters Here, he genetically alters some of the natives using special equipment he created, turning them into the Savage Land Mutates to serve him. Not only do they serve him but worship him as “The Creator.” With this thought, I have a theory.
My theory is that in Thunderbolts, we’re going to meet the Savage Land Mutates at some point but they aren’t extremely important to the film. They may be minor antagonists who show up, get defeated, we never hear from them again but this gives us the small introduction that we need. Then during the mid or post-credit scene, we meet the Mutates again except, this time we’re also introduced to their creator, Magneto, which will set up a mutant or X-Men film. We know how much Marvel loves to introduce new characters in the mid and post-credit scenes of its films so I could see Magneto easily being shown here.
With that said, I could see an X-Men film or Disney+ series that is partially based on those two X-Men issues, #62-63 where the X-Men first fight Ka-Zar before teaming up with him to fight the Savage Land Mutates which then lead them to “The Creator” who reveals himself to be Magneto. He uses a portable jetpack with arm apparatuses that “drain off” most of his magnetism so that he’s able to use the equipment that turns people into the Savage Land Mutates. This leaves his powers weakened and he’s forced to maneuver with the jetpack as well as use energy guns to fight the X-Men. Ultimately, Magneto is seemingly killed when the device he’s wearing is destroyed and when he fails in his last desperate attempt, the equipment crashes onto him and much of his castle headquarters collapses in on top of him and he is assumed to be dead. Think similar to the Scarlet Witch’s fate in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
The Problem
My biggest issue with the Savage Land rumor and subsequently, the entire theory, is that the original Thunderbolts were a group of villains lead by Baron Helmut Zemo, masquerading as heroes in order to gain the public’s trust. They often showed up in very public spaces to show off their heroism. From what we can tell, this isn’t exactly the route they’re going with the MCU version of the Thunderbolts. It seems as if this version is going to fall in line with a more government-sanctioned version of the team which has a history in the comics as well.
With that said, a big theme within the Thunderbolts comics is that they’re often seeking redemption. I fail to see how the government sending them on a mission that no one will see or hear about falls in line with that. John Walker killing a Flagsmasher with the Captain America shield in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier definitely soured his public image and maybe Yelena just wants to feel like she’s doing something right for once, it’s hard to say. I think the storyline in Hawkeye featuring Yelena wasn’t explained as well as it should have been so we don’t know much about her current motivations.
I can understand why the government would send them in the first place because, as I said above about Contessa Valentina, they likely want their hands on the Vibranium but, from a story-telling perspective, it doesn’t quite make sense in the context of the Thunderbolts. I’ll be interested to see in what Marvel Studios does with the team and I hope they respect their history.
Update: November 2022
With the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, new information was revealed that may lend credence to the theory above. Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine was revealed to be the new CIA director. While we don’t know what she was prior to this, it is likely that she held a different position within the CIA. According to CIA.gov, The CIA is a U.S. government agency that provides objective intelligence on foreign countries and global issues to the president, the National Security Council, and other policymakers to help them make national security decisions.
In the film, it is revealed that several countries are trying to infiltrate Wakanda for its vibranium and in a meeting with Valentina, Everett Ross, and the U.S. Secretary of State, it’s revealed that the president wants to attempt to destabilize Wakanda. We learn later that the beads that Ross had been using to communicate with Queen Ramonda had been bugged by Valentina, giving the CIA vital information that will likely help their cause. We never see if the United States does plan on going through with their offensive action plan but I suspect that this may be a plot point of Thunderbolts.
The rumor about Riri Williams having created a device to detect vibranium was correct, however the device had already been in the CIA’s possession and it was ultimately taken by Wakanda and then destroyed. It was noted that it was the only one in existence. However, that doesn’t mean that the CIA didn’t have the blueprints as well. I would not be surprised if they CIA recreates the device in the future in order to detect vibranium elsewhere in the world. With the device, they found vibranium near Talokan (Atlantis in the comics) which means that despite not going there, the government probably has a pretty good idea of where it is located. At the end of Wakanda Forever, Wakanda and Talokan both understand that their worlds have to be protected although they may want to do that in different ways.
In Thunderbolts, I could see them discovering the Antarctic Vibranium in the Savage Land before they use it to attack Wakanda and/or Talokan, this could lead us into a Thunderbolts sequel or Black Panther 3. This would still involve the story points that began in Wakanda Forever as well as introducing us to the Savage Land and as stated above, could introduce us to Magneto down the line. It was revealed by Ryan Reynolds that Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine would be appearing in Deadpool 3, which is set to introduce Deadpool into the MCU so could he also be the MCU’s main Wolverine? Probably not, considering his death in Logan. That still leaves us waiting for the 616’s X-Men.
Another thing to consider is General Thaddeus Ross in Captain America: New World Order. It was reported that Harrison Ford would be taking over the role from the late William Hurt and would be starring in Captain America: New World Order. With The Leader, played by Tim Blake Nelson, returning as well in this film after not being seen since 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, it seems safe to say that we may be seeing our introduction to the Red Hulk there. Although he is not involved in the original team in the comics, Red Hulk/General Ross has had his fair share of involvement in the Thunderbolts. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some story strings for Thunderbolts start to be pulled in Captain America: New World Order.
Where do you think this is leading?
Make sure to check out Thunderbolts which hits theaters July 26, 2024 and will likely stream on Disney+ by September 2024.