Entertainment

What does the final Thunderbolts* post-credits scene mean?

And what does that asterisk mean?

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The Thunderbolts* hype is unbelievable. No other Marvel film since Spider-Man: No Way Home has received as much attention as this latest one about this band of misfit antiheroes. From promoting Florence Pugh’s jump off the Merdeka 118 tower in Malaysia to teasing the meaning of the asterisk in its title, Marvel feels very confident about Thunderbolts*. After watching the film, I can see why. There is so much to unpack.

Thunderbolts* feels like more than just a course correction for the ailing Marvel Cinematic Universe. It finally confirms that Marvel Studios knows exactly where it’s going next.

Now, if you want to know what I thought about the film by itself, read our spoiler-free review here. But, if you want to discuss all the neat teasers revealed throughout the film, then read on.

What does the asterisk mean?

Thunderbolts* has one of the strangest titles for a Marvel film. It has an asterisk in its name.

When the title was first revealed, I thought that Marvel Studios just didn’t have a final title for the movie yet. However, as the marketing cycle went into full swing, it was abundantly clear that they weren’t going to change the title at all.

Over the past few months, Marvel hinted that there are multiple reasons for the asterisk. One such reason states that it means the Avengers aren’t available at the moment. Another reason said that each spoke of the asterisk represents a member of the team.

Now, the film confirms why. It’s because it’s not their official name. Throughout the film, the team jokingly calls themselves the Thunderbolts after Yelena’s sports team when she was young. However, at the end of the film, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) does a last-ditch effort to escape arrest by the antihero team. In front of the media, she declares all members of the team her new superhero task force called… The New Avengers.

The film’s title card at the end rightfully replaces the “Thunderbolts*” with “The New Avengers,” complete with the classic Avengers font.

Captain America: Brave New World

Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Captain America in Marvel Studios’ CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD. Photo by Eli Adé. © 2024 MARVEL.

A clash between teams?

In the final post-credits scene, the New Avengers discuss copyright issues with the original Avengers team. Sam Wilson is even pursuing legal action against the new team.

Prior to Endgame, the MCU never had any major issues between different teams (except Civil War, of course). For the longest time, every hero on Earth was called an Avenger.

Now, the Universe is feeling the inevitable pressure of having more than one team existing in the same place at the same time. With the Fantastic Four also eventually making their way to the MCU (and, presumably, the TV team also has plans for the Defenders), a clash seems inevitable.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to predict whether or not the timeline has space for an interaction between the teams. After all, Doomsday and Secret Wars are just around the corner. Plus, if the latter is anything like the comics version of the event, Marvel Studios might reboot some of its franchises.

Having multiple superheroes in the same universe is exciting. There’s now a possibility for multiple superheroes between teams to interact. But everything will ultimately depend on Marvel’s greater plans after Secret Wars.

Who is on that ship?

The pedantic meaning of an asterisk is already a huge reveal coming from the film. The end of the aforementioned scene reveals an even bigger bombshell. More than a year since the events of the film, the New Avengers find themselves in the middle of an outer space mystery. An extraterrestrial ship has suddenly appeared, and it bears the logo of Marvel’s first family, the Fantastic Four.

Because The Fantastic Four: First Steps is right around the corner, a teaser is expected. But what kind of teaser did we actually get? Yes, the logo is right there, but who is on that ship?

Logically, it should be the whole team led by Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards. We just can’t know for sure. It could be just the partial team. It could even be Doctor Doom on that ship. Heck, with multiverse shenanigans on the horizon, it could be another version of the Fantastic Four. Anything is possible up until the moment we see that same ship travelling across the multiverse.

Finally, is Taskmaster dead?

Yes.

Maybe.

Who knows? Anything can happen in comic books (and comic book movies).

Entertainment

Street Fighter special look: Blanka vs. Ryu

Jason Momoa, Andrew Koji’s characters face off

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Paramount Pictures has released a new special look for Street Fighter featuring Jason Momoa and Andrew Koji.

The short, minute-long clip shows the actors’ respective characters, Blanka and Ryu, in battle.

It opens with a chained prisoner struck by extreme electrical charges, transforming into the green-skinned, electricity-infused Blanka.

He unleashes a fierce roar. Meanwhile, Ryu drops into a fighting stance, but tells Blanka he does not want to fight him.

Forced to defend himself, Ryu then fires a signature Hadouken fireball towards Blanka, as the teaser cuts to the Street Fighter title card.

Street Fighter debuts in cinemas starting October 14. It is directed by Kitao Sakurai and stars an ensemble cast that includes Noah Centineo as Ken Masters, Callina Liang as Chun-Li, Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoai as Akuma, and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson as Balrog, among others.

The film is set in 1993 when estranged Street Fighters Ryu and Ken Masters are thrown into combat when Chun-Li recruits them for the next World Warrior Tournament.

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Now Playing: Spider-Man: Brand New Day

It’s a must watch for Spidey fans who want to see Peter Parker enter his sad boy era.

