Deep into what Marvel calls its fifth phase, the studio’s 36th film, Thunderbolts, unfolds in a post-Avengers era. The star-studded supergroup has disbanded, with its scant vestiges becoming fixtures within U.S. government bureaucracies; even the Winter Soldier is now a suited congressman. More proof that President Ronald Reagan was on to something when he quipped that a government bureau is the closest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this Earth.

Much of the setup is familiar, echoing what we’ve come to expect from Marvel’s recent entries. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, easily the strongest acting talent in the cast, plays Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, the morally dubious director of the CIA. (All the makings of a great Seinfeld episode.)

In this post-Avengers America, national defense has grown reliant on superheroes, somewhat echoing Europe’s long-standing dependency on the American military. With the real heroes gone, who will avert disaster? Even the

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