I think I know the purpose of the asterisk in Thunderbolts*, the title of the next Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. And if I’m wrong I’ll — OK, I won’t promise to eat any articles of clothing. I’ve seen how that can backfire. But I would lay money down on it.

If you’re a longtime comics reader, my answer is not going to surprise you. But with Captain America: Brave New World in the marketing rearview and Marvel Studios going full steam on promoting Thunderbolts*, its own Suicide Squad-like, it’s a great time to unpack the reasoning for everyone else.

It seems obvious to me that Thunderbolts* is really a Dark Avengers movie.

Once upon a time, Marvel Comics had an event called Dark Reign — though it was less of a discrete crossover and more of a general era of storytelling, defined by Norman Osborn’s........

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