The MCU is in a bit of a weird place lately. The Avengers as we knew them are basically gone following the events of Avengers: Endgame, and Marvel is still building towards the debut of iconic teams like the Fantastic Four and X-Men. This world needs protecting, and that responsibility might just fall on the shoulders of the Thunderbolts. But why are the worst villains on the planet suddenly fighting to save it?

With the recent news that Paper Towns' Jake Schreier has been tapped to direct a top-secret Thunderbolts movie, as well as Kevin Feige confirming that Thunderbolts will mark the end of the MCU's Phase 5, it's a good time to brush up on this history of the team in Marvel's comics and why they could be a major game-changer in the MCU. These are the topic we cover here:

• Who Are the Thunderbolts?
• The Thunderbolts: The Origin of the Original Team
• The Many Incarnations of the Thunderbolts
• The Thunderbolts Marvel Movie

Who Are the Thunderbolts?

There have been many incarnations of the Thunderbolts over the past 25 years. There's only one common thread linking every version of the team – they're villains masquerading as heroes to further their own agenda. But though the various leaders of the Thunderbolts often have their own agendas, the team has a surprising habit of becoming a force for good. In the act of pretending to be heroes, the Thunderbolts often find themselves genuinely becoming heroes in the process.

Still, even at their most heroic, the Thunderbolts are more extreme and brutal in their methods than most superhero teams. The Thunderbolts' mission is best summed up by their slogan of choice – "Justice, like lightning."

The Thunderbolts: The Origin of the Original Team

The Thunderbolts were originally created by writer Kurt Busiek and artist Mark Bagley. Following an early teaser appearance in the pages of Incredible Hulk, the team made their proper debut in the first issue of The Thunderbolts in 1997.

Led by a mysterious, patriotic hero named Citizen V, the Thunderbolts make their debut in the aftermath of a devastating conflict with Onslaught. In this period, the Avengers and Fantastic Four have vanished (the premise behind Marvel's short-lived Heroes Reborn initiative), leaving a power vacuum the Thunderbolts are only too eager to fill.

However, despite presenting themselves as worthy successors to the Avengers, the Thunderbolts are hiding a dark secret that's revealed at the end of The Thunderbolts #1. They're all villains in disguise. Citizen V is actually Captain America's nemesis Baron Zemo. Many of Zemo's teammates are former Masters of Evil members using new costumed identities. Even 25 years later, that twist ending is widely regarded as one of the most memorable moments in Marvel Comics' history.

But though Zemo forms the team in order to win the public's trust and gather secrets about the superhero community that he can sell to the criminal underworld, the Thunderbolts find themselves warming to the idea of being superheroes. That shift continues even as the Thunderbolts are discredited following the return of the Avengers and Fantastic Four. By the time the team finally dissolves, even Zemo himself begins to flirt with the idea of redemption.

The Many Incarnations of the Thunderbolts

Though Zemo's version of the Thunderbolts disbands following the events of Marvel's 2006 Civil War crossover, that crossover also paves the way for a brand new incarnation of the team. After the victorious Tony Stark becomes director of SHIELD, Norman Osborn is tasked with leading a new version of the Thunderbolts comprised of incarcerated supervillains like Venom, Bullseye, Penance and Thunderbolts veterans Songbird and Moonstone.

That team is similar to DC's Suicide Squad in that it's a government-sanctioned black ops unit charged with hunting down heroes who violate the Superhuman Registration Act. Also like the Suicide Squad, the Thunderbolts are kept under strict surveillance and fitted with remote-controlled devices to prevent them from defying orders.

Against all odds, Osborn's team succeeds and even become international heroes thanks to their role in repelling a Skrull invasion (learn more about the MCU's version of that story here). Osborn usurps Stark's position at SHIELD and transforms it into HAMMER. Many of his Thunderbolts graduate to the "Dark Avengers," a team where these villains usurp the names and costumes of heroes like Spider-Man, Hawkeye and Wolverine. Even Osborn steals Stark's tech and rebrands himself "Iron Patriot," though the Green Goblin side of his personality doesn't stay buried for long.

