{"id":70243,"date":"2025-05-04T01:08:39","date_gmt":"2025-05-04T05:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/?p=70243"},"modified":"2025-05-02T13:33:11","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T17:33:11","slug":"thunderbolts-the-new-avengers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2025\/05\/04\/thunderbolts-the-new-avengers\/","title":{"rendered":"Thunderbolts&#8212; the New Avengers"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Marvel Studios\u2019 Thunderbolts* | Final Trailer | In Theaters May 2\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-sAOWhvheK8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Marvel Studios\u2019 Thunderbolts* | Big Game Trailer | In Theaters May 2\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hUUszE29jS0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Marvel movies whether on big screens or little of late have been less than blockbusters, and some have just been busts. But this new franchise called the Thunderbolts (with one carry over character\u2013the Winter Soldier) shows some promise.\u00a0 It involves a group of losers with certain sets of skills (but none of them can fly), who have a chance at redemption in the form of battling a President (played by a wicked Julie Louis Dreyfus) who wishes to take over the world by having developed a new all powerful super dude called the Sentry.\u00a0 Big problem, he\u2019s a former druggie a head case, and chronically depressed. What could possibly go wrong when one gives him super powers?<\/p>\n<p>Missing is the old pizzazz and arch humor of the Lee and Jack Kirby era, but there are a few scenes that make one smile, and even more that deal with the theme of everyone\u2019s need for love and a sense of self-worth.\u00a0 Mostly this is an action flick where one has to suspend ones disbelieve again and again in some scenes, where our anti-heroes should be killed several times over.\u00a0 But looking ahead at the summer fare, apart from the last episode of Mission Impossible, there appears to be almost nothing but reboots of dubious quality.<\/p>\n<p>The one new standout acting performance is by Florence Pugh as Yelena, the daughter of Alexi, who dresses like a buffoon from the Deadpool series.\u00a0 The 2 hours and six minutes largely focus on Yelena\u2019s character and her story, and that is worth watching.\u00a0 So there is hope that the next episode of the Thunderbolts will take another step in the right direction<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marvel movies whether on big screens or little of late have been less than blockbusters, and some have just been busts. But this new franchise called the Thunderbolts (with one carry over character\u2013the Winter Soldier) shows some promise.\u00a0 It involves a group of losers with certain sets of skills (but none of them can fly), [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":69308,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[15472],"class_list":["post-70243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-righteousness-without-power-is-just-an-idea"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Thunderbolts--- the New Avengers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-sAOWhvheK8 https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hUUszE29jS0 Marvel movies whether on big screens or little of late have been\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Thunderbolts--- the New Avengers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-sAOWhvheK8 https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hUUszE29jS0 Marvel movies whether on big screens or little of late have been\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2025\/05\/04\/thunderbolts-the-new-avengers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Bible and Culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-04T05:08:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-02T17:33:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/55\/2025\/01\/thumbnail_FB_IMG_1737316268292.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"542\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ben Witherington\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ben Witherington\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2025\/05\/04\/thunderbolts-the-new-avengers\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2025\/05\/04\/thunderbolts-the-new-avengers\/\",\"name\":\"Thunderbolts--- the New Avengers\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-04T05:08:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-02T17:33:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/67da39aff728f9d015878d198839df4b\"},\"description\":\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-sAOWhvheK8 https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hUUszE29jS0 Marvel movies whether on big screens or little of late have been\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2025\/05\/04\/thunderbolts-the-new-avengers\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2025\/05\/04\/thunderbolts-the-new-avengers\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2025\/05\/04\/thunderbolts-the-new-avengers\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Thunderbolts&#8212; 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