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The Holland-led Spider-Man trilogy is one of my favorite franchises in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Compared to other series with admittedly disjointed plots, all of Spidey’s storylines have a clear thread leading from one to the next. Since the fourth entries after trilogies are historically lackluster, I had a lot of trepidation heading into Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Thankfully, all those worries were unfounded. Brand New Day follows the same throughline as its predecessors, once again reinforcing Spider-Man as the strongest franchise that Marvel offers fans today.

A brand new day indeed

Coming from No Way Home, Brand New Day still has Peter Parker live a new life as a literal nobody where no one remembers who he is. So begins his existence as just Spider-Man with no friends or family.

When a new and unseen threat ravages through New York City, Spidey starts to wish that he still had friends to help him out, which leads him on an inevitable collision course with Ned and MJ. Ironically, it also leads him to other characters in the city, including the Hulk and the Punisher.

A cacophony of villains

When I first saw the trailer, I was worried about the astounding number of villains from the get-go. After all, one of the biggest problems in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, the most maligned entry in Spider-Man movie history, was the villains. Though far from the movie’s biggest problem, having too many bad guys without a solid plot led to its terrible reception. You can see why Brand New Day’s trailer raises some flags.

If you were thinking the same thing, Brand New Day does indeed have a cohesive plot. Everything flows neatly into one another. Each emotional beat of Peter feeling for his solitude mixes well with the action. In here, fight scenes feel like they have a purpose.

And there is a big bad here. It’s not just a collection of guys that Spidey has to go through. That big bad, who shall not be named at this time, doesn’t feel like just a placeholder for Peter’s internal struggles. They have a character of their own and their own struggles to solve. I wouldn’t say they’re at the level of Loki just yet, but they definitely have a better go at it than most of the MCU’s other villains.

Marvel’s New York City finally debuts

Despite being a prime location since 2012’s Avengers, New York City never really felt like the quintessential city for superheroes in the comics. In the movies, the city was just another city to be ravaged when a new villain comes along.

For the first time, Brand New Day makes the city feel like a lived-in world with a bunch of superheroes living in the neighborhood. And they do pop up.

Does Peter have a scientific problem that only a very specific hero can solve? It’s a good thing Bruce Banner is just around the corner. Does he need some muscle? Well, the Punisher is skulking around somewhere. Plus, there’s even a succinct reason why other superheroes can’t help out.

In this way, Brand New Day presents itself more like a comic book series than a one-off movie. It’s like following the story alone from issue to issue. It’s not the most perfect adaptation of the landmark city, but it goes a long way from just another ravaging of New York.

Peter’s sadness

Everything here hinges on Peter’s loneliness. Despite meeting a trove of characters across the cinematic universe, Peter yearns for time with his loved ones. But they’re gone.

Unlike the past three films where he always had someone to go home to, he has no one here. Tony Stark is dead. Aunt May is gone. Happy has gone to parts unknown. Ned and MJ have no memory of him. Brand New Day has a way of making you feel for his aches, whether the way he still keeps track of MJ or some physiological changes as a result of his predicament.

It also helps that the movie’s big bad has similar motivations. Both serve as perfect mirrors against each other, elevating both their stories effectively. And that’s all I’ll say about that.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a few steps behind from being a perfect Marvel movie, but it’s still an extremely strong part of the Spider-Man mythos. The trilogy, now quadrilogy, remains Marvel’s most consistent franchises to date. It’s an absolute must-watch.

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UNDERTALE: The Determination Symphony hits Makati in October

Determination arrives in October.

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For so small of a game, UNDERTALE quickly made it into the gaming world’s hall of fame. Despite being only a decade old, the small title has had a major influence for modern-day gamers because of its unique gameplay, its lo-fi art, and, of course, its catchy soundtrack. If you’re a fan of UNDERTALE’s soundtrack, a unique concert experience is headed your way.

On October 17, Film Concerts PH, in partnership with SOHO Live, is hosting UNDERTALE: The Determination Symphony at the Proscenium Theater in Rockwell, Makati.

The concert will be performed by the Filharmonika Orchestra and conducted by Thanapol Setabrahmana. Personally curated by creator Toby Fox and developed by Lambert Jackson with Materia Music, the concert experience showcases the game’s most recognizable tunes laid over gameplay footage playing simultaneously. Plus, for the world tour, the experience will have expanded scoring.

In the game, you play as a small child stuck in the mysterious Underground filled with interesting characters and monsters. Unlike traditional RPGs, UNDERTALE asks players to choose between building relationships and chasing after wins. It’s a unique experience that’s defined by whether you chose to make friends or fought your way to the top. It teaches players to value different ways to solve problems, all while showering them with its one-of-a-kind humor.

Pre-sales for the concert, exclusively for members of the Film Concerts PH community, start on August 4. Public sales, however, will start on August 11 via Ticketmelon.

SEE ALSO: The hunt begins: The Witcher in Concert hits Manila with surprises in tow

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