Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Thunderbolts*Before watching , I was fully expecting Bucky Barnes to serve as the leader of the new MCU team. However, that's not exactly the case. While Bucky may not be the Thunderbolts' outright leader, I've decided that his actual role with the team is actually much better going forward in the MCU, both for the team and his character.

At the end of Thunderbolts*, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine publicly renames the Thunderbolts as The New Avengers. While it was a means for Val to save face following the Void's attack on New York, the Thunderbolts* post-credits scenes confirm the Thunderbolts took in stride, having Val under their thumb while also embracing their new roles as the MCU's newest superhero team.

At the beginning of Thunderbolts*, . That said, Bucky eventually takes matters into his own hands after receiving intel about the OXE Group's vault from Val's assistant Mel. Encountering Val's former assets that were supposed to kill each other but largely ended up working together, Bucky ends up apprehending Yelena Belova, Red Guardian, U.S. Agent, and Ghost so they can testify against Val.

Ultimately, Bucky convinces the group to look beyond their darker pasts to help him bring down Val after he learns about Bob aka Sentry: “The past doesn’t go away. So you can either live with it forever…or do something about it.” However, the movie gradually positions Yelena Beova as the group's effective leader by the movie's end. Likewise, the final post-credits scene in Thunderbolts* undoubtedly has Yelena in charge of the New Avengers, who're now operating in The Watchtower (formerly Avengers Tower).

. After all, Bucky's been in the superhero game trying to make up for his own darker past for much longer than the rest of his new allies. He says as much to the team before the movie's third act, telling them all that he's been where they're at, knowing that taking action in the right direction is what helps most when trying to deal with the past.

. He's a chapter ahead of everyone else on this new team, who all share similar morally complex journeys. As such, that's going to be a key advantage for the New Avengers going forward into the MCU heading into Avengers: Doomsday and beyond.

. It's certainly a newer team dynamic that could be pretty exciting for the MCU. After all, it currently boasts a healthy mix of characters who've been around as early as Phase 1 (like Bucky), and those who've only recently been introduced during the post-Endgame era of the MCU.

Just like Bucky having this kind of advisory role with the New Avengers, I could easily see someone like Vision or Clint Barton's Hawkeye serving as a mentor to the next generation of heroes, like the expected Young Avengers. . Overall, it definitely feels more like his style, and it's going to be exciting to see how his journey continues alongside his new MCU team in the future.