This Hit Marvel Movie With 88% On Rotten Tomatoes Was Saved From Being A DC Knock-Off
With so many movies having been churned out of the Marvel and DC universe, stories and the characters running around in them are guaranteed to get compared in some way. That was absolutely the case when it came to Marvel's newest band of misfits, the New Avengers, previously known as "Thunderbolts*." This ragtag team of not-so-great characters in the MCU fired off shots that were hitting in a very similar direction to a team of DCEU bad guys putting a shift in as good ones.
The first was David Ayer's universally loathed "Suicide Squad" and the second was James Gunn's run at Task Force X, "The Suicide Squad." Blending the old members and new ones, the movie earned an impressive 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the success paving the way for Gunn eventually taking complete control, along with Peter Safran, of the DC Universe and the infinite earths within it.
Putting the two teams side by side was a concern that someone behind "Thunderbolts*" was already aware of, and they made a conscious effort to avoid it. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, MCU writer Eric Pearson explained how he managed Yelena Belova and her reluctant allies to avoid making them look like Task Force X. "Every other Marvel project, I've come in later. So 'Thunderbolts*' will always probably be my favorite, because it was nothing, and then I made it into something. There was a failed version that I tried to do, which was too close to 'Suicide Squad.'" The film needed to change tactics, and quickly.
Thunderbolts were almost a team from the start just like The Suicide Squad
When it comes to both takes of DC's do-or-die team of ne'er-do-wells, the Suicide Squad are forced to work together as a team, or else. It's not a chance encounter that these not-so-bad but not-quite-good guys save the day together; they're under orders to do so lest they suffer the minor issue of an explosive going off in their head, controlled by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis). For the "Thunderbolts*" it's a very different story. These mercenaries are sent on their own individual mission to seemingly take each other out, only to end up being cannon fodder for the real weapon that's waiting for them in the form of Bob, aka The Sentry (Lewis Pullman), and one of the biggest potential threats for "Avengers: Doomsday." "I was like, 'That's the wrong approach. It's got to be the exact opposite. They're actually hired to murder each other, and they figure that out. And through a series of team-building exercises, they become a team.'"
The switch-up led to a great payoff. While it might not necessarily have brought in the bank to match other Marvel team movies, the reception from fans and critics was one of the best the franchise had received in recent years. That 88% score now puts it among the top 20 highest-rated MCU movies on Rotten Tomatoes, and since you asked, also getting the top 10 spot for /Film's own MCU movie ranking.
Who needs to be on a Wheaties box when you've got that, right?