Marvel Thunderbolts* Missed the Mark

Michaela Childs

Guest Blogger

And it isn't for the reason you would think...

I have always been a die-hard Marvel fan, but the recent Marvel film seemed to be a signal for what direction the studio is moving in.

I spent my Memorial Day weekend like anyone else, going to do random social opportunities with friends I hadn't seen in a while. So, in a last-day hurrah with some buddies I hadn't seen in months, we decided to get some last minute tickets to Marvel's Thunderbolts*. I was extremely excited given that Florence Pugh would be the star woman of this film, and I had been waiting on some more content of her character in film format since the Black Widow film.

Black Widow did an amazing job with covering heavy topics, like being a literal child assassin, while also maintaining the humor in their "All-American Family" facade. I think this added a lot of depth to the dynamics between Yelena and Natasha that would lay the grounds for Yelena's grief and loneliness, especially given the abandonment from Alexei.

However, Thunderbolts* switched the focus onto a new character named Bob, a.k.a. Sentry, that would become a central plot-point in this film. This character was highlighted as being "unstable," having episodes of extreme highs and lows with some memories being blocked out. His character became almost a caricature of the mental health condition Bipolar Disorder.

This came as a bit of a shock to me after Disney's very successful film Inside Out 2, a film where research was done in extremes to make sure not only was it attuned to the nuances of mental health in those experiencing puberty, but that it was also relatable across the board to anyone who may be struggling to live alongside feeling of anxiety.

Now, this is no analysis on the actors, as I feel they did a great job exhibiting what the script gave them. Especially Lewis Pullman's performance, adding little details to his mannerisms in the introduction of Bob. However, the script makes an emphasis on how "unstable" Bob is multiple times through various characters, villainizing him before we have even gotten to understand his character on a deeper level. His character wades in this uncertainty of neither being good nor bad for a majority of the film through his own behaviors, so I felt this instability idea was not accurate to the character they were having Pullman portray.

Suddenly, as Bob is becoming Sentry, he starts to recognize his power, suddenly deeming himself a god with little to no build-up. While I can understand that having Bipolar Disorder may not always be predictable by the person who has the condition, I believe that this idea of a sudden switch into violence is inaccurate and tone-deaf.

As a mental health advocate and someone with multiple mental health conditions, this notion that people who have mental health conditions are perpetrators of violence is demonstrably false and perpetuating stigmas that further alienate those with mental health conditions. Sentry suddenly switches into the dark version of himself, bringing chaos, violence, and shame to the city. Yes, shame.

Now, don't get me wrong, this notion of bringing others into a shame-filled other dimension was intriguing. However, with it riddled in so much violence with the source being Sentry falls flat. It is a well-known fact that "[p]eople with mental illness are more likely to be a victim of violent crime than the perpetrator." So why do we continue to perpetuate this narrative in films that they are to be villainized?

Additionally, when we finally start to get to know more details of Sentry's background in the final act of the film, they use a cookie-cutter scene of childhood abuse that added no true nuance to Sentry's struggles to accept all sides of himself. I wish they had taken the time to create a more unique perspective on his past experiences. While we can connect to his past experiences and understand that what he went through was difficult, we receive very little depth from his character here. I almost would have liked to see more of an interaction between him and his mother, showing more of his protective nature as he aimed to protect her--something that isn't highlighted enough as a key part of his character.

We get to Sentry's turn-around in the most lackluster of ways: Yelena directly stating everything in dialogue rather than having any nuance at all to their dynamic. This was a moment that truly brought me out of the film as I was baffled at the lack of care shown in the dialogue of the entire film. As they would tell us in my writing workshops throughout college, "this script is all tell-y and no show-y."

We end the film with Bob again, saying how he cannot do good without the dark side of himself. He cannot be Sentry. However, he did the dishes.

While I understand wanting to show the prioritization of little victories for those with mental health conditions, the film in its entirety feels like fuel to the mental health stigma fire burning in this country.

I have had many moments throughout my life where I questioned if I was capable of doing good while having a mental health condition--that I was destined to only do bad things. I feel that this film furthers that idea into kids' heads, worsens stigma, and takes away what the central idea should have been: grief.

Grief comes in many forms and is what Yelena and Bob have in common. But, this is barely highlighted in the film at all. It would have been more powerful to show the struggles of Bob's past by showing himself--the evil side--violence like he did in the most powerful scene of the film. There was the peak of the conflict where Bob was fighting evil Sentry. But, he couldn't win doing this. He only strengthened his shame by doing so.

If the film had leaned into this idea, creating a full fight between Bob and himself and none with others, I think it would have spoken volumes about the inner conflict. This could also be a point to create "ripple-effects" where there was no directly intentional violence on others, but rather destruction from being absorbed by this inner conflict brought to life. Then, this moment of realization from Bob to no longer fight himself would have been that much more powerful as he was giving in to his true nature: nurturing, protective, and kind.

This would have been a proper way to create the stepping stones to a more in-depth character and a clearer connection to Yelena who has struggled to accept that she has done bad things before (out of necessity and survival) but is also a kind person. But due to the lack of build-up and having that scene be momentary, I don't feel it had the effect it was aiming for.

Due to all of this, the film showed itself as a money-grab, playing into the popularity of mental health as a theme while also serving as a bridge to the next film The Fantastic Four: First Steps. I was extremely disappointed and felt the script didn't do some of my favorite characters justice. I can only hope that they take this "anti-hero" idea in a more constructive and riveting direction next time these characters make it on screen. And, in the words of one of my friends I saw the film with, "This movie could have been an email."

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