The asterisk hullabaloo had everything to do with setting up The New Avengers ahead of Avengers: Doomsday ’s release next summer. While I wasn’t exactly surprised about the reveal when the movie reached its end (especially considering we already know the Thunderbolts* cast are part of the Avengers;

Here are all the actors and characters from Marvel's "Thunderbolts*" who are going to return in "Avengers: Doomsday."

Since then, Marvel has been far more selective with the villains it kills off. Spider-Man: No Way Home, WandaVision, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Captain America: Brave New World ... more villains have survived the events of these MCU movies and Disney+ shows, as well as other Phase 4 and 5 projects, than those in Phases 1, 2, and 3.

If there's one thing that's been made especially clear in the last few years of Marvel movies — and now even more so in "Thunderbolts*" — it's that the Avengers are gone, and Earth is sorely missing its mightiest heroes.

The Thunderbolts want to be the new Avengers, but they're not. Meanwhile we begin with Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively having another simple favor that starts with a simple question.