Marvel Comics Renames New Thunderbolts Comic to New Avengers

Marvel Comics is shaking things up by renaming its upcoming New Thunderbolts comic series to New Avengers. This change comes hot on the heels of the Marvel Studios movie Thunderbolts, which hit theaters on May 2, 2025, and surprised fans by revealing itself as The New Avengers. The rebrand is a clear move to tie the comic to the film’s big twist and keep the Avengers name front and center.

The comic, written by Sam Humphries with art by Ton Lima, was originally set to debut on June 11. It stars a gritty team of antiheroes, including Carnage, Black Widow, Wolverine, Namor, The Winter Soldier, Clea, and The Hulk, taking on missions too risky for typical heroes. The Thunderbolts movie, starring Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, pulled a fast one by revealing the team’s new name, New Avengers in its story. The film’s marketing, with an asterisk in Thunderbolts*, teased this switch, and updated posters confirmed it after the premiere.

Fans have mixed feelings about the change. Some love the bold move, while others, as seen in posts on X, think the movie’s title reveal came too early. The comic, now called New Avengers, will stick to its June release and keep the same creative team. It’ll follow Bucky and Black Widow leading this wild crew through intense missions. With the movie already earning 172.9 million USD and setting up Avengers: Doomsday, Marvel is banking on the Avengers’ huge popularity to make this comic a hit.