Spider-Man might end up being the biggest Thunderbolts* plot hole

Thunderbolts* opens on May 2nd, and we’re currently witnessing Marvel’s final marketing push. We’re in the endgame now of Thunderbolts* promos, and they’ve been quite revealing.

Marvel released a final trailer a few days ago, even though one wasn’t needed considering we’re getting all sorts of Thunderbolts* clips on social media that feature brand-new footage in addition to recycled content from previous trailers.

These clips have given us the first good look at the superpowered character Bob (Lewis Pullman) becomes in the movie, and his identity. The Void will wreak havoc in New York City, and the almost powerless Avengers-like Thunderbolts will have to somehow face Bob and overcome this Superman-like threat.

From the trailers and TV clips, we also know that The Void is more dangerous than the Avengers combined, and there are no Avengers to begin with. Those are the odds the Thunderbolts are facing, and I can’t wait to see how they go about winning.

It’s not a spoiler that they win. Somehow, they’ll deal with the massive threat, and it’s all thanks to Marvel’s big Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal that we’re aware of that. Five of the Thunderbolts and Bob will survive to face Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom in Avengers 5.

With all we know about the Thunderbolts* plot, I will call the film’s first massive plot hole without having seen it: Spider-Man. And I’ll preemptively blame Sony, but also Marvel for it.

Mind you, big spoilers might follow below.

The MCU timeline

After Captain America: Brave New World confirmed rumors that said Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) would run for Congress in Thunderbolts*, we were able to piece together the MCU timeline of current events.

Brave New World begins in late 2026, with most of the action happening in the first months of 2027. That puts us at least a year before Bucky can get elected. Therefore, Thunderbolts* will happen in 2027 at the earliest, or sometime in 2028.

It’s important to note that by the time Thunderbolts* takes place, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) has not formed his New Avengers. That’s something he starts considering at the end of Captain America 4. I say that because the MCU might deliver a huge plot twist by the time the Thunderbolts are done with The Void.

The New Avengers

All leaks and rumors say the asterisk in the Thunderbolts* title is a cheeky teaser for a development not all fans will see coming. The Thunderbolts will become the MCU’s New Avengers by the movie’s end. 

Think about it: a team of six individuals with insignificant superpowers compared to Bob’s will somehow beat The Void. This supervillain will be the most important threat New York has faced since Avengers: Infinity War, when Thanos (Josh Brolin) attacked.

Cap might not like it, but any team fighting and beating The Void is entitled to the Avengers name, even if said team is comprised of misfits and former villains.

So how is Tom Holland’s Spider-Man a plot hole in Thunderbolts* already?

Where is Spider-Man in all of this?

Spider-Man: No Way Home happened in late 2024, about a year after the events in Endgame. Peter Parker has lost everything dear to him, and the world doesn’t know Spider-Man’s identity.

However, Spidey will still protect his neighborhood, even if that means not having any real contacts and/or friends in the Avengers team.

That’s how No Way Home ends, and we’re waiting for Spider-Man 4, called Brand New Day, to learn more about what Peter has been up to.

By the time Sony and Marvel release Spider-Man 4, they’d better have an iron-clad explanation for why we won’t have Spider-Man appear in Thunderbolts*, even for a little bit because that’s the upcoming crossover’s big plot hole that’s hiding in plain sight.

Marvel’s marketing has focused recently on The Void’s impressive power. He’s basically turning people into shadows with a gesture, essentially sucking life out of them. Also, we see a large cloud of darkness covering the city. Somewhere in there, we have your friendly neighborhood’s Spider-Man who must be freaking out.

Since all of this action happens in New York City, you’d expect to see Spider-Man join the Thunderbolts in some capacity to defend the city. The world might have forgotten Spidey’s identity, but they remember Spider-Man was there to fight Thanos in New York and everywhere else on the planet. Spider-Man remembers.

Peter might not have Tony Stark to call upon for help, but he should act by default. Having Spider-Man join the Thunderbolts in any capacity would make it even clearer to the world that this team represents the New Avengers. It would be a bunch of new guys and Spider-Man defending New York once again.

Sadly, this isn’t going to happen because Marvel can’t use Spider-Man as much as it would like to. Sony holds the rights to the character.

I’ll also point out that the point of the action in Thunderbolts* is to put front and center the new Thunderbolts team. We don’t want Spider-Man to steal any attention from that.

But, again, it’ll be 2027 or 2028 in the MCU by the time The Void appears, four years after the events in No Way Home. Somehow, someone will have to explain why Spider-Man wasn’t in New York next to the Thunderbolts when the city faced its biggest threat since Thanos.

Then again, if the action in New York actually spans for only a few hours rather than days, then we would have an explanation that would make sense. By the time Spider-Man swung over, the New Avengers had already subdued The Void. Or maybe he was on a trip with the class.

Still, a Spider-Man cameo on Thunderbolts* would have been an amazing hook for the current state of the MCU. That’s wishful thinking from yours truly, of course.

With special Thunderbolts* screenings happening this week, the plot and credit scenes will probably leak in full ahead of the May 2nd premiere.