Osborn forms another new version of the Thunderbolts during this period, one that can carry out the missions too dirty for his public-facing team of Avengers. However, both teams implode after Osborn's true nature is finally exposed in 2010's Siege.

Since then, the Thunderbolts have undergone a number of evolutions and transformations. Luke Cage briefly lead the team as a more law-abiding alternative to the Osborn era. General Thunderbolt Ross, in his guise as Red Hulk, assembled a squad of skilled assassins that included Punisher, Venom, and Elektra. The Winter Soldier formed his own Thunderbolts that included many veterans of the original team. And most recently, Wilson Fisk spearheaded multiple versions of the Thunderbolts during his tenure as mayor of New York City.

The Thunderbolts Marvel Movie

Following a handful of appearances in animated projects like Ultimate Spider-Man and Avengers: Ultron Revolution, the Thunderbolts are making their live-action debut in an upcoming MCU movie. According to reports, Paper Towns' Jake Schreier has signed on to direct the film, with Eric Pearson (Black Widow) penning the screenplay.

Beyond that, very little is known about this secretive project, apart from its July 2024 release date. We don't even know which specific version of the comic book team is being adapted for the MCU. As with so many past MCU projects, it's likely the Thunderbolts movie is drawing inspiration from several different incarnations.

It does seem safe to assume Daniel Brühl's Baron Zemo will be involved. Zemo has already been portrayed in a more sympathetic light in 2016's Captain America: Civil War and 2021's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and the Thunderbolts movie may see him continue to seek redemption for his past by spearheading a team of would-be heroes.

It's also very likely that Julia Louis Dreyfus' Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is a major character in the movie. We've seen Contessa appear in several Phase 4 adventures already, recruiting characters like Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova and Wyatt Russell's John Walker to her mysterious cause. Contessa may be responsible for forming the Thunderbolts in response to the dissolution of the Avengers, hence why she wants a Black Widow and a Captain America of her own. But given the character's often treacherous nature in the comics, it's hard to say which side Contessa is truly on.

2021's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings may have been setting up the Thunderbolts movie, too. Tim Roth's Abomination is briefly seen taking part in a superhuman fight club before being escorted home by Benedict Wong's Wong. This former Hulk villain is seemingly being rehabilitated, which could pave the way for his involvement with the Thunderbolts. Perhaps we'll learn more when the character returns in the upcoming She-Hulk series.

Finally, there's a possibility the team is somehow connected to William Hurt's General Thunderbolt Ross, hearkening back to Marvel's 2012 Thunderbolts series. Sadly, Hurt's recent passing means Ross himself probably won't be appearing in the movie, but who knows — maybe we'll learn the team is named in his honor.

In short, the MCU Thunderbolts are shaping up to be a fusion of several versions of the comic book team. As with the original incarnation, Baron Zemo is likely a major player in this story. As with the post-Civil War version, the team is probably a government-sanctioned alternative to the Avengers, rather than simply being a group of disguised villains. The real question is how heroes like Spider-Man, Doctor Strange and Thor will react to seeing this new team arrive on the scene.

Thunderbolts Release Date

It was announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 that Marvel's Thunderbolts will conclude Phase 5 of the MCU when it is released on July 26, 2024.

Thunderbolts Cast

We don't know who will be in Thunderbolts yet, but we can take some guesses. As noted above, these characters all seem like good candidates to join the MCU version of the team: Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Baron Zemo (Daniel Brühl), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), and Abomination (Tim Roth).

What MCU characters do you want to see join the Thunderbolts? Vote in our poll and sound off in the comments! And be sure to check out all the new Marvel movies in 2022 and beyond.

