Thunderbolts* (2025) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

They were sent by Valentina de Fontaine as part of a elaborate trap designed to eliminate them along with any evidence of her illegal involvement in the O.X.E. Group's Sentry project. De Fontaine faced impeachment and needed to silence anyone who knew about her misconduct.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, de Fontaine tasked Yelena with destroying the laboratory to cover up her association with the Sentry project.

• valentina de fontaine
• o.x.e. facility
• trap
• impeachment
• sentry program

Ava killed Taskmaster during the deadly competition that de Fontaine orchestrated at the covert facility. The operatives were forced to fight each other, and Ava eliminated Taskmaster in the chaos of this lethal showdown.

Foreshadowing: The mission was described as a covert operation but quickly turned into a deadly confrontation between the operatives.

• ava starr
• taskmaster
• kill
• competition
• deadly confrontation

Bob was a participant in Valentina de Fontaine's secret Sentry superhuman program. He had been declared dead during the Sentry trials and was kept in suspended animation within the O.X.E. facility. After falling into drug addiction, he had hoped the experimentation would transform his life.

Foreshadowing: Bob was released from the pod when the team infiltrated the facility, revealing he was a key part of de Fontaine's hidden experiments.

• bob
• sentry
• suspended animation
• drug addiction
• experimentation

The Void emerged when de Fontaine's assistant Mel used a fail-safe kill switch to incapacitate Bob after he turned against her. This triggered Bob's darker alter ego, born from his emotional struggles and insecurities, which began engulfing New York City in supernatural darkness.

Foreshadowing: Bob developed delusions of grandeur, turning against de Fontaine and claiming god-like superiority before Mel activated the kill switch.

• void
• bob
• sentry
• fail-safe
• kill switch
• darkness

Yelena entered the darkness to reach Bob's consciousness, confronting her own traumatic past as a Black Widow. The rest of the team joined her, journeying back to the moment of Bob's initial experimentation. Together, they reaffirm their belief in Bob, bolstering his strength to reclaim control and overcome the Void.

Foreshadowing: The Void was described as needing to be defeated from within its realm, and the team's solidarity was established as their key weapon against it.

• thunderbolts
• void
• bob
• consciousness
• pocket dimension
• redemption

Bucky initially apprehended the team because he wanted them to testify against Valentina de Fontaine in her impeachment proceedings. However, upon learning that Bob was part of de Fontaine's secret tests, he decided to ally with them and help infiltrate the Watchtower.

Foreshadowing: Bucky's initial confrontation with the team set up his later alliance after discovering the truth about Bob.

• bucky barnes
• thunderbolts
• testify
• valentina de fontaine
• impeachment

After gaining powers as the Sentry, Bob developed a delusion of grandeur and turned against de Fontaine, believing himself to be a god-like superior being. This psychological break was part of his instability from the experimentation and the emergence of his darker alter ego.

Foreshadowing: Bob's erratic behavior began when he started ascending uncontrollably, showing the toll the Sentry powers were taking on his mind.

• bob
• sentry
• valantina de fontaine
• delusion
• grandiosity
• betrayal

Valentina de Fontaine manipulated public perception by staging a press conference to rebrand the Thunderbolts as the New Avengers. This was a political move to co-opt their victory over the Void and secure her survival despite her previous manipulations and crimes.

Foreshadowing: The team originally planned to capture de Fontaine after defeating the Void, but she managed to spin the narrative first.

• new avengers
• valentina de fontaine
• rebranding
• public perception
• political survival

In the post-credits scene, the New Avengers including Bob receive a distress signal from an inter-dimensional spacecraft marked with a prominent '4', suggesting a connection to the Fantastic Four and hinting at a larger threat in the MCU.

• post-credits
• distress signal
• spacecraft
• 4
• fantastic four
• inter-dimensional

Valentina needed a super-powered hero to replace the Avengers and restore public trust after her political downfall. She planned to introduce Bob to the media as a super-powered protector, believing this publicity stunt would save her from impeachment and rehabilitate her image.

Foreshadowing: De Fontaine's entire operation was motivated by her fear of impeachment and loss of power.

• valentina de fontaine
• sentry
• publicity
• avengers
• impeachment

Inside the Void, Yelena finds Bob hidden in a nightmarish version of his childhood bedroom, representing his deepest insecurities and trauma. The setting connects to his backstory of falling into drug addiction and seeking transformation through the Sentry program.

Foreshadowing: Bob's past as someone seeking a new life after addiction was established earlier in the film.

• bob
• childhood bedroom
• void
• nightmare
• trauma
• insecurity