May 7, 2025

(Spoilers Thunderbolts* below! Read after watching it please! For your own good!)

This past weekend, I had a wonderful time at the movies and saw both Thunderbolts* and Sinners. And they were both really great! As a big comic book and horror guy, I thought both of these movies captured emotions and themes that are virtually non-existent (or at least very rare) in their respective genres. Thunderbolts* delivered some great action and some of my favorite visuals in an MCU film while delivering a genuinely heartfelt and introspective story with a cast of characters that don’t see much love from fans. Sinners was an epic with amazing music, acting, and characters that explored themes of race, religion, cultural assimilation, and a whole slew of other things.

I went into both of these movies fairly blind – it’s just kind of how I prefer to experience media nowadays. Going in to something with no expectations tends to benefit my experience. I think I maybe consciously watched one or two Thunderbolts* trailers and didn’t even see a full Sinners trailer. The only concrete elements I had heard about were that both had great music and two end credits scenes

Well, the music in both is amazing and the end credits scenes were some of the finest put on a cinema screen. Thunderbolts* shined with one funny scene that plays off of the big twist of the ending (which I will discuss again in a moment), and another which teased Avengers: Doomsday in a way that nearly made me feel like a kid watching the early MCU end credits scenes. Sinners featured two end credit scenes which really recontextualize the ending and add to the themes in really substantial ways (in my opinion).

So, I left that weekend happy, seeing two great movies with killer endings and was excited for more people to experience these great theater-going experiences. And then… it happened. This Monday, Marvel Studios officially released updated poster images and press videos officially revealing the movie to be The New Avengers. And I’m bummed.

Thunderbolts* is a special movie. It’s a movie about finding your purpose, dealing with trauma, and never doubting your self worth. The title of the movie (while purposefully being a marketing gimmick by implying something with its asterisk) tied directly in to Yelena’s struggles with all of those things and how she has always had value and purpose. While the reveal of The New Avengers at the end of the film is very exciting, it only as rewarding and exciting as it is because the audience has the chance to get to know and grow with the characters.

I think it’s a shame that Marvel Studios/Disney decided to go this route. Not only does it rob people of a unique and exciting twist, but it almost robs these characters of the point of the movie. They didn’t need to be called Avengers or heroes or anything else; the good in them was always there.

I know some of this has had a bit of a sappier tone (Thunderbolts* just really resonated with me), but I guess I just wanted to make this to lament the state of media consumption today. I can’t think of how many properties and stories I’m really invested in have recently (or at least over the past few years) been spoiled for me. Jujutsu Kaisen, Invincible, and so many others just have fanbases that will openly discuss and post spoilers anywhere. And because some social media algorithms feed off of random statistics, it’s completely possible for someone to just open up any major social media platform and inadvertently get spoiled.

Generally, I’m one to think that a spoiler doesn’t ruin media entirely – I mean, if it’s just the big reveal that makes a piece of media good, it’s probably not that good on its own. But I’ll be the first to admit that not being spoiled is nice! It’s fun to experience a big reveal or twist for the first time, especially when a piece of media is that good! And just today, I got randomly served full blown articles by major news networks (just because I opened a browser) that featured spoilers for either Thunderbolts* or Sinners. Even if you hardly engage with social media, people are still just spoiling things out in the open.

I don’t necessarily have a solution or greater message with this post. I think you should see Thunderbolts* and Sinners, even if you were spoiled for either of them. I think we should support (good) media financially and people should be allowed to discuss them online or in-person. But really, this spoiler problem only seems to be getting worse with time. I hope it improves one day, but who knows. We’re at the point where a major studio itself will spoil its own movie, probably just because they know it will generate more buzz and a changed title gives it a second opportunity. Who knows. It’s a strange time to be a fan of… anything, nowadays.