Thunderbolts* almost mirrored Suicide Squad: Parallels between the MCU and the DCEU movies, explored

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Thunderbolts* and DCEU's Suicide Squad movies. Readers' discretion is advised.

Since the moment Thunderbolts* was announced, people started calling it MCU's Suicide Squad. Some thought MCU was just copying DCEU's formula of bringing battered antiheroes in a team-up project while others saw it as just a coincidence. Even a week into its release, people are pointing out how similar these movies are or how one did things better than the other. When it comes to fan clubs as passionate as theirs, these things are bound to happen.

These discussions became prominent after the Thunderbolts* trailer dropped online. People saw these villains fighting together for a government entity as a direct connection to DCEU's Suicide Squad. Mind you, there are two different versions of this DC movie, one from director James Gunn and the other from David Ayer. They both brought the filmmaking styles usually associated with them. Ayer's movie was self-seriously darker like The Beekeeper while Gunn's movie was funnier and rather lighthearted like Guardians of the Galaxy.

However, it's not just about the style. These two Suicide Squad movies had a few more differences. Of course, at the core, they were about the "bad guys" trying to do good. Yet, Gunn's movie was not just a remake of Ayer's. Somehow, Jake Schreier's Thunderbolts shares similarities with both of these same-name projects.

**Does Thunderbolts* mirror DCEU's movies: The Parallels, explored**

A still from Thunderbolts* (Image via Marvel)

Whether it's 2016's Suicide Squad or 2021's The Suicide Squad, they showed a group of hardened criminals brought together by Amanda Waller (played by Viola Davis), a government official who's using them for her greater goals. Thunderbolts* showed something similar with CIA's Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who is connected to the team-up of antiheroes.

The 2016 DCEU flick showed June Moone (played by Cara Delevingne) in a similar way as MCU's tentpole presented by Bob Reynolds (played by Lewis Pullman). They both are introduced as innocent characters who are consumed by a dark presence. For Moone, it's the Enchantress while for Bob, it's the Void. Waller hopes to use Moone's abilities for her mission similar to how Val hopes to use Bob's powers as Sentry. So, Bob and Moone become pawns in Waller and Val's plot to gain power over other superheroes.

On the other hand, Thunderbolts* was supposed to be similar to James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, if the creative team had gone ahead with an earlier iteration of the script. The movie's co-writer Eric Pearson recently revealed that John Walker / U.S. Agent (played by Wyatt Russell) was supposed to be used to create a rift between their newly-formed team. In James Gunn's movie, Peacemaker (played by John Cena) had a similar arc since he plays against his own team at a crucial moment.

**Does that mean Thunderbolts* mirror Suicide Squad?**

No, it doesn't. The people, who have grown up reading the comics, can attest that these comic universes have had a fair share of similarities. So, it's not a surprise that DCEU and MCU, both had "bad-people-turning-good" stories. In the MCU movie, the characters were trying to redeem themselves after all the brutalities they subjected others to. However, their team-up was somewhat accidental. They met because Val sent them to the same location to be killed.

In Suicide Squad, the criminals teamed up on the promise of reduced prison time. Schreier's film showed its antiheroes teaming up when Val brought Sentry against them. She wanted Sentry to be a replacement for Avengers. In the end, she mentioned all of them the New Avengers since she saw no other option. She couldn't control Sentry like the others could since they did not see him as a tool but a person as traumatized as them.