Note: This article was originally published on June 16, 2022 and updated on July 26, 2022 with the latest news about Thunderbolts.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

With the impending arrival of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s upcoming DC movie Black Adam – and with Johnson making a surprise appearance at Warner Bros' Comic-Con panel – it's time to take a closer look at the heroes who will be sharing the screen with the character — the JSA.

The Justice Society of America has long been a core part of the animated and TV landscapes of DC, with their most well-known characters popping up time and time again, including in a very big way in DC's Stargirl series. So what does all of this actually mean for the upcoming (sort of) Shazam spin-off Black Adam? Well, let's just say this isn't exactly your grandad's Justice Society of America.

Let’s dig into what the arrival of the JSA could mean for Black Adam and the bigger DCEU!

Black Adam Cast

While the membership of the JSA has varied greatly over the team’s eight-decade history, the Black Adam movie will be featuring a pared-down membership:

• Atom Smasher (played by Noah Centineo)
• Hawkman (played by Aldis Hodge)
• Doctor Fate (played by Pierce Brosnan)
• Cyclone (played by Quintessa Swindell)
• Black Adam (played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson)

Judging by the concept art teaser released back at DC FanDome 2020 (and the footage that's been released since then) , it looks like Black Adam will be fighting the Justice Society in the film… but, of course, don’t these things usually end with everyone making friends to fight a bigger threat? So maybe Black Adam will join the JSA by the end of the film…

What Is the Justice Society of America?

The JSA is a classic Golden Age superhero team — the first superhero team actually — that was born out of the minds of Sheldon Mayer and Gardner Fox. The team debuted in 1941's All-Star Comics #3 — predating the Justice League by almost two decades — and featured a lineup of powerful heroes: Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Spectre, Atom, Hour-Man, Sandman, Jay Garrick’s Flash, and Alan Scott's Green Lantern.

Eagle-eyed fans will notice that a couple of Black Adam’s characters are from that original lineup, as both Doctor Fate and Hawkman will be appearing in the upcoming super-flick. (The Stargirl TV series, meanwhile, has featured a selection of those characters both in their classic forms, and as reimagined modern versions, alongside heroes from the Seven Soldiers of Victory including Starman and his titular legacy successor.)

The JSA's adventures eventually ceased as superhero comics fell out of favor in the early 1950s, but in time the Silver Age of comics brought new versions of heroes like the Flash and Green Lantern back to popularity. In 1961, the new Barry Allen Flash met his counterpart from the JSA, Jay Garrick, and soon the concept of alternate Earths established that the JSA had been from Earth-2 while the "modern" heroes were from Earth-1. The JSA’s connection to the World War II-era led to them being depicted as older characters who often mentored younger heroes, and the different Earths were eventually merged in 1985’s Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Who Is Black Adam?

Dwayne Johnson's DC Comics anti-hero Black Adam was once known as Teth-Adam. There have been variations on his story over the years thanks to DC's ever-changing continuity, but basically he's from the country known as Kahndaq in DC, and was born some 5000 years before the film takes place, where he was a slave. Like Shazam would be millennia later, he was granted the power of the Wizard Shazam, but was corrupted by this power and banished by the wizard. He would return eventually, and become the nemesis of the hero Shazam in modern times, before eventually becoming more of an anti-hero and a member of the JSA.

Atom Smasher (played by Noah Centineo)

The first hint that Black Adam wouldn't feature the full original iteration of the JSA was the announcement of Noah Centineo (To All the Boys I've Loved Before) being cast as Atom Smasher. The character first appeared in All-Star Squadron #25, a WWII-set series from Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler, and Jerry Ordway that gave the creators a chance to tell stories of the JSA in what they saw as their heyday. The period yarns were all set in the Earth-2 continuity which allowed the series to reimagine the adventures of the Golden Age heroes without disrupting their current continuity while also opening up space to introduce fresh faces and new legacy characters like the godson of the Golden Age Atom, Albert Rothstein, a.k.a. Atom Smasher.

