As the school year wraps up and people start to wonder what to do over the summer, what better way than to spend your time getting excited for the hope filled return of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now obviously, that’s a very bold claim seeing as Marvel movies as of recent have been box office bomb after box office bomb, but I believe that Marvel’s newest film, The Thunderbolts* could lead up to Marvel’s legendary comeback to film hype.

But to state such a bold claim, we have to first look at Thunderbolts as a whole, and what better way to start then by looking at the plot (spoiler free, of course.) The story follows Yelena Belova, the sister of Black Widow portrayed by Florence Pugh, as she becomes a member of an unlikely team of mercenaries turned heroes consisting of Red Guardian (Yelena’s father played by David Harbour), Bucky Barnes (formerly the Winter Soldier played by Sebastian Stan), Ghost (a previous villain from Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp played by Hannah John-Kamen), U.S. Agent (formerly John Walker, seen in the Marvel TV show the Falcon and the Winter Soldier played by Wyatt Russell), and of course, Bob, played by Lewis Pullman, who is much more “super” than the posters make him out to be. The unlikely team of heroes comes together in order to put a stop to the corrupt plot of the film’s villain Valentina Allegra De Fontaine (portrayed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) as she attempts to take Bob and turn him into a new controlled hero, unaware of how Bob’s own unstable mindset taking a negative affect on his abilities as a hero, ultimately leading him to become a force much more terrifying rather than heroic.

The movie itself is really well done. It was one of the first Marvel movies I’ve seen in a long time that actually had me seated throughout its course. It was full of action, heart, and kept me interested as new characters were introduced and old characters were brought back, and reviewers would agree. But the most important part of it all? It’s the first Marvel movie in a while that actually feels like it’s leading to something bigger. I say this for a few reasons, one of the major ones being the introduction of Bob’s character within the movie. His role in Thunderbolts is known by many comic readers as a massive addition to the MCU roster, and he could very well be the savior of the world when Dr. Doom comes knocking on Earth’s door in Avengers: Doomsday. Furthermore, the post-credit scene for the movie ties even more together as we see another famed superhero team on approach to Earth, possibly prompting a meeting between the Thunderbolts and this new player. Not to mention that in the same scene, the mention of Sam Wilson (portrayed by Anthony Mackie in both Falcon in Falcon and the Winter Soldier and as the new Captain America) and his Avengers trying to sue the Thunderbolts for taking on the name the New Avengers, which though it may seem like a subtle comedic scene at first, is really a sign that significant ties are being formed between the teams. The movie overall brings new hype to the scene of Marvel’s 6th phase, and raises the excitement for what’s to come in Doomsday that was gained ever since the casting announcement, which shattered the internet and created an explosion in traction and popularity not seen since Endgame. So strap in, Marvel fans, and be prepared to relive that excitement of watching all your favorite heroes fight together on the big screen, because I believe Doomsday is going to rock the world harder than Falcon’s “on your left.”