Just like the original Atom, the hero can manipulate the molecular structure of his body, and he even gained these powers in the same way as the original Atom, via a supervillain known as Cyclotron. Though the Golden Age Atom received his abilities during a battle, Albert inherited his from the maniacal villain who was his grandfather. Despite his grim origin, the hero was always far more interested in following in the do-gooder footsteps of his heroes in the Justice Society of America, first as the teenage super Nuklon and later as the fully-fledged JSA member Atom Smasher.

Atom Smasher is a particularly interesting character choice when you set it alongside Dwayne Johnson's eagerness to frame Black Adam as an anti-hero rather than a straight-up villain. During the '90s JSA run written by Geoff Johns and David Goyer, with art by Stephen Sadowski, Black Adam joins the JSA alongside Atom Smasher and Stargirl. If we look to that series as inspiration, we could see Johnson's powerful antagonist become an ally to these more traditionally heroic characters, at least for a little while. Basically, Black Adam and Atom Smasher are deeply connected in the comics, and you can expect to see Johnson and Centineo going on an emotional journey together in the film.

Hawkman (played by Aldis Hodge)

Next up is probably the most well-known of Black Adam's antagonists. Hawkman, who will be played by Aldis Hodge, has appeared in numerous DC animated movies and shows while also playing a major role in the early seasons of the long-running CW superhero series Legends of Tomorrow. Like most Big Two heroes, Hawkman has lived through multiple iterations with many people holding the mantle, but the usual suspect is Carter Hall, an Indiana Jones-style archeologist; it seems unlikely that we'll see his alien Thanagarian cop iteration, Katar Hol, in this film. That doesn't mean his is a simple story though, as Carter Hall's Hawkman is actually a contemporary reincarnation of Khufu, an ancient Egyptian royal. The Shazam movie featured a sequence which told the story of Black Adam, and it looked like he was in ancient Egypt. Plus there's the fact that Hawkman's entire backstory is filled with time travel, multiple lives, and DC's mysterious Nth metal.

Hawkman's wings are powered by that magical compound, which is also connected to his origin as he was stabbed by a dagger made of Nth metal and cursed to live again and again and again. Though the Shazam movie leaned into the Egyptian version of Black Adam's origin, in the Johns JSA run mentioned above the team retconned Adam to being from Kahndaq, a fictional North African nation. Don't despair, however, as Hawkman still plays a key part in that lore, as Black Adam served under Khufu, who would later be reincarnated as Carter Hall.

Something very interesting about these JSA choices is it seems the film is essentially building a team around Black Adam, with everyone having some deep-seated connection to the villain/anti-hero and his comic book history.

Doctor Fate (played by Pierce Brosnan)

Doctor Fate is the only Justice Society character here who will have featured in both the Stargirl series and the Black Adam movie — as well as, get ready for this throwback, Smallville. He’s a very interesting choice as the massively powerful hero doesn't have a substantial pre-existing relationship with Black Adam in the comics. Still, the origins of his magical helmet and powerset do lean into some very Shazam-style tropes. In his Golden Age incarnation, Doctor Fate awakens a wizard in a tomb and becomes a hero… that sounds a whole lot like Billy Batson and his origin story, so there's a lot to play with there. But seeing as we've been talking about Egypt, let's skip forward a few decades and talk about a smuggler known as Jared Stevens.

Hired by two previous Doctor Fates to steal the helmet and amulet from an Egyptian tomb — *cough* sounds like a good way to build in a backstory with Adam *cough* — Stevens was first introduced during 1994's Fate #0 and played a part in Johns and Goyer's time on JSA. It would make sense then that this is the version of Doctor Fate that we'll see (although, to be pedantic, he never truly took that mantle and was known only as Fate). It would be super cool to get a classic iteration of the character but we've seen that onscreen before and this version has an interesting connection to one of the biggest surprises about the Black Adam movie.

Back at DC FanDome in 2020, a concept image was shown off showcasing a small purple gem next to Adam. In the comics, that artifact is home to the demonic entity known as Eclipso — who was also introduced in Stargirl, thank Grodd for the Multiverse — who opens up another layer of connection to Jared Stevens. During his stint as a hero, Stevens had to face down threats from the mysterious Gemworld, the home of iconic teen heroine Amethyst. And in some parts of Eclipso canon — specifically the New 52 era — it's revealed that he was imprisoned in his gem by the House of Amethyst on Gemworld. Could that be the connection here? Does Stevens come up against Adam whilst they're both hunting for Eclipso? Perhaps they already know each other due to that connection? If so, then that's another hero with a bone to pick with Johnson's yellow and black-suited character.

Cyclone (played by Quintessa Swindell)

The final confirmed member of Black Adam's Justice Society of America is an interesting one. A legacy character with ties to both a classic Golden Age hero and their android replacement, Cyclone, a.k.a. Maxine Hunkel, is the granddaughter of the original Red Tornado (another Sheldon Mayer creation). An older, unnamed Maxine first appeared in 1996’s future-set Kingdom Come series by Alex Ross and Mark Waid but a younger version of the character was retroactively added to the JSA by Geoff Johns and Dale Eaglsham a decade later.

Though at first it may seem that she doesn't have a connection to Black Adam, Cyclone’s dark origin story introduced a thread that could be key. Maxine was recruited to the JSA by Mister Terrific and Power Girl during Johns and Eaglesham's 2007 JSA relaunch. It's there that we find out she gained her powers due to being kidnapped by the mad scientist T. O. Morrow, who was also the creator of the second Red Tornado. In some kind of horrific experiment, he imbued Maxine with the same technology that he used to create that android hero and years later she manifested her powers, joining the up-and-coming DC Comics team. So what does that have to do with Black Adam? His antagonistic history with T. O. Morrow introduces an easy potential connection that could very likely be built on during this exploration of the JSA.

In 2006, DC embarked on an unprecedented experiment: 52 was a weekly series that aimed to put out a new issue every Wednesday for a year… and they achieved it! Featuring some of DC's biggest creators, it was a huge moment for the company and it's also where Black Adam and T. O. Morrow faced down. During the event, Black Adam hunted down the scientist for the part that he played in the creation of the Fourth World's Four Horsemen of Apokolips. Now, while we don't necessarily think Black Adam will be getting deep into Darkseid lore, we do know this Adam is more of an anti-hero. Could he inadvertently run into Maxine while hunting down T. O. Morrow — maybe in flashback? Perhaps he even saves her from him? If so, it could mean that her connection to the antagonist is a positive one, which would add an interesting layer to the team.

We'll have to wait until the Black Adam film hits to find out, but what do you think of this Justice Society of America roster? Is our sleuthing outrageous or does it actually make quite a bit of sense? Are you just stoked to see the Rock finally become Black Adam? Let us know in the comments! And head this way for all the new DC movies and TV shows in 2022 and beyond.

Note: This story was updated on July 26, 2022, with the latest information about Black Adam. It orginally ran in August, 2020.

Rosie Knight is an Eisner-winning journalist, author and comics writer. She co-hosts Crooked Media’s X-Ray Vision podcast, discussing pop culture from superhero movies to prestige television to the best fantasy novels and, of course, comics.

Last year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced at the company's full year earnings call that the Xbox Series X and S were the fastest-selling consoles in Xbox history. Now, a year later and nearly two years into the consoles' life cycles, he's affirmed this continues to be true.

While this sounds a bit obvious, what Nadella's really saying here is that sales of the newest Xbox consoles haven't really slowed down significantly since they launched, at least not compared to past Xbox consoles.

His exact words were that Microsoft has "sold more consoles life-to-date than any previous generation of Xbox." So almost two years in, none of the other Xboxes had sold as many units as the current generation.

That's a lot of Xboxes, especially given the many challenges the ongoing chip shortage has presented in getting the dang things on the shelves in the first place.

Nadella also mentioned a few other numbers. He reminded us that Xbox consoles have been the next-gen console market leader for three quarters in a row now (basically, they've been outselling PS5 for the last three quarters). And, hardware aside, Xbox's xCloud seems to be doing all right too — over four million people have streamed Fortnite to date on xCloud, Nadella said, including over one million people who were brand new to the xCloud ecosystem.

That's all good news for Xbox, though it came alongside the announcement that gaming revenue for the quarter was down 7% year-over-year, content and service revenue was down 6%, while hardware revenue dropped 11%. While none of that sounds sparkling, it also shouldn't be shocking — last quarter the company was still riding the high of a massive hardware sales surge, and it's normal to see hardware sales gently decline as time goes on.

As for content revenue, without a ton of blockbuster releases hanging around, Xbox will probably have to wait for October or later for some big releases to bolster those numbers further.

Xbox is projecting that its current quarter (running from July through September) will see a year-on-year drop in the low-to-mid single digits due to declines in first party content, while console revenue and Game Pass subscriptions are expected to rise.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Development on the upcoming remake of Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic has reportedly been paused indefinitely after what appears to be disappointment over the current progress of the RPG.

According to Bloomberg, Texas-based studio Aspyr’s recent internal demo of the Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic demo didn’t land as well as it could have when it was shown to Lucasfilm and Sony. This has led to Aspyr telling employees that the project would be put on pause and that the company would look for “new contracts and development opportunities.”

Additionally, Aspyr fired the remake’s art director and design director, Jason Minor, who reportedly said on social media channels that the dismissal was unexpected.

Aspyr has been working on the remake of the 2003 Star Wars RPG for the last three years before finally announcing the game in September 2021. However, after presenting a demo, or vertical slice, of the game to its production partners Lucasfilm and Sony, it was followed by employees learning of the development pause, and two firings.

Bloomberg reports that Aspyr’s studio heads told staff that the vertical slice “wasn’t where they wanted it to be and that the project would be paused.”

While Aspyr’s future involvement in the project remains unclear, Aspyr’s parent company, Embracer, announced in May that Saber Interactive would assist on the project and some Aspyr employees believe Saber may take over the project completely.

Knights of the Old Republic remake was set to be released as a PC and PS5 console exclusive and was touted as a full remake developed from the ground up. Originally developed by BioWare, Knights of the Old Republic has consistently been regarded as one of the best Star Wars video games and western RPGs.

The first teaser premiered in Sony’s 2021 PlayStation Showcase and it was revealed that original voice actor Jennifer Hale would be returning as Bastila Shan.

According to reports, Aspyr was targeting a late 2022 release date for the remake but insiders suggest 2025 was a more realistic target. However, it’s now unclear how this project will continue.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

At San Diego Comic-Con 2022, IGN had the chance to check out the House of the Dragon: The Dragon's Den fan experience and take a trip to Westeros to see some dragon eggs, a dragon skull, and sit upon the Iron Throne.

The House of the Dragon fan experience was there to help promote the Game of Thrones prequel that is set to premiere on HBO on August 21 and it brought fans to King's Landing, the Red Keep, and even the caverns of Dragonstone, the ancestral home of the Targaryens.

We were even able to choose our very own dragon egg and hatch it via the new AR app called House of the Dragon: DracARys. Following the event, we were encouraged to continue to raise our personalized dragon in the app.

One of our favorite moments was sitting upon the Targaryen-era Iron Throne in a recreated throne room, and our time in Westeros was made even better by the staff that were fully in character as residents of George R.R. Martin's universe.

San Diego Comic-Con had so much to offer those who can't wait for House of the Dragon, including a brand-new trailer and a panel that featured Martin talking about how he won't cameo in a Game of Thrones spin-off until he finishes Winds of Winter, talk about how House of the Dragon is inspired by real history, and what it was like for the actors to dragonride.

For more on San Diego Comic-Con, check out our recap of the show and who, alongside House of the Dragon, the biggest winners of the weekend were.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.